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What if the person who could transform your charity’s fundraising efforts, is someone who has never worked as a fundraiser before? We take a look at why you should consider candidates from beyond the charity sector.
When recruiting for fundraising roles, it’s understandable that charities look for candidates with proven experience. Fundraising is vital to an organisation’s survival and growth, and employers want to know that the person they appoint can deliver results. But could an over-reliance on previous fundraising experience mean that charities are overlooking some exceptional talent?
Our recent survey of CharityJob candidates looking for fundraising jobs revealed that 37% are newcomers to fundraising and interested in entering the profession. That is more than one in three potential candidates who could bring fresh perspectives, valuable transferable skills and a genuine desire to make a difference. This is a great opportunity the sector should not ignore.
Raya Wexler is the co-founder of CharityJob and CharityConnect
Talent can come from anywhere
I was listening to a webinar recently and heard these words: “the talent pool is small, but great talent can sit anywhere and come from anywhere”. Limiting recruitment to people who have already held a fundraising position risks narrowing that pool even further.
In my past life when I worked for a charity, our Chief Executive came from a market research background. She brought in a new fundraiser who was Marketing Director of ICI – Imperial Chemical Industries – which is no longer in existence. So although his experience was in paints, plastics, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals and synthetic fibres, his fundraising skills were second to none, even though they were entirely unrelated to a care charity. He was by far the best fundraiser the charity had in my time of working there.
The question should therefore not simply be “Have you fundraised before?” It should be “What can you bring to our mission and how could your experience help us achieve it?”
The sector faces many of the same challenges that are impacting other industries: rising living costs (which leads to public giving being under pressure), increasing competition for grant funding, changing donor expectations, the need to do more with limited resources, the emergence of disruptive technologies, and macroeconomic volatility to name a few. But other sectors have already developed new approaches to tackling similar problems, so why not tap into those approaches and experiences? We can all learn from people who have worked in other industries facing similar dilemmas.
Look for transferable skills
Someone from a commercial sales background will have good negotiation and relationship-building skills, or the ability to turn resistance into revenue and prospects into long-term supporters. This commercial awareness and experience makes them ideally placed to manage high value donor relationships, so why shouldn’t those same skills translate into looking after your most valuable donors?
Transferable skills should never be underestimated. A marketing professional could offer fresh ideas on audience engagement, digital campaigns and understanding donor behaviour. At its heart, fundraising is about understanding people, building relationships and persuading them to support something they believe in. These are skills that good marketers already possess, plus they know how to communicate value, create compelling propositions and influence decisions.
These are not simply useful extras. They could be exactly the skills a charity needs to take its fundraising to the next level. Someone who has spent years understanding customers, developing relationships, influencing decisions and generating commercial income will have enormous potential as a fundraiser. They may not know the language of fundraising yet, but they already possess many of the underlying skills.
A different background can bring a different perspective
When everyone in a team has followed a similar career path, there is a risk of approaching challenges in the same way, so there’s no uniqueness. Bringing people in from other industries can introduce new and fresh thinking, challenge established assumptions and encourage innovation.
This is not to say that charities should abandon the specialist knowledge that makes experienced fundraisers so valuable – they absolutely shouldn’t. Experienced fundraisers are gold dust, so please hang onto them. But next time you advertise for a role in your fundraising team, consider whether the right combination of skills, attitude and potential might sometimes be more important than a conventional career history.
A candidate who has spent ten years building customer relationships, managing complex projects or developing successful commercial partnerships may have many of the foundations needed to become an outstanding fundraiser. My personal experience is testament to this.
They may still need to learn the particular skills, the language, the regulations and practices of charity fundraising. But those things can be taught. The ability to build trust, communicate persuasively, understand people and develop lasting relationships is often built over many years of life and work experience. So why overlook that experience simply because it was gained elsewhere?
Look for people who care about your mission enough to apply for your role
Skills and experience matter, but they are only part of the picture. Some of the strongest candidates are people who care deeply about a cause, identify with an organisation’s values and want their working lives to have a greater purpose. They may have spent years building a successful career without realising that fundraising could offer them a way to combine their existing skills with something they genuinely believe in.
These candidates may bring energy, curiosity and a determination to succeed. They are not necessarily starting from scratch. They are bringing everything they have learned throughout their working lives and applying it in a new context.
Great people are not defined solely by the jobs they have done. They are defined by the experiences they have gained, the values they hold, the mission they care about and the contribution they have the potential to make.
Of course, passion alone is not enough. Charities must still assess candidates against the requirements of the role. But a genuine commitment to the cause, combined with relevant transferable skills and a willingness to learn, deserves serious consideration.
The world of work is changing. Recruitment needs to change with it
The world of work is changing faster than ever. People are increasingly looking for work that offers purpose as well as professional development. Recruiting for potential does not mean lowering standards. It means looking beyond experience and recognising the value, skills and abilities that candidates can bring.
It also means writing job descriptions that distinguish between the skills someone genuinely needs on day one, and those they can develop. It means asking interview questions that explore transferable experience, adaptability, relationship building and motivation. And it means being willing to invest in training and support to help talented people make the transition.
Crucially, it may also mean rethinking the requirement for previous fundraising experience when that requirement is not essential to success in the role.
Could your next great fundraiser be one of the 37%?
Our survey suggests that a significant proportion of people looking for fundraising jobs are keen to enter the profession using niche job boards like CharityJob. It means that many people are looking at fundraising as a career and seeing the opportunity to do something meaningful with their working lives.
Our survey also highlighted two key barriers for people wanting to move into fundraising. Not knowing how to get started and not knowing enough about the charity sector. This is where charities like yours can make a real difference, helping candidates discover the wonderful opportunities to be part of the sector and see how their existing skills could transfer into fundraising.
Imagine what could happen if more employers looked beyond traditional career paths. They could discover talented people who bring fresh ideas and perspective, valuable skills and a deep commitment to their mission. They could widen their recruitment pool and help develop the next generation of fundraising professionals.
So, the next time you advertise your fundraising vacancy on CharityJob, ask yourself whether your requirements are identifying the best person for the job, or simply the person with the most familiar CV.
Tags: attracting the right candidates, charity sector recruitment, finding the right people, hiring the right people
