Not very often do you hear children say, “I want to be a fundraiser or mobilise the resources when I grow up!” When I was younger and first making choices about my future, fundraising meant "Pluto" to me. And I am not alone. Fundraising is not something that most people have much understanding about at a young age. It is definitely not about getting donations- you’ll need to inspire passion and learn the art of asking. Being in advancement, in this very special profession, has given me more of personal satisfaction than I have gotten in any of the other activities I have ever done in my life. It gets me up every day and happy to come to work. It doesn’t get better than that.

1. Born to raise

2. • Many individuals entering the profession for the first
time and those hiring their first development staff
person are often not certain what qualities to look for
in a development professional.
• Often one hears that development is really just sales or
marketing. The individual or organization about to
embark into the world of development needs to
understand that it is a profession in its own right.
• Being a good sales person or a good marketer may be
helpful in fundraising, but there is far more to the
career than sales and marketing.
Fundraiser

3. Born to raise
Top 10 qualities to become a fundraiser
• Impeccable integrity
• Good listener
• Ability to motivate
• Hard worker
• Concern for people
• High expectations
• Love the work
• High energy
• Perseverance
• Presence

4. you feel you do not have these qualities?
Can they be learned? If so, how can you learn
to cultivate them?
Let’s look at each one and see if there are
things that can be done to cultivate what
might seem, at first glance, like innate
qualities.

5. Impeccable Integrity
• White lies. Gossip. Unkept promises. They all cost you your personal
integrity. Here’s how to earn it back.
• When our words don’t match our actions, we lose a measure of healthy
ownership and control over our lives. Careless language undermines our
relationships, chips away at our sense of self and decreases our personal
power.
• Words and language patterns are powerful forces of creation. They
articulate our reality. They put our dreams and goals out there for the
whole world to see. They define our agreements. And they are the
cornerstone of personal integrity.
“There is always plenty on man’s pathway; but it can only be brought into
manifestation through desire, faith or the spoken word.”- Florence Scovel Shinn

6. Want to upgrade your integrity and sharpen your
truth-telling instincts? Here are some easy ways to get started:
• Identify your triggers. Sit down and think about where you most frequently break promises
with yourself and others. Start working on these triggers and challenge yourself.
• Perceive your language patterns. How often do you say yes when you really mean no —
when you realize on some level you have no intention of following through on that “yes”?
Knowing how you use language in disempowering ways is important information to have as
you work to bring more integrity to your language.
• Take small steps toward honesty. Once you can identify where and when you’re not keeping
your word, you can make the necessary adjustments toward telling the truth, even in small
ways.
• Examine your relationships. If you are afraid others will be offended by your truth, ask
yourself if you really want to be spending time with people to whom you have to lie on a
regular basis. It may be that for you to get into integrity, you have to do some housecleaning
of your relationships.
• Give your word less often. If something is a “maybe” for you, say so, being clear that you are
choosing to withhold your commitment until a later time.

7. Good listener
We know listening skill is very important and plays a vital role when we work on projects.
Let’s see the 10 key qualities of listening skill which we require in fundraising on day to day basis:
1) Good Listeners - Make eye contact
2) Good Listeners - Ask one question at a time and give ample of time to explain
3) Good Listeners - Pay attention
4) Good Listeners - Do not interrupt in between
5) Good Listeners - Do not assume anything
6) Good Listeners - Take notes
7) Good Listeners - Use white boards to understand better
8) Good Listeners - Give 2 or 3 sec pause time
9) Good Listeners - Focus on subject
10) Good Listeners - Do not show the gesture signs
Active listening is important to good donor
relations.

8. Ability to Motivate
• The ability to motivate donors, volunteers and staff is a critical key for success.
• Motivating donors goes back to the integrity section.
• Putting the donor’s interest first and foremost will make it easier for you to motivate donors.
• Motivating donors does not mean persuading donors to do something that they don’t want
to do or that is not in their best interest.
• Motivating donors comes through understanding that philanthropy brings joy to the donor
and that if the donor really believes in the mission, motivation is simply a tool to bring about
the donor’s wishes.
Learning the case for support and having passion for the mission of the
organization for which one works, is the best way to successfully motivate
another person to share that passion.

9. Hard Worker
It is definitely not a 9 to 5 job
• You may be on the job as early as 7 a.m. meeting with
volunteers, attending breakfast meetings, or just getting
into the office early to organize your day before the
phone calls and emails start arriving.
• The key is to work hard, but take good care of yourself
at the same time. Eating healthy, getting regular
exercise, having a hobby or interests outside of work,
and taking a vacation or several mini vacations each year
will keep you mentally and physically healthy even
though the hours of your job may be demanding.
• Leave work at work, do not take it home or on vacation
unless it is extremely critical.
• As a true professional be careful to avoid thinking that
you are indispensable and that you have to stay
connected to the office at all times. You aren’t, and you
don’t!

10. Concern for People
• Talk to the people who use your organization’s services, find out their stories, and talk to
them about their hopes and desires for the future.
• This will make fundraising easier and allow you to speak in a compelling fashion about your
organization’s mission and can also help you build empathy and concern.
• Concern for people goes beyond caring about the donors and the clients, but extends as well
into concern for the staff.
• Taking time to listen to the concerns of other staff people, your colleagues in the
development office and others in the organization, can help the development professional
build a concern for people..

11. High Expectations
When we treat man as he is, we make him worse than he is; when we treat him as if he already
were what he potentially could be, we make him what he should be.
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Setting higher goals you lead others to higher achievements
• You help people develop their skills and hidden abilities
• You motivate other people and boost their productivity
• You help someone improve self-esteem and get rid of inferiority complex
• However, this does not mean setting unrealistic goals or having expectations that are so
demanding that the staff and you yourself gets frustrated

12. Love the Work
“I’m here in this profession because it’s joyful. I help facilitate joy and passion and meaning in
people’s lives.”
• Not only do you need to love the organization you work for, you need to love fundraising.
• Loving this career often starts with volunteering for the cause.
• If you do not enjoy volunteer fundraising, you probably won’t love it as a career. So if you are
thinking about entering the profession, you may want to begin by volunteering to work on a
special event, a phonathon, or a corporate appeal for a few nonprofits and see if you really
do love fundraising.
• Finding your niche is critical to loving the work. It also means that if you become frustrated,
worn out, or just bored, you may need to think about moving on.

13. High Energy
I am a high-energy person. But I haven’t always been that way. There have been times in my life
when I was utterly exhausted. I tried some new things. I broke some old habits. Now, my energy
level remains pretty constant through the day.
• Keep a positive attitude
• Exercise daily
• Eating right, exercising and relieving stress by taking time off can help boost your energy
• A good herbal tea that relaxes may actually do more to boost your energy
• Getting enough sleep at night also helps raise your energy levels during the day
• Simple things like having nice artwork or a scented candle or oil in your office, or taking time
off work to get a pedicure, can help build energy
• Avoid energy- depleting people
• Loving the work will also help you have the high energy needed to work long hours; motivate
donors, volunteers and staff; and meet the expectations you have set for yourself or others
have set for you

14. Perseverance
Have you ever asked what successful individuals all have in common ? They have learned to
develop perseverance in order to achieve their goals in life.
• Major and planned gifts, in particular, require building long term relationships; perseverance
pays off. If donors think the organization has forgotten about them they may just move on to
the next organization.
• So how do you cultivate perseverance? Part of the secret to perseverance is setting goals and
realistic benchmarks to measure success.
• Be careful not to get so caught up in keeping your head above water that you do not have the
time to plan.
• Working on long-term goals for a specific amount of time each day can help. And
understanding that you should focus 90-95 percent of your time on the 5-10 percent of
donors who account for 90-95 percent of all the gifts your organization will receive helps as
well.
• You must take the time to plan strategically; otherwise your organization will be left behind in
the dynamic and ever-evolving world of the nonprofit sector. Leadership should look at the
return on investment of careful, strategic planning.

15. Presence
So what can you do to develop a sense of presence?
• First, look and act professional at all times.
• Dressing for success is important for the
development professional because you will be very
visible in the community.
• Being well dressed and well groomed will give you a
sense of pride and confidence that is necessary for a
sense of presence.
• Good posture, an open and welcoming facial
expression can be very meaningful, especially when
you remember that you only have one opportunity to
make a first impression!
• Knowing the job will make you appear more
confident and knowledgeable, adding to the
presence factor.
• Read, read & read.

16. Proud to be a Fundraiser
Well! It always seems impossible,
until it’s done.
Thanks!