CharityVillage® Research: What makes a fundraising manager successful?

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What makes a fundraising manager successful?
by David Macdonald
December 11, 1996; Canadian FundRaiser
At first glance, an organization that is very effective and efficient at selling tickets and raising funds for major non-profit organizations could see itself as enjoying "success". But being successful actually has little to do with raising funds or selling tickets.
Sound absurd?
"Absolutely," some would probably respond. "Success has everything to do with raising funds. Look at who we are ... we're fundraisers. We're marketers. Raising money is what we do ... it's our goal. Whether it's one separate event or an established fundraising organization, we work with others to achieve that goal, to raise a certain amount of money or sell tickets to support a particular project or cause."
Let's take another look at the process. Better still, let's look at it under a microscope. We at Artsmarketing Services recently put ourselves under the microscope by asking our managers what they think is necessary for success, and to name three things they are doing which generate that success. Here is a summary of what they said:

Honesty: be honest with yourself and others.
Caring: have a genuine liking and respect for people.
Confidence: believe in yourself ... always.
Acceptance: relate to a wide range of people ... races, all nationalities and beliefs.
Love: what you are doing ... everyone can be fun to be with.
Courage: choose to believe in the organization.
Vitality: want to make a difference in other peoples' lives every single day.
Perspective: how we look at things is far more important than what we look at.
Self-reliance: don't be afraid of someone not liking you.
These comments are the very roots of successful fundraising. Their common themes are complete dedication and a total belief in the mission. But our managers identified many other important factors:

Decision: decide to succeed before you start ... success is a decision.
Teachable: be open ... there is always something new to learn.
Team player: achievements are through people.
Work: start by working hard, continue to work hard, and don't stop.
Leadership: move forward and make people want to stay with you.
Attitude: as someone once said ... this will make or break a company, a church, or a home.
Problem solver: do not complain about situation ... accept them as realities ... and create solutions.
Self-motivated: you must move yourself before you can influence others.
Positive: chose to be positive, a choice you are always free to make.
Flexibility: bend with the wind, like a reed.
Enthusiasm: you will do nothing without energy.
Common sense: there are always solutions ... find one.
Study: learn what you need to know.
Communicate: relate to what each person needs ... your sales representative, your client, and the person on the other end of the phone.
Patience: most situations become simpler when you put yourself in the other person's shoes.
Determination: love challenges.
Awareness: always keep your staff aware of your goal ... we're not here to party.
Expectations: understand completely what is expected of you.
Calm: be cool amid chaos.
Reaching out: love teaching, learning, and instilling passion in others.
A sense of humour: always.
These thirty disparate thoughts are threads that make up a fabric, the core elements responsible for our success. This foundation is of crucial importance in the day-to-day decisions we make that determine the future direction of our campaigns and our organizations.
An exercise like this also fortifies our understanding of where success really lies. Without an understanding of today's success, we can only hope for further achievement. But while hope by itself will not turn dreams into realities, it does keep us aware that much of fundraising actually has little to do with raising funds. The funds are the results of what we do.
So fundraising is about total commitment to what we believe in and love. It's all about people ... people reaching out to people, and focusing on accepting others not for who we want them to be, but for who they are ... and for what they can become.
Our manager's manual teaches us that a manager's main priority is to maintain a full staff of trained and motivated employees. At the end of the day it always boils down to people.
David Macdonald is Manager, Human Resources, at Artsmarketing Services Inc, Ottawa, Ontario. For more information, call (613) 725-1258.