There are many wonderful things about the fundraising profession, not least the passion that drives people to invest their time, energy and career in ensuring organisations with a social purpose have the funding they need to thrive and develop in new and exciting ways to raise money for vital causes. It can be extremely rewarding. But that doesn’t mean it’s an easy job, or one that others (even inside charities) automatically understand.
In fact, that commitment to a cause that fundraisers truly care about and a desire for their organisation to be able to provide the services and work that others rely on, may well add to a feeling of pressure, responsibility, or stress. Sometimes that pressure might come in the form of a CEO or trustee who wants to know if they’ll hit their targets. Or it might be as a result of a closeness with a service delivery team that they see every day, which means that fundraisers have a deep insight and know how much of a difference raising that extra money will make in the care they can give.
Fundraisers may have to deal with graphic, upsetting, and emotionally triggering issues and content on a daily basis – this could be from direct testimonies with clients/beneficiaries, or from research studies and news reports. Finding the most compelling stories to use in fundraising campaigns may well mean that fundraisers need to go through a range of visual, auditory, or written examples which could feel overwhelming.
In many cases, it is because as fundraising professionals for charities there is a deeply emotive cause at stake, one that we know will make a profound and lasting difference to people and communities. Fundraisers will have a professional outlook and approach, but that doesn’t mean that feelings and emotions aren’t part of a fundraiser’s daily work too. And so they should be – the emotion and connection is what so often makes a fundraising appeal inspirational and resonates with supporters, and means those conversations with supporters are real and authentic.
Understanding the link between a fundraiser’s role and wellbeing does in no way mean that we lose that emotional connection or that desire to succeed. But it does mean that it should be managed appropriately and nurtured with care. Often charities will have support, processes, or resources available for care and service delivery teams – it’s worth considering how this can be accessed by fundraisers too.
There are also aspects of a fundraiser’s job that inevitably don’t fit into a straightforward 9-5 day, or a Monday-Friday working week. Unexpected disasters or emergency appeals, weekend events, meetings with supporters in the evenings, or short funding deadlines can all mean that work plans have to be changed.
A positive and healthy working environment that champions wellbeing will have processes in place that directly and indirectly supports and prioritises people’s work/life balance, wellbeing and mental health. This might include a culture that encourages people to discuss concerns openly, training and support to equip people in their professional roles, an effective strategy and planning process, managerial training for those that guide others, and flexibility in relation to working hours and home-working.