Fundraising — a career you can be proud of
Fundraising is the most rewarding of careers, one where you can contribute so much, develop highly professional skills, and make a difference to good causes at home and abroad.
Quite simply, fundraising is a career which makes an incredible, positive impact, and which literally saves lives and changes the world for the better. How many people can say that about their jobs? That’s why I’m incredibly proud to work with our members here and fundraisers all across the UK, celebrating what fundraisers do and recognising how important it is for them to be doing a good job.
Society needs talented fundraisers now more than ever. In the midst of the worst cost-of-living crisis for decades, fundraisers are continuing to inspire support from the public, companies, and others to help our communities and make sure charitable services can continue. So if you were thinking of becoming a fundraiser, now is the time to dive in!
As well as being incredibly rewarding, a role in fundraising can lead to a career where you can thrive and achieve what you need and want from your working life. I’d definitely recommend you taking a look at some of the incredible stories from people who work in fundraising and find out more about they do and what motivates them.
Aside from knowing you’ve chosen a career which will touch the hearts and lives of millions, fundraising can offer a progressive career path, be well-paid and open up exciting doors to experiences and adventures other business sectors can only dream of. Your job can range from working with your local community to inspire people to come together and to put on events, making connections with top 100 FTSE companies and high net-worth individuals, trialling the latest digital innovations and social media tools, or managing a team of hundreds or thousands of fundraisers.
Whether you’ve been in the charity sector for some time and are thinking of making the move into a fundraising role, or are at the start of your career journey and wondering where to dip your toe in, there are many opportunities to learn and upskill that can help you develop your fundraising career as far as you want it to go, whether that’s working for a particular cause, or specialising in a specific field of fundraising.
If you are already ready to start searching for your first fundraising job, check out some of the roles and vacancies on one of the specialist charity job sites that are advertised on sites such as CharityJob, our jobs partner. And one of the exciting new developments in fundraising is the opportunity to start in fundraising as an apprentice which offers an alternative route into your first job. Recent initiatives have brought transparency in salaries and improved recruitment processes as well as making the sector more equitable, diverse, inclusive and accessible for all.
Once you are in your first fundraising role, you’ll see that it is one of the most generous sectors there is when it comes to knowledge-sharing and support from your colleagues. There are mentoring schemes, volunteer groups you can get involved with, exchange experiences, shadowing, and a broad conference and networking circuit — there’s a huge range of supplementary learning opportunities out there.
Here at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, we also offer professional courses to help you develop your fundraising skills and career, from a foundation Certificate in Fundraising to the International Advanced Diploma in Fundraising.
Fundraisers can be proud of having a career that means so much to so many, while it offers a strong sense of friendship and community unrivalled in most other sectors.
There really is no better time to enter into, or flourish within, fundraising. I look forward to welcoming you into the best career there is!