5 Types of People Who Need Nonprofit Fundraising Training

Matt Hugg • Jun 07, 2021

“The only way to learn fundraising is to just do it!” he declared with hubris. “Either you got it, or you don’t.”


Given where I was—at a college—and who he was—the college president—I was pretty

surprised to hear that declaration. After all, our mission was all about teaching. Yet across the table was an educational leader who denied that teaching could have any impact.


Well, he was wrong.


It was the late 1980s and I was signing up for the first class in the first master’s program in philanthropy and development in the country, at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. Up until then, some universities ventured into certificates, but there was nothing with real academic rigor. Most training in the field was from professional associations like

CASE and AFP, and they were based more on people passing experience and random successes on to each other than any kind of science.


Not much had really changed since Harold Seymour wrote “Designs for Fundraising” in 1966. It would be another few years before Prince and File would publish their groundbreaking study on wealth and giving, “The Seven Faces of Philanthropy,” in 1994 and decades before research collections like “The Science of Giving” were published in 2015. For most people, fundraising was a sink or swim situation.


But even then, training in fundraising could be effective and based on sound principles. Today? Even more so.


In fact, with the availability of constantly improving training methods and opportunities, the change in technologies and the updates in science, and the pressures on nonprofits for revenue, “the only way to learn is to do it!” just doesn’t wash. Everyone touching a nonprofit must get some level of fundraising education. It isn’t just a matter of best practices, but a matter of survival.


But who exactly needs this type of strategic fundraising education? Let’s start with the roles that will require the most training and go outward.


1. Fundraisers and development professionals


Whether it’s an all-volunteer cadre, a single person shop, or a development juggernaut of hundreds, the people who have primary responsibility for fundraising must have a thorough and ongoing education in the field.


This part might seem self-explanatory. The question, now, is in what.


An effective fundraising strategy isn’t just asking the rich community do-gooder for their pittance. If we’re just talking about methods, there’s major gifts, bequests and trusts, corporate relations, grant proposals, direct mail, social media, virtual and in-person events, crowdfunding, and much more. Then there’s back-office work, including gifts processing, prospect research, and record keeping—and the computer skills to support it all.


Every fundraiser needs an education in the basic principles that apply to all fundraising efforts as well as an overview of the possible tools they could use. Then, they need to focus on the specific ways your nonprofit has decided to raise money. Perhaps

you rely on events, direct response (mail, email and social media) and grant proposals? That’s where they must become experts.


Continuing education is not an option for this group. We’re talking about a well-planned, results-oriented training program that addresses the funding of your nonprofit’s mission—much of it online. Your fundraisers need to be in a position if not to train, then recommend effective training to the rest of your nonprofit staff and volunteers.


2. Support staff


This might seem to be an odd choice for the next second-highest priority staff members. Not when you consider that on a daily basis, they have more contact with clients and donors than almost everyone else, including your fundraisers. They’re the gatekeepers and the data-keepers and control, prompt, or otherwise facilitate follow-

through on appointments and promises.


If the support staff, including accounting professionals, facilities managers, and computer technicians don’t have the right context for your fundraising efforts, a lot could go wrong. Consider this: who is responsible for whether a grant proposal gets out via priority mail today or regular mail tomorrow? The minimum wage mail clerk!


So, do they get the full fundraising education? No—not unless they really want to. Support staff need some of the basics of fundraising, in addition to specific training on the highlights of methods you use. This training even extends to the staff in your program areas and back-office administration.


What is tremendously important is that they receive ongoing communication about the fundraising programs in process. You don’t want the person answering your phones not to have the details of the next fundraising event! Similarly, the gifts processor needs to be ready to plan for an influx of direct mail responses from your upcoming mailing campaign.


3. Nonprofit leadership


Unfortunately, too many nonprofit leaders say that they already know how to fundraise when they don’t. Either they think they know, or they’re not comfortable with what they’ll be asked to do, or they’re too embarrassed to admit that they don’t know (especially when they told the search committee when they were hired that they can raise money!). For those people, suggest that they need to share a baseline with their “less-informed” peers so they can offer input into the big decisions they’ll all face.


It is essential that all nonprofit leadership get the full basics of fundraising training. As leaders, they need to see the whole picture of what’s possible so they can make informed decisions and best set their teams up for success.


After that, those who are not directly involved with fundraising—like your CFO, CTO, and program heads—need overview education on the specific methods you use. The chief executive and your chief operating officer need a much deeper dive into your preferred methods, as well as the back-office operations. Getting a comprehensive view of your nonprofit’s fundraising will make them more effective with donors and increase their ability to work with fundraising staff.


4. Volunteers


Volunteers could possibly be the most difficult people to train in fundraising. For the same reasons as leadership staff, many are just reluctant. Then there’s the time involved in strategic training. Plus, a lot will argue that they came here because they love the program, not to raise money.


Well, the hard fact is that without the money, there would be no program. Besides, most volunteers will do “indirect” fundraising by supporting your mission, if not asking for funds.


Your board needs to be top on your list for basic and ongoing fundraising training and

awareness. As board members, they have a fiduciary responsibility for the organization.

Besides making their own gifts, they must know and actively support the other revenue-generating activities, like fundraising.


For the average board member, their level of training should at least parallel the training you’re giving your support staff. They need to be aware of fundraising opportunities and be able to answer general questions when needed. It also helps to have an ongoing “fundraising minute” training at each board meeting that either highlights a new program or digs deeper into an established fundraising method.


Your board chair and your fundraising committee should get higher level training, parallel that of your staff leadership. As decision makers about fundraising, they must know the overall fundraising context behind your plans, as well as the extent of those plans within your nonprofit. Plus, they need expertise in any specific fundraising methods in which they will participate.


Program and administrative volunteers aren’t off the hook, either. They represent your nonprofit in the community, so when fundraising comes up, you want their enthusiastic support. Their training doesn’t need to be quite as in depth as other volunteers, but they should have the information to answer basic questions (like, “why do you need all that money?” or “can’t you just use volunteers for everything?”) as they function as ambassadors for your organization.


5. Program staff


Just like your program and administrative volunteers, program staff need to know enough to support your fundraising efforts in the community and among their colleagues. Perhaps more important, there will be times that you’ll call on them for constituent success stories to share with supporters.


Too many times program staff are reluctant to do these important functions because they don’t understand the context or are not comfortable with the reasons you’re asking. Some might even claim it's unethical for them to know anything about fundraising. Your job is to meet their concerns and fear before you need them to help. A panicked phone call from a fundraising staff member about a quote they need for a grant proposal that’s due tomorrow is the worst-case scenario for the non-fundraising-

educated program officer getting the call, and the fundraiser making it.


The ironic thing is that the aforementioned college president would probably agree with everything above. He saw the value of a fundraising-educated board and volunteers. More than once, he was frustrated by faculty and staff’s lack of education on their role in fundraising. He wanted his staff to understand development concepts, and he even had to do damage control when an untrained switchboard operator said the wrong thing to a major donor.

 

What he didn’t see, or really envision, was how much fundraising would change for the next generation of fundraisers, staff, and volunteers. He didn’t see how it would be impossible to get on-the-job training with every new fundraising technology, or how ensuring your staff is “getting it” through education and training can accelerate a fundraising program much faster than discovering they “don’t” through trial and error.

 

So, good luck, and get training!


About the Author

Matt Hugg


Matt Hugg is an author and instructor in nonprofit management in the US and abroad. He is president and founder of Nonprofit.Courses, an on-demand, eLearning educational resource for nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers, with thousands of courses in nearly every aspect of nonprofit work. 


He’s the author of The Guide to Nonprofit Consulting, and Philanders Family Values, Fun Scenarios for Practical Fundraising Education for Boards, Staff and Volunteers, and a contributing author to The Healthcare Nonprofit: Keys to Effective Management.


Over his 30-year career, Hugg has held positions at the Boy Scouts of America, Lebanon Valley College, the University of Cincinnati, Ursinus College, and the University of the Arts. In these positions, Matt raised thousands of gifts from individuals, foundations, corporations and government entities, and worked with hundreds of volunteers on boards and fundraising committees, in addition to his

organizational leadership responsibilities.


Matt teaches fundraising, philanthropy, and marketing in graduate programs at Eastern University, the University of Pennsylvania, Juniata College and Thomas Edison State University via the web, and in-person in the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe, and is a popular conference speaker. He has a BS from Juniata College and an MA in Philanthropy and Development from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. Mr. Hugg has served on the board of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Nonprofit Career Network of Philadelphia and several nonprofits.



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