Grant Alert!

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Looking for a Fundraiser or to go into Fundraising?

 If you’re a fundraiser today, and you have a proven track record of great successes your in high demand.  If you’re a ministry in search of an excellent fundraiser…good luck.  So is everyone else. Here are the facts:

• The quality in the pool of excellent fundraisers is very small. Ask any organization looking for an experienced proven fundraiser and they will tell you they get hundreds of responses but only a very few good ones. 
• Large organizations are finding it more feasible to outsource main pieces of their fundraising because of the shortage of excellent fundraisers.  The two main areas where out sourcing is happening is in grant writing and special events.
• Small organizations (less than $5 million budgets) can’t afford to hire excellent fundraisers.  The cost to bring on a seasoned veteran with at least 6-10 years of experience can run anywhere between $60k - $120k a year plus benefits.  This all depends on the budget size of the organization.  Those agencies with budgets under $1 million dollars can generally only afford to pay between $30k - $50k plus benefits.  This will not get the agency a proven fundraiser but usually someone who is new to the field or someone who has about 2-3 years worth of experience.  These agencies also are finding it more economical to outsource their fundraising. 

Here are some findings about who is getting hired in the fundraising field…

• 41% of those hired over the last 2 years filled new development positions. Other hires were to fill openings for existing positions created by resignations (39%) and termination (14%).

• The fundraising experience that was sought most in these new hires was major gifts (35%) followed by events/annual fund (20%) and corporate/foundations relations(16%).

• Most of the new hires were junior level professionals, 41% (3-5 years experience) and entry level, 30% (under 3 years experience).

• Development professionals (fundraisers) are staying in their organizations longer. Development staff typically stays with their organization 5-6 years (19%), 3-4 years (52%), 1-2 years (16%). That is considerably longer than just a few years ago where the average fundraiser changed their job every 18 months. Ironically, this is the same amount of time the average youth worker in a church stays on their job. 

• Nearly half (46%) of the professionals who left development positions did so for quality of life reasons such as seeking part-time work options, family relocation, leaving the work force, or for continuing education/graduate school.

So if you’re looking to pursue a career in fundraising the road is a hard one.  But like anything else, if you commit yourself to being the best you can be the options are wide open for you.  But you have to “pay your dues” first.  Fundraising is more than selling candy bars.  Fundraising is grant writing, appeal letters, planned giving (bequests, annuities, etc...) special events, interacting with major donors, capital campaigns, and most importantly leadership.

If your looking for a excellent fundraiser for your organization I would encourage you to consider the idea of out-sourcing or consulting with an individual(s) to do your fundraising.  Generally you get a proven professional at less the cost than you could hire the person without having to pay all the benefits. It could be a win-win for all involved.  

Special News!

Currently at Christiangrants.com we are in the process of adding a Message Board to our site.  The purpose of the Message Board will be to allow you to network with your colleagues and fellow Christians around the country on fundraising issues.  We believe this will be very helpful to you as you use the experience of each other as a resource to further your ministries. The board will allow you to post any fundraising questions out to ministries across the country. Consider it a free on-line resource to make your ministry the best it can be for the Glory of God.  At Christiangrants.com our mission is to assist you in your fundraising efforts. The Message Board is just another way we are seeking to assist you in your efforts and help you be as effective as you can be.  The Board will be up and running in September so check back often at Christiangrants.com to post your questions and to help others get answers to their questions.  We need each other to be effective. 

We encourage you also to visit our site and see why Christiangrants.com is your best source for finding Foundations that support your ministry. If you have not recently placed an order for the “Directory of Foundations Supporting Christian Organizations” now is an excellent time to do that.  We encourage ministries to order at least once a year to stay current with new foundations.  For new ministries that have never ordered their copy or ministries that haven’t ordered in at least a year now is the best time to place your order. The directory was just updated on August 1^st with some new foundations and current information.  One new foundation listed in the directory is the National Christian Foundation.  The foundation gave out over $100 million dollars in grants in 2002 and made over 1,600 grants in the first half of 2002.  You can go to www.nationalchristian.com for further information.  God Bless you as you seek funding for His ministries. 

Timothy M. Boling

Timothy Boling

CEO

Christiangrants.com

To read past Grant Alerts or to order your copy of the “Directory of Foundations Supporting Christian Organizations” go to www.christiangrants.com.

Issue:  August 2003

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