What Fund Raisers Are Supposed To Do

To the Editor:

Several articles in the April 6 issue of The Chronicle caught my attention, especially “Finding the Right Fund Raiser.” The two questions that jumped out of those articles were:

* What are the qualifications for a fund raiser?

* What are the qualifications for an executive-search firm that finds fund raisers?

After 49 years as a professional fund raiser, I never cease to be amazed when I read Chronicle advertisements for fund raisers in which so much emphasis is placed on the computer knowledge of the prospective applicant when, in fact, people skills constitute the core make-up of the successful development officer. I get the eerie feeling as I read the ads regurgitated time after time that either there are no legitimate prospects out there or the non-profit organization does not have the slightest clue as to what it is looking for in the first place. I suspect in reality it is a little bit of both since a good fund raiser is a complex person who must possess myriad skills.

The simple reality is that too many non-profits do not have the slightest concept as to what a development office is all about. They just have one because other groups do. They hire someone at the lowest possible salary and then wonder why the results are not forthcoming. They fail to realize that a fund-raising program is a profit center that not only raises the funds but pays for itself.

With this double-barreled combination, is it any wonder that so many non-profits do not know how to frame the kind of advertisement that will catch the attention of the person they need when they are oblivious to the qualifications required in the first place?

Since they do not get the response sought, they call upon an executive-search firm to find the person they wish to fill their position. They do not adequately communicate their needs, so the search firm operates under a severe handicap. It is further complicated if the person at the executive-search firm has little or no knowledge about fund raising. The result is usually disastrous and, too often, the non-profit is compelled to start the process all over again at great expense and inconvenience.

One way to avoid all those problems is to give serious consideration to the proper training of those who wish to call themselves “fund-raising professionals.” It involves more than attendance at an occasional seminar or annual conferences. They don’t train lawyers, doctors, or accountants that way. Fund raising deserves more than what it is getting, especially since federal and state governments are downsizing and making the needy more dependent on non-profit organizations. It is time for all of us who are concerned about philanthropy and who realize what it means to the future or our nation to become citizen voices for training programs and back-up programs that will enable fund raisers to truly carry with distinction the title: professional.

Francis P. Havey
President
Havey Fund-Raising Management
Milwaukee