Graduate Fundraiser

This might be too late as the decision may already have been made, but it sounds like your SMT are coming at it from the wrong end. Instead of looking at what person you want - depending on what you can afford! Your SMT needs to look at what they want to achieve - then what resources are needed to achieve it. Only then does the issue of salary make sense...
Or to put it another way I wouldn't pay someone £20K to raise £30K because once I've payed the oncosts it hasn't achieved anything. But if someone if going to raise £100K and they want an extra £2k I really wouldn't argue. However the cautionary note is that the SMT need to know that the job is realistic, you need to know that the potential donations and grants are available to a skilled fundraiser, not that the gap in the budget is X so lets get a fundraiser in to make the budget balance!

Hi all,
thank you guys so much for taking the time to help me out. This has been really useful and I will relay some of it to the SMT in the hope of making this recruitment work for all.

You are right in that there is no reason why it has to be a graduate and as some have mentioned, the salary (although I didnt realise it before now) seems acceptable to a candidate with some experience.

Once again,

Thanks :)

Hi,

I agree with Martin, part-time could be a good option. I've seen lots of women returning from maternity leave who want to go down to part-time hours but still have a fantastic amount of experience which means 2-3 days a week of that time could be really valuable.

Also, don't ignore the possibility that someone might be looking for a career change and will be willing to take the hit on their salary in exchange for a role that will give them a thorough grounding in fundraising and a training and development plan.

In terms of the commission it's clear that it wasn't your idea and it just feels wrong somehow. If this person won't actually be doing the 'asks' then how can commission be apportioned? If the Director doesn't perform then it affects someone elses salary, which just seems like a recipe for discontent further down the line. One piece of ammo you could use is while the IOF doesn't rule it out I thought they had advised against this practise (I could be wrong you might want to check their site).

Good luck

Rachel

Not sure why you mention graduate still.

Fundraising jobs I've seen range from £14K a year to 24k (at least in my area and my level of experience).
Thats full time equivilants. A number of local fundraisers I've met work part-time, so some salaries probably £7k+ range

Might be worth suggesting, if offering low pay, a brand new fundraiser. Or if decent pay, an experienced fundraiser with a track record.

Can't see how a graduate directly makes a difference to the job. But then again, I'm no graduate myself.

The job description for my job is written in such a way as certain things are pushed, certain competencies are listed and company focus is mentioned.
But written in such a way that a school drop-out or university professor has an equal chance if they meet requirements.

Ideally you want the best person for the role, taking account of team already in place, budget, planning and so on.
Might end up being a graduate. Might end up being a 85 year old with no qualifications. :)

Sorry if i am being unclear,perhaps it is because i was only privvy to this info last friday. Being the sole fundraiser here, i have had so much on that when my SMT suggested another person to take some of the weight off my shoulders, i automatically jumped at the opportunity.

I was given only an idea of this presons role and have been asked to feedback on the JD which is why I am asking everyone here for their advise. The graduate option was suggested because of the salary band i'm guessing. I will express my reservations on the commmission issue but it will possibly go ahead anyway with the view to review.

The role will invlove a lot of research and making contacts, however, the direct major donor contact will mainly be done by our Director of that particluar project. He is in a far more senior position and this will ensure that a long term relationship is being developed.

I would love to hear what other options there are without the salary costs going up??

[quote]I for one wouldnt take a job that was commission based but I wonder what the consensus is on this with new graduates??[/quote]
I agree with what Rachel's said about commission, but this part puzzles me too: you're going for fundraisers, but are aiming to recruit new graduates rather than people with some paid fundraising experience? You also say that they'll be engaging donors, but you'll be doing the relationship building: I'm more than a little unclear on who's going to be doing what. If you're asking major donors for money, then it's the person with the best relationship that should usually ask - at the moment that sounds like you!

Hi Rachel,

Thanks for your reply.

I completely agree with what you have said about commission based salaries.

The main role of the post we are recruiting for will be to engage major donors for a capital appeal..the underlying relationship building part of it is carried out by myself.

I for one wouldnt take a job that was commission based but I wonder what the consensus is on this with new graduates?? The fairness or lack of it, is unfortunately not for me to say.

Regardless of what i think, this will probably go ahead and I would like to get the best out of it, for the organisation as well as for the appointed person.

Hi Husne,

You've uttered the dreaded word "commission". There are endless debates about paying commission to fundraisers on this board alone and while there are no rules against it the general consensus is that it is best avoided.

If you do pay a fundraiser on a commission basis you will have to declare this in any applications made to foundations or trusts etc. Some may not have a problem with this but others expressly state in their criteria that any grants must not be spent on commission payments.

On a personal note I also feel that in the charity sector these payments don't actually achieve anything. Commission payments encourage a 'here and now' attitude and will ensure you fundraiser is motivated to look for the easy wins, which are generally short-term and unsustainable. If you're building a relationship with a large corporate or a charitable foundation they look for suatainable business practices that will ensure they're making a sound investment. The relationship building process can take months, and it could be 18 months before you see a return on your invetsment. No commissioned worker will work towards that if the have monthly targets to hit.

In addition, fundraising is a risky business. It's not like sales where a certain amount of hustle can carry a weak product, convincing people to give to your cause can be dependant on so many factors; corporate giving policies, performance of the stock market, existing committments of trusts & foundations and publicity surrounding an emerging crisis (eg. tsunami, Darfur, Pakinstan earthquake, Live 8, Comic Relief), that it just wouldn't be fair to tie a graduates salary to such a risky and variable outcome.

Thanks

Rachel Thomas