Picture a typical day at work. You open your laptop, reply to last night’s emails and flag new donations for follow-up. You shift focus to meet with a colleague about their program’s funding shortfall then move right into another meeting about an upcoming fundraiser. You quickly pivot to replying to potential sponsor inquiries that have come in before a notification reminds you that you’re meeting with a potential volunteer in 10 minutes. Yes, you manage your organization’s volunteers too. It’s not even lunchtime and you’ve already worn many different hats. This is life for many fundraisers.
According to Imagine Canada, 90 percent of Canadian charities have ten or fewer employees. Many fundraisers work in these organizations, some alone and some as part of a small team, and they’re responsible for other things too.
I’ve worked as a solo frontline fundraiser and led small teams, always responsible for fundraising and other areas too. As a consultant, I work with several smaller charities in the same position. I know first-hand not just the challenges that come with these roles, but the opportunities and benefits they provide. I’ve shared these learnings through presentations at conferences in Canada and the United States, and I’m highlighting some of the most important learnings here. This is meant to help you not just in your day-to-day but to think about how to make the most of it for developing your skills and advancing your career.
Be Open to Learning
In a small team, you’re a generalist no matter what your job description says. You don’t just learn database management or stewardship or how to write an appeal, you learn and do all of them. If a new project comes up, it probably falls to you instead of a new hire. You become adaptable, and this comes in handy throughout your career. If your organization pivots, you probably have some experience doing the new thing. You also learn what you like doing – and just as important – what you don’t. If you’re early in your career, this is important to know as you think about your next step.
Prioritize and Advocate
Capacity is a challenge for every organization, and you feel it strongly within a small team. Everyone is stretched thin and any new project adds to that. Be ruthless about prioritizing and making the most of what resources you have. This means being clear about who your audience is and not wasting time or energy on unlikely prospects.
You also need to advocate for your work. Fundraising can be seen as a nice-to-do, not a need to do. You may have board members who come from a different fundraising environment like a university and have unrealistic expectations for what you can do. You learn how to advocate for yourself and your work. This helps you sharpen your message as a fundraiser and improve your communication skills.
Find Help and Save Time
You may not have funding for a full-time role, but you can make the case for a fractional or part-time role to assist you. Enlist your colleagues and board members to help with stewardship and storytelling. In my experience, board members love writing thank you notes.
Look outside your organization for career support. Find peers and a mentor, through fundraising groups such as the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Many chapters offer a formal mentorship program.
There are resources you can borrow from instead of starting from scratch. AFP has templates for fundraising policies. Many companies offer free templates for appeals and giving programs and free webinars. Take advantage of them.
Automation is your friend. Your CRM should be doing as much as it can, and if you don’t have one, make it your top priority. If you have one that’s taking more work than you can manage, look at switching to a simpler one that automates most transactions and tasks. Every month there are new AI tools that can help you automate too.
Think Small Actions
Find ways to fit simple tasks and small actions into your day so you don’t postpone them. If you set aside five minutes a day after lunch to contact one donor before you dive into your next task, that adds up to about 200 touch points that might have slipped through the cracks.
Many Hats, Many Opportunities
While it often felt chaotic, I loved working in small teams. I got to take on different projects, and with colleagues outside the team next door, I got to see the impact they made every day.
If you’re in a role like this, I hope you make the most of it too and know that even on days that feel overwhelming you are in fact making a difference.
Alex Abboud, Principal, Works Progress Strategy. Alex is the Principal of Works Progress Strategy, a firm that helps purpose-driven organizations advance their mission through effective fundraising, marketing, and strategic positioning. His experience in the non-profit sector includes leadership roles at Homeward Trust Edmonton and the Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region, where he led the fundraising and communications teams for both organizations. Alex holds a master’s degree with a specialization in marketing from the University of Glasgow, where his dissertation focused on cause marketing and corporate social responsibility’s impact on consumer behaviour amongst Millennials. For more than 15 years, Alex has been a leader in the fields of communications, fundraising, and strategy. Alex is also an experience board member, having served as Chair of the Edmonton Heritage Council, Vice-President of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and on the boards of charities including Health Nexus and the Friends of Jasper National Park.
