Highlights from the Survey of Canadian Fundraising Professionals
August 18, 2003
By Nicole Zummach
It's a fact that very few nonprofits in Canada can survive these days
without getting involved in fundraising. Government funding is, more
and more, becoming a thing of the past and fundraising professionals
are stepping up to the plate, working to maintain revenue streams for
the nonprofits they represent. However, little is known about the characteristics
of these individuals or the challenges they face. The Association
of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Canadian Policy Research
Networks (CPRN) are looking to change that with the first comprehensive
survey of the fundraising profession in Canada.
A Portrait of Canadian Fundraising Professionals, by Kathryn
McMullen, examines issues such as job satisfaction, workload, and
benefits, as well as the challenges fundraisers face in the current
environment. While it is important to note that the survey sample consisted
exclusively of fundraisers who were members of professional associations,
it does shed considerable light on the working conditions, attitudes,
and career paths of people in the profession. In the end, it is as much
a portrait of the nonprofit sector as it is that of fundraising professionals.
Who is the typical Canadian fundraiser?
Much like the nonprofit sector in general, 70% of respondents to the
AFP/CPRN Survey of Fundraisers were women, and almost one-third were
over the age of 50. Seventy percent of respondents also hold a university
degree and 24% have a graduate or professional degree. These high levels
of educational attainment are well beyond those of the Canadian labour
force as a whole, where the levels are 13.9% and 9.2%, respectively. More than half of survey respondents (56.6%) have no children, and only 5% consider themselves a visible minority or Aboriginal.
Overall, Canadian fundraisers are an experienced group, with 40% having
more than 10 years experience in the field. However, because fundraising
is becoming a rapidly growing segment of the labour market, 29% of respondents
have less than five years experience as fundraisers.
Who is employing fundraising professionals?
Approximately one-third of survey respondents (34.5%) work for a foundation
affiliated with a hospital, university, or other institution - primarily
in either healthcare (61%) or education (27%). The other two-thirds
of respondents work in organizations that are not foundations, comprising
a variety of subsectors, including health, education, social services,
arts, culture and humanities, and consulting. Most work in establishments
with fewer than 10 paid staff (37%), and almost 60% work with fewer
than 25 paid staff. Only 17.8% of respondents work in establishments
that employ more than 100 people.
Most professional fundraisers are employed by organizations that have
been operating for 10 years or more, and about half are with organizations
more than 25 years old. Only 15% of respondents work for organizations
that were created within the last decade. Interestingly, about 25% of
respondents said their employer had been involved in fundraising for
less than 10 years, despite the fact that most of the organizations
are considerably older than that.
The life of a fundraiser
Like much of the Canadian labour force, fundraising professionals tend
to put in long hours. Survey respondents reported working an average
of about 45 hours per week (including paid and unpaid overtime), and
36% reported working 50 or more hours per week. Working part-time is
fairly uncommon in the field, and even the majority of women with young
children reported working 40 or more hours per week (74%), with 29%
working more than 50 hours a week. As well, 40% of respondents report working in the evening at least once a week, and one-quarter regularly work on weekends.
In terms of compensation, numbers vary widely depending on the size
of an organization, the experience of the fundraiser, and the subsector
they work in. While some CEOs of large foundations earn $100,000 or
more per year, about one-third of CEOs earn no more than $60,000 annually,
and almost 25% of directors of development earn less than $50,000. Among
those working for organizations with revenues of less than $250,000,
more than one-third earn less than $40,000. Almost half of respondents
working for organizations in the social services and the arts, culture
and humanities subsectors report earnings of less than $50,000. Where
non-wage benefits are concerned, survey respondents are on par with
the Canadian average. About three-quarters have a pension plan or employer
contributions to an RRSP, and about 80% have supplemental health and
dental benefits.
Fundraising as part of the bigger organizational picture
Approximately half of survey respondents feel that board members have
realistic expectations of fundraising activities, though a substantial
number (30%) disagree with that statement. The data also suggests that
board members often do not play an active role in fundraising activities.
Only 37% feel that their board members are active in fundraising, compared
to 47% who do not feel they are active. Still, 42% of respondents feel they receive the support needed from their
boards of directors in order to do their jobs well.
Overall, 44% of fundraisers reported that fundraising activities were
very well integrated with other functional areas of their organization,
while 20% said there was little integration. Forty-eight percent said
they had an influence on fundraising policies within their organizations,
and 55% reported that they have influence over the types of fundraising
activities undertaken by their organizations. In general, attitudes
about and commitment to the organization were high, with more than 90%
of respondents agreeing that they cared about the fate of the organization,
were proud of it, and were committed to it, and to their job.
Moving forward
It is clear that Canadian fundraising professionals are not only vital
to the sector, but are also facing some challenging times as demographics
and expectations shift. In light of the survey findings, several recommendations
have been made to help the profession address these challenges as it
moves forward.
Among the report's recommendations:
- Professional organizations, like the AFP, should further expand their outreach and education
programs to reach paid fundraisers in small organizations.
- Professional organizations should develop training packages especially for the needs of new
entrants to the field at a reasonable cost.
- Special outreach and education programs should be developed for boards of directors to
allow them to more effectively support the fundraising process.
- Employers should undertake reviews to ensure competitive pay and benefits.
- Employers should address intrinsic job conditions like flexible working conditions,
communications, good working relationships, fairness and respect and opportunities for
professional training.
- A human resources sector council should be created for the nonprofit sector
to address collective challenges.
To download a copy of the full report, visit www.cprn.org/en/doc.cfm?doc=347.
