Top 5 Considerations Before you Make the Move

So the time has come for you to make the transition from the for-profit world into the charitable sector? Congratulations!  Before you take the plunge and whatever stage in the process you're at, here’s a "Top 5 Considerations" checklist for you to review. It draws on previous posts of my own, plus a variety of the conversations I’ve been having just in the last few weeks.

1. What’s your motivation? Are you trying to "fix" a charity or charities? Are you trying to "give back" from your years of for-profit expertise? If so you may find your reception is less warm than you hope. Charities of all kinds need your skills, but the cornerstone of success is passion, a passion for the cause and a genuine desire to support the Mission.
2. How big a paycheck do you need? Remember there’s a general correlation between the size of the charity and the size of the paycheque. So the larger Universities and Colleges, the Hospitals, and the bigger health charities (Heart, Cancer, etc.) generally have the capacity to pay more.
3. Does the charity speak your language? This is a little subtler, but organizations that already have some for-profit thinking in their "bloodstream" may be an easier place for you to initially make your transition. Is their CEO or Executive Director from the for-profit world? Do they have a social venture aspect like Habitat for Humanity? Do they have membership that requires business concepts in the same way as the YMCA’s Health and Fitness centres?
4. Have you lived some of the charitable life already? If you haven’t sat on a charitable Board, or volunteered for key events or committees over an extended period of time you’re likely not ready for the move. First, you’ll likely get asked about it in the interview process, and just as important it will give you a sense of whether you really want to move in this direction in the first place.
5. How’s your network? Not only will finding the right role be much easier if you know people in the charitable world and on charitable Boards, but being successful is much easier too if you have experienced resources to draw upon. In a way that that is quite different from most highly competitive for-profit sectors the ability to liaise, connect and even partner with "competitors" is important in the charitable world, and only going to get more so.

Good luck in the search and always remember you don’t have to work in a charity to make a difference FOR a charity!

Myth #1: Selling skills = Fundraising skills

My premise is simple: all fundraising is sales, but not all sales is fundraising.  Thus, it might be argued that salespeople considering a move into fundraising are a natural fit.  However, as the phrase above makes clear there is overlap, but the two functions are not the same thing.  I appreciate there may some who disagree, but as an old “sales guy” I really see this as a compliment to the highly skilled fundraisers that I’ve come to know.

Websters defines the verb to Sell as “to transfer (goods) to or render (services) for another in exchange for money”.  The distinction for fundraisers is that, excluding pure sponsorship deals, what is most often being sold is a feeling.  Why do most individuals give?  Whether from altruism, obligation or from guilt, in the end it’s all about the donor feeling better.  Having a positive effect through one’s gift and feeling good about it is the core motivator.

So fundraisers do sell. However, what they usually sell is intangible, and both the “pitch” and the relationship this requires is quite different from traditional sales.  I’ve spent many hours in training sessions that counseled  “needs based selling” based on understanding the buyer’s needs and motivations.  But in the end whether you’re selling a box of Tide or the services of a call centre, it’s still selling a thing.  Not a feeling.

Selling a feeling is a whole different world.  Salespeople moving into the fundraising world have lots of solid transferable skills to start, including solid communication skills and hopefully good listening skills in particular.  But this not-so-subtle distinction that you’re asking people to part with their after-tax dollars for a feeling requires a lot of adjusting for many salespeople.  It certainly did for me.

There was a time when relationship selling meant “I’ll just go put these new golf clubs in the trunk of your car”.  Those days are largely gone in the sales world.  But relationships are about the ONLY thing that matters in fundraising.  The relationship between the donor/prospect and the charity, the relationship between the donor/prospect and the fundraiser, and most importantly the relationship between the donor/prospect and the cause are where this comes into play.

I’ll close with this thought.  I know quite a few good salespeople who would make excellent fundraisers.  But virtually every fundraiser I know would make a simply outstanding salesperson.  And for the organizations that they serve and the causes that benefit from their exceptional talents lets all be thankful that this is where they choose to stay.