Jory Barad mentioned on my blog that there’s a perception that many fundraisers are job-hoppers.
Let me clarify: It’s not a perception.
Unfortunately, many in this industry are job hoppers. Why? Because truth be told, fundraising takes hard work and commitment, and many who land in fundraising tend to focus more on transactional duties than on doing their real job: calling and meeting with donors, thanking them, and identifying and meeting with prospects.
Examples of transactional duties? Cleaning up their database, holding endless meetings with colleagues, learning gift acceptance policies, reviewing their ethics column … and then come the coffee breaks.
But there is a way out.
I see day in and day out that those who even only dabble in planned giving tend to have more stable jobs, earn higher pay, and hold down a position longer than those who “think and eat” only annual and major gifts. And for the most part, the planned giving industry is composed of more mature fundraisers. Although I am not necessarily referring to age, this industry is one of the few that does [naturally] discriminate against the young!
Bottom line? Grow up and get into planned giving. You’ll go from job-hopping to career building — and make a difference along the way.
