Turnover intention and job tenure of US fundraisers

Abstract

Fundraisers secure financial resources that organizations need to achieve their missions. Raising money, particularly large gifts, can follow years of relationship building with individual donors. When fundraisers leave these efforts can be set back substantially, making fundraiser turnover particularly worrisome and worthy of exploration. This analysis addressed the issue with US survey data (n = 1663) and examinination of three research questions. What are the job tenure and intent to leave of fundraisers? How is fundraiser job tenure affected by intent to leave? What relationships do job tenure and intent to leave have with fundraisers' individual demographics, position attributes, and organizational characteristics? We found that the study participants had current mean job tenures of 3.6 years (median = 2 years) and mean tenures across their fundraising jobs of 3.9 years (median = 3 years). Twenty percent intended to leave their organization and 7% intended to leave fundraising within the next year. Of the tested variables, salary consistently had the largest effects and was the most significant. Older and more experienced fundraisers had longer tenures. The study provides nuanced information about fundraisers' jobrelated behaviors, includes careful attention to theory and related research, and presents specific ideas for organizational interventions for increasing fundraiser tenure.

Exploring fundraising executives' careers in arts and culture: The role of tenure and career switching

“…Limited attention has been given to the effects of education level on job tenure and turnover intention in the fundraising context (Shaker et al, 2022). This could be due to the fact that fundraising skills are often developed in the field through professional development training programs (Haggerty, 2015).…”

“…Meanwhile, Shaker et al (2022) found that more experienced employees tend to be more risk‐averse and may be more adapted to the culture of their organization; as a result, they are reluctant to switch jobs. This finding led to the development of the next part of H3:H3b More experience within a sector reduces the likelihood of job switching.…”

“…This study also provides arts managers with some criteria to guide decision‐making related to hiring and selection processes. In particular, this is one of the few studies that narrow the scope of non‐profit fundraising executive career research (e.g., Haggerty, 2015; Norris‐Tirrell et al, 2018; Shaker et al, 2022) to exclusively focus on the arts and culture sector.…”

“…Fundraisers play a crucial role in helping arts and culture organizations obtain the financial resources they need to carry out their missions and support their causes (Van Steenburg et al, 2022). Efficient fundraising often develops after years of cultivating relationships with specific donors, especially for substantial gifts (Shaker et al, 2022). This makes fundraiser turnover particularly concerning, warranting an in‐depth investigation because it can seriously hinder these efforts (Shaker et al, 2022).…”

“…Although a considerable amount of research has been conducted on the need for effective non‐profit leadership and management (e.g., Rentschler, 2002; Rentschler & Geursen, 2004), not as much attention has been devoted to fundraising career paths and trajectories, particularly to the antecedents of tenure and turnover intention (Shaker et al, 2022). Therefore, it is especially important to examine the motivating factors of fundraisers within the arts and culture sector because fundraising has only recently started to be recognized as separate from other organizational activities, and there is a dearth of research in this specific domain (Herrero & Kraemer, 2020).…”