Understanding higher education fundraisers in the United States

Abstract

Funding information Lilly EndowmentSince their earliest days, the U.S. higher education institutions have relied on philanthropic support to achieve their missions. What began as incidental is now a highly organized process of fundraising that accounts for tens of billions of dollars annually. As institutions' desire for private support grows, so too does the demand for successful fundraising professionals. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative analysis, this survey-based study (n = 508) of U.S. higher education fundraising personnel provides new knowledge and grounds fundraisers' position in historical and contemporary literature about fundraisers and professionalism. The findings highlight notable generational, income, and gender differences within the higher education sector and between higher education and the greater profession. The analysis shows an established knowledge-base and set of learnable skills for higher education fundraisers-which are best applied when combined with particular personal attributes. Although the latter are critically important, without full and fair attention to the former, the occupation is unlikely to garner full professional status.This study highlights, the path forward highlights the complexity of contemporary fundraising, is a reminder that fundraising is relationship-and information-driven, and indicates that select, strategic efforts can further professionalize the field. In particular, fundraisers in the education sector may have special opportunities to advance the professionalization of their occupation.

How did we get here? The career paths of higher education fundraisers

“…As demonstrated above, most participants discussed their job learning as a constellation of factors—mentorship, on‐the‐job experience, shadowing—that were accumulated largely because of self‐determination. While the literature frames fundraiser preparation primarily in terms of self‐teaching (Breeze, ; Shaker & Nathan, ), participants rarely described it using those words, instead preferring the concept self‐motivating (or, in some cases, self‐directing/determining). This is an important distinction as these same concepts were frequently named by participants as critical to success in the fundraising profession.…”

“…In contrast, the "art" of fundraising (which has been the emphasis of much research on fundraising professionals) focuses on soft skills such as flexibility, curiosity, and tenacity (Breeze, 2017;Duronio & Tempel, 1996;Education Advisory Board, 2014;Meisenbach, 2008;Shaker & Nathan, 2017). There are two important caveats to the discussion of expertise development.…”

“…However, the role of higher education fundraisers has arguably become even more important due to reductions in public funding for the sector: although the education field receives substantial philanthropic support, increased public divestment from higher education institutions (Mitchell, Leachman, & Masterson, ) suggests a need to rely even more heavily on private philanthropy. In short, “as institutions' desire for private support grows, so too does the demand for successful fundraising professionals” (Shaker & Nathan, , p. 1).…”

“…Teachable or technical skills—including effective communication, marketing experience, and an understanding of laws or taxes related to philanthropy (Breeze, ; Duronio & Tempel, ; Shaker & Nathan, )—are thought to represent the “science” of fundraising. In contrast, the “art” of fundraising (which has been the emphasis of much research on fundraising professionals) focuses on soft skills such as flexibility, curiosity, and tenacity (Breeze, ; Duronio & Tempel, ; Education Advisory Board, ; Meisenbach, ; Shaker & Nathan, ). There are two important caveats to the discussion of expertise development.…”

“…Second, value congruence is perceived to create an environment of trust among colleagues due, in part, to arguments that trust is most likely to develop and be nurtured in environments where people share values (Cable & Edwards, ; Williams, ). While the researchers are unaware of existing work examining fundraisers' P‐O fit specifically from the perspective of interorganizational communication and trust, both strong communication skills and commitment to integrity have been identified as important characteristics of fundraisers (Breeze, ; Duronio & Tempel, ; Shaker & Nathan, ). Furthermore, the importance of intraorganizational trust and communication are likely heightened in fundraising environments such as higher education, where they must often navigate a complex bureaucracy with multiple players and stakeholders (Nehls, ; Tindall, ).…”