Tony Poderis (http://www.raise-funds.com/) gives the following advice:
I regularly hear from individuals who have little, or no, non-profit fund-raising management experience who ask --- "How do I get to be a fund-raising consultant?" Another such question came my way yesterday. Those asking have never designed, produced, and managed a fund-raising campaign. Now, those of us in the "business" long enough to be in position to employ our experience and knowledge to be fund-raising consultants, do not regard the profession as being exclusive to us --- or that we are somehow specially "anointed" by the fund-raising "gods" to be consultants. On the contrary. We know from enough hard-earned experience what it takes to provide sound and reliable counsel to non-profits unable to fathom how to face the hard and frustrating work of recruiting volunteers, identifying prospects, managing campaigns, and asking for money. Without that experience, no one should expect to be hired as a fund-raising consultant, regardless the books and articles they read or the number of seminars they attend. There is much more to the profession than "going by the book" and "wanting to be a consultant." Clients will look to consultants to the full extent that they will provide to the organization the detailed plans and the tools necessary for the organization to do its job and raise the money it needs. This is one profession where the professional cannot say to a client, "I don't know." And certainly not ask, "What do we do next?" Knowledge and experience must be possessed by a consultant when all heads are turned and all eyes are focused on the consultant at the other end of the table during a campaign progress meeting and that consultant is expected to answer any question. But knowledge and experience will be of little use without the consultant's wisdom --- the instinct to know, in ever-changing circumstances, what to do and when to do it, while at the same time possessing a highly positive temperament, and having the "chemistry" to make it all work. A fund-raising development consultant must be ready with answers to the inevitable questions coming from clients such as:
-
Why isn't the money coming in? Why is it not coming in faster?
-
What do we do now that the campaign Chair has resigned?
-
Why isn't the solicitation committee doing its job?
-
What do we do now that our biggest and most promising prospect has said "no?"
-
Should we call off the campaign for now until the economy gets better?
-
Do you think we should lower the goal since it seems we can't reach it?
-
I know we still need a million dollars to reach our goal, but shouldn't we take our campaign now to the general community and ask for their $50 and $100 gifts? (Try to convince the campaign chair that even if you focus on asking for gifts of $1,000 that you will need 1,000 of those!)
-
What do we do since our own Trustees are not giving at the rate we had counted on?
-
You are a consultant, supposed to be experienced in fund-raising. Since we are not as experienced in asking for the money as you, and with our campaign lagging behind, why can't you make some solicitation calls for us?
-
What are we paying you for anyway?
And so they go, on and on. Would you be able to answer those questions satisfactorily? So, if you want to be a fund-raising consultant, and before you take the plunge, make certain that you have more than adequate experience and that you possess superior judgment --- and that more often than not, "luck" seems to favor you. It's a most rewarding and fulfilling --- but definitely a precarious --- profession. It's not for everyone. I've got a few articles on my website which might work well with your non-profit fund-raising consultant career development. They are as follows:
Best wishes for many, good, and paying --- especially paying on time --- clients. Tony Poderis
