Want to know the crucial features for fundraising success? In this article, we explore the most important traits that outstanding fundraising directors possess. From flawless integrity to being a long-term visionary, developing these crucial features can help any fundraising manager maximize donations and truly excel in their role. Read on to learn about the key characteristics that define highly successful fundraising.
Flawless integrity
To start, it is required for the prosperous fundraising manager to develop an awareness of likely ethical conflicts and dilemmas.
And, although integrity perhaps seems to be an innate trait, it should be developed by truly understanding ethics, morals and donors’ rights in the field you are operating.
When it comes to fundraising, you need to initially get familiar and support the “Standards of Professional Practice” and “AFP Code of Ethics” – the documents that will grant directions about what is moral and ethical in the field of fundraising.
Flexible and open to change
Every fundraising director who desires to be successful needs to go out, try new things, exchange ideas and be willing to change.
Remember, innovation is not just a new, state-of-the-art technology but also to constantly improve everything you do related to your organization.
According to Tony Elischer (101fundraising, a crowdblog on fundraising):
“One of my long term mantras has been to use windows, not mirrors, a simple way of reminding myself that truly to move forward, be in line with the market place and to have any hope of innovating, you have to focus on the outside world and not the internal world of an organisation.”
Good listener
Once you dive into the fundraising ocean, you would realize that active listening is vital for long-term relationship building.
Cultivating the ability to listen for potential investors’ interests is important. Understanding their interests is even more important than explaining your project’s concept effectively.
As Professor Adrian Sargeant states:
“The next big thing in fundraising is thinking about how we make our donors feel when we communicate with them. The goal is not money: the goal is being respectful and developing relationships. Money follows.”
Great storyteller
At the end of the day, a great idea actively supports your project but could fail funding unless told accurately.
So being a successful fundraising manager includes the trait of being a great storyteller who keeps it simple and doesn’t share everything at once.
Besides, actively listening to investors helps fundraising directors know which stories resonate and which work best for each purpose.
Long-term visionary
Lastly, having a clear long-term vision is crucial. A vision shows what the organization aims to achieve.
There may be unexpected changes. However, staying in control is easier with a deep-rooted vision. Communicating the vision to the team prevents putting out fires without progress. Instead of constantly plugging leaks, build a shared direction.
To wrap it up, there is no single trait which is most important when it comes to the success of a fundraising director. The secret is to do everything mentioned above at the same time mixed with your unique super-powers (skills).
At AFS, we are passionate about fostering innovation and empowering ambitious minds to flourish. Our mission is to provide best-in-class financial services for traditional and crypto deals, exploit European grants, and use quantitative methods to improve clients’ performance. We aim to help our customers unlock their full business potential.
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