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Fundraising Managers

Fundraising Managers: Career Profile

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities to solicit and maintain funds for special projects or nonprofit organizations.

What Tasks Do Fundraising Managers Take On?

The day-to-day responsibilities of fundraising managers span:

  • Develop strategies to encourage new or increased contributions.
  • Manage fundraising budgets.
  • Develop fundraising activity plans that maximize participation or contributions and minimize costs.
  • Plan and direct special events for fundraising, such as silent auctions, dances, golf events, or walks.
  • Establish goals for soliciting funds, develop policies for collection and safeguarding of contributions, and coordinate disbursement of funds.
  • Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, government officials, and media representatives and use these relationships to develop new fundraising opportunities.
  • Compile or develop materials to submit to granting or other funding organizations.
  • Contact corporate representatives, government officials, or community leaders to increase awareness of organizational causes, activities, or needs.

Key Skills and Knowledge

Successful fundraising managers rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Most Important Skills

These are the skills that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Critical Thinking  4.1 / 5
0
5
Speaking  4.1 / 5
0
5
Persuasion  4.0 / 5
0
5
Social Perceptiveness  4.0 / 5
0
5
Active Listening  4.0 / 5
0
5
Reading Comprehension  3.9 / 5
0
5

Top Knowledge Areas

Administration and Management  4.3 / 5
0
5
Customer and Personal Service  4.2 / 5
0
5
Administrative  4.2 / 5
0
5
English Language  4.1 / 5
0
5
Sales and Marketing  3.8 / 5
0
5
Economics and Accounting  3.5 / 5
0
5

Types of Fundraising Managers Jobs

This career also goes by job titles like:

  • Account Manager
  • Account Supervisor
  • Advancement Director
  • Annual Giving Director
  • Campaign Manager
  • Canvass Director
  • Community Manager
  • Development Director

Job Outlook

There are roughly 344,254 fundraising managers working in the United States today. Employment is projected to decline by -1.0% over the projection horizon.

Forecasted number of jobs for Fundraising Managers

How Much Do Fundraising Managers Make?

Statistic Value
Annual median $90,350
Hourly median $43.44
10th percentile $56,372
25th percentile $73,361
75th percentile $107,339
90th percentile $124,328

Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.

Salary ranges for Fundraising Managers

How Much Do Fundraising Managers Make in Different U.S. States?

State Annual median salary
New York $166,420
Massachusetts $145,380
Rhode Island $139,140
New Jersey $137,440
District of Columbia $136,150
Washington $135,730
California $131,950
Indiana $131,010
Virginia $130,210
Vermont $129,770
Wisconsin $129,020
New Hampshire $128,810
Delaware $126,710
Maryland $126,130
Colorado $124,330
Minnesota $123,460
Maine $121,930
Connecticut $121,020
Florida $119,600
North Dakota $118,420
North Carolina $116,950
Kansas $114,090
Georgia $111,640
Kentucky $106,810
Michigan $106,780
Pennsylvania $104,400
Arizona $103,650
Montana $103,040
Illinois $101,000
Ohio $100,140
Oklahoma $99,990
Nevada $98,690
New Mexico $97,750
Oregon $97,240
Texas $96,720
Tennessee $95,980
Iowa $94,950
Hawaii $94,420
Mississippi $92,990
Nebraska $90,920
Alaska $90,780
Idaho $87,010
Missouri $86,690
Alabama $85,600
South Carolina $82,700
Utah $78,050
West Virginia $75,780
Arkansas $65,840

Top-Paying U.S. Regions

Earnings for fundraising managers shift depending on where you work. The following regions pay the most:

Region Median annual wage Share of U.S. jobs Location quotient
Middle Atlantic $143,781 24.9% 2.15
New England $136,741 10.2% 2.09
Far Western US $126,859 22.2% 1.34
Southeast $111,059 12.9% 0.65
Plains States $108,192 4.2% 0.77
Great Lakes $105,308 15.4% 1.36
Southwest $97,753 9.1% 0.74
Rocky Mountains $87,798 1.0% 0.66

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Fundraising Managers

Metro area State Median annual wage Employment
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ NY $168,020 3,950
Binghamton, NY NY $160,970 30
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH MA $160,100 1,510
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA CA $152,940 490
Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI WI $149,310 90
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA CA $148,870 270
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA CA $148,480 1,230
North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL FL $147,450 30

Top Industries Employing Fundraising Managers

Most fundraising managers are concentrated in the following sectors:

Industry Employment Median annual wage
Educational Services 12,190 $126,400
Other Services (except Public Administration) 11,310 $126,440
Health Care and Social Assistance 6,260 $106,480
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 2,110 $112,770
Management of Companies and Enterprises 1,580 $134,180
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 1,500 $132,870
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 670 $118,890
Information 480 $119,600
Fundraising Managers sectors

Fundraising Managers work in the following industries:

Fundraising Managers industries

Software Fundraising Managers Use

  • Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
  • Video creation and editing software: Adobe After Effects (hot technology)
  • Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
  • Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
  • Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
  • Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
  • Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
  • Data mining software: Google Analytics (hot technology)
  • Word processing software: Google Docs (hot technology)
  • Sales and marketing software: HubSpot software (hot technology)
  • Web platform development software: Hypertext markup language HTML (hot technology)
  • Sales and marketing software: Marketo Marketing Automation (hot technology)

What the Workplace Is Like

The on-the-job environment of fundraising managers is shaped by the following characteristics:

  • E-Mail
  • Contact With Others
  • Spend Time Sitting
  • Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled

Getting Started in This Career

Typical fundraising managers positions require a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry-level education. This career aligns with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Similar Occupations

Degree Programs

Aspiring fundraising managers often complete programs in:

4 programs across 3 majors

4 programs across 2 majors

References

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
  • BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
  • O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 11-2033.00 (Fundraising Managers).

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