Distance course management and development of a non-profit organization. Who is a fundraiser: a brief guide to the profession The desire for innovation and constant change

In relation to NGOs, a fundraiser or, more precisely, a fundraiser (the word comes from the English fund - funds, financing and raise - finding, collecting) is a specialist in attracting financial and other support for non-profit programs and projects of the organization.

“To put it lyrically, a fundraiser is a servant of two masters,” explains Dmitry Daushev, director of fundraising and communications "Children's Villages - SOS Russia". – His task is to ensure that the organization / project has a sufficient amount of resources and that the donor who provides these resources is happy about it. The fundraiser must organize his work in such a way that each of the two parties gets what he wants.” In many ways, this is precisely the art of fundraising, the expert is sure.

Fundraising plus/minus PR

Having at least one full-time fundraiser is already a great achievement, says Alexey Lakhov, development specialist of the Charitable Foundation "Humanitarian Action". This means that there is a person in the fund who is purposefully responsible for raising funds for the organization.

One of the main conditions successful work fundraiser - recognition, sharing the mission of the NGO in which he works. "It's important professional quality fundraiser, - says Dmitry Daushev. “In addition, a specialist must observe the presumption of professionalism of colleagues: he must raise funds for projects that the program specialists of the fund will name him.” If the fundraiser is told that green shovels are needed to plant a forest in the Sahara Desert, then the fundraiser is collecting money for these green shovels. And this should be taken for granted, Dmitry emphasizes.

But still, in the end, the activity of a fundraiser is measured precisely by money - the amount of funds raised, the expert sums up. And the employee must be prepared for the fact that the quality of his work will be evaluated, first of all, by financial indicators.

I used to work for a large media company selling ads. Then I was terribly tired of all this, there was an acute desire to work in the field of culture. Thoughts on creating a company dedicated to connecting finance and cultural projects, I had for a long time. And after we met Ksenia Tarakanova, V Confession Agency appeared - a company specializing in fundraising for projects in the field of modern culture. The first fundraising project was the Ural Industrial Biennial of Contemporary Art.

What are the responsibilities

The fundraiser helps to find financing for the implementation of various projects. It is important to understand: there are no philanthropists, since all organizations do not cooperate on a gratuitous basis, there are no disinterested patrons. In fact, there are only sponsors - they get something in return for their support. The sponsoring company allocates a certain amount for the implementation of the project, for which he receives certain opportunities. For example, PUMA once supported the New York Minute exhibition at the Garage Center, for which it was able to present its brand on the site (a special area was created with ping-pong tables, neon signs, kickers), hold its own private event as part of the exhibition , the brand name was printed on all booklets and advertising materials Exhibitions. The company also used the status of partnership in shaping its brand image.

In terms of skills, a fundraiser needs to be able to negotiate, be diplomatic, be able to persuade and process large amounts of information. Being a link between cultural institutions and commercial organizations, we must understand the needs of both parties well, so that everyone is ultimately satisfied with the cooperation. Since our agency is engaged in fundraising specifically for cultural projects, we primarily interact with companies that want to be associated with various cultural initiatives. We have new clients every week, who, as a rule, become permanent. We serve at least four projects per month, so we have several people involved in fundraising.

Where to study

I graduated higher school economics, studied marketing. To some extent, the acquired knowledge helped me, but I can’t call it a specialized education. Fundraising training programs are available in many universities, including the HSE.

prospects

So far, we are the only ones who are engaged in fundraising in this area on an ongoing basis. And in the West there are a lot of such agencies, the system of cooperation between cultural institutions and fundraisers is well-established, there are generally accepted forms of interaction. We are, to some extent, pioneers and ourselves create in Moscow a system of interaction between culture and commerce.

It seems to me that the prospects for this profession are very great, at least we are working on it and developing the industry. We are faced with the fact that it is very difficult to find personnel for such work, so it is easier for us to grow them ourselves.

Text: Zlata Onufrieva


Lecturer-expert of applied socio-economic programs of the Training Center "Specialist" at the Moscow State Technical University. N.E. Bauman

V All-Russian classifier professions of workers, positions of employees and tariff categories(OKPDTR) the term "fundraiser" does not occur. Does this mean that there are no fundraisers in Russia? They are. Moreover, there are fundraisers in almost every budget and non-profit organization. Many of you have met them. It is likely that you yourself are a fundraiser, but just do not know about it yet.

So, what kind of profession is this - a fundraiser and what does this specialist do?

The name of the profession is of English origin and consists of two parts: fund and raise. The first part of the word is translated as "fund", "cash". The second part of the word is “raise”, “earn”, “raise to a power”, “raise”.

Taking into account the translation and established practice, fundraisers are called specialists who collect Money and other resources in the interests of third parties for a fee.

The last circumstance: raising funds for contract basis distinguishes Western fundraisers from Russian ones. As a rule, employees of our organizations carry out fundraising activities free of charge as part of other job responsibilities. Teachers are looking for money to restore the school museum, coaches - to travel athletes to competitions, artistic directors - to make scenery.

Professional fundraising is a phenomenon inherent in developed economic countries. Given that Russia has embarked on this path, the establishment of a professional fundraising institution is inevitable. Sooner or later, the work of fundraisers in our country will be paid. Our colleagues abroad receive from 5 to 20% of the amount of funds raised for their work. Let's try on the potential capabilities of Western colleagues.

According to regional media in August 2013 joint-stock company OAO TATNEFT allocated 170 thousand rubles for the arrangement of specialized corners for the disabled in the libraries of the city of Angarsk. It follows from this that librarians participating in negotiations with the sponsor could receive remuneration from 8.5 to 34 thousand rubles in addition to wages. I am sure that this money would not be superfluous for them.

Do you want your specialists to take an active part in raising funds? Create an incentive system for fundraisers! Having a personal interest, fundraisers will independently find sources of funding, show virtuoso skills in negotiations with donors, sponsors, and investors. This will benefit all parties and, above all, society. Because fundraising is about solving public problems and tasks.

Do you want fundraisers to raise a lot of money? Organize corporate training for employees in your city or offer them individual training on their own. The higher the qualifications of your fundraising specialists, the less your burden of responsibility for their financial support.

What is the salary of a fundraiser

Economic terms, whatever they may be, are increasingly penetrating the lexicon of ordinary citizens. We have long known what insurance is for and whether it is worth working on Forex. Not so long ago, a new word has spread - fundraising.

Fundraising: meaning of the term

A fundraiser is a person who is engaged in attracting material, monetary, informational or human resources required by a particular company.

Therefore, fundraising is the process of organizing the attraction of these funds. Not quite clear? Go ahead.

What is the meaning of the word fundraiser? In order to understand the semantics, we need to refer to the English word fundraising, formed from the phrase to raise fund, which means “raising funds”.

Who needs fundraising and why?

Despite the fact that we live in the 21st century and, it would seem, should be well aware of the structure cash flows and the ways of their redirection, in the domestic economy, many issues related to raising funds seem incomprehensible to many. How do our non-commercial businesses operate?

They, for the most part, do not raise funds at all, but are content with what they get. As you understand, they do not get much a priori, and therefore the enterprise either urgently needs help, or there is simply not enough money.

At the same time, if we turn our eyes to the West or even Europe, we will see that the situation is quite different there. Very often, entrepreneurs, without even developing a project, already for its implementation. This is due to the fact that the state participates little in financing social spheres. At its core, a fundraiser is the same investor, with the difference that funds are raised mainly for non-commercial projects, although they may well be used for commercial purposes.

Fundraising Sources

Where to get these resources, what serves as a source of fundraising? These may be private companies or individuals, state enterprises and non-state funds. How is fundraising done? In different ways, depending on who the above sources are. And they can be investors, sponsors, donors, philanthropists or a grant-giving organization.

Fundraiser: Fundraising Responsibilities and Tasks

So, what exactly does a fundraiser do? Of course, first of all, by raising funds from the sources mentioned above. Secondly, an important part of the fundraiser's duties is to build new connections. Any project or organization needs friends who can support, advertise or offer profitable partnership agreements.

Moreover, new project should be publicized, and therefore the fundraiser is engaged in a kind of advertising of the organization's activities, informs about its goals and strategy.

It should be noted that according to the method of implementation, fundraising can be external and internal.

An internal fundraiser is a person who works directly in an organization and is engaged in the search for an external fundraiser with the assistance of special consultants, experts and fundraising firms.

Fundraising in Russia

In our country, fundraising appeared in the early nineties, along with the gradual development of various non-profit enterprises. Today this discipline is taught at universities along with the basics of marketing and social management.

It should be noted that we still have a low proportion of the population and state enterprises involved in generating income for Russian non-profit organizations. However, the market situation forces us to look for new forms and ways of raising funds, and therefore the process of fundraising development is underway, which is approaching the US level at a pace.

Not so long ago, namely in November 2013, the Association of Fundraisers of Russia was formed. The purpose of this association is to promote the development of charity based on fundraising, subject to the awareness and support of the inhabitants of the country. According to the director of the new association, Irina Menshenina, today the most important thing for the members of the organization is to raise awareness of the country's citizens about such an activity as fundraising. The Russians do not know that a fundraiser is a specialist in the field of raising funds, and they confuse honest activity with fraud.

The Association offers two types of membership - for individuals and for companies that can be businesses (structures or NGOs). The services provided by the Association are as follows:

  • training activities that are conducted in real time or remotely;
  • informing the members of the association;
  • consulting activities on accounting, economic and legal topics;
  • participation of members of the organization in social research.

 

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