I guess it depends on the organization for which you’re raising money! Think about it. Let’s get down to what charity fundraising mangement is all about:
Fundraising 101
It’s fun. Seriously, it is! You’re technically a fundraiser if you ever baked cookies and cupcakes and sold them on the sidewalk for a noble cause. You’re also a fundraiser if you marketed and developed business accounts for a nonprofit organization to host a huge region-wide dinner to auction off million-dollar playhouses to help pay for the cure for cancer.
No matter what the organization is, or how big or small, fundraising can be intense. So then the question remains: does being a charity fundraising management professional really pay well? Or just pay in prestige?
The Truth About Fundraising
While it may be prestigious and honorable to work for a nonprofit, the myth doesn’t always ring true: you can make a decent living as a charity fundraising management specialist. Like I said, it depends on the organization.
For starters, expect to earn somewhere along the lines of $24,300 a year to even $32,400 a year. And that’s just for starters. Once you get into a management position – where you’re responsible for bringing in all the money out of charitable accounts for a nonprofit – you can expect anywhere between $32,400 a year to $89,100 a year!
That’s a nice chunk of change.
It Is a Lot of Work, Though….
Dedicated. I can’t say it any better than that. Oh, yeah, and the title of workhorse. You can easily expect at least 40 hours a week, if not more on the weekends. You eat, drink, sleep, and breathe fundraising if you want to be successful. Period.
The good thing, though, is you don’t necessarily need a college degree to qualify (but it could help).
Prepare
It can be rewarding. Check that: it is rewarding. You’re not just earning a paycheck; you’re helping humanity. But because there’s no basic educational groundwork here in this field, don’t expect to make even the “starter pay” right off the bat.
You’ll need experience. Lots of it. Lots more than selling cookies and cupcakes.
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