The recruitment challenge: why charities are struggling to find talented fundraisers

Recruitment of talented fundraisers has been a challenge for some time now and is showing little signs of changing.

For most, 1st April kick-started a new financial year and, much like the start of a new sports season, would have represented a fresh start with new ambitions. Recent research from Enthuse shows that 20% of charities were feeling “very optimistic” about fundraising in 2023 with 52% feeling “fairly optimistic”. However, without the right people to deliver, the ambitions set out in strategies and plans will not be delivered.

At THINK we’ve operated an interim management service since 2009 and today we have a network of 117 skilled and talented fundraisers available to support all types of fundraising and at all levels. 2023 has been an unprecedented year so far for us with a huge demand for our interim managers. The number one reason people come to us is for help is to cover a recruitment gap; second to that is for expertise to drive a piece of work forward – and thirdly is to cover an absence.

But why are charities struggling to recruit? Here are my thoughts on the top four reasons:

1. Salaries are not competitive

The 2023 CharityJob.co.uk Salary Report has recently been published. This report notes that it has been a candidate’s market for a few years now, with more jobs available in the UK than people to fill them – thus candidates can be selective and focus on those roles offering meaningful work, competitive salaries, attractive benefits, and flexibility around when and where work is done.

CharityJob.co.uk reported that average salaries for fundraising roles are 4% higher than they were in 2019 (up to £37,700 from £36,300) so clearly not keeping pace with inflation and/or the cost of living.

2. Everyone wants experience

Since taking over leading THINK Interim in January I’ve received the most requests for interim support for individual giving and fundraising from charitable trusts and foundations. Taking individual giving for example, it seems that after pausing much donor acquisition activity throughout the pandemic, organisations are looking to recommence this work but are now struggling to find experienced people to lead it.

Linking to the previous point about salaries, organisations have got to ask, Why would someone experienced leave one organisation to join us to do largely the same work for largely the same salary? If you want to attract someone with experience, the salary and package (more on that in a minute) have got to be attractive. Or – conversely – you need to be open to taking someone less experienced and supporting them to grow.

Why not pull out and detail the skills you need, and be open to supporting someone with transferable skills and a growth mindset?

3. Benefit packages

I read job adverts, job descriptions and candidate packs almost every day. Very few detail the full package, leaving it up to candidates to ask (most won’t). Some charities have excellent benefits but don’t showcase them – I spoke to one organisation that offered 10% employer pension contributions and know another that offers 40 days annual leave – neither of who showcased these when recruiting. So, as well as #ShowTheSalary, I’m calling on organisations to #ShowTheBenefits. Also please stop describing 28 days annual leave as ‘generous’ – it is not. It is the statutory minimum.

4. Place of work.

Working throughout the pandemic showed that effective work can be done from anywhere and that there was no need for everyone to be working out of an office. Many organisations have embraced this going forward by reducing their office footprint or reimagining how best to use their places/bases. But there are example of others returning to presentism and looking for people to either work out of an office full-time or for a set number of days per week. My question/challenge to that is why? Why does everyone need to be in on a Tuesday; what is going to happen that day to foster connection? If there is a compelling answer, then great.

Flexibility around place of work has opened the market, allowing recruiters to reach new and more diverse audiences. Like it or not, candidate expectations have changed – the toothpaste is out of the tube.

In conclusion: recruiters must remember that in a candidate-short market, they do not hold the power. Heading into 2023 recruitment and retention of fundraisers should be at the top of every fundraising director’s ‘to-do’ list.

The days of posting an ad with a barely updated job description online and waiting for applications to roll in are over. You must showcase how interesting and exciting the opportunity to work with your organisation is, you’ll need to ensure your salaries are competitive, you should embrace flexibility, be open-minded to taking people with transferable skills and supporting them to grow and as well as #ShowTheSalary, #ShowTheBenefits.

Gary Kernahan, Senior Consultant and Head of Interim at THINK
June 2023

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