Exciting opportunities lie ahead if you’re new to or about to jump into a career in higher education fundraising. Nonprofit fundraising jobs are the backbone in securing financial resources that enable higher education institutions to fulfill their mission and impact the world.
Leverage the following opportunities along your fundraising career path to help you blaze a trail to success.
1 Pick your
passion
2 Show them the
(impact of their) money
Your opportunity lies in showing a need for money, and highlighting the impact and how giving can change lives.
3 Expect
the unexpected
While you’re busy making a difference in your role, one of the difference-making perks in your fundraising career path is life-long learning opportunities, professional and personally. You never know what new opportunity awaits you around the corner or where it might lead you.
Here are a few examples:
– You can glean valuable insight, like the vision for the college and fundraising priorities, traveling with the dean of a college and faculty members while exploring fundraising opportunities.
– If your specific position oversees fundraising efforts for a particular college within the university system, you might get a close-up look at the impact the college has made on the local community, the economy, and even on a global scale.
“You can get an understanding and deep appreciation of how a university plays a role in maybe discovering new technologies or cures for diseases, or starting a business,” Nelson said.
“For example, when I was fundraising at another university, I received a call from a faculty member asking if my team could assist with raising funds for a new supply chain management consortium,” Nelson said. “We met in the coffee lounge and he educated me about supply chains, and we were very successful in our fundraising efforts. This ultimately led to the creation of the Supply Chain Management Center at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin.”
– There are also ample opportunities to learn about other roles in the development office, if you’re interested in someday switching nonprofit fundraising jobs or advancing your career.
You can learn other responsibilities organically by closely working with your colleagues and watching them in action. Set aside time with a co-worker to find out more about his or her specific role and the skills required to succeed in it. Find a mentor, maybe your boss or a faculty member, to meet with regularly to discuss and map your career goals.
And there are always external resources that can help, as well.
“Attend workshops and conferences, and seek out online opportunities to learn about the aspects of fundraising that you want to pursue,” said Lysakowski.
Make the most of these and other opportunities to grow and succeed in your purposeful career.
