Charity fundraiser

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Charity fundraisers organise events and activities to encourage people to donate to causes and organisations.

Salary Range: £20,000 to £60,000

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You can get into this job through:

  • a university course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • volunteering
  • applying directly
  • specialist courses run by a professional body
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You could do a degree subject relevant to working in fundraising, which may give you an advantage when applying for jobs, especially in corporate fundraising. Subjects include:

  • marketing
  • media and communications
  • public relations
  • business studies

You could also do a university course in a subject like voluntary sector management or public service management.

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
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You could do a social media and digital marketing higher apprenticeship, which could help you get into online fundraising.

Entry requirements

You’ll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
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You could start out working for a charity in an admin or support role and move into fundraising once you’ve got more experience in the voluntary sector.

Volunteering and experience

Volunteering is a good way to get experience in fundraising and the other sides of charity work. It’s also a great way to start making contacts in the sector, which can lead to paid job opportunities.

Direct application

You can apply directly to get into charity fundraising, if you’ve got relevant experience from other work, for example advertising, public relations, events, sales or finance.

More information

Career tips

Employers will usually be more interested in your skills, experience and commitment to working in the charity sector than in your formal qualifications.

Further information

You can get more advice about working and training in the charity sector through the Institute of Fundraising and CharityJob.

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Skills and knowledge

You’ll need:

  • customer service skills
  • persistence and determination
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with others
  • sensitivity and understanding
  • knowledge of English language
  • business management skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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Day-to-day tasks

Your day-to-day duties could include:

  • researching, developing and planning fundraising ideas
  • managing door-to-door and street collections
  • recruiting and training volunteers
  • keeping records and reporting performance
  • managing charity shops and online and mail order stores
  • controlling budgets and meeting targets
  • giving talks about your charity to the public
  • writing reports and press releases

Working environment

You could work from home or in an office.

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You could work towards a professional qualification from the Institute of Fundraising.

With experience, you could move into charity management, or become a self-employed fundraising consultant.

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