What Do Fundraisers Do?

The concept of “fundraising” appeared in the United States. By the early 1980s, state funding of social and cultural projects has declined sharply due to the financial crisis. Then wealthy entrepreneurs and entire corporations took over their support. Now the American museum is independently able to earn 30% -50% of the annual budget, the rest of the funds are government funding (10% -25%), investments (5% -10%) and private donations (30% -50%).

Who is a fundraiser?

A fundraiser is a person who is engaged in attracting material, monetary, informational or human resources that are necessary for a particular enterprise. This person is looking for companies, charitable foundations, government agencies and simply interested people who are ready to help the organization.

What does a fundraiser do?

Fundraiser helps to find funding for various projects. It is important to understand: there are no benefactors since all organizations do not cooperate on a grant basis, there are no disinterested philanthropists. In fact, there are only sponsors – they get something in return for their support. The sponsor company allocates a certain amount for the project, for which he receives certain opportunities. For example, PUMA supported the New York Minute exhibition at the Garage center, for which it was able to present its brand on the site (a special zone with ping-pong tables, neon signs, kickers was created), to hold its own private event at the exhibition The brand name was printed in all booklets and promotional materials of the exhibition. The company also used the partnership status in the formation of its brand image.

Necessary skills

The fundraiser needs the ability to negotiate, to be diplomatic, to be able to convince and handle large amounts of information. Being a link between cultural institutions and commercial organizations, he must understand the needs of both parties well, so that everyone can be satisfied with the cooperation in the end. The fundraiser must be very well versed in taxation and social issues, know the legislation of the country, be aware of developments in the commercial sector, and also possess a number of qualities such as: the ability to win the interlocutor to himself in a short time, to interest and convince people of the need to participate in the project, establish an informal relationship with a potential sponsor and others.