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We Need a Nonprofit Fundraiser Bill of Rights
Philanthropy doesn’t raise itself, and the age of fundraiser self-care has arrived
The nonprofit sector, where I have spent the entirety of my career, is often woefully (and sometimes willfully) behind the curve on adapting to change. How many organizations had “preparing for a global health crisis” as a strategic planning priority?
Before 2020, some 1.54 million U.S. nonprofits were staffed by more than 12.5 million employees. Within the first three months of the pandemic, 1.64 million of those jobs vanished — and that’s a conservative estimate. Many of those jobs were eventually recovered, yet as 2021 came to a close, more than a quarter remained lost.
Philanthropy doesn’t raise itself
Nearly 10 percent of the U.S. nonprofit workforce are fundraisers. This hardworking cadre helps to raise hundreds of billions of dollars annually in a sector that grows more competitive, challenging, and necessary with every year.
I can attest to the heartfelt care fundraisers put into working with donors who make transformative things possible. And we do this not only because it is a core value in our sector but also because we are guided to.
