Fundraising Managers

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ABOUT FUNDRAISING MANAGER CAREERS

Video transcript

While a talent for public speaking and strong problem solving skills are critical for public relations and fundraising managers, excellent writing skills are also essential... to precisely define a client's goals, engage an audience, and sway them in the intended direction. Public relations or PR managers direct the creation of material aimed at enhancing the public image of their client. They review press releases, sponsor corporate events, and monitor trends that might affect their client's organization. They also oversee company publications, draft speeches, and handle other contact with the public to help the organization's top executives. Fundraising managers bring in the donations necessary to keep their organization running. They contact past donors and reach out to new donors, raise funds for new buildings, and solicit wealthy donors for major gifts. Public relations and fundraising managers work for PR firms, civic and non-profit organizations, school districts, and other organizations. Generally they work in offices during regular business hours, but may need to travel to events and attend evening meetings. They sometimes work longer hours to meet project and event deadlines, and may manage multiple events at the same time. Public relations and fundraising managers generally need a bachelor's degree in public relations, communications, English, fundraising, or journalism, and many years of related experience. Some positions also require a master's degree.

SNAPSHOT

Plan, direct, or coordinate activities to solicit and maintain funds for special projects or nonprofit organizations.

Leadership	HIGH
Critical decision making	HIGH
Level of responsibilities	HIGH
Job challenge and pressure to meet deadlines	HIGH
Dealing and handling conflict	LOW

Competition for this position	HIGH
Communication with others	HIGH
Work closely with team members, clients etc.	HIGH
Comfort of the work setting	HIGH
Exposure to extreme environmental conditions	LOW
Exposure to job hazards	LOW
Physical demands	LOW

Daily tasks

Facilitate consumer relations, or the relationship between parts of the company such as the managers and employees, or different branch offices.

Formulate policies and procedures related to public information programs, working with public relations executives.

Draft speeches for company executives, and arrange interviews and other forms of contact for them.

Manage special events such as sponsorship of races, parties introducing new products, or other activities the firm supports to gain public attention through the media without advertising directly.

Manage communications budgets.

Identify main client groups and audiences, determine the best way to communicate publicity information to them, and develop and implement a communication plan.

Develop and maintain the company's corporate image and identity, which includes the use of logos and signage.

Respond to requests for information about employers' activities or status.

Evaluate advertising and promotion programs for compatibility with public relations efforts.

Write interesting and effective press releases, prepare information for media kits and develop and maintain company internet or intranet web pages.

Assign, supervise and review the activities of public relations staff.

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Communicating with Persons Outside Organization	Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Thinking Creatively	Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Getting Information	Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems	Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

AREAS OF KNOWLEDGE

English Language	Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Customer and Personal Service	Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Communications and Media	Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

Sales and Marketing	Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Administration and Management	Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Personnel and Human Resources	Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Clerical	Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

Computers and Electronics	Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

KEY ABILITIES

Oral Expression	The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Written Expression	The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Speech Clarity	The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Oral Comprehension	The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension	The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Problem Sensitivity	The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Speech Recognition	The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Fluency of Ideas	The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

TOP SKILLS

Speaking	Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening	Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Writing	Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Reading Comprehension	Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Social Perceptiveness	Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Coordination	Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Persuasion	Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

Critical Thinking	Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.