Burnout in fundraising… working with it or against it.

by Kimberly Downes

I wish….

I wish I had a PA, even part-time.
I wish I had time to visit with donors, face to face would be nice.
I wish I could convince my CEO that I am important. After all, I was employed to raise funds – why won’t they let me?
I wish I had time away from the database and reports!
I wish I had a least one board member who saw fundraising as part of their role.
I wish I had resources.
I wish they’d realise that you have to spend money in order to raise money.
I wish that I had a special event that made a decent profit for all the effort that goes into it.
I wish people weren’t giving fundraising a bad name.
I wish I had time to plan.
I wish I had realistic budgets.
I wish I could throw a tantrum in front of the entire Board.
I wish I was paid hourly.
I wish we had a fundraising strategy.
I wish I had a proper database.
I wish I could spend more time friend-raising so I got the fundraising results.
I wish all Foundation proposal deadlines didn’t fall in the same week.
I wish that my family realised what a wonderful cause I worked for that’s why I never seem to be home.
I wish it were easy.

Can you relate to any of those statements? Burnout isn’t a product of age, it’s a product of circumstances. We all have a wish list, but if we could learn how to keep our fundraising responsibilities in perspective, then we might be able to learn how to handle burnout. Fundraising is a science as well as an art. It requires analysis and planning, dedication and hard work, increasing skills and continuing education.

Firstly what does it take to be in fundraising? Passion, rapport, personality, commitment, energy, honesty, understanding, flexibility, perspective, listening skills and organisational skills.

Do these describe you? Do you fear failure? You will find that most development officers have a Type A personality… impatient, competitive time-oriented, and high anxiety levels. But there is a positive side to all of this… these personalities strive for success and for making other people happy and this coincides perfectly with donor relations.

As fundraisers we are also strategists, business executives, planners and communicators and we are involved in marketing and selling.

What attracted you to this profession? Was it the idea that you’d be helping a worthy cause? Was it the idea that you could help make a difference? Was it the idea that the NFP world seemed less political than the for-profit sector? Or was it the idea of helping people make a gift to an organisation that was truly deserving?

A strong commitment is the first step to a healthy relationship with your organisation and with yourself. These days there is a professional calling for fundraisers. It is for people who believe in philanthropy and who have the skills to communicate with donors, to inform them and to keep them interested. A passion for assisting others to feel good.

So now that it’s clear why you are in fundraising, let’s address how burnout plays into the picture and causes so much turnover.

Why do people change from one organisation to another, to another to another? Marriages between development officers and institutions don’t last the way they used to. You can blame the situation on bad luck and circumstances, or on having stars in your eyes about the responsibilities. Many a good fundraiser has failed because they couldn’t even take the first step to win budgets, staff and support for their employers. They failed because they couldn’t motivate the CEO and Board to believe in them. The volunteers look to see what we want them to do next, the donors respond to our approaches, and our CEO and Board members look to us to make it all happen.

When we look at the people we know in fundraising, can we pin-point a common thread in the path that brought us all to this profession? Some of us were marketers, teachers, social workers, accountants, or librarians. Some of us came right into the profession after school. We represent a variety of backgrounds. Perhaps the link was our desire to do something meaningful and good.

The dramatic turnover rate in the fundraising profession occurs because somewhere along the way people wake up to the fact that fundraising represents a discipline; it has to be learned and practiced with skill. It isn’t the ad-hoc activity some perceive it to be. In other words, it gets tough.

We have every chance to succeed if you continue to think positively and if you use the proven techniques in fundraising. Don’t get lost in the high tech world and forget what you are meant to be doing.

Sometimes turnover isn’t so bad. It brings new ideas and new life to the organisation. In a survey of over 1,000 development professionals the top ten reasons for leaving an organisation were:

to take a higher level position
to take a position with more advancement opportunities
to take a position with better salary and benefits
to take a less stressful position
to move to a more desirable geographic location
to pursue further study
to retire early
for personal reasons
inability to “fit in”
to move to a completely different organisation

So how do we notice Burn Out symptoms?

Burnout affects young professionals as well as those who have been in the field for many years. Without daily avoidance steps, each of us can catch a case of burnout as easily as the weather changes in Melbourne. But once burnout is upon us, it is very difficult to shake. So what are some of the avoidance steps you ask?

Avoid chronic anticipation

As fundraisers we are always anticipating the notification of a grant or a major gift. Practice the principle of living one day at a time.

Deal with one project at a time

As fundraisers we seem to always have an appeal, special event, a proposal and a board report to prepare all at the same time. Learn to delegate and prioritise.

Clarify your roles

Are your volunteers clear on your expectations of them? What about your staff? Is there too many people doing the same thing? If responsibilities and roles are clear, then ownership of the responsibility for raising funds will be mutually shared.

Don't be everything to everyone

You may perceive that those around you have become disappointed because the “miracles” they expected you to perform haven’t materialised. Be realistic with them. Create a timetable. But most of all be enthusiastic and optimistic about your role as a fundraiser.

If someone criticises you

Deal with it and then let it go. You can’t control the many external stressors that you will experience in fundraising, but you can choose how you will react.

Continue to educate yourself

Our incompetence stresses us. I hate to break it to you, but no one knows everything! Set a goal for yourself each month to learn at least one new aspect of fundraising.

Set realistic financial goals

Volunteers who fail will tend to be one timers. Staff who chronically fail, leave the field. Unrealistic goals defeat us.

Prioritise, delegate and write everything down

You will feel much better if you do.

Have a sense of humour

Not everyone has a humour gene. But humour will get you through the day!

Practice being a team player

If your staff can’t trust you, how do you expect to get anything done.

How do we avoid burnout? I suggest the following:

Take a vacation daily with five to ten minute breaks
Compliment yourself or reward yourself regularly
Do something nice for someone else
Maintain a healthy attitude and healthy lifestyle
Start each day with a positive goal. Don’t go to the office dreading what you have to do
Practice open compliments; if you think something nice than say something nice
Stay within your own areas of responsibility and
Introduce yourself to a new skill.

“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go”

William Feathers

Burnout in Fundraising