In the world of charity fundraising, maintaining a vibrant and engaged work force is essential for the success of any organisation. Lack of motivation, a sense of repetition and not feeling appreciated can dampen the enthusiasm of team members, making it difficult to achieve fundraising goals. The good news is that by implementing certain strategies, both individuals and organisations can keep the flames of excitement and interest burning brightly. In this blog we take a look at some of the things face to face fundraisers can try to keep their charity fundraising job interesting for the long run. See if you’re doing any of these things and comment below about how they help!

How to keep the spark alive and infuse excitement into Charity Fundraising Jobs

1. Foster a sense of purpose

Working for a charity inherently connects individuals to a greater cause, a sense of purpose beyond personal gain.

By continually reminding ourselves and our teams of the impact our work has on those in need, we can invoke a powerful motivation to push boundaries. Fundraisers should be encouraged to regularly engage with their charity’s beneficiaries for renewed sense of purpose.

Charity organisations and fundraising agencies should arrange visits to the communities being served by the charitable donations. This is a clear way to reignite the passion for making a difference in the world.

Read more about how fundraising is not something you do, but someone you are

2. Decide to stay relevant

One thing we can pretty much guarantee is that the world is constantly changing and evolving. Trends, habits, economies and culture has to adapt - and so do fundraisers!

Make a point of being open to learning new approaches and ways of doing things. Be in the know about current affairs and absorb social attitudes.

Although this takes effort and time, it’s well worth ensuring you’re staying up to date and moving with the times. Always use appropriate language and behaviours where needed and be consistent in your core messaging - you’re there to ask for help because you need to be and that’s admirable.

3. Maintain autonomy and creativity

Monotony can stifle creativity and lead to disengagement. To combat this, charity fundraisers should always seek to infuse their own unique style and creativity into their work.

Charities and fundraising agencies should encourage fundraisers to feel empowered to come up with fresh and innovative ideas, allowing them to take ownership of their role.

Granting people autonomy within a structured framework of the code of fundraising practice provides a sense of pride and fosters a drive to achieve exceptional results.

4. Work out your target audience

This is a tricky one because almost anyone can become a donor for charity.

What you can do as a face to face fundraiser is recognise and remember that everyone thinks differently and there are lots of reasons to donate to charity.

Your job is to identify what that reason could be for the potential sponsor you’re talking to!

Identify how your audience feels about a charity; and try to work out what might motivate them.

One way to do this is to ask very specific questions to figure out what type of donor they are - so what they connect with and the reasons they might give.

Learn about how fundraisers can use donor psychology to help them work smarter

5. Work out how to be more efficient

There will be things we all do in our working life that just isn’t using your time in the best way.

Take a good look at your routines and habits and establish where you might be able to do things more efficiently. This could include

• How you could save time on preparing for your day, travelling to the venue or where you have lunch

• Looking at the shifts you’re working and seeing whether other times might be better

• Seeing if you can identify people who aren’t going to donate and spending less time with them

• Ask others about their top tips or ways of doing things to see if you've thought of everything

Although it’s good to evolve and tweak, stay true to yourself. Don’t discard old tactics entirely because there will be lots of things you’re doing that are getting the desired results. While keeping your ear to the ground and your eyes open to being more efficient be sure to retain the stuff that works.

6. Embrace collaboration and teamwork

Collaboration works and creating a supportive and encouraging environment sustains interest in charity fundraising jobs.

Team mates can encourage each others successes, rely on each other for tough days and share ideas to improve things. Cross-department collaboration keeps the energy flowing throughout the business.

Fundraisers should look to connect with others with phone calls, group chats and brainstorming sessions and team-building activities led by team leaders. Looking at work life as an opportunity to problem-solve together not only enhance engagement but also foster a sense of camaraderie and support.

Learn about how to develop super human resilience in fundraising

7. Be open to continuous learning

Learning is a solid way to keep anything engaging and fresh and fundraising is no different. We should all try to discover new things we didn’t know before.

There are so many ways to learn beyond your initial fundraiser training!

Read blogs, listen to podcasts, research on the web, talk to other fundraisers who are doing well and watch videos. Do everything you can to expand your knowledge of your charity, current affairs and issues surrounding your cause and new fundraising techniques.

When businesses equip their people with the tools to excel, they’ll keep the job more interesting and of course increase the likelihood of retention and success.

Employers should be trying to provide opportunities for career development and promotion, as well as mentorship programs that stoke growth and motivation. Ongoing personal and professional progress holds real power for people to stay engaged.

8. Celebrate achievements and milestones

Recognise and celebrate your achievements, milestones and the impact you’ve had on your charity. Add up how many donors you’ve gained and total that in one year. You should be able to see the massive difference you’re making through your hard work! Doing this can really reinvigorate the passion among fundraisers and their teams. So take a moment to acknowledge your dedication and energy - this should really boost your morale and create a renewed sense of purpose and your worth at work.

Learn our top tips on how fundraisers can stay optimistic

We hope you’ve enjoyed these 8 tips for keeping your fundraising job interesting and that you’ll be able to use them for maximum work life satisfaction!

Here at Charity Link, we offer a unique 12 week training academy that’s designed to show professional fundraising as a real career choice. All our fundraisers complete an initial, interactive induction week, followed by personal mentoring, recorded reflection, regular reviews and progressive on the job learning until graduation.

We not only make sure our fundraisers are trained to the highest standard, we fully support them so they find their new role as fulfilling and satisfying as possible.

Are you thinking about a career in fundraising?

Why not hop over to our jobs page and take an in depth look at the role and who we’re looking for!