Fundraisers go above and beyond – they deserve respect from charity colleagues
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Version 0 of 1. Related: As a charity professional, I dread being asked what I do for a living It might seem blindingly obvious but, for me, a third sector organisation cannot function without a fundraising team. For one, there would be no money to fight the cause we believe in and work so hard for. Yet I can’t remember a time at my organisation when the fundraising team was invited into the staff room for lunch or told about the much anticipated Christmas do. We are seen as the left field team in the organisation – the wacky ones who are the necessary evil within the charity. Asking for help, support and, at the end of the day, money, to help those in need is still a taboo subject for many people. For me, the cause has and will always come first. We go above and beyond to bring in new support and retain those who already give to us. We often have to manage very difficult relationships with corporate sponsors. We will stand in the rain collecting coppers from the general public and then go home and spend our nights researching new trends within the fundraising world. The fundraising team is often the public front of the organisation, keeping the cause in the media and at the forefront of the public’s minds. Fundraisers might not cure cancer or save children but we work our hardest to ensure that you can However, we often have to fight tooth and nail to get information we need from our colleagues to be able to do our job effectively. We aren’t the publicity hungry monsters that you seem to think we are, but every now and again, a human interest story is needed. I truly believe it’s our work that will drive our organisation forward, the reason we can afford to provide a new service within the community or have more beds in the local hospice. I have the utmost respect for my colleagues who work on the front line and deliver the vital services to the people who need it most. I would find it too emotional – so I found a job where I can still make a difference. But I believe that we need to work hand-in-hand, across the organisation, to be able to do it right. Fundraisers might not cure cancer or save children but we work our hardest to ensure that our colleagues can. As a fundraiser, I am as passionate about the cause as the people delivering the services and it’s absurd for anyone to question that. I don’t need awards, recognition or praise for what I do – I do it for the love of it, as do many other fundraisers. All I ask, as I am sure many other fundraisers would, is not to be alienated within the workplace and to be included within the wider team because after all, without working together, how will we save the world? Confessions of a charity professional is the Guardian Voluntary Sector Network’s anonymous series where charity workers tell it how it is. If you would like to pitch us an idea, click here. |