Falling into Fundraising

Many people ask me how I ‘got into’ fundraising. Did I grow up dreaming of a career in fundraising, they ask? The truth is, I didn’t even know it was a job, let alone a career path until I actually started as a fundraiser.

At school, like many of us I took the quizzes at the careers office - and disappointingly it didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. Many of my friends took it and got the answers they wanted - a career in medicine, finance, the police… I was stumped. I didn’t know what I wanted to do - I just knew I wanted to be a part of positive change. There wasn’t an option for that within the software, disappointingly - and so instead I opted for a teaching degree and took a gap year where I hoped I’d figure it all out. 

It was genuinely while I was in South America, fighting my way through the Amazonian rainforest that I realised I didn’t want to be a teacher. It wasn’t a case of ‘finding myself’ or anything as wholesome as that; I just had some headspace to realise what I wanted. After a fraught transatlantic phone call to my mother (from an internet cafe that I had to travel 4 hours to, and pray that she’d be at home when I called. And, yes - I'm older than iPhones and WhatsApp calls) - who wonderfully navigated the UCAS system while I was stuck in said Amazonian rainforest; I secured a place to study Philosophy and Politics. A degree which did not lead me down an expected career path; but it gave me the opportunity to learn how the world works; why decisions are made; and why the world is as we find it today. 

I graduated during a pretty intense recession, where jobs for graduates

(in fact, jobs for anyone) were pretty hard to come by. I managed to secure a job selling stairlifts - yes, stairlifts! - On behalf of a company who was in partnership with a well known charity. This was my first foray into how charity fundraising works when it's done well - with a more commercial mindset. At the end of this role - I saw a secondment cover job advertised for an ‘Area Volunteer Manager’ - with one of the UK’s largest charities. I read it and thought - ‘yes, that’s something for me’. Applied - and got the job. I was thrilled. What I hadn’t fully realised was that the job was a fully fundraising focused role. The title and job description were a little different from reality. (I believe the job titles have since been updated!)

I was managing volunteer fundraisers; with income targets - I was a community fundraising manager. And I LOVED it! I met inspiring people; achieved some amazing things for the charity and learnt so much. It was a fast track in fundraising how-to. I worked alongside some incredibly experienced fundraisers and was like a sponge. I took it all in. I made mistakes - and learnt from them. 

From there I went from strength to strength, trying my hand at all fundraising disciplines - both in the UK and in New Zealand. Fundraising is a rollercoaster of a ride - with highs and lows. But working with people; seeing the impact you can make is the most rewarding job. 

If only it had been an option on the career quiz software I would have realised the job for me was just an accidental application away!