How To Become A Fundraising Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a fundraising specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a fundraising specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.76 an hour? That's $51,507 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 11,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreFundraising SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,507

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.1

Growth Rate 11%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 5.15%

Black or African American 5.31%

Hispanic or Latino 8.01%

Unknown 4.16%

White 77.09%

Gender

female 63.38%

male 36.62%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress Level

6.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.7

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.7

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become a fundraising specialist

Explore fundraising specialist education requirements

Most common fundraising specialist degrees

Bachelor's

76.4 %

Associate

8.7 %

High School Diploma

6.2 %

Start to develop specific fundraising specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Event Planning	20.28%
Fundraising Strategy	16.27%
Community Outreach	14.82%
Alumni Events	7.96%
Non-Profit Organization	7.48%

Complete relevant fundraising specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New fundraising specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a fundraising specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real fundraising specialist resumes.

Research fundraising specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage monthly progress meetings and promote education and leadership opportunities through skill-building activities.
Conduct research using online federal regulations, review Medicare and Medicaid policy and guidelines to complete an accurate and well-support decision.
Canvase door-to-door seeking donations for the DNC.

Prepare your fundraising specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your fundraising specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a fundraising specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Fundraising Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Fundraising Specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Fundraising Specialist resume.

Apply for fundraising specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a fundraising specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams