As development professionals face a growing array of workplace frustrations, 46 percent of nonprofit fundraisers in the United States and the United Kingdom intend to leave their current employer in the next two years—and 9 percent plan to leave the field altogether—a report from the UK-based Institute of Sustainable Philanthropy (ISP) and Revolutionise International finds.

The report, What Makes Fundraisers Tick? A Study of Identity, Motivation, and Well-being (84 pages, PDF), includes survey responses from 2,700 development professionals—82 percent of them female—completed in May and June of 2022 and finds that perceptions of a lack of professional growth, autonomy, and board support were central factors in rising dissatisfaction and a lower commitment to the work of fundraising. Echoing similar findings from a 2019 Chronicle of Philanthropy survey, the report warns that the “hemorrhaging of talent is not sustainable,” particularly among smaller nonprofits that bear the brunt of chronic vacancies and accelerating churn among fundraisers.

Most survey participants indicated they had joined the development profession accidentally or from a desire to make a difference. Passion, emotional attachment, and a love for a given cause appear key to fundraiser loyalty and retention. Overall, salary and benefits appear to be of less motivating concern for those considering quitting, although respondents who viewed salary and benefits of higher importance also showed a significantly lower commitment to their employer. The report highlights the perceived lack of a career trajectory for fundraisers within organizations—where other staff functions have clear paths for promotion to leadership, fundraisers find no comparable route and often conclude that they need to “move on to move up.”

Among respondents, 26.5 percent indicated that they were the subject of harassment or discrimination with only 48.6 percent of incidents being formally reported. According to the report, where more senior staff or donors were implicated, many organizations defaulted to inaction and failed to adequately support the fundraiser.

“Many organizations are beginning to understand how important it is to understand donors and their needs,” said ISP co-director Adrian Sargeant. “By contrast, very few have applied the same thinking to how they look after their fundraisers. Given the high level of turnover in our sector and the steep costs of securing new hires, nonprofits need to ensure that they focus on both donor and fundraiser well-being in equal measure.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/SDI Productions)