51% of Fundraisers Plan to Leave Their Jobs by 2021, Says New Survey - Michael Towner, Iconic Legacy

Too much pressure to meet unrealistic fundraising goals, coupled with too little pay and frustrating organizational cultures, is driving away fundraisers, according to a new Chronicle of Philanthropy survey.
Half of all fundraisers surveyed expect to leave their jobs in the next two years, the report says.
Even more alarming, 3 in 10 said they had recently left or plan to leave the development field altogether in the next two years.
While the large number of baby boomers in fundraising could account for some of that, it’s hardly the main source; only 12% said they planned to retire or had family changes or other personal reasons for quitting.
The new figures come from a survey of 1,035 fundraisers in the United States and Canada, conducted by Harris Insights & Analytics, through the Harris Poll, for the Chronicle and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The online questionnaire asked survey participants about their job satisfaction; 5% of the survey takers included people who had left fundraising altogether within the past five years.

​Too Much Pressure, Too Little Appreciation
The new data shows that even after a widely shared study in 2013 sent a warning signal to nonprofit leaders about the anxiety and unhappiness of fundraisers, little has improved. Half of the top development officers in that survey, “Underdeveloped,” conducted by CompassPoint and the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund, said they were considering leaving their jobs.
The reasons the revolving door keeps spinning are numerous, our survey shows. But two findings stand out:
84 percent of fundraisers said they felt “tremendous pressure to succeed” in their role.
55% said they “often feel unappreciated” in their work.
Seeing an unpromising future at a job can stir a fundraiser’s restlessness, according to the survey results. At the jobs they left most recently, they were likeliest to be dissatisfied with their prospects for promotion (85 percent) or a lack of succession planning (83 percent).
Seeking More Time With Donors
The new survey did highlight some bright spots. Among them:
Fundraisers are driven by mission; 93% of survey participants said they couldn’t work for a charity if they didn’t have a strong connection to the cause.
They’re happy with their travel schedule (92%).
They appreciate their organization’s flexibility regarding their family and child-care issues.
They are satisfied with their level of independence in their jobs (83%), and the same share said they’re happy with their relationship with their charity’s volunteers (excluding board members).
In addition, fundraisers relish working with donors: 78% said they wished they had more time to spend meeting with supporters.
The survey provides valuable insights into how fundraisers feel about their work. “It helps us put a number on what we’re hearing anecdotally,” says Michael Nilsen, vice president for communications and public policy at the Association for Fundraising Professionals.
But those donors are changing, the survey found. Compared with five years ago:
Supporters want more information on their gifts’ impact, according to 92% of participants
They’re more aware of social issues (85%)
And donors are more likely to earmark their gifts for specific programs (77%)
Respondents also said that fundraising is getting harder: 1 in 3 said donations to their charity had dropped in the past two years. The latest “Giving USA” figures showed philanthropy over all down 1.7%  in 2018 compared with the previous year — including a 3.4% drop in giving by individuals.
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