Penelope Burk: Why Do Fundraisers Leave?

The average tenure of most fundraisers increases with fundraiser age, but is still less than their bosses would hope. It takes between 6 and 12 months for most fundraisers to get trained and up to speed on their job. Those with the least responsibility felt they required the longest time on the job to get up to speed (10 to 12 months), so this really affects young fundraisers, who also have the highest turnover rate. So you may only get 2 to 4 months of good work out of a young fundraiser before they quit.

Why do fundraisers leave?

*Higher salary (37%) -- note this is the lion's share *More senior position (29%) *Internal promotion (24%) *Accomplished what they set out to do (22%) *Difficulty/conflict with boss (18.5%) *Get away from old school culture of fundraising (14%)

Click here to see all posts from Penelope Burk's talk. In addition to talent management, she shared some great donor relations gems.