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Fundraising assistant education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a fundraising assistant. Fundraising assistants usually study business, political science, or communication. 75% of fundraising assistants hold a bachelor's degree, and 8% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 684 real fundraising assistant resumes to see exactly what fundraising assistant education sections show.

The most common colleges for fundraising assistants are the Minnesota State University - Mankato and the Minnesota State University - Mankato.

There are also many online fundraising assistant courses to help get the education required to be a fundraising assistant.

What education do you need to become a fundraising assistant?

What degree do you need to be a fundraising assistant?

The most common degree for fundraising assistants is bachelor's degree, with 75% of fundraising assistants earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 8% and master's degree degree at 8%.
  • Bachelor's, 75%
  • Master's, 8%
  • Associate, 8%
  • High School Diploma, 6%
  • Other Degrees, 3%

What should I major in to become a fundraising assistant?

You should major in business to become a fundraising assistant. 15% of fundraising assistants major in business. Other common majors for a fundraising assistant include political science and communication.

Most common colleges for fundraising assistants

Fundraising assistants often get their degrees at Minnesota State University - Mankato, Boston University, and University of California, Santa Barbara. Here are the most common colleges for fundraising assistants in the US based on their resumes.
Fundraising assistant common collegePercentages
Minnesota State University - Mankato21.65%
Boston University8.25%
University of California, Santa Barbara7.22%
St. Lawrence University7.22%
New York University6.19%

Best majors for fundraising assistants

RankMajorPercentages
1Business15.4%
2Political Science13.5%
3Communication12.5%
4Psychology8.0%
5English6.4%

Best colleges for fundraising assistants

The best colleges for fundraising assistants are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

A fundraising assistant with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for fundraising assistants. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become fundraising assistants.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-state tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

6. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

7. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

8. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-state tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

9. New York University

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$51,828

Enrollment

26,339

10. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

Minneapolis, MN • Private

In-state tuition

$14,760

Enrollment

31,451

20 best online courses for fundraising assistants

Advertising disclosure

1. Fundraising and Development

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Charitable giving is rebounding as the economy improves. Yet there is a shortage of qualified fundraising professionals to help organizations connect their needs with potential donors. Through four courses, you will gain the knowledge and skills to begin or advance your career in the high demand field of fundraising and development. This Specialization is designed to meet the rising demand for trained fundraising professionals...

2. Create a fundraising page on KissKissBankBank

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At the end of this project, you will learn how to create a fundraising page on KissKissBankBank for personal or professional purposes. This Guided Project is an introduction to KissKissBankBank and is designed for people who want to have their own fundraising page for a non-profit, charity, social enterprise, community project, or to support someone in need. KissKissBankBank offers an online platform to create fundraising, on a small or large scale, which brings together a large community with...

3. Financial Statement Analysis

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Learn how to make understanding financial statements your superpower!...

4. Investment Banking and Finance: Venture Capital Fundraising

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4.6
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Investment Banking and Finance; Venture Capital Fundraising Pitching to Investors Angels, Venture Capital, Crowdfunding...

5. Database Management Essentials

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Database Management Essentials provides the foundation you need for a career in database development, data warehousing, or business intelligence, as well as for the entire Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence specialization. In this course, you will create relational databases, write SQL statements to extract information to satisfy business reporting requests, create entity relationship diagrams (ERDs) to design databases, and analyze table designs for excessive redundancy. As you develop...

6. Relational Databases for Beginners

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In Relational Databases for Beginners, you will learn invaluable information about how data is stored with the MySQL database. This guided project provides hands-on lessons with an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and relational databases to give you the skills to process data. In this guided project, you will learn how to explore the IDE interface, create a Python program using the IDE, create, populate, backup, and restore a database, how to create and populate a table, and how to use...

7. How to Throw Events and Attract Corporate Sponsors

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48 Industry Secrets that Make You More Money and Get More People to Your Events...

8. Digital Marketing For Non-Profits & Charities

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Getting Started & Setting Priorities With Digital Marketing: Building An Audience, Communicating and Fundraising Online...

9. Oracle Database Performance Tuning

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10. Google Assistant development with Actions on Google

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11. Oracle database utilities - Perform data export / Import

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Learn Oracle utilities to move data from one database to another...

12. How to Read Financial Statements: Build Financial Literacy.

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Read financial statements and speak the language of business without the drudgery of a traditional accounting course...

13. Becoming an Executive Personal Assistant

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Learn how to be an effective personal assistant, and find out how to develop the skills for the role...

14. Financial Statement Analysis - Ratio Analysis

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Master the Art of Financial Statement Analysis: Unlocking Insights through Vertical, Horizontal, and Ratio Analysis...

15. Corporate Finance #1 Introduction & Financial Statements

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Navigating the Intersection of Finance, Accounting, and Economics for Effective Corporate Decision-Making...

16. Financial Accounting-Adjusting Entries & Financial Statement

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Master Adjusting Entries & Financial Statements: A Comprehensive Guide for Accurate Accounting and Reporting...

17. Become a Virtual Assistant

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Live Free. Work Virtually. Virtual Assistant Training...

18. Corporate Finance #2 Financial Ratios

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Gain Financial Insights and Make Informed Decisions with Ratio Analysis in Corporate Finance...

19. Complete Data Entry Skills Course - Learn Data Entry Skills

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Learn Essential Data Entry Skills Now To Enhance Your Career -Word - Excel - Database - Data Entry Jobs...

20. Advanced SQL Database Administration with MySQL Workbench

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Master SQL database design & advanced database management systems to build and maintain databases w/ real-world projects...

Top 10 most affordable universities for fundraising assistants

The most affordable schools for fundraising assistants are Baruch College of the City University of New York, california state university - bakersfield, and suny farmingdale.

If the best universities for fundraising assistants are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for fundraising assistants.

1. Baruch College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,262

Cost of attendance

14,046

2. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

3. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

4. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Brooklyn, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,240

Cost of attendance

13,991

5. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

6. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

7. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

8. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

9. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

10. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for fundraising assistants

The hardest universities for fundraising assistants to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Some great schools for fundraising assistants are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for fundraising assistants based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

4%

SAT average

1,497

2. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

3. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

7. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,407

8. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

9. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

10. George Washington University, The

Washington, DC • Private

Admissions rate

42%

SAT average

1,380

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for fundraising assistants

The easiest schools for fundraising assistants to get into are Notre Dame de Namur University, holy names university, and wayland baptist university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a fundraising assistant without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for fundraising assistants.

1. Notre Dame de Namur University

Belmont, CA • Private

Admissions rate

82%

SAT average

983

2. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

3. Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

1,003

4. Barry University

Miami, FL • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,006

5. Notre Dame College

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

994

6. Oklahoma Wesleyan University

Bartlesville, OK • Private

Admissions rate

68%

SAT average

964

7. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

8. Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

72%

SAT average

1,017

9. Saint Joseph's College of Maine

Standish, ME • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,069

10. Fresno Pacific University

Fresno, CA • Private

Admissions rate

85%

SAT average

1,053

Average fundraising assistant salary by education level

According to our data, fundraising assistants with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $45,274 annually. Fundraising assistants with a Bachelor's degree earn an average annual salary of $43,725.
Fundraising assistant education levelFundraising assistant salary
Master's Degree$45,274
Bachelor's Degree$43,725

Fundraising assistant education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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