Automatically apply for jobs with Zippia

Upload your resume to get started.

Fundraising director skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical fundraising director skills. We ranked the top skills for fundraising directors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 20.5% of fundraising director resumes contained non-profit organization as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a fundraising director needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 fundraising director skills for your resume and career

1. Non-Profit Organization

A non-profit organization (NPO) is a business that has been granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) because it serves a social cause and provides a benefit to the public. The organization must serve a social cause whether it is through services, goods, or both.

Here's how fundraising directors use non-profit organization:

Promoted the services of private non-profit organization serving developmentally disabled persons and at-risk youth.
Coordinated major reward/incentive programs with various vendors for schools and non-profit organizations.

2. Donor Relationships

Here's how fundraising directors use donor relationships:

Manage the level donor cultivation and stewardship of donor relationships, and maintain database and files to document submissions.
Acquired and managed nonprofit status Stewarded donor relationships

3. Volunteer Recruitment

Here's how fundraising directors use volunteer recruitment:

Managed multiple major operations a day involving hundreds of volunteers, while also supervising several volunteer recruitment interns.
Demonstrate measurable outcomes including increased fundraising, volunteer recruitment, awareness and outreach.

4. Capital Campaign

Here's how fundraising directors use capital campaign:

Organized a Capital Campaign event for Help With Housing, Inc. and Fish to improve the building that both non-profits shared.
Planned, coordinated and implemented the first phase of a capital campaign to build a new elementary school for the parish.

5. Fund Raising

Here's how fundraising directors use fund raising:

Identified, located and cold called sponsors in schools for the purpose of conducting a fund raising program with students.
Started a fund raising project to support the NGO's Youth Educational Program.

6. Financial Support

Financial support is the financial resource or money provided to an organization to support its operations. Financial support is generally provided by the government, or private institutes such as non-profits, or aid institutes. Financial support usually does not have any interests or benefits to be returned.

Here's how fundraising directors use financial support:

Directed daily meetings with various financial supporters to network and generate new contacts and donors.
Researched, and approached corporations, businesses, foundations, private donors for one time or ongoing financial support.

7. Corporate Sponsors

Here's how fundraising directors use corporate sponsors:

Collaborate with 11 leaders to prepare and coordinate event details, donation procurement, and corporate sponsors.
Established corporate sponsorships and worked with local businesses to support philanthropy events.

8. Alumni

Alumni is a term used for graduate students of a school, college, university, or any other educational institution. The term is also used for employees of a company or a previous member of a group or an organization that has been retired. Alumni represent the institutions or organizations that they were previously associated with.

Here's how fundraising directors use alumni:

Coordinated and implemented events and programs to foster closer relationships among alumni throughout the country.
Coordinated activities for Capital Briefs alumni magazine including design, copy and editing.

9. Walkers

Here's how fundraising directors use walkers:

Hit many companies, schools, business to recruit walkers for the Walk.

10. Fundraising Strategy

Here's how fundraising directors use fundraising strategy:

Implemented organizational fundraising strategy, including establishing annual and major giving programs and publicizing planned giving opportunities to client families.
Develop and implement organization's first comprehensive fundraising strategy in alignment with agency's strategic goals.

11. Individual Giving

Here's how fundraising directors use individual giving:

Managed annual activities including foundation, corporate and individual giving, fundraisers, community events, and internal and external solicitation.
Established membership levels and effective development strategies for major gifts, corporate membership and individual giving campaigns.

12. Public Speaking

Public Speaking or oration, as it is sometimes known, is the act of any one person speaking live in front of an audience. Although in the past the audience was only a physical one, nowadays oration might be done on an online video call, at a digital conference, at an online class, or elsewhere. The art of public speaking is very old, drawing its first established roots from Ancient Greece and likely from before, too. It is an important skill and asset in many industries.

Here's how fundraising directors use public speaking:

Presented fundraising opportunities at public speaking events.
Generated and conducted extensive public speaking and public relations engagements to broaden the organization's support and community recognition.

13. Strategic Plan

Here's how fundraising directors use strategic plan:

Maintained relationships with corporate national and international partners through strategic planning, created lobbying and networking activities.
Managed events from strategic planning to tactical execution and post-event evaluation.

14. Local Businesses

Local businesses are independently owned businesses that require less capital, fewer workforces, and less or no machinery. These businesses are ideal for operating on a small scale to serve a local community/population and provide profits to the business owners. A local business can be a locally owned business or a corporate business with multiple locations operating in a specific area. Local businesses provide opportunities for entrepreneurs, jobs for neighbors, and meeting places for communities.

Here's how fundraising directors use local businesses:

Established strong relationships with local businesses, private donors, athletic apparel companies, and professional sports organizations.
Organized fundraisers for the society at 4 different local businesses to finance events and general body meetings

15. Fundraising Campaigns

Here's how fundraising directors use fundraising campaigns:

Created strategies and fundraising campaigns for nonprofit organizations that increase revenue.
design all printed marketing materials work directly with the director on advertisements, positioningand branding direct and maintain fundraising campaigns

What skills help Fundraising Directors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

List of fundraising director skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a fundraising director resume and required skills for a fundraising director to have include:

Non-Profit Organization
Donor Relationships
Volunteer Recruitment
Capital Campaign
Fund Raising
Financial Support
Corporate Sponsors
Alumni
Walkers
Fundraising Strategy
Individual Giving
Public Speaking

Strategic Plan
Local Businesses
Fundraising Campaigns
Grassroots
Plan Events
Donor Database
PBS
Executive Board
Press Releases
Business Plan
Donor Recognition
Event Management

Silent Auction
In-Kind Donations
Community Events
Local Community
Facebook
PowerPoint
Community Organizations
Financial Reports
Local Organizations
Financial Management

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs