How To Become A Funds Development Director: What It Is and Career Path

What is a funds development director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Do you think you might have a knack for inspiring others to donate to a worthy cause? As a funds development director, you'll get to plan, organize, and direct funding programs for institutions, such as museums, zoos, and public broadcasting stations. Funds development directors undertake a variety of activities to ensure that their organizations receive the funds they need to operate.

The Funds development director plans fundraising campaigns and activities, recruits and trains volunteers and fundraising leaderships, and identifies and cultivates prospective donors. The director also develops public relations materials to enhance the institution's image and promote its fundraising programs.

If you're interested in working as a funds development director, you need to be a creative, self-starter with a volunteer service mentality. You'll also need to be organized and know how to inspire team members. If you're hoping to pursue this career path, you should think of getting a Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or nonprofit leadership.

ScoreFunds Development DirectorUS Average

Salary

7.4

Avg. Salary $94,994

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.7

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.42%

Asian 5.06%

Black or African American 5.73%

Hispanic or Latino 8.91%

Unknown 4.65%

White 75.23%

Gender

female 61.74%

male 38.26%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

8.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a funds development director

Explore funds development director education requirements

Most common funds development director degrees

Bachelor's

76.0 %

Master's

15.2 %

Associate

5.4 %

Start to develop specific funds development director skills

Skills	Percentages
Portfolio	15.21%
Donor Relations	13.20%
Financial Support	6.01%
Real Estate	4.98%
Appeals	4.96%

Complete relevant funds development director training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New funds development directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a funds development director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real funds development director resumes.

Research funds development director duties and responsibilities

Support documentation activities for FDA audits & manage integration activities for acquisitions.
Resolve financial issues relate to charitable contributions, provide program budgets, process payroll, and oversight management of operating accounts.
Utilize social media such as Facebook.
Develop and execute alumni affairs program and relate communications/marketing through email, Facebook and regular mail.

Get funds development director experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a funds development director. The most common roles before becoming a funds development director include development director, executive director team lead and assistant director.

Prepare your funds development director resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your funds development director resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a funds development director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable funds development director resume templates

Build a professional funds development director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your funds development director resume.