Professional fundraiser vs direct response consultant

The differences between professional fundraisers and direct response consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a professional fundraiser and a direct response consultant. Additionally, a direct response consultant has an average salary of $115,325, which is higher than the $43,692 average annual salary of a professional fundraiser.

The top three skills for a professional fundraiser include alumni, non-profit organization and telephone calls. The most important skills for a direct response consultant are incident response, patients, and gap analysis.

Professional fundraiser vs direct response consultant overview

	Professional Fundraiser	Direct Response Consultant
Yearly salary	$43,692	$115,325
Hourly rate	$21.01	$55.44
Growth rate	11%	11%
Number of jobs	43,441	44,537
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	4	4

Professional fundraiser vs direct response consultant salary

Professional fundraisers and direct response consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Professional Fundraiser	Direct Response Consultant
Average salary	$43,692	$115,325
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $74,000	Between $88,000 And $149,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between professional fundraiser and direct response consultant education

There are a few differences between a professional fundraiser and a direct response consultant in terms of educational background:

	Professional Fundraiser	Direct Response Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Professional fundraiser vs direct response consultant demographics

Here are the differences between professional fundraisers' and direct response consultants' demographics:

	Professional Fundraiser	Direct Response Consultant
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 46.0% Female, 54.0%	Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 5.2% White, 77.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 77.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	19%	19%

Differences between professional fundraiser and direct response consultant duties and responsibilities

Professional fundraiser example responsibilities.

Mentore new and struggling CSP's to help them reach and achieve their goals.
Contact alumni to update/verify their personal information and raise money for the university through gifts from alumni and friends of the university
Monitor complaint database assign customers grievances to designate department or CSR for further investigation and resolution.

Direct response consultant example responsibilities.

Develop and manage national database driven direct program for Verio, a newly form company offering DSL and telecommunication services.
Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
Develop external website utilizing Java script, PHP script, HTML, and CSS.
Develop comprehensive RFP responses and ROI models for accounts within module.
Used Powerpoint, uPerform, and SnagIt for ILT and e-learning.
Develop marketing programs for a variety of B2B and B2C clients.

Professional fundraiser vs direct response consultant skills

Common professional fundraiser skills

Alumni, 22%
Non-Profit Organization, 14%
Telephone Calls, 11%
Customer Service, 11%
Outbound Calls, 9%
Charitable Donations, 9%

Common direct response consultant skills

Incident Response, 75%
Patients, 6%
Gap Analysis, 5%
Crisis Calls, 3%
Conference Calls, 1%
PHP, 1%

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Professional Fundraiser
Professional Fundraiser vs Direct Response Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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