Competing for Talent

This study examines how institutions can recruit high-performing major gift officers in an environment of increasing demand for top recruiters.

Executive Summary Lesson #1: Systematize Vacancy Planning

The market for major gift officer talent is more competitive than ever before. Colleges and universities must improve their recruiting efforts if they are going to successfully attract high-quality fundraisers.

Demand for fundraisers has exceeded pre-recession levels. Higher education institutions are relying on major gifts to replace other sources of revenue that have been cut or reduced. Simultaneously, other nonprofits are expanding into the major gifts fundraising space and competing with universities for fundraisers. This environment has created a seller’s market in which highly qualified gift officers can choose between an abundance of employment opportunities.

Colleges and universities typically prefer experienced fundraisers, but these individuals are the most difficult and expensive to recruit. Institutions can side-step the “salary arms race” by proactively identifying strong candidates, customizing their approach based on institutional need, and accelerating gift officers’ transitions into the organization.

Salaries for experienced major gift officers have risen exponentially alongside demand, creating significant salary inflation that has posed challenges for many institutions. Fortunately, non-monetary factors like office culture and professional development opportunities play as big a role in career decisions as financial compensation. Innovative institutions proactively seek out strong candidates, build long-term candidate pipelines, design a hiring and interview process that puts the candidate’s needs first, and provide a holistic onboarding program to accelerate full productivity.

Lesson #2: Move to Proactive Pursuit

Internal staff can be an excellent source of future major gift officers. However, they often encounter challenges to moving into development roles. Common difficulties include a lack of opportunities to express interest and few pathways for exploring the profession.

Internal staff bring a range of strengths to fundraising positions,…