Here's how you can secure a raise in your nonprofit fundraising role.

Don't let fear hold back your innovative spirit in fundraising. ShareTheMeal's success is a testament to daring to break conventions and embrace new approaches. Innovation opens doors to untapped opportunities, transforming challenges into triumphs. Embrace creativity, for it's the spark that ignites change and drives impactful initiatives forward

Learn to celebrate your successes after every fundraising win and communicate the wins clearly with your supervisors and management team. Let the team understand what effort you invest in securing funding through your fundraising strategy and research.

To stand out and advance in nonprofit fundraising, embrace innovative approaches that redefine success in fundraising. Donors are attracted to initiatives that tangibly improve lives, so ensure that your fundraising efforts directly contribute to the mission. Track and showcase how your approach translates into meaningful outcomes. Continuously refine your fundraising methods and explore new ways to communicate proven strategies, adapting to maximize fundraising effectiveness. Highlight your achievements and the positive ripple effects they generate. By demonstrating a consistent track record of success, transparency, and agility, you build trust with donors, securing their ongoing support.

Knowing the market value for your experience and accomplishments in your region strengthens your negotiation. You can present concrete data to demonstrate you're not just asking for more, you're deserving of it. Don't just talk about activities, quantify your results. Translate your fundraising efforts into clear metrics like increased donor retention rates, new major gifts secured, or exceeded campaign goals. Show how your skills directly contribute to the organization's financial stability. Highlight how your strategies not only raise money but also cultivate deeper donor relationships that fuel long-term mission success. This reinforces your value as someone who understands the bigger picture.

Part of knowing your worth as a fundraiser is knowing YOU. Beyond researching salaries for comparison, part of your true value proposition is your unique humanity, lived experience, core values, and inimitable personality. Know yourself and your values enough to show up authentically - and to help those that collaborate with you in also seeing and supporting your fabulously unique value and worth.

Nonprofits operate with tight budgets. Quantifiable goals like "increase recurring donations by 15%" or "secure X number of grants exceeding $Y" showcase your fundraising prowess. Track progress meticulously and translate it into financial impact. Metrics are crucial, but don't underestimate the power of storytelling. Demonstrate how your strategies (e.g. targeted donor outreach, personalized campaigns) translated into those numbers. Highlight success stories of major donors you cultivated. Propose innovative fundraising ideas, research new donor segments, or streamline processes. Show leadership by mentoring junior team members. This positions you as a high-value asset who significantly impacts the organization's fundraising engine

How do we set achievable goals? We start with where we are. In my experience, what helps to set achievable goals is both understanding trends, upside opportunities, risks, and drivers in your org's development department and understanding the motivations, style, and expectations of those to whom you report. These inputs will help you in setting goals that both serve the enterprise needs and also, of course, the needs and interests of those who will support you to success.

Identify specific, measurable goals that you have achieved or are working towards in your fundraising role. These could include surpassing fundraising targets, securing major donations, implementing successful campaigns, or expanding your donor base. Highlighting your accomplishments demonstrates your value to the organization and provides tangible evidence of your contributions. When setting goals, make sure they are realistic and achievable within a reasonable timeframe, as this will make them more compelling to your employer.

Before you walk into that meeting, set clear, achievable fundraising goals and track your progress religiously. Did you smash those donation targets? Secure that dream grant? Launch a killer campaign that brought in tons of new supporters? Document it all! This becomes your secret weapon. When raise time rolls around, you can present tangible evidence of how you directly impacted the organization's bottom line. Think of it like this: You're showing your boss exactly how your hard work translates to more money for the cause. It's a win-win – you get recognized for your achievements, and the nonprofit benefits from your continued fundraising expertise.

From my 22 years as a fundraiser and nonprofit leader, I've had a front seat to the direct causal relationship between enterprise investment in its people and enterprise performance. Those orgs that invest in their people and in enhancing/developing their people will always perform better than those that don't. Small budgets or lean times are never an excuse to ruthlessly cut PD budgets. Investing in your people is always winning. Bring a plan to your boss, and always bring more than what you ultimately want in your first request.

Nonprofits thrive on measurable results. Focus on courses or certifications that equip you with data-driven fundraising strategies. Mastering tools like donor relationship management (DRM) software or digital fundraising platforms can lead to demonstrably increased contributions. Numbers speak volumes in negotiation conversations. The fundraising landscape is constantly evolving. Upskilling ensures you stay ahead of the curve. Learn about new trends like impact investing or peer-to-peer fundraising. Being an early adopter allows you to propose innovative strategies that diversify income streams and position yourself as a fundraising thought leader within your organization.

Invest in your professional development to strengthen your skills and increase your value as a fundraiser. Attend workshops, conferences, and training programs relevant to your role to stay up-to-date with industry trends and best practices. Consider pursuing certifications or advanced degrees in fundraising or nonprofit management to demonstrate your commitment to your career. Developing new skills or enhancing existing ones not only makes you a more valuable asset to your organization but also positions you for future career growth and advancement.

Use data and specific metrics to demonstrate your success, such as percentages of growth, number of new donors acquired, and increases in donor retention rates. Discuss how retaining experienced staff like yourself is cost-effective compared to the expenses associated with hiring and training new employees. Highlight how your deep understanding of the organization’s mission, strategies, and donor base adds irreplaceable value. Fundraising is inherently relational. Point out the strong relationships you’ve cultivated with key donors and stakeholders and how these relationships have benefited the organization. Emphasize your unique connection with these donors and the potential risks of disrupting these cultivated relationships.

Don't just say you "increased donations." Showcase concrete metrics. Did you exceed fundraising goals by X%? Secure a major new donor bringing in Y dollars annually? Numbers paint a powerful picture of your impact. Nonprofits prioritize return on investment. Demonstrate how your efforts maximized fundraising. Did your strategies lower acquisition costs per donor? Streamline grant applications, leading to more wins? Emphasize cost-effectiveness alongside increased revenue. Show how your success directly benefits the cause. Did your fundraising enable serving Z% more beneficiaries? Fund a critical new program? Frame your accomplishments within the organization's mission, demonstrating your alignment with their core goals.

Communication is always, in my experience, ultimately about negotiation. Therefore, preparation is truly what's key here. Whenever you're entering a conversation to negotiate a raise or title change or anything at all, you should spend at least some amount of time, say half an hour, moving through a process to prepare for your negotiating meeting. Hot tip: listen and ask questions more than you talk.

Nothing wins like a network! I have fallen down and gotten up again and again in life and career thanks in part to the broad and diverse network I've built of trusted colleagues across many sectors and industries. One way to build and leverage your network? Be both a mentor and mentee at all times. I usually actively mentor 2-3 individuals over the course of a year, and also seek out and enroll 3-5 mentors for myself in a given year at the same time. It's a terrific way to learn in all directions and build one's network.