The New Fundraisers : Who Organises Charitable Giving in Contemporary Society?

Charitable fundraising has become ever more urgent in a time of extensive public spending cuts. However, while the identity and motivation of those who donate comes under increasingly close scrutiny, little is known about the motivation and characteristics of the 'askers', despite almost every donation being solicited or prompted in some way. This is an empirically-grounded and theorised account of the identity, characteristics and motivation of fundraisers in the UK. Based on original data collected during a 3-year study of over 1,200 fundraisers, the book argues that it is not possible to understand charitable giving without accounting for the role of fundraising. This is the first empirically-grounded and theorised account of the identity, characteristics and motivation of fundraisers in the UK. Based on original data collected during a 3-year study of over 1,200 fundraisers, the book argues that it is not possible to understand charitable giving without accounting for the role of fundraising THE NEW FUNDRAISERS Contents List of tables and boxes Tables Boxes About the author Acknowledgements Preface Introduction Why study fundraisers? What is fundraising? Why charities fundraise The number of fundraisers The essential yet invisible role of fundraisers Philanthropy research: a growing field Donor-centric studies Research on the efficacy of fundraising The need to shift research attention to askers The aim of this book The structure of this book The current context: fundraising in ‘crisis’ Disparity in esteem for fundraisers and their charities Fundraising as the servant of philanthropy The role of fundraised income in the mixed economy of charities 1. A history of fundraising in the UK Fundraisers have much lower profiles than philanthropists Fundraising’s origin myth ‘Great Men’ and the origin myth of fundraising An alternative approach: the history of fundraising impact What social conditions facilitate fundraising? The public sphere The spread of wealth and fundraising Continuity and change in fundraising over time Fundraising as a social problem Conclusions 2. Who are the fundraisers? Fundraisers as stakeholders in a cause The ‘perfect fundraiser’ The difficulty in ascertaining fundraising proficiency Prior research on the skills and traits required by fundraisers Fundraisers are not a homogenous group New data on UK fundraisers including ‘Million Pound Askers’ Conclusions 3. The science of fundraising Fundraising training, education and occupational standards Methodology Date of publication Place of publication Type of publication Advice on doing fundraising Advice on being a fundraiser Preliminary discussion of ‘how to’ books advice Discussion of ‘how to fundraise’ books Conclusions 4. The art of fundraising The birthday card dilemma Methodology Context for the art of fundraising How fundraisers describe their work The art of fundraising in the extant literature Conclusions 5. What do fundraisers do? Fundraisers do far more than ‘raise funds’ The three ‘Fs’: a new framework to explain what fundraisers do Fundraising as a form of emotional labour Fundraising as gratitude work Conclusions 6. What kind of job is fundraising? The debate on professionalisation Is fundraising a profession? Fundraising as a creative profession Is fundraising a job, a vocation or a calling? Are fundraisers ‘born’ or ‘made’? Conclusions Conclusion: The new fundraisers The new fundraisers Conclusion Appendix A:Online survey questions Filter question 1: Filter question 2: Appendix B:Interview questions Appendix C:List of ‘How to fundraise’ booksin Chapter 3 analysis References Index Intro -- THE NEW FUNDRAISERS -- Contents -- List of tables and boxes -- Tables -- Boxes -- About the author -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Introduction -- Why study fundraisers? -- What is fundraising? -- Why charities fundraise -- The number of fundraisers -- The essential yet invisible role of fundraisers -- Philanthropy research: a growing field -- Donor-centric studies -- Research on the efficacy of fundraising -- The need to shift research attention to askers -- The aim of this book -- The structure of this book -- The current context: fundraising in 'crisis' -- Disparity in esteem for fundraisers and their charities -- Fundraising as the servant of philanthropy -- The role of fundraised income in the mixed economy of charities -- 1. A history of fundraising in the UK -- Fundraisers have much lower profiles than philanthropists -- Fundraising's origin myth -- 'Great Men' and the origin myth of fundraising -- An alternative approach: the history of fundraising impact -- What social conditions facilitate fundraising? -- The public sphere -- The spread of wealth and fundraising -- Continuity and change in fundraising over time -- Fundraising as a social problem -- Conclusions -- 2. Who are the fundraisers? -- Fundraisers as stakeholders in a cause -- The 'perfect fundraiser' -- The difficulty in ascertaining fundraising proficiency -- Prior research on the skills and traits required by fundraisers -- Fundraisers are not a homogenous group -- New data on UK fundraisers including 'Million Pound Askers' -- Conclusions -- 3. The science of fundraising -- Fundraising training, education and occupational standards -- Methodology -- Date of publication -- Place of publication -- Type of publication -- Advice on doing fundraising -- Advice on being a fundraiser -- Preliminary discussion of 'how to' books advice Charitable fundraising has become ever more urgent in a time of extensive public spending cuts. However, while the identity and motivation of those who donate comes under increasingly close scrutiny, little is known about the motivation and characteristics of the 'askers', despite almost every donation being solicited or prompted in some way. This is the first empirically-grounded and theorised account of the identity, characteristics and motivation of fundraisers in the UK. Based on original data collected during a three year study of over 1,200 fundraisers, the book argues that it is not possible to understand charitable giving without accounting for the role of fundraising. -- from back cover