Survey shows positive public response for the profession

Charity fundraising’s profile is on the ascendency after a new survey revealed 78% of the UK public believe it is good for society.

A poll conducted by YouGov for the Insitutue of Fundraising (IoF), looked at how the fundraising profession is seen and understood by the public, looking at age, race, religion, disability, and gender.

It found that though the profession faced challenges, it was bolstering public perception by galvanising fundraising through, for example, a new chartered accreditation.

Over one third would view fundraising more positively if it had a chartered body.

Some 88% of those surveyed thought that being able to create rapport and build relationships, as well as engaging and influencing, were the most important aspects of the role.

Alex Xavier, Director of professional development at the IoF, said: “We want to encourage the broadest range of people, from across the UK, to think of fundraising as a career choice.

“The public are absolutely right in that fundraising is a profession where people can make a difference to society, but we need to think more about how we can demonstrate and showcase the career and skills development opportunities that fundraising can offer.

There is a real opportunity with our planned journey to chartered status in making fundraising a more attractive career prospect and we hope to work with schools, universities, and career development services to promote fundraising as a career.

“With a third of the public saying that they’d feel more positive about the fundraising profession if they knew that it had a chartered body this provides us with a big chance to kick start the recruitment of the next generation of fundraisers.”

The YouGov survey was undertaken from 29 April to 8 May 2019 with a sample of 2,623 adults.