Top 12 Fundraising Manager Skills to Put on Your Resume
A sharp resume still matters in fundraising. Hiring managers skim fast, then pause when they see proof you can rally donors, shape strategy, and keep dollars flowing. Lean into the skills that move needles and show you can turn intention into impact.
Fundraising Manager Skills
- Grant Writing
- Donor Management
- Salesforce CRM
- Event Planning
- Budget Forecasting
- Raiser's Edge
- Email Marketing
- Social Media
- Prospect Research
- Financial Reporting
- Negotiation
- Public Speaking
1. Grant Writing
Grant writing is the craft of researching opportunities and building clear, compelling proposals that secure funding from governments, foundations, and trusts. It means proving need, mapping methods, and showing measurable outcomes—always aligned to the funder’s priorities.
Why It's Important
Without strong proposals, promising programs stall. Grant writing unlocks core resources, fuels new initiatives, and keeps the mission alive when budgets tighten.
How to Improve Grant Writing Skills
Know the funder’s lens. Follow instructions like a hawk. Make every sentence earn its spot. Pin down SMART objectives, back up claims with data, and present a precise, defensible budget. Build credibility with past results and partner capacity. Then edit again—fresh eyes catch quiet errors. Practice, submit, learn, iterate; your win rate climbs over time.
How to Display Grant Writing Skills on Your Resume
2. Donor Management
Donor management means organizing data, nurturing relationships, and guiding people from first gift to lifelong support. It’s equal parts system and empathy.
Why It's Important
Retention beats acquisition on cost and stability. Thoughtful stewardship increases lifetime value and turns donors into advocates.
How to Improve Donor Management Skills
Stand up a nonprofit-ready CRM and keep it clean. Segment by interest, capacity, and behavior—then speak to what matters to each group. Build two-way engagement through events, updates, and volunteer touchpoints. Recognize donors with timely, personal thanks and transparent impact reports. Ask for feedback with short surveys and act on what you hear. Keep learning from sector benchmarks and peer communities. Consistency wins.
How to Display Donor Management Skills on Your Resume
3. Salesforce CRM
Salesforce CRM centralizes donor data, campaign activity, and reporting so fundraisers can personalize outreach and track outcomes across the lifecycle.
Why It's Important
Better data. Smarter targeting. Faster execution. Salesforce turns scattered information into coordinated action that boosts revenue and retention.
How to Improve Salesforce CRM Skills
Implement Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP) for fundraising-ready objects and workflows. Integrate donation platforms so gifts land cleanly in your database. Automate journeys with Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Pardot) for timely, relevant touchpoints. Use CRM Analytics/Tableau to spot trends, segment opportunities, and forecast. Keep collaboration tight with Chatter and clear ownership on records. Level up continuously with Trailhead modules and internal playbooks. Small automations add up to big time savings.
How to Display Salesforce CRM Skills on Your Resume
4. Event Planning
Event planning for fundraising blends logistics with storytelling: venue, program, outreach, budget, and hospitality—woven into an experience that inspires giving.
Why It's Important
Great events raise dollars and deepen bonds. They energize communities, spotlight impact, and create momentum for the year ahead.
How to Improve Event Planning Skills
Set crisp goals: dollars, pledges, attendees, new donors. Lock a realistic budget early, with contingency lines. Use event software for registration, seating, and check-in. Prime the audience with targeted invitations and follow-ups; keep the run of show tight and donor-centric. Capture stories, photos, and pledges in real time. Afterward, thank fast, share results, and document lessons learned. Then refine your playbook before memories fade.
How to Display Event Planning Skills on Your Resume
5. Budget Forecasting
Budget forecasting estimates future fundraising income and costs so you can plan campaigns, staffing, and reserves with fewer surprises.
Why It's Important
Forecasts guide targets, pace spending, and protect mission delivery when conditions shift.
How to Improve Budget Forecasting Skills
Mine historical results for seasonal patterns, channel performance, and donor retention. Scan trends in your sector and major economic signals. Involve stakeholders—development, finance, programs—to ground assumptions. Build scenarios (base, stretch, downside) and define triggers to pivot. Use tools like Workday Adaptive Planning or Prophix for version control and variance tracking. Reforecast regularly; agility beats perfection.
How to Display Budget Forecasting Skills on Your Resume
6. Raiser's Edge
Raiser’s Edge (including NXT) is Blackbaud’s donor management platform for tracking gifts, campaigns, and constituent relationships.
Why It's Important
Strong configuration and hygiene in Raiser’s Edge turn raw records into actionable insight and reliable reporting for leadership and boards.
How to Improve Raiser's Edge Skills
Clean the database on a cadence—dedupe, standardize fields, sunset stale codes. Customize dashboards and queries for your key segments and KPIs. Integrate email, events, and finance systems to reduce manual entry. Tap built-in analytics to flag LYBUNT/SYBUNT lists and major gift prospects. Invest in training through Blackbaud University and document internal processes so knowledge sticks beyond one power user.
How to Display Raiser's Edge Skills on Your Resume
7. Email Marketing
Email is your always-on, low-cost channel for storytelling, action, and stewardship.
Why It's Important
It scales personal touch. Done well, it nurtures donors between big moments and drives repeat giving.
How to Improve Email Marketing Skills
Segment by behavior and intent—welcome series for newcomers, impact updates for sustainers, re-engagement for lapsed givers. Write subject lines that earn the open; use tight, skimmable copy with one clear ask. Design mobile-first. A/B test (send time, CTA, imagery) and let data guide you. Automate journeys for welcomes, thank-yous, and post-event follow-ups. Track with GA4 and your ESP dashboards; prune inactive contacts to protect deliverability.
How to Display Email Marketing Skills on Your Resume
8. Social Media
Social platforms amplify reach, spark conversation, and funnel attention toward action.
Why It's Important
Meet supporters where they scroll. Build community, surface stories, and turn awareness into gifts.
How to Improve Social Media Skills
Map a content calendar anchored in real impact—short videos, donor spotlights, quick stats, behind-the-scenes. Keep visuals on-brand with simple design tools. Reply fast; go live when it counts. Watch platform analytics and UTM-tag links to see what actually drives traffic and gifts. Diversify channels (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok) based on your audience mix. Test paid ads with tight targeting and creative rotation; scale only what converts.
How to Display Social Media Skills on Your Resume
9. Prospect Research
Prospect research identifies who has capacity, affinity, and access—so you spend time where it counts.
Why It's Important
Targeted pipelines shorten cycles and raise average gift size. Precision beats volume.
How to Improve Prospect Research Skills
Blend wealth screening with public records and philanthropic histories. Use LinkedIn and news searches for roles, affiliations, and signals of interest. Map networks through your board and champions. Watch giving patterns to similar causes. Keep profiles concise, current, and ethically sourced. Partner closely with gift officers—feedback tightens your next list.
How to Display Prospect Research Skills on Your Resume
10. Financial Reporting
Financial reporting translates fundraising activity into clean numbers and clear narratives for staff, boards, and donors.
Why It's Important
Trust rides on transparency. Good reports guide strategy, prove impact, and keep you compliant.
How to Improve Financial Reporting Skills
Adopt reliable accounting and donor systems with consistent coding across campaigns and funds. Standardize templates, calendars, and definitions so reports compare period to period. Visualize key metrics—revenue by channel, retention, cost to raise a dollar, cash vs. pledge. Stay current with nonprofit accounting standards and regulatory requirements. Gather stakeholder feedback on what they need to decide faster, then refine your dashboards accordingly.
How to Display Financial Reporting Skills on Your Resume
11. Negotiation
Negotiation is the art of aligning donor intent and organizational need—finding terms that feel good on both sides.
Why It's Important
It protects mission integrity, unlocks larger gifts, and sets the tone for long-term partnership.
How to Improve Negotiation Skills
Prepare deeply: goals, walk-away points, and creative trade-offs. Lead with curiosity—ask, listen, and reflect back what you hear. Frame value with crisp impact stories and outcomes, not just inputs. Tackle constraints openly and propose options. Practice through role-plays and post-mortems; small tweaks compound. Relationships outlast any single deal—tend them.
How to Display Negotiation Skills on Your Resume
12. Public Speaking
Public speaking, for fundraisers, is stagecraft with purpose—clear messages that move hearts and open checkbooks.
Why It's Important
A powerful talk can catalyze a room, rally supporters, and crystallize why the work can’t wait.
How to Improve Public Speaking Skills
Know the room and tailor the ask. Rehearse until the words feel lived-in, not memorized. Lead with a story, anchor with data, and close with a sharp call to action. Mind body language: posture, pause, eye contact. Record, review, and solicit candid feedback. Join a speaking group or coaching circle to keep sharpening. The best speakers iterate relentlessly.
How to Display Public Speaking Skills on Your Resume
