Description
The project Building legitimacy and information for fundraising professionals, submitted by the Association for Community Relations aims to improve the financial viability of the Romanian non-profit sector by 1. Developing a database, easy to access by fundraising practitioners about the philanthropic behavior of individual and corporate donors and 2. Develop occupational standards for fundraising practitioners and including them in the Romanian Code of Occupations and develop a curriculum for an accredited training program. The project aims to respond to the lack of information about donor behavior and preferences and the limited recognition of the fundraising profession due to the lack of occupational standards. This has a negative impact on recruitment, selection, realistic job descriptions, monitoring and evaluation of fundraising staff. The main beneficiaries of the project are hundreds of fundraising practitioners from Romania.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to respond to the lack of information about donor behaviour and preferences in Romania (the last reliable data was collected in 2007-2008), as well as to the limited recognition of the fundraising profession due to the lack of occupational standards. This has a negative impact on recruitment, selection, realistic job descriptions, monitoring and evaluation of fundraising staff. In response to this situation, a thorough and extensive basis of information regarding donor behaviour and motivation was developed: three studies regarding individual, corporate donors based on nationally representative samples, as well as a component regarding the fundraising practice of non-profit organizations. A second major objective aimed at developing occupational standards for fundraising practitioners and a curriculum for an accredited training program to be used in order to improve the practice of fundraisers and their professional standing. More than a thousand fundraising practitioners and dozens of CSR practitioners have participated during information sessions and publications. The non-profit sector will have access to certified training programs in the area of fundraising, improving thus the standing and quality of the fundraising profession in Romania, due to the fact that professional standards and a training curriculum have been developed for two professions: fundraising manager and fundraising assistant. Also, as a result of the project, the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice has approved the request to introduce the fundraising manager and fundraising assistant occupations in the Romanian Occupations Classifier nomenclature. This achievement will have a positive effect on the recruitment, selection and job description of fundraising staff, being in favour of the Romanian fundraising practitioners. This will have a positive impact on hiring, induction, training and evaluation of fundraising practitioners. By being formally recognized and by having a formal training process, the profession gains in acceptance and attractiveness. Before, there were no professional standards whatsoever and there was no accredited training process for fundraisers in Romania.
Summary of bilateral results