#171 | Have we got our approach to developing fundraising talent all wrong?

Stephen Burns, CFRE is the Director of Institutional Advancement at Lansdale Catholic High School which is part of the oldest Catholic school system in the country. As Stephen edges closer to the end of his first decade in fundraising, he is asking whether the way we train fundraisers and the role we afford technology in this process aligns with the task we give them. Our conversation begged the question of whether our approach to developing talent is all wrong and what we might do to change that.

Stephen has noted that some technologies create a lot of busy work and provide easy cover for those who are hesitant to interact directly with their donors. Complicating this fact, much of the training and credentialing process for young fundraisers focuses on what can be taught in a classroom and overlooks the importance of what can only be learned in the field. At a time when meaningful conversations with donors are critically important, I was especially encouraged by Stephen’s insights.

As mentioned during the outset, Responsive's recovery plan is now available for download here (https://lnkd.in/dyhvmPv). We are very grateful to all those who contributed to this free resource. As always, we are very grateful to OneCause for being our sponsor.

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