July 28, 2009 | Read Time: 1 minute
Simon Frank, a consultant to charities who works in London, was at a meeting with a group of fund raisers the other day when he was struck by the titles they used to describe their work: “head of supporter relationship marketing,” for example, and leader of “supporter acquisition.”
Mr. Frank, who works at a company called Beautiful World, began to wonder why there seems to be a “rash of obscure job titles” in the fund-raising world.
“Are charities (at least some of them) becoming embarrassed at the idea of asking for money?” he asks. “Could part of the reason be the proliferation of ‘social-media experts’ flooding into the sector offering charities advice?”
“These self-proclaimed gurus, many of whom have little or no fund-raising experience, sell a beguiling dream of online social communities coalescing around charities and good causes in a beatific haze of generosity,” Mr. Frank continues.
But he says it’s a mistake for charities to “pussy foot” around the idea of asking for money. “Very few people will put their hands in their pockets on the basis of a hint,” Mr. Frank says. “Time after time, one of the top reasons donors cite for giving is simply: I was asked.”
What do you think? Are the titles we use to describe fund raisers too obscure? Should development officials start calling themselves fund raisers again?
