Biggest Challenges Faced by an Assistant Director of Development at UC Davis
Ryan's biggest challenge in the Assistant Director of Development role is the high turnover rate in fundraising, driven by the difficulty of "sales without a tangible product" and the need to constantly adapt to diverse prospect motivations. This is further compounded by the constraints often found in nonprofits, such as potentially lower pay and less administrative support.
Fundraising, Nonprofit, Sales, Donor Relations, Challenges
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Ryan Advincula
Assistant Director of Development
University of California, Davis
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Davis: MBA
Entertainment, Music & Arts, Political Science, American Studies
Education, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Sales and Client Management
Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, Worked 20+ Hours in School, LGBTQ, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. High turnover rate in fundraising positions (average tenure around two years) due to the challenging nature of the work, which is essentially sales without a tangible product.
2. The need to understand and cater to diverse donor motivations, ranging from tax benefits to genuine impact on students, which requires adaptability and quick thinking.
3. Challenges within non-profit organizations, such as smaller size, less administrative support, and potentially lower pay, which students should consider alongside the benefits of the role.
Transcript
What's your biggest challenge in your role?
Fundraising has a ton of turnover. If you look at case studies, the average role within a development position is about two years.
This can be difficult because it's essentially sales without a tangible product all the time. You have to find out what motivates your prospects.
For some people, it's a tax write-off. For others, it's the impact on the student. You'll meet different prospects and donors who are motivated by different things than you are.
Sales requires you to think on your feet and always consider your metrics and a longer-term future of growth. The way your sales targets change is the same in fundraising, at least on the front-end side.
This can be difficult because nonprofits can be smaller and may have less administrative support. They also have a reputation of not always offering the highest pay. These are some of the most pressing challenges with the role.
I don't think these challenges overwhelm the benefits, but they are worth considering.