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A fundraiser is a paid professional or volunteer who is responsible for setting fundraising goals, organizing fundraising events, identifying potential donor sources, speaking to those sources and convincing them to donate goods, services or money to a cause.
The fundraiser can develop major donor plans so a person can bequeath something of value to an institution or organization or help that person make regular donations through their work or personal financial resources. Fundraising is an important part (sometimes the only part) of many organizations' funding sources due to unpredictable cuts in government programs and funding shortfalls. - Political fundraisers are hired by a candidate for public office to raise the necessary funds to buy advertising, campaign paraphernalia and pay salaries to campaign staff. The fundraiser can either be a permanent member of the campaign staff or an outside consultant. As an outside consultant, the political fundraiser will be raising funds for many different campaigns.
- Educational fundraising at a university, college or non-profit school is conducted by the Department of Development, which is responsible for coordinating events and raising money from alumni and those who support the mission of the school. The money raised is used to improve facilities (or build new ones), promote the school in the community and develop new programs for the advantage of the student body.
- Foundation/corporate fundraisers work under the auspices of a corporation and use their fundraising efforts to advance a cause that the corporation's leaders feel strongly about. The Ford Foundation, for example, works to solve pressing economic, social, technological and political issues facing society whether nationally or internationally. There are many types of foundations (approximately 70,000 in the United States, according to the Foundation Center) and their missions varied widely.
- Local fundraising can take the form of a pancake breakfast for your neighborhood emergency medical service unit or a candy bar sale for the high school marching band. The members of these groups usually do the fundraising themselves without hiring a full-time fundraiser. The money raised is used to, for example, buy new equipment for the EMS unit or attend a marching band competition.
- According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals (see resources below) the future for fundraising is promising, but, due to fluctuations in economies around the world at any given time, fundraising efforts may suffer or blossom depending on the times.
