Fundraise For Australia (F4A) is a national fellowship program that connects new & emerging fundraisers with the tools & opportunities that will help them supercharge their careers & deliver transformative change for their communities.
F4A is led by a dynamic group of experienced leaders in Australian philanthropy who represent the many facets of the profession, including fundraising, policy & advocacy, education, nonprofit tech and executive recruitment. One of the group's advisors is Rosheen Singh, Recruitment Manager, Fundraising, Marketing and Communications for Beaumont People.
Beaumont People specialise in all levels of recruitment both temporary and permanent across the industry areas of corporate services, customer experience and sales, education, associations and memberships, health and community services, information and communication technology and charities. They are also an active supporter of the Fundraising Institute for Australia. Rosheen has been particularly active in this space and has been bringing an authentic and personal voice to the recruitment of folks to a number of important roles (just check out her LinkedIn page to see what we mean!).
We spoke with Rosheen about why she joined the F4A Advisory Board and what change she hopes to see across the fundraising landscape.
Recruiting new fundraising talent to the field has become one of those fever pitch conversations in the not for profit sector and one that we will need to tackle head on over the coming decade if we are to see charities have the impact they seek and the impact many of those the sector serves sorely need.
“I could talk for HOURS about this, and I do….every single day!” Rosheen mentioned with gusto. In fact, this was the perfect opening salvo for the discussion as the sector has found themselves struggling to identify and recruit new talent, and not being proactive around it has led to this current issue we face in where there isn’t a larger enough talent pool, or continuous talent pipeline for that matter, that will be able to keep up with the sectors continued growth.
“Anyone who has ever spoken to me knows that for almost 15 years now I have been banging the drum about all things Fundraising and why it is such an interesting, rewarding, fulfilling, challenging and all round brilliant career choice.
“Fundraisers have never been more in demand; in the last 12 months, my team here at Beaumont People have worked on more Fundraising roles than we have in any 12 month period to date. But, I have also never seen such a lack of new talent coming into this space, and I have watched this become a real issue over recent years.” Rosheen said.
Lack of new Fundraising talent means that organisations are struggling to reach revenue goals that are needed to deliver their services, they are struggling to hit campaign deadlines because they don’t have the skills needed to deliver, they are losing donors because there is no one to cultivate relationships….and so the list goes on.
“There are MANY reasons for this skill shortage, but two that are a standout for me is that one) we still don’t talk about Fundraising as a career in schools, in universities, at graduate events etc where we could be attracting the talent of tomorrow at a critical stage in people’s lives when they are working out what careers might suit them and two) we don’t talk to candidates in the commercial world who may be contemplating where they take their career about how they could use their skills (be that in relationships or in marketing etc) in our world.
“People often just don’t know that our awesome world of Fundraising exists….how sad is that!” Rosheen lamented.
Fundraise For Australia was formed to play a complementary role to those organizations that are working hard on the frontlines of change. If you are interested in becoming a fundraiser (whether starting your professional career or looking for a values based pivot), F4A and Beaumont People have teamed up to bring you a special in-person event ‘How to Become a Fundraiser’, an informal information session on Tuesday, 6 December 2022 at 10:00am, showcasing opportunities and pathways that exist within the Fundraising profession.
If you are unable to make the event we still encourage you to seek/see yourself in a new career in fundraising. is offering a national fellowship program that identifies and connects new and emerging fundraisers with the tools and opportunities that will help them supercharge their careers and deliver transformative change for their communities.
F4A have launched an expression of interest period for their inaugural F4A Fellowships, which will provide new and emerging fundraisers with the tools they need to make an immediate impact in the field. To learn more or to apply, please visit our website - www.fundraiseforaustralia.com
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