Fundraising coordinator

Emma Woodward is a fundraising coordinator with Save the Children. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Name: Emma Woodward
Age: 32
Job title: Fundraising coordinator
Working hours: 8.30am to 5pm
Employer: Save the Children NZ, other charitable and not-for-profit organisations
Pay: $30,000 to $60,000 depending on experience and size of organisation
Qualifications needed: Marketing degree or short courses in fundraising helpful, enthusiasm for cause, people skills
Career prospects: Staff management, administrative management

Describe your job.

I'm responsible for fundraising to the New Zealand public, which is almost all the fundraising activity we do. It includes our annual appeal. I coordinate all that and organise all the materials. I also look after our regular giving programme - the people who give every month - and I promote legacies and one-off donations.

So there is quite a lot of direct mail, online campaigns and general marketing activities. The other side of my role is supporting volunteers in their fundraising activities. We have about 8000-9000 volunteers across the country who help us out on various projects and events.

The typical things that I do include managing projects and campaigns and the production of materials - everything from planning campaigns to writing copy, managing suppliers such as printers and mail outs, advertising agencies, and then doing the analysis of the results of campaigns. I assess how well they've
worked and what we should do next time.

Why did you choose the job?

I was working in a more commercial marketing role, met someone working at Save the Children and started volunteering. Then a position became available and I thought it would be a great opportunity to do something a bit more meaningful. That was 18 months ago.

Why is the job important?

For a not-for-profit organisation, without fundraising, we wouldn't be able to do all the great work we do. We're all here to help children and fundraising is a really important part of that in terms of teaching the public about the work we do and how they can help.

What's the best part of the job?

It's always great to be able to hear stories back from the field. Save the Children works in more than one hundred countries so the exciting things are to hear the stories of the kids who had the chance to go to school for the first time or don't have to work any more because someone has given them enough money so they can buy the books they need to go to school. That's really rewarding.

The other side, the administrative side, is when you open an envelope and there is a great big cheque in it. Someone's read the letter that you've written or listened to the story you've been telling and it's moved them enough to make a difference.

Any interesting tales?

One of the first projects I worked on as an employee was collecting at the Wellington Rugby Sevens straight after the Boxing Day tsunami and it was just great fun. Everyone just got in, got their T-shirts on and we were rattling our buckets and having a great time. It's an industry where you do have a lot of fun like that. There are lots of events and lots of volunteers who give their own time.

What are your strengths?

The key thing is wanting to make a difference. Also being able to manage a lot of things at once. The creative side - the writing and ideas - and also the analysis, the number crunching.

Where would you like to be in five years?

I hope I'm still working in the not-for-profit area helping people who are not so well off as myself. My leaning is to the technical side of the job, the logistical side, writing the copy and so on.

What are the essential qualities of a good fundraiser?

A people focus, the ability to cope with everything that goes on and be calm and make decisions. It is about the cause but it is also good to be interested in the process of marketing.

What's your job-hunting advice?

Talk to people to see what opportunities are out there and what organisations you feel comfortable with. Volunteer and get a background in marketing.