Systems Fundraisers and Rolodex Fundraisers

Every project will have solicitors - sometimes paid, sometimes volunteer, sometimes you, who will help us bring in more donors. Finding and managing these solicitors is a challenge in itself.

In the professional class you’ll find two subcategories of fundraiser - the rolodex fundraiser and the systems fundraiser. Rolodex fundraisers keep a small client list of wealthy folks, and maintain their friendships. They monetize these relationships by introducing their wealthy friends to organizations, and often take a cut of the money raised.

Frankly, it's kind of gross. And it’s worth noting that these fundraisers can be effective but often raise ethical concerns. For example, the Association of Fundraising Professionals bans anyone who has taken a commission on a fundraise for a nonprofit entity. Taking a commission is common practice when speaking with a rolodex fundraiser.

Systems fundraisers are more common practice, but they don’t deliver quick wins with the same effectiveness that a rolodex fundraiser might. Systems folks do what the rest of these chapters suggest, and outline a clear process for starting from scratch and raising money. They are slower because they don’t rely on their own networks, they help the organization build their own relationships. But the benefits are extraordinary - these relationships last the life of the donor, and are made with permanence in mind. A relationship with a rolodex fundraiser is always transactional, and often doesn’t translate over to the organization itself. When the fundraiser leaves, the financial relationship leaves too.

Know whom you're hiring and why you're hiring them. There's a place for employing either – for example, you might hire a rolodex fundraiser to reach a specific funder, and you might hire a system fundraiser to build your organization's infrastructure.

But don't confuse the two - they both call themselves fundraisers, they both have the same testimonials on their websites, but they are very, very different.