Skills by role
Skills for Fundraising and Development Managers
Map the skills for fundraising and development managers — from donor cultivation and grant writing to campaign strategy, stewardship, impact reporting, and partnership development.
- 5M+Skills and technical tools added by professionals on MuchSkills globally
- 21+Priority skills identified for fundraising and development managers on MuchSkills
- 107%More likely to place talent effectively — skills-based organisations vs traditional role-based ones (Deloitte)
A fundraiser's skill gaps usually live in a manager's head. Grade the 6 core skills on a 1–9 scale and the gap becomes a training plan.
Last year's job advert won't tell you who can write the next grant. Use this guide to write the spec, set progression levels or pick your next skill to learn.
Great at grants, thin on stewardship? Check all 6
Soft skills that matter for fundraising and development managers
Hard skills write the bid. Soft skills get it signed.
- Relationship buildingMajor gifts can take years to close, and they close on trust built one conversation at a time.
- StorytellingDonors fund outcomes they can picture, so programme data has to become a story a trustee remembers.
- Empathy and active listeningThe best ask matches what the donor cares about, and you only learn that by listening first.
- ResilienceMost asks get a no, so the role needs someone who learns from each one and still hits the next deadline.
- Ethical judgementKnowing which gifts to accept, and how hard to push, protects the organisation's name and its donors' trust.
- Cross-team collaborationStrong bids need programme, finance and communications input, from teams with their own priorities.
What separates junior and senior fundraising and development managers
The short version: juniors deliver the plan, seniors own the income. Use these lines as the level descriptors in your framework.
Junior
- Writes bids and appeals from an agreed plan, with a senior reviewing before submission.
- Manages a small donor portfolio and keeps CRM records and acknowledgements up to date.
- Runs CRM reports and flags trends, such as falling regular giving, for others to act on.
- Supports events, campaigns and partner meetings rather than leading the ask.
Senior
- Owns the fundraising strategy and income forecast, and decides which streams to grow or cut.
- Leads major gift and corporate asks, and manages trustee and board relationships.
- Designs multi-year campaigns and bids, with budgets, theory of change and reporting commitments.
- Coaches the team and points development at the gaps that block income.
Mapping fundraising and development manager skills across your organisation
Most fundraising teams keep skills in a job description, a spreadsheet and the director's head. Then the grant writer who also ran the CRM leaves, and nobody knew how much depended on her. A skills matrix only helps if it stays current. It stays current when people own their profiles.
A worked example. Your trust income target rises next year and you need someone to lead a multi-year foundation bid. Filter for grant writing at level 6 or above, theory of change and an interest in trusts work. The shortlist appears in seconds. If only 1 person qualifies, that is your gap analysis: upskill the people just below the bar who want the work, or hire before the bid window opens.
The platform is live in days, and profile completion across customers typically lands between 70% and the high 80s.
Höegh Autoliners, on SAP SuccessFactors: skills declared per employee rose from an industry baseline of 3–5 to 54.
Intellect EU: 'Eliminated spreadsheet chaos across 200+ employees.' Marcus Thomas: 'Our managers are having better 1:1s than ever.'
Third-party scores: 5.0 on Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice, 4.5 on G2. Named a Major Contender in the Everest Group Skills Intelligence Platforms PEAK Matrix® in 2025 and 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What skills does a fundraising and development manager need?
A fundraising and development manager needs skills in 6 areas: donor cultivation and major gifts, grant writing, campaign strategy, stewardship, fundraising data and impact reporting, and corporate partnerships. Soft skills such as relationship building, storytelling, empathy and resilience sit on top. The mix depends on your income streams, so a trusts-led charity weights grant writing more heavily than one built on individual giving.
What are the most in-demand fundraising and development manager skills?
The most in-demand fundraising and development manager skills are usually major gift solicitation, grant writing for multi-year funding, and CRM data skills in tools such as Raiser's Edge NXT or Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud. Impact reporting matters more each year, because funders want evidence of outcomes. Relationship building and storytelling decide whether those skills turn into income.
What certifications should a fundraising and development manager have?
No certification is required, but several are widely recognised. CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) is the best-known international credential, with ACFRE for senior leaders. GPC (Grant Professional Certified) covers grant work. In the UK, the Chartered Institute of Fundraising offers a Certificate and a Diploma in Fundraising. Track expiry dates in your skills matrix, because some need renewing.
How do you build a skills matrix for fundraising and development managers?
To build a skills matrix for fundraising and development managers, list skills by category, set a target level for each role, then have each person rate themselves and discuss it with their manager. In MuchSkills, people keep their own profiles on a 1–9 scale, so the matrix stays current and a gap analysis takes minutes, not a yearly spreadsheet rebuild.
How do you assess fundraising skills when hiring?
Assess fundraising skills when hiring with evidence, not just CVs. Ask for a past bid or appeal the candidate wrote, a role-play of a major gift ask, and a short task reading a donor retention report. Score candidates against the same target levels you use for your current team, so hiring and development run on one framework.
Map fundraising and development manager skills across your organisation
See who has which skills, at what level, and where the gaps are — in one live view on top of your HRIS.