Of all my blog posts and TikTok videos, some of the most popular have been when I’ve talked about becoming a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). Every time I share about it, I get a flood of DMs and emails with questions like:

• “How do I apply?”
• “What’s the exam really like?”
• “Is it actually worth the effort and cost?”

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So I decided it was time to pull everything together – my real-world experience applying, what I learned the hard way when I took the exam (spoiler: I failed the first time), and why I still believe the CFRE is one of the most valuable credentials in our profession.
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Here’s what I got right, what I got wrong, and why I’m so glad I did it.

Here’s the good news: applying for the CFRE is easier than you think. You just go to www.cfre.org, create a login, and begin your application. Even if you don’t plan to apply right away, you can start tracking your experience and education in the system. It’s like a running professional development journal.

Pro tip: You don’t need those little CFRE credit certificates from every session. If the program was hosted by a reputable organization (AFP, CASE, Academic Impressions, etc.), just record the title, sponsor, and date. Bonus – recent changes mean that all your volunteer and service work now counts under “Education.”

You’ll also track:

• Professional practice (your years in the field)
• Professional performance (funds raised, management projects, communications efforts)

​For example, I received credit for a building campaign I directed – even though I didn’t personally ask every donor – because I managed the campaign from the ground up. For my management project, I submitted a policy document I drafted that improved how naming opportunities were documented and proposals were generated. It counted.

Once you’ve entered enough qualifying experience, the system will literally give you a green light in each section. That’s when you can pay the exam fee and move forward.

Here’s where I blew it.

I decided to take the CFRE exam cold. No prep. No studying. And even though I had 10+ years of experience… I failed by just a few points.

The CFRE exam isn’t just a knowledge test – it’s a judgment test.

It won’t ask: “Why should you start a donor relations program?”
It’ll ask: “What is the first step you should take to build a donor relations program?”

And several answers will be technically correct. You have to pick the best one, in the right sequence, based on what a seasoned, ethical professional should do.

After my initial disappointment (and, okay, a little self-pity), I registered again for the next testing window. I bought the AFP CFRE Review Guide (worth every penny), and I practiced with sample questions to get a feel for the exam’s structure.

If you’re preparing, my advice is this:

• Start 4-6 weeks before your exam date
• Focus on question style and scenario logic
• Don’t try to memorize everything – aim for comprehension across broad areas

Earning my CFRE made me a better advancement professional. Period.

But it also gave me something more – credibility, confidence, and clarity about what kind of fundraiser I want to be.

Here’s why I believe the CFRE is a valuable credential:

1. It signals real expertise.
Fundraising isn’t (yet) an academic discipline. The CFRE is shorthand that you know your stuff. It’s like a degree that speaks directly to your skillset and experience.

2. It shows your commitment to ethics.
The CFRE requires – and enforces – a high standard of fundraising ethics. That matters. It matters to your employer, to your donors, and to the reputation of the entire nonprofit sector.

3. It demonstrates your dedication to continual growth.
In a field that’s always evolving, this credential shows you’re serious about your craft. That you’re not just working hard – you’re working smart and staying sharp.

My new course, The Smart Start Fundraising System, offers 5 CFRE continuing education credits and gives you a complete, strategic system to build your annual fundraising plan.
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Whether you’re already certified and need credits, or you’re planning to apply soon, this course is a great way to invest in your professional development and build a plan you’ll actually follow.

And if you have questions about the CFRE process or exam – hit reply or leave a comment. I’d love to hear your story. Are you thinking about applying? What’s holding you back?

Let’s talk about it. 💬
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Cheers!

​PS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my e-newsletter, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity, and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

If you liked this…

• Why Most Fundraising Plans Fail
• Applying to be a CFRE
• The CFRE Exam
• Culture of Philanthropy Check-Up
• Beautiful on a Budget: How to Design Stunning Fundraising Event Decor for $250 or Less

Let’s be honest: a lot of “fundraising plans” aren’t really plans.

They’re a collection of ideas scribbled in the margins of a notebook. A to-do list that gets buried under meeting notes. Or a spreadsheet no one has opened since last fiscal year.

And when things feel uncertain or urgent, even the most well-intentioned plan gets abandoned.
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So why do most fundraising plans fail? After 20+ years of working in and coaching nonprofit teams, here’s what I’ve seen over and over again:

Too many plans are built for imaginary versions of our organizations. You know the ones: the org with unlimited time, a full development team, and a budget for days. In real life, you’ve got a stretched-thin staff, a volunteer board, and one printer that jams every third sheet.

The best fundraising plans start where you are. They work with your current capacity – not against it. They help you make choices, not just lists.

Staff turnover is one of the biggest challenges that can set you back in fundraising and burnout is often the cause. If you build your plan around the staff you have and use technology to leverage that plan, you can mitigate burnout and turnover.

If your plan doesn’t tell you how much money you can expect to raise – and from which methods – it’s not a plan. It’s a wish list.

A strong fundraising plan includes projections based on past data, average gift sizes, and realistic conversion rates. This lets you set expectations, allocate resources wisely, and make the case for investments when needed. I did an entire blog post showing you how to build those projections so you know what you are able to raise, not just what you wish you would raise.

No more spaghetti-on-the-wall fundraising. Just clear goals with measurable outcomes.

​Even when a plan exists, it often fails at the handoff: no one knows who’s doing what – or worse, everyone thinks someone else is handling it.

That’s why the final step of a good plan is assigning each task to a specific person. And then assigning a backup person to be cross-trained. This keeps your plan running when life happens – vacations, sick days, job changes – and builds resilience into your team. That’s why I wrote about building a responsibility calendar to protect your plan and ensure it becomes real.

No more scrambling. Everyone knows their role, and the show goes on.

It’s clear. It’s doable. And it starts with what I call the MVPPP Framework, which is part of my Smart Start Fundraising System course:

• Message – Your compelling case for support
• Vehicles – The channels you’ll use to reach donors
• Prospects – Who you’re asking
• Partners – Who’s helping you ask
• Plan – Bringing it all together with structure and accountability

This framework works whether you’re a one-person shop or leading a full advancement team. It’s not about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things on purpose.

My new course, The Smart Start Fundraising System, is officially here! It’s designed for nonprofit leaders who are tired of spinning their wheels and ready to raise more  –  strategically, confidently, and without burnout.

🎯 Inside, you'll learn how to craft a compelling message, choose the right methods, identify and engage donors, mobilize your board, and build a plan you can actually execute  –  all using my proven MVPPP framework.

✅ 5 Pre-approved CFRE credit hours available
✅ Four high-impact bonus trainings included
✅ A 21 page workbook plus tools, templates, and spreadsheets you can plug and play
💻 Enrollment is open now! Price is $549

Take a look, see what’s inside, and get started at your own pace:
👉 Take a closer look here.
Because passion doesn’t build a fundraising plan. But clarity? That’ll take you the distance.
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Cheers!

​PS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my e-newsletter, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity, and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

I couldn’t stop crying. A holiday party hosted by a colleague was starting in about an hour. I’d love to say that I hadn’t felt like this before, but I had. But, this time, it wasn’t postpartum depression or difficulty dealing with isolation during COVID. This time, I knew I had careened directly into a wall called burnout.
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My introvert husband volunteered to go alone in my stead. I was so grateful. He would say I had a headache, which after all the tears was true. I retreated to my bed. I was so embarrassed that I could not pull myself together, especially since my expertise was relationships.  

I had sold a house, bought a house in a new town, began going into an actual office again after being a remote employee for 8 years, hired an entire team, and was juggling what seemed like 18,000 competing demands of fundraising for an institution that needed much more than they had in the donor pipeline. I had no friends outside of work in my new town and I had high blood pressure (literally). Even after many months, my house still looked like a storage unit and we lived in the rabbit trails between stacks of boxes that I had neither the time nor energy to unpack.

At the time, did I think that something needed to change about my new life? No, I blamed myself for not adjusting well, for not keeping up, for what I perceived as the gap between my public performance and my real life.

I’m now back to my previous remote fundraising position, mixing travel with Zoom meetings. And my energy and zeal for work has made a dramatic comeback. I have a broader network locally than I did before, with time to take walks with a friend most mornings, teach poetry and dance, write this blog and make TikTok videos, and go to yoga classes. My house is a comfortable place to be most days. And I’m raising more money than ever!
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Burnout is more than a buzzword. It is a genuine crisis, not just for the individuals experiencing it, but for the organizations that depend on their energy, creativity, and dedication. And when burnout leads to turnover, it’s more than just a human resource issue; it’s a threat to your nonprofit's ability to build lasting relationships with donors and, ultimately, to its financial sustainability.

Burnout is that creeping exhaustion that makes you dread the next meeting, the next phone call, the next donor visit. According to a report by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, 69% of nonprofit leaders are worried about burnout among their staff. And why wouldn’t they be? Nonprofit work environments are often high-stress, resource-strapped, and emotionally taxing – conditions ripe for burnout.
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What’s alarming is that this isn’t just a leadership problem. Across the board, from entry-level staff to executive directors, burnout is taking its toll. A survey by Nonprofit Hive found that 77% of respondents reported feeling completely burned out, with 20% admitting they were "crispy" – right on the edge of burnout. This isn’t just a bad day at the office; it’s a systemic issue that’s been brewing for years.

Burnout doesn’t just lead to unhappy employees; it leads to turnover. And in fundraising, turnover is more than just a logistical headache – it’s a financial disaster waiting to happen. When your fundraiser leaves, they don’t just take their expertise with them; their leaving disrupts and derails the relationships they’ve spent months or even years cultivating.

Consider this: A Council for the Advancement and Support of Education study on principal gifts at colleges and universities found that more than half of $1 million+ donors had relationships with the institution lasting between 11 and 40 years. On average, it takes nearly 20 months from the initial conversation to the moment a principal gift is booked. Now, imagine the damage that occurs when a key fundraiser – who’s only been around for 16-18 months – leaves before they can seal the deal. The impact on your bottom line is clear, but the real loss is the relationship that never had the chance to fully develop.
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A 2022 analysis by Ruffalo Noel Levitz of over 3,000 major givers further underscores this point. Before making their first $25,000 gift, donors typically spent an average of 11.9 years as supporters, made 13.8 gifts, and had been giving for over 7 years. These numbers tell us one thing: major gifts and especially principal gifts don’t happen overnight. They’re the result of long-term relationships built on trust, mutual respect, and consistency.

In far too many organizations, the response to turnover is to double down on goals, increase oversight, lean on metrics, and push employees even harder. In my opinion, this is the death knell of the 20th-century leadership model – a model built on command and control, where employees are expected to follow orders and meet targets, no matter the cost to their well-being.
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But here’s the thing: That approach doesn’t work anymore. In fact, it’s going to bite these organizations hard. High turnover rates disrupt the donor pipeline, making it nearly impossible to cultivate the kind of long-term relationships necessary for securing major and principal gifts. When fundraisers are constantly churning through roles, your organization is left in a perpetual state of starting over – losing momentum, missing opportunities, and ultimately, falling short of its mission.

It’s time for a change. The 21st-century workplace must be built on a foundation of trust, flexibility, and autonomy. This isn’t just the humane thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do for the health and viability of your fundraising efforts. Treat your fundraisers like the professionals they are. Give them the autonomy to manage their work, the flexibility to find balance, and the trust to build relationships with donors in a way that’s authentic and sustainable.
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When you create a workplace that supports people as people, you don’t just prevent burnout; you enhance your organization’s ability to thrive. Long-term relationships with donors are the bedrock of sustainable fundraising. By fostering a supportive, empowering work environment, you’re investing in those relationships – and in the future of your nonprofit.

So, how do we move forward? Here are a few strategies to consider:

1. Prioritize Work-Life Balance: Encourage self-care and provide resources to support mental health. Make sure your team feels empowered to take time off when they need it.
2. Set Realistic Goals: Be mindful of the pressure you’re placing on your fundraisers. Set goals that are challenging but achievable, and recognize when they’ve been met.
3. Invest in Professional Development: Support your fundraisers in their career growth. Offer training, mentorship, and opportunities for advancement within your organization.
4. Foster a Culture of Trust: Move away from micromanagement. Trust your team to do their jobs well, and give them the autonomy to make decisions.
5. Build Community: Create opportunities for your team to connect with each other and with leadership. This could be through regular check-ins, team-building activities, or open forums for discussion.

Burnout and high turnover aren’t just HR issues – they’re existential threats to the future of your nonprofit. But you aren’t powerless. By adopting a leadership model that prioritizes trust, flexibility, and autonomy, you can create a work environment where fundraisers thrive, long-term donor relationships are nurtured, and your organization’s financial sustainability is secured.

It’s time to leave behind the outdated command-and-control leadership model and embrace a new approach that recognizes the value of your people and the critical role they play in your mission. Let’s build a future where nonprofits aren’t just surviving but thriving – where fundraisers are supported, donors are engaged, and our communities are better off because of it.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU? Have you experienced burnout? Does your organization have high turnover? If so, why do you think that is? What else do you think can be done to keep good people in the fundraising and nonprofit sector (in a healthy way)? Let me know in the comments! 
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[Updated for 2025]
 
Cheers!​

P.S. If you’re feeling the weight of constant fundraising pressure and the creeping burnout that comes with it, you’re not alone—and you don’t have to muscle through it alone either. Join me for Building Fundraising Confidence, a free live webinar on 5/28. It's designed to help you rediscover your voice, sharpen your message, and build a plan that actually works. It’s practical, supportive, and CFRE approved. Register now here!

PPS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my monthly newsletter email, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

If you liked this post, you may also like these:

• How to Climb Out of Burnout
• Impostor Syndrome
• Building your Self Care Practice
• Do You Work for a 21st Century Institution?
• Why Nonprofits Shouldn't Sleep on IRA Rollovers

Twice in the last month, I’ve been asked for advice about becoming a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). I’m sure some of you have thought about what it would take to earn this designation. I thought I would share my experience.

Applying for the CFRE is actually very easy and user friendly. Visit www.cfre.org and create a log-in. From there, you can begin working on your application. I recommend doing this anytime you think about it. You can create a profile and compile the data you need whether or not you plan to apply soon. It doesn’t matter if you never actually apply. You can come back to it and track each conference right after you get back. This system will give you a clear idea of how close you are to meeting the requirements.

It’s a bit of a myth that you need those little CFRE credit sheets from every conference you attend. As long as the session was sponsored by a reputable organization (Association of Fundraising Professionals, Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, Academic Impressions or others like them), you probably will just need the session details. You will need the title of each session, the name of sponsoring institution, and the date. Due to a recent change, all volunteer or service work will be counted under “Education” now. You also get points if you have an advanced degree.

You will also need to produce evidence of professional practice (the time you have been a professional fundraiser) and professional performance, which can include dollars raised, management projects and communications projects.

For dollars raised, if you are a campaign manager or annual giving, you get credit for dollars raised under your management. I was the campaign director for a completed building campaign, so I got credit for those dollars since I ran that campaign from the beginning. 

For the management projects, I submitted an inter-office “white paper” I wrote that outlined a plan to improve the way that development officers requested written proposals and recorded building naming opportunities. These projects required coordination across multiple divisions including advancement services, major gift officers, executive officers and communications staff. 

The CFRE software assigns the points as you enter the information and shows you clearly when you have a “green light” on a particular section. When you have been approved to apply on all sections, you will need to come up with a plan for paying the Exam Fee. Currently, for initial certification, the fee is $875. If you are a member of a participating organization (like AFP), it’s only $700. Most organizations will cover the cost if you express the interest early and include it in your budget request for that fiscal year. 

After you apply, your materials will be evaluated and if all is well, you will receive an "Approval to Test" notification. That test is a beast of a unique sort though, so I’ll save the information about the CFRE exam for another post.