PAYMENT

The fundraising professional must be remunerated for the work effectively carried out for the organization, needing to consider the value to be received for the time dedicated to the activity performed and the knowledge (experience) with which he counts and positively impacts his work.

In other words: the fundraiser must receive a pre-defined fixed amount, and this is a principle that is part of the essence of ABCR, being provided for in our Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

As a general rule, the ideal is for the collector to be part of the organization for which he works as a registered employee in accordance with the provisions of labor legislation, the “CLT”.

In addition to being ideal, it is also a widespread practice: there is not a single large civil society organization in the world, or in Brazil, that does not have recruiters hired as employees.

The reason for this is that, only by being inside the organization, experiencing its day-to-day life and sharing the cause for which it exists, is that fundraisers can be fully prepared to act requesting donations for the sustainability of the institution.< /p>

In Brazil, however, we know that a large number of organizations are unable to hire workers. And 72% of them don't even have a single employee, according to FASFIL from 2010.

This does not, however, prevent them from hiring fundraisers to, among other activities, support the definition of the fundraising strategy, the preparation of the plan, the structuring of fundraising with individuals, companies, etc.

In these cases, the bond, even if provisional, must be guaranteed through prior agreement on what the professional's remuneration will be: a fixed amount, regardless of the result to be achieved and that is adequate to pay for the time dedicated by the pickup to the task.

This fixed amount can be complemented with another variable, which rewards good results, such as bonuses or bonuses, for example.

What is expressly forbidden, however, by ABCR and by the good global practices of fundraising, is the remuneration of the fundraiser paid exclusively from a percentage of what is raised.

This practice means that the risk of the contracted work is shared with the collector. And this is not acceptable: the risk of the outcome must be on the hirer – the organization – and not on the hirer. And this is how it works when you hire an administrative, a project manager, HR, etc. (In time: there is no restriction for remuneration to be paid during project implementation, as in the case of those included in incentive laws. Only the form of remuneration is restricted, which cannot be exclusively dependent on the success or otherwise of funding – which would be the “commissioning”).

In addition, this modality also does not encourage the professional's bond with the organization and takes away the legitimacy of the professional with the donors who realize that part of the resource they will donate to social, cultural, environmental works, etc., will end up being used to pay directly the professional who is with him asking for the resource.

In summary: the fundraiser must be an employee of the organization, hired exclusively for this function. When this is not possible, it must be hired for a pre-defined fixed amount, which can be complemented with bonuses or gratuities. And, under no circumstances, should receive exclusively a percentage (commission) of the total amount raised.

Better fundraisers, better paid – and in the right way, considering their professional profile – will make civil society stronger and more prepared for its sustainability. And that's what everyone wants, including ABCR.

Text by João Paulo Vergueiro, President of ABCR – Brazilian Association of Fundraisers, administrator, master in administration and professor at FECAP. (Originally published on this page on December 25, 2013)