Resume template · Updated October 2026
Fundraising manager resume template
Short answer
Olivia fits a fundraising manager: a solid blue header band gives the page presence, and skills print before experience, so giving programs and donor databases are read first. The fictional sample manages annual giving, monthly donors and a gala at an animal rescue with a $9M budget, growing individual giving and first-year donor retention, after four years as a development coordinator at an arts nonprofit.
Download the fundraising manager sample
Mateo is a fictional fundraising manager. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Olivia suits a fundraising manager resume
Olivia's full-width blue header band with the name in white makes the page look ready for a campaign, which suits a job built on asking people to give. It prints skills before experience in labelled rows, so giving channels and the donor database (Bloomerang, Raiser's Edge) sit on their own rows above the history of totals raised.
Second choice: Leslie. Leslie swaps the band for a centred blue header and puts experience ahead of skills, a quieter choice for hospital foundations and universities.
What goes in each section, in Olivia's order
Olivia prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Your channels (annual fund, monthly giving, major gifts, events, corporate, planned giving), the organization's size and a multi-year trend for the money you manage. Add CFRE here if you hold it, since certifications print near the end.
- Skills. Giving programs and methods on the first row, the CRM and online giving platforms on Tools. If you know which database the organization uses, name it only if you have worked in it.
- Work Experience. Dollars raised with the period and the starting figure, donor counts, retention, average gift and event net rather than gross. Say which revenue you owned and which you supported, especially major gifts closed by the executive director.
- Education. Degree and year. A university fundraising certificate can sit on the same line or below it.
- Certifications. CFRE with the year. CFRE International describes it as a voluntary credential: applicants earn points for education, months of professional fundraising work and professional performance such as funds raised, pass an exam, and recertify every three years.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Mateo Albright
Fundraising Manager, Annual and Monthly Giving, CFRE
Philadelphia, PA | mateo.albright@example.com | (215) 555-0191 | linkedin.com/in/sample-mateo-albright
Fundraising manager with eight years in nonprofit development, now leading annual giving, monthly donors and events for an animal welfare organization with a $9M budget. Grew individual giving from $2.1M to $2.9M in three years and raised first-year donor retention from 24% to 35%. CFRE since 2025.
Experience
Fundraising Manager, Cobbs Creek Animal Rescue, Philadelphia, PA (02/2022 to Present)
- Lead annual giving, monthly donors and two signature events, managing two coordinators and reporting to the director of development.
- Grew individual giving from $2.1M to $2.9M in three years, led by a monthly program that went from 900 to 2,300 donors.
- Raised first-year donor retention from 24% to 35% with a 90-day welcome series and thank-you calls from board members.
- Lifted the annual gala's net from $260K to $410K by adding a paddle raise and cutting production costs.
- Moved about 40,000 donor records from spreadsheets and an old system into Bloomerang.
Development Coordinator, Fairmount Arts Collective, Philadelphia, PA (05/2018 to 01/2022)
- Processed and acknowledged gifts from about 6,000 donors a year in Raiser's Edge.
- Coordinated the spring benefit and three donor cultivation events a year.
- Wrote year-end and membership appeal letters and the matching email campaigns.
Education
BA, Communication, Brandywine Valley University (05/2017)
Certifications
- Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE), CFRE International (2025)
Skills
Annual and monthly giving, Donor retention programs, Event fundraising, Direct mail and email appeals, Board engagement, Gift processing and reporting, Bloomerang, Raiser's Edge NXT, Classy, Mailchimp, Donor conversations, Coaching volunteers
How to make the sample yours
Report event net, not gross
A gala that grossed $600K and cost $350K is a $250K event. Give the net, and the gross only if you also cut costs.
Pair totals with retention
First-year and overall donor retention, upgrades and monthly donor counts show you built a base rather than one big year.
Say who closed the gift
For major gifts, state whether you managed the portfolio, prepared the ask or made it yourself. Moves management terms (identification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship) make the stage clear.
Match the size of the shop
In a one- or two-person development office, show range across channels; in a large one, show depth in a single channel and the portfolio or budget you carried.
Keep donors private
No donor names, gift amounts tied to people or screenshots from the CRM. Counts and totals are enough.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- fundraising
- annual giving
- major gifts
- donor retention
- donor stewardship
- moves management
- monthly giving
- special events
- direct mail
- peer-to-peer fundraising
- donor database
- Raiser's Edge
- Bloomerang
- board engagement
- CFRE
Mistakes to avoid
- Event totals given as gross revenue with the costs left out.
- Claiming major gifts that your executive director or board chair closed.
- Donor names, gift amounts tied to people or identifiable stories.
- A total with no starting point: "$2.9M" means more next to "up from $2.1M".
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 5 of 5 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a CFRE to become a fundraising manager?
No. CFRE International calls it a voluntary credential, and applicants need points for education, professional fundraising employment and performance (such as funds raised) before they can sit the exam, so many managers earn it a few years in. List it once you have it.
How do I show results from a small nonprofit?
Totals scale with the organization, so add context: percentage growth, donor counts, retention and the share of the budget your channels raised.
Should a fundraising resume list the events I ran?
One or two signature events with attendance, sponsors and net revenue. Smaller cultivation events fit into a single bullet.
How do I move from events or communications into fundraising?
Lead with anything tied to revenue: sponsorships sold, appeals written with their results, donor events and the gifts that followed. Use development titles only where the role carried a fundraising goal.
Development manager or fundraising manager: which title should I use?
Use the posting's wording in your headline if it matches your work, and keep your real job titles in the experience section.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Olivia PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 5 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- CFRE International: CFRE Certification (CFRE is a voluntary credential; applicants meet Education, Professional Practice (months of employment as a professional fundraiser) and Professional Performance (funds raised) requirements, pass the CFRE Exam and recertify every three years)
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