Fund Raising Programs Increase Business Sense and Professionalism

Have you ever attended a run or bike for breast cancer awareness, MS, AIDs or any other cause? Have you ever watched a fundraising special on TV for the victims of an earthquake, flood or any other natural disaster? Have you ever been invited to a silent auction with all funds raised going to a certain cause? If you have done any of the above, you have experienced the work of graduates of fundraising programs. These undertakings assist those interested in working within a Volunteer and "Fundraising" environment with the business aspect of such sectors.

As you very well may be aware of, fundraising continues to be the hope of any non-profit organization and its societal welfare causes. Many of these organizations recognize the importance of having a professional at the head of its efforts and, therefore, look for people with an educational background in the field. These professional fundraisers are compensated either by a fixed amount or on percentage basis in accordance to the funds they help in raising. There is sometimes confusion between the terms "professional fundraisers" and "fundraising professionals". The former is a third party person who helps in raising funds and who gets paid for the job. The latter is the person who works at non-profit organizations.

At Centennial College's School of Continuing Education/ Part-time Studies part-time, evening, weekend, online and alternative format courses are designed to help students improve their skills, further their education, pursue a variety of interests and enable them to embrace new possibilities. One of these offerings is the Fundraising program, which not only provides a vast amount of information on fundraising, but also guides students in developing and increasing their business skills and capabilities. The Fundraising program ensures that students become comfortable in a variety of volunteer and fundraising atmospheres. Staff members within the program guide students and share their personal experiences to help students see a variety of real-life scenarios. The Fundraising program also helps them plan their projects and future fundraising needs, develop goals and strategies and promote their work through developing media and press relations.

Mandatory courses within the Fundraising program include: Introduction to Fundraising (provides students with an introductory understanding of the Fundraising sector, principles, ethics and practices of professional Fundraising, and more), Methods of Fundraising (presents the issues and processes involved in planning and organizing special events), Entrepreneurship (covers a wide range of topics that a student should be aware of if he/she were to start and operate a small business), Strategic Management of Campaigns (examines the elements of a successful fundraising campaign), Donor Relationships in Fundraising (students learn the needs and motivations of donors and what sustains long-term partnerships with the non-profit sector), and more.

For more information (including tuitions costs), one can visit the fundraising program's Web page.