Written by Laura Hanna, MBA, CFRE
I am a recruitment consultant with a CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) designation. It may sound like an odd combination to some. Please let me share.
Charity Leadership Experience
While I’m thankful for the breadth of opportunities and experience in charity work – I have 15 years of experience serving with leadership responsibilities across programs, monitoring and evaluation, marketing, communications, operations, strategy, governance, and crisis management – my greatest joys are strategic and philanthropic partnerships.
My interest in recruitment stems from these experiences as I have learned first-hand that having the right people on your team is only half of the solution. The other, often tricker half, is ensuring that each individual is in the correct role. When staff aren’t in the right roles, they don’t thrive. This affects their individual as well as organizational performance and staff culture, but that is a topic for a different day.
Obtaining Certification
These days, I often engage with candidates applying for a variety of philanthropic leadership positions. It’s common for prospective CFREs to ask me if I have any tips about their upcoming exam. Each time I receive this question, I’m immediately catapulted back to when I was preparing to write the exam.
Excited and nervous. Deeply interested in the material yet overwhelmingly aware that my brain was rapidly running out of space for all the terminology required. Hope rising at the prospect of successfully passing but swiftly deflating by the reality that so many people don’t.
Certified Fund Raising Executive Designation
Suppose you’ve decided the CFRE designation is something you’d like to pursue. In that case, you likely already know it’s a global organization that standardizes quality within the sector, as well as increases the value and commitment needed to ensure ethical philanthropic practices. If you’ve been in the sector long enough, you instinctively understand how important that latter point is.
To those preparing to write the exam, I hope this will encourage you. Below are the tips I believe all prospective CFREs need to hear. But before we jump into the tips it is important to know this.
No, you don’t need the CFRE to be a successful fundraiser. It is optional. Yes, increasingly recruiters are looking for CFRE among your credentials but if you have years of experience and a proven successful track record it isn’t a necessity. If you want it, yes, you can succeed! Yes, the process is daunting. Yes, there is a lot of material to cover. Yes, it will take a lot of sacrifice and time to study. Yes, it is hard work. Yes, you can succeed!
Curated Study Tips for Prospective CFREs
Stay Humble
Despite how counterintuitive it feels, you need to study the things you already know. Don’t be overconfident in the areas you’re considered an expert in. Sometimes we miss the details in the questions regarding the domain we know really well. Or, you may be asked about something within the topic that you don’t engage with regularly. Make sure you study all the content that the exam will pull from.
Value Self-Assessments
Be honest with yourself. Take the time to do self-assessments. I found the CFRE Exam Compass study guide really helpful for this, as well as the CFRE Practice Exam. These tools will give you a great assessment of where you currently stand on each domain. You’ll get a sense of how the exam asks the questions, the depth it may go into detail, and how you need to think about the answer. Don’t continually do the quiz until you get it perfect. Doing so will give you false confidence as the questions eventually repeat.
I also found the CFRE Glossary to be helpful in reviewing all domains as I neared my exam date.
Be Prepared
Buy the Achieving Excellence in Fundraising textbook or borrow it from someone else. It’s expensive and huge but 100% worth reading! In case it’s been a while since you wrote an exam, remember that we all learn in different ways so do whatever you need to in order to learn the content. If you’re like me, the book will end up colour-coded, written on, and with flags popping out wherever there is a visual of key concepts.
Set a Study Schedule
Since there is so much content to review it’s a good idea to commit to a study schedule. This made getting through the material much less daunting and more possible. Find a quiet place to study. Whether that’s secluded from your family in an office, out in a garden, or rising before the sun. Set realistic goals to accomplish each week. Once you’re prepared and you set the schedule, don’t procrastinate! If big unexpected life events get in the way, don’t add pressure to yourself. Simply adjust the schedule to a new realistic goal – just like we do at work!
Join a Study Group
I am still surprised by how much value I found in the study group. If you don’t have a study group and feel too timid to start one, I recommend you reach out to Jack Alotto’s study group. I found it on the CFRE Study Groups website in the spring of 2022 and I believe that joining this study group was one of the best things I did in preparation for my exam.
Jack walked us through key concepts and encouraged us to take the lead explaining different points. I found the pace of this group to be quick enough to keep me on my toes and slow enough to digest it all. If I struggled to understand something covered during the live study sessions or from self-study earlier in the week, Jack made himself available and was always quick to respond. In addition, interacting with the group introduced me to others who were studying for the CFRE. We were able to establish a community that supported and encouraged each other towards our shared goal.
Overall, the group is a great place to test what you know and ask about what you didn’t know. The dedication Jack brings to the group is incredible and the commitment by other prospective CFREs was admirable. I’m writing about this group because that was my experience, but my encouragement is for you to find a study group.
Another bonus to joining a study group is that if you are writing the exam at different times, you’ll get to celebrate the success of those passing before you. It is always encouraging to be alongside others, cheering them on as they achieve their goals!
Additional CFRE Qualified Education Partners
I also participated in the 2-Day AFP CFRE Refresher Course. Unlike the study group which covers the material over multiple weeks, the Refresher Course was an extremely helpful review of all material in a short period. I did this much closer to writing the exam. It helped build my confidence in the fundraising domains I already knew well, while also identifying which areas to spend the final couple of weeks focusing on. The instructors are engaging and it is obvious that together they represent a wealth of knowledge across the fundraising sector. For those looking to earn CFRE continuing education credits, this is a great option!
I discovered The Nonprofit Academy while studying for my exam and I found it extremely valuable. The host, Marc A. Pitman, frequently invites fundraising experts to come speak on a specific topic. About an hour each, these live-filmed podcasts remain available to watch at any time for CFRE continuing education credits. The format allows you to go deep into any topic and they are usually quite engaging! The continual production of new content ensures it’s up-to-date with fundraising trends and can address current challenges such as the pandemic and how to navigate AI’s integration with development.
Answer Carefully
Make sure you know exactly what each question is asking. Some exam questions sound like they are asking about something covered within multiple domains. You need to identify a few things. 1) Which theme the question is about. 2) What is the specific subject. 3) What is being asked of that subject, within that domain.
Multiple choice exams often present one incorrect answer that you can eliminate right away, sometimes two. However, you may often find yourself needing to choose between two answers that may sound correct. I recommend walking through the above-listed three steps to determine exactly what is being asked before looking at the provided answers. If what you thought is also listed, that is likely the answer. Of course, when in doubt, go with your gut!
Final Tips
If you have studied thoroughly then be confident. Trust your hard work. You know the material well. Don’t put added pressure on yourself. You just need to pass, not get perfect (although that always feels great). During the exam, you will be given a pen and notepad. I found it helpful to write down the questions I wanted to review later as I went along. I recommend doing this as it is unlikely you’ll have time to review all your answers. Remember, it’s not uncommon for people to write the exam more than once. If that’s you, consider the first time you write it as the best-unexpected preparation experience you could ask for.
I recommend watching this CFRE video for general knowledge of the exam and details on what to expect the day you write the exam. And like all significant exams, take some time off the day prior, eat well, and ensure you get enough sleep.
Pro Tip for When You Pass
Once you receive your CFRE, keep track of your related work experiences and professional development as you earn them. It was recommended to us that we do this but I fell behind at one point last year. Trust me – take my advice and don’t let it pile up.
From the perspective of a recruitment consultant, while you don’t need your CFRE to be a successful fundraiser, it is certainly worth the investment because many charities and recruiters are increasingly looking for it today. Obtaining this certification demonstrates commitment to the sector, quality of work, and a value for both ethical practice and continued professional development. It is likely to become expected of all senior philanthropy positions in the future.
To those writing, best of luck!
Note: This article is only meant to be one person’s guide to preparing for the CFRE exam, not the definitive guide. For that, please review the CFRE website.
Contact us at Cause Leadership for job opportunities in fundraising.
