Fundraising Interview Questions and Answers

I've spent a lot of years on the hiring side of the table, at CRISTA and now at Serving Orphans Worldwide. The candidates who stand out aren't always the ones with the longest résumé. They're the ones who can show me two things: that they care about the work, and that they can learn it and do it.

At CRISTA, I once moved a colleague into a fundraising role she had never done before. What she had was drive, character, a real fit with the team and a clear ability to learn. She picked up the job quickly and excelled. I'd hire her again anywhere.

That's what most fundraising interviews are trying to find out. The questions below are the ones you're most likely to hear, with what the interviewer is really listening for and a sample answer you can adapt. The numbers in the samples are placeholders. Use your own, and if you don't have a number, say what you'd measure.

How fundraising interviews usually work

• A screening call with HR or the hiring manager: your background, salary range and why this organization.
• A panel interview with the hiring manager, a peer or two and sometimes the executive director. Most of the questions below come from here.
• A writing or strategy exercise for many roles: draft a thank-you letter, outline an appeal, or sketch a plan for a donor portfolio.
• A final conversation with the executive director or a board member, especially for director-level jobs.

Come ready with two or three stories you can tell in under two minutes each: a gift you helped secure, a campaign you worked on, and something that went wrong and what you learned.

The 15 questions

1. Tell us about your experience with donor cultivation and stewardship.

What they're listening for: whether you know what happens after the gift. Most organizations lose more than half their new donors within a year, so stewardship is where a good fundraiser earns their salary.

Sample answer: "At my last organization, first-time donors got a receipt and then nothing until the next appeal. I set up a simple welcome series: a thank-you call within 48 hours for gifts over [amount], a welcome letter in the first week and a short impact update at 60 days. Over the next year, second-gift rates among new donors went from [x]% to [y]%."

2. How do you find new donors?

What they're listening for: a method, not a list of tools. Name the channels you've used and how you decided which ones to keep.

Sample answer: "I start with the people closest to us: event attendees, volunteers, people who've signed up for email but never given. They convert at a much higher rate than cold lists. For major gift prospects, I use wealth screening to prioritize, then look for a warm connection through the board or an existing donor before I reach out."

3. Describe a successful campaign you led or worked on.

What they're listening for: your part in it. Panels hear a lot of "we." Say what you did.

Sample answer: "Our year-end campaign had been flat for three years. I proposed testing a matching gift from two board members and a three-email sequence in the last week of December. I wrote the emails and managed the segment. December revenue was up [x]% over the prior year, and the match became an annual practice."

4. How do you make sure your fundraising fits our mission and values?

What they're listening for: judgment. Have you ever turned something down?

Sample answer: "I learn the programs well enough to describe them accurately, and I check every appeal with program staff before it goes out. I've also said no to a partnership that would have raised money but didn't fit who we were. A gift that costs you trust isn't worth it."

5. Tell us about a fundraising challenge and how you handled it.

What they're listening for: honesty and what you learned. Pick a real problem, not a humble-brag.

Sample answer: "A spring appeal came in at about half its goal. Instead of mailing again, I called fifteen of our most loyal donors who hadn't responded and asked what was going on. Several told me the story felt like one they'd already heard. We changed the follow-up to a new story from the field and recovered most of the gap."

6. How do you measure whether a campaign worked?

What they're listening for: that you look past total dollars.

Sample answer: "Total raised matters, but I also look at cost to raise a dollar, response rate, average gift, how many donors were new or reactivated, and how many of the new donors give again. A campaign that raises a lot but brings in donors who never give again can cost you more than it looks."

7. What's your experience with corporate sponsorships and partnerships?

What they're listening for: whether you understand what a company wants in return.

Sample answer: "Companies want visibility, employee engagement or both. When I approached a regional bank, I asked what their employees cared about before I pitched anything. We built a sponsorship around a volunteer day, and they renewed for [x] years."

8. How do you segment donors and tailor communications?

What they're listening for: a practical approach that fits the size of the organization.

Sample answer: "At a small shop, I keep it simple: new donors, active donors, lapsed donors, monthly donors and major donors. Each gets a different ask and a different thank-you. New donors hear about what their first gift did. Lapsed donors get a 'we miss you' message instead of the standard appeal."

9. Tell us about events you've planned.

What they're listening for: whether you think about net revenue and follow-up, not just the night itself.

Sample answer: "I ran our annual dinner for two years. The first year I focused on the program. The second year I focused on the follow-up: every attendee got a call or a handwritten note within a week, and we invited table captains to a tour. Net revenue went up, and [x] attendees became monthly donors."

10. How do you stay current in fundraising?

What they're listening for: real sources, and one thing you changed because of something you learned.

Sample answer: "I listen to a couple of fundraising podcasts, read the quarterly giving reports and swap notes with fundraisers at other organizations. Last year I read about sending a second thank-you that tells the donor's impact story, and I tried it with our new donors."

11. How do you keep major donors giving?

What they're listening for: that you see the relationship as theirs, not yours. Donors leave when they only hear from you when you want something.

Sample answer: "I try to learn what each donor is trying to accomplish, not just how much they give. One donor I worked with cared about a specific number of families served, so I started reporting his giving in those terms. I also make sure there are several people at the organization who know the donor, so the relationship doesn't depend on me."

12. What's your experience with grants?

What they're listening for: whether you can work with program staff and meet deadlines. If grants aren't your strength, say so and say what you'd do.

Sample answer: "I've written and managed [x] foundation proposals a year. The part that makes the difference is the relationship with program staff. I meet with them before I write, so the proposal matches what we actually do and the report is easy to write when it's due."

13. How do you decide between competing priorities?

What they're listening for: that you'll put time where the money and the relationships are.

Sample answer: "I look at what each activity raises against the time it takes. Personal visits with top donors usually win, and events and low-dollar projects usually lose. When the executive director asks for something new, I ask what we should stop doing to make room."

14. What's your experience with planned giving?

What they're listening for: whether you can start the conversation, not whether you're a lawyer.

Sample answer: "Most of our legacy gifts come from loyal mid-level donors, not just major donors. I added a simple question to our donor survey about whether they'd included us in their will, and followed up personally with everyone who said yes or maybe. For anything technical, I bring in the donor's advisor."

15. How do you lead and motivate staff and volunteers?

What they're listening for: that people want to work for you.

Sample answer: "I set clear goals, then get out of the way and let people do the job they were hired to do. I check in every week, I celebrate wins in front of the team and I give hard feedback privately and quickly."

Questions to ask them

The interview goes both ways. Good questions also show you understand the job.

• What does a successful first year in this role look like to you?
• How much of the budget comes from individual donors, and how has that changed?
• Why is this position open?
• How involved is the board in fundraising?
• What donor database do you use, and how clean is the data?
• How does fundraising work with the program staff here?

Interview questions by role

• Chief development officer interview questions
• Development director interview tips, and the questions hiring managers use
• Major donor representative interview questions
• Mid-level donor representative interview questions
• Planned giving representative interview questions
• Nonprofit marketing manager interview questions
• Nonprofit creative director interview questions

Got the job? Start with the 90-day plan for a new major gifts officer.

Stand out with a credential

A credential shows a hiring manager you've done the work to learn the job. The Certified Nonprofit Fundraising Professional (CNFP) covers the fundamentals every fundraising role is built on, with a free study guide and practice exam.

Hiring a fundraiser instead? Start with the development director job description and hiring guide.