ATS CV & Resume Optimization for Fundraising Managers & Officers

Mirror the income streams and tools named in the advert. UK adverts typically specify the fundraising discipline — individual giving, major donor, corporate partnerships, trusts and foundations, legacy giving — plus a named CRM such as Raiser's Edge NXT, Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, Donorfy, or Beacon. Include stewardship and pipeline language (“donor stewardship,” “prospect research,” “income targets,” “supporter journey”) and UK compliance terms like Gift Aid, UK GDPR, and the Code of Fundraising Practice where relevant. Recruiters search these exact phrases: if the advert says “major gifts,” don't write only “high-value donors.”

“Fundraising Manager” is the umbrella UK title, but many organisations advertise by specialism: Individual Giving Manager, Corporate Partnerships Manager, Major Donor (or Philanthropy) Manager, Trusts and Foundations Manager, and Community & Events Fundraising Manager. In the US and Canada the same role is usually called Development Manager or Development Officer. On CharityJob these are distinct search categories, so set alerts across several variants. On your CV, bridge titles safely — e.g. “Development Manager (Fundraising Manager)” — so keyword searches match whichever term the employer uses.

Neither is usually mandatory in UK adverts, but both are recognised differentiators. The Chartered Institute of Fundraising offers the Certificate in Fundraising (for early-career fundraisers with 12+ months' involvement) and the Level 5 Diploma in Fundraising (for those with 3+ years' experience) — both with 2026 cohorts running. The CFRE is the international credential, held by more than 8,200 professionals worldwide as of March 2026, with recertification every three years. If you hold any of these, spell them out in full with the abbreviation — “Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE)” — so both forms are searchable.

Fundraising is one of the easiest professions to quantify — recruiters expect numbers. Anchor every bullet in income raised against target (amounts and percentages), donor or partner portfolio size, retention and acquisition rates, average gift value, event ROI, and budget managed. Where confidentiality prevents exact figures, use ranges or percentages (“exceeded a six-figure target by 15%”). Pair each number with the mechanism — which appeal, which CRM segmentation, which partnership pitch produced it. What you raised, against what target, from which audience, using which tools will outperform any list of responsibilities.

The most common causes: describing duties instead of income results; omitting the exact CRM and income-stream keywords the advert uses; a title that doesn't match how the role is searched (e.g. “Partnerships Lead” when the advert says “Corporate Partnerships Manager”); and formatting that parses badly (tables, text boxes, graphics). Charity recruiters often shortlist quickly against essential criteria in the person specification, so structure your CV to evidence each essential criterion explicitly. Tailor every application — a major donor CV and an individual giving CV should lead with different achievements even if your history is identical.

Translate, don't apologise. Corporate partnerships fundraising is essentially B2B new business and account management; individual giving is direct/CRM marketing; major donor work is high-value relationship sales. Rewrite commercial achievements in fundraising vocabulary — “pipeline” becomes “prospect pipeline,” “clients” become “partners/donors,” “revenue” becomes “income” — while keeping the numbers. Add sector signals: volunteering, trusteeship, a charity campaign you supported, or a Chartered Institute of Fundraising course. Target corporate partnerships and individual giving roles first, where commercial skills transfer most directly and where vacancy volume is highest.