Charities Experiment With Ways to Train Fundraisers

As more and more nonprofits are stepping up training of fundraisers, they are finding low-cost yet effective ways to improve the skills of their staff members.

At Berea College, in Kentucky, for example, Bill Laramee, vice president for alumni and college relations, says a monthlong course he teaches about philanthropy helped train and recruit several fundraisers, including two development officers who now work on Berea’s annual fund. The course, consisting of daily classes, covers the philosophical underpinnings of charity and ethical issues related to fundraising.