Soft Skills for Nonprofit Fundraising Data Pros

Just like their frontline fundraising counterparts, nonprofit fundraising data professionals need a range of soft skills to succeed in their roles.

The days of being a reclusive "techie" or data nerd are long gone. Engagement and participation as a full member of your fundraising team is now more expected than ever. 

Here are some of the most important soft skills for nonprofit fundraising data professionals.

• Communication Skills
  Strong communication skills are essential for nonprofit fundraising data pros. You need to communicate effectively with your colleagues, donors, and other stakeholders. This includes the ability to listen actively and articulate ideas clearly, in addition to creating compelling reports and other outputs from your CRM.
• Interpersonal Skills
  Strong interpersonal skills are essential. With each passing year fundraising data pros become more central to the fundraising process. This requires another level of relationship building based on mutual respect, trust, and transparency. Nonprofit fundraising data pros need to be able to interact with a wide range of people, from organizational leadership to other team members to donors to volunteers.
• Emotional Intelligence
  Nonprofit fundraising data pros need to have a high degree of emotional intelligence. This means being able to understand and manage your own emotions as well as the emotions of others. This is particularly important when dealing with team members or other stakeholders who may have strong feelings about fundraising data processes and procedures.
• Problem Solving
  Working with fundraising data involves navigating complex challenges and finding creative solutions. Nonprofit fundraising data professionals need to be able to think critically and develop strategies to overcome obstacles. When critical thinking comes together with an appropriate level of outside-the-box thinking and creative curiosity, there is no hurdle you won't be able to overcome.
• Time Management
  Nonprofit fundraising data professionals often juggle multiple tasks and projects at once. You need to be able to prioritize effectively, manage your time efficiently, plan accordingly, and meet deadlines.
• Adaptability
  Nonprofit fundraising data pros need to be able to adapt to changing circumstances and work effectively in a variety of environments. This may involve working with different teams, dealing with unexpected challenges, and being open to new ideas and approaches.
• Teamwork
  Fundraising is a team effort and nonprofit fundraising data professionals need to be able to work effectively with colleagues, volunteer boards, and other stakeholders. This means being able to collaborate, share information, and support others. You need to have some skin in the game.

Have you reached a plateau in your work? Give some focus to these soft skills and take your work with fundraising data to the next level.