Attracting Men to the Fundraising Profession

In this episode, Patrick Kirby shares his interest and favorite aspects of the fundraising profession.

Kirby is a fundraising professional who discusses the gender imbalance within the fundraising profession. While women largely dominate the nonprofit workforce, the fundraising profession is almost 50% men. However, he recognizes the impact of gender imbalance on the sector’s ability to raise more funds. This issue is similar in other industries, such as education and STEM. Kirby recommends more efforts to motivate different groups. 

Kirby believes that the fundraising profession offers various opportunities to give back to society. From helping people in need to impacting local communities. He particularly enjoys building relationships with donors, sharing stories, and seeing the impact of their contributions. Still, Kirby recognizes the profession’s challenges, such as the need for constant innovation to remain successful.

Despite the gender imbalance, Kirby suggests that fundraisers such as Movember and Tough Mudder have captured male attention and motivated them to get involved in charity. Nonetheless, he also acknowledges the need for more efforts to engage different groups of society. To get more men interested in the fundraising profession, Kirby recommends highlighting the impact of fundraising by sharing inspiring stories and showcasing successful male fundraisers as role models.

If an exclamation mark was a person, it would be Patrick! He’s animated, experienced, and knows how to engage an audience both in person and virtually.  With over 16 years of nonprofit fundraising experience, Patrcik founded his consulting firm Do Good Better in 2017. Patrick has spent over a decade working in nearly every capacity in the nonprofit industry, for organizations of all shapes and sizes, and strives to ‘Do Good Better’ every day. This highly caffeinated Do Gooder shares tips and tricks on how to use nonprofit skills in for-profit businesses and every day life. From organizing $10,000 cure walks to $1 million galas, Patrick’s passion lies in creating creative solutions to make fundraising less boring.