In most professions, there are governing bodies or associations that oversee professional credentials, such as the CA designation for accounting or the bar for lawyers. These governing bodies are there to ensure that professional standards are kept current and upheld from an ethical perspective. Such is the case for the nonprofit sector with the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation, which must first be earned and then maintained over the span of a fundraiser’s career. To better understand the process, I spoke with Vanessa Abaya, the executive director of advancement for the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering at the University of Toronto, who recently received her certification, and Debra Bond-Gorr, president and CEO of the Humber River Regional Hospital Foundation, who has gone through the recertification process on multiple occasions.

Reaching your goal

In order to obtain your CFRE, you must accumulate points over a minimum five-year span and then write a four-hour certification exam. As Abaya states, “A lot of the process is years of accumulating those required points such as your CRFE education points, your experience, placement, etc.” It took her longer than the five-year minimum period because of different commitments in both her professional and personal life. “I’ve been in the business for 15 years, so although I am a novice CFRE, I am not a novice to the business.” Abaya explains that to qualify to write your exam, you need to have at least 50 points. “The way that I get my points is that I spread them out over all different areas; I don’t try to slam them all into one conference. It’s difficult to accumulate that many points in a short period of time and you’re almost forced to spread that out over a span of five years. But that’s a good thing because you’re not cramming.”

Taking the test

Once you have gathered your points over the five-year span, you are able to write the certification exam. However, both Abaya and Bond-Gorr believe that you should be well prepared to write before doing so. Regarding the five-year wait, Abaya believes that, “in some cases you almost wish as though it was a little longer. There are those in the profession that write at the five-year mark, but for me the CFRE designation is much more than just rushing to get your certification. It really speaks to the professionalism and knowledge of the industry. I’m just not sure that you can be that knowledgeable in five years.”

For Bond-Gorr, it was about being certain that taking the test was the right thing for her. “I do think that people walk into this and expect that this is exactly how the nonprofit sector will be. However, it’s not like that of all; it’s a learning experience.” She goes on to say that “as skilled as I was when I came into the nonprofit sector, those five years really let me figure out that I liked the profession well enough to pursue it. Therefore, for all of the studying that is necessary to actually write the exam, you need to be sure that it is exactly what you want to do.” Regarding the test itself, Bond-Gorr believes that “it is a very tough exam. They make sure that it is challenging and that the questions are updated on a quarterly basis because standards change. It’s a very good test and it shows a commitment to the profession.”

Maintaining your goal

Once you have your CFRE designation, you have to maintain it. The recertification process takes place over a three-year span. Minus the exam, it has a similar points system as discussed above. Bond-Gorr really believes that the recertification process is a healthy one. “Things like innovation change so quickly in this profession. It changes the way the entire world thinks and looks at philanthropy. The thing about the recertification process is that it forces me to keep on top of that. I find it a nice motivator to keep my education up and ensure that I am talking to people about new and innovative things.”

In terms of the CFRE designation itself, Bond-Gorr is a big supporter of the whole process. “It helps segment all of the parts that a well-rounded professional should have. Things such as communications, tax law, how your profession actually works, fundraising, how to work with boards and CEOs of other organizations, etc.” She also sees the way you earn your points for recertification as a beneficial process. “To learn from your peers by way of conferences that are credited toward your CFRE is great. You are able to learn a vast amount from people around the world in the process.”

Tips and tricks

There are many different ways to approach your CFRE designation in terms of how to accumulate points, how you decide to prepare for the exam, and how you perceive it. I asked both women for some advice for those who are either considering obtaining their designation, or are in the process of doing so. Abaya said “you need to get a sense of all the various programs from a practical perspective and compare it to what you have studied in the books. Read a couple of key books on the list and understand the practicality behind many of the others.”

She also believes that study groups can be a great help, as each member can take a portion of the exam and present it to the group. Another piece of advice from Abaya is to talk with people who have recently written the CFRE exam. She says “the key thing is to get practical experience on every single aspect. It is very hard to do the exam without that practical experience in things such as planned and annual giving. If you have never done major gifts, it’s going to be much harder to write the exam because a good portion of the questions are slated toward relationship development and donor relationships. Therefore, if you haven’t written the exam, go talk to somebody that has.”

Bond-Gorr feels the best piece of advice that she can give is for people to keep up to date with all of the necessary forms. “There is now an online methodology for keeping track of your requirements to get your CFRE designation. As such, I would advise people to keep track of things like conferences and workshops they attend on the online form in order to keep things up to date.”

What does it all mean?

For both professionals who aspire to obtain their designation and those who already have it, there is one question that everyone should stop and ponder for a moment. What does it mean to have your CFRE designation? Is it simply a bunch of letters that allows access to higher level positions or does it hold true value to you? Bond-Gorr believes the CFRE designation is absolutely critical to the industry and the future of the profession. “I’m a great believer in education and lifelong learning. I knew after about five years as a professional that I had learned many new things. If I really wanted to move forward, I had to test the things that I had learned. It provided me with a sense of my own competencies. So for me, it was a way to obtain my own self affirmation. This way I would feel comfortable doing any job that I chose to do in the profession. It’s a way to find out what you do know and what you don’t. I am very proud of it and I want to keep it in good standing.”

Abaya echoes her thoughts. “For me, the CFRE designation is really more about being an educated and informed fundraiser. Working with younger professionals and mentoring them is important to me. Without the CFRE designation I am limited to places were I could be a lecturer, speaker or presenter.”

Overall, for the nonprofit community, Bond-Gorr also sees importance. “We all belong to professional associations that have ethical codes. If you don’t keep to ethical standards you can have your CFRE designation taken away. I think in some ways it’s kind of self-regulating. This ensures that the fundraisers are professional in what they do. They understand the great responsibility when receiving money from a donor, so as to do admirable work with it.”

Karl Noseworthy is a freelance writer from Newfoundland who currently resides in Kitchener, Ontario. He can be reached at karlnoseworthy@hotmail.com.