Should you seek certification?
Professional certifications exist for many fields, including development. They each have the goal of demonstrating your proficiency, expertise, and adherence to a set of ethical standards to an external audience and require that you complete specific requirements set forth by the certifying organization.
As a fund development professional, you may have heard about the Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) credential, administered by an organization by the same name. Because of the world in which I live, I would also add the Grant Professional Certification (GPC), administered by the Grant Professionals Certification Institute, to the list of “common” credentials for the profession. Other certifications also exist for other specialties within the profession.
Both the CFRE and GPC require that you complete a lengthy application that outlines your experience and successes and, once they approve your application, sit for an exam that tests your knowledge of the field. Both cost a few hundred dollars and require recertification (and another long application and check – but no test) every three years.
Regardless of what certification fits your career and expertise, the question remains: should you seek certification?
A few questions to ask yourself as you decide.
1. What is your career goal? If you do not plan to remain in the development profession or nonprofit leadership long-term, then the cost, blood, sweat and tears of completing the certification process may not make sense for you. But, if you plan to make this your career and aspire for significant career growth, then certification may help you achieve those goals.
2. What benefits will you derive from it? The organizations providing these certifications tout that you can earn more money with the certification than without. While no doubt true in some cases, you need to check your community to see if the nonprofit where you work and those where you aspire to work value these credentials enough to raise your salary, or to make you a preferred candidate for your next job. Not every organization or job market does.
3. Will this help me stand out in the job market? Probably, but that assumes you plan to enter the job market, that the job market you enter values these credentials, and that you plan to say in development. With the shortage of development professionals nationally, simply having experience might make you stand out in the job market enough to get your dream job.
4. Do I have a personal goal or reason to seek these certifications? If so, go for it! I never discount the intrinsic value of accomplishing a personal goal.
I do not share these questions to dissuade you from pursuing any credentials. They can have very real value, but I caution you that it takes a lot of work, costs more than you probably realize, and may or may not lead to the outcomes that you desire. The process also forces you – in a good way – to remain current in the field and to seek professional development opportunities which, in my opinion, will help you become and remain a more effective professional, regardless of the initials after your name.
That said, I earned both the CFRE and GPC credentials. I toyed with seeking them numerous times throughout my career. In the early 2000s, I decided instead to complete a doctorate to expand my education in the field. More recently, I felt that, as a consultant, having external validation would bring confidence to my clients and prospective clients that I have the expertise to help them, so I successfully completed these certifications in 2019 and renewed them both this year.
Should you decide to seek certification, do your homework so that you know what it requires and what benefits you may derive from it. Talk to others in your community or profession about their experiences and to your boss about the type of support you can expect from your organization, both financial and otherwise. Read the requirements and start to collect the information that they request today so that when you start to complete the application, you have what you need at your fingertips.
And good luck!