Some years ago, a university colleague told me he had once applied for a job as a fundraiser before realising that, in his words: “I didn't want to spend my working life trying to make people do things they don't want to do”. I had worked as a fundraiser for a decade before becoming an academic in the emerging field of Philanthropic Studies, and that colleague's depiction of fundraising simply did not ring true: most people do want to give, and the role of the fundraiser is not to twist arms, but to help people put their altruistic intention into action. That conversation was one of many moments that prompted me to write this book, which seeks to explain the importance of fundraising and the need for a better understanding of fundraisers.

For me, being a fundraiser was as close to a dream job as a newly graduated, idealistic and penniless 20-something could hope for. From my first day as a fundraiser at a youth homelessness charity I felt I was doing something useful and fulfilling, I met interesting people, had a fair amount of autonomy, and got paid a reasonable salary. What's not to like about a job like that? But even at the time, I knew my view was not widely shared: family worried it “wasn't a proper job”, friends asked how I could bear to “beg”, and my then-boyfriend, who worked in sales, told his colleagues (admiringly, I think) that “Beth makes a living out of selling nothing!”

Many fundraisers report similar reactions, including these amusing words from a book written by a fundraiser: