Interested in Nonprofit Development Jobs? Try These Volunteer Opportunities

Building a career in the nonprofit sector is an exciting way to align your professional skills with causes you care about. But what if you’re trying to break into a new field, or shift into fundraising or development without prior on-the-job experience?

It’s a familiar challenge for job seekers: development roles often require hands-on experience with fundraising, donor outreach, or grant writing, yet those skills are hard to come by without already working in the sector. Fortunately, many nonprofits are often open to candidates from a wide range of professional backgrounds. What matters most is a demonstrated commitment to the mission, strong communication skills, and a willingness to learn.

That’s where volunteering comes in. Volunteer experience is one of the clearest ways to signal to hiring managers that you care about a particular cause and are interested in nonprofits specifically. Time spent supporting fundraising efforts—whether through launching events, organizing donor communications, or conducting outreach—can translate directly into the skills needed for a paid position.

In this series, we’ve already gone over how volunteering can help people break into marketing and program management at nonprofits; today, we’re focusing on nonprofit development jobs.

Why find a job in nonprofit development?

Development professionals are essential to every nonprofit’s success. Without sustainable funding, even the most impactful programs can’t survive. Development teams are responsible for building relationships, telling compelling stories about impact, and securing the resources organizations need to grow.

This work is ideal for people who enjoy relationship-building, strategic thinking, and balancing creativity with organization.

Develop relevant experience with these volunteer opportunities

Many nonprofit development job descriptions include requirements like fundraising, event coordination, donor database management, or grant research. If your resume doesn’t yet reflect these skills, volunteering can help bridge the gap.

Start by navigating to Idealist’s volunteer opportunities search page, which allows you to filter tens of thousands of opportunities by cause area, skills, location, and more. By selecting “development/fundraising” from the “skills” filter, you’ll find a variety of opportunities that may appeal to you. Here a few search terms to narrow down that list even further:

1. Fundraising Events

If you’re new to development, volunteering at a fundraising event is a great place to start. These opportunities often involve donor interaction, event logistics, sponsor coordination, and post-event follow-up. You’ll gain firsthand experience with how nonprofits engage supporters and generate revenue while making connections with existing professionals at an organization you support.

2. Donor Relations

If you’re looking to learn how to build relationships, look for volunteer roles that revolve around donor relations. These opportunities will often ask volunteers to make thank-you calls, conduct stewardship activities, or manage donor communications across an organization’s pipeline. They can help you develop relationship management and storytelling skills, both of which are central to a career in development.

3. Grant Research and Writing

For job seekers with strong writing or research skills, grant-focused volunteer opportunities are especially valuable. Many nonprofits need help identifying funding opportunities, preparing proposals, or tracking reporting deadlines. Volunteering in this area can help you understand institutional fundraising while producing relevant work samples for future job applications.

I hope you find success with these types of volunteer opportunities when preparing a career in nonprofit development.