CFRE Study Guide

Outline of the 6 Domains, Tasks and Key Knowledge Areas

CFRE TEST OUTLINE Domain 1: Current and Prospective Donor Research (14%–28 items) Tasks 1.1 Develop a list of prospective donors by identifying individuals, groups, and entities, such as foundations, corporations, and government agencies, with the linkage, ability, and interest to give in order to qualify prospective donors for further research and cultivation. 1.2 Implement and utilize a secure data management system to ensure data privacy, store information on current and prospective donors, and enable segmented retrieval and analysis. 1.3 Collect and analyze current and prospective donor information including demographics, psycho-graphics, interests, values, motivations, culture, ability, giving and volunteer history, relationships, and linkages to select potential donors for particular projects and fundraising programs. 1.4 Rate current and prospective donors on linkage, ability, and interest to prioritize and plan cultivation and solicitation. 1.5 Communicate and validate relevant donor information with key organizational stakeholders to establish a plan of action for engagement, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. Key Knowledge Areas for Above Tasks Indicators that identify trends and define characteristics such as the socioeconomic status, giving history, generation, gender, and culture of a constituency Donor acquisition and retention principles Sources of financial support such as individuals, corporations, grant-making bodies, foundations, governmental agencies, and gaming Types of information needed to identify prospective donors and determine specific fundraising strategies Donor profile components Indicators of the donor’s ability to give, linkage, and interest Donor giving patterns such as recency, frequency, renewal rates, and value Data analysis techniques such as statistical analysis, data mining, and segmentation Data gathering techniques such as surveys, focus groups, interviews, and social networking Elements of a comprehensive data management system including data capture, storage, retrieval, maintenance, and security Prospective donor screening, qualifying, and rating methods Motivations, practices, and policies of various funding sources Prospective donor information sources such as people, written or published sources, and electronic or online sources, and their uses and limitations Elements or components of a fundraising program, including annual giving, capital/major giving, and planned giving/legacies Relationships between and among annual giving, capital/major giving, and planned giving/legacies programs Market research components and uses Privacy legislation and regulation Ethical use of data Elements of engagement, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship plans Domain 2: Securing the Gift (23%–46 items) Tasks 2.1 Develop a case for support by involving stakeholders in order communicate the rationale for supporting the organization’s mission. 2.2 Identify solicitation strategies and techniques appropriate to current and prospective donor groups. 2.3 Develop and implement specific solicitation plans for the involvement of individual donors, donor groups and/or entities. 2.4 Prepare donor-focused solicitation communications in order to facilitate informed gift decisions. 2.5 Ask for and secure gifts from current and prospective donors in order to generate financial support for the organization’s mission. Key Knowledge Areas for the Above Tasks Psychology of giving Sociological and cultural influences on giving Elements of an effective case Case statement construction Elements of an effective solicitation plan Types of gifts such as cash, securities, trusts, property, and gifts in kind Solicitation strategies and their effectiveness with different donor groups Components and uses of feasibility/planning studies Negotiation techniques External factors that may affect the viability of the organization and its programs and services Donor motivations, barriers to giving, and giving behavior...