Written by Dena Cochran - March 13, 2009

In the last newsletter we talked about demystifying the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) application and testing process. And since you have now overcome your fear of failure I'll tell you how to apply to become a CFRE. There are two things to always remember:

1. Achieving certification will make you a more effective fundraiser (You may be surprised at all you have forgotten about fundraising.) who is more valuable to your institution and more desirable should you decide to change jobs.
2. Help is nearby at all times in the form of reading lists, prep courses, point tracking systems, mentors, and even your AFP newsletter editor.

Achieving CFRE certification is a three-step process. The first step is the application. (Don't underestimate the time it will take you to complete it! More about this later.) The second step is preparation. (I believe this is the most valuable part of the process. At the very least it will bring you "up to speed" on the latest developments in fundraising. And much more likely – it will hone your skills and prepare you to take advantage of opportunities in a way you never could have contemplated in the past.) The third step is the exam itself. (If you make it through the first two steps the exam will not seem nearly as intimidating as you might imagine.)

To begin I suggest you view the application. The CRFE application is on the CFRE website. When you look over the application you will see that it works on a point system with minimum requirements in each of several categories.

The first category is Education. When you look at it you will probably realize that you should have kept better records of all the educational conferences and sessions you have attended. Don't feel alone. This happens to almost everyone.

Perusing your old calendars, educational files, and the bundle of educational materials that you have probably collected from past conferences will help refresh your memory about conferences and educational sessions you have attended.

In addition to the Education and Professional Practice categories you will need to complete sections on Professional Performance and Service to your community. You can meet the Professional Practice requirement in three ways. These are communications projects that directly impacted fundraising, management projects that directly impacted fundraising, and by actual funds that you have raised. The CRFE website gives you examples of projects in all three categories.

Under Service you earn points on a sliding scale depending on your level of involvement in professional associations and community organizations. For example, serving as an officer nets you more points than simply belonging.

And finally, for the CFRE exam you must agree to adhere to the Donor Bill of Rights which mandates ethical practices.

If all this sounds difficult, it isn't. But it is time consuming and you should probably plan on spending a considerable amount of time dredging through old files. In preparing to write this article I pulled out a copy of my recent CFRE recertification application. It is seven pages long which really isn't too bad. And the good thing is that there are a couple of pages where all I had to do was sign at the bottom.

I'll end on that happy note. In the next newsletter I'll bring you information on how to study for the exam.