Best Fundraising Manager programs in Colorado, ranked by enrollment
Plan, direct, or coordinate activities to solicit and maintain funds for special projects or nonprofit.
23 schools in Colorado run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,403 people a year. The job pays a median of $130,010 in Colorado across about 600 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Colorado that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Colorado that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Colorado (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Colorado page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 52.1401In Colorado → | 491 | 35.0% | 12 | $44,670 | $24,250 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0900In Colorado → | 340 | 24.2% | 4 | $39,658 | $24,500 |
| 3 | CIP 52.0213In Colorado → | 214 | 15.3% | 9 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 09.0100In Colorado → | 201 | 14.3% | 10 | $34,858 | $25,000 |
| 5 | CIP 52.0206In Colorado → | 157 | 11.2% | 5 | $43,506 | $25,000 |
Top 23 schools in Colorado
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 23 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 392 | Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | $42,218 | 74% | — | 78% |
| 2 | University of Denver Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 236 | Marketing/Marketing Management, General | $50,016 | 76% | $29,726 | 78% |
| 3 | Colorado State University Global Denver, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 177 | Marketing/Marketing Management, General | $55,814 | — | — | 98% |
| 4 | University of Colorado Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 139 | Communication, General | $37,002 | 47% | — | 97% |
| 5 | Colorado State University - Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO Public · 4 feeder programs | 102 | Organizational Leadership | $54,846 | 67% | — | 89% |
| 6 | Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 78 | Marketing/Marketing Management, General | $52,216 | 32% | — | 99% |
| 7 | Front Range Community College Westminster, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 45 | Organizational Leadership | $41,596 | 35% | — | — |
| 8 | Regis University Denver, CO Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 42 | Organizational Leadership | $60,101 | 61% | $22,407 | 86% |
| 9 | University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Marketing/Marketing Management, General | — | 46% | — | 75% |
| 10 | Colorado Christian University Lakewood, CO Private not-for-profit · 4 feeder programs | 30 | Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management | $56,606 | 64% | $23,447 | — |
| 11 | Colorado Mountain College Glenwood Springs, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 21 | Organizational Leadership | $43,563 | 27% | — | — |
| 12 | Pickens Technical College Aurora, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Marketing/Marketing Management, General | — | 76% | — | — |
| 13 | Pikes Peak State College Colorado Springs, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Communication, General | — | 21% | — | — |
| 14 | Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Marketing/Marketing Management, General | — | 40% | — | 95% |
| 15 | Community College of Denver Denver, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Communication, General | — | 20% | — | — |
| 16 | Otero College La Junta, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Organizational Leadership | — | 38% | — | — |
| 17 | Fort Lewis College Durango, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Marketing/Marketing Management, General | — | 36% | — | 77% |
| 18 | Community College of Aurora Aurora, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Communication, General | — | 33% | — | — |
| 19 | Arapahoe Community College Littleton, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Communication, General | — | 29% | — | — |
| 20 | Pueblo Community College Pueblo, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 3 | Organizational Leadership | — | 31% | — | — |
| 21 | Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Communication, General | — | 32% | — | — |
| 22 | Western Colorado University Gunnison, CO Public · 2 feeder programs | 2 | Organizational Leadership | $41,886 | 50% | — | 100% |
| 23 | Morgan Community College Fort Morgan, CO Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Communication, General | — | 45% | — | — |
All 23 schools in Colorado
Every school in Colorado with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder | Public | 392 | 2 |
| University of Denver | Denver | Private not-for-profit | 236 | 2 |
| Colorado State University Global | Denver | Public | 177 | 2 |
| University of Colorado Colorado Springs | Colorado Springs | Public | 139 | 2 |
| Colorado State University - Fort Collins | Fort Collins | Public | 102 | 4 |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver | Denver | Public | 78 | 2 |
| Front Range Community College | Westminster | Public | 45 | 2 |
| Regis University | Denver | Private not-for-profit | 42 | 3 |
| University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus | Denver | Public | 42 | 1 |
| Colorado Christian University | Lakewood | Private not-for-profit | 30 | 4 |
| Colorado Mountain College | Glenwood Springs | Public | 21 | 2 |
| Pickens Technical College | Aurora | Public | 21 | 1 |
| Pikes Peak State College | Colorado Springs | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Colorado State University Pueblo | Pueblo | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Community College of Denver | Denver | Public | 13 | 1 |
What fundraising managers earn in Colorado
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $125,470. Colorado pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Colorado
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Fundraising Managers page.
How to become a Fundraising Manager
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience needed
- 5 years or more
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Colorado
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 8 majors mapped to Fundraising Managers8 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0100Communication, General
- 09.0900Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication
- 09.0902Public Relations/Image Management
- 09.0909Communication Management and Strategic Communications
- 52.0206Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management
- 52.0213Organizational Leadership
- 52.0502Grantsmanship
- 52.1401Marketing/Marketing Management, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing fundraising managers programs in Colorado.
What degree do you need to become a Fundraising Manager?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Marketing/Marketing Management, General, which awarded 491 degrees in Colorado in 2024-25, 35.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Fundraising Manager?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Marketing, Business Administration, Public Relations, Communication and Media Studies. Together they graduate about 1,403 people a year in Colorado.
How much do fundraising managers earn in Colorado?+
The median is $130,010 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 3.6% above the U.S. median of $125,470. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for fundraising managers growing?+
BLS projects a +4.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 3,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Colorado?+
23 institutions in Colorado reported graduates from at least one of the 5 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do fundraising managers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Fundraising Manager, Advancement Director, Development Director, Annual Giving Director among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 11-2033.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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