Your organization has gone through 3 development
directors in the last 4 years. Your board is
suggesting that you eliminate the function entirely. What can you do to stop this vicious cycle?
 |
| Photo by Dan4th Nicholas at Flickr.com |
The director of development role is a high burnout
position. There is tremendous pressure
to show value, more so than with other nonprofit positions. Finance Directors aren’t expected to cover
their own salary through cost cutting measures.
Program staff often view the position as just schmoozing and going out
to lunch. Board members don’t want anything
to do with asking for money.
Fundraising is a necessary and essential part of any
nonprofit where fee income generates less than operating expenses. As the adage goes, “no money, no
mission.” So why is it so common that Executive Directors have to constantly
justify any investment in staffing or infrastructure to their board?
In order for a development director to be successful in
their job, there needs to be a culture of philanthropy
throughout the organization. That means
every staff member and volunteer understands that fundraising is not bad or
shameful. The efforts of the development
office are valued as much as any other department as critical to the mission.
There needs to be sufficient investment in infrastructure. At the very least, there should be a written
fundraising plan for each year and good development software in place. Excel spreadsheets are just not up to the
task of managing complicated donor relationships and history.
Development officers need to have
some administrative support so they can be freed up to do what they have been
trained to do – get out of the office and develop relationships with potential
funders. There’s no way to raise major gifts
when you are stuck at your desk entering donations.
So often nonprofits hire a development person, and the
Executive Director and board members let out a sigh of relief now that
fundraising is someone else’s job. Fundraising is everyone’s job. One person cannot possibly manage the number
of relationships needed to sustain a nonprofit every year.
Revenue goals should be set based on a close review of existing donor capacity and history and a realistic look at growth opportunities, weighed against staff resources. Development Directors who come into an organization and are
handed a set of revenue goals that are at best arbitrary and at worst totally
disconnected from reality are doomed to failure.
This moment is an opportunity for you to stop the revolving door of development
directors at your organization. What can you do before hiring your next director to increase their chances of success? If the right conditions are not present,
even the most seasoned and skilled development person will not be able to succeed.
Comments
Post a Comment