I’ve previously addressed some daunting challenges that nonprofit development directors face. A valuable report from nonprofit services provider CompassPoint highlights these challenges and suggests a plan for addressing them.
The challenges include the failure of board members to raise money, inadequate involvement of the executive director in fundraising and the underlying expectation that the development director should do all the fundraising.
To this list, CompassPoint adds the failure to build and support a “culture of philanthropy” that engages all staff members and volunteers how to raise money and do their part.
Nonprofit leaders dissatisfied with their organization’s fundraising efforts – and perhaps wondering if their development director is doing an adequate job – should read this 2013 report.
The national survey that underlies it includes responses from 2,700 executive directors and development directors in organizations of various sizes, diverse missions and widely dispersed geographic location. The common factor is a senior level development director on their organizational chart.
The CompassPoint report stresses the necessity of having an adequate fundraising infrastructure. That includes organizational capacity, a culture of philanthropy and engagement by staff, board and executive director, plus a place at the planning table for the development director.
Seasoned nonprofit leaders will not be surprised that the report found nonprofits under $1 million have the greatest difficulty in achieving such infrastructure. More than one in five smaller nonprofits have no fundraising plan in place, compared to just 7 percent of larger organizations.
About 30 percent have no fundraising database, compared to just 12 percent of larger nonprofits. Further, 87 percent of executive directors of these smaller nonprofits reported insufficient board member engagement in fundraising.
The report found that 43 percent of development directors were critical of their organization’s efforts.
CompassPoint observes that development directors often have to “manage up” to identify changes needed and implement them. Trust between the executive director and the development director is needed to implement change.
Development directors must take advantage of the typical 10 to 20 volunteer leaders, other key volunteers and senior staff who can help with fundraising. Without the support of the executive director, that may be impossible.
The report points out the vicious cycle that results from inadequately prepared organizations that believe fundraising should all be handled by the development director. Such unrealistic expectations cause development directors to leave or be fired after a year or two of impossible demands.
The result is an inadequate organization and often a profound impact on carefully nurtured donor relationships.
How can this cycle be broken? The report suggests taking care not to assume your fundraising problem is one of recruiting the right development director. Even if you hire one with excellent skills and experience, if the organization cannot or will not support their efforts, the person will fail.
To create the conditions for success, the organization must be willing to make “small and large changes in belief and practice.”
The elephant in the room is that it’s hard to raise money if those who should be engaged in it hate doing so. Boards – and the entire organization – must be trained in creating and living a culture of philanthropy.
Since fundraising accountability should be shared across both the board and the development staff, assessments of both groups (you do have performance feedback for your board, right?) should include monitoring fundraising performance.
Funders can use similar processes to encourage improvement in their grantees’ fundraising capacity. A due-diligence checklist that’s part of organization reporting is a good start.
Senior leaders and boards must ask themselves how they can cultivate a passion for fundraising.
Good tools, organizational support and confidence-building successes will be invaluable. Add an executive director’s genuine enthusiasm and this is a recipe that will work.
Many do it successfully — look to them for encouragement and models and to the development director for guidance.
Perhaps this report will help your board and/or your executive director to put realize that the development director can do it all and to evaluate their capacity for fundraising in a more realistic way.
The report from CompassPoint is free as a downloadable PDF from their website.
Sarah Todd Clark is principal of Savannah-based Calhoun Enterprises, a resource for social change. She can be reached at calhounent@gmail.com or 912-224-2120.