By Anne Wallestad, interim chief executive
Last week, CompassPoint and the Haas, Jr. Fund released “UnderDeveloped,” a new report focused on the state of nonprofit fundraising and – more specifically – the challenges that organizations face in recruiting and retaining strong development professionals and the underlying issues that often create those challenges.
As someone focused on the role of boards in leading their organizations and a former development professional, I read this report with great interest. But I think that the report didn’t fully acknowledge the role that fear of fundraising plays in development director success and retention. The report makes reference to a reality of which professional fundraisers are painfully aware: Most people are scared to death of fundraising and avoid it at all costs. The result is that development directors are often in the unfortunate position of trying to convince board members – and even chief executives – to do something that they hate.
According to BoardSource’s 2012 Nonprofit Governance Index, 40 percent of CEOs report that their board is reluctant to actively engage in fundraising. And, if you’re a development director reporting to a chief executive or working with a board that hates to fundraise, the options are quite limited: 1) Stay in the position and risk being blamed for poor fundraising results, or 2) Leave. No surprise, based on the data shared in the report, which was summarized in a Chronicle of Philanthropy article that appeared yesterday, many development directors are opting for the latter.
So what can boards and chief executives do to make sure that their organization doesn’t suffer from this all too common challenge? Well, the report offers a lot of great suggestions, and I would add a few more.
For boards:
- Recruit differently. The report flagged the importance of training boards differently, but if you want to build a culture of philanthropy in your organization that includes a board that is engaged in and committed to fundraising, then you need to start with recruiting boards differently, not training them differently. To try to train an existing group of people to embrace a culture of philanthropy can be a bit like trying to train a group of employees for a position that they weren’t hired to do. Insist that your board is honest and up-front with potential board candidates about the importance of fundraising to your organization and the expectations for individual board members to participate in fundraising. And don’t elect anyone who isn’t genuinely excited and committed to be a part of those efforts.
- Support and evaluate the fundraising team: Your fundraising team comprises the board, your chief executive, and your development staff. The board and chief executive need to evaluate their fundraising performance just as rigorously as they would the development director’s. Boards should conduct 360-degree assessments of chief executives that enable the development director and other senior staff to provide honest feedback about the CEO’s performance. And chief executives should consider the board’s and their own fundraising performance when evaluating the development director’s performance. The reality is: If even one portion or member of the team isn’t successful, the rest of the team’s ability to deliver results is negatively impacted. Being honest about that will enable you to work together to solve your performance issues, instead of the development director being singled out and therefore penalized or driven away.
For chief executives:
- Support a fundraising partnership. You need to take the partnership between you, your development director, and the board very seriously. Your board members should know and trust your development director, and your development director should know and trust your board members. Make sure that you position your development director as a partner and leader, rather than as an implementer of board strategy or a secretary to the board’s development committee. That’s the only way that development directors – and the recommendations and strategies they put forward – will be taken seriously. And that’s what you need to motivate and inspire the board to be a part of a successful fundraising strategy.
- Step back before you search. The “Underdeveloped” report flags the need to apply a transition management approach to the development director search, and I couldn’t agree more. If you have a vacancy in the development director role, take the opportunity to step back and consider the long-term fundraising opportunities for the organization and what type of skill set you need to drive that growth. Engage the board in that conversation, as well as the rest of your senior team and – if applicable – other members of the development team. Just like in a CEO search, you need to make sure that you’re hiring the right candidate for the future, rather than a replacement for the previous leader. This is especially important as different types of fundraising require different skill sets, and someone who has been successful in one area might be a fish out of water in another. If you don’t take the time to think through your long-term opportunities and needs, you may end up with a development director who actually resists or avoids those opportunities due to his or her own fear or lack of expertise.
- Self-reflect. Be honest with yourself and your development director about your own fundraising strengths and limitations. Your development director should be a sounding board, coach, and partner to you when you’re feeling unsure or nervous about a fundraising meeting or effort, but they can’t play that role if you’re not receptive to it. If you don’t open up lines of communication that show trust, candor, and a willingness to accept and incorporate feedback, you’re losing out on a valuable resource to you and your organization. And your fundraising results will suffer, not to mention your relationship with – and retention of – your development director.
Fundraising can be challenging, but it also creates opportunities for huge reward and satisfaction. After all, securing support from a donor or funder is a powerful affirmation of your organization’s mission and purpose and an opportunity to fuel the important work that you do. The more that fundraising leadership teams – board, chief executive, and development staff – work together to create fundraising success, the more all of our organizations will be able to accomplish.
I think it’s possible. What do you think?
Andrew Calhoun
/ January 16, 2013Members of your board can be terrific allies for fundraising
Ask board members to contact their top service providers and push for sponsorship with the association. They can emphasize the benefits they will get by working with the association and its members AND the importance of the service provider maintaining a continued strong relationship with the board member’s company. It doesn’t even need to be a strong arm ask. The board member might contact their top external law firm, PR firm, shipping company or software provider.
Having the clout of your board behind the sponsorship ask can make a huge difference in your success rate.
Also ask board members to commit to the annual conference committee and add their names to the letterhead.
Anne Wallestad
/ January 16, 2013Thanks so much for the discussion. Rebekah, I’m intrigued by your post, as it raises a fundamental question: Is fundraising a core part of governance, or is it something entirely separate? In BoardSource’s view, it’s a core part of governance…a perspective that we expound upon in two of our core publications: 10 Basic Responsibilities and The Source. What do others think? Is fundraising a part of good governance?
Rosanne Stead
/ January 25, 2013Most nonprofits require continuous fundraising to do their work, and for these nonprofits, a core governance responsibility is ensuring financial sustainability . But sometimes nonprofits receive the ultimate gift: sustainable funding from individual donors or foundations. In this latter case, for obvious reasons, fundraising is typically not a core focus of governance activity. The boards of these organizations have the luxury of focusing most of their energies on supporting and guiding the mission.
Marla Cornelius
/ January 17, 2013Anne, thank for your terrific additions to the report’s calls to action. I think they are definitely possible and really speak to the opportunity that is front of us. I also appreciate you bringing up the issue of fear. This is a theme that also came up in our Daring to Lead reports over the past few years. Fundraising is such a pain-point for many individuals and a contributor to leader’s frustration and burnout, but we often neglect to ask ourselves: “What is it exactly about fundraising that is so scary?” A conversation about the deeply conflicted relationship to wealth and power many of us experience would be a very productive place to start. Looking forward to talking with you and others more about these issues.
Marla Cornelius, CompassPoint
fearlessfundras
/ January 17, 2013Fundraising is very much part of core governance…take for example the grass roots organization with no paid staff, who fundraises? Often in working with clients I make it clear that exceptional fundraising boards have great staff support. Yes, staff also has fundraising expectations of their own, but assisting the board in execution is also part of a DOD’s role. More fundementally, as noted if we don’t recruit board members with fundraising accumen then we should not expect fundraising done at a high level. Additionally, board members must understand what it means to fundraise…cultivate, solicit, and steward, not simply ask for contributions. No one enjoys cold calling and good fundraising is NOT cold calling. A good fundraising board engages at all three levels of fundraising
Anne Wallestad
/ January 28, 2013The Chronicle of Philanthropy is hosting a discussion on this topic tomorrow. Should be interesting! http://philanthropy.com/article/How-to-Avoid-Fundraiser/136785/?cid=pt&utm_source=pt&utm_medium=en.
Susan Davis
/ February 14, 2013Thanks Anne for a terrific and timely post. As competition for declining dollars grows fierce, only the strong will do more than survive – they will thrive. I’ve often said the health of a nonprofit can be seen through its volunteer leadership. A board that starts with their own significant contribution (whatever they deem significant) and becomes active in the culture of philanthropy gives their nonprofit the strong foundation they need. Without a solid core, decline is inevitable. When I think of fundraising partnerships, I look to the sequoias. You would think that these large trees have deep roots. They don’t. Their roots are shallow. But what allows them to stand tall in spite of strong winds and harsh weather is those shallow roots – they are interconnected. That’s why you don’t see solitary sequoias– you see groves. Working together, those trees soar.