"The Essential Triumvirate"

In the last two blog posts, we explored the tensions among board leaders, executive directors and development directors. This is a vicious cycle, preventing nonprofits from realizing their potential to be great.

Penelope Burk, in her new book Donor Centered Leadership, suggests some solutions:

1. Hire* People Who Lead!

CEOs who. . .

• take a collaborative approach to fundraising management
• see fundraising as a core job and have the skills
• credit fundraising staff for their achievements
• support the board in their fundraising work

Board members who. . .

• are great advocates
• open doors
• create fundraising opportunities

Development directors who. . .

• are chronic over-achievers
• are team players
• are paid what they are worth

2. Get out of the way and let them lead!

Clearly, there is much more to Penelope's book. I urge you to read it.

*Yes,you do hire board members: looking for volunteers who bring essential skills and talents to meet core needs, are loyal to the organization and team-centered, willing to fulfill the most critical role: fundraising and donor development. Do you have a job description for the board and one for individual board members? You should.

Fundraising, Sex, Death and Mental Illness

Last week in this blog I reported on the recent study conducted by CompassPoint with support from the Evelyn and Walter Haas Fund. Their findings are a little depressing, but entirely valid. 











We all knew this; we just have no motivation to confront it, especially in our own organizations.

So, how do we begin to turn this tide before it carries us all out to sea? The study suggests the following calls to action, among them. . .

·      Embrace fund development. Easier said than done, particularly if relationships are strained to begin with. Perhaps we should each begin with ourselves. . .

What can we do personally to launch this seismic shift? For starters, according to the study, we. . .

·      Stop making fundraising a taboo subject. It’s not in the category of “sex, death and mental illness.” Philanthropy and fundraising are essential elements of the success of virtually every nonprofit; we need to elevate their importance.

·      Train our boards better. The study revealed that fundraising engagement among boards is “still woefully inadequate.” A culture of philanthropy may be launched at the staff level, but it is maintained at the board level and right now that’s not happening in so many organizations.

·      Set realistic development goals and share accountability for results. According to the study, “the development director’s success is inextricably linked to staff, executive director and board success. . .” Intellectually, we know this. Yet all too often development directors are like the infamous “bubble boy,” isolated from everything else that is happening in their organizations. It’s time to merge that position into the hearts and soul of our nonprofits. The ROI on that could be enormous.

These are just a few of the calls to action listed in the study, but they are a critical few. In my 22 years as a consultant to nonprofits of all types and sizes, I have been witness to the painful struggles that go on over fundraising and philanthropy. 

I observe it inside the organizations, and on the outside I hear from donors how damaging it can be.

Standoff: A situation in which one force neutralizes or counterbalances the other

Sound familiar? If you are an executive director, nonprofit board member or development director, you are likely nodding your head. Too frequently, the dynamics swirling around these three positions in almost any nonprofit are more than you signed on to handle.

Earlier this year, CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund collaborated to determine why there is premature turnover among development directors, lengthy vacancies in that role and a seemingly thin pool of qualified candidates. The study included directors of development and executive directors in nonprofits of all sizes and types.

They want to encourage a national dialogue; there’s more than enough in this study to support that. I’ve seen it all myself on numerous occasions and it ain’t pretty. You can get the full report here.

For the next two weeks we will devote this blog to a summary of this vitally important study, reporting on the findings and calls to action identified through the research. Then in Week 3 we’ll look at highlights from Penelope Burk’s new book, Donor Centered Leadership: What It Takes to Build a High Performance Fundraising Team. Penelope has some serious thoughts about how to address issues raised in the study.

Challenges Identified Through the Research

A revolving door. . .There is a high level of instability and uncertainty in the development director position in nonprofits: high turnover, long vacancies, performance problems and the waning interest among development directors to build careers in their field.

Help wanted. . .The demand for qualified development directors is greater than the supply across the sector. The key word here, for nonprofit executives, is “qualified.”[1] Executive directors report they can’t attract enough qualified candidates; they aren’t happy with the performance of current DofDs; and they believe their development directors lack key fundraising skills.

“It’s About More Than One Person: Lacking the Conditions for Fundraising Success”

According to the report, signs that an organization is up to the task of creating a successful environment for fundraising include:

·      The organization invests in fundraising capacity and technology, and has a fundraising plan

·      The staff, executive director and board are deeply engaged as ambassadors and solicitors

·      Fund development and philanthropy are understood and valued across the organization

·      The development director is viewed as a key leader and partner and is integral to organizational planning and strategy

My viewpoint: This issue has been plaguing nonprofits, particularly community-based organizations, for far too long. We as a sector tend to use the challenges listed above as excuses as much as anything.

So much opportunity is wasted or never realized because of “the fear of fundraising” that dominates our thoughts and actions. Also, too often we suffer from an attitude of entitlement that projects itself as a “you got money, I need some of it” mentality. Yeah, “nonprofit” may be nothing more than a tax status, and I thoroughly support good business practices, but we exist to serve. We can be our own best friends or worst enemies in how we choose to make philanthropy and fundraising a key part of who we are and how we impact society.

Let me know what you think.

Next week: Calls to Action from the CompassPoint/Haas Fund study.



[1] Editorial comment: Assessing a DofD’s performance is tough when there are so many factors outside that person’s control that can influence fundraising success.