Flight of the Fund-raisers! Part Two

In the last article RSC looked at some of the reasons why so many development professionals are either leaving or wanting toleave their current position.  In this article we’ll look at what your organization can do to attract and keep top-notch, productive fund-raisers.

As a quick recap from the last article, let’s touch on these three areas:

Fundraising is a team sport. 

Winning.

Along with the Chief Development Officer (CDO), the board of directors, the development committee and CEO each have crucial roles to play in the organization's fundraising success.  Part of the CDO’s job is to pull the team together so that there is a concerted effort, shared responsibilities and shared victories.

Many organizations don't define the type of CDO they need – mostly because they don’t know that there is more than one “type”. RSC believes that there are two main types: the “major gift officer” and the “tactician”.  Although both types are goal-driven, they are very different – and rarely will you find a person who strongly possesses both talents.

“Major Gift Officer” CDOs like to cultivate relationships and ask for money – nearly all the time.  That’s great, but they only have so much bandwidth and they can develop only so many relationships before they are maxed out.  Then what?  How does the rest of the fundraising program mature? 

Well, if you have a strong support staff, your organization may be primed for a “major gift officer” CDO. The fearless fund-raiser spends time courting your highest yielding prospects, and the support staff “supports” the running of the overall program.

The “Tactician”, is strategic. They know how to develop people, plans and systems to get a specific job done within a give time frame, but they are often not the “asker”. They need a team to be the mouthpiece.  They just need that team from Day One – so if your organization isn’t “team-centric” then don’t hire a tactician to raise money.

Whether it be “immediately” or “eventually”, the CDO, regardless of “type” needs a team – each just uses the team a little differently.  No matter how uncomfortable the board may be in the act of fundraising, they have an essential role in the process and must look to the CDO to be their leader – but they must be willing to follow. Conversely, the CDO must assume the leadership role.  Effective fundraising teams are built by each person recognizing and embracing his / her role.

Goals should be achievable, based, at least in part, on historical accomplishments.

Setting income budget goals has a myriad of variables predicated on the previous year's budget performance, predictable attrition, and reasonable gross growth targets. Combined, these equal a net gain that represents the new goal. Once finished – that’s the goal, don’t add another 12% because you need it. If you do, you've now entered budgetary “Fantasyland”.  If exceeding the goal becomes possible, terrific, but don’t keep moving the goal out of reach.  Exceed it, celebrate and keep moving forward.  If the development team feels like they can’t have a “win”, no matter how much they raise, then burnout begins.  Make a winnable situation for your entire organization by first making a winnable situation for your development department. 

Be prepared to invest in the program, not just the person.

Lastly, invest in your development efforts. Understand that old axiom that it takes money to make money – because it does. A low “cost to raise a dollar” is great, but it usually means you aren’t broadening your donor base, which will eventually choke off fundraising because you’ll be left with a few “high gift average” donors and no one to replace them with. No replacements equals no sustainable future. Invest in cultivation, in telefunding, in expert consulting assistance – whatever helps your organization and the CDO take the program to the next level of performance at a reasonable cost. Success begets satisfaction – so make the investment.

Don’t fail your CDO and they won’t fail you. Find the right “type” of fundraising professional for your organization, set realistic goals, invest in them, and allow them to build a team.  That’s how you keep a CDO engaged, and productive. 

RSC can help coach your organization’s board and staff on how to establish and engage staff and volunteer leadership, and build a successful fundraising program. If you would like to learn more about how RSC successfully helps arts and cultural organizations reach their fundraising goals, call us today at 317.300.4443 or visit our website.

Flight of the Fund-raisers! Part One

Run Away! Run Away!

A development director, new on the job, finds three envelopes in her desk drawer, left by her predecessor.  The envelopes read, “open at the end of year one, year two, and year three”, respectively. At the end of year one she opens the first envelope as instructed. Inside, the message reads, “Blame the Economy.” As the second year concludes, she opens the next envelope and it reads, “Blame the Marketing Department.” After three years she opens the final envelope, which contains the message. “Prepare Three Envelopes.”

For many development directors, this hits close to home, as recently reported in The Chronicle of Philanthropy's article, “Half of Fundraisers in Top Job Want To Quit”.

The truth is that more fund-raisers than ever before want out of their current job – or out of the business altogether.  The average stay in a fundraising position is now 18-24 months.  The reasons are varied but usually boil down to one sentiment – fundraising has become a “no win” situation. With this mindset, reaching goals is irrelevant because the Chief Development Officer (CDO) is resigned to the idea that, “even a win isn’t a win”.  So they dream of moving on, either looking for a greener philanthropic pasture or leaving the profession completely. 

As a company that partners with arts organizations across the country, RSC is a regular witness to CDO turnover, as we are often engaged as “interim staff” during these all-too-frequent transitions. Sadly, the issues leading up to “fundraiser flight” have been in force for at least a decade with no signs of them being effectively addressed.

This is an industry-wide phenomenon – and one the arts have a particularly tough time competing in because of the competition for talent.  Every non-profit needs a top-notch fundraising staff, but, as we know, some organizations (and industries) can simply out pay others. Yet, salaries for CDO’s have increased steadily over the past decade in nearly all industries, including the arts, so shouldn’t money solve the “retention” problem? Well, no, because salary isn’t the real problem. 

When it comes to fundraising in the arts, hiring the right “fit”, setting the right expectations, and engaging an entire team are most often overlooked in lieu of the desire to fill the open slot quickly.  Beyond wanting “someone who can ask for money”, many organizations don’t know what type of development director they need, and therefore don’t know how to engage and keep them productive.  When this happens, there are some familiar results:

• Leadership in the institution (staff and volunteer) relinquishes (foists) all fundraising responsibilities to the new CDO. Once the hire is made, the new CDO is often expected to be the chief fundraiser, strategist, letter writer, relationship builder and event planner, just to name a few. You may see a busy fund-raiser, but they’ll burn out very quickly in this scenario.

• Fundraising goals are in flux to bridge other organizational shortcomings. The CDO is not a bank or an ATM machine. If an organization has budget overages or income shortfalls, the worst mistake it can make is to rely on fundraising to close the gap in the final moments of a fiscal year.  Using philanthropy as an institutional line of credit is nearly always a losing proposition.

• Believing that hiring a CDO is the final step of investment.  Securing the right staff leadership is the first step towards success, not the last.  Your CDO may have to build a staff.  Or hire a consultant. Or engage a vendor to expand the base of support.  Or invest in any number of things that creates an environment for successful fundraising.  Hiring a pilot without a plane, fuel, runway and flight plan won’t take you very far – and a great person who is not properly resourced won’t last long.

So, how does an organization really stop the revolving door of development directors, and how do they get a quality team member who will stay, produce and flourish for a long time?  RSC will give some thoughts on that in our next blog article.

In the meantime, you can contact RSC by clicking here to learn more about our services to arts and cultural organizations and how we can help you achieve Fundraising Growth Now!