Making the Case: A Development Team for the Long Haul

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The why and the how of creating, cultivating, and keeping a development team long-term is no doubt, incredibly vague across the landscape of organizations facing rapid fundraising turnover.

We are excited to showcase how a fundraising team for the long haul will exponentially support your organization for years into the future – and practical ways to bring this into reality.

The first step in laying the groundwork toward a committed development team is to be intentional about recruitment. Be specific about what skills you are looking for in your job announcements (relationship-building, strategic thinking, persuasive writing, etc.) and consider candidates from other industries as fantastic fits with translatable skills. When you select and see your development staff for their abilities and potential growth rather than seeking candidates with extremely specific experiences, it broadens possibilities to attract the best possible talent who can enhance their skills over time.

The reasons behind retaining your development staff long-term are wide-ranging: the stress, labor, and costs associated with employee turnover; the benefits of having fundraising staff that are fully integrated into an organization who can speak eloquently on its behalf; and the opportunity for development staff to fully realize long-term strategies.

On the latter point – if your development staff leave your organization every two to three years, it begs the question of whether you are seeing the full potential of your development program. Building, rebuilding, and then again rebuilding relationships takes a significant amount of resources – we'd like you to imagine your fundraising operation without needing to make this effort every three years or less.

With the average turnover for nonprofits much higher than the for-profit sector (in 2022 average nonprofit turnover was 19% while all-industry turnover was 12%), fundraisers are often the first to exit because of unsupportive (or even toxic) work environments, unattainable or unclear expectations, and more appealing growth opportunities elsewhere. Nonprofits should address each of these challenges head-on by being realistic about fundraising and other goals, seeing and supporting their employees as whole individuals, and offering ways for development staff to gain meaningful and needed experiences and benefits.

Development staff goals should include their own professional development. Often Executive Directors and CEOs aren't as experienced in fundraising as their chief development staff, so we recommend they encourage their fundraising team to bring the coaching, conferences, and association memberships to the table that they need to grow and refine their skills. And of course, we emphasize that organizations should financially support staff's professional development. In addition to this, the time to attend classes and webinars should be generously given to development staff. It is important that fundraising professionals seek mentorship outside of their organization and within their field, and this should also be supported.

Fundraising staff should be considered as a whole person. Just as we encourage development staff to not form transactional relationships with donors, we need to consider the individual differences and needs of these staff. The modern workplace should strive to create work-life balance and work-life integration – development staff often work extended hours and evenings, so offering them flexibility (sometimes beginning the work day later) and hybrid options can dramatically improve their quality of life and ease the stress of non-traditional work hours. Talented fundraising staff are also at varying stages of life and professionalism – some may be looking for a role with flexible hours throughout the year, while some may be in need of a more substantial role to move forward in their career. People also, of course, have lifestyle changes and nonprofit organizations should boldly ask fundraising staff "what can I do to keep you?" during these times.

Fundraisers' performance is often measured only in dollars raised (those who have followed Make Philanthropy Work over the years know well our preference for leading indicators over lagging), when feedback toward all of their progress is needed. To only consider staff's progress toward fundraising goals is short-sighted when abilities such as being able to change the direction of fundraising focus or strategically secure a large gift over a long period of time are incredibly valuable. We also recommend pausing to celebrate fundraising success (which benefits your organization as a whole, as well as your culture of philanthropy) before immediately launching into the next funding cycle. And finally, we support clear delineation of job responsibilities across your development team – database and event support staff are invaluable when it comes to keeping your frontline fundraisers in front of donors!

The elephant in the room – development staff salary – needs significant attention to retain fundraisers. Staff often move to new organizations and receive a large increase in compensation simply because there isn't a path for growth available with their current employer. Leaders should be aware of this and work with their human resources staff to transition their development employees up the ladder. Motivating your development staff with growth opportunities can include modifications of titles and duties – we strongly suggest collaborating with development staff in structuring these opportunities for advancement.

Organizations with larger fundraising departments and especially national organizations with multiple locations should also take care to invigorate the whole team, and be intentional toward their treatment and cultivation of entry and mid-level development talent that may one day be leading their development operations. Whether this means paying for flights to headquarters for training or having them work closely with senior development staff, organizations can play a key role in ensuring that great talent is looking for the right opportunity with their current employer.

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Are you looking to build a development team for the long haul? 

Send us an email to get Make Philanthropy Work's Support in building the fundraising team that will serve your organization for years into the future.