How to Lose a Good Fundraiser
Per the National Council of Nonprofits, “Most charitable nonprofits rely upon the generosity of donors for some or all of their funding. Consequently, fundraising is an activity of major importance to the charitable nonprofit community.”
I think that’s an understatement. Simply put, the vast majority of nonprofits — whether they be a “one-person shop” or a huge institution — rely on charitable giving for their existence. Since about 80% of charitable giving overall comes from individuals (as opposed to foundations, government, and corporate grants), the person or people who interact with individual donors are critical members of the nonprofit’s team. So we treat those fundraisers accordingly, right? Unfortunately not.
Various research tells us that between 50-75% of all nonprofit fundraisers are, in any given year, considering leaving their jobs. A 2019 report in the Chronicle of Philanthropy shows that about 30% of fundraisers plan to not only leave their jobs, but their intention is to leave the sector completely.
Let’s not forget that without funding — largely brought in by fundraisers — nonprofits cannot stay solvent. This is a critical problem.
So why is this happening? It seems counterintuitive since most fundraisers say that they strongly believe in their organization’s mission. In fact, many left the for-profit world to be able to work in a job that feels more purposeful.
However.
In that Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, the summary shows that nonprofits (in general) pay fundraisers low salaries, require no “experience in a related occupation”, and don’t provide on-the-job training. Not so compelling.
Fundraiser Seth Rosen wrote a wonderful (but painful) piece on Joan Garry’s blog called “How to Avoid Burnout”. The story tells how Seth found himself in the ER with severe medical issues that came from the stress and intensity that he lived through as part of his fundraising job. Thankfully Seth is okay, but it seems clear that nonprofits need to support and protect their fundraisers much more than they do now.
If fundraisers are the lifeblood of a nonprofit…if fundraisers have a direct impact on whether the organization succeeds in its mission…then why do we treat them like automatons? I’m not suggesting that there aren’t many wonderful organizations that do treat their fundraisers like gold, but the ones that do are in the minority.
In the Chronicle of Philanthropy 2019 report, they note that of the 1035 fundraisers queried, “78 percent said they wished they had more time to spend meeting with supporters.”
Yet I hear story after story about NPOs telling their fundraisers to use scripts word-for-word. I hear about larger organizations telling fundraisers to stay “in their lane” and just to “bring back a check”. Many nonprofits have a very short window for a fundraiser to be successful — and that window doesn’t often align with the creation and cultivation of an authentic relationship.
So what’s a nonprofit leader to do? Here are a few tips to keep a good fundraiser:
Pay your fundraiser(s) a competitive salary (and look to the entire sector for comparison information).
Think of your fundraiser(s) as educated, experienced professionals and treat them accordingly. (The “make sure to bring your client/donor list from your last job so that you can bring in some money pronto” is the opposite of what you should do.)
In this time of COVID and it’s aftermath, make sure that your fundraisers are working in a supportive environment, and that they have all the tools they need to help them be successful. If they’d prefer to work at least some days from home, let them. Having a professional staff member sit at a desk — when they’d just to “keep an eye on them” isn’t okay.
Make sure that at least your senior fundraisers are part of your executive team. Fundraisers are the catalyst for bringing money into your NPO, but fundraising is everyone’s responsibility. A good fundraiser can’t do their job effectively if they don’t have information about what’s happening at their organization. Withholding information about an organization from fundraisers is like shooting yourself in the foot. Remember, donors want to hear about successes and challenges, so the fundraisers must have this information.
Provide professional development to not only the fundraisers but also to other staff and to your Board. Everyone at the organization needs to understand best practices in nonprofit fundraising — they need to understand that this work is hard, takes time, and can be extremely successful, given the right environment.
Reward donations that come from patient, ongoing, focused relationship-building. Recurring gifts should be acknowledged as a “win”. One-time transactional gifts are great in the short-term, but not so great in the long term. I’ve written more on recurring giving here and here.
Possibly most importantly, make certain that your organizational culture has zero-tolerance for condescension, belittling, or yelling. Yes, this includes these things coming from donors — regardless of how much money they give.
Since that “Great Resignation” doesn’t seem to be slowing in 2022, we need to do better than our sector is doing now. Continuing to push the “transactional” way of fundraising will keep those fundraisers walking out the door, and nobody will benefit.
I’m Saving Giving by providing a clear path to success, supported by data, statistics, and interviews. You can find more great newsletters like this one here on Philanthropy 451, in my bestselling book, Philanthropy Revolution, or on Twitter, and LinkedIn to learn more.
- Lisa