'Execution of Tricks' Isn't Enough to Grow Giving

“We’re generating future leaders and not exposing them to the fundamentals of fundraising, let alone how to manage it,” he says. “The problem isn’t that people know what to do and aren’t doing it — it’s that they don’t know what to do.”

Part of the issue, according to Hartsook, is that the industry is moving away from mission-driven people in leadership roles — whether that’s the CEO, president or board — and moving toward more professionals from the business world. So while there are undoubtedly many positives to that, “half the people are hired by boards to be managers and don’t understand what the fundraising piece is all about. They have not been formally prepared for that,” Hartsook says.