You might need to shake up your staff’s way of thinking.

By Betty Ann Copley Harris

Talented major-gifts officers are in high demand and tough to come by. Try running a search on Google with the words “major gifts officer,” and you’ll immediately uncover more than 14,800 opportunities.

But can you place a new major-gifts officer into a small organization and expect him to succeed overnight? Or can you expect a person who has led your direct-mail and events programs to suddenly become a major-gifts officer? Not likely.