Executive Issues

Enduring organizations take a proactive approach to innovation and growth.

Here’s the scoop: Development officers quit. Bosses fire development officers. Boards don’t play. Organizations don’t get it. This vicious cycle threatens financing of the sector. And this has been going on for years, and we aren’t really fixing it.

Hmmm. Anyone worried yet?

The scoop is old news if you work in the nonprofit sector. The scoop is old news if you read CompassPoint’s report, “UnderDeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising,” released in January 2013.

"It's a tight market for employers, and our survey tells us that only 33 percent of employers offer a formal training program for new hires," says Greg Albright, founder and chief communications officer at Production Solutions and PS Digital.

Here is our question to nonprofit leaders: Are you addressing the critical fundraising and fund development issues that support long-term nonprofit financials, or are you headed for a fundraising crisis? Refusing to address fundraising fundamentals is a recipe for disaster. Here are a few examples of what we mean.

My 3-year-old daughter recently started youth soccer, which means I’m becoming familiar with the phenomenon called “bunch ball.” For those who haven’t witnessed this firsthand, the scene is not hard to imagine: the ball traveling up and down the field surrounded by a dozen little Ronaldos, all jockeying for control.

I’ve found myself reflecting on bunch ball through the lens of organizational theory and nonprofit fundraising. And I realize that the symptoms of bunch ball bear a great deal of resemblance to the symptoms of a similar malady afflicting many nonprofit fundraising programs.

Sadly, transitions in staff replacements in the nonprofit world typically do not lend themselves to smooth transitions of information.

This year, the FSV advisors tackled the issues every-sized organization and mission need to know to thrive well into the next decades.

Just because you need something doesn't mean everyone will be excited when asked to contribute. Make sure your needs are sound and validated throughout all levels of the organization.

A common complaint from major-gift officers concerns their CEOs or executive directors and their hatred for fundraising. Here they have people who are supposed to be the leaders of their organizations, with vision and passion, but they won’t even talk to donors or support the development team. Now, I know it’s not easy to turn CEOs around on this issue, but I’ve seen it happen. It is possible. Therefore, I’ve put together a few ideas to help ignite a passion in your CEO to begin to love fundraising.

Follow this 11-step path to turn your devil’s advocate into a productive partner. Let me know how it goes!