Staffing & Human Resources

Put yourself in the other person's shoes, and you may enhance your perception and improve your skills as a manager!

Hiring the right frontline fundraiser(s) for your nonprofit can literally make or break your development program. Yet, so many organizations have no idea how to find great fundraisers for their teams. Instead, they look at “help wanted” posts on The Chronicle of Philanthropy and try to duplicate the requirements. I want to discuss in detail how your nonprofit can find — and hire — great frontline fundraisers for your team.

You may lose some staff due to proactive changes, but you must think about the institutional direction going forward.

Here are some of the signs that give fakers away, so you can avoid the costly mistake of shackling yourself to a faker when you need a fundraiser.

Having had the opportunity to work with nonprofits that hit huge growth periods and those that wanted to and talked about it but could never achieve that takeoff, I offer the following observations.

In our most recent print issue, Nancy Schwartz, president of GettingAttention.org and member of the FS Editorial Advisory Board, took a cue from Seth Godin to explain that "You Can Change the People That Matter."

Whether you’re new to a development leadership role or a seasoned executive, you must consider personnel issues. Much like a football coach who takes over a team, think about each part of the organization and how the pieces fit together. A fundraising coach knows that success depends on a total team concept. Each fundraising organization has elements of governance through its board of directors and administration with executive leadership and staff. These various individuals must execute strategic and operational plans for success to occur.

If you want to attract and retain someone who will develop a sustainable financial engine for your nonprofit, don’t leave your fundraiser out in the cold. Fully integrate your head fundraiser into your organization, and provide the tools, support and resources necessary to succeed.

Getting the right team around you is one of the most important factors in your fundraising program's success. Here are five guidelines for ensuring that you make the right hire.

The winning formula? Hire smarter + train better + fire faster = grow stronger. And sleep better.