Hiring the
Right Fundraiser in a New Economic Reality
by Ellen Sibley, Vice President, Nonprofit Professionals
Advisory Group
Nonprofit organizations are facing greater than ever
financial challenges in this new economy: funding is being
cut dramatically sector-wide, invested funds are skydiving
in their value, and donors are losing large percentages of
their fortunes. Many donors and foundations are wondering if
they can still follow through with their commitments,
leaving nonprofits scrambling to find the next new dollar.
Instead of asking for large donations now, this is the time
for nonprofits to build on their relationships with past,
current, and future funders, making stewardship is more
important than ever. So what does this mean for development
professionals and the nonprofits that employ them?
Successful fundraisers will be forced to become more
relationship driven and will need to provide comfort and
understanding to donors in the pipeline. Donors must know
that they are still important to the organization, even in
this new economy, but that the organization can be patient
and can wait for their support while remaining in very close
touch. Nonprofits will be forced to prioritize, but must
also make sure to take a long range view of the economic
cycle.
Nonprofits should treat the uncertain economy as an
opportunity to re-evaluate their organizations from the top
down and remind everyone of their core mission. They will
need to decide what is most important and streamline their
operations and programs wherever possible to make sure the
important action items get accomplished. If their
development department stewards their donors properly,
donors will appreciate the time and understanding and
thoughtfulness that they were given and will remember those
nonprofits when markets, as they always do, turn around.
Next year, nonprofits are going to be more cautious about
hiring new employees and candidates will be more careful
about choosing where to work. Nonprofits should evaluate the
importance of each staffed position and, once vacant, review
whether the job description and the incumbent’s salary is
still appropriate for future hires. Likewise, candidates
should do more due diligence, conducting deeper research
than ever before about their future employer to ensure that
they can be successful in the new position. The players on
both sides of the table will need to adjust to search in
this new economy.
As an executive search and professional development firm
dedicated to building the nonprofit sector through an
innovative, new economy approach, the Nonprofit
Professionals Advisory Group works with organizations to
weather these tight times. By unbundling our search
services, we allow clients to utilize as much or as little
of our expertise and network as they need, and by partnering
with our clients, we produce a result that meets their
capacities, their needs, and their budgets.
NPAG’s Top Ten Tips to Make a Development Search
Successful for the New Economy
In this new economy, nonprofits cannot afford to hire an
ineffective development professional, whether at the Chief
Development Officer level or as a development associate.
Based on deep experience filling development positions
across the sector, we’ve come up with some best practices that
nonprofits will need to utilize in these uncertain times.
-
Write a clear position description that outlines why
your organization is “the place to be” right now and
what challenges the successful candidate will face in
their first 12-18 months. Be honest. Do not exaggerate
what your funding future looks like, but don’t draw too
desperate of a picture either. Development professionals
need to know what the expectations are in order to be
successful.
-
Look for candidates with staying power when evaluating
resumes. A successful development professional must stay
at an organization for three to five years in order to
be involved in the full cycle of a high end ask
including prospecting, the ask, receiving the donation
and properly acknowledging the gift.
-
Inquire during your phone interview what the candidate
likes about fundraising. In any economic times,
successful fundraisers will be the ones who are
passionate about it and love it, but in these uncertain
times, you’ll need one who loves it enough to stick with
it even when the going gets tough.
-
Ask candidates to describe the whole process of an ask;
it should be their proudest, even if not their largest.
If they can’t describe it clearly enough so even a
novice can understand, they might not have been part of
the whole process. If the story is not passionate you
should wonder about their ability to convince donors.
Look for energy. If you are bored then think how donors
will feel when talking with them.
-
Request dollars raised instead of percentages. An
increase of 100% sounds impressive until you find out
that that the original number was $5,000. Find out where
the money came from; if 50% of the money from a three
year federal grant written by the executive director,
40% was a planned gift set up on the candidate’s
predecessor’s watch out, that leaves only 10% that was
really raised.
-
Ask each candidate for stories about how they have
stewarded gifts. Were they warm and friendly? Did they
have strong follow-through? How did they acknowledge
gifts? How did they keep in contact with donors? What
kind of correspondence have they been accustomed to
producing? Did they write you a thank you note after a
phone or in person interview? If not, how well will they
steward donors in this new economy?
-
Get examples of their networking skills. Do they like to
network? Are they involved in their community? Are they
comfortable and available to network at lunches, dinners
and other functions? Do they have a rolodex of donors?
-
See if they are really connected and passionate with
your organization’s mission. Why do they want to work at
your organization? What is it about your organization
that attracted them? If a fundraiser is not passionate
about the mission for which they are raising money, they
will most likely not be successful.
-
Be prepared to talk about how your organization plans to
raise money in this new economy and what will happen if
fundraising goals are not met. Is your operating budget
fully dependent on dollars raised? Be honest so the
candidate understands the risks and responsibilities
that will rest on his or her shoulders. No one wants any
surprises. Ask candidates how they will handle donations
in this new economy especially if a donor reduces the
amount pledged or puts it on hold.
-
Be flexible when negotiating salaries. If you can’t pay
as high a salary as your top candidate wants, can you
give them other things that might mean a lot to them but
not cost your organization as much? Be creative. Can you
give them free parking, a laptop and blackberry, or more
training? Can they work one day from home? Can you plan
a six month review with a possible increase if the
economy improves? Remember, a new search can cost more
than the increase a candidate is requesting.
NPAG is available to help with your search needs as you hire
responsibly and thoughtfully. We offer our retained search
services unbundled so that you can hire us for only the work
that you need and while keeping part of the process
in-house, therefore saving on the price of a full search.
__________________________________________________________________________
Ellen Sibley leads a portfolio
of searches for the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory
Group,
an executive search and leadership development consulting firm dedicated to strengthening the capacity
of nonprofits and their staff, and is available to discuss
individual resumes, cover letters, and job search strategies.
Please
e-mail Ellen to discuss your development or other search
needs.
