How Nonprofits Kill Their Fiscal Future

You're the Exec Director of a small or medium size nonprofit. You've finally received a grant large enough to hire a "Development Director". YEA!! Whoo-hoo!! You've graduated! You're now a real player in the "donation game". You've arrived! You proudly report to your board that after an extensive search, you've hired a professional fundraiser and you'll report on her progress at the next board meeting. You've put the first nail in the coffin.

What?! REALLY?!

The scenario above is played out in thousands of nonprofits throughout the country.

And so is the sad but true "ending" to the story.

Within two years, the "Development Director" A.K.A. "savior" has been fired for not meeting the goals.

Or even more troubling and frequent, abandoned the position on her own accord due to burnout. No matter what the reason, the outcome is the same. You're now in search of what you believe will be a better, more "capable" fundraiser, and the hiring process begins yet again. Another nail in the coffin.

After an even more extensive, time consuming and comprehensive search, you hire a development person that can "hit the ground running". This time you've got it right, RIGHT?

WRONG. So wrong.

A national study by CompassPoint and the Haas Fund reveals that many nonprofit organizations are stuck in this vicious cycle that threatens their ability to raise the resources they need to succeed. You can read the entire report here: http://bit.ly/1lutTSX

It reveals the dirty little secrets nonprofits never want to admit:

1. Not enough funds to offer a competitive wage

2. Lack of support from the executive director

3. No back-office support for the new hire

4. No knowledge of the skill set needed or the development process

5. Boards that are unwilling or unable to assist in fundraising

6. Unsustainable expectations stemming from:

a. A non-existent on-boarding process

b. No assessment of the organization’s capacity to fundraise

c. Unrealistic timeframes and benchmarks

d. Ridiculously lofty fiscal goals

e. No commitment to a donor development plan

f. No donor base from which to work

g. No understanding of diversity either in the donor or the fundraiser

At this point, the hopes for a successful hire are D.O.A (Dead On Arrival)

Fundraising and creating a successful process of capacity building starts from the top down.

Development personnel are not saviors or magicians. They cannot miraculously and magically make money appear without best practices and due process. Can nonprofits finally acknowledge these unproductive and unrealistic hiring practices, and allow this vicious cycle to “REST IN PEACE”?