Raising Money: Who's the Best Person for the Job?
In case you missed it, Phil and I launched a new arm of business a couple of weeks back: recruiting for nonprofit organizations. It has always been a topic of conversation for us: we know what this organization truly needs, but do we have the right person or people who can carry it out?
The answer isn't always an easy one. Those who work in development (also known as fundraising or advancement) oftentimes connect with and know one another, particularly if they work in the same region. Conferences, workshops, and LinkedIn are some examples of the places that make it easy to network in this field. But we hear leaders talk all of the time about how few people applied to their open fundraising (or development, or advancement) job, or how small the pool of candidates feels. When it comes to seeking the right person, we might be looking at different things.
If you've been around here a while, you know how passionately we feel about the shift in philanthropy -- away from event-based, transactional gift-giving to real, investment-oriented philanthropy. That means the work is different than it once was, and the person at the helm of raising support should be, too. Let's talk about some of the things that an Executive Director or a Development Director does when there's a major gift system in place:
cultivating brand new (or existing) relationships in an intentional way
strategizing on individuals and families to move them towards more support
making face-to-face solicitations for specific amounts of money
organizing and tracking this movement internally
interfacing with governing bodies such as the Board of Directors
Okay, this person will clearly need to understand people, making emotional intelligence at the top of our list when it comes to requirements. The ability to read people and a situation is critical to doing this job well. When it comes to asking people for support, you don't just need to understand what they care about, you need to be politely persistent about your communication with them. After all, people in fundraising can fall after family, work and fun when it comes to the list of things that any one person must prioritize, so you can't feel badly about reaching out often; consistent, genuine communication takes confidence (I wrote about this topic recently for a magazine, especially as it relates to women). Confidence can be felt by peers and people sitting on the other side of the table. They'll ask hard questions, and you need to be able to respond appropriately, even if you don't yet have the answer.
You'll see that I didn't mention finding a person who has 10 years of experience in raising money, or a person who can prove that she has raised over $3M in her life. Smart people who have an aptitude for building relationships can learn anything. Do not dismiss someone whose work has been in sales, marketing, recruiting, parenting, or leadership if they will consider a role in development or the nonprofit world. Are they loyal, honest, confident, enjoyable to be around, direct, good with people, and quick to learn? Then you have covered the most important aspects of interfacing with successful donors and team members.
It's important to note: the biggest supporters to any institution are almost always entrepreneurs. Strive to put someone in charge of those relationships who also has vision, can think outside the box, and knows the value of truly putting people before anything else.
Use these points as a reference for the next time you dream up a job description or review resumes for a lead development role. Times have changed, so people must, too!
