Is There a Crisis in Fundraising Leadership?
How do we attract, develop and retain good fundraisers?
At last week’s International Fundraising Congress, many of us were transfixed by a provocative conversation about “The Emerging Fundraising Leadership Challenge.”
International fundraising guru Tony Elischer, managing director of Think Consulting Solutions, and 5 dynamic women: Rory Green, Maria Ros Jernberg, Joanne Warner, Elise Ledsinger, and Lucy Gower led the conversation.
The presenters bemoaned what it’s like for emerging fundraising leaders who are looking for a bright future.
How do we spot, train and develop young talented – and especially tech-savvy – fundraisers?
Is fundraising leadership “pale, stale and male?”
Do you agree? Let’s talk about the “stale” part of the above sentence.
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Everything is changing about fundraising today. (You’re probably tired of hearing me say to you, “fundraising has changed.”)
Our industry is being blown apart by new technology and new ideas.
Our industry is being blown apart by new technology tools.
The way we communicate is changing drastically.
What donors expect and respond to is very different.
So the stale ideas that are prevalent in so many boardrooms and executive suites are clearly not going to take us where we need to go.
And stale ideas are not going to keep talented fundraisers around.
31% of fundraisers left their jobs because of an “old-school culture of fundraising.”
What’s the old school culture look like?
Find out how we can help you achieve your fundraising goals with world-class consulting and custom training.
- It’s when the president of a college tells me “I don’t know whether to believe my staff.” (This has happened to me more than once!)
- It’s when the board members think they know more about fundraising than staff does.
- It’s when your leaders aren’t willing to try out anything new – just sticking with the same old stale fundraising efforts year after year.
- It’s when a toxic culture squashes young fundraisers’ ideas and dreams.
Penelope Burk found that 40% of fundraisers said that conflicting opinions on HOW to raise the money was making them leave their jobs.
Try a “Risk” or “New Strategies” Fund as part of your development budget.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you had a budget item for new technology or to try out new ideas?
Remember, this small pool of money will very likely pay itself back before you know it!
Does your organization have a “stuck in the past” attitude toward fundraising?
I like fundraisers who say “give me one dollar and I’ll give you $4 back within two years.”
That’s what a risk fund can help support.
This way you won’t have to deal with the perennial, “We don’t have it in the budget.”
If you have an innovative culture, your staff feels supported to try out new technologies.
And you’ll probably emerge on top in a few years too.
Could it be that the leaders of charities do not appreciate fundraising or talented fundraisers?
Whoa! They don’t appreciate fundraising? And/or they don’t appreciate “internal fundraising competence?”
Could it be that there is something “fundamentally wrong with the internal culture of many organizations,” in that fundraisers, and particularly talented young women fundraisers — are not respected, appropriately rewarded or listened to?
(I have to say, what else is new here?)
The presenters called the situation “shameful at every level.”
If you want to be successful, fundraising needs to be integrated into every aspect of your organization.
Everyone needs to understand fundraising and their role in supporting donors and the overall fundraising effort.
I’ll be writing and speaking more in the coming months about how to develop a stronger culture of philanthropy at your organization.
Screen shot from the Fundraisergrrl tumbler feed! Our go-to place for humor!
Can you create a culture in your organization that inspires risk and change?
- Can you make employees feel important and valued?
- Can you set a good example of work-life balance?
- Can you create a culture that values the work fundraisers do?
- Can you make your employees feel safe and supported?
Do you want to keep your best young talent?
Then make sure you appreciate and recognize the skills and insights of the next generation of leaders.
I’m willing to bet our sector could do a much better job than we are doing.
Finding and cultivating new talent has got to be a priority to help lead us to a powerful and productive future.
If you agree, leave a comment!
BOTTOM LINE:
So come on everybody – Join the movement to value talent, invest in the next generation, be open to change, look for and nurture new fundraisers coming up in the ranks!
Give me a comment! Do you agree or NOT?
I know this is the case with most fundraising but mine has been a different experience. My board members are not on the board just for recognition, but are people who are also volunteers in our organization. They work along side of the staff. They support all the new innovative ideas we have tried this year. While they are not connected to people who could be “big donors”, they have a natural passion for the mission and want to see it succeed. Most of all, they value me with their kind words and their prayers.
I think there is a real crisis of fundraising leadership. Too many nonprofits, especially small or established nonprofits, are unwilling to really invest in fundraising and in fundraising staff. I can’t believe how many times I have been told by directors and board members to just, “write more grants”. There seems to be a lack of education on the importance of nurturing new fundraisers and rallying behind their efforts.
Great article! I wholeheartedly agree. Furthermore, it is apparent when I hire new team members who’ve had experience in other jobs, yet struggle with basic development concepts and ideas. Fundraising was a dirty word at their former jobs and they were left to figure it out without mentorship or a strong knowledgebase. Not sure what that will mean for the future. I had a strong mentor at an organization that valued fundraising. I am grateful every day for her guidance and support.
Culture begins at the top. We must help our nonprofit CEOs to feel their own mission-passion & engage in authentic donor connections offering joyful impact to people who care the most about their outcomes! Our good colleagues will stay forever, loyally supporting a CEO who ‘gets it’ and helps them stay off the FR hamster wheel. This is our singular goal at Confident Fundraising-guiding nonprofit leaders to become natural fundraisers…one CEO at a time. Forever or until we hit all 1.5 million US nonprofits.
Gail – this is such an important topic! Thank you for your post.
I strongly believe we need MUCH MORE diversity in our sector. And that doesn’t mean ethnicity, it means diversity of ideas, diversity of methods. Fundraisers (especially those in leadership positions) need to step out of the comfort zone of what they “know” to push to boundaries to meet the needs donors (yes, the donors). And donors want to change the world! We are the vessels to make that happen.
Whether you call it comfort or fear, whatever it is that keeps leaders ONLY operating with proven success and not piloting projects with new ideas/ technology/ people… that keeps the sector stale (Hello, Kodak?). Our sector is often the last adopter of the “new” we should ask ourselves, “Why?”
We need more people asking these questions and disrupting the status quo. Yes, there are donors and prospects with whom we work who are most comfortable with the known (think direct mail responders). But we have generations of prospective donors coming into their own, ready to give and/or volunteer. How will they feel welcome and included?
I’m taken with the idea of “Risk Taking” and the Fundraising Process. Actually every day we get out of bed and come to work is a risk of some level. And that brings me to the idea of Fundraising Risk Taking. There must be a “Level of Risk Tolerance” within any (and every) organization. From the Executive Office to the ones on the fundraising front lines. So the question becomes – what constitutes a risk within one’s own organization? If we are indeed “Old School Culture” what constitutes a Minimum Risk, Medium Risk or Maximum Risk? (The 3 M’s of risk assessment…) Some of these organizations (i.e. College & Seminary) are indeed “Old School” – so perhaps a brightly colored mailer would be a big risk to some of these…
How can we accurately assess the risk tolerance of our executive branch? By taking risks ourselves? Use the red paper! Comments?
This article brought me to tears. This is EXACTLY why I left my last job. I have over 15 years of fund development experience and my job was appeasing the board of what they “thought” was best, not what my staff and I knew would work. I had to leave for the sake of my health because the stress was too overwhelming. I’m so incredibly disappointed with the way I’ve been treated, that I’m looking for a job (vs a career) in the business sector. I’m curious if there will be more of us transitioning in the other direction – nonprofit to business.
The problem is not a lack of skilled fund raising professionals, but a lack of respect for what many of us have accomplished in our careers. It breaks my heart to leave the industry because I live and breath fund development and nonprofit management, but I don’t deserve the horrible treatment. I’m finding some solace in volunteering, but it isn’t the same as doing the work as a professional. How many more well educated, skilled and experienced fund development leaders are choosing to leave the industry because of being treated badly by boards, peers, staff, etc?
This line, “It’s when your leaders aren’t willing to try out anything new – just sticking with the same old stale fundraising efforts year after year.” says it all for the sector in my new location. Every organization that I have talked to does exactly the same things; the walks with diminishing returns each year; the expensive gala events where they purchase more of their auction items and supplies, rather than seeking inkind gifts or better sponsorship support; government grants that take more of their time and money in administration, instead of using a donor-centered approach for sustainable support. Their comments are always the same, “We have always done it this way.” But where has it gotten them lately? It is frustrating for the fundraising staff, and there is always the high turnover rate because of this attitude.
Not only do boards think they know more than staff about development, they prove it by hiring search firms for VP & CEO roles. Ex-bankers, PR firm & CPAs, Harvard MBAs & Jr. Leaguers telling ethical, savvy fundraising pros that ‘volunteers can do your jobs’ erodes seniority. As a dues-paying veteran, my goal to “mentor the next generation of fundraising execs” is less formal than hoped due to for-profit C-Suite competition. Lately, it consists of helping younger staffers escape or avoid foundations, federations & nonprofit centers headed by industry/market novices–both male and female
Not only do boards think they know more than staff about development, they prove it by hiring search firms for VP & CEO roles. Ex-bankers, PR firm & CPAs, Harvard MBAs & Jr. Leaguers telling ethical, savvy fundraising pros that ‘volunteers can do your jobs’ erodes seniority. As a dues-paying veteran, my goal to “mentor the next generation of fundraising execs” is less formal than hoped due to for-profit C-Suite competition. Lately, it consists of helping younger staffers escape or avoid foundations, federations & nonprofit centers headed by industry/market novices–both male and female
Thank you so much Gail for talking about this.
I posted about Penelope Burk’s book earlier this year, and I’m so
glad you’re having this discusion now. Here’s my review of the book if
anyone would like to read it.
http://wildwomanfundraising.com/donor-centered-leadership-review
Long story short-it’s worth the money. 30 years of research, thousands of
people interviewed… it goes into the monetary cost to our nonprofits
of keeping nonprofit staff poor.
The state of how we do not keep fundraisers is SIMPLY WASTEFUL. And I think we must have been on the same wavelength because I posted about this today. I talked with a guy from the portland development commission and they do not focus on nonprofits because we bring the median wage in a region down. Do you know what this means? it means we are actively hurting our communities when we do not pay our people enough. http://wildwomanfundraising.com/epiphany-this-struck-me-like-a-lightning-bolt/
Because I want to help people empower themselves NOW, on Nov 6th I am also having Karen O’Keefe of Advanced Negotiation Strategies teach a salary negotiation webinar, for those of us who would like to say “change starts with me.”
Thanks again for posting about this Gail. It’s nice to see we are on the same wavelength.
Mazarine
Amy, i feel you. I think a lot of nonprofit fundraising staff feel the same way you do. And the horrible treatment, unfortunately, does not stop in the nonprofit sector. It’s in government and the business world as well. I wrote a post about super jobs-how we’re expected to do it all, all the time, for very little money, a little while ago. This is not limited to the nonprofit sector. It’s everywhere. http://wildwomanfundraising.com/super-job-2/
It’s hard to know where to turn. Where is safe? The honest answer is there is nowhere that is safe. There are good nonprofits and bad nonprofits, there are good and bad businesses, good and bad government agencies. I did do a research report asking the question-do unions help or hurt nonprofit fundraisers? If you’d like to see that research report, it’s here: http://wildwomanfundraising.com/changing-our-nonprofit-culture-one-person-at-a-time/
I’d love to hear what you think.
Mazarine
So wonderful to see your comment here Beth Ann! YES! We need more diversity in our nonprofit leadership, and that is something I also brought up in my research report: http://wildwomanfundraising.com/changing-our-nonprofit-culture-one-person-at-a-time/
Here’s a graphic from there which talks about what we can do to promote diversity.
Thank you Gail and Beth Ann so much for addressing this! Pale, Stale and Male is SO TRUE!
-Mazarine
So we experienced folks need to make a huge commitment to mentor! yes!
Yes, there is much naiveté among boards and leaders of smaller organizations. I often counsel my bright young friends to skip the small scrappy organizations if they really want to learn some useful skills. And I hate that!
Oh yes! industry novices = “know it all’s” who fail fast, but in the process, demoralize everyone around them.
We DO need salary negotiation training – especially our younger leaders! I speak often that nonprofits should NOT carryout their missions on the backs of their employees!
Alas, that is exactly why I left my very first job in my career too and I went to work for Xerox!! but the calling took me back, but on my own terms.
I frequently counsel fundraisers to quit and go find a more supportive organization. The lack of respect you mention burns me up and it is everywhere. And much of it is patronizing older males looking down on much younger females if you ask me.
To make it safe, we need stronger mentors and support systems for the smart young leaders coming up in the world!
well Kris, you are one lucky lady – and I am willing to bet that your organization is doing a FAB job raising money!
This happened to me more than once! People from insurance companies, with MBAs. NO nonprofit experience. Talk about demoralizing! And then they get caught stealing, when they are making more than everyone else! Hoo Boy! The trouble is, we are putting corporate leaders on our boards who want to hire execs like them. It’s natural to want to have a leader that looks like you. This bias is something everyone has. What we have to do is balance our boards with diversity, and create pipelines so that this doesn’t prevail. What do you think? -Mazarine
We just don’t talk about the human cost enough. In Portland Oregon, where I live, the salaries for nonprofit staff are some of the lowest in the nation. Not because the city is poor. but because people want to move here. And so employers feel comfortable keeping the salary low. And then we keep ourselves down.
You should hear the pushback I’ve gotten just from having a salary negotiation webinar. People telling me well the government grants says I can’t make more. Or, we will never make $34 an hour. We have been so brainwashed. It doesn’t have to be this way! WE can be the change. -Mazarine
While I don’t believe that there is “no safe place,” I do believe that we, individually, need to take responsibility for creating “healthy” work environments where innovation, ideas and collaboration may flourish. Mentors and support systems help, but there are many pressures to conform to corporate practices (that don’t translate well, as Karen pointed out) or expensive, tired efforts (as Richard mentioned) and the frustration at being told, “No” because leadership is hidebound (I love the hamster wheel metaphor Susan uses!).
What happened to me at one charity? They said they wanted to turn the ship around, but they actually just wanted me to move the moon and stars so the felt they were taking a new direction. >sigh<
I love the idea of a “Risk Fund” in the development budget. Great post, Gail! The field needs to have more conversations about this subject. And we need to provide the talented young people in the field with amply ammunition to help bring their bosses and boards around. Yay for you, Gail!
I wasn’t at the IFC this year. But I am part of the team of thinkers that Tony E. put together to explore the topic.
As you note in your blog, Gail — echoing the speakers — so much is bad old news:
— Sexism in a field that is dominated by females. And as a search colleague of mine told me: Any field that is dominated by women pays lower wages and is often not seen as “senior leadership.” And he was talking about the for-profit sector.
— Age-ism, which is seen everywhere. Usually age-ism refers to us older people. (Dye your hair because people with lots of gray in beards and heads are seen as too old to hire.) But of course, there is the other age-ism: Us older people know more than you younger people. Remember the old Cat Stevens song?
— And the technology sector is male-dominated… So apparently no women, whether old or young, know much about technology.
— Add to this the conflicts found within mixed generation workplaces. Just read books by Lancaster and Stillman. Very useful.
Forget, for a moment, emerging leaders as generational or gender. Just think about leadership in general. Which organizations actually see leadership beyond position, which is mostly hierarchical? Which organizations actually create a shared vision of leadership. Which organizations actually intentionally build leadership?
I’ve been presenting and writing about leadership for years. Not as a leadership expert by any means … but by reading others and trying to apply theirs and questioning power and privilege. Because so much of leadership is based on privilege – which is, traditionally, white and male and moneyed. And we don’t talk enough about unearned privilege in our societies. Read my piece entitled “Philanthropy’s Moral Dilemma,” for example. Posted in the Free Download Library on my website.
New world? To some degree, sure. But let’s not over-emphasize this “new world of fundraising” with this “new generation.” I’m hoping that the new generation plans to learn a whole lot from the best of all the old generations. Because fundraising practice today doesn’t apply the great stuff of today and yesterday sufficiently or well enough. For example: Burnett and relationship building. Craver and loyalty and retention. All the great copywriters of the past. Sargeant’s loyalty research. And so forth.
And:
— Technology is not the answer to everything. It’s a tool. And if fundraisers have not yet read Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together — then that’s a big problem.
— All fundraisers of any age worldwide would benefit from reading CompassPoint’s UnderDeveloped Report as it talks about bad bosses and boards, good and bad fundraisers… And make your boss and boards read it, too.
— All of us fundraisers everywhere would benefit from considering academic research as an essential partner of fundraising practice. All of us need to know how to distinguish between quality research and stuff that isn’t so quality.
And, I hope that all of us are interested in growing philanthropy. Not the total euros or pounds or dollars or yen… But the actual % of gross national product that goes to philanthropy. Because in the U.S., for example, the average % has varied from approximately 1.8 – 2.3 % for 40 years. That means us fundraisers – we organizations aren’t growing philanthropy.
I’m excited by the people coming into the NGO sector and the fundraising field. Because I hope that every new generation will add new thinking, questioning prior thinking, embrace all the past that is useful.
I’m excited about conversations about emerging leaders because we have lots to question and insufficient questioners. Lots of power to overthrow and not enough subversives.
Okay. That’s it. The last two days of vacation in France and then back to the U.S. Where the possible results of the election are a terrifying thought to people like me.
So you are seeing this a lot too Richard. How can we BLOW UP the stale thinking in the sector?
Wow Simone, thanks for your thoughtful response. These issues clearly are on everyone’s mind – based on the heart-felt comments everyone is sharing. How to create change in our sector. . . . . . ? A TED Talk perhaps? I nominate you Simone!
Thanks Karen, I think mentoring the next generation is a task we need to take seriously!
C4? Just kidding!
My answer is to use the data available from their past efforts. Make them take a look at their efforts over the years. Have their events netted them steadily increasing or decreasing amounts over time? Has turn out increased participation in other fundraising efforts?
When I started my business in Portland years ago, I did so because of the success of the student group I worked with had trying something new. They were trying to raise money to attend and compete in a nationally renown jazz festival during tough economic times when most of the parents were unemployed or underemployed. They tried a couple of different methods that didn’t work too well, and were about to try selling something that no one needed or wanted, and the kids had no desire to sell. I created a way for them to do something that benefited the community and raise money for their trip, and the kids enjoyed the process, and many said they would do the same to raise money in the future. (Gotta love those millennials!)
I took that experience, did market research with potential supporters of similar groups, and had overwhelming positive responses that indicated donors would give more to groups using my method. Yet, when it came to the decision makers of other groups, I felt like I was hitting my head on a brick wall. It took months of sending emails, making phone calls, and knocking on doors before I could get someone to take me seriously, and that was in a progressive city like Portland. Where I am now is a completely different mindset.
It took persistence.
This could have been written 45 years ago when I entered the business. Its an old story..Some of us have been working on the change dynamics for a long time and have effected change wherever possible.. constantly surrounded by young people with great ideas that we embrace (and yes, some work and some fail miserably) . I am Pale-Male–and not Stale….but complaining is. Suggest everyone over 50 reading this hire a few young people and have at it… it may keep you alive!!! BTW.. Forbes survey a few years ago said over 70% of employed people hate their jobs… only 50% of fundraisers do at last look I recall…
Alas, fundraising in Portland is really out of step with its otherwise progressive culture. Fundraising remains closely wedded to the gala/auction, even as more and more causes enter the race over a stagnant pool of philanthropy. Let’s hope the massive Knight Challenge changes the norm. It’s such a great city.
This should be a post in itself! Such good info, insight and a few things for the bookshelf… Thanks for joining in, Simone!
Mark,
Having spent much of my time in the Portland market, I will agree that many organizations do still rely on the gala events and walks/runs/rides events, much of what I learned about new methods were shared by professional groups like WVDO (Willamette Valley Development Officers) NAO (Nonprofit Association of Oregon), CNRG (Community Nonprofit Resource Group) and WCNN (Washington County Nonprofit Network). More and more, organizations are starting to explore and utilize technological advances, but there still needs to be more done to use these tools. The bigger problem with the sector there is that fundraisers do too much job hopping, playing musical chairs at organizations instead of using a donor centered approach to growing support for their organizations.
Gail, another thought I had this morning is to get more board members who are younger and part of the millennial generation. As they have grown up with the technology that many in the Boomer generation did not, I think they are more willing to give it a chance to work.
Thank you for bringing this topic to our attention, Gail. I’ve reserved the very first post in WomenRuleFundraising.com for it :).
One of the tenets of Simple Development Systems, both my book, and membership program, is that leadership starts from within. From the book:
“Don’t ask for permission to lead.
Let me repeat that: Do not ask for permission to lead. Take the reins and be prepared to lead your organization’s staff, board and yes, even your executive director.”
I’m often reminded of the quote from Nelson Mandela: “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
Far too often we take direction from boards who, frankly, no nothing about the right way to fundraise. We lose our power and we lose our way. Being a leader means empowering/enabling everyone in your organization, from the top down, with the tools to develop meaningful relationships with the donors who make our work possible. It’s why, in both my membership program and the Basics & More courses, I encourage organizations to register everyone, from their board members, to program staff, to volunteers.
Oh Amy, I feel you!
I have had fewer board issues though and more staff ones. The experienced boards I’ve worked with have usually been on the right track – though they deferred to top management. It’s been a management issue for me – not trusting the experience of fundraisers and more than that, not valuing fundraising and investing in it. It’s got to be at the center if the organization will thrive!
I so empathize with your reasons for leaving. The stress will kill you and after a while, there are just so many times you can whack your head on brick walls without suffering permanent damage.
Yes! You can’t innovate without room to try – and fail. Coming from a largely arts background, it’s something I heard very early in my nonprofit career. And it’s believed, but not always enacted. When budgets are dangerously tight, everyone gets scared of trying something that might not work. So we all fall back on old ideas that… guess what? Don’t really work anymore. And no one is willing to take a chance anymore. It’s not a good place for our sector!
Ugh. Grants are NOT going to sustain an organization. Depending on them is stepping into the death spiral.
As a small but growing faith based nonprofit, our Board understands the need for a young, energetic, tech savvy fundraiser and hopes to fill the position with one that is experienced and underappreciated where they are now. After reading this informative article, our question is what sources are available for us to find such a person?
Gail, I absolutely agree that many fundraising leaders are stuck in the past. So, I hope you will not misinterpret my comments about fundraising and personal accountability. My personal experience is that I have worked a number of fundraisers who perhaps justifiably complain about antiquated or inappropriate fundraising policies, but at the same time seem unwilling to do the hard work that it takes to be successful. Their complaints lack credibility when in fact they really haven’t really done the due diligence to try and work in good faith within their current systems. Absolutely, if they make an honest effort and fail, perhaps the system is broken. However, fundraisers should not use their differences with fundraising leadership/policies as an excuse for not trying.
Thanks Beth Ann and Gail – for your kind words. Hey… a TED Talk…That could be cool!
I’m not sure whether a post that I previously wrote went through so will share the message again. I developed the first course in what will be a four-course online certificate in fundraising leadership offered by Penn State’s World Campus and am now working on a second course.
I am piloting the course now and refining it. One thing is clear, assistance would be welcome from professionals in the field, consultants too, with some assignments. It would be boon to students if I could build a list of professionals with whom I could connect them to discuss issues such as those outlined here and others that are covered in the course. If anyone is interested in learning more you can contact me at swcoachconsult@gmail.com
Challenging topic, Gail. And interesting comments by other “colleagues”.
I agree with the most part I have read here: too many Board members with the same role for too many years (this is a common situation here in Italy), a very poor levee of internal discussion about how to think laterally. And – yes, I agree with Simone: we should not misunderstand the leadership issue with the generational issues.
I think it is a question of culture, curiosity, discussion with others (leaders, NGOs, people in general).
What I notice in my everyday job is a tendency to perceive themselves (the NGOs, I mean, or at least lots of them) as a world on their own, with the same old problems and a very low attitude to change and to recognize a problem in the leadership/in the Board.
I agree with the idea of a TED Talk about leadership: why not? It could be a way to promote the discussion about this theme.
Thanks a lot for this interesting discussion!
Sophie, I”d love to learn more about the content for the “fundraising leadership” courses you are developing. There’s so much energy around this topic and such a need that I will be developing content and coaching around it next year. I’ll email you!
Some amazing insights in the discussion thread! Unfortunately, I fear we (the non-profit world) are losing fabulous and talented free-thinkers who could change our field. I’m one of the “gray-hairs”, and I know I’m not alone in my excitement and energy when I see young people joining our ranks and bringing new ideas. But I cannot tell you how many new fundraisers I have seen become personally deflated when their ideas are dismissed as being too risky or unproven. I’ve found myself serving as mentor to these young women and I often counsel them to find another organization before they completely leave non-profit. The truth is, often times leadership and board members will take risks in a for-profit business dealing, but do not apply that same thinking when it comes to fundraising for our non-profits. Unless leadership and boards are able to fully embrace change from these new fundraisers – and the inherent risk that comes with it – we will lose these free-thinkers to the corporate world. Our loss.