What Keeps 1200 Fundraisers Up at Night?
My recent Opinion Survey of Nonprofit Leaders came back with some rather shocking – or concerning – results.
People who work in our nonprofit sector clearly have too much on their plates.
I know – you are probably saying – “I’ve known that for a long time. What else is new?”
When I asked “What keeps fundraisers up at night?” – I thought I’d get the usual worries about donor attrition, impossible fundraising goals, out-of-control events, or boards that were not engaged or involved.
But your answers were surprising!
What keeps you up at night? 67% are management-related issues:
- Too much to do and too little time 27%
- Lack of organized fundraising plan 13%
- Not enough staff to do the work 12%
- Uncertain support of fundraising from leadership 8%
- Lack of agreement on a fundraising strategy 7%
Whaaaat? I thought to myself. So here are my takeaways:
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It is so very unfortunate that many of our dedicated hardworking colleagues are working in such awful environments.
How can anyone be happy or productive when you are in a situation where:
- there’s not a plan,
- people are confused about priorities,
- everyone is trying to accomplish more than humanely possible,
- there’s little support from above and below,
- your goals are unrealistic or are changed on you in mid-stream?
These respondents said it all:
“As a one-person shop, it’s a juggling act each day.”
“I have so much to do and not sure where my focus should be.”
“Limited support and resources = unrealistic fundraising goals.”
Many leaders who make decisions about fundraising don’t know what it takes to really be successful.
Either they don’t understand the implications of their decisions, OR they are not taking the time to figure it out.
“Working for/with people who don’t know about fundraising and yet you, as a fundraiser, have to answer to them.”
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People are spreading themselves so thin that they can’t possibly get the results they want:
“I think most like me spend a lot of time trying to do everything and never doing anything well enough to get the optimum results.
“We are in a capital campaign. I now have to balance my regular duties (annual fund, phone-a-thon, senior gift, employee giving) with a set number of visits and a monetary goal. I worry about how to get it all done without sacrificing quality!
I wonder if nonprofits just don’t care about their employees?
I am sure I’m not the Lone Ranger, but a one man song-and-dance for the Advancement Department takes its toll.
Nonprofits are heaping vast workloads on their staffs.
“I work in a smaller nonprofit. That means that I do the work of 3 people and I have a difficulty with time management and prioritization.
“I’m a One Person Development Shop — with additional responsibilities like talking to the media, representing the organization to the world, recruiting, training, and supervising volunteers, and developing the board, creating alliances with similar organizations, and national advocacy.
Some leaders can’t agree on the actual fundraising plan, or how it should be carried out.
“Leadership changes things on us. They raise our goals to meet expenses – even after they say they will not do it.
Here’s a classic case of what happens when inexperienced, well-meaning people who don’t understand fundraising are running the show:
“I’m working with a relatively young NP with almost no staff. Board and new ED have little knowledge of fundraising. Going off in all directions.”
“Planning is not viewed as important tool by leadership. Tendency to jump at the next big thing without regard for “the plan.”
Because pay is low, then turnover is high.
So the institutional memory walks out the door when staff leave. Not to mention the down time when position is empty.
“We do not pay adequate wages, so I’m constantly hiring and training staff.
You MUST read Mary Calahane’s post just this week that has generated so much conversation:
Your Work or a Life: A Painful Choice No One Should Have to Make
And also Roger Craver’s Agitator post from yesterday: “Stop Driving Women Out of Fundraising.”
Gail, thank you for spotlighting these important – and everyday – problems. I’m so glad you’re bringing much needed attention to them.
And thanks for mentioning my piece.
Hey Mary! THANKS to you for your fabulous post! Loved it. How do WE create change?? I worry that is it the set up of the volunteer board that is a big part of the problem – management and strategy by committee. What do you think?
I do think that’s an important part of it. Especially management and strategy by committees that don’t fully understand nonprofit operations! And that’s no knock on boards. The expertise we need from them doesn’t just happen. And they’re volunteers – it’s not like we can demand they be fully trained. So in a way, it’s back to us.
I also think funders are a big part of it. When looking at budgets, a cursory review of administrative expenses won’t do. I think our most important funders need to encourage us to spend more on fundraising and planning! This false dichotomy between “program” and “fundraising/administration” is so hurtful to the whole sector and to getting really good work done!
Leaders, including boards, need guidance and the OK to think more long-term, to invest in their organizations and staff today.
So many things we can all do!
Yes, we sure can’t blame boards for it all, and funders do carry a lot of the responsibility too. But they rarely acknowledge it. BTW: here are the recommendations from the important “Underdeveloped” report from Compasspoint:
Their recommended top 10 Strategies:
1. Embrace Fund Development — A Mental Model Shift across the Sector
2. Elevate the Field of Fundraising
3. Strengthen and Diversify the Talent pool
4. Train Boards Differently
5. Apply the Transition Management Framework to the Development Director position
6. Invest Strategically in Grantee Fundraising Capacity
7. Leverage Technological Innovation— embrace Creativity
8. Set Realistic Goals for Development
9. Share Accountability for Fundraising Results
10. Exercise Fundraising leadership
Thanks for that reminder, Gail. Those are good.
Now, I wonder: how to get this train rolling?
Thanks Gail for your great blog articles and your enthusiasm about fundraising! I have referred you to several of my customers to get them “Fired Up” and keep their fundraising fire going. Most of my volunteering years have been spent with school parent organizations where the goal is to increase parent involvevent for the success of their child and to make up for budgets lost in the schools by fundraising. I love my job because we solve the top problem in response to your survey – “the management of their organization”. If you can streamline and save time on the managment of your organization, you can spend the most time on your passion! Thanks again – Caren Nettleton http://www.MembershipToolkit.com
Yup – we should gather some thoughtful folks and plan some strategies. With all the social media talent we have access to, could we generate as much energy as @danpalotta?
If we work together. We’d have to plan some strategy ourselves to plan some strategy!
Hey Mary – let’s move this discussion to email, and see what we can stir up.
To any fundraisers reading this stream — shoot Mary or me an email and we’ll put you into the loop!
I think your first point about the set up of the volunteer board is an excellent point and one we need to look at as a sector. Does having volunteers (who are amateurs in this field for the most part) oversee a professional organization make sense? I absolutely think having community input into 501c3s is important. However, is our current model the best way to save babies, animals, and the planet–ie change the world? And if not, what model needs to be created to both include community input with achieving the most good?
Well said Megan! How do we keep the community involvement from volunteers but still have the organization run professionally? That’s the goal.
Actually, as organizations mature, roles do shift. Board members start focusing on outreach, connections and fundraising and staff becomes fully professionalized.
It’s when organizations are young and growing that roles get confused, decision making is haphazard, and planning is more seat of the pants.
I think there is so very much that can be said about this and unpacked. I think it’s wonderful that you’ve done this survey, Gail, and that it brings to light a lot of details and specifics around some things we’ve known for a while: that fundraising professionals, in many ways, are, by and large, unhappy in their work. We see that in the CompassPoint’s Underdeveloped report’s findings with 57% of us planning to leave our current position and more than 40% of us considering leaving the professional altogether. I think this survey helps uncover some of the reasons we don’t like our work places. I do believe there are many problems with volunteers, most from outside the sector, who think they understand our jobs (in fact, many business people think they know how to do our jobs better than we do) and don’t, supervising us, but I’m not sure what an alternate model might look like. I’m sure there are people smarter than I am who have given thought to that and I’d love to see a serious discussion furthered because I believe the problems with nonprofit governance are so legion and that they are now fueling, as Underdeveloped highlights, a “crisis” in nonprofit fundraising that is concerning for the future of the nonprofit model. In an era in which social enterprise and corporate philanthropy are both challenging the nonprofit model and suggesting that they have alternatives that are better prepared to create social change, I think it’s important to do all that we can to remedy the nonprofit model if we believe in its possibilities, as I do. I also believe the social enterprise and corporate-sponsored philanthropy models are also potentially problematic so I’d rather address the shortcomings of the nonprofit model than throw the baby out with the bath. On a very practical and tactical level, I will add that I think that a formalized development plan and the development planning process go a long way toward addressing many of the headaches, heartaches, and hassles nonprofit professionals experience that are identified in this survey. Having used formal development plans every year of my fundraising professional life, I’m a believer in their value. See more on my blog: http://www.davisnpc.com/news/a-fundraising-programs-secret-ingredient-a-plan
With appreciation, as always, for the wonderful work that you do, Gail,
Rebecca Davis, PhD, CFRE
http://www.davisnpc.com
Rebecca, thanks for this thoughtful response. I agree that the traditional nonprofit model is being challenged by social enterprise and corporate-sponsored philanthropy. I wish there were a way to get the attention of all the boards across the world to give them coaching and guidance on how to be and how NOT to be!
I know that you are doing your best through your excellent book, your incredible blog, and your fantastic coaching to reach them all, Gail. Thanks for the good work you do. We all learn lots from you!
thanks Rebecca, I checked out YOUR blog and am impressed with your smart thinking and resources!
THANK YOU!
This is great stuff Gail! I remember when I was a Development Director, I always felt like I had more on my plate than I could get done, my ED was NO help and my Board was clueless. So, everything fell on my shoulders without a lot of support. It’s not always fun, yet I think so many people stay in nonprofit because they love knowing they make a difference. Honestly, I think if more EDs and Boards understood how important their support is to the team, it would make a big difference.
Thanks Sandy! What a terrific point you make. Wish there were a way for us to “brainwash” all those ED’s and board members out there and change the way they think about fundraising! :)
Or just pop them in the head with a magic wand and give them better leadership skills! :)
I returned to higher-ed fundraising after having worked as a development director for independent nonprofits, large and small, mainly because the lack of fundraising knowledge by the leadership created impossible working conditions. As a one-person shop I am now responsible to raise funds for an entire campus, incl. board management, working with a dean/vice-provost who mistakes the development office as a drive-thru ATM. The insanity is everywhere and I have started to plan my exit from the world of fundraising.
Wow and bless your heart. What do we do with all our bosses who view fundraising as an ATM machine? It’s enough to drive us all into another field!
This article was very insightful for not only a young nonprofit professional, but seasoned ones as well. The survey results reminded me how important it is for leaders and staffers in a nonprofit to communicate clearly and honestly with one other. I hope this article can start a productive dialogue in organizations.
HI Tamika, I think you are right on. It’s all about communication. Whether they will listen to us is another story. Alas.
I am a fairly new development professional, and I am not surprised at all to see that workload concerns were the top result. At my organization, we have faced some defections, which have “temporarily” required some staff members to take on other duties. The problem is that, even with those staffing losses, leadership has not ostensibly noticed any reduction to output, so they choose to close those vacant positions. They fail to see the negative long-term effects on the employees that are forced to handle three different jobs in one.
I think part of the problem is that staffers are willing to take on additional responsibilities, take them seriously and perform them without protest. I wonder what would happen if staffers, when asked to take on more than is humanly possible say this:”
“I can edit to this project or that project but I cannot do both. So can you pls set my priorities and tell me where I should focus.”
I wonder if one of the issues is that staffers don’t know how to have these conversations. They don’t feel empowered enough to speak up.
Great article! I can relate to hearing the too much to do and too little time to do it in comment which results in project delays.