10 Ways to Keep Fundraisers Fundraising w Jim Eskin

There are two existential and simultaneous currents flowing that pose Draconian threats to the vitality of American philanthropy. Unsurprisingly, they are directly related.

They must be addressed substantively and immediately. The longer they are allowed to fester, the more difficult they will be to overcome.

According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Report, the national donor retention rate is hovering around 45%. Looking at it another way: For every 100 donors who support your organization this year, 55 won’t return next year. That is business insanity. It is so much more costly in both time and money to acquire new donors.

At the very same time, non-profits are lucky if they can keep high-performing development officers in place for 16 to 24 months. That is also business insanity. Following the same rationale as above, it is so much more costly in both time and money to recruit, hire and train new development staff. Compounding the problem, there is the incalculable loss of “trust capital” with donors, especially major gift donors, who no longer work with professionals who understand their stories, lifestyles, motivations and connections to the non-profit. All of a sudden, they are forced to interact on a very intimate and emotional level with strangers.

Small wonder that these two shockingly alarming trends are collapsing at the same time.

Keeping high-performing development professionals on the team has long been a challenge. Not only are staff members leaving their employers, but they are deserting the development profession altogether.

Based on a career leading three higher education advancement programs and consulting with non-profits of all different missions, sizes and parts of the country, Eskin Fundraising Training is stressing the following 10 truths that non-profits can process to achieve stronger results retaining resource development staff, which in turn, will contribute mightily to improving donor retention rates.

1. Budget for “trust capital”: Unfortunately, most non-profits don’t appreciate how devastating it can be to lose professionals that their major gift donors enjoy so much interacting with. We reject the idea of building relationships, which can be defined as something you have until something better comes along to replace it. Our goal is to nurture genuine two-way friendships in which both donors and non-profit representatives are fully invested in and grow closer and closer over time. Formulate reward systems that recognize the returns on development professionals sticking with their employers and cadre of donors.
2. The highest value of development staff time is devoted to quality personal interactions with donors and prospects: Staff expectations and priorities need to be respected accordingly. For sure, staff size and budget constraints will require use of their time in other ways, but those should be minimized to the extent possible. Let’s begin with an obvious target — participation in non-stop meetings draining both time and morale. The meetings that count the most are those with men and women that can make gifts of time, talent and treasure. The most productive development officers spend much more time out of the office than in it.
3. Like virtually everyone else, development officers place a premium on schedule flexibility: But unlike everyone else their highest value time is spent outside of the workplace. They can implement high yield schedules more easily from home than the office. More times than not, their work will require meeting commitments outside the traditional weekday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm schedule. Provide the flexibility to meet family, medical and other personal demands during the day, so they can freely welcome opportunities to interact when donors and prospects are in attendance such as galas and other special events.
4. Recognize it takes an entire non-profit village to raise money: There’s no individual on the planet that can turn around gift income results by herself or himself. They must be supported by a genuine culture of philanthropy and companion infrastructure in which every professional and volunteer member of the non-profit, though they might not be engaged in solicitation activities, is actively involved in spreading the story of the mission and its impact, as well as helping demonstrate the magic that happens in day to day operations, and expressing gratitude to donors.
5. Seize the power of technology and virtual communication: This can and should be applied to both internal and external responsibilities. Development professionals can participate in staff meetings via video conferencing and submit crucial contact reports and updates from home. Rapid fire follow-up with donors and prospects can also be effectively handled remotely.
6. Invest in lifelong learning and lifelong sharing: Fundraising is the ultimate continuous process improvement. You can learn from every meeting with donors and prospects whether the response is yes, no, or we need more time. Fortunately, there are a growing number of in-person or virtual professional development programs that are affordable and accessible.
7. Senior management and board leadership need to understand the resource development processes: If not, it becomes impossible for them to set stretch but realistic staff goals and objectives. This is a major cause of fundraiser apprehension and flight.
8. Artificial intelligence can’t raise big money: AI can serve as a useful tool in expediting low value tasks so development staff can provide more human touches that actually influence decisions driving gifts in an uber competitive fundraising world.
9. Nurture the passing of the baton: Outgoing development staff need to spend ample time with those carefully selected to replace them. An ideal scenario is when they jointly meet with donors and stakeholders.
10. When transitions do occur ensure, they are under the most amicable circumstances possible: The best leaders prepare for the inevitable loss of their most valuable people to greener pastures. They are perpetually preparing for it, by developing staff from within who are capable of stepping up from a position of strength to tackle greater responsibilities. The upward movement of those who understand missions to other organizations can position everyone for new and exciting win-win partnerships.

Compensation and benefits packages are always a core priority in any profession, but for major gift officers, the challenges are even more perplexing. Understanding the pressures, temptations and sensitives of the profession will empower non-profits to do a better job of keeping critical staff, and in doing so, also empower them to do a better job of retaining donors that so dramatically impacts gift income.