Ideas for doing the work differently
A little less wishful thinking.
A little more possibility.
For the questions that keep coming up in the boardroom, and the people responsible for turning the answers into revenue.
Candid perspectives on the choices behind stronger fundraising: donor relationships, resources, team leadership, and the discipline of following through.
From Christine
Why LOVE Fundraising
I have had the opportunity to learn from excellent fundraisers and work inside large, well-resourced teams. I have also worked in small departments where a few people were expected to carry an entire development function.
What I have seen is that organizations often need help before they are ready to hire a CDO or another development director. The need is real. So is the distance between the resources they have and the results they expect.
Fractional leadership can provide direction while an organization builds readiness. Outsourced capacity can keep essential work moving. Analysis can help leadership understand which investments to make and when.
People need support, too. Coaching gives professionals an experienced partner for difficult decisions. Workshops give worn-down teams room to rediscover creativity and enthusiasm. Direct board training makes participation practical. Executive search helps organizations find the right leaders when a search is the help they need.
That is why I am building LOVE. To make experienced guidance and useful capacity available in forms organizations can actually use, and to help them build the conditions in which good fundraising can happen.
See how LOVE can help →Practical guidance for nonprofit leaders
Three decisions worth getting right.
By Christine Ann Stevens, MBA, CFRE, SHRM-CP, founder of LOVE Fundraising, Houston, Texas.
Your first CDO · Fractional leadership · Board fundraising
Is your nonprofit ready for its first CDO?
A nonprofit is ready for its first chief development officer when it can give that person a clear mandate, appropriate authority, usable resources, and a working partnership with the CEO and board. A larger revenue goal alone does not establish readiness.
I have worked inside large development teams and very small ones. The resources look different, but both need clarity about what success requires. A capable fundraiser can make a meaningful difference. That person also needs an organization prepared to participate.
Define the work before the title.
What needs to change? Perhaps donor retention is weak, major gift relationships need attention, or the existing team needs management. Write down those needs before writing a job description. Then decide whether you need an executive to lead a function, a gift officer to develop relationships, or someone to build the basic program.
Make the CEO and board partnership explicit.
Agree on how the CEO will participate in donor relationships, how fundraising decisions will be made, and what board members will do. A weekly CEO and development leader meeting gives the work a dependable place on the leadership agenda. Board expectations need practical actions and staff support.
Fund the conditions for success.
Examine the donor database, gift processing, acknowledgments, reporting, staff capacity, and budget. If the new executive must repair every system while personally raising every dollar, the hiring plan needs another look. Identify which work can reasonably happen in the first year and what additional support it requires.
Before launching a search, ask: Can we explain the priorities? Can the leader make the necessary decisions? Will our expectations match the donor opportunity and available capacity? Where the answers are unclear, an assessment or fractional engagement can help build readiness. A well-defined search can also proceed as its own engagement.
Explore executive search or discuss your organization's readiness →
When should a nonprofit hire a fractional development leader?
Fractional development leadership makes sense when an organization needs experienced direction and accountability but does not yet need, or cannot yet sustain, a full-time senior development executive. It can also support an existing team as the organization grows.
Start by separating the leadership need from the volume of work. If nobody is setting priorities, managing staff, reviewing the donor pipeline, or connecting the fundraising plan to the budget, leadership is missing. If those functions are working but donor follow-up and operations are falling behind, additional execution capacity may be the more useful investment.
Agree on decisions and responsibility.
A fractional CDO should have an explicit scope. Who supervises staff? Who owns the forecast? Who prepares the CEO for donor conversations? Which decisions can the fractional leader make, and which require approval? A title without agreed authority leaves everyone guessing.
Protect time for implementation.
An engagement should specify the work that will actually happen. That may include leading team meetings, building donor strategies, reviewing proposals, establishing reporting, and coaching staff. If your organization needs grant writing, gift processing, or additional gift officer capacity, name those needs separately and decide who will carry them.
Know how progress will be reviewed.
Look beyond the dollars received in a single month. Review the quality of the forecast, donor follow-up, staff priorities, and leadership participation alongside revenue. Establish measures that fit the agreed scope and the stage of your program.
Fractional work can be ongoing. Interim leadership addresses a vacancy or transition and needs a clear handoff. Coaching supports a leader who retains responsibility for the function. Choosing among them begins with an honest description of what your organization needs someone to own.
Learn about LOVE's fractional CDO and interim leadership support →
What should a nonprofit board understand before hiring a fundraiser?
Before hiring a fundraiser, a board should understand its own role in giving, relationship building, introductions, stewardship, and advocacy. Hiring staff adds professional leadership and capacity. The board's participation remains part of the fundraising program.
I have been fortunate to work with board members who cared deeply about the mission and brought substantial business experience. They wanted the organization to succeed. What they often needed was a clear explanation of how their experience and relationships could help fundraising move forward.
Replace broad expectations with useful actions.
“Everyone should fundraise” leaves too much unexplained. Ask members to identify people with a real connection to the mission, make an introduction with permission, host a small conversation, thank donors, or join a visit with staff preparation. Match the action to the member and the opportunity.
Agree on personal giving and participation.
Discuss giving expectations during recruitment and revisit them consistently. Explain why board support matters and what participation means for your organization. The development leader should have clear guidance from the CEO and board chair, including how they will handle expectations that are not met.
Understand what relationship development takes.
A list of wealthy names is a starting point only when there is a plausible connection and a way to develop it. Staff need time to understand donor interests, prepare opportunities, follow up, and steward commitments. The board can help open relationships and sustain them.
Prepare to support the person you hire.
Before approving the position, agree on priorities, resources, reporting, and how the CEO and chair will partner with the fundraiser. Give the new leader a useful orientation to board members and existing donor relationships. Set expectations that reflect the program they are inheriting.
Board training can happen before a search, during onboarding, or as support for an established team. It works best when members leave knowing what to do next and how staff will help them do it.
Explore direct board training or discuss a session for your board →
Questions worth exploring
Start with the work.
Fundraising Is a Discipline, Not a Gift
Organizations love the story of the extraordinary gift that saved the day. It brings relief, excitement, and a wonderful announcement. But trying to reproduce the feeling is a difficult way to plan a revenue program.
The repeatable work is more familiar: cultivating relationships, making appropriate asks, stewarding gifts, retaining donors, and doing it again. Consistently.
Ask what would need to change for extraordinary giving to become a regular opportunity. Who needs attention? Who is responsible for following up? What support would let your officers spend more time with donors? Those are useful places to begin.
Chasing Rich People Is Not a Strategy
A wealthy person is not automatically a strong prospect. Capacity matters, but so do interest, philanthropic inclination, connection, and a credible reason to care about this particular organization.
Look at the people already participating: members, volunteers, annual donors, subscribers, and event attendees. What do you know about their interests? Who has never been invited into a deeper relationship?
New relationships matter, too. Begin with evidence of a possible connection and a plan for developing it. You can be ambitious while making careful choices about where your team spends its time.
The Brochure Is Not the Strategy
A clear case for support and good design can help communicate an opportunity. People still have to develop relationships, follow up after meetings, and ask for gifts.
Before approving another production expense, ask what it will help your team accomplish, and what you are leaving unfunded. Could administrative support give gift officers more time with donors? Could better research help them choose their next conversations?
Build the budget around the work required to raise the money. Let the materials support that work.
Structure Is Not the Enemy of Personalization
If you are responsible for many donor households, thoughtful attention cannot depend on remembering every person on a busy afternoon. Planning helps you follow through.
Begin with what you know about the household: interests, preferences, relationships, and possible opportunities. Build a working plan for the year, then revise it as you learn.
A useful plan supports meaningful attention and respects the donor’s preferred level of contact. The structure helps you remember. Your judgment makes the contact personal.
Coming soon
99 sparks.
Plenty to think about.
For the LOVE of Fundraising: 99 Sparks for Doing the Work Differently explores the everyday decisions that shape a development program and a fundraising career.
Discover the book →Thoughtful relationships. Disciplined work. Consistent follow-through.