Help! My Executive Director Hates Fundraising!

Before I started at GLAAD in 1997, I had never asked anyone for money in my entire life.

OK, well, occasionally my mother. But she typically said no.

Then I was hired to be an Executive Director of an organization with a $1.8 million budget (on paper). A quick look at the bank account indicated that we had $360 in the bank and nearly $300K in debt. And 18 staff to attempt to pay.

I was far from convinced I would be any good at fundraising, but there’s nothing quite like the prospect of layoffs to teach you what you’re capable of.

Before not too long, I actually learned to like fundraising a lot. I realized that people LIKE to give money to causes they care about. And I was lucky that I’ve been a part of one of the debt relief programs. I had a handful of board members who were top-notch fundraisers. I also had a development director who was driven for us to be successful. (Maybe a bit TOO driven, mind you — see Julie’s guest post on heart monitors and staff burnout.)

And this, my friends, is the key.  US.  Successful fundraising happens when the Development Director and the Executive Director become an “us.”

Here’s a very simple plan for turning this key nonprofit duo into a powerful and successful us.

ARE YOU SURE YOUR E.D. HATES FUNDRAISING?

Before we get to the plan, let’s kill some conventional wisdom.

You believe your E.D. hates to fundraise. She seems completely uninterested in the details of the numbers. You can’t remember the last time your E.D. talked about making an ask.

I hear it all the time from my development clients.

But I don’t buy it.

Nearly always, the problem isn’t a lack of interest or motivation. Your E.D. fully understands that money = programs.

The real problem is time management.

A MONTHLY PLANNING MEETING

Senior executives allow their calendars to manage them and not the other way around.  If you want your monthly calendar to look a certain way – with attention paid to the vast array of activities you have ­– it doesn’t just happen!  You have to plan it.

The E.D., the Development Director and the person who manages the E.D.’s schedule (executive assistant) should form a team to create a monthly calendar that enables the E.D. to achieve agreed-upon fundraising commitments, be they asks or cultivations.

About midway through each month, there should be a monthly planning meeting.  Also include any member of the Devo team who can add value to the planning session.

Meeting Goals

• Agree on meetings the E.D. will take during the upcoming month. Who will attend them with her/him?
• Will the Major Gifts person set them up or the assistant? The list should be prioritized. Blocks of time should be set aside and offered to the Major Gifts person. These blocks get held for a finite period of time. If the assistant does not hear back in 72 hours, the holds are released.
• Agree on meetings the Devo Director will take in the upcoming month. Same list as above.
• Do not forget to capture all agreed upon action items. Assign someone to capture them and circulate them that very same day. 
• Recirculate the action items 48 hours before the next meeting as a reminder / catalyst / cattle prod.

A WEEKLY CHECK-IN

Who attends?

• Development Director
• Executive Director
• The person who manages the E.D’s schedule.

Just the three of you. Uninterrupted for an hour. Non-negotiable. Minimum of 45 minutes. Probably more like an hour.

Yes, it’s every week. But it’s one hour. It might be the most important hour you spend each week for the health of your organization.

The executive assistant is a ‘must’ in this meeting. You need to set up meetings with potential donors. Getting meetings is not easy – the folks you want to meet with are in high demand. EVERYONE wants to meet with them!!! You simply cannot underestimate the importance of the art and science of scheduling.

Who is responsible for the agenda?

• Development Director

What A Development Director Should Bring to Every Meeting

• Fundraising dashboard. The simplest of dashboards that tell a quick story about fundraising. The dashboard should be developed together by the E.D. and the Director of Development so that it suits the needs of all.
• Special events. A one-page update on any special event activities. If this is a recurring event, some historical context that the E.D. can share with the board (how we are doing relative to same time last year)
• Staff Update. Successes, challenges, professional development, “marketing” the successes of anyone the ED is questioning.
• D.D. Ask List. For the Dev. Director. Your own ASK list for the week. Who are you meeting with? Who is on you target list to schedule time with.
• E.D. Ask List. An ASK list for the E.D. For this last part of the meeting, make sure the executive assistant can talk about open blocks and how the meeting should be set up.

DEVELOPMENT IS IN THE DETAILS

It’s so easy for a month or two (or more) to escape without the E.D. and the Development Director being in the actual “asking” business. I find it remarkable.  Managing the business of a team of staff and an organization can easily be a time bandit that takes your eye off the other important balls to juggle.

That’s why I recommend that you dive into the details, that you meet weekly and that you plan monthly.

FINAL THOUGHTS

No strong executive director hates fundraising.  I just don’t buy it. But I do believe that some executive directors are more comfortable with it than others. And I also believe that all executive directors need to create a partnership with development directors and staff and board chairs and the lead on the development committee.

And this does not just happen. An organization has to make that happen. And I believe that the driver of all of this is the development director and not the executive director.

Great fundraising is a team effort and development directors need to see themselves as quarterbacks.