Staffing & Human Resources

Fundraising employment transition becomes a pothole in a sense that it causes disruption, loss of revenue, loss of relationships and many other negative implications. Think about your job experiences. Do you mandate a complete debrief of information when your employees leave employment? Do you ask board members to help bridge significant relationships to keep engagement and donor momentum in place? Do you provide new fundraising professional hires with solid prospect and donor information gleaned from former employees? How can this issue be dealt with in a positive way, especially when some departures are negative in scope?  

Here are three ways the qualities of millennials, often seen as negative, can be leveraged for nonprofit success.

Attendees will walk away with ideas for creating a leaner fundraising operation, without sacrificing campaign impact.

When we chose this field, we knew it might take 10 jobs to get us from career beginning to end. Even if you feel "secure" in your current position, always prepare for your next job. It will be here before you know it!

To avoid the common pitfalls that often come with a leadership change and make the transition as painless as possible, nonprofits should carefully consider the following.

Please be very diligent to write good job descriptions for each major-gifts officer. It is so important that these good people know what they are supposed to do and know how they will be evaluated.

If you're in an organization that is overly dependent upon single-source funding, especially the structured variety of public and institutional sources, the time to create a program of diversification is now, not when you're faced with the sudden loss of a major source of your revenue.

The interview process in the nonprofit fundraising sector is what you make of it, but having a proper interview process is critical if you desire a highly performing team.

If you are struggling with an employee or a board member and your gut says to move him or her along, then make a plan and do it!

Fundraising isn't painless — but the joy it brings makes our profession amazing.