NOTE: This is co-authored by my great pal and a total expert in development planning and fundraising, Mary Spangler. She is one of the best there is and I’ve always learned so much from her.
Development and fundraising can be scary to some people. What!?!?!? Ask for money? How would I ever do that? What if they say no?
Nonprofit organizations rely on philanthropy to advance their missions. So, it’s essential to build a culture of philanthropy and make sure that everyone in the organization, from the janitor to the chair of the board, understands that philanthropy and development are critical to organizational health and that each individual (both the janitor and board chair) has a role in the process.*
It’s not easy.
And it’s especially daunting if there is no history of sustained philanthropy at the organization.
Who is that development person? They are a builder.
During staff meetings, the development person asks a lot of questions and the topics might seem irrelevant to the rest of the staff. The development person is the voice of the funder inside the organization. They have to ask questions because they are managing and nurturing the philanthropic relationships that the organization relies on to do its work.
“This funder loves to do this…what if we try this?”
“Have we invited the funder to meet our program staff—the real drivers of our mission?”
“Have they met any of our clients whose lives are changed as a result of their investment in our mission?”
If a culture of philanthropy exists, then staff members “get it” and understand their role and why it is important for the greater good of the organization and clients served.
An example is a social services organization that focuses on the needs of veterans. The organization’s core mission is to build short-term housing. Every employee from the case manager to the homebuilder to the therapists to the development person must work together to advance the mission. The development person may dress differently, spend time out of the office asking for major gifts, cultivating donors, recruiting volunteers, writing reports—job duties that are very different from the construction crew…right?
If a culture of philanthropy has been built into the organization’s psyche, then all staff understand that their job duties are different, but their core mission is the same—to change and improve lives of deserving veterans and their families through quality, short-term housing.
Who is that development person? They are a matchmaker.
Matchmaking according to Webster is defined as “the process of matching two or more people together, usually for the purpose of marriage.”
The development person matches people, too. The matches are between the funder’s values and the nonprofit’s mission.
Shared values spark the attraction and connection to the mission. The partnership begins.
The process of building a long-term relationship aka “marriage” between the corporation, foundation or individual and the nonprofit is intentional and deliberate, much like a couple in the early stages of dating. The marriage proposal usually doesn’t happen on the first date. Right?
The development person knows that it takes time to build trust and get to know each other. It takes matchmaking to a new level while building up the common good. Time and attention is required to nurture and cultivate healthy and productive relationships with funders.
Think how tough marriage can be even on a good day and multiply that by 5,000%.
The development person understands this notion of relationship management better than most.
Good ones practice Robert Greenleaf’s “servant leadership. They are attentive, persistent, flexible and exercise the right doses of boldness and fearlessness, as needed to bring out the best in their partnership with the funder.
They must think differently from the rest of your staff. It’s their job.
It’s the classic chicken and egg situation…you can’t have a non-profit run effectively without funding…in general, you don’t get funding without a good development person.
Think about the nonprofits near and dear to your heart….as donors, board member, volunteer, or program staff. Source: What’s been your experience working with that development person?(developmentconsultingsolutions.com/characteristics-of-a-good-development-director/)