Recently in her Fundraising Wisdom blog, consultant Carol Weisman outlined five ways to ensure your Development Director leaves your organization in less than five years. While she is directing her barbs more at nonprofits overall, her wisdom certainly applies in many ways to private-independent schools.
As a School Head, how much do you value your Development Director? Is your school guilty of any of these missteps, innocently or otherwise?
Is the salary set way too low for the job demands? You need to take a look at what you are requiring—and if the salary is reasonable for the scope and demands of the job.
Do you set unrealistic goals? Weisman notes that someone she knows did a phemonenal job, raising nearly four times the funds that were raised the previous year. So what did the organization do to applaud the effort? Doubled the amount she raised as her goal for the next year—with no additional staff or financial support. Gee, thanks. For your Development Director—or anyone on your staff—to survive and thrive, the goals you give them must be achievable and must be supported.
Is your Board given a ‘free pass’ not to participate in your campaigns? Your Board members should be expected to make the first gifts to your campaigns—and then recruit their friends and colleagues. And, prospective Board members should know up front what will be expected of them. If your Board members do not financially support your school through annual giving, how can you expect others to do it?
One way you will strengthen your development program—and recognize the value of your Development Director—is to foster full, school-wide commitment to the program. As mentioned, it starts at the top with the Board. Board members not only need to financially take a role, but they also need to recognize that it takes money to raise money, and provide for the adequate budget needed to hit goals.
As the Head, you must take an active role in the development process. And you need to understand the process of cultivation and stewardship. Your Development Director guides the process and sows the seeds, but you are the face of the school. As an active participant, you not only show your Director your support, but you show potential donors your commitment.
In a recent study, CASE found some major disconnects in how Development Officers think Chief Executives are doing in the process and how those Chief Execs view their own performance. CASE questioned 70 community college leaders and 137 community college fund raisers.
As reported in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, more than two-thirds of the leaders said they actively cultivate donors, while only 60 of the Development Officers said the execs did. And, 86% of the executives said they understood the process, but only 63% of the Development Officers agreed. See the next story for a summary of the full results.
Areas where the executives rated themselves higher than Development Officers rated them included spending the appropriate amount of money on fund-raising efforts and resources supplied to Development Officers to get their jobs done.
All of the school’s constituencies need to understand the value of development, and that means continually educating parents, administrators, teachers, other families, and others, what development means to the school and how it enriches your mission. Your constituents should be able to describe how the gifts the school receives translates into the experience the students receive.
Additional ISM resources of interest
ISM Monthly Update for Development Directors Vol. 8 No. 8 Resources for Development Directors
Additional resources for ISM Consortium Gold members
Ideas & Perspectives Vol. 31 No. 6 The Core Leadership Team of the Comprehensive Development Model
