A few years ago, I met with a nonprofit about their fundraising needs. It’s fun to meet organizational leaders and hear about the next phase in their organization’s evolution. This nonprofit needed a Development Director.
After a few minutes talking it became clear that, while they were experts in their service field, their fundraising experience was lacking significantly. I worried they would hire wrong and end up right where they were that day – without a fundraiser AND having wasted time and resources.
So, I offered to review the job description and resumes because, as an experienced fundraiser, I knew exactly what those resumes should look like. You know instantly who is a real fundraiser and who is not. The nonprofit even had a few resumes whose experience they were excited about so we weren’t starting from scratch.
They sent over the filed resumes. They were not fundraising resumes. The candidates had inspiring experience in the nonprofit’s service field, but they didn’t have anything that could remotely be categorized as fundraising experience.
I asked the nonprofit, as I ask everyone I work with, “What’s the goal?” Did they want to train up or hit the ground running?
Train up: Are you looking to find someone who has experience in your service field and train them to be a fundraiser? Someone who maybe has never worked in a fundraising shop, but has transferable skills. Please remember, I said to them, no one on your staff is a fundraiser. Who would train this new hire?
OR
Hit the ground running: Do you want someone who understands fundraising tactics and can build a strategy with you? This person would take this strategy and execute with minimal supervision, no hand-holding. This person is also more expensive.
They wanted a “hit the ground running” fundraiser. They had a small team. They didn’t have time or the experience to train up.
When I talked the nonprofit leaders through the resumes “they loved” and showed them why I, personally, wouldn’t hire this person as a “hit the ground running” fundraiser, it hit them. They didn’t know how to find a fundraiser.
I expanded my offer to screen candidates. I’ll talk to folks to find some good candidates for you. You can trust that every candidate I put in front of you is an actual, honest-to-goodness fundraiser. After I provide candidates, it’ll be up to you to determine culture fit. A few weeks later, we hired someone fabulous. That was 4 years ago.
Since then, CACSM has helped organizations find Development Directors and other senior leaders. Good fundraisers are revenue generators. You bring a fundraiser on board and they’re going to raise their salary and expand your organizational capacity. It’s a wise investment.
