Why You Should Be Engaging Your Teams in Fundraising

Dear nonprofit leaders,

I’m here to say that Development is a Department, and Fundraising is a Team.

What do I mean by that? Well, there are those whose job it is to fundraise, and at the same time, fundraising is everybody’s business.

Every department and team member in a nonprofit organization has a role within fundraising, whether they are aware of it or not, no matter the size of the organization and staff. I was fortunate enough to learn this in my first professional fundraising role, and I’m here to talk about it today, almost a decade later.

When I started professionally fundraising, I worked at a nonprofit science museum in Eastern Pennsylvania. I had been in a part-time visitor services and marketing position for 4 and a half years at the museum prior to my fundraising role. Before then, I had absolutely no idea what professional fundraisers did.

The “Philanthropy Team” because that was the name of the Department instead of Development, which happens on occasion, just like some teams are called Advancement – the Philanthropy team would come downstairs and say their greetings to us at the front desk on their way to their next luncheon or donor meeting. One time, the Director even came back from a lunch meeting with the person she met with and asked me to take a photo of her handcuffed to her colleague. To this day, I have no idea what that photo was for and what the purpose was (LOL!). And all the other part-timers and even full-time staff in other departments had absolutely no idea what the professional fundraisers actually DID besides go to lunch. 

Then I accepted the job and continued working as part of the Operations Team – a cross-departmental team of representatives in charge of the daily operations of the science center – and I began to normalize the culture of philanthropy. First, by educating everyone else as to what professional fundraisers actually did (a full-time employee, who had been with the organization for years, literally asked me “What do you even do?”), and then by involving the entire staff in our fundraising efforts. It is common when other departments and staff members aren’t familiar with the role of fundraising, and my Director of Philanthropy knew that, she knew that I could serve as a bridge between worlds of sorts. 

Think of it like this: If they don’t know what YOU do (as a professional fundraiser), they certainly aren’t going to know what THEY should do (in their role in the greater scheme of fundraising efforts).

Everyone’s individual roles create a well-oiled machine that enhance the overall fundraising success of an organization. Executives, finance, admin, communications, operations, programs, part-time, volunteers – they all have their roles in fundraising. And a lot of what makes up their roles is not something that you, as a professional fundraiser, can do. They see things you don’t see. They hear things you don’t hear. They are the heart of the story, the tether to your impact.

And you’re going to need buy-in if you want your teams to effectively – and willingly – participate in their fundraising role. Nonprofits should consider adding in a line about fundraising roles in job descriptions for transparency. Without buy-in, your job of getting them to participate will be impossible, so you may consider investing in your staff first. 

Organizations and leadership have the ability to take care of their employees. Your efforts in maximizing philanthropy and advancing your mission need to be equal to your investment in your employees and volunteers. Read that again.

It certainly doesn’t happen overnight, but including fundraising roles in job descriptions and in strategic plans will help normalize the culture of philanthropy. And with enough buy-in, you’ll be raising more money than ever before.

For tips and details on how each role within your organization can be effective in fundraising, download the “Fundraising is Everybody’s Business: Working With Your Teams to Raise More Money” video class in our library.

Sincerely,

Queers

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