“If we can just hire a great Development Director, all of our revenue problems will be solved.” [If only this statement were true…!]

When it comes to performance accountability for their Development Director, Board members and Executive Directors are sometimes unsure about the right approach. This lack of clarity can lead to misunderstandings and a short tenure for the Development Director. It may even be one reason it’s so difficult to hire an experienced Development Director these days – there have simply been too many bad experiences out there, and word gets around.

Seasoned Development Directors are often reluctant to make a move and up-and-coming Development professionals are sometimes hesitant to take the plunge into becoming a Development Director. As the leadership, if you are not prepared to work effectively with a Development Director, the job may look like too much of a risk for the candidates you’d most like to hire.

Accountability in the One-Person Development Shop
Many small organizations are very happy to have one position dedicated to fund raising. While their Development Director works as a project manager, s/he is also an individual contributor. The Development Director needs to be skilled across two or three areas of fund raising – like annual fund, grant writing, corporate sponsorships, major gifts, etc.

Ideally, your new Development Director will bring significant strength in the development programs that are most strategically important for your organization, which makes it critical for you to know what those are before you hire.

The one-person-shop Development Director needs to be accountable for the following:

Understanding and articulating the case for support of your organization and being able to help others articulate it;
Inviting everyone in and around the organization to give financially – in the ways that are right for them, at the right time – and coaching the leadership to be her/his partners in fundraising.
Working as an effective team member with the ED’s other direct reports, especially those responsible for program and finance and contributing to strategic and business planning;
Developing and maintaining a donor relationship management database and producing reports that are part of the organization’s dashboard of important indicators;
Continually informing the ED of changing needs/opportunities and recommending action or not – based on the strategic plan, previous investments in fund raising and whether results are satisfactory in existing strategies;
Understanding the costs and return on investment of every fund raising project, no matter how small, even those relying on volunteers;
Projecting fund raising goals for the upcoming year that are reasonable given history and the status of all cultivation efforts but also respond to the leadership’s plans and vision; budgeting the expenses for same;
Engaging other staff, volunteer leadership and other volunteers to accomplish ongoing development programs and projects; otherwise doing it all her/himself;
Knowing the current status of every fund raising effort the organization has underway, including every individual donor cultivation plan;
Working with the ED to design a development work plan for every Board member, and making sure Board members are supported to accomplish their work plans when needed.

I realize the above list is long and dense, and in fact the job of Development Director in a small organization is very challenging. The ED and the Board have to work hard to make sure a new Development Director (especially a new one, but really at any stage) is well-supported and has a clear sense of what they need to do, how everyone will know it’s being done, and fair ways to evaluate the results.

Next month, I will discuss the key accountabilities of a Development Director in a larger organization. In the following month, my letter will concern meeting fundraising goals, and how to partner with your Development Director to lead and nurture this effort.

In summary:
The Development Director is one of your most important senior staffers, and your competition is tough out there – both to hire and retain. You simply can’t afford to get it wrong.