How to Hire a
Fundraiser
An executive headhunter shares his
secrets
Bruce Dingman
Let's be honest, shall we?
When it
comes to another organization's successful fundraising efforts, have you ever
silently confessed, "I wish we had its fundraiser"?
Wishing and
hoping don't do the hiring in my executive search firm. Likewise, even your
well-motivated best intentions are insufficient to land the skilled chief
development officer who can take your ministry to the next level.
Lay your
best intentions aside, put away your short list of candidates and their direct
phone numbers in a drawer and, for the moment at least, consider these four
watchwords that can help direct you to a priceless hire.
Think "passion for
ministry"
A
well-qualified chief development officer may not know a lot about development.
Successful fundraisers believe deeply in their respective organizations.
Before you invest too heavily in trying to cherry pick a proven fundraising
professional to match your needs, take a different starting point: Consider the
names of respected, accomplished people who can transmit their passion for your
organization to others. Because they've been successful in other fields—whether
it be sales, teaching or even coaching—these men and women will undoubtedly
have developed an effective skill set.
Bruce
Hitchcock was a vice president of sales for a national publishing company when
he became VP-Development for California Baptist University.
In Bruce's
case, and perhaps that of the person ready to become your next chief
development officer, the fundraiser you want and need may have already honed
his or her sales and relationship skills in another profession. And those
skills, combined with a true love for your organization, make for a compelling
candidate.
Think "golf"
A networked
chief development officer is well-linked. Perhaps the best indicator of
your fundraiser's likely success is the feeling you get inside when you're with
the person. It's the solid handshake, the sincere look in his (or her) eyes,
the feeling of acceptance and ease that leads you to say to yourself, "I
really like this person. I like to be in his company."
And this
brings us to the first tee. A good fundraiser has probably played more rounds
of golf than most club pros. Like it or not, golf is a natural destination for
friend-raising. The walk, or cart ride, between holes offers a quiet, welcome
reprieve from the unrelenting workaday noise and demands.
If you don't
buy the link between golf and fundraising, just call Peb Jackson. Formerly with
Focus on the Family and Young Life International, Peb is probably walking a
golf course somewhere on the planet right now—and making new and lasting
friends who are advancing the ministry of his current employer, Saddleback
Church. (Note: You'll have to do your homework to find Peb's phone number.
After all, in the course of fundraising, "diligence" is the name of
the game.)
Think "productivity"
A successful
chief development officer is disciplined.I spent 15 years in the hotel
management field before getting into executive search. Often, my job was to
"turn around" underperforming staff members. For example, a person of
moderate ability had been elevated to sales manager. Sadly, this person
embodied the syndrome of "he who goes around in circles shall be called
the big wheel."
Translation:
This type would carry on conversations and build relationships, but didn't do
the work required—the phone calls, the needed "ask," the essential
follow ups and all-important close—to make the sales.
Successful
fundraisers, because they have the discipline to do the homework, make the
calls and build relationships that get results, and know how to motivate
and direct a team to do the same.
Think "appeal"
An
undiscovered chief development officer may say "Yes" for more than
one reason. The bottom line in the development world is that good fundraisers
are hard to find. Think about it: The successful ones are already hard at work
doing what they're good at for organizations they feel passionately about.
They're well aligned with the expectations of their CEO and board. They're
probably adequately compensated.
What can you
possibly do to make your organization more appealing and cause someone to
consider a new challenge?
- You can help the person see the new
job as a promotion, an increased leverage of his or her ability, to make a
bigger impact for the Lord. Depending on the person's current title and your
ministry need, the new position can be a legitimate step up. It can mean added
responsibilities and greater impact, a step from regional geographic influence
to a national, or international, sphere.
- You can offer higher compensation.
Don't underestimate personal income. Regardless of a person's genuine
altruistic motivations, there's still a mortgage and college tuition to
pay.
- You can appeal to geography. The
position may appeal to a qualified candidate who wants to relocate to a warmer
climate, wants to be closer to grandchildren, or in the case of working for a
Christian university, likes the tuition assistance for college-bound kids.
The famed
songwriter Johnny Mercer may have struck the perfect chord in making the
successful fundraising hire with these memorable lyrics:
You've got
to accentuate the positive,
Eliminate
the negative.
Even if
you're not well versed in executive hires, you can do well to avoid these
classic mistakes:
- If you're a smaller organization,
don't expect your fundraiser to raise his or her own support—so they're saddled
with two jobs. Instead find a donor who can underwrite the first six or twelve
months of the person's salary.
- Don't expect your CEO to lead the
search. The needed due diligence of making such a critical hire can take an
inordinate amount of time. And the temptation to rely on gut instinct and make
a premature hire, as Mr. Mercer wrote, suggests you'd do well to eliminate.
- Remain positive. Don't be surprised
if your future chief development officer is currently residing within your
ministry's network of your constituents and friends—or on the golf course. He
or she may see your ad in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Or, if you
decide to hire an executive search firm, you'll certainly have the luxury of
considering more than one well-qualified appealing candidate.
Whether you
do your search in-house, or rely on an outside firm, a great fundraising hire
is a credit to prayerful, prudent efforts to imagine, identify, select and then
get behind the person whose integrity, trustworthiness and ability to get the
job done will prove to be irresistible.
H. Bruce Dingman is president of the
The Dingman Company, Inc., an executive search firm based in Westlake Village,
California, serving clients in both the business and ministry arenas. Contact
him at bruce@dingman.com, or (818) 378-7755.
