3 Reasons Your Junior Gifts Officer is About to Quit
With the high rate of fundraiser turnover, I know you want to find and keep the very best people on your team. You also want to see them grow into their roles and to help them develop a clear path for professional success well into the future. Your intentions may not be coming through loud and clear, though. Your processes may, in fact, be making your up-and-comers down-and-out. Here’s why:
1. Leftovers
When assigning prospects, it is a backhanded compliment for a senior gift officer to pay the rookie by saying, “I haven’t had any luck with this donor, maybe your fresh approach is exactly what they need.” It is unlikely that an inexperienced fundraiser is going to hold the magic ticket to turning a perennial prospect into a donor overnight.
Stop giving your newest, untested fundraiser the prospects no one else wants. One of my clients tiers prospect portfolios by capacity. This has the effect of using an objective standard to randomize inclination across all portfolios. New fundraisers don’t need big wins. They need early wins to stay engaged.
2. Packed Portfolios
Volume does not increase chances of success. It creates confusion and a feeling of being overwhelmed. You’d be surprised how many leftovers veterans are willing to “share” with the newbie.
Start monitoring portfolio size and control for quality. One of my clients starts new gift officers out with a portfolio that is about 10-20% of the size of a seasoned full-time major gifts officer. New fundraisers need your help focusing on important relationships to get started on the right path.
3. Sink or Swim
We forget that asking for money goes against the sensibilities that most of our parents instilled in us. It does not come naturally. Appreciate the pressures new gift officers are under to succeed. In a field that requires experience and training as much as it relies upon personality and self-confidence, giving someone a contact list and saying “go” is a recipe for disaster. They don’t know your constituents yet, and they likely don’t know the profession very well either.
Support new gift officers with more of your time than you have to give. One of my clients supplements supervisor time with a formal mentoring relationship. They engage a retired fundraiser with decades of experience with their prospects at their school to meet regularly with new development officers. This removes the supervisory dimensions and turns the interactions into pure support for the new gift officer’s future. New fundraisers will respond when they know you are invested in their success.
Engage, Retain and Win
Don’t think your junior gift officers aren’t getting recruited. They are. They have the title and just enough experience to make them attractive to a school or organization that can increase their compensation package without breaking the bank.
On frustrating days, we all are capable of “stumbling upon” search postings. Minimize the number of frustrating days for your junior gift officers by giving them early wins, manageable objectives and knowledgeable support. You’ll help them develop a vision for the future at your school or organization that will keep them there for the long-haul.
If you’re ready to take the next step in supporting the effectiveness of your fundraising team, call me.
In the meantime, Download: 3 Things Every College President Should Know About Fundraising.