“You don't understand how hard it is to raise money, how we have to struggle to keep our donors happy and interested and how much work goes into attracting new funders.”

“Really? All YOU seem to do is take people out to lunch or go to gala events. You don't have a clue about the services we are delivering or understand the needs of our clients.”

 This conversation, occurring at a recent staff meeting, illustrates the difficulty many organizations have in making sure that their development staff and program staff work together, with common goals.   

Published in onPhilanthropy.com
By Susan Ladner and Jeffrey Newman

For some, the summer months mean vacations and beaches and hiking and spending time in relaxing ways.  For others, the summer months mean taking advantage of the quiet and slower pace to catch up on work.  For the nonprofit executive and, particularly, the  development staff, the summer is a perfect time to review the last few months and get in shape for the fundraising activities of the rest of the year.  

The Setting: Quarterly Board of Directors meeting of a mid-sized non-profit that provides direct services to handicapped youth. Eleven men and women are present.

Board Chair: OK. Now let's turn to our fund-raising committee report for this year.

Board Member (aside to another member): Oh, good. This topic's all yours. I think I'll go get my coffee now.