Most not-for-profits tend to at least say fundraising is essential. Yet it’s very common to treat development staffing as a checklist in practice: hire a major gifts officer, add an annual fund manager, maybe a grant writer—and hope the dollars follow. High-performing development teams are focused on much more than just job descriptions. They have a fundraising resourcing strategy, and understand the human core of relationship building work.
Here are seven steps to move beyond titles and start creating a team that delivers transformational results.
1. Start with Strategy
Before you hire, ask: What are we trying to achieve?
- Are we preparing for a capital campaign?
- Do we need to grow annual giving?
- Are major gifts a priority?
Your staffing model should reflect your fundraising strategy, not the other way around. Too often, organizations hire based on what peers are doing or what budgets allow, rather than what their goals demand. A campaign-focused organization needs prospect research and major gift expertise; an annual fund growth strategy may require digital marketing talent.
Tip: Map your revenue goals against staff capacity. If the gap is wide, you need to adjust either revenue expectations or the resources you are willing to commit.
2. Hire for Soft Skills
Job descriptions often list years of experience and technical skills. But high-performing teams excel in soft skills:
- Relationship building: Can they earn trust with donors and colleagues?
- Strategic thinking: Do they see beyond transactions to long-term engagement?
- Adaptability: Can they pivot when priorities shift or challenges arise?
Experience matters, but only for meeting the basic requirements of the role. What make the difference is if you are able to hire for a pro-active mindset and relationship skills. A candidate who can see opportunities as they arise, or even create opportunities from what your organization is doing, and connect with donors individual passions, is worth their weight in gold.
3. Clarify Roles and Avoid Overlap
Ambiguity is a big drag on performance. When responsibilities bleed into one another across major gifts and annual fund or stewardship and solicitation, team members begin to lose focus and donors notice as well. This is a particular problem for smaller teams of 2-3 that must wear many hats as they are growing to 5+ sized teams where specialization becomes possible.
Focus on:
- Defining clear portfolios and metrics for each role.
- Establishing communication protocols for shared prospects.
- Aligning reporting structures to minimize silos.
Development leaders who invest time in better defining roles are often surprised by how much value it delivers. Team members are often craving clarity and measurable ways to understand their own success and progress.
4. Invest in Professional Development
While there are always new technologies to lean about, investing in training your team on the fundamentals is the way to go. The more your team understands the universal truths of how relationship building and philanthropy work, the better equipped they are to make choices in ambiguous situations.
On top of the benefit to your organization, professional development signals to your staff your respect for them and strengthens internal relationships. Whether it’s conferences, webinars, or mentoring, make learning a priority. The ROI shows up as better strategies, stronger retention, and higher revenue.
5. Build a Culture That Values Philanthropy
Most organizations that lag in fundraising cannot see the forest for the trees and don’t understand the root drivers of success. Culture is that invisible force behind performance. Successful fundraising organization internalize:
- Fundraising as mission-critical, not a necessary evil.
- Program staff understand their role in donor engagement.
- Celebrations of success encompass strong relationship building, not just revenue generation.
It is impossible for a Chief Development Officer to raise money alone. Boards and executives set the conditions where success is even possible. If fundraising is treated as secondary, or "not my job," you are undermining the ability of the fundraising team to excel.
6. Go Deeper on Metrics
Dollars raised certainly matter, but that is just the most visible outcome of the work that actually drives results. Making sure that underlying metrics are tracked within the development team, and communicated to your executive and board, helps build the organizational understanding of fundraising. Consistent success on these metrics will grow your fundraising over time, even as revenue fluctuates year to year. Some examples are:
- Donor retention rates
- Number of meaningful donor interactions
- Growth in major gift pipeline prospects qualified
When metrics focus solely on revenue, staff are forced to fall into "resulting," meaning a bias that the input work must have been correct by definition, because the desired result was achieved. Just looking at revenue ignores the necessary investment in long-term relationships, and the many things driving donor decisions that fundraisers cannot control. Celebrating your team’s execution and success on key metrics they have more ability to control, helps them keep focused and motivated when even when the dollars don’t come through.
7. Plan for Succession
Turnover is inevitable and you can probably count on even a small team seeing a role change annually. The question is whether it disrupts or strengthens your team. Development leaders and their boards need to:
- Identify future leadership needs early.
- Create pathways for internal advancement.
- Document systems and processes to ensure continuity, especially in more entry level roles.
Succession planning isn’t just for CEOs and program leaders; it’s for every critical role.
Building a high-performing development team requires careful planning as you select and onboard new team members, intentional support and investment in the team's success through clear and measurable goals, and ongoing learning. More broadly, an organization can help nurture a successful development team by celebrating and participating in philanthropy, while also keeping an eye on succession planning.
Going beyond the basics of a job description in the building and resourcing of your team will give your organization a huge boost towards consistent fundraising growth.