Five tips for retaining fundraising staff

By Shane Stuber
Vice President, Talent & Leadership

If you’re a nonprofit leader with a development team, you undoubtedly know the current hiring landscape is a challenging one. You also know the cost of hiring far outpaces the cost of retaining; in fact, according to PeopleKeep, the average cost of turnover per employee can be thousands of dollars, with some studies predicting that replacing an employee costs six to nine months of their average salary.

So, it makes sense to pause and ask yourself if there are opportunities to bolster or create a culture and environment where your development team members want to stay, grow, and thrive.

What we know

In a 2022 article, The Chronicle of Philanthropy shared the following responses to a survey (in all likelihood, some of these should come as no surprise!):

• 94% said there is tremendous pressure to succeed in a fundraising role
• 92% said that vacant jobs in the fundraising department significantly increase workloads
• 91% want more time to spend with donors
• 82% said they are underappreciated

When asked which benefits they look for when considering a development role, respondents answered:

• Paid time off (76%)
• Medical/dental insurance (68%)
• Remote work (66%)
• Flexible hours (63%)
• Retirement fund (61%)

In my meetings with members of the nonprofit community in Lexington, I find that every organization is concerned with the culture they create for their organization. They want their business to be a place where staff ‘want’ to come to work. Senior management and their staff teams are working diligently to create a culture within their organization that is welcoming to all, allows staff to be creative, and provides educational opportunities and proper coaching while not micromanaging. One CEO shared that this is difficult work, but if it’s done correctly, it will create a better workplace and help retain staff.

Don Tharpe, VP, Lexington & Central Kentucky Market

So what can you do?

Taking culture and benefits into account, here are a few suggestions for considering how to better retain your fundraising staff:

• First, take time to listen to your employees. Ask what is important to them. You may hear some of the things listed above while they may have ideas of their own. Involve them in decision making wherever possible.
• Take a look at salary levels: Are they consistent with what the industry is paying? (Call us if you want the research done!) If a salary increase is not an option, consider a bonus plan. There are many ways to do this without tying it to dollars raised, which can be the wrong incentive to get donors to give more. Consider a plan that measures donor retention, or the number of donor interactions made. 
• Professional development is a must! It can be tempting to cut this line in the budget during tough times, but making the investment in your people will go a long way. (Remember, it could cost 6-9 months of their salary to re-hire.) Allocating even a fifth of the employee’s salary for professional development could make all the difference. Consider rotating professional development amongst staff each year, or have one staff member a year attend a conference and other team members attend a local function. Again, ask your employees what they want; you may be surprised!
• While many of the above items are forms of appreciation, take the time to actually thank your employees for the work they are doing. Who doesn’t like receiving a hand-written note about the great job they did on a solicitation call?
• Consider your onboarding practices. Take the time to onboard the employee about your organization and culture. Do not turn your new employee lose on their portfolio of donors without background information. Set weekly meetings to review questions, policies, and your organization’s best practices. 

We are happy to help you develop retention plans or, if necessary, provide assistance with the dreaded “H” word – hiring! – whether for development staff or other leadership roles at your organization. Feel free to reach out any time for a conversation.