Guess which industry? Half of employees want to quit and 60% of customers do
January 17, 2013
I'm going to tell you some facts about an industry I know well.
1. Retention rates are a horrible 41% (meaning the majority of "customers" are lost every year)
2. Half of the employees say they want to quit their job
3. One quarter of bosses say they fired the last worker in that job
You're probably thinking, seriously? What industry is that broken?
The answer? Fundraising. Nonprofits retain only 40% of their donors. Half of professional fundraisers say they want to quit their job. On top of that, one in four nonprofit leaders report that their previous development director was fired. (The source for the donor retention numbers is Bloomerang; the data on fundraisers is from a depressing new report from CompassPoint and the Haas, Jr. Fund: UnderDeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising.)
Why are things such a mess? Here are the short answers: Nonprofits do a poor job of thanking donors and reporting on their impact; they don't hire qualified fundraisers; and they leave their fundraisers off in a departmental wilderness, insufficiently supported by leadership, the board, technology and strong strategic plans.
My advice is this. Before you take a job in nonprofit fundraising (and there are lots of vacant jobs out there!) or hire a fundraiser, do the following.
1. Confirm the nonprofit organization warmly embraces the need to fundraise. As explained by Kim Klein, “Money is one of the great taboos in our culture. We are taught not to think about it or ask about it… As with the subjects of sex, death, mental illness, religion, politics, and other taboos, people say little about their experiences with money. With people so carefully taught that it is rude to talk about money, it’s certainly not an easy task to ask for it.” For an organization to succeed in fundraising, it has to view asking for money as a beautiful partnership between people who work to make the world a better place - and those who join in helping them.
2. Ensure the organization sees fundraising as everyone's job - as reflected in the way the leadership, board and staff collaboratively support and coordinate with the development director. Together, they set and hold themselves collectively accountable for goals.
3. Make sure the fundraiser is well trained - or can get trained. A huge problem is that many fundraisers aren't qualified for the job. One in four executive directors (24%) in the CompassPoint report said their development directors have no experience or are novice at “current and prospective donor research.” Among the smallest nonprofits, the number was 32%. If you're a fundraiser, get well trained. And if you're a nonprofit, hire qualified people or invest in turning your fundraisers into qualified people by paying for them to get the help they need to do their job.
One last, critical thought: All nonprofits and fundraisers must invest in treating donors like partners, thanking them regularly and conscientiously reporting on the impact they had. That's the way to fix the grim picture you see below.
We have a lot of work to do in our field. We'd better start now - the good of the world is truly at stake.
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