The Hidden Reason Your Fundraising Isn't Reaching Its Potential
Are you frustrated that your fundraisers aren't raising as much money as they should be?
The reason might not be what you think.
The hidden culprit could be an administrative work overload.
It's a common scenario. Your organization is short-staffed and under-resourced, and it feels like all hands are on deck. Out of desperation, you ask your major gift fundraisers to handle important, non-fundraising tasks. They find themselves planning events, creating marketing materials, and tracking down unspent gift funds.
Sometimes, others in the organization may also inadvertently create extra work for your Directors of Development. They may not even realize how much time it's taking away from their primary role—raising money.
I’ve seen deans asking fundraisers to create a newsletter for them, financial aid officers seeking help to track down scholarship funds, and Major Gift Officers spending too much time working to correct errors in gift allocation.
This administrative work takes a significant toll. It drains your fundraisers' time, focus, and mental energy, pulling them away from their most important job: moving donors through the pipeline and securing gifts.
The hidden costs of administrative overload
A lack of administrative and operational support has many direct costs that could be taking a bigger toll on your organization than you realize:
Missed fundraising goals: Fundraisers burdened with other tasks don't have the time they need to work their portfolios effectively.
Burnout and turnover: Overloaded fundraisers get burned out and leave, costing your organization time and money to find and train their replacements.
Poor donor experience: Donors may have a less rewarding experience because your team lacks the time to properly cultivate and steward them.
Lost opportunities: Potential donors sit undiscovered because fundraisers don't have enough time for prospecting and discovery calls.
The Veritus Group perfectly encapsulated the cost of not providing enough administrative support for fundraisers:
“The problem with this is that the non-profit is actually losing money when they don’t invest in good administrative help. Yes, having a good administrative assistant actually helps to create a positive return on investment. Think about it: Say you pay a good assistant between $35-$45,000 a year. This frees up the major gift officer 15 hours a week. That 15 hours a week is easily 4-5 MORE face to face meetings with donors per week. The potential revenue impact is huge.”
So, how do you begin to solve this problem? The first step is to measure just how much non-fundraising work is burdening your team.
My shocking discovery at San José State University
When I started as an AVP of Development for San José State University, my team constantly told me their time and focus were drained by these tasks. It was a primary source of frustration and a significant contributor to retention issues.
I decided to take control of the situation. I created a method to assess the extent of this problem and identify the tasks that were the worst offenders. When I surveyed my staff, I was shocked to learn that, depending on the Director of Development, they were spending 35% to 60% of their time on non-fundraising or administrative tasks.
No wonder we weren't reaching our peak fundraising potential!
What percentage of your fundraisers’ time is spent on tasks that aren’t directly raising money?
Find out by using this free “Fundraiser Administrative/Non-Fundraising Work & Systems Assessment” survey template.
I based the template on the same survey I developed at San José State. Feel free to modify it to fit your organization’s specific needs and challenges.
This tool is designed to give you valuable, anonymous insights into the administrative burdens and systemic challenges your team faces. Its primary goal is to help you identify where non-fundraising tasks are detracting from core fundraising activities, so you can develop strategic solutions to enhance efficiency and maximize success.
To make sure you set the best tone with the fundraisers you send it to, I recommend you provide them some context when you send them to request to complete it. You will see the following example language on the template survey itself:
“This survey is completely anonymous and should take you around 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Your feedback will not be used to assess individual performance, and any personal identifiers will be removed before sharing outside the Development leadership team. This assessment aims to realistically evaluate our current state and identify systemic needs, rather than serving as a 'finger-pointing' exercise.
Your responses are crucial and will directly inform Development and University Advancement annual planning for current and future fiscal years. While not all identified ideas or challenges may be addressed in the next fiscal year, some will. The ultimate goal is to create both short-term and long-term strategies to overcome obstacles and maximize our success as fundraisers.
Thank you for your honest and thoughtful contributions.”
Knowing is the first step toward improvement. With this data, you can be empowered as a manager to work with other departments, implement solutions, and dramatically move the needle for your fundraisers and your organization.
Pro tip: Re-send out this survey to your team annually. This will help you understand if last year’s burdens have improved or if new issues have developed that you need to address.
Want a complete picture of what might be standing in the way of your ultimate fundraising performance? Read my blog post on “The Development Assessment: Charting Your Roadmap to Peak Fundraising Success” or connect with me to see how I can be a strategic partner to help you level up your fundraising.
I’m here to support you!
You got this!
Jen Stirling
Principal Consultant, Brighter Philanthropy —
Fundraising consulting for higher ed, K-12 and non-profits
As your partner, I’ll bring my considerable expertise, high-energy efficiency, optimistic realism, relational approach, and fresh perspective to guide your team and help your institution reach its goals, enabling more students to thrive. I offer support for campaign services, development organization assessments, staff coaching and board development.
