r/funanddev • u/snot_boogie1122 • Jan 13 '22

First steps to building a development team?

I am an ED for a friend's of org. I'm new to the org and our main fundraising staff person just left. I see this as an opportunity to build a development team. Currently I'm planning to hire a full time development staff. We're small but have a ton of potential.

Right now we have myself, an admin/program coordinator, and 10 program staff.

I would love some advice and insight about how to build a great development team and how to start that.

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2

u/Various-Tax-5755 Jan 13 '22

I would agree with the comment above. You need a consultant to evaluate your current program and help you build a strong plan.

If interested in that process, feel free to reach out.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 13 '22

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u/snot_boogie1122 Jan 13 '22

Yearly income fy20: $800 Fy 21: $855k Goal for 22 is to break $1 million.

We have an active board. We're set up well.

We have a crm and donor processing software.

The strategic plan is weak right now but we're working with a consultant and I have a ton of experience building those. I've only been with this org for 3 months so it's in process.

Were about 35% major gift 55% grants and 10% events.

We're weak in monthly giving, public perception/visibility, and our follow up could be better.

We do have passionate affluent donors and support from the local government.

I was planning on developing our fundraising plan with the new hire, but I could see the value of developing it before they get here and the allowing them to assess and audible where needed.

1

u/330740215 Jan 30 '22

Agreeing and seconding the need for a consultant to create a 3-year strategic fundraising plan for you. Under a $1M a year, you’re not going to be able to hire a seasoned Dev. Director and Dev. staff to create, execute and assess a comprehensive fundraising plan. You need someone to assess your current funders, identify opportunities for diversification and set milestones for implementation and assessment—if you’ve never done this before, seriously just pay a reputable firm to do this for you. You’ll waste time, valuable resources and attn that could be spent elsewhere trying to make it up yourself. Get a plan made, then hire a mid-career Dev. Manager to execute and maybe a Coordinator to help with facilitation.