Invest in your peopleHands up all you fundraisers that rarely, if ever, get to attend a professional development session on fundraising. In this virtual room, my guess is that a lot of you metaphorically raised your hand. What other sector would place so little emphasis on professional development and continuous learning? A lot of social impact organizations see PD as an expense, and it’s usually the first thing to be chopped in the annual budget cutting exercise. That’s a short-sighted move that is detrimental to the entire organization. Investing in staff’s professional development is an investment in the organization. Learning new and innovative techniques, hearing about ideas that have worked in other organizations, and networking with other fundraisers can be a huge motivator. And chances are greater that you’ll remain in your position far longer if you aren’t looking around for an organization that’s willing to invest in you. A recently-released study, Major Gift Fundraising: Unlocking the Potential for Your Nonprofit, also revealed that for every PD opportunity that a fundraising staff attended, there was a strong correlation to fundraising performance. “Each additional form of training/education is associated with an increase of $37,000 (USD) in income.” That’s astonishing! Now point that out to your ED/CEO and get your training back in the budget. Laura Mikuska · |
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