The CEO & Development Director relationship...
Let’s talk the relationship between CEO and Development Director…
This is SUCH an important topic so let's get straight into this really important dynamic.
Here’s what I see most often:
Experienced, effective development director who knows what roles to hire, manages too many staff, juggling strategy, mentorship, annual and quarterly KPIs for executive team and front-line fundraisers, holding it all together – overworked, doing their damndest to support their CEO to raise more
Charismatic, visionary, magnetic, heart-driven, everything-you-want-in-a-CEO type of CEO who has little to no fundraising experience (or they have hit their fundraising ceiling and slow revenue growth because of it) dreads asking wealthy people for money, and avoids doing it
Hear me when I say this:
The best way to retain top fundraising talent is to get your CEO a fundraising coach in major gifts. (Hi, yes, that’s me. There are also other great ones out there if it’s not me.)
Here’s what happens if the CEO doesn't address their lack of fundraising skills and confidence:
Your experienced Development Director gets exhausted and burnt out managing everything fundraising and babysitting a CEO who doesn’t prioritize fundraising or doesn’t have the $10M fundraising confidence and skills becomes too much to carry.
They leave.
Before they leave, their work performance really suffers. The organization ends up paying one of the highest salaries in the organization to someone who feels like they are banging their head against a wall with a CEO who inside is fearful of failure and unskilled when it comes to closing 6 and 7-figure unrestricted gifts.
This is where I come in.
I coach the ambitious, charismatic and timid, inexperienced CEO in major gifts fundraising 1:1.
I help them to change their mindset, from scarcity to abundance, and begin executing the great strategy their development director has created.
I coach that CEO to help their team close their largest 6 or 7-figure gift in 6 months.
They begin to step out of fear and into bold action.
They learn how to articulate the value of their work in a way that inspires transformational gifts.
The CEO learns how to be bold and direct. The development director's life gets better and easier. The organization grows.
This is the privilege of my life.
When leadership changes, everything changes.
The impact explodes.
The organization doubles its individual giving revenue in 1 year because the CEO and executive team up-level their fundraising skills.
If you are a CEO reading this, it starts with admitting that you aren’t a major gifts expert and you need a coach to help you get to the next level.
Your vision becoming reality depends on your personal and professional growth.
Courage and taking bold action will change every part of your life.
You will not only step into your badass fundraiser identity (once again), you will gain the respect and credibility of your team, board and donors and demonstrate that you can be trusted to create this big, bold vision.
If you are a development director and need help with implementing your strategy, and your CEO could use an expert coach, my Million Dollar VIP program might be just what you need.
If you are a CEO and you know that your ambitious growth goals exceed your courage, skills and know-how, I would love to help.
Click here to schedule a 30-minute chat with me to see if it's a good fit to work together.
I can help you raise your largest unrestricted 6-figure gift in 6 months and double your individual giving revenue in 1 year.
