Fundraising is a tough business. When you rely on individual, voluntary contributions as your main source of revenue - as Nonprofits do - it can be a constant challenge to keep sustainable sources of funding coming in.
These fundraising issues are exacerbated by the fact that Nonprofits across the country struggle to find qualified candidates to build and develop their fundraising programs, leaving many Nonprofits falling short of the financial commitments they need to fulfill their mission.
The following survey data, gathered from over 2,700 executive and development directors from Nonprofits across the country, was put together as a joint project of CompassPoint and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund for the whitepaper Underdeveloped. It is the first-ever national survey of executives and development directors on the topic of fundraising. The objective was to identify why so many organizations and their leaders struggle with fund development.
The findings show that many of the fundraising challenges faced by Nonprofits can be traced to volatility in the development director role - with high turnover, a slim pool of qualified candidates and long vacancies in the position threatening Nonprofits’ ability to build and grow their development operations.
So what gives?? Where are all the development directors?
As the following infographic shows, this is a problem that goes deeper than the development director role. Here we showcase some of the most interesting statistics that bring to light some of these deeper organizational challenges that may be undermining the ability of Nonprofits to raise the necessary funds they need to succeed.
