Hire a consultant if you don’t yet have a clear organizational goal and a roadmap to achieve it, a fundraising plan, adequate donor data and a board that supports the fundraising process. Hire a development director only after you have working systems and necessary documents (business plan, financial projection, impact scorecard, etc.) to support healthy fundraising and you need someone to run them every day. Many organizations do both in sequence: a consultant builds the system, then helps recruit and onboard the development director who will run it. Too many organizations struggle because they hire a fundraiser to build the process. Those that can do this successfully are exceptionally rare because there is no skills transfer to the nonprofit team.
Side by side
| Fundraising consultant | Development director | |
|---|---|---|
| Role | Diagnose, design the system, coach the team | Run fundraising daily, manage donors and staff |
| Time to impact | Weeks | Often 6 to 12 months to ramp up |
| Commitment | Scoped project or retainer | Full-time salary plus benefits |
| Main risk | A plan that isn’t implemented | Turnover. Fundraiser tenure has averaged about 16 months, with replacement costs estimated above $100,000 (Chronicle of Philanthropy). |
Why development hires often fail
The most common reason isn’t the person, it’s the setup. A new development director walks into an organization with no plan, unclear goals, a disengaged board and a CEO who expects them to fix fundraising alone. Most leave before the investment pays off. We describe an alternative in An Alternative to the Risky Development Hire.
Why fundraising consultants often fail
Nonprofit leaders and boards look to consultants for a quick, miraculous influx of money. These engagements are rarely successful. Even in those rare instances, they result in an unsustainable blip leading promptly back down into the valley of death. If you’re going to hire a consultant, pick one who can prove they instill durable systems that live well beyond the end of the engagement. Skills and systems – not Roman candle promises.
A lower-risk sequence
- Assess: get an objective read on revenue, data, board and capacity.
- Build the system: plan, case for support, pipeline and dashboard.
- Hire into the system: recruit a development lead with clear goals and tools on day one.
- Coach to independence: the consultant steps back as the team takes ownership.
Frequently asked questions
Can a small nonprofit afford a consultant?
A scoped engagement often costs less than a year of a full-time salary and benefits, and capacity-building grants can cover it. Budget flexibility that enables a new hire is often the most effective inflection point, but few nonprofit executives use it. Before you hire – make sure you’re setting the development staff up for success. You can delay the hiring process for a few months, use the savings to fund getting yourself prepared, and have much better success. See typical consultant costs.
Should the executive director lead fundraising?
Yes. The ED/CEO must be the face of major gifts. The Board serves in a networking and connecting role, not in a pay-to-play capacity. Long-term, the staff drives the fundraising process. A development director or consultant makes the whole team more effective; they cannot replace them.
Sources: Chronicle of Philanthropy research on fundraiser tenure and turnover cost; Altruist Partners client experience.