20-Question-FINAL-2016-r2

20
Who should approve donor communications
(appeals, newsletters, etc.)?
Answer: Director of development
(i.e., the chief fundraiser)
NOTES AND ASSUMPTIONS…
In a responsibly managed nonprofit, only one person exercises final approval over
fundraising and donor communications: the director of development.
It’s her neck on the line, after all. It’s her responsibility to raise the money. And
she will be judged on her ability to do so. Therefore, every tool she needs to complete
that assignment (direct mail appeals, newsletters, etc.) must be under her exclusive
control. I repeat: her EXCLUSIVE control ... without the second-guessing of an untrained
board or boss.
And yet the number one complaint I hear from the fundraisers I’m trying to train
is this: “My boss won’t let me do it that way!” Some real-life examples:
• “My boss insists on writing all the appeals himself. And he’s boring!”
• “The archdiocese says we shouldn’t spend money on a newsletter because it
shows poor stewardship of donor resources.”
• “My boss says our donors are unique, so normal rules don’t apply.”
• “My boss told me to switch to emailed newsletters exclusively because
nobody reads print anymore.”
• “My headmaster won’t let me use a P.S. in an appeal. He says it’s undignified.”
• “My boss heard me out. Then he told me, and I quote, ‘Sorry. That’s not how
we do things here.’ At least he said he was sorry.”
• “My board chair insisted I take out the indents. He thinks they’re
un-businesslike.”
• “The board chair said he never reads anything longer than a one-page letter,
so that’s what he insists on.”
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20 Questions RE Donor Communications © Tom Ahern, 2016