Recently, I have had several clients and friends in the profession ask me how best to onboard new fundraising staff. Whether the new team member is new to fundraising, or just new to your organization, they need to understand how your nonprofit approaches fundraising. Or, in the case of a brand new development position, how your nonprofit needs to define their approach to fundraising.
At the end of this article, you will find a free downloadable resource that delves into my brief recommendations here, and links out to my favorite articles, resources, and issue area experts.
I always like to start new positions, or new client engagements, with lots of fact finding and studying. Maybe it is my nostalgia for the smell of decades old books as I started a new research project in graduate school or … I am just a nerd.
There are four recommended areas to study when onboarding a new development position or starting one yourself:
Policies and procedures - what is in place and which recommended procedures need to be developed
Compliance - a thorough understanding of the compliance issues that apply to your nonprofit
Infrastructure - what is already in place to guide the new hire? What can they contribute to?
Donor experience - what is the organization's philosophy on fundraising?
To help you have something quick to share with new team members, I have built a brief document that outlines each of the above areas with resources, plus an extensive list of issue area experts and blogs to follow to get up to speed, or stay current, on trends in the profession.
Download New Development Staff Quick Start Resources - free!