Dear Nonprofit Staff: Are You the Reason Your Fundraisers Are Burning Out?
Are you the reason your fundraisers are burning out?
This might be a hard question to sit with — but it’s one program staff, operations teams, and leaders NEED to ask. How well your organization collaborates with development directly impacts your ability to deliver on your mission.
Why This Matters
The average fundraiser stays in their position just 16–24 months*.
For major-gift fundraisers, 42% have been in their current role 18 months or less*.
Many fundraisers plan to leave within the next year or two; a large portion are unsure whether they’ll stay in the profession at all*.
Cultivating a major donor often takes 12–24 months (or more) of consistent relationship building*.
When fundraisers leave, the relationships they’ve worked hard to build are interrupted. Donors get concerned when the person they trust leaves — they question leadership, lose confidence, hesitate to give, or stop giving altogether. Every departure sets your organization back, not just in revenue, but in time, trust, and momentum.
What Fundraisers Wish They Could Tell You
🙏 Make Fundraising Everyone’s Job
Revenue goals are not just the development team’s responsibility — they belong to the entire organization. Program staff, operations staff, and board members should expect to:
Meet with donors to share progress and impact
Provide timely information for proposals and reports
Share program updates and stories
When everyone sees fundraising as part of their role, fundraisers spend more time building relationships and less time chasing down information.
🤝 Treat Donor Meetings Like Business Meetings
No donor meeting is just “coffee.” Every interaction should have clear objectives to move the relationship forward.
Give your fundraisers face time to brief you on:
The donor’s interests and giving history
What you hope to achieve in the conversation (short- and long-term)
How you can guide the donor toward deeper engagement
When you show up prepared, donor conversations become meaningful steps toward transformational giving.
⏰ Protect Fundraisers’ Time
Fundraisers need space to think, plan, and steward donors. If they’re buried in endless internal meetings, special projects, and nonessential tasks, they can’t focus on cultivation.
Free them up for the work that drives revenue — or risk burning them out and losing momentum entirely.
📣 Align Communications with Fundraising
Philanthropy content is not the same as marketing. Donors often need materials not covered in public communications.
Ensure your communications team partners with fundraisers to produce the right tools — tailored proposals, impact reports, and updates that match donor motivations.
And watch for mixed messages. If your social media promotes a program you no longer run, or highlights designated funding you no longer accept, it confuses donors and makes the organization look unorganized. Development and communications must work hand-in-hand to tell a consistent, credible story.
🌟 Share Your Strategic Vision
Fundraisers can’t inspire donors to make multi-year, transformational gifts without access to your highest-level vision and roadmap (including budgets).
Share openly — the wins and the challenges. Donors want to solve problems with you. And make sure all staff understand your top fundraising priorities. With clarity, program staff won’t pitch competing projects or operate in silos. Instead, everyone reinforces the same message, creating alignment, trust, and greater impact.
📈 Measure and Communicate Impact
Donors stay engaged when they see proof of progress. Fundraisers need:
Outcomes and metrics
Success stories
Lessons learned from what didn’t work
Transparency builds trust — both inside your organization and with your supporters.
The Bottom Line
Fundraising is a team sport — and you don’t have to be the reason your fundraisers are burning out.
If your organization is ready to strengthen collaboration across departments, create a clear annual fundraising plan, or would like to explore coaching and mentoring for your team, I’d love to support you.
*The Nonprofit Times