development assessment

The term “transformational gift” refers to a significant donation with the potential to substantially impact an organization’s trajectory. While transformational gifts can yield highly visible results for organizations and their communities, their origins may seem mysterious, as these sizable commitments can be years in the making. 

There is a critical sequence of milestones throughout the donor cultivation cycle that can help position organizations for gifts of transformational scale. Stemming from strategic planning and the cultivation of key donor prospects, securing and capitalizing on a transformative investment hinges on strong leadership, a compelling vision for the future, and organization-wide coordination. 

With over 20 years of nonprofit advancement experience, CFA Principal Mid-Atlantic Johnny Burleson shares his insights on successfully pursuing transformational gifts.

Strategically Cultivating a Transformational Gift

The first step toward pursuing a transformational gift is an ambitious and compelling vision for the future. “This vision is typically formulated through a thorough planning process with the support of key internal and external stakeholders, often in preparation for a campaign,” shares Johnny. The end result serves as the basis for a fundraising case for support by quantifying impact, detailing implementation plans, and outlining the financial resources required to bring that vision to fruition.

Once internal alignment is established, there is an opportunity to bring top donor prospects to the table. As CFA recently shared in How to Approach Major Donors as Stakeholders, an organization’s most promising donors are often already in its database. With a passion for your organization’s work and mission, these donors have a demonstrated commitment through multiple years of giving, confirmed financial capacity to make a significant investment, and possible prior service as board members or volunteers.

After identifying top prospects, inviting them into the planning process creates the opportunity for active, authentic, and strategic cultivation during a pivotal stage of organizational development and campaign planning. “By bringing donor prospects into the process early and often, organizations can cultivate them as insiders while gaining critical insights based on the donors’ areas of expertise,” adds Johnny. He recommends keeping these donors close throughout this phase by regularly seeking feedback and advice on everything from the smallest of details to highly significant considerations. 

• Learn how to activate your strategic plan to improve fundraising results!

Making a Transformational Ask 

Through active involvement in the early stages of strategic planning and campaign feasibility studies, donor prospects may know years in advance that a big ask is coming. Within the context of a campaign’s fundraising strategy, these prospects will understand that a transformational commitment fulfilling the highest tier in the campaign’s giving pyramid will initiate a succession of future giving toward the vision that they helped to create. Strategic cultivation through this planning process brings an organization’s and donor’s shared vision into alignment while building trust and confidence along the way.

With extensive groundwork laid, the act of requesting a transformational gift should come as no surprise. Offering the donor opportunities to say “yes” along the way by asking strategic questions and continually confirming their approval throughout the cultivation process increases the likelihood that their response to a formal request for support will follow suit. 

Johnny emphasizes that when it comes time to make the ask, “The organization must be very strategic, articulating the influence that this gift will have on the organization’s trajectory and the impact it will make in specific and quantifiable terms.” And while the exact size of a transformational gift will vary from one organization to another, Johnny shares that, “It is more about strength of alignment and shared vision for the overarching impact that the campaign will embrace.”

As CFA recently shared, “Whether the donor responds with a ‘yes’, ‘no’, or ‘not right now,’ the path to a stronger donor relationship requires a graceful, grateful response, and a willingness to learn, gathering insights that will keep the door open for future engagement.” If a donor indicates the timing is not right, then the moment becomes about continuing to steward that ask until the timing aligns. 

• Organizations that receive an unexpected transformational gift may be less prepared to leverage the investment for long-term stability. CFA frequently partners with organizations seeking to leverage a specific gift to build alignment and test the feasibility of a broader case for support. 

Leveraging a Major Gift’s Transformative Potential

Once a transformational commitment is made comes a pivotal moment: advancing the organization’s vision for the future by inspiring additional generosity. “Securing a transformational gift becomes a significant opportunity to elevate the organization’s brand and mission through organic media coverage,” shares Johnny. 

With clear internal alignment established during the strategic planning stage between core organizational functions, fundraising, communications, finance, and program teams will be ready to seize the opportunity if and when a transformational gift is committed. 

• Looking to develop a consistent, compelling communications plan built around your campaign’s case for support? Check out CFA’s Donor Communications & Outreach Guide for more details about creating a donor communications plan to support your campaign.

Subsequent communications will depend on the donor’s interest for recognition and exposure, while key audiences and communication channels for announcing this transformational gift will depend on the stage and goals of the organization’s vision. For organizations that do not yet have a fundraising goal ready to publicize, the organization’s history of success and future vision that influenced the gift can serve as key messages. “This becomes a significant storytelling moment for the organization, reflecting back on the organization’s trajectory while setting the stage for its future impact,” adds Johnny. 

For organizations kicking off a broader campaign, securing a transformational gift may signal a transition to a public phase of a campaign. As CFA Senior Manager of Campaigns Anne Spears shared in a recent article, “The key to public phase fundraising success hinges on a smooth passing of the baton from an organization’s development team to their marketing team.” While the decision to transition into a campaign’s public phase is highly nuanced, Anne advises clients to weigh their progress, momentum, and anticipated timeline as they consider the most strategic course forward. 

Stewarding Transformational Investments

Continued donor engagement throughout each stage of a campaign and subsequent implementation plans are critical to the ongoing stewardship of a transformational gift. Delivering on the clear plans and quantifiable impact that secured the transformational investment requires the ongoing commitment and collaboration between the organization’s fundraising, communications, finance, and program teams. 

And while certain details within the plan may shift in response to environmental factors or opportunities, organizations can sustain a high level of donor trust through regular communications along with continual opportunities to witness, advise, and engage in the work ahead. 

Partner With Us

CFA’s consulting team brings vast experience in major giving strategies and a nuanced approach to conducting campaigns for each organization we serve. If you are interested in exploring how CFA can help position your organization to secure gifts of a transformative scale, contact CFA today.

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Did you know that 75% of nonprofit leaders are expected to leave their current positions within the next 10 years?Transitions amongst executive leaders are occurring at a growing rate as baby boomers are reaching the age of retirement (an estimated 10,000 per day through 2030) and others are leaving the nonprofit sector altogether. Despite these trends, a recent survey by BoardSource reported that only 29% of nonprofits have written succession plans in place. 

Whether well-planned or unforeseen, leadership transitions can render significant ramifications for an organization’s present stability and future trajectory. With more than 25 years of experience spanning higher education, program development, and nonprofit advancement, CFA Principal-West Coast Kristin Love offers the following guidance for maintaining fundraising stability during transitions in organizational leadership.

Preparing for Leadership Transitions

Whether anticipated in the near-term or distant future, leadership transitions are a time to focus on sustaining an organization’s current work and most critical priorities. As Kristin shares, “Documenting present-day organizational strategies and accountabilities as well as future succession plans will contribute to increased stability and continuity when change inevitably occurs.”

Development Plans

Formulated through a collaborative process, development plans are an organizational document summarizing quantitative and qualitative fundraising goals, strategies, activities, accountabilities and resources for each fundraising program within an organization’s fundraising team. 

Development plans serve as an essential tool for both current and future leaders. As CFA Senior Consultant Rob Ruchotzke recently shared in How Development Plans Can Generate Fundraising Results, “Development plans provide organizational stability and a foundation for future growth by clearly outlining goals and strategies, illuminating key fundraising actions and accountabilities, and defining milestones and metrics.”

Development plans can be a vital resource for new or interim leaders seeking to understand and support core efforts and accountabilities. 

Succession Plans

Preparing for leadership transitions through deliberate succession planning will position organizations for increased stability when the inevitable occurs. By folding succession planning into other processes, such as annual planning or multi-year strategic planning, organizations can normalize the process and develop a regular cadence for maintaining and updating plans. 

Kristin shares that, “By addressing transitions at every level of an organization, leaders can find confidence in the essential role they play and the importance of sustaining their contributions if and when it comes time for them to transition.”  

Communications Plans

The tone, delivery, and cadence of communication is paramount during times of organizational transition. Clear and timely internal communication allows staff the time and space to digest, adjust, and plan for the transition before the news is shared with key external stakeholders such as partners and donors.

When it comes to preparing external communications strategy regarding a leadership transition, Kristin recommends positioning the occasion to celebrate the outgoing leader’s legacy and impact while focusing on the work ahead. “During these moments of significant change, organizational communications should always center what remains constant: their mission-critical work,” shares Kristin.

The departure of a consequential leader presents an important time to engage every level of organizational constituents. Personal contact with an organization’s top donors provides an opportunity to acknowledge the donor’s role in supporting the outgoing leader’s legacy. These connections can also instill confidence in the future of the organization by initiating a strong relationship with the new or interim leader that will shepherd the organization through this period of change.

Pivoting Under Interim Leadership

Interim leaders have a distinct and strategic role to play as their organization searches and prepares for new leadership. 

Driving Fundraising Activity

Whether expected or unforeseen, the transition period between leaders can feel like a marathon for staff navigating ambiguity and shouldering additional responsibilities. Through a combination of constant communication and clearly defined objectives, interim leaders can mitigate levels of uncertainty while establishing measurable expectations that will drive activity for fundraising staff.

Kristin also advises interim leaders to establish baseline metrics for success that will drive internal fundraising activity while focusing donor support on the organization’s long-term priorities. Rather than focusing on traditional lagging indicators such as dollars raised, Kristin recently shared an approach to activity-based leading indicators featured in a CFA article How Metrics Can Help Fundraising Professionals Reach Their Goals. Leading indicators that can be measured in real time include metrics such as donor contacts, meetings, and qualifications. 

In addition to using baseline metrics to shape expectations and drive accountability, Kristin encourages interim leaders to seek out and celebrate small wins along the way. “Leadership transitions can feel stagnant and prolonged, so celebrating progress and productivity can help to reenergize staff and generate a renewed focus on the organization’s future.”

Sustaining Donor Engagement

An organization’s prevailing priorities and essential infrastructure become focal points for donor engagement during leadership transitions. 

Fundraising conversations can be focused on fundamental investments that will stand the test of time and support continued organizational success under new leadership, such as the annual fund, operations, and core programming. For organizations with an endowment, Kristin shares, “Endowments can be transformational in times of organizational growth and fundamental in times of organizational transition. An organization’s case for directing support to their endowment during a leadership transition is about sustaining continuity of mission and core programs.” 

These periods of change can also be an opportunity to introduce other key leaders, including board members or key program experts, to expand donor connections within the organization while creating continuity and increasing confidence. While board members are not always closely engaged in the impact of philanthropy and fundraising for their organization, leadership transitions can represent a significant opportunity to get more involved and contribute to the work ahead. 

Excelling Under New Leadership

Well-executed transitions will position an organization to excel under new leadership. 

Development Assessments

Kristin recommends that organizations capitalize on leadership transitions as an opportunity to baseline on mission, vision, and fundraising strategies. “Development assessments are an incredible tool for times of transition, preparing the incoming leader with an objective understanding of the opportunities ahead.” 

As CFA Head of Consulting & Principal, Midwest, Jake Muszynski recently shared in What Is a Development Assessment, and Why Do I Need One?, “Development assessments are a powerful way to energize your organization’s fundraising efforts.” Whether conducted prior to or after the arrival of a new leader, development assessments provide a direct path to actionable strategies that result in more successful, consistent, and sustainable fundraising results. 

Envisioning the Organization’s Future 

The introduction of a new leader creates a unique opportunity for organizations to revisit their top strategies and renew connections with key internal and external stakeholders. After undergoing a period of significant transition, organizations are poised to invite critical and transparent conversations from key constituents.

As Kristin shares, “Personal introductions to an organization’s top donors are an opportunity for new leaders to listen and solicit advice that can inform the organization’s future vision while sustaining and elevating mission-critical relationships.”  By bringing all stakeholders along in envisioning the organization’s thriving future, leadership transitions can be leveraged as a launch pad for new beginnings.

Partner With Us

CFA serves nonprofits across the country, taking the time to learn about their unique challenges and opportunities, and identifying sustainable solutions to advance their missions. If you are interested in exploring how CFA can support your organization through a leadership transition, contact CFA today to see how we can help.

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Hiring a fundraising consultant is a significant investment with tremendous potential impact on the future of your organization. CFA takes deep pride in the partnerships we develop, the customized solutions we offer, and the unparalleled results we deliver to each client we serve. Adept at spotting emerging trends and scaling successful models, our team of consultants brings vast experience across sectors and regions, offering each client the most relevant solutions tailored to their needs.

While most organizations plan for the financial investment of engaging a fundraising consultant, the commitment of staff time is also an important consideration in order to maximize the opportunity and position your organization for future fundraising success. 

The following recommendations will help your organization make the most of a partnership with a fundraising consultant such as CFA.

When to Engage a Fundraising Consultant

There are several points of inflection when organizations benefit most from the expertise of a fundraising consultant:

1. When an organization has a big idea or vision that will require significant resources to fulfill. 
   
   CFA is a valuable partner to organizations whose leaders are considering a campaign to realize an aspirational vision. Through our campaign readiness and feasibility studies, our team assesses the organization’s ability and readiness to effectively execute the campaign, providing key recommendations to build capacity and shape a compelling case for support based on stakeholder feedback. 
   
2. When an organization’s fundraising has plateaued. 
   
   CFA offers development assessments for organizations that are likely capable of raising more money and are seeking to make a strategic investment in their fundraising team and resources that will generate the strongest return on investment, whether or not in preparation for a campaign. 
   
3. When an organization is unable to effectively leverage fundraising data to inform strategy. 
   
   CFA provides a range of data and research services to enhance an organization’s data strategy, improve data integrity, and uncover priority prospects. CFA often uncovers opportunities for our clients to strengthen their data strategy during the campaign feasibility or development assessment process, and provides tailored support that leads to stronger, more sustainable fundraising results. 

While there is no right or wrong time to engage the support of a fundraising consultant, organizations should also consider the timing of other key institutional priorities and events when determining their ideal timeline and capacity to engage with a consultant.

Building an Effective Team of Internal Liaisons

While fundraising consultants are often sought and hired by an organization’s top leaders, CFA typically partners most closely with other key staff in our day-to-day work. Organizations can set the stage for a highly effective partnership by selecting the appropriate team of internal liaisons and initiating the consulting relationship with clear communication.

By building a liaison team that brings a balance of leadership, content expertise, and execution, organizations will ensure that their work with a fundraising consultant results in:

1. Relevant and Customized Strategies
   
   While fundraising consultants bring expertise, they rely on collaboration with internal staff who understand the organization’s mission, culture, and relationships, and can provide valuable insights into past fundraising efforts, donor data, and internal resources. Effective partnerships with pertinent staff enable CFA consultants to craft realistic, yet customized strategies to meet an organization’s specific needs.
   
2. Sustainable Solutions
   
   CFA’s consultants offer guidance, strategy, and support. Active staff engagement builds internal capacity and expertise, ensuring improved execution and long-term sustainability of the strategies and plans implemented.

Prior to initiating a project with a fundraising consultant, internal communication from an organization’s top leaders should convey the goals, timeline, scope, roles, and responsibilities throughout the process to establish an effective partnership.

Preparing to Onboard Your Fundraising Consultant

When CFA starts a new project, our consulting team is prepared to dive in on day one and counts on that same level of readiness and commitment from our clients. 

In order to quickly gain a comprehensive understanding of each organization we serve, CFA requests preliminary discovery data and background information. These documents enable our consultants to become insiders on an organization’s fundraising journey and effective partners in steering the organization’s fundraising trajectory. 

Data requested may include:

• Historic Organizational Data: Financial reports, annual reports, budgets, board composition and giving rates
• Fundraising Trends: Revenue sources, year-over-year comparisons, giving trends and retention rates, fundraising results by program and fund 
• Development Strategy & Structure: Strategic plans, development plans, staff job descriptions and department charts, donor communications and appeals 

While this list of documents can seem intimidating, having the right data and materials ready from the start will equip our team with a complete and holistic understanding of the organization so that our real work can begin. 

Ready to Take the Next Step?

CFA’s partnerships come with tremendous potential to amplify an organization’s work and mission. 

While some projects like development assessments or feasibility studies are time-limited, other efforts such as a capital campaign require a marathon-like approach to reach the finish line. 

Regardless of a project’s duration or scope, CFA’s utmost priority is to sustainably advance our clients’ future fundraising capabilities; and we know our clients will realize a far greater return on investment when they come as ready to roll up their sleeves as we are. 

CFA serves nonprofits across the country, taking the time to learn about their unique challenges and opportunities, and identifying sustainable solutions to advance their missions. If you are interested in exploring how CFA can support your organization’s fundraising efforts, contact CFA today to see how we can help.

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Development assessments are a term used to describe a comprehensive review of an organization’s fundraising programs. These rigorous assessments offer distinct benefits for organizations of all sizes and at varying points in the fundraising cycle. Whether your organization is undergoing a leadership transition or preparing for a period of significant growth, a development assessment will uncover new opportunities based on where your organization is today and tangible steps aligned to your goals for the future. 

While CFA’s highly tailored approach varies based on each client’s unique circumstances, priorities, and growth trajectory, our development assessment findings share a common denominator in the form of specific and actionable short- and long-term recommendations to sustainably enhance an organization’s fundraising success. 

ADVANTAGES OF ENGAGING EXTERNAL SUPPORT

A simple online search yields a plethora of DIY assessment tools designed to help organizations internally evaluate their fundraising programs. For example, the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP) offers free reports, resources, and tools to help organizations measure their individual donor fundraising efforts against more than 100 performance indicators. Similarly, MarketSmart offers a Fundraising Report Card that provides performance dashboards with key metrics on donor acquisition and retention, donation growth and frequency, and much more. 

While these tools can provide helpful data visuals and comparative benchmarks, their resulting insights are directly correlated to an organization’s internal capacity for self-assessment. These tools also rely solely on quantitative measures, limiting their results to scientific measures of success without addressing the qualitative art of fundraising. This is where engaging external support can help.

CFA’s consulting team brings valuable external perspective and a systematic approach to the development assessment process. With projects and partnerships spanning all facets of fundraising, our team is well-versed in established fundraising best-practices and current philanthropic trends. And with vast experience conducting development assessments, our team is positioned to engage the right stakeholders and pinpoint the datasets that will yield the greatest insights.

WHEN TO CONDUCT A DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT

Development assessments provide vital insight for organizations seeking to evaluate the efficacy of their development program and can maximize a team’s fundraising potential during points of inflection. Development assessments are uniquely valuable and most often implemented during stages of significant organizational growth and change, such as:

While development assessments can be conducted at any point in time, CFA Head of Consulting and Principal-Midwest Jake Muszynski encourages organizations to consider their readiness to fully engage in the process. “We work hand-in-hand with our clients and need them to approach the work with open minds and open hearts. While CFA does most of the heavy lifting, they must be open to embracing what the process reveals.”

DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT PROCESS

CFA balances the art and science of fundraising through data-driven strategies coupled with unique, case-by-case solutions. While CFA offers a customized approach to every development assessment, our process includes the following core components designed to uncover the most significant fundraising challenges and opportunities for growth for each organization we serve:

Kickoff Meeting
The project team meets with the organization to discuss a proposed project timeline, share upcoming deliverables, and identify scheduling considerations.

Materials Request
CFA conducts an audit of the organization’s development programs, donor communications, systems, and strategies to assess fundraising capacity and potential. 

1:1 Interviews
CFA interviews the organization’s Executive Director, development or advancement staff, key leadership staff, and board members with insights into the fundraising programs and/or deep institutional knowledge. 

Data Meetings
CFA’s Data and Research Team partners with the organization’s database administrator(s) or related staff to identify their data needs while assessing their database infrastructure and data strategy. Following an extensive donor wealth and engagement screening resulting in custom inclination scores, our team also provides segmentation recommendations for assigned portfolios, targeted appeals, and other tailored fundraising strategies.

Specialized Services
Because we know that each client’s needs are unique, we activate specialized services to ensure our work remains highly tailored. These services can range from surveys to understand stakeholder motivations, a deep analysis of donor trends, case for support development, campaign readiness, and much more depending on the client’s need. 

Check-In Meetings
CFA meets regularly with key organizational stakeholders to provide ongoing counsel and share insights through the process.

Final Report
CFA provides a comprehensive report with specific recommendations and goals based on the organization’s unique priorities and opportunities, outlining clear and actionable strategies to enhance fundraising results. 

ACTIVATING YOUR STRATEGY

CFA’s work is far from complete after sharing the findings from a development assessment. As Jake shares, “The organizations we partner with often have the answers, but the challenge comes in deciding what to do next. That is where CFA comes in, bringing the art to the science of development assessments and partnering with our clients to create action plans to carry the work forward.” 

CFA has supported dozens of organizations to implement customized action plans based on the findings and recommendations culminating from their development assessments. Learn more about CFA’s recent development assessments.

PARTNER WITH US

Development assessments are a powerful way to energize your organization’s fundraising efforts. Engaging an external consultant offers the added expertise, bandwidth, and perspective to yield actionable yet transformational insights. At a time when most fundraising teams are stretched thin yet challenged to accelerate organizational growth, development assessments provide a direct path to actionable strategies that will result in more successful, consistent, and sustainable results. 

When you partner with CFA, you are accessing the collective expertise of our entire team. As an organization seeking to continuously improve, our consultants meet regularly to identify trends, share learnings, assess the efficacy of our strategies, and scale promising practices. We bring the best of these insights through a highly-customized approach to each development assessment we complete and every client we serve

If you are interested in exploring what a development assessment might look like for your organization, contact CFA today to see how we can help.

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