How Leadership Buy-in Can Make or Break Your Fundraising
Board members, executives, and senior staff are ideally the leaders in any fundraising effort. When they’re visible, aligned, and invested, fundraising accelerates. When they’re distracted, divided, or absent, even the best strategy stalls. Below is a practical look at why leadership buy‑in matters, how it shows up (or doesn’t) in day‑to‑day fundraising, and what you can do to support it.
1. Fundraising Really Is “Top‑Down”
We love empowering gift officers and volunteers, but culture is set at the top. If the CEO, Executive Director, or Board Chair treats fundraising like a necessary evil, everyone else will too. If they speak about philanthropy as mission fuel and model the correct behavior then the staff follow suit.
Signs you have top‑down alignment:
Leadership mentions fundraising goals and donor impact regularly.
The ED/CEO actively participates in donor strategy conversations, asks, and stewardship plans.
Board agendas always include time for development updates, wins, and roadblocks.
Signs you don’t:
Fundraising is a “report out” tacked onto the last five minutes of meetings.
Development staff are expected to “figure it out” with little cross‑departmental support.
Leaders complain about revenue shortfalls but never ask, “How can I help?”
2. Major Donors Want to Hear the Vision From the Top
Your biggest donors (or would‑be biggest donors) want proximity to decision makers. They’re usually happy to meet with development staff, but oftentimes they’ll write the transformative checks when they trust the person steering the ship.
Vision casting matters. Donors want to understand where you’re going and why now. That story is most compelling from the person empowered to make it real. This could be the ED/CEO, Board Chair, or Campaign Chair.
Credibility matters. A donor’s due diligence often includes, “Do I believe in this leader? Do they have the backbone and credibility to execute this plan?”
An easy step here is to identify your top 25 prospects and map leadership roles to each: Who will make the ask? Who will host the visit? Who sends the thank‑you? Put those roles in writing.
3. No Buy‑in, No Momentum
You can build the prettiest case for support and the cleanest moves‑management pipeline you want. Without leadership support, you’ll end up fighting uphill on every step:
Approvals for materials and budgets drag for weeks.
Cross‑functional tasks (finance numbers, program data, outcomes) take forever because no one’s empowered to prioritize development.
Internal turf wars slow decisions. An example being:“Why does development need that?”
Campaigns, in particular, require rapid, aligned action. Messaging, prospect clearance, event invitations, and recognition plans all can require leadership signatures depending on the organization. When leaders stall, donors notice and momentum dies easier.
4. Lead by Example: That Means Giving
Donors (especially more sophisticated ones) will regularly ask two things:
“Does your board give?” They don’t expect every member to give at the same level, but they do expect 100% participation. Anything less signals internal doubt and lack of endorsement.
“Is leadership financially invested?” If your CEO or key executives aren’t making a personal gift (even a modest one), you’ll have a harder time asking others to stretch.
This isn’t about the size of the gift so much as the signal it sends: We’re all in. Join us.
5. Every Campaign Needs a “Face” (Or Two)
Stories need protagonists just as campaigns need champions. Whether it’s your ED, a board member, a respected community leader, or a grateful beneficiary turned advocate—someone has to be the recognizable “face” of the effort.
That “face” accomplishes three things:
Humanizes the need. People ultimately give to people, not entities.
Provides accountability. Donors know whom to look to for progress and outcomes.
Creates stickiness. A memorable champion helps messages stand out and stay top of mind.
The Payoff of True Buy‑in
When leadership is all‑in:
Donor meetings get scheduled faster and close bigger.
Internal teams move quickly because the boss said, “Make this a priority.”
Board members become authentic ambassadors rather than passive overseers.
Campaigns feel exciting instead of exhausting.
You don’t need perfect leaders. Start wherever you are, clarify what you need, and build the habits that keep leaders at the center of your fundraising story.
Need help getting leadership buy-in on fundraising at your nonprofit organization? Reach out to us to schedule a call with one of our experts. We would love to learn more about your nonprofit!
