What to Consider When Hiring a Development Director
Not infrequently are we asked the question about when and how to hire a Development Director to boost a nonprofit’s fundraising revenue. This is typically at organizations with small staffs who are looking to expand, and when done well, it can unlock long-term growth and stability.
Before posting a job description, it’s worth slowing down and asking a more strategic question: Is our organization ready for this hire? Here are some considerations we encourage nonprofit leaders to evaluate before hiring a Development Director.
1. Can the Organization Sustain a 5x Return on the Role?
A widely accepted benchmark in fundraising is that a Development Director should be supported by an organization capable of generating roughly five times their annual salary in contributed revenue.
This does not mean necessarily that the Development Director personally raises every dollar of that. Fundraising is a team effort that ideally includes leadership, board members, volunteers, and systems already in place. But it does mean the organization has enough donor depth, momentum, and opportunity for the role to make financial sense.
If an organization’s total fundraising capacity is significantly below that threshold, hiring a Development Director often creates unrealistic pressure and disappointment on both sides.
2. Is There a Fundraising Strategy Already in Place?
One of the most common mistakes nonprofits make is hiring a Development Director in hopes that strategy will magically appear immediately afterward.
Fundraising staff execute strategy, but it is less often that they create it rapidly in a vacuum without knowing much about the organization. Before hiring, leadership should be able to articulate what fundraising methods are being prioritized, where do they expect growth to come from, and what does success look like.
Without this clarity, Development Directors often spend their first year reacting to urgent needs instead of building sustainable systems.
3. Are Leadership and the Board Actively Engaged in Fundraising?
A Development Director cannot completely replace leadership involvement in fundraising. Executive leadership and board members play a critical role in donor relationships, especially at the major gift level. When fundraising is viewed as “the Development Director’s job,” progress slows and that can cause frustration to build.
Organizations that succeed with this hire are those where leadership models fundraising behavior and the board understands its role in relationship-building and advocacy.
4. Are Systems and Infrastructure Ready to Support Fundraising? If not, is the New Director Primed to Create them?
Even the strongest Development Director will struggle without basic infrastructure.
This includes:
A functional CRM
Clear gift processing and acknowledgment procedures
Access to leadership and board members
Realistic timelines for growth
Hiring staff without systems often leads to missed opportunities.
5. Is the Organization Prepared for a Ramp-Up Period?
Fundraising is relational in that it is the business of people, and relationships take time. A Development Director needs space to learn the organization and build trust with donors. Expecting immediate, dramatic returns in the first few months often leads to misaligned expectations and early burnout.
Organizations that succeed plan for a thoughtful ramp-up period and evaluate progress using realistic milestones rather than short-term revenue alone.
Hiring a Development Director should be a strategic investment at the end of the day. When the right conditions aren’t in place, it’s often more effective to strengthen strategy, systems, and leadership engagement first so that when a Development Director is hired, they are set up to succeed.
Need help scaling up fundraising? We’ve helped hundreds of organizations drive more revenue to their missions. Reach out to us and we would love to learn more about your nonprofit!
