5-minute read
If you have ever read a development job description and thought this role sounds like a grant writer, major gifts officer, event planner, database manager, marketing director, and part time therapist rolled into one, you are not imagining things.
Too many organizations treat development work as the catch all. If it touches donors, outreach, money coming in the door, communications, marketing, events, or volunteers, it often lands in one job description. The result is not strategy. It is confusion, and confusion is the ultimate challenge in fundraising.
Organizations are not short on passion or commitment. They are short on clarity. And without clarity, even the most talented fundraisers struggle to succeed.
It does not have to be this way.
Below are five ways to rethink development job descriptions, so they (and the person(s) hired) become catalysts for growth instead of sources of burnout.
1. Start by imagining the person you truly need
Before listing tasks, imagine the person sitting in this role one year from now. What are they doing exceptionally well? Where are they spending most of their time? What value are they creating?
This step requires real work from leadership- not a quick answer or a recycled job description. It requires slowing down and asking the harder question- what do you actually want from this role? It is the fundraising version of that moment in The Notebook when Noah looks at Allie and says, “What do you want? What do YOU want?”
When leadership cannot answer that question clearly, the job description becomes a dumping ground defined by everything that needs to get done instead of defined by outcomes.
Leadership should start by asking the following questions:
- How much is raised each year now and where do we want to be in three years?
- What relationships must be built or strengthened in the next 12 to 18 months?
- What philanthropic outcomes, outside of funds raised, must improve?
- Do the responsibilities in this job description clearly and directly support the first three responses?
If the answer to the fourth question is not an immediate yes, it is a signal to revise the role. A strong development job description creates a clear line between responsibilities, outcomes, and long-term impact.
2. Define development by value not by tasks
Development is not a catch-all function. Development is grounded in relationships, impact, and investment. At its best, it connects people to purpose and turns belief into lasting support.
Every development role should clearly answer two questions.
- What relationships will this person be responsible for building or advancing?
- How will those relationships translate into philanthropic support and at what levels?
3. Accept that one person cannot do everything
Fundraising is made up of many distinct functions- strategy, relationship management, gift processing, CRM management, communications, events, data, reporting, etc. Each one requires a different skill set and a different kind of focus. Very few people can move seamlessly between all of them, let alone do them all well.
When these functions are bundled into one role, the work becomes reactive instead of strategic and nothing gets the attention it deserves. Time is spent responding to what is loudest or most urgent, not what is most valuable. Relationship building is postponed. Strategy gets pushed to the side. Administrative work expands to fill every open hour because it feels immediate and the “to do list” is constant.
When relationship builders are buried in operational tasks, fundraising slows not because the work is unimportant, but because it is misaligned. Leaders must be reflective about how much time these essential tasks truly take in order to design realistic workloads, set meaningful metrics, and ensure the work can actually get done well.
To parse the work, you should consider the following.
- Separating relationship work from operational work and determining timing needed for each.
- Assigning ownership to all core functions, not just tasks. This should include strategy, relationships, reporting, etc.
4. Start with the money and the metrics
Before hiring, leadership must get clear on the financial reality. How much money needs to be raised to operate the organization? How much to sustain and grow the organization? Is this amount realistic for one person to raise or will it take two or three or more people to make happen? Without this clarity, roles are built on hope instead of strategy.
Remember in Alice in Wonderland when Alice asks which way she should go? She is told that if she does not know where she wants to end up, any road will do. This is exactly what happens in fundraising. When outcomes are unclear, teams stay busy, calendars fill up, and everyone feels like they are working hard without quite knowing if they are getting anywhere.
Once goals are defined, metrics that do more than simply track activity should be designed. Metrics exist to create alignment, focus, and shared understanding. They give teams permission to see progress, recognize effort, and celebrate wins along the way.
Easy measurement should begin with the number of meaningful donor conversations held, the number of asks made, dollars raised or influenced, and improvements in donor retention. Don’t forget to measure how development staff is recognized and celebrated.
5. Relationships are the real key to fundraising success
At the heart of effective fundraising are honest, true, and genuine relationships. But, of course, you already knew this! When these relationships are strong in real life and clearly reflected in job descriptions, fundraising becomes more enjoyable, more successful, and far more sustainable. Just as importantly, accomplished and experienced candidates take notice.
One of the most critical relationships is the partnership between the CEO and the Chief Development Officer. A trusting aligned relationship between these two leaders is essential to growth. Shared ownership of fundraising goals, regular communication, mutual accountability, and visible collaboration all signal that development is a leadership priority. For certain, my most successful fundraising happened when the CEO and I worked hand in hand.
Equally important is the CDO’s relationship with the board. Effective development leaders should have access to the board and work closely with key members to achieve fundraising goals. This includes partnering with board leadership, coaching and supporting board members in their fundraising roles, and collaborating on donor strategy, cultivation, and stewardship.
When job descriptions clearly articulate these relationships, they send a powerful message. They communicate that the organization understands what it actually takes to raise money. They make the work feel collaborative rather than isolating. And they attract candidates who are genuinely accomplished and ready to build something meaningful, not simply manage an overwhelming list of tasks.
An expert fundraiser who I adore recently shared, “If I were reading a job description and saw the relationships with the CEO and board called out, I would think this agency ‘gets it.’”
The real problem with many development job descriptions is confusion. Confusion about value, priorities, and what success looks like. Clear job descriptions change everything. They honor the complexity of fundraising, respect the people doing the work, and create focus, momentum, and accountability so fundraising can be relational, strategic, and deeply impactful.
When organizations slow down, get honest about what they truly need, and design roles around outcomes and relationships, fundraising becomes more effective and teams become more energized. And experienced and accomplished candidates step forward because they recognize a place where they can succeed. If development feels like a catch all at your organization, it may be time to rewrite the role and let clarity become the catalyst you have been missing. MASON Consulting Group is here to assist!