From the Desk of

Shelly Manuel ¦ Associate Partner

Remote Work and the Fundraiser 

I remember the time when women couldn’t go to work without socks or hosiery and men wore ties every day but Friday—now, for many employees, you don’t even have to wear pants to “work.” A huge reality that arose from the pandemic is a world of remote workers. For a relationships-based industry such as fundraising, how feasible is a remote development office? Are we missing the boat requiring more and more onsite employees post-pandemic?

An article posted by the National Council of Nonprofits about a year ago reveals some interesting data. With 43% of job applicants desiring fully remote work when searching for nonprofit positions, only 19% of listings are for fully remote roles. Ironically, 43% of posts are for on-site employees and the final 38% for a hybrid workplace. Remote jobs received nine times as many applications as onsite or hybrid positions. Looks like nonprofit leadership and hiring teams need to start looking at remote or hybrid work options a little deeper.

To be blunt, jobs got done all over the world during the pandemic, so we know remote jobs can be effective. Working outside of the office provides a better work-life balance for employees, saves costs for the nonprofit, and provides access to top talent that isn’t restricted by geography. However, can employees be relied upon to remain effective and high performing? Issues around communication and collaboration can be a challenge on virtual teams, which can have a negative impact on organizational culture. In industries where program services require employees to be on-site, the optics of support staff, such as development, “never being in the office,” can be a challenge.

Personally, I prefer a hybrid work week. I need face-to-face interaction to make me happy and fulfilled professionally. Likewise, I can foster connections with highly personal and effective virtual meetings. Hybrid work almost forces development officers to “get out from behind” their desks. With this flexibility, there is more of an opportunity for in-person cultivation touches. In addition, expensive travel for short visits and meetings can be significantly reduced through balancing in-person and virtual visits.

Some people would much rather be fully productive from a home office, and many high-performing and connected teams hardly ever see each other in person. Roles that do not really require donor interaction, such as researchers, some advancement services, etc., could very well be fully remote jobs.

The partners at the firm had a wonderful online collaboration on this topic (interestingly, this all happened over email), and I would imagine that most nonprofit professionals have differing opinions on this subject. I don’t have the magic solution or answer, but I do know that our industry must keep an open mind and continue to explore how to best strategize around on-site, remote and hybrid work.