We’ve long believed that the words “development” and “fundraising” are not synonyms. Development, in our vocabulary, is a process of “developing” relationships between people and an organization. This relationship-building focuses on finding common ground between the interests of people and the mission and goals of the organization. Fundraising, on the other hand, is really a process of asking people for money. Related? Yes. Interconnected? Yes. Synonyms? No.
We have long advocated that our clients NOT make their development programs completely staff-dependent. More specifically, we have advocated that every major donor have a relationship with at least two people in the organization; and if at all possible, at least one of those relationships should be with a Board member or other volunteer.
