Chapter 19: Fundraising Planning, Management, and Leadership
While fundraising is a management function, effective fundraisers also are leaders regardless of their title or their position within the nonprofit’s organizational chart. Management tasks include designing a comprehensive fundraising plan describing goals, prospective donors (individuals, foundations, and corporations), and the vehicles that will be utilized to fundraise ethically to achieve the goals in a timely manner. While management involves the “how,” “who,” and “when” of fundraising, leadership focuses on “why,” elevating a compelling vision of organizational and fundraising achievement and impact. Fundraisers are transformational leaders when they continually exemplify and emphasize the nonprofit’s cause and mission to the organization’s staff, board members, donors, and volunteers. Fundraising leadership includes leading the fundraising team, leading across to peers, and leading up to the CEO and board members. Meanwhile, leading during seasons of crisis can provide fundraisers with unique responsibilities that fortify trust in the nonprofit, resulting in new and distinct fundraising possibilities.
Bill Stanczykiewicz
Bill Stanczykiewicz, Ed.D., serves as Director and Rosso Fellow of The Fund Raising School (TFRS), where he designs and teaches in-person and online fundraising courses delivered in the United States and around the world. Bill also serves as Senior Assistant Dean for External Relations within the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, where he oversees fundraising as well as marketing and communications. As a clinical associate professor of philanthropic studies, Bill has academic teaching responsibilities that include undergraduate and graduate courses in fundraising, philanthropy, and leadership. His bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University led to his 10-year career as a radio sportscaster, which included being honored as the “Indiana Sportscaster of the Year.” Bill then earned a master’s degree in public administration – with a concentration in nonprofit management – from George Mason University while he served on legislative staff in the United States Senate. Bill’s doctoral degree in interdisciplinary leadership from Creighton University included his dissertation discovering research-based methods for increasing board engagement with fundraising.
Bill Stanczykiewicz discusses this chapter with fellow editor Genevieve Shaker.