Whose responsibility is it to fundraise? The board’s or CEO’s? Not long ago, in my service as secretary on the board of an international organization, I received the President’s Report to review from the new president. He included an appeal for the board to help with fundraising due to a budget shortfall. This may be okay, but he had no plans for how he would lead fundraising to cover that gap.
Boards can inherently do what they like, however, good boards, those who want to attract and retain effective and successful board members, ask their board members to focus on strategic thinking and oversight, not labor. Now, some board members may want to fundraise, and many do. However, it is not the responsibility of a board to raise funds. The job of fundraising must lie squarely on the executive leadership of the organization, headed by its president or CEO.
If fundraising is the main source of revenue for an organization, just like sales is the main source of revenue for a retail company, the CEO must ultimately take responsibility and be accountable (and also rewarded) for the amount of revenue that comes in under their leadership.
If you are the CEO or president of a ministry or organization that depends on fundraising, it is your responsibility to be skilled at fundraising. If you neglect your responsibility because you don’t like development or fundraising, then please resign. This is like the CEO of a for-profit clothing company who says, “I hate selling clothes.”
You could hire someone to help you, a leader who understands fundraising. However, you must still know enough about it to effectively hire and lead that person. Even then, the responsibility lies with you. Keep in mind that some big donors are going to want to see you and hear from you before they give their million dollar donation.
Ultimately, regardless of the assistance one may receive, the job of fundraising rests on the president or CEO of an organization.
