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Episode 12 : Should you hire a development coordinator or event planner for your fundraising depa
Before I provide you with my thoughts on which is best in regards to development associate or event planner, let me introduce myself!
Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away!
Link to Join Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/
Look, I completely understand how challenging and time consuming it is to plan events. I also know how important it is to have customer service, donor-centric minded staff. I also know come event time, you don’t want to be in the office printing out name tags or managing the attendee list. I also know how tight it can be working for a nonprofit and if you’re only allowed a certain headcount due to budget constraints which do you choose to hire? A development associate OR an event planner?
Speaking of event planning, you’ve got to pick up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below.
So back to the question at hand. To be honest, I’ve been arguing with myself the entire time I’ve been writing these shownotes. I can make a good argument for either case but I have a story to tell you about why I think you need to go with the position that encompasses some strong qualities that I’ll list in a moment and that’s the qualities of an event planner. OMG, I can’t believe I just said that……
I’m part of a nonprofit facebook group and this question got asked a couple of weeks ago. I think I even said to hire the “development associate” and NOT “the event coordinator.” Look at me now.
As I began to write down the qualities of an event planner, one quality stood out. But first, let me tell you the story of my development associate. She got hired by someone else so I inherited her. She was a wonderful coordinator but not exactly a development coordinator and not exactly an event coordinator. What I needed her to be was a donor engagement coordinator aka event planner with special skills. LOL.
Reasons to hire an event planner….and call him/her a donor engagement coordinator
Strong attention to detail
They care about appearances, beautification. Why does this matter? They will make sure the event looks stellar for donors.
They have great pride in their work. This means they will also take great pride in the donor’s journey and not just at the event. They will have the desire to create an experience, a special one.
When everyone else is dragging their feet around event time, they are high as a kite. You need this type of energy as the event draws closer.
They are outgoing. This type of work requires you to interact in a professional manner. What does this mean, next point….
They have excellent customer service skills AKA donor relation skills.
They are organized. A planner must create production timelines to track every detail of an event. How does this translate? They will track your donors giving. They get it!!! They understand spreadsheets, tracking data, tracking production!
Last bonus tip, you can use this as a list to guide you in hiring your next development coordinator but I highly recommend you call them a Donor Engagement Associate or Coordinator. And, that you are clear that the role requires them to love events, love customer service, love planning, and love donor relations aka people lovers! If you do, you will have a winner of an employee!
Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)!
https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
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By Lisa ClarkBefore I provide you with my thoughts on which is best in regards to development associate or event planner, let me introduce myself!
Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away!
Link to Join Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/
Look, I completely understand how challenging and time consuming it is to plan events. I also know how important it is to have customer service, donor-centric minded staff. I also know come event time, you don’t want to be in the office printing out name tags or managing the attendee list. I also know how tight it can be working for a nonprofit and if you’re only allowed a certain headcount due to budget constraints which do you choose to hire? A development associate OR an event planner?
Speaking of event planning, you’ve got to pick up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below.
So back to the question at hand. To be honest, I’ve been arguing with myself the entire time I’ve been writing these shownotes. I can make a good argument for either case but I have a story to tell you about why I think you need to go with the position that encompasses some strong qualities that I’ll list in a moment and that’s the qualities of an event planner. OMG, I can’t believe I just said that……
I’m part of a nonprofit facebook group and this question got asked a couple of weeks ago. I think I even said to hire the “development associate” and NOT “the event coordinator.” Look at me now.
As I began to write down the qualities of an event planner, one quality stood out. But first, let me tell you the story of my development associate. She got hired by someone else so I inherited her. She was a wonderful coordinator but not exactly a development coordinator and not exactly an event coordinator. What I needed her to be was a donor engagement coordinator aka event planner with special skills. LOL.
Reasons to hire an event planner….and call him/her a donor engagement coordinator
Strong attention to detail
They care about appearances, beautification. Why does this matter? They will make sure the event looks stellar for donors.
They have great pride in their work. This means they will also take great pride in the donor’s journey and not just at the event. They will have the desire to create an experience, a special one.
When everyone else is dragging their feet around event time, they are high as a kite. You need this type of energy as the event draws closer.
They are outgoing. This type of work requires you to interact in a professional manner. What does this mean, next point….
They have excellent customer service skills AKA donor relation skills.
They are organized. A planner must create production timelines to track every detail of an event. How does this translate? They will track your donors giving. They get it!!! They understand spreadsheets, tracking data, tracking production!
Last bonus tip, you can use this as a list to guide you in hiring your next development coordinator but I highly recommend you call them a Donor Engagement Associate or Coordinator. And, that you are clear that the role requires them to love events, love customer service, love planning, and love donor relations aka people lovers! If you do, you will have a winner of an employee!
Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)!
https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/