The Fish (sometimes) Stinks at the Head – Why Leadership involvement in Arts Fundraising is Absolutely Essential – Part One.

I’ve read that the freshness of a dead fish can be judged from the condition of its head. When a fish begins to rot, it first begins to “stink from the head”.  The same can sometimes be said regarding organizational leadership in fundraising.

Once an organization hires a Chief Development Officer (CDO), the board and executive leadership often begin to rest easy.  After all, now that there is someone in place to handle fundraising, everyone else can move on to other organizational priorities, right?  “If the new CDO needs us, s/he will let us know”, right?  In reality, I am of course being a little tough on the leadership, but please read on…

We know that most organizations don’t truly abandon their staff, but I would submit that at some sub-conscious level the CDO’s hiring is often followed with a little mental “check” in a box to signify that all things fundraising will now be taken care of by someone who is specifically put on the payroll for that very reason.  It’s almost irresistible not to check off that little box!

Reality is exactly the opposite.  A development director is hired to engage the board and other leadership in the fundraising program, not to replace them.  A good chief development officer will see the board, the executive leadership and the artistic leadership (among others) as essential tools for creating leverage that makes the fundraising program ultimately productive. But until the leadership sees itself in that same way, the CDO has a nearly impossible task ahead.

Why is it important to engage leadership?  Simply put, because leadership leads.  If they actively “give and get”, if they set a vision and inspire others to literally “buy in” to that vision and if they focus on making philanthropic support a key priority to the organization, others will follow.  Leadership’s active participation in – and focus on – fund development sends a positive message to the community that only leadership can send.  Leadership’s lack of interest and participation unfortunately does the same…and that is when the head starts to stink!

In the next article I’ll provide some key questions to help you know whether or not your leadership is as engaged as they should be.

A sometimes tongue-in-cheek blogger, Bob Swaney is a successful 20+ year veteran of fundraising for the arts and is the founder of Robert Swaney Consulting, Inc.  For more information, you can email Bob at rsc@rrsconsult.net or visit www.rrsconsult.net .