A donor calls a nonprofit, ready to make a gift. They reach someone other than the fundraiser who manages their relationship. That team member (often in another department) helps with the gift, and everyone moves on.
Sounds donor-centered, right? But what happens when the donor’s fundraiser is left out of the conversation?
We’ve seen versions of this at more than one organization over the years. In two cases, the call landed with a planned giving teammate, and they handled the request without involving the donor’s assigned fundraiser.
We love planned giving. Some of the strongest donor relationships involve midlevel, major gifts, and planned giving staff working together. Each person brings valuable expertise. Done well, those partnerships help donors make gifts that reflect what matters most to them.
But collaboration requires communication and clear roles.
In one case, the midlevel officer wasn’t even sure whether she should thank her assigned donor. She worried about stepping on planned giving officer’s toes, even though the planned giving officer wasn’t assigned to the donor and really should have passed the call along.
Think about that. A fundraiser hesitated to thank a donor because the internal boundaries had become so unclear.
Lisa often uses the quarterback analogy. Everyone has a role, and the relationship owner coordinates the work. Other team members should bring their expertise, talk with the donor, and build trust. They also need to involve the relationship owner before starting new outreach, making plans, or managing gift-giving.
For that to work, an organization must own the policies and procedures. Leadership needs to establish how relationships are assigned, when other teams become involved, and how conversations and next steps are shared. New staff need training on those expectations from the beginning. Then everyone, including leadership, needs to honor them.
These agreements cannot depend on who speaks the loudest or which colleagues happen to get along, or who answers the phone. When these agreements are ignored, trust breaks down. Staff become protective, conflict grows, and donors can receive duplicate outreach, mixed messages, or no follow-up because everyone is afraid of overstepping.
What if, instead, when a donor calls unexpectedly, a warm handoff takes place? It can be simple: “I’m so glad you called. Let’s bring James into this conversation. He knows you well, and together we can help ensure this is all done smoothly.”
Internal organizational coordination should make it easier for donors to feel known and cared for. That takes clear expectations, shared responsibility, and respect for one another’s work.
Let’s do better. Let’s be better.