Regardless of scale of need, every organization will benefit from a thoughtful, inclusive consideration of the board’s collective leadership responsibility.
CFOs and CDOs should recognize the different demands of their jobs and the likelihood that they will have different orientations and personalities, and to see these as complementary strengths rather than as a reason for conflict.
Board chairs expect the CDO to think both short-term and long-term and to set goals and create fundraising programs that appropriately balance short and long-term objectives. Board chairs view the CDO as one of the key leaders of their organizations…
There are ways to prepare for the role of CDO, including serving on the board of a nonprofit organization in your community, finding mentors with the skills you need, or asking your own CDO to help you gain experience in areas that fall outside your current areas of responsibility. Excerpted from The Chief Development Officer: Beyond Fundraising, published by Rowman & Littlefield, 2013