Strong fundraising teams do more than bring in donations. They build lasting community relationships, establish major giving pipelines, and set future team members up for success.

However, effective fundraising teams don’t come together by chance. Some nonprofits work with fundraising consultants to help train their teams, while others implement thorough training practices and competitive hiring practices to ensure they recruit and cultivate top talent.

To help your nonprofit put together a winning fundraising team, here are five tips.

1. Consider must-have roles.

When putting together your fundraising team, consider which roles and skill sets are necessary for each campaign or initiative.

For example, for a major fundraising event, your team would consist of an event coordinator, marketing professionals, and many volunteers to set up the space and greet guests. In contrast, your major gifts fundraising team would consist of several major gift officers, board members with strong networks, and a fundraising director.

This means that you may need to hire new staff to fulfill these roles. As you begin hiring, put together a list of responsibilities and qualifications that reflect the position as closely as possible. This will help your nonprofit HR team put out a job description tailored to the role, helping you find a high-quality candidate quickly.

2. Create structured workflows.

When team members have a standard operating process for their day-to-day work, they can function much faster and at a higher level. After all, established structures remove the need for guesswork and ad hoc processes, eliminating potential indecision paralysis or less-than-optimal solutions.

Build structured workflows by investing in project management tools that allow you to create task lists, manage calendars, and assign tasks to specific team members. For long-term campaigns, such as a capital campaign, create a dedicated plan at the outset to ensure your entire team is on the same page and understands their responsibilities from day one.

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3. Build a productive work culture.

Fundraising teams work better when they have a productive, supportive work environment backing them. eCardWidet’s guide for motivating employees recommends implementing the following:

  • An employee recognition program that lets employees know their work is appreciated and meaningful
  • Incentives, such as monetary bonuses or perks, like an occasional free lunch
  • Career advancement pathways that let them see how they grow professionally at your nonprofit
  • Opportunities to operate independently to provide employees with a sense of ownership over their work and show that your nonprofit trusts them as responsible, autonomous contributors
  • Flexibility to let employees adjust their work hours or work environment to maintain a strong work-life balance

Some of these strategies will fit your nonprofit’s fundraising approach better than others. For example, it might be easy for your workplace to offer late-morning arrival times for working parents who need to drop off their children at school or daycare. However, your workplace may be highly team-focused and have few independent or leadership opportunities.

4. Provide training opportunities.

Professional development opportunities help your fundraising team in two key ways. First, employees can improve and develop new skills. This makes them feel they are advancing in their careers, thereby improving employee engagement.

A few ways you can train your fundraising team include:

  • Onboarding. Create a structured onboarding process that gets new team members up to speed quickly. Strike a balance between providing new hires with guidance and mentors, while also giving them hands-on experience so they can quickly pick up the role and start working on meaningful projects.
  • Reskilling. If you have team members coming into fundraising from a different field, consider how you can leverage their current abilities and help them reskill. For example, a teacher from the education sector likely has strong skills in managing groups, maintaining patience in stressful situations, and explaining concepts clearly to others. In fundraising, this might mean that a teacher could take the lead in communicating your mission to others through proper reskilling training in creating gift solicitation materials and pitches.
  • Mentorships. Help employees prepare for future roles, whether it’s a new hire learning the basics or an experienced team member moving up to leadership, by having them shadow current staff. You may also create dedicated mentorship programs in which more senior team members meet with newer team members for one-on-one advice.

Tailor your training and career development opportunities to both your nonprofit’s needs and your team members’ goals. For example, if you currently lack anyone experienced in major gift cultivation, it may be worth tailoring training toward that skill set.

5. Outsource as needed.

If your nonprofit lacks the time, resources, or knowledge to help your team update their skills, consider enlisting external help. For example, you might:

  • Purchase online courses. Browse professionally designed online courses for skills related to fundraising. You might enroll individual team members looking to upgrade their skills or purchase a course that your entire team can take, depending on the course’s price model.
  • Hire a consultant. Consultants can provide job training for both individual team members and your staff as a whole. In some cases, just working alongside a consultant can be an effective learning experience. For example, Convergent’s guide to capital campaign feasibility studies advises nonprofits to work closely with their consultants to guide the project and learn more about how to approach stakeholders, interpret interview responses, and make strategic campaign decisions.
  • Send team members to nonprofit conferences. Conferences are prime opportunities to see how other professionals in your field are operating, learn new best practices, and expand your nonprofit’s network. Send a few fundraising team members to various nonprofit conferences to help them build their skills and bring back valuable lessons to share with the rest of your staff.

Outsourcing training and development opportunities can be a cost-effective option for small teams that lack the capacity to hire full-time staff. Additionally, external services, such as consultants, can become part of your fundraising team for specific projects through integrated team service offerings.

An effective fundraising team brings in the revenue your nonprofit needs to fulfill its mission, remain stable during periods of uncertainty, and even grow its programming. Start building and improving your team by identifying your must-have roles and the professional resources you can provide to help them succeed.