I have been working with a coaching client recently who has spent more than 20 years of her career serving others through various roles in the association management profession.  Now, for the first time in a long time, she wants to focus on her own needs and desires more, and make plans to relocate to an idyllic new home "near mountains and water" where she can create some "me time", as she puts it, while still pursuing her career.  Perhaps you are a little bit like this, too? 

I have found that people such as her, who have what I call a true "servant\'s heart", struggle with time management; they often have a hard time saying "No"; they take on too many responsibilities by choosing their own projects yet also accepting responsibility for others\' interests, too.  Even the assessments I use - DISC, Attribute Index, Values Index... - vividly confirm her extreme other-directedness. All of this describes this wonderful, giving person with whom I am working.

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Here’s a common question: If we hire a director of development (a fundraiser), how long before that position pays for itself?

Certainly, funding is a legitimate concern, but other pertinent matters must be considered when hiring a director of development. Ask yourself the following questions to determine whether your organization is truly prepared for this move.

The full article,

, offers some great advice about organizational readiness for having a Director of Development on staff.

A new study tackles the on-going conversation about whether nonprofits can save money and improve services by combining or outsourcing backoffice operations.

Small to mid-sized nonprofits have always struggled to meet their needs for the administrative and professional services that support their core program work. Often referred to as "back–office" needs, these services have typically included:
• Finance and administration
• Human resources
• Information technology

Experts interviewed for this study confirmed the Meyer grantee survey findings that:

• HR issues almost always poll highest in polls of most needed back–office services.
• Finance and IT are the most in–demand services for outsourcing by small nonprofits.
• Development and fundraising assistance by outside firms is in great (and increasing) demand.

 http://www.meyerfoundation.org/downloads/Outsourcing-FullReport.pdf

Many of the organizations we know perform background screening for their staff and volunteers, especially those working with vulnerable populations. Here are a few resources shared by Ann Shanklin in Blue Avocado. She suggests doing a comprehensive screening that includes federal criminal, state/local criminal, and national sex offender screening.

FBI criminal record screening:
The Interstate Identification Index (III) is the national system that provides automated criminal record information, and is based on fingerprints. It will probably cost about $50 and typically the nonprofit pays the expense. If you have many volunteers (who, for example, work with young people) and you\'ll have many fingerprint checks done each year, you may wish to make an agreement with a specific fingerprint service (for example, many UPS stores do fingerprint checks). In some cases local police stations will do them at no charge. Ask a law enforcement agency or a nearby nonprofit for referrals.

Using a commercial background screening service:
A comprehensive screening will use a state database search, their own internal records, and a search of counties that have not reported (or not reported recently) to their respective states. A comprehensive search like this may reveal charges and dispositions not reported to the state or national repositories. Many insurance carriers have negotiated discounted rates on criminal history background checks for their insureds. Check with your broker or carrier to see what is available to your organization.

http://www.grassrootsfundraising.org/fmd/files/25_1_WhyGoodFRsNeverPaidCmsn.pdf

I find this a good introductory article to share with board members or others who are considering paying fundraisers on commission.