Tracy seemed perfect for the development director role. She had great experience. Solid references. She genuinely cared about the mission and had concrete ideas for growing donations.
Eighteen months later, she turned in her resignation.
I’m willing to bet this sounds familiar. Development directors last an average of only 16-18 months before moving on. That’s barely enough time to settle in, let alone build the relationships that drive major gifts.
And the timing is particularly brutal. Because cultivating major donors takes 18-24 months from first contact to significant donation.
So if you’re math-ing along with me, you can see that most development directors leave right when their hard work would start paying off.
The Real Cost of Constant Turnover
Every development director departure hits organizations hard. The direct replacement costs average $127,650 per person. That includes recruiting, interviewing, training, and the inevitable learning curve.
But money isn’t the biggest loss.
Donors build relationships with people, not organizations. When development directors leave, those carefully nurtured connections often leave with them. The replacement starts over while competitors build relationships with prospects who were almost ready to give.
Some relationships never recover.
Why They Keep Leaving
Most development directors don’t hate fundraising. They leave because the job becomes impossible to do well.
The pressure feels relentless. Board meetings become interrogations about donation numbers. Leadership schedules frequent “check-ins” that feel like performance reviews. The constant scrutiny makes even experienced fundraisers second-guess themselves.
Expectations don’t match reality. Organizations want immediate results from relationship-based work that takes years to mature. New hires face pressure to produce major gifts within months, which rarely happens in sustainable fundraising.
They’re expected to do everything alone. Successful fundraising needs teamwork. But many development directors handle donor research, event planning, grant writing, stewardship, and major gift cultivation single-handedly. It’s too much for one person.
Support systems don’t exist. Without proper donor management software, clear policies, board engagement, or adequate administrative help, talented development directors struggle to be effective.
Professional growth gets overlooked. Organizations hesitate to invest in training because “staff might leave anyway.” This creates exactly what they fear – people leave when they feel stuck and unsupported.
The Pressure Cooker Reality
Most development directors work in constant crisis mode. Every board meeting includes questions about why donations aren’t higher. Every staff meeting includes fundraising updates that feel like report cards.
The stress builds until talented professionals decide their wellbeing matters more than staying.
What Actually Works
Some organizations break this cycle and keep development directors for years. They do things differently.
Set realistic timelines. New development directors get at least 18 months before major gift expectations kick in. Their first year focuses on relationship building, not closing gifts.
Build fundraising teams. Everyone plays a role. Board members make introductions. The executive director cultivates key relationships. Program staff share impact stories. Development directors coordinate rather than handle everything solo.
Invest in proper tools. Good donor management software, clear gift policies, and structured stewardship processes help development directors succeed instead of just survive.
Support professional growth. Conference attendance, training opportunities, and professional association memberships show investment in long-term success.
Measure relationship building. Instead of focusing only on dollars raised, they track donor meetings, proposals submitted, and stewardship activities. This recognizes the work that leads to eventual gifts.
Breaking the Pattern
Whether you’re a development director feeling the pressure, a program manager watching colleagues leave, or leadership wondering why fundraising staff keeps departing, the solution starts with recognizing the pattern.
High turnover isn’t inevitable. Organizations that create sustainable fundraising cultures keep good people longer and raise more money over time.
The math is simple > Keeping one development director for three years instead of hiring three different people saves over $250,000 in replacement costs alone. More importantly, it builds the donor relationships that fuel organizational growth.
Change takes time and organizational commitment. But for nonprofits tired of the expensive revolving door, it’s the only path forward.
Your next development director might already be updating their resume. The question is whether your organization will become the kind of place where talented fundraisers want to build careers instead of just survive.
Mission Forward
Mission Forward is a weekly LinkedIn Newsletter written by Paul Durban with tools, tips and tricks to help nonprofits reach their goals. Subscribe to the newsletter on LinkedIn.
