Consultants, Development Staff, or Both?
Building the Right Development Team for Your Organization
By Rachel Stanley, Senior Fundraising Consultant
Many small and mid-sized nonprofits operate for years without dedicated fundraising staff—relying on program leaders, executive directors, or passionate board members to “fit in” fundraising wherever they can. It works until it doesn’t.
As organizations grow, the need for more dedicated attention to fundraising becomes clear. Grant opportunities are missed. Donor communication becomes inconsistent. Internal systems strain under the weight of increasing demand.
When is it time to hire a dedicated, full-time development staff member?
What should a fundraising staff member versus a fundraising consultant handle?
This is where one of our clients found themselves. They opted for both.
DHIC, an affordable housing organization based in Raleigh, North Carolina, operated for decades with fundraising responsibilities shared among various staff members. They were established in the 1970s by community and business leaders who were concerned about the accessibility and affordability of housing in their region. To this end, they develop and rehabilitate affordable housing for rent and for sale while providing homebuyer education and resident services. They are experienced in pulling together resources–such as government grants and loans, tax credits, bank investments, and philanthropic contributions–to fund their work. For decades, DHIC balanced the responsibilities for raising revenue among various team members, including the Executive Director, Vice President of Impact, and Vice President of Real Estate Development.
As their opportunities, needs, and insight into the evolving funding landscape changed, they realized that they needed a new structure for their development activities. That’s when they reached out to Purpose Possible.
In 2023, after the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and ahead of their 50th anniversary in 2024, DHIC contacted Purpose Possible to help create a fundraising plan—a roadmap of how to reach and exceed their revenue goals. We worked with the DHIC team to identify diverse revenue streams, increase philanthropic funding, and implement more intentional donor stewardship activities.
After creating the plan, we implemented. DHIC currently works with a Purpose Possible grants consultant to handle the day-to-day work of finding grant opportunities, vetting them, completing the applications, and maintaining reports. As the grants portfolio grew, DHIC grew confident in taking the next step in their fundraising journey by hiring a full-time development staff member.
The DHIC leadership reviewed the development goals, needs, and assets from the initial fundraising play. They have strong earned revenue streams due to their program structure, and the grants portfolio had grown and diversified. That left individual and corporate giving.
They decided to hire a full-time Fund Development Associate to focus on donor engagement, event sponsorships, data management, and fundraising operations. The focus on donor relations was a strong factor in their decision to assign that role to an in-house staff member. Consultants are well-suited for behind-the-scenes tasks, but building donor relationships is best suited for dedicated staff members.
Consultants can take on tasks such as developing a fundraising plan, building a grants pipeline, and ensuring grant deadlines are met. Consultants can step into the organization quickly and apply key skills with a shorter onboarding curve than a new hire.
While new staff hires may require a longer onboarding to fully learn and represent the organization, in-house staff are uniquely suited for face-to-face engagements, long-term relationship building, and embodying the heart of the mission in the community. Having a dedicated team member on the ground ensures that personal connections with donors and sponsors remain authentic, consistent, and thoughtfully nurtured.
These roles, consultants and staff members, complement each other in powerful ways. The consultants focus on high-impact, specialized work such as strategy, messaging, and complex proposals. The staff member ensures execution doesn’t stall between projects and that intentional connections are built with funders over time.
Instead of overloading one person, DHIC built a balanced development team that suits their budget and needs.
Building development capacity doesn’t have to be an either/or decision. Consultants and staff can, and often should, work in tandem.
If your organization is growing and struggling to keep up with fundraising demands, it may be time to consider more than a single hire. A hybrid model can provide the structure, expertise, and flexibility needed—not just to raise more funds but to build a sustainable system.
