What’s a nonprofit to do about employee turnover? Some nonprofit employees can seem like rolling stones. They come in, work for a few years or less, and leave to other opportunities. Why are employees—particularly fundraisers—“gathering no moss”? Can organizations effectively quell the revolving door trend? The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that fifty percent of chief fundraisers plan to leave their jobs within two years. Forty percent are thinking about leaving fundraising entirely. “Too many organizations lack a culture of philanthropy, which means that development directors don’t have the conditions they need to succeed,” Marla Cornelius of CompassPoint said. “It’s a vicious cycle.” 2,700 directors were surveyed about the challenges they face in top fundraising positions for the report Underdeveloped: A National Study of Challenges Facing Nonprofit Fundraising. The research revealed about half of the development directors surveyed expect to leave their positions, one-third of executive directors reported being “satisfied” with development performance, and the median vacancy of a position was six months. Gainfully employed professionals typically give 3 reasons for why they would change employment: for better compensation/benefits, for a better work/life balance, or for greater opportunities for advancement. The reasons professionals actually change employment: for better leadership from senior…

Whether we are talking about board members or presidents, organizations with mandatory term limits for non-executive leaders face significant challenges in dealing with senior turnover that brings new personalities and different leadership perspectives to organizational management. How can nonprofits adapt to these frequent changes in governance without disrupting their momentum and continuing their mission? The Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) leadership-transition model has some very real strengths, both in terms of structure and practice, and can serve as a model for other nonprofits with complex operating structures. 1. Does your transition structure support successful outcomes? At AJLI, an unusual (at least for many other nonprofit organizations) “tag team” approach to achieving successful leadership transitions has proven useful for many years. The president-elect (PE) is elected for a one-year term, after which she automatically succeeds to a two-year term as president, and the second year of each president’s term pairs her with the rising PE. As a result, the PE is effectively incorporated into the senior leadership team in a structured transition that ensures continuity for board leadership and providing the potential – if not the certainty – of strong relationships in the leadership cadre now and in the future.…