Baseball scouts look for what they call the “five-tool player” — the one who can do it all.
It would be nice to have nonprofit employees and volunteers who can do it all, but expecting one individual to do everything in the nonprofit universe, and do it at a Hall of Fame level, is asking a lot.
Instead, during the AFP 50th International Conference on Fundraising, Chris Looney, Jim Looney and Claudia Looney of CCS Fundraising introduced the concept of the Five Tool Fundraiser, not one person but a team that coheres to provide the tools necessary for successful fundraising.
The five tools are:
- Effective Solicitor. This person is mission driven and passionate, with strong institutional knowledge and fundraising DNA.
- Effective Manager of CEO and Executive Team. This is a teacher and mentor, a senior member of the leadership team who develops tools and resources.
- Effective Staff Manager. This person hires the best, minimizes turnover and is driven to help staff succeed.
- Effective Strategist. This individual is always looking ahead, takes the initiative, is a big-tenter and navigates around politics, keeping drama to a minimum.
- Effective Board/Volunteer Manager. This one gets the best from people who are committed to the mission.
