Mind the Gap!: Fundraisers and their nonprofit organisational leaders do think differently and this difference matters

Fundraisers and their organisational leaders (CEOs and board members) diverge sometimes in how they think about fundraising. In fact, eight key differences emerged in the recent Australian study that sparked this paper. Some variances in professional outlook might be predictable between fundraisers and fundraising organisation leaders. However, the differences found in our study are in areas that potentially affect the organisation’s ability to fill its mission. This paper briefly considers why fundraising and fundraisers are important in nonprofit organisations. It visits some points from the literature about fundraisers and their nonprofit leader relationships. Recent work on the board role in fundraising is charted. The eight areas of dichotomy in thinking are reported and their implications discussed before some conclusions are drawn for theory and practice.