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A common practice at my last institution was bonuses dependent on the financial performance of the institute as a whole - but the bonuses were relatively universal across all of the staff (in other words the Development Director got a bonus when everyone did...item 22 on Compensation and Contracts.  It is true that the Development Director contributed to the bonus by bringing in money, but the other staff also contributed  by either reigning in costs, bringing in visitors, or doing better sales at the front door.  If you're just looking at bonuses for the Development Director then you probably aren't in alignment.  

-William

On May 22, 2013, at 1:35 PM, marilyn hoyt wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
> *****************************************************************************
> 
> Re:  To bonus in development (or not....)
> 
> Fortunately, this is a set of questions addressed in the code of conduct
> for the Association of Fund Raising Professionals:
> COMPENSATION AND CONTRACTS
> 21. Members shall not accept compensation or enter into a contract that is
> based on a percentage of contributions; nor shall members accept finder’s
> fees or contingent fees. Business members must refrain from receiving
> compensation from third parties derived from products or services for a
> client without disclosing that third-party compensation to the client
> (for example, volume rebates from vendors to business members).
> 22. Members may accept performance-based compensation, such as bonuses,
> provided such bonuses are in accord with prevailing practices within the
> members’ own organizations and are not based on a percentage of
> contributions.
> 23. Members shall neither offer nor accept payments or special
> considerations
> for the purpose of influencing the selection of products or services.
> 24. Members shall not pay finder’s fees, commissions or percentage
> compensation based on contributions, and shall take care to discourage
> their organizations from making such payments.
> 25. Any member receiving funds on behalf of a donor or client must meet the
> legal requirements for the disbursement of those funds. Any interest or
> income earned on the funds should be fully disclosed.
> -----
> So, bonusing is not considered unethical, but it is bounded by "common
> practice" among culturals in your area.  Where is your board coming from?
> --Fundraising is not another word for sales.  It is relationship building.
> Donors of all kinds -- government, individuals, foundations, corporations
> -- are being asked to support the mission of our organization.  So, are
> they being asked to support the mission...or are they being asked to
> support a staff bonus?  Is there a self-interest at work here?  If there is
> even a hint of self-interest, donor/gant relationships are disrupted.  And
> even if this worst case scenario does not play out, other negative
> consequences can result. Here's an example from one of my colleagues who
> works in major gifts for a large national charity.  "It's coming up to June
> 30th and I needed another $100,000 for the top bonus. So I asked four
> $25,000's and got them.  I hate this system.  Each one of them was worth
> six figures if I could have more time to cultivate them."
> --Are you really seeing bonusing in your area culturals? Working
> nationally, I often see bonusing hourly frontline staff selling
> memberships.  I see it in outsourced phone sales, even gala producers.  I
> have seen development staff hired because of their experience with the
> foundations, corporations, and government agencies that fund culturals...as
> well as many of the "frequent flier" major donors.  These desirable
> development candidates could see bonusing as an oddity, or even a red flag.
> There are so many idiot nonprofits who think they should hire a
> development officer, put them in an office and shut the door so they can
> "raise money."   High performing professionals watch for these
> dysfunctional nonprofits where staff and board members don't understand
> that they have key roles to play in development.  And they won't take a
> position with them.  It's too much work to turn them around.  It's bad for
> development resumes. And it makes for miserable years in one's career.
> Development is a highly competitive field.  There aren't enough
> experienced professionals to fill all the positions.  So good people don't
> need to take bad jobs.  I think bonusing can make your job look like a
> "bad" job if it is not typical of the compensation practices of the most
> respected culturals in your area.
> ----------
> Now, let's think for a minute about your board.  They are coming from a
> world where bonuses are common (and, where a recent study reported in the
> Harvard Business Review reports just 28% of employees with a passion for
> the Fortune 500 company for which they work)  We work in a high
> passion/high commitment field. Does your board really think you are going
> to hire an unmotivated person?  If they want to gauge performance, the
> standard practice is to hire a fund raising consulting firm whose practice
> includes diagnostics and ask them to run an audit comparing your shop to
> similarly-sized cultural development shops.
> Beyond adequate development staffing, do you have key resources in place to
> take development to the next level:
> 1)  foundations, corporation, government grants:  well networked, well
> credentialed staff and strong programs
> 2)  corporate sponsorship:  strong brand + strong programs
> 3)  government discretionary:  politically active/connected trustees
> 4) events:  socially and/or corporate-connected board
> 5)major gifts:  socially, corporate-connected board
> An experienced development officer can help the board with recruitment and
> leadership development.  They can train staff and build a high-volume
> yera-round development calendar.  This is an ongoing process, and funds
> raised will notch up as staff capacity and board development notch up.
> 
> *See you at Fund Raising Day in New York, June 7, 2013!*
> 
> Marilyn Hoyt
> 110 Sixth Avenue
> Pelham, NY 10803
> 914-815-0671*
> 
> 
> *
> 
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William Katzman
Program Leader
LIGO Science Education Center
"Inspiring Science"
[log in to unmask]
(225) 686-3134

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