By Kerry Pereira Watterson, CFRE
CEO, Fundraising Well

Nonprofit leaders often ask why fundraising slows during periods of internal instability. They usually focus on external explanations: donor fatigue, economic uncertainty, shifting priorities, or increased competition for philanthropic dollars. But sometimes the problem is much closer to home.

When organizations tolerate toxic leadership, persistent dysfunction, poor communication, exclusionary behavior, or deep internal mistrust, fundraising becomes exponentially harder—not simply because morale declines, but because fundraisers are expected to carry organizational credibility externally while experiencing organizational instability internally.

That tension is rarely discussed openly in our sector. Yet frontline fundraisers live inside it every day. And it’s become a leading motivator for many of our coaching clients at Fundraising Well to seek our services as they search for a solution. We see the real impact it has on their organizations, the sector, and the future of donor trust. So, let’s talk about it.

Fundraisers Carry More Than Revenue Goals

Frontline fundraisers occupy a uniquely exposed position within nonprofits. They hear concerns from program staff, frustrations from operations teams, anxieties from boards, expectations from executive leadership, and questions from donors and community members. They often become informal translators between competing realities inside the organization.

Then they are asked to walk into donor meetings and confidently articulate vision, stability, and impact. That can be difficult under the best circumstances. It can become next to impossible when staff turnover is high, leaders are dismissive or abusive, departments operate in silos, or organizational values are inconsistently applied internally.

Donors may not see the dysfunction directly, but they often feel its effects:

●     inconsistent communication,

●     unclear strategy,

●     shifting priorities,

●     diminished responsiveness,

●     weakened storytelling,

●     and instability in relationships.

Fundraisers absorb much of that pressure long before anyone else names it.

Isolation Is Not a Strategy

During periods of uncertainty, many leaders instinctively limit transparency. They delay involving fundraising staff in strategic discussions until decisions are finalized, believing they are protecting teams from confusion or unnecessary concern. In practice, the opposite often occurs.

Fundraisers are left piecing together fragments of information from hallway conversations, departing colleagues, nervous board members, and donor questions they are unprepared to answer. The result is not clarity. It is isolation. And isolation weakens trust.

Fundraisers cannot credibly represent a vision they do not fully understand. If they are expected to help donors invest in the future of the organization, they need earlier access to the conversations shaping that future—even when those conversations are imperfect, unfinished, or difficult.

This does not mean every staff member needs every detail of every internal challenge. Thoughtful leadership still requires discretion. But there is a meaningful difference between confidentiality and exclusion.

Organizations that involve fundraising leaders earlier create stronger alignment, better messaging, and greater resilience during periods of change.

Relationship Building Is Internal Work, Too

One of the greatest mistakes nonprofits make is treating relationship building as something fundraisers only do externally. Healthy fundraising cultures are built internally first.

Years ago, while leading a development team during a particularly stressful organizational period, I started something informal called Monday Mocktails & More. Each week, I invited staff members from departments outside fundraising to grab a coffee, tea, smoothie, or favorite beverage with me—no agenda, no transactional purpose, and no pressure.

What emerged was far more valuable than another internal meeting. Program staff shared insights that never appeared in formal reports. Operations colleagues explained bottlenecks affecting delivery. Team members opened up about morale, frustrations, and hopes for the organization. Over time, trust deepened across departments.

The fundraising outcomes improved as well. Our stories became more authentic. Our understanding of impact became sharper. Collaboration strengthened, silos softened, and perhaps most importantly, staff stopped seeing fundraising as a department that merely “asked for money” and started seeing it as a strategic partner invested in each department’s success.

In difficult organizational climates, relational trust becomes operational infrastructure.

Fundraisers Are Often Informal Movement Builders

The nonprofit sector tends to define leadership too narrowly—through titles, hierarchy, or supervisory authority. But many frontline fundraisers are already functioning as informal leaders.

They shape narratives. They surface concerns leadership may not hear directly. They connect departments that rarely collaborate. They maintain continuity during turnover. They carry institutional memory. And they help stakeholders imagine what the organization could become, not simply what it is today.

In many organizations, fundraisers are quietly building internal movements toward greater transparency, collaboration, and accountability long before leadership formally recognizes the need for change.

That matters. Because the future of fundraising will not be built solely on better donor strategies or more sophisticated technology. It will depend on whether organizations are willing to cultivate cultures rooted in trust, openness, and shared ownership of mission.

Perhaps that lesson extends beyond individual nonprofits.

A sector that struggles to collaborate internally will inevitably struggle to organize collectively around larger systemic challenges facing our communities. If we hope to build stronger partnerships with philanthropy, government, and civic leadership, we must first strengthen our capacity for transparency and collaboration within our own institutions. That work begins closer to home than many leaders realize.

Where Do You Stand?

●     Are your fundraising staff included early enough in conversations about organizational direction and change?

●     What informal leadership responsibilities are your fundraisers already carrying?

●     Where might internal mistrust be quietly undermining external credibility?

●     How intentionally are you investing in cross-functional relationships inside your organization?

●     What would change if fundraising were treated not only as a revenue function, but as a strategic leadership function?

The organizations best positioned for long-term fundraising success will not necessarily be the ones with the largest development teams or the most polished campaigns. They will be the organizations where trust travels internally as effectively as vision travels externally.

Kerry P. Watterson, CFRE, is Founder & CEO of Fundraising Well, a certified LGBT Business Enterprise that helps nonprofits and social impact leaders strengthen fundraising, governance, and long-term sustainability. Over a 25-year career spanning philanthropy, public policy, advocacy, education, and the arts, he has raised and leveraged more than half a billion dollars for social impact causes, political campaigns, entrepreneurial ventures, and Broadway productions.

A nationally recognized fundraising strategist and governance advisor, Kerry works with organizations to build cultures of trust, collaboration, and resilience alongside stronger philanthropic results. He has taught at the University of California-Irvine, Hunter College CUNY, and the University of Arizona, and lectures around the world on philanthropy, ethics, and the future of the nonprofit sector. Kerry serves on the AFP NYC Board of Directors and is a BoardSource® Certified Governance Consultant.