In the nonprofit sector, there’s a familiar cycle: A key staff member leaves. The board or leadership team rushes to post the job. A few months later, the “new hire” leaves — or worse, they stay but never deliver the results you hoped for.
And the cycle starts all over again.
The truth is, we’ve been solving the wrong problem. We’ve been focused on filling seats instead of achieving outcomes.
The Problem With “Fill the Position” Thinking
When you start with “we need a Development Director” or “we need a Marketing Manager,” you’re already limiting your options. You’re locked into a fixed job description, a single hire, and — in today’s market — a tiny pool of candidates.
And here’s the reality nobody wants to admit:
- Most candidates for $100K+ nonprofit roles have already had the job before — and failed at it.
- You won’t find many “first-time” Development Directors or senior managers at $75K/year. The skill set is undervalued, and the salary doesn’t match the scope.
- Job descriptions regularly ask for 3–5 distinct professional competencies in one person. In any other sector, those would be separate roles.
The result? Unrealistic expectations, underperformance, burnout, and high turnover.
The Cost of Bad Hires
Every time you make a hire that doesn’t work out, you lose:
- Time — Momentum stalls. Donor relationships cool off. Campaigns are delayed.
- Money — Recruiting, onboarding, and retraining drain budgets.
- Trust — Stakeholders notice instability. Staff morale drops.
Turnover isn’t just a problem for Development Directors. It’s also a problem for marketing, operations, program management — any role where expectations are high and resources are tight.
From Position to Problem-Solving
What if, instead of asking, “Who do we hire?” you asked, “What outcomes do we need in the next 12 months?”
When you focus on outcomes, you open the door to flexible, creative solutions:
- Fractional leadership and outsourced teams.
- Short-term capacity boosts to get through critical campaigns.
- Specialist partners who bring the exact skills you need — only when you need them.
This approach delivers results without a traditional hire’s long-term risk and overhead.
A Case Study: The PNWF Model
At Pacific Northwest Fundraising, we work with nonprofits as a fractional department. We deliver the full scope of a high-level role at the low end of the salary range, with no benefits, immediate onboarding, and a proven ROI of 3:1 to 15:1.
Instead of one person trying to do it all, our clients get:
- A team with complementary skills.
- Built-in systems and tools (CRM, prospect research, marketing platforms).
- Continuity — no sick days, vacation gaps, or risk of sudden departure.
When the time comes to build in-house capacity, we even write the grant to fund it.
The Call to Action
If your organization is stuck in the hiring–turnover–hiring loop, it’s time to change the question.
Stop thinking in terms of filling positions. Start thinking in terms of solving problems.
Your mission depends on it.