Reference no: EM132294853

Alexis serves as a Gift Development Officer for a large, well-known nonprofit agency that is locally administered, but has ties to a larger statewide and national parent group. Alexis’s supervisor is the Executive Director, who in turn reports to a Board of Directors, all of whom are community leaders and volunteers. There are a total of six full-time and four part-time employees in the agency. The agency has a track record of success in supporting and dispensing grants to multiple community partners and agencies that depend in large part upon these grants to fund their operating budgets. Alexis is a dedicated, gifted, committed and talented fundraiser who works closely with hundreds of donors in the community and agency partners. Over the past year, many well-placed and long-time donors and community partners have expressed concerns about the communication style, approach, and strategy of the Executive Director. Some have even reduced their annual gifts or chosen not to give altogether. The Executive Director’s preferred method of communication is electronic (email), text, or via social media. While she has greatly increased the marketing profile in the virtual world for the agency, most large donors are of a generation that is less comfortable with this type of communication. The previous Executive Director (who left three years ago) was more of a face-to-face or over-thephone communicator, who stressed relationship building over marketing.

Internally, within the agency, the Executive Director also prefers email, text or instant message communication with staff. She rarely has formal staff meetings, phone conversations, or even informal face-to-face chats in the office. While she certainly works many hours, she prefers a non-standard work schedule, while most agency employees work 8-5. She is frequently out-of-the office for large much of the day, week, or even month. Alexis trusts, likes, and supports the Executive Director, but her communication strategy needs to be addressed, otherwise the current fundraising campaign may fall well short of its goal. Alexis is not even sure if the Executive Director understands or is aware of the discontent with her communication style. The Board of Directors has broached it informally, but not in a formal sense.

1. Is Alexis in a position to address the communication shortcomings of her supervisor? If not, who should initiate that discussion?

2. In a larger sense, how can the Executive Director align her preferred communication style with the preferences of the majority of her donors, stakeholders, employees, and community partners?

3. How can nonprofit agencies strike a balance between traditional and nontraditional marketing and information dissemination strategies?