Beyond the Hire: Integrating a Fractional Chief Development Officer for Lasting Impact

Over the past several years, I’ve had the opportunity to serve as a Fractional Chief Development Officer for nonprofit organizations navigating significant change. These engagements represent some of my most meaningful work. There is something deeply rewarding about stepping into a moment of uncertainty, helping a team regain stability, and then positioning the organization for a stronger next chapter with permanent leadership in place.

Through these experiences, I’ve refined a process designed to create momentum quickly while building long-term capacity. The work begins with building trust, understanding what must continue as a priority, and then shifting the focus to immediate work that will drive philanthropy for the bottom line.

If you are hiring or onboarding a Fractional Chief Development Officer, this post will help you think through how to integrate the role intentionally. When done well, fractional leadership does more than maintain progress. It helps your organization move through change with clarity and confidence.

Start With the Biggest Fundraising Challenge

Optimal integration of a Fractional CDO starts with clarity about why the role exists now, not just what the title is.

Organizations bring in a Fractional CDO for different reasons. Some are shifting from event-heavy fundraising to relationship-based giving. Others are preparing for a campaign without senior development leadership in place. Some teams need structure around major gifts or stewardship. Other nonprofits have an executive director who has been carrying development alone for far too long. 

Regardless of the reason, an investment at this level is made when the organization is facing a big challenge that it needs to address quickly and efficiently. When leaders are vague about the purpose of the role, staff create their own narratives and uncertainty fills in the gaps.

Development teams often rely heavily on institutional memory and long-standing donor relationships. When change is undefined, it can feel risky or even scary. Staff may worry about whether relationships will be redirected to a temporary leader and if established practices will be abandoned.

Clarity changes that dynamic.

When we name the fundraising challenge the team is focused on addressing, we signal that this is not a reason to panic. Rather, it is a deliberate step toward strengthening the organization’s capacity. Clarity about the work gives the team confidence that change is intentional and strategic, not reactive.

Make Fundraising Authority Explicit From the Start

In development work, unclear authority slows decisions and creates tension that rarely gets voiced directly. Unlike an interim role, authority in a fractional position is not automatically understood. A Fractional CDO may not be present every day, which makes it even more important to define how decisions will be made and how staff will be included in the process.



Teams need to know:

• Who sets fundraising strategy
• Who owns donor relationships
• Who establishes development priorities
• How they fit into this new picture 

Without this knowledge, teams default to old patterns. They continue making gift strategy decisions informally, often without a long-term vision. Staff hesitate to elevate concerns, and board members bypass development leadership and go directly to the CEO. None of this happens maliciously. It happens because in the absence of information individuals make assumptions based on their own experiences. 

The team leader plays a critical role here. How he or she introduces and reinforces the Fractional CDO’s authority matters more than an org chart ever will. When the leader treats the Fractional CDO as a resource who can help elevate everyone’s performance, others will come on board.

In nonprofit fundraising, donor relationships and stewardship expectations can be sensitive. If those boundaries are not established firmly and early, friction quickly builds. Clearly defined roles reduce that friction and allow the fractional leader to focus on strengthening strategy instead of navigating unclear lines of influence.

Integration as a Collaborative Discipline

Development teams often carry invisible labor. They manage donor details, institutional memory, and relational nuance that may not be documented anywhere. When a new leader steps in, even temporarily, that history matters.

A Fractional CDO does not need to be the owner of donor relationships, but they do need to understand nuanced details. Those details can include strategy, donor history, campaign rationale, and insight into what has been tried in the past and may not have worked.

They also need permission to ask questions that surface and may challenge long-standing practices. Some of those practices will be effective. Others may have developed out of necessity rather than strategy. When teams are included early as the architects of their own solutions, integration feels collaborative rather than corrective.

Staff who have held things together during a vacancy may feel overburdened and exhausted. They may worry that their work will be judged or undone. Being clear about the purpose of the Fractional CDO helps reduce defensiveness and build trust. To ensure success, it is critical that the CDO meets each individual where he or she is and builds trust through listening and honoring every individual’s contribution. 

I often remind leaders of something simple. People do not resist change. They resist change when they feel left out of it.

Something as simple as establishing a regular rhythm for check ins and accountability can help stabilize the situation. Asking a team for their recommendations and expertise goes a long way towards building a shared vision. The role of the Fractional CDO is to be decisive and supportive while gaining the confidence of the leadership team and advocating for necessary resources.

An Exercise: Stop, Start or Modify

One exercise that can help with building trust is to ask each team member the following question: If you could stop, start, or modify one thing to improve your effectiveness, what would that be? 



Have team members share their answers with one another and then work to realize one goal for each person. Monitoring progress and establishing a sense of shared commitment goes a long way toward starting to build trust.

Expect Discomfort When Fundraising Work Becomes More Intentional

The Fractional Chief Development Officer is intended to move organizations forward, not just maintain momentum. That forward movement can create discomfort, which may surface when fundraising priorities shift and accountability becomes more visible through regular reports and progress updates. 

These moments can feel tense because fundraising work is relational and nonprofits tend to attract individuals who are mission driven and committed to the causes they serve. As a development professional, the job is to build deep trust with donors by translating the impact of their philanthropy to the mission of the organization. Any perceived threat to those relationships can feel threatening. 

Discomfort is not a sign that something is wrong. It is often a sign that the organization is engaging in deep work and taking steps to move in the right direction.

Instead of pushing through any discomfort, use it as an opportunity to reinforce progress through praise. These situations provide an opportunity to acknowledge that change is difficult, and that it feels very different than maintaining the status quo. One of the most important habits to instill in the team is to celebrate wins early and often to mark the progress toward shared goals.

Use Natural Checkpoints to Support Ongoing Integration

Integration of a Fractional CDO is not a one-time onboarding exercise. Nonprofits already have natural moments that can be used to assess alignment. Board meetings, campaign milestones, and quarterly fundraising reviews provide opportunities to step back and evaluate how the Fractional Chief Development Officer role is functioning.



These conversations should not focus soley on fundraising totals. They should also ask:

• Is decision-making clearer?
• Are donor strategies more disciplined?
• Is the team more confident in its direction?

Regular reflection allows the role to evolve. As clarity improves and momentum builds, the way the fractional leader shows up may shift. Early phases may focus more heavily on assessment and stabilization. Later phases may emphasize coaching, systems refinement, or board engagement.

When leadership treats integration as ongoing, rather than completed after the first month, the organization is better positioned to absorb change while maintaining continuity.

Fractional Leadership Builds Fundraising Capacity When the Organization Participates

Fractional leadership is not a shortcut, but rather a capacity-building investment for increased sustainability. A Fractional Chief Development Officer brings senior-level experience into the organization for a defined purpose and set period of time. The real impact, however, lies in the transformation that occurs in the strategy, purpose and performance of the individual contributors. 



When clarity is strong, authority is explicit, and teams are included early, integration strengthens fundraising results and team confidence. It also builds systems and practices that endure beyond the engagement itself to make for a more sustainable organization.

At its best, fractional leadership leaves an organization more capable than it was before. Ultimately, integration is about protecting the mission, not your comfort zone.

When a Fractional Chief Development Officer is integrated thoughtfully, the organization stands to benefit from improved structure, discipline, and confidence that allow it to continue its important work with greater sustainability. When the focus of the team aligns with leadership objectives, the nonprofit sees the maximum return on investment.