Who Holds Power in Your Development Plan?

For too long, nonprofit development plans have been built in rooms that did not reflect the communities they aim to serve.

The strategies were polished.

The events were well produced. The databases were robust.

But the power?

It was rarely shared.

We are no longer in an era where simply “adding diversity” to a donor list is enough. The sector has shifted. Demographics have shifted. Movements have shifted. What must shift now is who shapes fundraising strategy and who holds influence over how resources flow.

Philanthropy is not neutral. Development plans are not neutral. They reflect the lens, networks, assumptions, and lived experiences of the people designing them.

If women of color fundraisers are expected to generate revenue but are excluded from executive and governance decision-making, then the system remains extractive — no matter how colorful the marketing materials appear.

The question is no longer: How diverse is your donor base?

The question is: Who holds power in your fundraising strategy?

Mining your database for demographic insights is still important. Understanding race, ethnicity, culture, and communication preferences matters. Surveys, conversations, and intentional outreach are tools that help nonprofits move beyond colorblind fundraising and toward authentic relationship-building.

But data alone does not shift systems.

Leadership does.

When women of color fundraisers influence development plans — not just execute them — organizations begin to see differently. They build relationships differently. They fundraise differently. They allocate resources differently.

A development plan shaped by diverse leadership is not about optics. It is about:

• Who is invited into decision-making.

• Who has authority over financial strategy.

• Whose networks are activated.

• Whose cultural insight informs engagement.

• Who benefits from advancement and visibility.

  
  

This is the new era of fundraising.

Not transactional outreach.

Not surface-level representation.

But power-aware strategy.

At F3, we believe strengthening justice movements requires organizing inside philanthropy itself. That means retaining, elevating, and advancing women of color fundraisers into leadership and governance roles where they can shape how money moves.

Because when revenue leadership shifts, resource allocation shifts

And when resource allocation shifts, movements gain durability.

The old way of doing business is not evil — it is simply incomplete. Excellence in fundraising now requires shared power, cultural fluency, and leadership rooted in lived experience.

Fundraising has always been about building a bridge from where we are to where we could be.

The question is: Who is holding the blueprint?

Christal M. Cherry is the founder of F3 and The Board Pro, where she works to strengthen leadership, governance, and fundraising strategy across the nonprofit sector.