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Chief Fundraiser Weekly

What To Do When Your CEO Exits (Free GPT inside)

Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read

The CEO Transition Survival Guide: Leading When Your Leader Leaves

Issue #017

This week's strategic brief (3-minute read)

Hi Reader,

Your board chair just dropped a bombshell: the CEO is leaving.

Things are going to get crazy. Emergency meetings are being set up. Staff are asking questions you can't answer.

You're in a tough spot. You need to keep your operation on track. Meanwhile, leadership above you is uncertain, and oversight below you is intensifying.

I've been there twice. One transition dragged on for months. Another moved swiftly to an internal successor. Both taught me the same thing: CEO changes don't have to hurt fundraising. If you become the steady, strategic leader your board and team need, you can keep things on track.

Keep reading to access a GPT that acts as your personal transition coach.

CEO Exit Advisor is just for subscribers.

The Leadership Vacuum

When a CEO departs, three things happen at once:

  • Boards clamp down on oversight.
  • Teams look to you for stability.
  • Donors start asking questions.

The instinct? Wait for clarity. But your fundraising operation can't afford to pause.

In every transition, the chief fundraiser becomes the bridge between anxious boards and uncertain teams.

The Transition Leadership Framework

Here's the system that kept our operation stable through both transitions:

Step 1: Take Charge Right Away (First 72 hours)

Don’t wait for an invitation. Position yourself as the continuity anchor.

  • Request a seat in transition planning with the board. Present a “Revenue Continuity Plan” within 72 hours.
  • Acknowledge the uncertainty with your team and maintain steady operations.
  • I prepared a memo that showed which donors needed board chair attention and why. It established me as strategic, not tactical.

Step 2: Control the Donor Communication Strategy (Week 1)

Major donors will hear about the departure from you or someone else. You control the narrative.

  • The board chair communicates with board-connected donors and those in the CEO's portfolio.
  • You and your gift officers communicate with their portfolios, active prospects, and corporate partners. Timing is key. Top donors need to hear from you within 48 hours.

Step 3: Prioritize What's Important (Week 2)

  • Keep moving on donor cultivation, pipeline management, team development, and existing partnerships.
  • Hit the brakes on major requests for new initiatives or budget shifts.

I shared this with the board chair to show I was protecting revenue and following governance.

Step 4: Build the Interim CEO Partnership (Weeks 3–4)

Meet immediately and share:

  • Fundraising cycle status, top 10 donors needing CEO contact, role division, and communication protocols.
  • My team and I created one-page briefs for each donor. These included their history, status, and next steps. This way, an interim CEO could enter any meeting prepared.

Ongoing: Manage Anxiety and Uncertainty

Expect anxiety and tighter oversight from the board. Your response:

  • Proactive reporting before they ask
  • Transparent pipeline metrics
  • Say yes to reasonable requests while reclaiming autonomy.

Meanwhile, your team takes its cues from you. Model the calm you want them to feel.

  • Brief daily huddles
  • Protected normal fundraising activities
  • Honest acknowledgment of uncertainty

The Systems That Lasted

The real win wasn't surviving those moments. We built systems that made us stronger for the future.

  • CEO Transition Playbook – communication protocols, donor handoff templates, board reporting frameworks, team rituals
  • Relationship Continuity Documentation – donor histories, stewardship plans, segmentation of “CEO-critical” vs. “fundraiser managed” relationships
  • Leadership Positioning Protocol – templates for board updates, team stability checklists.

Now, if another transition comes, we won't scramble. We'll lead.

Scale Check

If your board chair announced your CEO's departure tomorrow:

  1. Could you brief the board on revenue impact within 48 hours?
  2. Do you have one-page documentation for your top 20 donors?
  3. Could your team operate independently for 30 days?

If not, you've found your next system-building priority.

Coming Next Week

Next Sunday: “The Board Partnership That Scales: From Oversight to Alliance.”

Your board should be a revenue multiplier, not a compliance burden. I'll share how to shift them into strategic partners, especially critical when you're growing beyond $10M+.

Question for You

What's your biggest challenge with the board's engagement in fundraising? Is it getting them to make introductions to prospects? Maybe it's making a gift reflective of their leadership role? Micromanagement? Reply and let me know. I'd like to help.

Your Turn

Don't wait for a CEO transition to get ready. This week, document your top 10 donor relationships—history, status, next steps, and who owns the relationship.

I've tried my hand at creating a GPT in OpenAI to create a personal coach for chief fundraisers navigating CEO transitions. This is my first GPT, and your feedback will help me improve it. Send back a message with your experience using it.

Access it here:

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Until next week,

Christine

P.S. The chief fundraisers who thrive in CEO transitions don't wait for permission to lead. They prepare quietly, act with careful planning, and claim their role when the moment comes.

I'm Christine Bork, Chief Development Officer at the American Academy of Pediatrics. Chief Fundraiser Weekly helps leaders escape daily chaos and zero in on growth.

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Chief Fundraiser Weekly

by Christine Bork

Most senior fundraisers spend 70% of their week in tactical work instead of leading growth. I’m a practicing Chief Development Officer scaling a $27M shop, and I share the systems that actually work. Every Sunday, you’ll get a 5-minute executive brief with one system, real proof, and one action you can use right away.

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