Keep your gift planning program moving forward.
When leadership changes, your gift planning program shouldn’t lose momentum. Our experienced interim leadership keeps donor engagement, staff collaboration, and program priorities moving forward until the right permanent director is in place.
Trusted Perspectives
“The values-based legacy planning model is the way to go—Heaton Smith is part of the Norton Healthcare family.”
Experienced leadership. Uninterrupted progress.
Maintain Program Momentum
Gift planning activity continues without interruption, preserving donor engagement, active opportunities, and program priorities throughout the leadership transition.
Strengthen Your Team
Build staff confidence through coaching, collaboration, and real-time mentorship that strengthens gift planning knowledge across your development team.
Leave the Program Stronger
Beyond maintaining continuity, we prepare your next director to inherit a more integrated and sustainable gift planning program than the one we joined.
Give your next leader a stronger foundation to build upon.
How interim leadership keeps your program moving forward
Maintain Program Momentum: Gift planning activities continue uninterrupted, ensuring donor engagement, prospect qualification, estate administration, and blended gift facilitation remain active throughout the leadership transition.
Preserve Donor Confidence: Maintain continuity with donors and engagement with professional advisors, reinforcing trusted relationships while providing steady leadership during times of change.
Strengthen Internal Teams: Coach gift officers, deepen gift planning knowledge across the development team, and build greater confidence in identifying and facilitating non-cash and complex giving opportunities.
Position the Program for Long-Term Success: Leave behind a stronger program through improved prospect management, cross-functional collaboration, better-integrated workflows, and a thoughtful transition that positions incoming leadership for immediate success.
Questions about hiring an Interim Gift Planning Director
Organizations typically engage an interim director when a gift planning leadership position becomes vacant, and they want to maintain momentum while conducting a search for the right permanent hire. Rather than pausing donor engagement, gift planning marketing, or estate administration, interim leadership ensures the program continues to move forward without interruption.
Most interim engagements last between six and twelve months, depending on the organization’s hiring timeline. Throughout the engagement, Heaton Smith provides experienced leadership that maintains continuity, supports the development team, and positions the incoming director for long-term success.
Yes. Interim leadership integrates into your existing development program, partnering with chief development officers, annual, major, and principal gift officers to facilitate gift planning opportunities.
Depending on your organization’s needs, the interim director may also participate in joint donor meetings with annual, major, and principal gift staff, oversee active gift planning initiatives, and collaborate with internal and external marketing partners.
The goal is not simply to maintain the program, but to strengthen it. Organizations finish the engagement with continued donor momentum, a more knowledgeable development team, stronger prospect management, and a gift planning program that is well positioned for a seamless leadership transition.