Right now every nonprofit should be either in a fundraising campaign, recovering from one, or planning its next. The development department is the equivalent to the "sales department" of for-profit firms and never rests.

For under-staffed or under-funded nonprofits, outsourcing certain fundraising tasks makes perfect sense. If you conduct one or two major mail campaigns annually, then the demands on your staff skyrocket for short periods and then normalize. A cost-effective solution is to bring outside help in to develop solicitation letters, remittance materials, and inserts.