It's interesting that Dobson is stepping down from his position at FoF, being mindful of the succession problem that befalls so many religious organizations led by charismatic people.  But if that's all he does, then it's not going to make the slightest jot of difference.

The great unwashed who listen to his show and read his newsletters aren't going to notice the difference one iota if, as he says, he's going to continue to be the front man of the organization.  I suspect that if he was confident that FoF would be in good hands (from a fund raising perspective) without him, he would be taking a further step back now.  But that's obviously not the case, and the risks of leaving now are only magnified by the recession, which could seriously cripple the organization without his fund raising abilities.

So, FoF and Dobson still have a huge problem.  While he's been better than most in allowing others to host the FoF show and represent the organization, there is no doubt that his (and his wife to a lesser extent) are still by far the biggest fundraising draws the organization has, and they would be in deep trouble without him.

In fact, I would anticipate that when the day comes when J.D. is no longer able to be the front man for FoF, that his wife will be the most likely person to take over from him rather than anyone else.

FoF will survive, whatever happens, but I really don't see how this latest move, or any other they are likely to be planning, will prevent a serious contraction in donations and, hence, operations, A.D.  (after Dobson).

by tacitus on Sat Feb 28, 2009 at 04:51:31 PM EST