Grow your Organization’s Culture of Philanthropy

When we tell our board members that “we need your help in fundraising” I guarantee you that 95% of them immediately think we are asking them to ‘ask’ others.  In other words, we want them to say to their friends and colleagues those fateful 12 words, “I’d like you to consider a gift of $10,000 to my organization.”   Hence – the fear of fundraising.  Instead of talking about the ‘ask’, talk about the fundraising cycle and all the various entry points for volunteer leaders.   Talk about their role in ‘growing philanthropy’.  Work with your board members one on one and talk to them about where they see themselves contributing.  Board members are not one-size-fits-all and each individual will bring different skill sets and networks to the table.  And each of these should be encouraged, acknowledged and appreciated.   Believe me, I have met board members I would never want to put in front of a donor and I bet you have too!

Emphasize the following points:

• There is a role for everyone in fundraising.  You can be an ‘asker’, but you can also be an ambassador and an advocate.  And within these categories there are many other roles to play.
• The ‘ask’ is about 1% of a continuous fundraising cycle.  That’s it!  Not everyone has to do it!
• It is vitally important that you, as a volunteer leader, contribute where you are most comfortable.  This is going to lead to greater success.

When I ask board members if they want to fundraise most of them usually don’t.  But when I ask them if they can open doors, make introductions, go on an advice visit with a staff member, thank donors, bring people to events, host events or tours and anyone of the myriad pieces of the cultivation and stewardship process, they say ‘sure, I can do that’.

And watch, the fear literally falls away.

Check out the Top Ten Indicators of a Philanthropic Culture.

More to come in future instalments of ….the fundraising beat…

Tip #11 – Make your board ‘feel’ why people give, generally and specifically to your organization.

If you aren’t already, try the following:

• Regularly celebrate gifts to your organization at board and committee meetings and actively create other opportunities to share how and why a donor came to your organization and why you appealed to his/her philanthropic inclination, how the cultivation process unfolded, and why he/she ultimately decided to make the gift.  Don’t just advise that a gift was made by Mr and Mrs. Smith.  Bring your board into the passion of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
• Give your board members the opportunity to interact with donors at individual meetings, on tours and at events.  This is just part of good stewardship but also gives your board members deeper insight into giving motivations.  And insight = understanding.

Gail Perry has a terrific exercise that effectively allows board members to get their own feelings out about fundraising but also opens their eyes to why they, and other people, give.

First, ask your board members to pair up and talk about how they feel about soliciting and asking for money.  A good question is “How do you personally feel about raising and soliciting funds?”  Give them a couple of minutes to discuss with each other – you will see lots of animated discussion – and then share with the group.  The words are often ‘rejection’, ‘embarrassed’, ‘charity’, ‘begging’, ‘hitting-up’, ‘nervous’, ‘unpleasant’,  ‘ guilty’ – you get the picture.

Next, ask them to pair up again and discuss a different question.  ‘Think of a time you recently made a gift to an organization you really care about or that has touched you personally.  How did you feel when you wrote that cheque?  Why did you write that cheque and what do you hope to achieve by it?”  Again, give them a couple of minutes for discussion and to process with the group.  This time you are very likely to hear all the reasons we, as fundraisers, know of why people give: to give back; to improve or save lives; to help people in need; to give people a hand up; because they felt a personal responsibility to others; and many others.  This is the perfect time to compare the two sets of answers and relate their giving to the same reasons that other people give.  It is a very powerful exercise.

Kay Sprinkel-Grace has a great quote that works particularly well with this exercise:

“Nonprofit organizations exist to fulfill community needs.  People do not give because an organization has needs.  They give because your organization meets needs.”

Board members really get this quote.  It can be like a light going on and puts the focus where it should be – on the people you are serving and what opportunities are available for the donor to connect with them.

Click here for the Top Ten Indicators of a Philanthropic Culture.

More to come in future instalments of ….the fundraising beat…

Aaah!  My favourite rant and tip #10 in my Top 12 Tips to Engage your Board - Build a philanthropic culture that overlays your internal fundraising culture.  And how do we do this?

Let’s start with talking about ‘philanthropy’ more and ‘fundraising’ less.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and yes, fellow fundraisers, this is our conversation to change!  It’s about using the right terminology at the right time, i.e. how we frame the message.  I believe that if there is one cardinal sin we make as fundraisers it is in talking too much about ‘fundraising’ to our boards and not enough about ‘philanthropy’.  Yes, fundraising is our business, our profession, our tools and techniques and we want to build a strong and viable internal fundraising structure.  But ‘philanthropy’, now that is an amazing thing.  It is about mission support and it is a wonderful, warm, caring, generous, feel-good concept that has an external focus.   We must build a strong philanthropic culture that our boards can enthusiastically support.  They don’t want to talk to their networks about fundraising – but they will talk to them about contributing, giving back, paying it forward, bettering the community and the world.

As Gail Perry so eloquently says – fundraising is the ‘F-word’ and by always talking to our board members about fundraising, we not only play into that fear but we feed it.  We focus our board members on their fear, their discomfort, their great unknown, instead of focusing them on what they can achieve, what donors want to achieve and how they can contribute to the great process of doing good.  Really, fundraising is simply the gateway or engine of philanthropy so let’s focus on the good stuff where it really counts.

While you are building this philanthropic culture remember to focus on the day-to-day jargon that undermines engagement.  Find new words for ‘target’, ‘hit-up’ and ‘moves management’.  Again, they are internally focused and that is exactly where they should be kept – in the office and not communicated to board members like you are planning to cold call every single name that escapes their lips!

Read the Top Ten Indicators of a Philanthropic Culture.

More to come in future installments of ….the fundraising beat…

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As fundraisers we often get frustrated that our boards (and our organizations!) don’t understand what it is we actually do.  My last 4 tips out of the Top 12 Tips on engaging your board directly relate to clearing the fog -  the often hilarious and sometimes sad myths about ‘fundraising’ and, in particular its relationship to philanthropy and our donors.  And here’s the thing: we often are the worst perpetrators of these myths! But the flip side of that is that we have tons of opportunity to change the conversation, the context and the understanding. So let’s start with Tip #9:

Present fundraising strategically and don’t box yourself into being measured simply on the basis of raising $xxx’s.

And how do we do that?  By making sure your board ‘gets’ the importance of fundraising – right from the beginning.

If you want your board members to think strategically about fundraising then you must present it from a strategic perspective, starting with the board orientation and including regular reinforcement aligned with planning cycles.  Constantly remind them that the development plan and goals are driven by the strategic plan and the strategic plan’s success is dependant (to whatever degree) on the success of the fundraising plan.

Board members have probably been provided with our goals, success factors, trends, reports, tools and techniques but they may have missed the real context, the essential fabric of why fundraising is important.  They haven’t pulled it all together.   Without this context you will likely not get the action you want so make sure your board knows:

• why private support is required and how important it is to your budget, i.e., how it allows you to fund new programs but also the impact on programs if you don’t meet your goals;
• how it determines programming and mission-fulfillment ;
• how it is used, both restricted and non-restricted gifts, and particularly the importance of the latter;
• successes, challenges and lessons learned in previous fundraising;
• how fundraising goals are set, based on past history, current and appropriate  resources and realistic growth, i.e. that goals are not set based on the budget deficit;
• that it is not just about reaching a single dollar goal in any given year but about building a sustainable program over the long-term that includes acquiring new donors, retaining current donors, filling the pipeline and numerous other measurable activities;
• who your current donors are, both generally and specifically, and how they have become donors (particularly when they can be linked back to board member engagement).

I’m convinced we can change this conversation.  Are you?

More to come in future installments of ….the fundraising beat…

Is there anyone out there who has not come up against the question of board giving?  “I gave at the office.” “I give elsewhere.” “I give my time here and my money somewhere else.” “I’m on three boards, I can’t give to them all.” “I can only make a small gift – what difference can that possibly make?”

Well, in today’s world of sophisticated donors these statements just don’t cut it anymore and it most often falls to us as fundraisers to Tip #8 (in my 12 tip series):Encourage your board members to fully discuss and adopt a board giving program that will allow them to proudly give within their personal capacities.

The reality is, that it takes time and money to provide services and fulfill missions – and both matter.  The board, as the ultimate leader, can and should reasonably be expected to lead by example.  In fact, the trend clearly indicates that donors increasingly have this expectation and are not shy at asking about it.  As well, more and more foundations are making 100% board giving a requirement of getting the grant.

As a consultant I am often brought in to facilitate this always sensitive and contentious discussion at the board table, and it is something that I believe that boards, if they are not already fully engaged in fundraising, should be encouraged to take the time to discuss.

In my first or second year of fundraising I went to a workshop on staff/board relationships around fundraising and participants were encouraged to attend with both a board member and a development professional.  There were about 60 people in the room representing about 25 or so organizations and the discussion inevitably came around to who could claim 100% board giving.  Two people – yes, only two – raised their hands. They were a board member and staff person from a national organization that worked with people at or below the poverty line.  They went on to very proudly inform the group that by virtue of their by-laws, something like 80% of their board members had to be below or recently below, the poverty line.  There was a moment of silence where you could hear the proverbial pin drop and then a very heartfelt and admiring standing ovation.

This is a powerful illustration of passion, commitment and leading by example and served to significantly shape my approach to board giving.  When I tell other boards this story it really puts the conversation into perspective and heads literally nod in understanding all around the table.

In addition to including the expectation of personal giving in the board roles document and job description here are some other suggestions to gently reframe your board’s thinking on personal giving expectations:

• Start the discussion at the Development Committee level and have them bring it to the board.  This creates a peer-to-peer discussion which automatically reduces the ‘pressure’ and focuses instead on the ‘let’s do this together’.

• Make sure that each board member is heard both at and outside the board table.  We know from working with donors that people have deep relationships with their money – so do our board members.

• Acknowledge that your board has other factors to consider in its leadership composition, e.g. diversity, geographical scope, stakeholder representation, that may make this a tough decision.

• Research other organizations in your community that have board giving policies or expectations and present them as benchmarks.  If you don’t do it first you can bet at least one of your board members will.  So be prepared.

• Tell your board members that you want them to be able to answer proudly when a prospective major gift donor asks if they have personally given.  This could be “Absolutely, it was the largest gift I have ever given to any organization.” or “Yes I did.  It was a stretch but it was worth it to me to support my organization.”

• Tell my story above – but do it at the right time when your board is moving close to a new way of thinking.

• Present options and empower your board to make not only a good choice but the right choice for them and for the organization.  Click here for the pros and cons of three possible approaches to this often thorny issue. Consider which one will resonate best with your board.

A finally, a word about adopting ‘give, get or get off’ or ‘time, talent or treasure’ policies.  While both of these recognize the importance of giving both time and money and are widely used and articulated in fundraising literature, I personally have never been that comfortable with them or found a great deal of resonance with volunteers.  ‘Give, get or get off’ always strikes me as a bit harsh and grasping and ‘time, talent or treasure’ a bit trite.  These phrases are fundraising jargon that I believe are best left to our internal discussions and not with our volunteers.  I’d rather talk to board members about passion and philanthropy.

More to come in future instalments of ….the fundraising beat…

So, once you have the board  members you want, how do you use them to the greatest advantage?  There are, of course, pros and cons of having a development committee but if managed strategically you can use your Development Committee to access the full board and make them your champions.

The Development Committee is where fundraising leadership typically comes from at the board level. Not all nonprofits choose to have a Development Committee, particularly fundraising foundations where the primary purpose is to raise philanthropic revenue.  However, for many organizations a committee provides focus, leadership and entrée to engagement of the full board in the fundraising process.  The Development Committee should be staffed by the senior development person and is primarily responsible for developing the long term development program goals, keeping the annual development plan on track, assisting with identifying, qualifying, cultivating, asking and stewarding donors, and being the go-to support group for the chief development officer.

The Development Committee also leads the board giving program and encourages other board members to be involved in fundraising.  However, there is a caution here about the use of development committees.  It is vitally important that the development committee not be considered to be solely responsible for fundraising to the extent that the board, intentionally or not, abrogates its collective responsibility.  In the world of relationships, strategic partnerships and highly-savvy and informed donors, there is both a need for and expectation that all board members will be involved in some way.  To contain the responsibility within a sub-committee of the board is, quite simply, shutting the organization off from the potentially beneficial outcomes of relationships other board members may have with prospective donors – to the detriment of the organization and ultimately to its mission.

The Development Committee also provides an opportunity to recruit non-board members to the important work of fundraising, offering a natural training ground for new board members and opening up the field to volunteers who may not be interested in the time commitment and responsibility associated with a board seat.  Even better if these volunteers are donors themselves who are willing to talk about why they gave to your particular cause.  It is hard to be more compelling than that!

The Development Committee is also a way to connect with the board if you don’t have direct access to them through your day-to-day work. Make the development committee your champion and let them lead you to direct contact with individual board members.

Did you miss Tips #5 & #6?

more to come in future instalments of….the fundraising beat…

Tip #5: Make sure that fundraising is part of board and board member responsibilities and communicated to them during the recruitment process; and

Tip #6: Be involved in the recruitment process – get the board members you need.

Think of it as the best ‘preventative’ medicine you can give to your organization!

It is absolutely essential that expectations of the board as a whole and of individual board members are clearly and consistently communicated to prospective new board members before they agree to join your board, particularly as it relates to fundraising and giving expectations.  Imagine how you would feel if you joined a board and at your first meeting discovered that not only were you expected to give at a certain level but you were also expected to raise money from your friends and neighbours.  Surprised and chagrined might not be too strong a description!  To prevent this:

• Pay attention to both the governance and engagement roles when recruiting new board members.  Yes, you want specific skill sets at the table but your organization also needs leaders who are willing to lead by example, open up their personal networks and ask for gifts from the philanthropic community.
• Be involved in the recruiting process.  Whether you are the leader of a charitable foundation or the development director of a smaller nonprofit, make sure your voice is heard when board recruitment takes place.  Include your requirements in your long-term and annual development plans and link your fundraising success back to board engagement at every possible opportunity.
• Make sure there is a reference to fundraising engagement and board giving expectations in the board role document.
• Make sure there is a reference to fundraising engagement and board giving expectations in the board member job description document and/or annual board commitment letter

Ensure your boards ‘get’ the importance of fundraising – right from the beginning.

If we want boards that think strategically about fundraising then we must present it to them from a strategic perspective, starting with the board orientation and including regular reinforcement aligned with planning cycles.  Without this context we are not likely to get the action we want. Our board members need to know right upfront:

• why private support is required and how important it is to our budget, i.e., how it allows is to fund new programs but also the impact on programs if we don’t meet our goals;
• how it determines programming and mission-fulfillment, ;
• how it is used, both restricted and non-restricted gifts, and particularly the importance of the latter;
• successes, challenges and lessons learned in previous fundraising;
• how fundraising goals are set, based on past history, current and appropriate  resources and realistic growth, i.e. that goals are not set based on the budget deficit;
• that it is not just about reaching a single dollar goal in any given year but about building a sustainable program over the long-term that includes acquiring new donors, retaining current donors, filling the pipeline and numerous other measurable activities;
• who your current donors are, both generally and specifically, and how they have become donors (particularly when they can be linked back to board member engagement);

In short, lay out your expectations before they become board members and keep the education going!  Board members who are recruited properly with clear expectations and whose fundraising activities are continuously linked to mission fulfillment are going to be our strongest advocates.

More to come in future installments of ….the fundraising beat…

Tip #4

Tip #3

From a recruiter’s perspective, social media is a valuable tool that provides information about candidates such as personality, skills, experience, and personal values, which in turn helps to determine whether or not someone “fits” with a team, an organization or a job.   That intel doesn’t preclude me from exploring a candidate’s application any further, but it does shape my discussion with them, identifies possible gaps and guides the questions that I ask.  Above all, I value face to face communication and personal dialogue the most; however, email, phone conversations, Skype meetings and social media are viable ways to augment and solidify a relationship.  Online conversations have validity, but they do not replace face-to-face communications.

Fundraisers are busy people; they don’t always have time for coffee meetings and as a general rule are chatty, friendly and love to share ideas so it’s no wonder so many of us are using social media.  Let’s be clear:

I do research potential candidates on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter before I meet with them but I don’t necessarily veto candidates because of a questionable picture or a strange Tweet.

Why?

1. Electronic communications are a tough medium to convey emotion and there have been many a misunderstanding started by someone taking a dim view of an email meant in jest or an autocorrected text message.

2. While a picture can be worth a thousand words, they can also be electronically altered (and who doesn’t have an embarrassing milestone birthday photo taken by a best friend?).

3. Hackers are tremendously talented folk who love to wreak havoc whenever and wherever they can so just because an email has someone’s address attached to it doesn’t mean they actually wrote or sent that message.  It’s all so 007 James Bond-like that your judgement barometer needs some latitude built into it.

The bottom line

There are real people behind those Twitter and LinkedIn bios and Facebook pages with loads of fundraising talent, humor and expertise who could be the next successful candidate in a search for a charitable client.  Social media is just one of many tools but it doesn’t replace face-to-face conversations and candid discussions.  Just like credit scores, everyone should be familiar with their Google search results page.  When you Google yourself, do you like what you see?  Will I?  Will your kids?  If not, you best address that because the world is watching.

I’d love to hear what matters to you.  Share your thoughts here or connect with me:

Twitter: @MichelleRegel

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michelle-regel/14/6b3/799

Further reading:

• Inc Mag: How to use Social Media as a Recruitment Tool
• Mashable: Facebook Profiles Accurately Predict Job Performance
• Brazen Life: Hey Recruiters! 5 tips for using Social Media to Find Job Candidates

I had the pleasure of meeting with a young gentleman recently, let’s call him Bob, who has decided that he wants to transition from his sales career into a fund development career.  I was delighted!  This sort of discussion always puts a flush in my cheeks.  Bob has some fundraising experience, a successful sales track record, he understands basic donor relations and is well travelled.  He is also the founder of a small non-profit organization that provides aid to Africa.

Bob is bright, articulate, enthusiastic and full of energy.  He is exactly the type of person that we as a sector hope to encourage into our world.  Best of all, he’s not afraid to ask people for money.  This is a good thing, and one of the pieces of advice I gave him was to re-position that skill to say that he’s ‘excited to design investments with interested donors who want to partner with organizations to make an impact’. He agreed that phrase would sound better in an interview (yes, I know, the recruiter in me never sleeps).

In terms of a job search, Bob is doing all the right things: he’s meeting with people in the nonprofit sector, he’s researching jobs and submitting applications and, most importantly, he’s waiting for the right job, with the right team, and the right opportunity, before he signs a contract.

Bob asked me a lot of questions and, in return, I gave him a lot of advice.  Maybe I gave him too much advice…Bob, did I scare you away? At the very least Bob had writer’s cramp when he left our meeting.  The most important advice that I hope I impressed upon him about his job search, and the point I’m making here, is this:

1. Know thyself. What key skills do you bring to the organization?  How will this role fit with your overall career and personal goals?  What areas of improvement will you need to address in order to do this job well?
2. Select a mission that resonates with you. Does the organization align well with your personal values?
3. Join the right team. Will you enjoy spending 50 weeks per year with these people? Do they value the same things that you do?  Will you be able to communicate effectively with them and support them, and will they reciprocate, when things get hectic and challenging?
4. Are you prepared to stay at that organization until you’ve created your legacy? In other words, before you leave that job to pursue another worthy cause, make certain that you will leave that organization stronger because you were there.

At a very basic level we all know that if the team isn’t right we simply aren’t going to be as effective as would be otherwise no matter how good the salary, vacation and benefits are.  You may have all the right skills for a certain job and the mission may call you but the bottom line is to be patient for the right opportunity. Donors invest in an organization because they believe that they can make a difference by doing so.  Job opportunities should be approached with that same filter – consider each opportunity with your heart / head compass to ensure that it meets your expectations before you invest your dedication, time and expertise.

Fit is it.  Skill fit.  Personality fit.  Value fit.  That’s really all there is.  Those of us fortunate enough to have worked with at least one amazing team, if not more, know what kind of magic can happen when the chemistry is right.  I hope Bob finds that magic – both he and our sector deserve it.

P.S.  If you want to speak with “Bob” about an opportunity at your organization, please contact me [regelm at thedevelopmentgroup.ca] and I’ll tell you his real name.

TDG is deeply rooted in the non-profit community and provides executive or fund development search services. We have a strong track record of successfully matching clients with dedicated, effective fund development professionals. Stay on top of the awesome opportunities and receive job notices in your inbox.

Check out the TDG’s latest opportunities

Today lets talk about Tip #4 on my top twelve list for engaging your board in fundraising is to  – work with board members one-on-one for personalized support and maximum engagement.

It is essential to work with board members one-on-one but as a group communicate these messages in support of their individual involvement in fundraising:

• As individual board members you have huge opportunity and potential to bring your networks, contacts and influences to our organization and along with it the potential to maximize philanthropic support, all of which directly advances our mission.  No one is as well positioned as our board members to undertake this critical role. We can do it alone as staff, but we can’t do it as well.
• Simply by being a member of our board and advocating on our behalf you bring credibility to our mission and demonstrate that the work we do and the people we help is crucially important to our stakeholders and our community.  It is instant validation with prospective donors.
• When you speak on behalf of our organization and make connections with donors you are inviting those donors to share in the passion you feel for what we do. You are offering them the same opportunity you have had.  This is much stronger and more persuasive coming from a volunteer peer than from a staff member.

As fundraisers we have a pretty clear idea of what we need and want from our board members when it comes to fundraising.  But do we always take the time to ask the right questions so we understand what our board members need from us?  One of the exercises I like to do in board fundraising workshops is to break the participants into groups ensuring there is at least one staff member in each group.  Then I give them plenty of time (30 minutes or so) to have a conversation guided by the following questions:

1. What does the staff think its board members could do and how would they make that work?
2. What do board members think they can do and how can staff help them to be successful?
3. What specific tools do board members need to be successful?

I do this exercise towards the end of what is usually a half-day workshop so we have already covered a lot of enlightening materials from the board perspective and I often find that staff are more, or at least as equally, surprised at the conversation flow than the board members.  They realize they have missed an important piece of the puzzle or they have put the puzzle pieces together incorrectly and the picture is skewed.  They have probably provided goals, success factors, trends, reports, tools and techniques but they may have missed the real context, the essential fabric of why fundraising is important.  They haven’t pulled it all together.

Try it with your board!

More to come in future instalments of ….the fundraising beat…

Read Tip #3