Nonprofit Expert Episode 28 – The Development Equation: Respect + Relationships = Results

AD – Welcome to Nonprofit Expert, presented by DonorPerfect.
Robbe Healey- Thank you for joining us for Nonprofit Expert, presented by DonorPerfect. We’re finishing up our series on respect, relationships, and resources, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the conversations Read More

AD – Welcome to Nonprofit Expert, presented by DonorPerfect.
Robbe Healey- Thank you for joining us for Nonprofit Expert, presented by DonorPerfect. We’re finishing up our series on respect, relationships, and resources, and I hope you’ve enjoyed the conversations we’ve had with Birgit Smith Burton, Michelle Gallipoli, Andrew McManus, and Mike Middleman. When we’re talking about respect, you may remember my very favorite Hank Russell quote, the degree to which fundraising will be successful in your organization is in direct proportion to the degree to which your organization sees fundraising as a program as important as all other programs. I think almost all of our conversations, someone said, we need to remember donors are not ATMs. They’re not an invoice with a payment function. Relationships with people and organizations who share your passion is the way to do development correctly. One of the things Mike Mittelman, doctor Mittelman of Salus University said, be an effective partner with your development officer. As the president of the university, he’s saying you need to let your senior development officer point you in the right direction and recognize that not every donor gets along with every person. And if a match needs to be changed, let the match be changed. Being responsive to the donor as an individual is such a key point. And recognize that it’s asking isn’t what we do. We’re sharing outcomes to inspire the donors. He also pointed out, and I think this goes without saying for any organization, whenever possible, get people in your building or on your campus. The magic of outcomes happens where your work is accomplished, not where your work is planned. He shared some sage advice he’d gotten as a new college president to be gentle with people, to respect them, listen to them, embrace the uniqueness of every person, and always make sure the work you’re doing is in the best interests of the mission recipients. And of course, in the case of a school, that’s the students. So although we wanna be donor forward in our work, we certainly want to be mindful of we’re not making the donors happy by doing something they want us to do. We’re matching donors who share our passion with the outcomes they want to help us create. Birgit Smith Burton, like everyone else we talk to, used the analogy that donors are not ATMs. And in saying that, respecting them as unique individuals who want to partner with us, you don’t have a partnership with your ATM. So making sure we engage with donors as individuals. She also talked about how we communicate content with nondevelopment staff. When we look at the nondevelopment staff who need to partner with us, if they are excited about inviting donors into their programs, into their space, their programs will be more successful because we will be more successful in soliciting the funds they need. So in helping those direct services staff people connect with the donors is going to benefit everyone in the end, and that’s really a point of opportunity for us. Program colleagues may not be as comfortable, as familiar. They may see our work as an interruption of their work, but when we involve direct services people, whether they’re academics or researchers or direct services hands on caregivers, when they engage through us with our donors, the outcomes that they have because of the generosity that donors will share is so important. And as they begin to see engaging with us will help them, they become a really enthusiastic part of our team. So what gives them the opportunity to realize donors aren’t ATMs and to really develop their respect for the process and the donors we’re working with. I loved it what Andrea McManus in our conversation talked about, can we as development professionals challenge our own assumptions, especially our assumptions about board members? And so many of us work with boards who are really nervous about doing fundraising. So do we see boards as a monolith, as a collective, or are we really willing to engage our board members as unique individuals? Now I realize not all of us will have easy access to our boards. But as we do and as that changes for those of us who might not, making sure every board member understands our organization is worthy of support and that we’re not going to have any overarching request be a fundraiser, but break it down so they can see a role for them that works for them. Can they make thank you calls? Would they be willing to write notes on solicitations or thank you letters? Will they open doors for us? Will they be an active part of event implementation? And that same series of actions applies to our staff colleagues as well. And she used the analogy that when we do that, it’s a waterfall. And as it gains strength, we’re expanding the help we have. It’s also changing the culture of our organization. One of the examples she shared was such a poignant one. She was development officer for Calgary HandiBus, and they were raising money for new handicapped accessible vehicles. And after a series of conversations with the board, had permission to invite the HandiBus customers to help fundraise for one of the buses they were going to buy. And the dignity and pride that those customers had in helping to buy their helping to raise the money to buy their own bus was so powerful for everyone. And when those consumers, who everyone thought because they were under resourced by and large, because they shouldn’t even be invited to help, Their gratitude in being able to be part of the mission went a long way to changing the culture of that organization and thinking about this is something that can become a practice. How amazing is that? So the impact of our engagement with our own consumers can be transformational, not just about cash, but about the way they see themselves and their role in our mission. Michelle Gallipoli talked about all of the the aspects from respect, relationships, and resources, but I loved her three most important variables, honesty and integrity and communication. Being honest about where you are, what your strengths are, where you are in your development as an organization, integrity and your personal integrity, the integrity of your organization, and then above all, how you communicate transparently, honestly, with all of the constituents that we need to work with, donors, prospects, C suite colleagues, managerial staff, and above all, those line staff who make sure the work gets done. When we talk about relationships within our work, obviously, there are many constituents that are key players, board members, staff members, volunteers perhaps, and those who have overlapping roles and responsibilities. When we think about board and staff and volunteers and their broad circles of influence, their reputations, their standing and respect within the community is really our baseline. When we work with them as individuals to invite their circles of influence, not to give to us, but to know about our work with the idea that perhaps at some point they may decide to be a donor, we’re really expanding our brand, knowledge of our programs, knowledge of our impact, and of course also potentially our donor constituencies. When we were talking with Birgit about relationships, she, of course, is the founder of the African American Development Officers Association. And what started out as a networking group of four professionals in Atlanta is now four thousand members strong. And just like Michelle, who had her list of three keywords, Birgit has four, and trust, credibility, accountability, and transparency are the four watchwords that she challenged us to think about. She also talked about relationships from the opposite side. So not relationships from the staff side, but relationships from the development staff side, but relationships from every other perspective, one of the most important being relationships between and among our departmental staff and how we engage with each other, and I think that, as she pointed out, is especially important in a larger department where we have functions and lanes and where one team may be engaging with professional staff of a foundation, someone else might be engaging with a fund, a decision maker in the foundation and being mindful of our roles within that context so that we’re not tripping across each other or somehow creating a speed bump for someone else to navigate. We also remember, and Michelle touched on this as well, we have relationships with these individuals because they are donors to our institutions. They’re not our friends, although we certainly are friendly and cordial with them, but being very mindful of where our boundaries are because we represent our brand. We represent our our organization, and it’s our responsibility to make sure that we have the highest, best image of our brand in mind. Burrit also talked a lot about the power of listening, listening to things that might be difficult for us to hear, perhaps an alum or a patient or a participant who had an an unfortunate experience in our institution, listening without judgment, without defending the institution, listening so that they feel seen, they feel understood, and maybe we will build a real bridge, a strong bridge to a better relationship. She also I was also fascinated in hers because I don’t know about you, but I think there’s so many titles development officers have these days, and they aren’t necessarily clear what they are. But she talked about in working in foundation relations, No matter what her title was, from the entry level foundation position she had to the most senior, relations was always part of her title, not manager. And the operative word was always relations, and I thought about that. Who wants to be managed by a professional staff person? So in having the term relations in her title, the institution is telegraphing the way it thinks about engaging with each individual, whether they’re a donor or a decision maker on a foundation board. I love that one, and I honestly had never thought about that before. Because how many titles in our work are managers of something? So maybe that’s a nugget that we need to take back that we could act on right away. Andrea, when we were talking about relationships and I asked all the people we talked with, what was some of the best advice you got or the worst advice? And she was very clear. The worst advice she ever got was in her role, she had to focus on the money. And over time, again, she said donors are not ATMs. I think that’s pretty clear to all of us, but we need to help our our colleagues and board members understand that because we are not a gap filler for a budget deficit. We’re a bridge to relationships with investors. Kay Sprinkle Grace’s book, The AAA Way to Fundraising Success, has always been such a favorite of mine. And I think in all the conversations we had, some of them used that language, ambassadors, advocates, and askers, but all of them knitted that together, that everyone engaged, Board and staff need to be friend makers for our organizations. Advocates take it up a notch, making the case within the community in very direct and purposeful ways, and askers are the just what we think they are, people who are willing to partner with us or have their own portfolio to actually do the asking when the time is right. So thinking about how we make this happen, having a development office is not just hire a person, get them a computer, put them in an office, and and help them leave them alone, let them write grants. It takes an investment. It takes a budget to really create a good development office, and it but the investment has to be in the right things. Qualified staff, and I I emphasize qualified. How many times has someone had some of the skills or abilities or talents that is needed in a development officer, could be a wonderful development officer, but they’re not quite yet ready to be the hundred percent in charge person? So the organization struggles because the person wasn’t quite ready to take the role. So qualified staff based on the life stage of the organization. Also, what’s the back office infrastructure look like? Do they have the right CRM, such as donor perfect? And the training to use it well is not enough to have the system. Knowing how to use it is paramount. Then being very realistic about the time it takes to develop a good program and bring the board and the staff along so that they are part of the work that needs to happen. Doctor Mike Middleman really brought that home when he was talking about the work he’s done at Salus University as president. It starts with respect for the work, and the baseline is a critical understanding, an honest understanding of where is your organization today, what life stage is your program, and getting the right people to fit into your life stage. He gave examples of two different development officers that he characterized as the right person at the right time. Having the courage to resource the development function appropriately. And that can take a budget that may be larger than an organization wants to invest. But as a start up, you’re not gonna have immediate results, and Michelle talked about that. You know? On day one as a development officer, you’re not gonna close a seven figure gift. Well, that sounds ridiculous, but the assumptions that go around that, that, you know, within six months, are you gonna raise a million dollars? Those are conversations we need to really have. So as a senior leader in the college president position, he was really looking at working with the board members. What’s the board’s culture? What do they think about giving? Have they been donors? Is there a giving history to look at? Understanding the history of the development function. Is there a development function, but was there a development office? So those pieces are important to understand. And how does the organization view developing relationships? Again, is it the development officers got it on their own, or are we part of a team? And understanding that the people we engage with really want to feel special, and who are the champions we can partner with, messaging partners, cultivation partners, and look at the key internal constituents who really need to be part of that messaging. And the first line is board members and the most senior staff. And it’s not an interruption in their work. It’s an integrated part of their work. Michelle and I talked about boards that would never question making time for senior staff and board members to engage with elected and administrative government officials who might be making decisions on public funding contracts, and how does that not naturally transfer to investors who are philanthropic donors? But it’s not a seamless transition for a lot of people. So as you look at evolving your organization, who are you recruiting, and how are you onboarding them? How are you helping them understand this is where we are and what we need to do long before they’re elected to the board so that they understand what you’re going to ask of them and what you’re going to invite them to do with you in terms of what they’re giving individually and the volunteer time they will spend. So being transparent about that. What do you expect them to be among your top three priorities? Michelle took it up a notch. She said, I want to work with donors who want to have me as their top charity. So good for you, Michelle, to raise the stakes. Not the top three, the top one. So the way we’re going to do that, of course, is getting our constituents, whether they’re students or patients or consumers, involved in storytelling, obviously with their permission, being very mindful of their dignity, especially if they are underserved or under resourced persons, And leveraging every single milestone, whether it’s an anniversary or a retirement or a new hiring, how do we take advantage of every milestone? Andrea echoed what Mike said, recruiting the right person, being transparent about what we’re doing, and recognizing that fundraising is a process, not a task, and that we talk with each board member individually, each staff person individually. We can help them figure out how to engage with the staff. She also shared with us another success scenario with the Alberta Theatre Company where they were reconnecting with their constituencies after COVID-nineteen had shut down the theater. And she had done an event where it was a cultivation event, and she had asked each board member to take several names and to try to connect with those persons during the course of the evening. And as she did that, warned them, it’s gonna be a large group. You might not find everyone. But afterwards, circling back to them and getting their feedback, and they were so excited about the conversations they’d had, the enthusiasm that the individuals felt for the theater, that they asked her immediately, what else can we do? So thanking, cultivating, being part of the gratitude is certainly a wonderful point of entry for most of us. Because if if you’re a senior staff person or a board member and you can’t be part of the gratitude, the thanking, I think we need to really give pause to whether that person’s talents are best used with us. It’s been so exciting to speak with Birgit and Andrea and Mike and Michelle and to hear their professional journeys, their insights into respect for the development function as an integrated part of our work, relationships both within and outside the organization, and resources, the appropriate resources to set us up for success instead of struggle. So I hope as you think about the lessons of this and perhaps share parts of this series or all of this series with your board, your volunteers, and your colleagues, we hope you take great success and affirmation in knowing that our success is impacting the lives of the people we serve. And without our donors investing in our work, we won’t be as successful as we know we can be. So think about where is the organization today? What kinds of relationships can I leverage? And how can we make sure we have the right resources to the to do the work well so that as we collaborate together in this wonderful sector, we’re creating change we want to see in the world. Thank you so much for listening. My name’s Robbe Healy, and you’re listening to Nonprofit Expert presented by DonorPerfect.
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