The concept of "grateful patient" fundraising has always fascinated me. How meaningful, how wonderful, how . . . . EASY to raise money from those who lives were saved by your institution! A team of specialists at your hospital saved someone's child from cancer and they have capacity. What a wonderful story! Of course, I know that it isn't that simple to raise money in healthcare fundraising. But, the stories of grateful patients are enticing and make those of us in higher education a bit jealous. Unfortunately, most stories are a bit less tangible than that in higher education. No matter what kind of organization you work for, I find it is a great exercise to reflect regularly on the question, "Who are your grateful patients?" Asking this questions drives you right to the core of your mission. Who is served by your institution? How does it change lives? These questions takes you deep into impact and narrative. This question leads you to the "Why?" In higher education, who are our grateful patients? Last week, I was composing a blog post about how philanthropic support has directly helped me in my life and career. We often think of students as our grateful patients and they are. But, more than that, it is our ALUMNI that are the grateful patients. Students who graduate and move out into the world changed by the education they acquired at our institutions. The stories of students work to connect our alumni to mission only if those stories activate the sense of gratitude that our alumni have for their own time at our colleges and universities. It's not mere nostalgia, it is a real and tangible linking back that our student narratives must do in order to invigorate the "grateful patient" sensibility of our alumni. They must see in the story of current students their own story and from there be able to project what their life might be like if their educational story was different. The phrase "make a difference" is overused and trite. However, if you want to find your grateful patients (who will be not only your best donors but your most enthusiastic advocates), you have dive into the real meaning of that phrase. How is someone's life path qualitatively different because your institution exists?
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“Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” – You’ve Got Mail
Unfortunately, where I live, school starts while it is still more than 80 degrees and 90% humidity. But, still most K-12 institutions have already started classes. And colleges and universities begin very soon. That means more time trying to find a parking spot for those of you working in higher education. All kidding aside, this is the time. That “back-to-school” feeling is pervasive in our culture. Donors feel it too and get nostalgic for their time at our institutions. It’s the time of very when education is naturally on the mind of our constituents. If educational fundraisers don’t have a plan ready to turn that nostalgia into gifts, we have lost ground and will have a hard time catching up this year. Also, it’s time the perfect time of year to connect back to the mission of your institution. If you work in higher education, there are new students on your campus that are beginning a transformative journey. The classes they take, the things they learn and the people they meet could change their lives. You play a role in that. From raising funds for scholarships and library acquisitions to raising the profile of the institution through outstanding alumni support, advancement is part of that student’s path. So, take a walk on your campus today. Watch the students making their way. Visit the campus bookstore and buy yourself some new pencils. Sharpen them. You have work to do. Like many fundraisers, I’m goal-oriented. I love that feeling of accomplishment when the goal number has been exceeded or the big gift comes in. In fact, I might be addicted to this feeling. Because when I am plugging along doing my regular work without the big hoopla, sometimes I don’t feel like I’m being productive.
I was feeling unproductive this week. Not because I wasn’t busy or hadn’t made significant progress, but because July is this time of sowing, not reaping. One of my marketing colleagues was complimenting me on some of the important steps I had made for my organization this year and particularly this summer, and suddenly, it was clear to me. I need to honor the sowing part of my work, not just the reaping. Success is not all about the big gestures, the payoff, or the celebration party. Most of the time, success is about the small but consistent daily efforts that move your career and your institutions forward. The real measure of success isn’t like skydiving, it’s more like ten minute daily walks. So, put your plans together. Write those daily thank-you notes. Build those relationships. Plant those seeds. The harvest will come. But it’s those unremarkable daily actions that pave the path to success. What do you want to accomplish this week?
No, that question is flawed. That's a pie-in-the-sky question that lures you into making a to-do list that spills over the edge of your desk and onto the floor. The list will be unrealistic and you will feel like a failure come Friday. Buzzkill. What are the 3 things you MUST get done this week? Write them down and write down ONLY three. If you get all three done today or tomorrow, you can always do it again and make another list. But start with just three things. For most, summertime is a time to plan and prepare. This can cause us to feel like we aren't doing much and so we load on too many tasks to feel more productive. Pull back from this instinct. You'll ultimately get more done and be more successful. Start with just three things. It will feel attainable and once you feel you can attain it, you can and will. One task is too few to feel productive, two tasks just feels weird, and any more than three and your list is too long. Just three things. As the song goes, "Three is a magic number." Just. Three. Things. What will you accomplish this week? Hey you. Yes, you. Sitting at your work computer munching on your toasted bagel with cream cheese. And you there, scrolling on your phone on public transport. And you, scrolling on your laptop killing a bit of time before your staff meeting. I’m talking straight to you. All of you.
You are amazing. Really. Truly, amazing. You get up every day and do a job that most people would be scared out of their wits to do. You ask people for money and provide no tangible product in return. That’s hard work. And that work requires a broad-ranging and diverse skill set that many just do not have. The soft skills of messaging and etiquette and the hard skills of data and statistical analysis. You are also probably highly skilled at various aspect of technology too. It’s likely that to do your job you also have to have knowledge about finance, management, marketing and human resources. That’s a tall order. You are a force to be reckoned with. Your work enables students to get an education, hungry people to eat meals, animals to find homes and so many other wonderful life-affirming things. All of which wouldn’t happen without the work that you (and others like you) do. You are the superpower of the non-profit world, the engine that makes this sector move: the fundraiser. So, approach this week like the amazing being you are. At this point, you are probably sitting a little straighter, nodding your head in agreement at the realization of how awesome you are. Maybe you are claiming the amazing things your non-profit does in the world as your own accomplishments. Yes, they are yours. Own them. The more connected you are to mission, the happier you will be in your work and the more funds you will raise for your good cause. Now, ask yourself, how can I create this same feeling for each of my donors? What would make them feel amazing and personally responsible for the good things this organization does in the world? What would make them stand straighter and take ownership of the good your non-profit does? Do that and they will give more and they will feel amazing about giving, about your institution and about themselves. If you don’t know Adam Grant, let me brighten your Monday. He’s a powerhouse business writer and an amazing TED talk speaker. Today I want to walk you through three takeaways from his book, Give and Take.
Grant states that people can be divided into givers, takers and matchers based on whether they are motivated by giving, getting or some combination thereof (respectively). In one chapter he looks at the concept of burnout and he ends up (of all places) in a university call center. He assessed whether the callers were givers, takers or matchers. He assumed that the takers would not be good at the job but is surprised to see that the way in the job is marketed (highest paying job on campus) and the way the motivation is structured ("win", "be the best") is actually highly motivating for the takers. Grant wonders what could be done to improve the results of the giver callers. What he finds is remarkable: spending 5 minutes reading letters from scholarship recipients motivated the giver-callers to close the performance gap between themselves and the taker-callers in ONE WEEK! So, Grant brought in an actual scholarship recipient to chat with a random group of callers about the impact that the funds they were raising had made in their lives. All callers (regardless of motivational type) saw a drastic increase in performance (as measured in calls per hour, number of minutes on the phone and dollars, which quintupled versus the control group). Givers saw an even more dramatic increase in performance. Then Grant writes a line that takes this lesson far beyond call center: “The turnaround highlights a remarkable principle of giver burnout: it has less to do with the amount of giving and more with the amount of feedback about the impact of that giving.” (Page 165). Wow! Takeaway #1: Many, if not most, of our donors are givers. So, what Grant is saying is that DONOR burnout is within our control. Make it your goal this year to make your donors as aware of the impact of their gift as possible. If 5 minutes reading a note from a scholarship recipient can make a huge difference in the performance of a student caller, what could consistent, impact-oriented messaging around these issues do for your donor’s happiness and willingness to give again? Takeaway #2: Think about the ways in which we are marketing the student jobs in our call centers. Are you only recruiting and motivating for the takers/matchers? What are you doing to be mission and impact focused in your recruiting and training materials for callers? What are you doing for all of the students to reconnect them with the mission and impact during the normal shift? You should incorporate strategies like Grant suggests not only because you have giver-callers who need the motivation but remember ALL the callers saw an increase in performance when given explicit and emotional examples of impact. Takeaway #3: Here's one last thing to think about: What type are you? If you are a giver and you're feeling burnt out, what can you do to connect back to the mission? Maybe you need to take a walk on campus and go speak directly with students and faculty, the beneficiaries of all of your hard work. Nurture yourself to your type so that this important work can be completed. If you like Adam Grant, check out his TED Talks here. If you found this information helpful, please consider subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising by clicking the button below. You’ll immediately get a copy of my e-book, “15 Best Call Center Games”. A solid strategic plan is not an easy thing to write. Ideally, it should have a balance of big picture thinking and sufficient detail so that it can be implemented. A strategic plan cannot be pie-in-the-sky but it also cannot be a user’s manual full of which button to push.
I would advise that strategic planning begin with 3 steps:
Do you have staff and budget to promote planned giving opportunities? What can you afford to do in terms of direct mail, phonathon, donor relations, etc.? Don’t forget about crucial areas like stewardship and fulfillment (pledge follow up). Also, pay special attention to data integrity and enrichment. You cannot afford to ignore those important areas. Now, you have to combine your various vehicles for communication with the content: the case for support. What will you be focusing on this year? What are the needs of your institution? Scholarships? Program support? Operating expenses? What’s the impact that the donor will have in the world if they make a gift this year? Begin to weave these messages into thoughts about how to segment your data this year. The final part of your strategic part is to have a calendar. You know enough now to lay out the steps. Don’t go into too much detail but have a month-by-month list of what major action steps need to happen to accomplish your goals. Review this calendar regularly at staff meetings. It is inevitable that you won’t get to all your great ideas in one year. I’ve found it helpful to add a section at the end of my plan called “And Beyond” where I can stash my great ideas for future years. It keeps me inspired and helps me not to forget. Encourage other staff to join you in adding to that list throughout the year. Most importantly, the strategic plan cannot be a lifeless document. If you aren’t referencing it at least once a month (preferably more), it isn't working for you. Start over. Make it a living document that guides you to your goals. For many in the fundraising world, this week marks the end of the fiscal year and the beginning of another.
No matter how rough or chaotic this fiscal year may have been for you and your team, the good news about annual giving is that you get a chance to start over every July 1st (or whatever date your new year begins). Not every area of development has his benefit of a clean slate each year. Building campaigns must get done no matter the date on the calendar and if you come in the middle you can't start over, you have to start where you are and figure it out. So, take this chance to plan out your new year. Every mailing, every thing you did this year whether it was successful or not has provided you with valuable data in order to move forward in knowledge. Like New Year's Day, make some resolutions for this new year. Resolve to have a plan. Resolve to produce quality work that raises serious dollars for your organization. Resolve to be proactive and not reactive. Resolve to make this year better than the last one. You never hear a kid say, “I want to be a fundraiser when I grow up”. Partly that’s because there’s no college major called “fundraising” and partly because children’s imaginations are captured the idea of what they will be doing. Most children have no idea what a professional fundraiser does. Young people are motivated to do something good in the world. Many have an interest in working for non-profits but they focus on the program side of things. Few think of fundraising as an exciting way to contribute to building good in our world. But the truth of it is that fundraising is an amazing career. Without fundraisers, many non-profits would struggle or cease to exist. Without fundraisers, the good that non-profit delivers would not be delivered. Those who benefit from those services and programs would go un-helped. Another thing for those starting their careers to keep in mind is that fundraisers make good living and we enjoy a little bit more job security than other positions because we can directly show that there is return-on-investment to our salaries. So, I talk about careers in fundraising all the time as a great option for young people. It’s rewarding personally and financially. There is much to be gained and much to contribute. |
Jessica Cloud, CFREI've been called the Tasmanian Devil of fundraising and I'm here to talk shop with you. Archives
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