2011 AFP NC Philanthropy Conference
Aug 8, 2011 Weblog
It’s my pleasure to have been invited to present at the 7th Annual AFP NC Philanthropy Conference in Durham, NC on August 11, 2011.
My session, International Perspectives to Inform Our Best Practices, explores the context for philanthropy and charity for international cultures such as those in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
By understanding these unique cultural perspectives, fundraisers are able to incorporate a diverse approach to their fund development efforts stateside. This should result in improved donor interaction, regardless of target donor demographics.
For your reference I am happy to provide a copy of the presentation handouts (PDF) referenced during my session at 3:15 p.m. on August 11, 2011. The session is located in the Crown Room of the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham, NC.
Tags: #afpmeet, AFP, best practice, case study, conference, cross-cultural, culture, fundraising, international, linkage, mission, NC, philanthropy, relationship-based fundraising, stewardship, sustainable
“Good Things” File
Feb 17, 2011 Weblog
Two weeks ago I came across the “fundraiser’s daily affirmation” by Katya Andresen (if you’re not already following her weblog, you should). The timing couldn’t have been better. It prompted me to give thoughtful consideration about my chosen career and inspired me to print off her entry to add to my file of “good things” and to leave the following comment on her page:
Fund-raisers share a lot of similarities with Spider-man, the Wizard of Oz, and Red from Shawshank Redemption.
Like Spider-man we work between the silos. We thread together people, ideas, and facilitate connections within our organization. We weave a web of collaboration, communication, and inspiration. Since “great power comes with great responsibility,” humility is essential… lest our web become a Sir Walter Scott cautionary tale.
Like the Wizard of Oz, we work behind the scenes to give our case for support the best face and to transform words and ideas into a great show that inspires those around us to have Heart, show Courage, and think and reflect (Brain) on the transformational power of philanthropy.
Like Red, we are known and respected inside and outside our organization as the person that “knows how to get things.” We may be restricted by available resources or may have to work with difficult people in order to accomplish great things, but we press on and act as catalysts for action.
Our work as philanthropic facilitators is rarely formally recognized. Our names don’t appear in the press releases, we’re not in the photographs… by design we deflect accolades to the philanthropists that invest in our organizational mission and draw attention to the lives that are transformed because of their generosity.
Because of this, I thank you for the encouragement. I will print off your post and add to my “Good Things File” for when I need that extra boost.
The “good thing file,” or what I call the GTF for short, has been a great source of encouragement over the years. I’ve filled it with unexpected letters from benefactors and beneficiaries, e-mails and notes from co-workers, meaningful quotes, and news articles that help refocus my negative and selfish attention to the transformational effect of philanthropy.
Katya’s posting came at the perfect time. Just the evening before I learned that a fellow fundraisier had accepted a job out of state. In two-weeks time I would have to say goodbye to a respected co-worker, trusted confidante, and loyal friend. Today I was thumbing through the file and realized that my colleague has also been a consistent contributer to the GTF over the past four years.
Linda, I’ll miss seeing you every week… but I’m excited for the next chapter as you turn the page toward the future.
Tags: career, encouragement, mission, trackbacks
How to Build a Philanthropic Plan
May 2, 2010 Weblog
Over the past several months I have been participating in the mentoring program with my local chapter of AFP. The majority of the meetings with my mentee have focused on helping her articulate a case for support and building a philanthropic plan for the organization’s integrated strategic plan.
To extend the value of the work done with my mentee to others looking to improve their strategic planning skills, we will spend the next several weeks breaking down the parts of a philanthropic plan. The philanthropic plan typically consists of five basic parts. These parts build on one another as your plan progresses to give your strategy clarity. The early sections give detail so that the latter sections can concentrate on providing a concise road-map of actionable items to achieve your development goals.
As with grammar, these parts are listed below to simply to provide structure and a general guideline, but rules are made to be broken (provided you understand the rules and the reason for them). These parts include:
- Organizational Context – mission, vision, history, values
- Philanthropic Environment – fundraising resource audit, SWOT analysis
- Philanthropic Goals – strategic, financial, timetable
- Philanthropic Strategy – cases for support (audience, case, and implementation)
- Benchmarks – staff performance metrics, strategic, financial
Next: Organizational Context
Tags: best practice, case for support, defining terms, fundraising, history, integrated development plan, interest, linkage, management, mission, philanthropic plan, philanthropy, resource audit, strategic planning, SWOT, values, vision
How Long Will It Take You to Raise the Money?
Nov 17, 2009 Weblog
All too often well intentioned staff or board members will come to you, the seasoned fundraising professional asking for help securing funds for a need not originally in the strategic plan and more specifically, the integrated development plan.
These requests are usually for last minute programs, non-budgeted expenses, “silver bullet” fundraising events, and my personal favorite consultant fees… upfront payment for somebody promising to write grant requests.
When these requests come across my desk I’ll typically ask these questions:
Is the (insert urgent need here) worth alienating the donor most likely to fund the request? Not usually. If you have been properly cultivating and stewarding your donors you might have somebody interested in helping with urgent needs. If this is true, be sure to link the funding need to your mission and provide a clear case for support that resonates with your donor’s personal interests.
Why wasn’t this in our original budget? Usually last minute financial needs are not considered in the original budget because they are not essential to your ability to satisfy the organizational mission. If the emerging need is critical for organizational success, ask yourself (and the board) “what can we cut from the planned budget to fund this unplanned item?”
If we pay upfront for somebody to write grant requests, how do we keep them accountable for meeting performance benchmarks? You can’t. Staff performance should be built into the strategic plan and should be reviewed by the board at least quarterly. Adding staff or consultants to the payroll without clear performance expectations, and which are paid irrespective of performance sends a terrible message to the remainder of the organizational staff being held accountable by the strategic plan and proper board governance.
So when I’m asked “how long will it take you to raise the money?” I typically respond that it will take anywhere between four months and a year. This range varies depending on how the specific item relates to organizational mission, strategic plan, integrated development plan, budget priorities, board oversight, and donor linkage, ability and interest.
Tags: ability, best practice, budget, funding priorities, governance, grants, integrated development plan, interest, linkage, misconceptions, mission, pitfalls, staff performance, strategic plan, strategic planning
Importance of Getting the Basics Right
Jun 19, 2009 Weblog
Just finished listening to the latest podcast from Fundraising is Beautiful entitled Back from the brink: How a sick organization got better. It is over twenty-six minutes, but the first ten is worth it.
In discussing how he addressed the dreaded death spiral of an ineffective fundraising strategy, Chris Doyle, President and CEO of American Leprosy Missions revealed that the problem was their disregard for the fundraising basics.
By “fundraising basics” of of course am referring to the donor cycle. In the interview Doyle states that, for his organization,”the donor cycle was neglected. [...] It was money and people passing through rather than a comprehensive donor plan which included the cultivation of these donor and retention of these donors.”
Don’t marginalize the importance of stewardship and cultivation.
In my experience Doyle is right on target about how organizations behave as they realize they are in a death spiral. “When organizations get into crisis… they run around looking for the silver bullet that’s going to solve all the problems rather than just stopping, stepping back and assessing ‘what are we doing wrong here and how do we fix that?’ rather than looking for some new idea or something that is going to fix things.” I have seen this trend more times than I care as organizations respond to decreased donor interest and support.
It’s not the economy, it’s how you treat donors that invest their philanthropy in your organization. If things are looking bad, focus on the mission. If your fund raising efforts don’t connect directly to the mission, they aren’t sustainable.
Tags: best practice, cultivation, donor cycle, mission, podcast, stewardship