Philanthropy… fundraising, development, advancement

Giving• Know your audience• Tailor your approach• Have your case for support ready to go.

I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.

Maya Angelou

Experts in the room?• Have you participated in a

fundraising ask?• Are you or have you been a

fundraising professional (marketing, admissions)?• Have you ever personally

asked for a gift in either a volunteer or professional capacity?• Do you have a fundraising

horror story?

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Albert Einstein

There is a very simple formula:

The Right Person asks the Right Prospect

for the Right Amount in the Right Way

at the Right Time for the Right Cause

with the Right Follow-up

Why is fundraising perceived as challenging?

An art and a scienceIt requires relationship building skills and technical expertise.It is about the power of storytelling and number crunching smarts.It is about the pitch and the research.

Technical resources are many and varied.

Legal realitiesIRS regulationsPlanning essentialsResearchSocial MediaFundraising VocabularyStaffing

However, stay alert. The technical landscape changes quickly.

And it is complicated!IFA: Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (managing underwater funds)

SARBANES-OXLEY trickledown impact on donor relations and stewardship

Tax Code changesIRS: the 990

New Planned Giving Strategies /Opportunities

Blended professional roles in advancement/marketing

The changing fundraising pyramid: 90/10 as the new 80/20

Keep an eye on emerging trends.• Intergenerational transfer of wealth• Technology: Social media, segmented asks• International philanthropy• Women’s philanthropy• Entrepreneurial donors • Increased demand for talented professionals• Increase in restricted gifts• Annual fund needs a modernized argument• Competition for dollars, period!

There is GOOD NEWS.

The critical constants are skills you can master and retain forever.

People will always give to people

• Relationship building• Communication skills• Communication strategy• The dance of the ask• The art of recognition• Creative stewardship

What else won’t change?

The Head of School is the Chief Advancement Officer

The rest of the team:Board ChairDirector of AdvancementDevelopment Committee Chair

Ten Maxims that Still MatterPhilanthropy at Independent Schools, NAIS

• Leadership gifts are essential to the success of every fundraising campaign

• People give to people• The best prospects are almost

always previous donors• Major donors usually make their

largest gifts to organizations they serve as trustees

• Donors respond to exciting plans and ideas more generously than to timetables or deadlines

• Fund raising formulas and strategies must be appropriate for your school culture

• Set your sights high when you solicit a major gift

• Always bring a personalized written version of the specific gift request

• Every major gift solicitation is, by definition, a success

• You can never say “thank you” too often

Know the difference:Annual Fund – An annual campaign for annual gifts (generally expended in the year received) that strives to raise unrestricted gifts. Unrestricted money is utilized to benefit student financial aid, technological improvements, excellent faculty and many other college needs. Goals �stem from the strategic plan, but the ultimate goal is to further the culture of philanthropy even as individual sights are raised. Serves as foundation and platform for all major giving efforts.

Comprehensive Capital Campaign - An organized, intensive fundraising effort on the part of an institution or organization to secure extraordinary gifts and pledges, for capital and annual fund, for a specific purpose during a specified period of time.

with credit to www.franklincollege.edu

• Annuity• Beneficiary• Bequest• Charitable Gift Annuity• Deferred Gift• Designated Gift• Endowment

• Endowment Distribution Policy• Gift in Kind• Matching gift• Pledge• Unrestricted gift• Planned Gift

A strong Director of Advancement is worth her/his weight in gold.

• Creativity• Flexibility• Superb communicator• Eager to learn• Able to lead, but a team

player, too• Deep commitment to the

school• A passion for the details• Roll their sleeves up type• Works hard…and long…

Partnering with a consultant can make great sense.• Match is everything;

consider the contact person and the project

• Find someone who understands and knows how to assess the value of hard data.

• Select someone who has walked the walk; you need a professional fundraiser

• Use a professional to assess your fundraising operation and climate

• The best consultants have the best to offer in the planning phases of a campaign—don’t wait too late.

• The best/most effective consultants will put every effort into helping you discern what you really need

Know your role in the partnership.Head of School

Set clear development priorities—share visionEstablish reasonable, stretch goalsSupply sufficient resources for a successful fundraising teamProvide ample one on one time to partner with the directorInvite the director to board meetingsEnsure the director is in the inner circlePermit director to make presentations to facultyLet director manage her own time

Director of Advancement

Prepare head fully, orally and in writing, for donor meetings and key fundraising eventsProvide timely drafts of gift acknowledgments and stewardship letters for head’s signatureShare all constituency rumors or concernsManage budget and staff competentlyUse head’s fundraising time wiselyOperate with the highest of personal and professional standards

The Board must play a key role.• APPROVE FUNDRAISING GOALS• BE LEAD GIVERS• SOLICIT (BE SURE TO ADD TRAINING TO BOARD MEETING)• IDENTIFY SOLICITORS AND MAJOR DONORS• PROVIDE RESOURCES TO ADVANCEMENT TEAM• AMBASSADORS FOR THE CAUSE

The starting point will always be the same.

Know everything possible about the institution, its goals, its vision, its programs.

Make certain you are completely committed to the worthiness of the ask, project, etc.

Learn everything you can about the prospects before you call on them. (Research, research, research)

Identify

Cultivate

AskRecognize

Steward

Fundraising will always be a process not an event.

Cultivation Cycle

involve identify warm upask follow up thank

And then there’s the ask.

Take a deep breath.

The ask is an art…Empathy: You need to truly listenEnergy: The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire (sparks!)Enthusiasm: unbridled, contagiousIntegrity: never tamper with the truth

Questions you should have answers to before an ask…don’t skip this step• How did you happen to go to Lake Wobegon Prep?

How was the experience for you?• How are Sven junior and little Ingrid doing at

Deepfreeze Country Day?• How do you feel about the strategic plan we mailed to

the school community last month?• What has you excited/concerned about TenThousand

Lakes Community School?

Before the ask…• Rehearse with a partner—say the amount out loud• Write out all the reasons you may get a no• Practice responses to the resistance• If possible, go in pairs• Signal when the ask may occur• Focus on open ended questions

No one ever “listened” themselves out of a gift. (Jerold Panas)

A general rule: Talk about 25% of the

time during a fundraising

presentation

Dreams typically open wallets…before needs do.• No one wants to save the sinking Titanic; they want to

know you have a bona fide plan to sail through choppy waters.• Donors like bold, heroic, visionary programs that make a

difference.• No one wants to hear that they owe you for an experience

they had years previously.• The reality that tuition doesn’t cover the full cost is a tired,

unexciting, overused tale.• Tell a compelling story about your reality that fits this mold.

The setting matters—remember, this is art.• Where is the ask going to occur? Why?• Who is along on the ask? Why?• Who makes the ask? Why?• You need a plan, a script and a timeline.

And then be open to the possibilities for the conversation. Set your brain on “nimble.”

11 minutes to present your case

Research indicates that this is the about the length of time you have before you will be tuned out:

• Be straightforward• Be compelling• Be inspiring• Create a sense of urgency• In 11 minutes. Or 11 minute

segments.

The #1 reason why most people say they did not give a gift:

They were not asked.

I would like you to consider a gift of….

What do you do after you make the ask?

Nothing.Nada.Be comfortable with the silence.Don’t fill it, no matter how tempting.Be Quiet.Just sit there.Don’t talk.Wait.

The Four Magic Questions: Why did they not give?

Is it the institution?Is it the project?

Is it the amount I requested?Is it the timing?

Get them to say yes…to something.

• Another visit• A gift to the annual fund• A visit to campus• Contacting a classmate, prospective parent• Volunteer for an upcoming assignment• An article in an upcoming newsletter

The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.

William James

Say thank you again and again and again and again….

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION AND Q&A