the key to securing major gifts: action

More and more, alumni are giving their hard-earned money to their alma mater not because they believe in the cause, not because they are loyal to the institution (although these things are also necessary), but because they see action taking place. Our alumni are sophisticated and care about making the world a better place, so they want their gifts to go to those institutions with leaders who can get things done. Lots of times we see alumni who give generous but modest gifts to an institution steadily over the years, but aren't inspired to give to their full potential until they see a big idea finally put to work.  

So what can advancement officers do to both spur action and make sure our alumni see it?

• First, we need to listen to the things the donor cares about and is intrigued by (as I wrote about in this post). 
• Next we need to have the ear of university leaders to relay these things to them. Since we are on the front lines, we can often see trends when they are just beginning to form. 
• We can then offer university leaders the resources needed to take action by connecting them with alumni who can lend their advice and connections. 
• We can be task masters in setting out timelines and keeping academics and leaders on track to accomplishing these new things. 
• We can include our alumni in the strategy and planning. 
• And we can certainly report to alumni the results along the way, and give them their due praise for instigating the change.
• At this point we can often take a project to the next level when a request for support to the engaged alumni is successful. 
• And finally, we can acknowledge the donors publicly once something new is established and widely communicate the impact of the change. Which of course brings in even more support.

I've seen this happen a lot lately, as I am fortunate to work directly with a leader who is a big thinker, listens to alumni and industry, and then takes swift action where needed. It is very rewarding to allow a donor the opportunitiy to instigate change and then help make it a reality through gifts of time, talent and treasure. This is how real progress happens. And it's a lot of fun.

from donor pyramid to advancement pyramid

I'm a big fan of advancement shops over separate marketing, alumni and development shops. And here's why. It's almost impossible for marketing and alumni folks to directly connect their good work on a daily basis to the ultimate goal of revenue if they do not see strategies and tactics and results that move people from conversations and engagement to giving. 

Everyone working in higher education these days knows that universities and colleges are struggling to make ends meet. University leadership is therefore very focused on the bottom line, in order to meet the mission of high-quality research output and knowledge transfer to students and community. 

The best way to boost the university bottom line is by bringing in new revenue. A complete advancement shop whose many resources are all tasked with adding revenue creates a clear and inspiring goal for staff to work toward. 

Does that fly well with marketing shops who are working on building reputation or alumni shops who are building relationships? In my experience, yes. It inspires them to do even better work because they clearly see how reputation and relationship building are critical for new revenue generation and enhancing the university's impact on society. 

Here's how my shop has done it. We've gone from using the traditional donor pyramid to adding a conversation pyramid and an engagement pyramid as well. This "advancement pyramid" reminds us that it takes the whole team working toward the same goal to make a significant impact.

What do think? Do you agree with a shared advancement mission of revenue generation? I'd love to hear from you if have any other models that work well. 

lessons from the customer service era

I don't know about you, but my experience as a customer in many stores lately has been truly deplorable. It seems that customer service, and sometimes even simple human decency, is not common sense anymore, let alone part of the training package for employees. When did businesses forget that good service is the key to loyal customers?

It got me thinking, have we gotten lax with donor service as well? With our hectic work schedules and increasingly gigantic goals and responsibilities, are we remembering to be truly donor centered? Sometimes, especially for front-line fundraisers, it can get buried behind the need to do everything possible to secure donations in time for the performance review. Yet we know that just like customer loyalty, donor loyalty is dependent upon great product and service.

So I thought I would review some of the lessons I learned back when I was a student and working part-time in the retail industry:

1. Listen, don't sell. I asked questions to understand my customers' need and gave them the product that fit. Similarly, I need to ask questions to understand my donors' values, desires and passions to be able to suggest an option or project to invest in that will make them feel proud.

2. Put myself in their shoes. By anticipating their needs, I could quickly accommodate customers and give them a pleasant shopping experience. If I understand my donors, I can anticipate the things that will make them feel very comfortable with me and the organization.

3. Be competent. I needed to know my stuff so I didn't recommend a product that turned a customer's hair blue and lose her business. If I don't know my organization and project inside and out and feel passionate about it, I can't expect donors to be moved to action. 

4. Be helpful. I would never have said to a customer looking for something in the store "I don't know." I made it my business to know my store and guide the customer to the aisle they needed. Therefore I must never stare blankly at a donor who asks me about details on their tax receipt or about a planned gift simply because that is not my field of expertise.

5. Be modest. I didn't sell a lipstick by telling a customer that it won the most awards for pigment innovation. I sold it by telling her it would make her look and feel ten years younger.  In the same way, I can't make donors part with their dollars because the school has the highest rankings. Of course product credibility is important, but the donor will only ultimately give because they understand that supporting this project will make them feel great because they are improving the world.

6. Enjoy helping people. I was happiest when the store was incredibly busy and I was helping people and making them smile in the midst of chaos. So why should I feel irritated by an interruption phone call from an alumnus that was put through to me by the reception desk? That may be my chance to make someone's day by answering a question and getting them involved with the school. Hmm...must remember that the next time the phone rings.

7. Say thank you. I may have thrown a free gift in the customer's bag, but if I didn't say thank you, she still would not have had a great experience. Simply saying thank you in a direct, timely and meaningful way is all a donor needs, and it goes such a long way.

Happy donors = loyal donors. Right? Now if only I could buy a pair of shoes without getting attitude. 

focusing on the right hero

Ever watch those interviews with Olympic athletes who give you a glimpse into who they really are? They remind us of what a hero really is. It's the person behind the headlines, the one who has shown us that their drive, determination and hard work has allowed them to expend their talents. It's the person who inspires others to be the best they can be.

So who should we be celebrating as the heroes of our own institutions? If you're thinking students and researchers, you've got it backwards. It's our supporters.

Too often we take our story out to the community and market our product- that being our students and our faculty. All well and good, but to inspire someone to support us, we need to tell their story, not ours. They are the hero - someone who makes a real difference. They are the ones who are doing life-changing work by enabling and inspiring us. Therefore, our message should be: we make the work of our supporters possible, not vice-versa.

Let's make our supporters central to our story as the heroes in the change we are seeking to make.

advancing university advancement: breaking down silos

We can't deny it any longer: times have changed. Gone are the days when homecoming events were all it took for alumni engagement. Gone are traditional campaigns that ramped up and wrapped up in five years. Gone are the budgets to build staff in advancement offices. So what can we do to get ahead of this transition?

Use what we already have.

The largest and most valuable resources on a university campus are the students and the faculty. We have energy and expertise in these two groups that we can and should use to build stronger relationships with our stakeholders - without hiring more staff. But university departments often work in silos, and that tradition is tough to break. The advancement team should work across campus to help tear down the walls and build relationships within the institution in order to grow relationships outside of it.

Let's start with faculty. Every school holds an enormous amount of knowledge and interesting work being produced through faculty members and researchers. If advancement professionals build relationships with these individuals and educate them on the benefits of engaging alumni and friends, faculty will become our best advocates. Encourage them to come out to events and talk about their work. Bring the media to them as subject matter experts. Bring alumni to campus to meet with them in their labs and classrooms. They will be be grateful for the interest in their work and alumni and community members will know the cool things happening on campus.

OK, now for our students. Some schools do a good job of getting students involved with advancing the institution, but often we are so focused on engaging alumni that we forget to include our students, who are also part of that distinguished group. At every alumni, donor and community event make sure to seat students at tables with alumni and professionals in order to build networks. Work closely with Career Centre offices in order to build innovative programs that benefit both students and alumni mentors. Work with student clubs to help them with events and finding guest speakers - a great engagement opportunity.

Let's face it: our stakeholders are sophisticated, busy and expect more from us if they are to become involved. Engagement needs to be the focus across all parts of campus, not just the Advancement Office. When all participants understand the impact that this will have, we'll be able to get them on board.

But...

if we want to break down silos across campus, we need to start with our own shop. Integration is key to achieving our goals.

The Alumni and Outreach group needs to step up and play the lead role in building and maintaining meaningful networks. This will mean getting alumni and volunteers involved in ways that they tell us will be meaningful to them, not the other way around. It will most likely involve working closely with career services offices and also with executive education programs. Alumni officers should be front and centre as the go-to  for alumni, students and faculty who want to help advance their institution and create reciprocal relationships.

The Communications group needs to back these efforts up with consistent and disciplined messaging and help with social media technology and strategies. Marketing should create an environment of listening to stakeholder needs, and responding to them and giving them content that will add value to their lives' And marketing should also should be constantly and strategically sharing all of the good things that our faculty and students are doing. The community wants to know who we are and what impact we make on society.

All of this should pave the way for the Development group to then visit with engaged alumni and friends who are ready to give to the area within the school that they feel will help make a significant impact in the school and in the world. If Alumni Officers have done their jobs, Development Officers will need to spend less time on building a relationship and more time on listening to what an individual is passionate about and therefore include them in a project with a faculty member or student early on, so that there can be joint ownership.

Notice I say alumni and friends, not donors. I think that is one more silo that we must break down: all of our donors remain alumni and friends, whether they are giving in a particular year or not. Labeling them donors infers that we are conditionally interested in them. We are not. Alumni, through their years of giving time, talent, treasure or advocacy will always be valuable to the institution, and we must always treat them as such.

So, what are you doing to break down your silos?

face-face and social media fundraising: one and the same

The new world of fundraising looks like this: content marketing, SEO, digital advancement managers, twitter campaigns, and crowdfunding. Yes, things have changed, but the fundamentals are still the same. It's all about building relationships and engaging your stakeholders.

The same old rules of face-face fundraising still hold true. What are they again?

1. Have a strong Case for Support. Your fundraising efforts will only be as strong as the case for what you want your donors to support. This has to come first. Your organization and the project has to be strong, and your online messaging has to be equally as strong in conveying that. Content  is king. If you don't have something important and valuable to post on your web and social media pages, don't say anything. Your aim, just as in "real life" is to have great conversations that will engage stakeholders and build the foundation for a strong relationship.

2. Get out there. A good fundraiser is one that is constantly meeting with people, making connections, and engaging in conversation with donors and prospects. A good fundraising organization is one that does the same thing online. Digital marketing is not the same as traditional marketing. It's about having two-way conversations and engaging people, not simply throwing information or calls-to-action at them. Organizations should find where their target audiences are on social media and be chatting with them and giving them shareable content often and regularly.

3. Listen. Just like with in-person meetings, 90% of the talking should come from your audience. Organizations need to listen for what their online stakeholders are passionate about, what drives them, and what does not. They will be your greatest source of information.

4. Engage influencers. Our greatest assets on the street are our influencers. Donors who are engaged with our organization will influence friends and peers to join the cause. Engaged online followers of an organization can be an army of influencers with an audience bigger than we've dared to dream of. Engage them, empower them to talk about you, and make it easy for them to share information. Set up groups and have share buttons and links on all of your sites that are easy for an influencer to spread around.

Yes, the non-profit world may look a bit different these days, but we all know what we are doing because they are the same things we've been doing for years: building engaged relationships and trust. Happy tweeting!

engaging donors through social media

You know how important social media is. You know your constituents - both young and old - are using it. Are you?   

Non-profits wanting to propel their mission forward and not be caught in the status quo must build an active and integrated social media strategy to engage their stakeholders. Building and keeping an engaged constituency is only becoming tougher as people become busier with many areas of their lives.  Twitter, Facebook, Google +, YouTube, LinkedIn and other social media sites are an easy way to keep them involved and let them be “active” in talking about, and therefore promoting, your organization.

Take Mike for example. He is a university grad who is 15 years out from graduation, has a rapidly rising career that demands a lot of his time, and is starting a family. He had a great experience at his alma mater and would like to stay involved more than he does, which currently consists of modest sporadic donations. Although the university has asked him, he doesn’t have time to mentor a student, guest-lecture in a class, or attend alumni events. What could he do to help the university and feel connected? 

He could help spread the word to his peers about news and events at the school through social media networks. He is on Twitter and LinkedIn.  Many of his contacts include business peers who are former classmates.  The university could engage him online through good content and discussion, and he would then share important messages and forwarding invitations to events and appeals for donations.  The school should have a LinkedIn group where they (and he) can brag about the support he gives and the project he gives to at the school. This will not only make him feel as if he is doing his part, but also keep him more connected so that he will be more and more willing to increase donations. Oh, one thing- it must be easy for him to share information and donate online.

The old adage that the best marketing is word-of-mouth holds true in today’s plugged-in world. Remember that you want to talk with them, not to them. Have content worth spreading. Make it personal by engaging in inspiring conversations, not just one-way announcements. Make sure to follow what is being said about you online. This way, you can join in the conversation and add value, thank your constituents and even correct misconceptions. It’s also a great way to learn what is relevant to them. And as we already know, this is the key to build lasting donor relationships, online or off.