Category Archives: LEADERSHIP

The five fundraising lessons I learned from Jack Bauer…

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I assume Jack Bauer needs no formal introduction. But for those of you that have never watched the award winning show – Jack is the larger than life figure that single handily rescues the world from complete destruction in a given 24 hour period. He successfully did this over seven TV seasons. Now that the show has been terminated I often wonder who will keep us safe…

Jack oddly enough carries many of the qualities needed for successful fundraising. You may be asking – what the heck does this gun toting, hard driving, single minded torturer of terrorists have in common with fundraisers?

Well let’s see – Tenacity. Adaptability. Messaging. Tactics. Success.

First and foremost the guy has tenacity. He doesn’t give up. He keeps going and driving to the end goal of stopping a nuclear bomb from being detonated without regard for anything else, including his own well-being. I’m not suggesting that you kill yourself in the process of raising funds – but quite frankly, most of us need to gain a higher level of tenacity. We need to focus and drive harder to meet our objectives.

Quitters don’t win… it’s that simple. And in order for us to win we need to be determined to overcome the obstacles in front of us and persevere in our endeavor – regardless of the obstacles.

Secondarily, Jack has an innate ability to adapt to any given situation. At any given point Jack is within inches of adverting disaster yet for some reason the game changes and he has to adapt and readjust to the changing landscape. A failed plan, an unforeseen snafu, efforts sabotaged by those around him – you name it; he’s got to deal with it. But Jack doesn’t let it keep him down. He shakes the set-back off, readjusts, and moves forward. Isn’t this what we do every day in fundraising, especially major donor fundraising? Well, that’s been my experience. Just when you think you are on the right track the donor throws you a curve ball and doesn’t “behave” the way we intended. Okay, fine. Let’s readjust and move on. Don’t let a change of plans, as disruptive as it may be, derail the objective.

Messaging… It’s almost a running joke – but for “24” aficionados there is nothing like hearing Jack say, as only he can – “thousands of lives are at stake, tell me where the bomb is!” or something like that. This refrain is repeated many, many times during the 24 hours. Jack stays on point – there is no question about it.

He is on a singular mission to save thousands, if not millions, of lives. He never forgets this and always reminds those around him of his goal.

We need to do the same thing. Embrace the key message and repeat it over and over again. “Your generous support will help thousands of young people overcome, etc., etc.” – you get the picture. Bottom line – stay on point with clear and compelling messages.

The tactics used by Jack vary for sure – from picking a lock, to hacking a computer, to shooting people, to cutting off a terrorist’s head – he does it all with innovation and skill. It’s often gruesome and pretty over the top – but the remarkable thing is he deploys tactics that work and solve problems. He seems to know how to break through the clutter. He seems to find the unconventional way for solving a conventional problem. We need to do the same.

If a certain tactic doesn’t provide the desired outcome try something else.

We need to be looking at the tactics and methods we use to reach our constituents and explore innovative ways to engage with them. It’s no longer okay or even relevant to use the old tried and true ways of communicating – we need to learn to reach people where they are and with the methods they are most comfortable for them.

And lastly success. Jack does not give up until he is successful. Period. He carries it through. Yes, it was a long, hard road to success but he never, ever waivered from his goal and in the end he reaps the rewards. But like Jack, successful fundraising is a bittersweet victory because there is a price to pay and a new challenge around the next corner. Just when we finished this piece of business we need to move onto the next. There is no rest for the weary. If you want to be successful you need to push yourself to this end.

 

The Dynamic Fundraising Process

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The success of any robust and successful fundraising process centers on four basic steps. They hold true for all levels and types of fundraising, but they are particularly essential for any successful capital campaign or major gift program. In many ways fundraising is more of an art than a science – which means you have to use your intuition and common sense rather than some impersonal or overly mechanical.

Although there is a “system” that can be applied it’s more important that the process is genuine, sincere and donor-focused. It must, above all things, focus on the person, who they are and what they are interested in, long before the financial aspects of the process.

In my opinion the best accepted process for successful fundraising is somewhat mechanical by design – but this “mechanical” process can only be effective if we focus on the person and not the wallet. This will help us focus on the relationship and not the transaction. This is an incredibly important distinction because in the new economy and the emerging online culture personalized and customized marketing and fundraising will become the norm.

At the end of the day it’s really more about the relationship we develop than anything else.

So if we keep our fundraising process genuine and personal and focused on the donor as a human being we will be far ahead of our peers who often view the donor as a private ATM machine that just keeps throwing off cash any time it is needed and requested.

The four primary steps in the fundraising process can be boiled down to the following steps:

Identification – Identifying potential donors is the most essential aspect of any fundraising campaign. It is an obvious point yet it isn’t always considered the keystone of the fundraising process; without prospects there can be no solicitation. We may find the major donor prospects within the group of donors we already classify as “major donors” but we need to look far beyond this group; there is often hidden capacity among donors that haven’t yet self identified with a larger gift. Our job is to dig into the other loyal, new and ongoing donors that have demonstrated affinity for the organization and have capacity but haven’t been given the appropriate opportunity to become a major donor. That’s why this step includes a qualification stage which may include comprehensive research and wealth screening of each prospect/donor to determine capacity and propensity.

Cultivation – Cultivation of the identified prospect is the second step in the fundraising process. During this stage the prospective donor is cultivated and nurtured for the potential solicitation. The solicitation might be in a month or two years but either way a well thought out strategy to bring that donor to the actual point of solicitation is critical. A process that is either too fast or too slow will both present problems. Too fast and we might offend the donor; too slow and we might miss an opportunity to a competing organization. This step may require months if not years of relationship building (cultivation) prior to even considering making the approach (solicitation). We can’t get discouraged. It is more similar to farming than anything else. Plant the seeds, cultivate the field, and be patient – but diligent. This doesn’t mean we plant the seeds and step back – no we plant the seeds and like a good farmer we tend to the field with care, interest, concern, and respect for the circumstances surrounding us.

Solicitation – Solicitation of actual major gifts is the single most important part in the fundraising process because it is the culmination of all your hard work cultivating the “fields”. But often this is the most difficult step for the major gift officer because asking for money isn’t easy for many people. But if the cultivation of the field was done properly and the prospect was well prepared the solicitation is that much easier and quite enjoyable. It’s really just the icing on the cake; it’s the bountiful harvest and the tangible fruit of your hard work. At this stage the prospective donor is approached with a specific request for support, usually in the form of financial support, although it could be a request for a gift-in-kind. Typically the solicitation meeting, or series of meetings, is handled by two or more people – one of which is the person that made the introduction. This must be orchestrated very well, very professionally and with a focus on the donor and their particular heart-felt interests. Yes, it’s ultimately about raising support for your cause but you have to connect the donor to the changed-lives in a demonstrable way. In other words you have to demonstrate how the donors support is going to directly impact people in a significant and meaningful way.

Stewardship – Stewarding the donor is critical to building good will and planting the seeds for future gifts. During this stage the donor’s gift is acknowledged and the donor is also regularly informed of the progress of the project and the results that were attained from their individual gift. Donors of all levels need to be stewarded to varying degrees depending on their level of financial commitment and involvement. This area of fundraising is so critical to the long-term success of the organizational and the fundraising program. People are very, very tuned into how they are treated by an organization. No matter how good you are at what you do the donor has heightened expectations regarding how they want to be treated. We can’t overlook this fact. Bottom-line – thank your donors profusely; demonstrate to them how important they are to your organization and in short, make them feel like they are true advocates of your organization.

Engage them for life not one transaction!

What is your experience? Would you add a step or refine a step?

 

Passion and Hustle = Happiness and Success

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I was driving my daughter home from freshman college orientation and decided to make good use of our time together to do my fatherly thing – offer lessons in life. After all, I am her father and she is heading into her next big phase in life. A phase that means she will be living about 1,000 miles from home for the better part of each of the next four years; which means I will have limited opportunities to offer, well, fatherly advice.

So, as I started offering advice (or going into the boring lecture mode depending on your viewpoint) – I began with my usual sermon about people needing passion in life – or better put – to be passionate about whatever they are doing. Whether it’s schoolwork, a professional job or even a hobby – you have to have a passion for something I explained to her – otherwise what you do in life becomes drudgery or “just a job” or something “I have do to pay the bills.”

I waxed eloquent about those in life that don’t have a passion for what they do – and explained that people in this state spend the majority of their waking hours either depressed or unhappy or both. They “live for the weekend” as some people say shamelessly with a dose of pride.

Don’t get me wrong, I continued, we need to look forward to diversions from whatever we are passionate about – otherwise our passion can turn into drudgery or worse an obsession and keep us away from important passions like our family. This ultimately means we need several passions in our life; which will include your spouse, your family, your profession, your hobby, your spiritual undertakings and so forth. Frankly, we need all of them to have a well-rounded life.

But the one thing we do during the majority of our waking hours has to be something we are unabashedly passionate about.

And so the ramblings continued – this doesn’t mean your passion won’t include hard work and that sometimes we need to do something we don’t like. Let me explain this through an analogy I stated, in spite of the abrupt, momentary sigh accompanied by a murmuring “I hate analogies” from my innocent eighteen-year old. I stated that even if you’re passionate about fly fishing you most likely are not passionate about unhooking a line from the tree behind you. The same thing holds true for any passion.

As I concluded part one of my Fatherly Passion Speech I asked her what might be the second most important thing to consider. She quickly responded – Hustle – I almost swerved off the road as I smiled and laughed uncontrollably. I said how did you know? She responded – “it’s what you have always told me.” I was flabbergasted.

All these years never really knowing if what I was saying was sinking in or not. It was a total WOW moment. These are truly the moments that make parenting worthwhile.

So, yes, she was correct. Hustle was my next topic… but I will continue that in my next post.

 

Are You A Transformative Nonprofit Leader?

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Are you a transformative nonprofit leader? You need to be.

We are in a transformative period of not just how fundraising is accomplished but also how nonprofit services and programs are developed, managed and provided to the public served.

We have been in the midst of this transformation for years – but like the proverbial frog being brought to a boil from room temperature we don’t really feel it happening and thus we continue to feel just fine with the status quo – that is until it’s too late. As this scenario proves problematic to the lonely frog it proves even more problematic for nonprofit executives. The idea of being boiled from room temperature isn’t exactly appealing is it? – But you get the idea.

We have got to come to our senses before it’s too late or we will be left in the dust – or worse at the bottom of the boiling kettle!

Companies and nonprofits, big and small, are learning that they must adapt, transform their products and services and, in short, learn to present themselves differently than they have in the past.

Quite frankly it’s a simple formula – the organizations that take transformation seriously are growing and excelling and charting a successful course for the future – those that aren’t are declining and living through the frustration of a deteriorating organization that is fraught with low morale, declining donor support and unfortunately, declining support from advocates, members, and others supporters that typically would help build relevancy, vibrancy, enthusiasm, and growth.

The reality is that if we don’t learn to transform ourselves and our organizations to “Think Different” like Apple we are setting a path towards obscurity and irrelevancy that will leave many of us in the dust and an inability to recover – ever.

In my work I often see organizations that are dying a slow and painful death. They are desperately attempting to hold onto the past – a past that might have been very effective, popular and relevant at one time – perhaps for many, many years. But times have changed and they aren’t as popular, as effective or even as relevant as they used to be.

It’s the relevancy part, in particular, that many declining organizations can’t get their arms around because they just don’t want to believe their cheese has been moved – they believe they are still relevant and that their demise is caused by poor branding, poor leadership, or failed marketing execution, or they are even weighed down by the thought of “what’s wrong with everyone – don’t THEY know THEY need US?”

I remember back in the 80’s when I was a commercial photographer in NYC and did some work for the company that produced the “Laser Disc” – (my apologies to the younger readers that are saying – huh!) – but it was a very short lived product which was replaced by other products even before they had a fighting chance – but what was odd was the fact the company continued to market and try to build a demand for their product. Problem was – it lost its relevancy even before it caught any traction. They were surprised – but the market didn’t want it no matter how much marketing was thrown out there. Period.

This type of scenario is not an option unless you enjoy going down in flames.

People are amazingly change-adverse. Most of us get frozen and can’t even imagine the possibilities and potential positive consequences of certain decisions. Our human nature makes us assume that decisions will only have negative consequences. The more a decision goes against the status quo the more likely the failure – at least that is what our brain tells us. It may be the ultimate reality but for the transformational leader it’s about managing risk against upside opportunity. And this day and age we need to learn to take calculated risks that can potentially improve nonprofit services and fundraising effectiveness. After all isn’t that what our job really is about?

At the end of the day we need to be the iron that sharpens the iron – the tip of the spear.

We need to challenge ourselves everyday to excel, to be passionate about what we do and to have the hustle it takes to not just lead but to be a transformational leader!

Ouch… this is over 700 words and I have been told to keep blog posts to 450 words or less – oh, well… I will try to do better next time.