Featured Fundraiser

Many of you read the first half of my Fundraiser of the Month post with Chris Logan, here is the final question from that post.  Feel free to connect with me if you have someone in mind that might fit.

Do you have any memorable donor visits or solicitations or events that you’d like to share?

A number of years ago, I lived and worked in the former Soviet Union for an international NGO.  Our primary focus was social policy reform for kids and families.  I wanted very badly to change one particular orphanage for disabled girls.  The place was horrific primarily because of a very corrupt director. Many organizations had been trying to bring about change in this place since the mid-nineties.  In the particularly bad winter of 1996, 35 of the 200 girls died from exposure and starvation.

I lobbied hard to bring about change, and brought together a consortium of who’s who in the country I was working – the Ambassadors from America, Germany, France, Spain, etc., UNICEF, the World Bank etc.  We managed to convince the President as a group to get rid of the corrupt director and they brought in a new Director that wanted to be there only because she loved children.  It worked.

I decided to go ahead and hold a special fundraiser to help get the new Director off on the right foot.  I put together a fundraiser called “Dinner with the President” where a small group of ex-pats could come have dinner with the President, and all the proceeds would go to the orphanage.

We sold 200 tickets at $100 each raising $20,000.  The room was packed.  At 5:59 pm, one minute before the start, the President hadn’t shown up.  In a conversation with another government representative, he told me that the President was not coming.  I was devastated!  I thought to myself “what a disaster”.

We went ahead with the speeches.  I spoke, the head of UNICEF spoke, we ate dinner.  It felt horrible.  Then, a man approached me after dinner.  He was a British businessman I had met a few months earlier.  He asked if he could get up and say a few words.  Given that things had already gone badly, I said sure.

The man stood up at the podium and made the most incredible speech.  He spoke about how we had come together to witness something extraordinary.  He spoke about how we had all rallied around a single cause, and how it had made such a difference in the lives of children.  He spoke about how I, as Director of a small NGO had done something that the largest International Institutions in the world were unable to do.  He began to tear up as he spoke about being raised in an institution himself as a child.  He then said, “to hell with the President.  If he isn’t smart enough to understand the impact of this evening, to hell with him.”  To rousing applause.  He went on “I didn’t come here tonight to meet the President.  I have met him and I promise you, I was not that impressed.  In honor of the President NOT showing up tonight, I would like to present a check to Mr. Logan in the amount of $30,000.  To be split between his organization and the orphanage.  I suggest others here consider doing the same”.  They did.  We raised nearly $60,000 total that evening.

Under Construction: Just a few more days till when the October 1 new logo will be released!

This month’s Fundraiser of the Month is Chris Logan! I will be highlighting a different fundraiser every month and asking them to talk about what makes them good at what they do. Last month I highlighted John Boyle. Feel free to refer someone you know of that’s a great fundraiser in the comments section below.

What kind of fundraising do you do and who do you do it for?

As Director of Development for NPower Seattle, challenges and unique opportunities are the norm! NPower is a non-profit that provides technology consulting and assistance to other non-profits, putting us in the realm of “capacity builders”. Like most non-profit organizations we focus on individual giving, corporate sponsorship and grant writing. The challenging part stems from the incredible talent and success of all my fundraising colleagues…it’s hard for our organization to compete against topics like homelessness or children. Let’s face it, broken computers and difficult software does not exactly tug on those heartstrings, does it? Seattle is a technology town, and hi-tech companies get us, and like us. We are quite grateful for our core funders that have helped make us successful for the past ten years.

What keeps you going? Why do you keep working in development?

I am often curious and motivated by those things that create such an inspiring sense of philanthropy among individuals. De Tocqueville spoke about this incredibly American spirit of giving, and I have seen it first hand. Knowing that there are people who give so much from their hearts keeps me going everyday. Development is such a difficult field, yet there continually arise wonderful examples of true generosity that spark me to keep fighting the good fight!

What tips/advice do you have to other fundraisers in your field?

Patience. Patience. Patience. And then you need a little more patience. Things don’t always work, they don’t always go your way. The test of a real fundraiser is how you pick up the pieces after something that didn’t work. The first year we created a golf event for one agency, we barely broke even. That was 5 years ago. Last year, they made $100,000 at the event. Imagine if we had packed it up after that first year?

I first entered into fundraising in November 2001, which is likely the start of the worst fundraising period in recent history. I stuck with it and came out a better, more experienced fundraiser in the end. Remember that fundraising goes up, and comes down, and is quite sensitive to economic downturns, like the one we are in now. Stick to your basics through the tough times, and you will be fine. Sometimes there is a tendency to try new “experiments” during tough times. My advice would be to be sure you have the basics down first, then try new things.

What is the most frustrating or difficult thing about fund development?

Ask the staff people outside of the Development Department what the Development folks do, and you are likely to get many different answers. Though everyone knows we “raise money” we do so much more! We are the lifeline to those people outside of the agency, from awareness to volunteers, from building relationships to vying for public recognition, Development Departments are so much more than fundraising! I think that we sometimes are so good at building bridges and relationships outside of the agency that we don’t leave sufficient time to build those internal bridges with our fellow agency staff members.

Check back on Friday for Part 2 where Chris will talk about a memorable donor event.

This month’s Fundraiser of the Month is John Boyle! I will be highlighting a different fundraiser every month and asking them to talk about what makes them good at what they do. Last month I highlighted Patrick Sallee. Feel free to refer someone you know of that’s a great fundraiser in the comments section below.

What kind of fundraising do you do and who do you do it for?

I’m an Associate Director of Development for the Children’s Hospital Foundation in Washington, D.C. The Foundation is the fundraising arm of Children’s National Medical Center, one of the top children’s hospitals in the country. I focus on donors who have made high-end direct mail gifts and who may consider a major gift in the future. I also direct the Foundation’s online giving initiative.

What keeps you going? Why do you keep working in development?

What keeps me going? Our mission, of course! My life was saved by a similar institution when I was less than a year old, so I know just how important philanthropic investment in pediatric healthcare truly is.

As for why I keep working in development, there are a hundred reasons. But the first one that comes to mind is seeing that glow in donors after they’ve written that check or signed that gift agreement. It’s pride, excitement and more all rolled into one. There’s nothing quite like it.

What tips/advice do you have to other fundraisers in your field?

Even if you have a dedicated researcher, make sure that in advance of a call or a visit to a new prospect, do a quick online search of him or her. Even if they’re not connected to potential treasure-troves of information such as LinkedIn or Facebook, spending a few minutes on Google can give you great nuggets of information that can really drive your relationship. Oh, and make sure that you understand Boolean search mechanics so you can get the most out of your searches!

What is the most frustrating or difficult thing about fund development?

Knowing that I probably won’t be here (at Children’s National) 20 years from now when some of the young donors I’ve worked with reach their ultimate goal and make the institution-transforming gifts that I know they’ll someday make.

Do you have any memorable donor visits or solicitations that you’d like to share?

While having an in-depth conversation during a discovery visit at a donor’s home, the donor’s toddler daughter climbed up on my lap and insisted that I read her favorite book to her. Switching immediately from steward to storyteller (complete with voices), I completed my task a few minutes later, whereupon she promptly climbed down, and toddled off. Pausing only to make sure that I was still dry, her mother and I switched back from talk of happy animals to peer solicitation. It was surreal and yet perfectly natural at the same time.

What is next for the world of fundraising?

I’ll be curious to see how our industry approaches the youngest generation of donors, the “Millennials,” as they come of age. Thanks to factors such as increased community-service requirements within their schools and the advent of online giving, I believe that their non-profit involvement and philanthropic giving has started earlier than that of the Boomers, or Gen Xers. At the same time, we’re going to have to move faster than ever before to keep their attention and to form meaningful bonds.

This is a new idea that would replace the Org of the Month concept I have been doing for the last few months. I will be highlighting a different fundraiser every month and asking them to talk about what makes them good at what they do. This week the Fundraiser of the month is Patrick Sallee. Feel free to ask him a question or refer someone you know of that’s a great fundraiser in the comments section below. If you want to learn more about Patrick feel free to check out his blog. Thanks Patrick!

What kind of fundraising do you do and who do you do it for?

I am the Director of Development for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Greater Kansas City. My position focuses on corporate, foundation and individual donors, primarily outside of our special event fundraising.

What keeps you going? Why do you keep working in development?

I enjoy working with people that are committed to a cause. It energizes me everyday to see volunteers so committed to doing something to help change a child’s life. You can’t help but give it your best when you see so many people that care and whose lives are affected for the better. I enjoy development because for me its about finding ways that everyone can participate in changing lives…not just volunteers, not just donors, but finding a method that an individual can care about.

What tips/advice do you have to other fundraisers in your field?

I think the best tip I was ever given is to learn as much as I can about other fields and keep up with current trends. Not only does this make you much more interesting in general, it allows you to connect to your donors and board members in their world. We spend so much time talking about our organizations and our impact, essentially ourselves, then we don’t get into the real passion of our donors. If fundraisers can connect on that personal a level with the donor, it builds trust and respect.

What is the most frustrating or difficult thing about fund development?

I think the most frustrating thing for me about the profession is the constant effort to be seen as a professional position. I can’t count the number of times I have been at one of our special events and introduced myself as being from Big Brothers Big Sisters and within minutes been asked what my ‘real’ job is.

Do you have any memorable donor visits or solicitations that you’d like to share?

When I first started at BBBS in November I was going through a list of past donors and contacts that I should make a priority to visit in the first month. One that stood out is in upper management with a large national bank located in Kansas City. She had been a personal supporter of our agency, but also is involved with the corporate giving. I took her to lunch in the first month I was on the job as an introduction, get to know you meeting. When we got to the part of lunch where I would ask how I could approach them for an end of the year gift and if they had room in the budget, she cut me off and said, “We would like to give you a grant for $13,000, could you submit a proposal to me by the end of the day tomorrow?” Obviously I could, but I left laughing because I haven’t experienced this since and think it will be the rare occasion, but no less gratifying.

How do you help your CEO become a better fundraiser?

I think the most important thing I can do with our CEO to help him as a fundraiser is to provide him with plenty of info about people we will see at events. I try to remind him of where specific donors and future donors are in the pipeline of our visiting and their knowledge of BBBS. He sees a ton of people and at our events has been very hands on. I try to remind him the day of who to make sure and see and also let him know conversations I have had that he should be knowledgeable about if a donor was to bring it up.