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00:00:01
When the CEO Is Also a Major Gift Officer w/ Phil Washburn
55 Plays7 months ago
In this episode, Tom sits down with his longtime friend and fellow Bowling Green alum, Phil Washburn, President and CEO of the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio. Phil shares honestly about what it looks like to lead an entire organization while still staying personally engaged with donors and major gifts work.Whether you are a frontline fundraiser or in senior leadership, this conversation will help you think more clearly about boundaries, priorities, and what a healthy partnership between a CEO and development team can look like in any nonprofit setting.In this episode, we cover:
How Phil thinks about “free time” as a CEO and what healthy work–life boundaries actually look like
Why modeling good work–life balance for your team matters as much as talking about it
Phil’s nonprofit origin story and how he grew from “perfect number two” into an effective CEO
The key differences between a strong major gift officer and a strong CEO, and where the roles overlap
How a CEO’s broader view of the organization can sharpen donor strategy and cultivation
What a healthy, day to day partnership between a CEO and Director of Development looks like
How Phil practically protects 20–25% of his week for fundraising, including personal calls to mid and major donors
The growing pressure on social service organizations as more nonprofits compete for limited funding
How changes in public funding are impacting local human service agencies and why collaboration is becoming essential
Looking for fundraising coaching? Check out www.abundantvision.net
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Transcript
Introduction to Abundant Vision Fundraising Podcast
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to the Abundant Vision Fundraising Podcast. Whether you are a seasoned professional or a first-time fundraiser, we have the advice you need to take your next step toward major gift mastery.
00:00:18
Speaker
I'm your host, Tom Dauber, President of Abundant Vision Philanthropic Consulting.
Phil Washburn's Vision of the Nonprofit World
00:00:25
Speaker
Well, good morning. This is Tom Dauber. It's morning at the time of this recording. I am here with my classmate from Bowling Green State University and an old longtime friend, Phil Washburn, who's the president and CEO of the Furniture Bank of Central
Phil's Personal Life and Work-Life Balance
00:00:43
Speaker
Ohio.
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to the show, Phil. Thanks, Tom. It's great to be here with you. well Well, Phil, as I usually say, you know this is a fundraising show, and we're certainly going to talk about fundraising. You're a CEO, though.
00:00:56
Speaker
You do some different things. your your Your vision of the nonprofit world is a lot broader than that of just a a regular major gift officer. But I know you've got major gift chops, too. So we're we're going to want you to talk about all that stuff today. But before we get into those sorts of things...
00:01:12
Speaker
Could you tell our audience a little bit about how you like to spend your free time, what you do with yourself when you're not leading a nonprofit? Yeah, that that's a great question, Tom. And I think, you know, anybody who out who's been out there and when you step into a CEO role, that word free time.
00:01:29
Speaker
ah becomes a little bit more of a something that you dream about and think about versus actually have. But yeah, you know, i have a lot of things that I that i ah spend my time with. Obviously, my family, i have a great relationship with my family. i have two daughters and we we really enjoy spending a lot of time together. And so if I'm not at work, that's, you know, that's one of the big places I'm going to be is spending time with my kids, playing games, you know, watching shows, talking about life and, and and you know, taking our dog for a walk and doing those sorts of things. But but outside of that, i'm I'm very involved in my church. i
00:02:08
Speaker
I sit on the board there and spend quite a bit of time ah serving
Phil's Journey into the Nonprofit Sector
00:02:12
Speaker
in that capacity. I teach at my church and and and other capacities as well. And then finally, if if I do have a little bit of moment, you know, I'm a bit of DIYer. I'm always working on my house, working on my yard, my garden, woodworking, you know, building furniture, doing something like that. So Unfortunately, that doesn't happen nearly as much as I would prefer, but but it's it's it's still a passion. It's still something that and maybe when i my head hits the pillow at night, I think about it and and there will be a day when I get to do a little bit more of that kind of stuff.
00:02:43
Speaker
well Well, since you brought it up, and I know we've got a lot of things to cover today. but But you talked about how being a CEO is something that keeps you really busy and it and it does cut into your free time.
00:02:55
Speaker
How do you maintain balance, like healthy balance, between your role as the CEO of your nonprofit and being a dad, being a husband, being a friend, being a member of your church? How do you balance all that stuff? Because I'll bet a lot of our our listeners struggle with that very thing. We'd love to hear how you're you're successful at it.
Leadership Evolution and CEO Role
00:03:15
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I don't know if it's really balanced per se, but it's, you know, it is having to make hard choices at times. It's definitely sacrifice, you know, so there's, yeah, things that I would love to do personally, but I know that there's other demands of my time. And so I'm going to choose to maybe set aside, you know, my preferences. But I think first and foremost, i I'm really motivated by leading by example for my team. And I want my team to have a healthy work-life balance. and And, and, and so if I'm constantly, you know, shooting them emails at nine 30 or 10 o'clock at night or texting them, my thoughts, you know, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm demonstrating really poor behavior that, that I don't want them to exhibit.
00:04:02
Speaker
I want them to be able to have that, that break. And so, so it's really being intentional that, you know, you know, you know, when I get to a certain point of the day, I'm shutting it down. Even though I feel like, man, there's there's more things that need to be done.
00:04:16
Speaker
Well, it'll be there at seven o'clock the next morning and I can jump back into it, you know? And so I think it's, you know, it's just a choice that has to be made to say, hey, you know, there are other things that need my time right now.
00:04:28
Speaker
And I want to really model that kind of you know healthy ah boundaries ah to my team. And so that's that's really a big part of it. And then it helps that I have a wife that's very understanding, but also says, hey, it's it's it's time for you to be home.
00:04:45
Speaker
and And reminds me when I need to turn off that part of my brain that's constantly thinking about you know something with work and and be engaged and and present with with my family.
00:04:56
Speaker
Well, it's great to have a wife or any spouse really in in our lives that that can help keep us on track, right? Because I know I benefit from that as well.
00:05:08
Speaker
Well, so I appreciate you jumping ahead
Holistic Leadership and Strategic Donor Relationships
00:05:11
Speaker
there a little bit with answering that question. But i'd I'd love to hear before we get into more of them, what's your nonprofit origin story? How did you become the nonprofit leader you are today?
00:05:23
Speaker
Yeah, that's ah that's a funny question. I would say, you know, I didn't, obviously, like a lot of folks who end up in the nonprofit space, I wasn't looking to to enter the nonprofit world.
00:05:34
Speaker
You know, when you and I were in college, I was studying biology pre-med and and i was getting I was getting a little worn out with the the academic life and and and a little burned out and had an opportunity to to go and and and serve as a missionary in Mexico.
00:05:51
Speaker
And, you know, took that opportunity to kind of evaluate where I was at and in my journey, but also to to have a positive impact in the lives of folks outside of America.
00:06:04
Speaker
And so that was my first, you know, kind of foray into the
Fundraising Challenges and Collaboration
00:06:09
Speaker
nonprofit space, the learning kind of the uniquenesses of ah of the nonprofit sector.
00:06:15
Speaker
um and and And pretty much outside of of about a two-year ah hiatus where I was in the the public sector or the private sector, I should say, you know trying to pay down my student loans, most of my career has been in the nonprofit space. and And what's interesting about it is you know i've i've I've done everything as far as I've been a development person and done fundraising, I've done programs, I've done operations, and and and now I'm
00:06:46
Speaker
a CEO. And so, you know, I've enjoyed being able to use kind of all of my talents, however they come out and express themselves in the nonprofit space to be able to benefit, um,
00:07:00
Speaker
you know, the the folks in the community that we're serving. That's wonderful. Now, what was the step? What was the moment where you're like, oh, I think I could be a CEO. Obviously, you applied for a job. There's all and and you built up some some career. I know you spent a long time with Habitat and some other organizations.
00:07:18
Speaker
But but when when was the moment where you thought, hey, I would really love to be the person kind of you know guiding the ship? that's an interesting question as well. I, you know, I think it's, it's been a journey for that as well. I, I, I've always been, i think a natural leader, but you know, throughout most of my life, you know, folks have looked at me as a leader. i'm an Eagle scout. You know, I, I, you know, kind of demonstrate some of that leadership ability. And so when I was on that, that, that first, uh, uh, team in Mexico, I was asked to be the team leader.
00:07:53
Speaker
And, uh, And that was really my baptism by fire of really having a team that was looking to me to make decisions to lead and guide them. And honestly, it was it was rough. It wasn't wasn't a great experience. And in fact, my my second year down there, they asked me to lead again. And I said, no, I said, I need to, you know, and need to not lead. I think there's, you know, there was somebody else on the team that I thought was a better leader.
00:08:21
Speaker
And I said, i'll I'll be happy to be kind of their number two. and and and and and you know be able to support their leadership and come alongside of them and and really feel freed up to lead in the best way that I know how.
00:08:34
Speaker
and and And so for a good long time, that was that was kind of the the trajectory I kind of had is I really enjoyed being that kind of number two person, you know coming alongside of the senior leader, whatever team I was on and
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:08:49
Speaker
in really supporting and elevating their leadership.
00:08:52
Speaker
And then I was at a nonprofit you know, here in in Columbus about 14 years ago now. And i was the i was the director of operations. i was providing a lot of a lot of support on the operations side of things.
00:09:11
Speaker
And i was supporting the CEO who was the founder of the organization. ah go on vacation and I come back and the board lets me know that the CEO resigned And that I was in charge. I was the i was the interim CEO.
00:09:25
Speaker
and And so all of a sudden, I'm back in this position where I'm leading. And i found that over the years and just working under someone else's leadership, I really kind of had started to hone my own ah style of leadership and and and and approach.
00:09:42
Speaker
I learned the things that I wanted to do and emulate and also learned some of the ways that maybe I would want to do things differently. And so during that season where I was the interim, you know i really got to start to put some of those those things in place.
00:09:55
Speaker
But I think there was always still this nagging, you know, I think you're still a better number two, you know, a person. and and And so when I stepped away from that role, kind of found myself back again into, started back actually into in fundraising for a little bit and and working my way up. and And what really kind of got me to the point where I'm like, yeah, I think I can be a CEO was,
00:10:17
Speaker
was when all of my peers around me really started saying, hey, you know you you you should be in leadership here. You know you should be the one you know providing ah the leadership that we need as an organization. And and and so when when you when you start having your peers really kind of see that in you and call that out, it starts to get you to the point where you start to believe it yourself.
00:10:42
Speaker
When you're ah When I started getting phone calls and and there was a season prior to me taking this this role where, I mean, I got four or five you know phone calls from different folks wanting me to come and be a CEO. You start to realize, OK, the folks are recognizing this in me, whether I see it or not.
00:11:00
Speaker
They're recognizing the ability here. And so I need to take that seriously and and really believe that I can provide the kind of leadership that an organization needs. Phil, you've done your fair share of fundraising over the years, but you do so much more than that.
00:11:15
Speaker
Tell us a bit about the differences you see between major gift officers versus president and CEO types, especially like what makes a great major gift officer versus what makes a great CEO. Yeah.
00:11:28
Speaker
Yeah, that's, I think that's a great question. And and I think a lot of it, there's there's so there's a lot of overlap, right? a good A good CEO has to be a major gift officer. You know, that's such an important part of my role is ensuring our our major donors are are being stewarded properly and and are being cared for, that we're thinking strategically about that relationship.
00:11:51
Speaker
But, you know, At the same time, I'm constantly being pulled in a lot of other different directions. So my strategic mind has to kind of, you know, compartmentalize. I can't just focus on the major gifts component because I have a lot of other departments that are, you know, needing me to think strategically and um and to be able to focus intently on what they need. And so I would say one of the big you know differences is there are some folks who would really struggle being able to to kind of divide their strategic mind amongst all of the different tasks and the different areas. And so having to think strategically about a donor and then turn to you know some sort of operations decision and then an h r you know decision and you know and and and maybe a big programmatic decision
00:12:38
Speaker
and And to be able to, you know, think very clearly at each of those different stages. I know that, you know, some folks that they they focus in on one thing and they're going to be really good and really strategic about that one area, but would struggle with the demands that maybe a CEO role would put on their minds and being able to kind of think in a lot of different categories, all, you know, within rapid succession.
00:13:07
Speaker
Tom Dauber here for Abundant Vision Philanthropic Consulting. Fundraising can be hard work and it can be hard to mentally get into the place you need to be in order to see new opportunities.
00:13:19
Speaker
Everyone struggles with it. We are like the fish in the fishbowl who just can't see the water they're swimming in. That's when having outside expertise comes in handy. For 25 years, I've been helping nonprofits analyze their challenges, discover new ways forward, and develop clear plans that lead to greater fundraising revenues.
00:13:39
Speaker
Now I am available to help your organization develop the abundant vision it needs to inspire new levels of philanthropy at your nonprofit as well. Check out AbundantVision.net to start your journey toward greater fundraising success today.
00:13:54
Speaker
Now, back to the show. No, that's a really great point. i don't I don't know that I would want to be the guy having to juggle all the balls that that you do. Fundraising's, I think, enough for me.
00:14:06
Speaker
um Given your perspective as a leader with that broader vision, how do you think about fundraising in a way that's maybe different than your director of development?
00:14:19
Speaker
Well, I... I think the the maybe the difference is is that because I'm so connected to all of the other aspects of the organization, um might be able to think about the the the donor relationship from a bigger picture perspective. And so there are aspects of you know of what we do that I might be aware of that might resonate with the donor, that our director of development doesn't really have the time to dig into every aspect of what we do as an organization. And they they she she does a great job of learning, you know, what we're doing and being involved. But at the same time, she has a department to run and and a lot of other, you know, responsibilities. And so my perspective is just going to be broader because of just my day-to-day involvement and everything. And so I think that, that,
00:15:12
Speaker
that perspective comes out and how I might approach a a specific donor. and and And we've seen it where, you know, we're having a conversation around, well, what's what's our next step with this donor?
00:15:25
Speaker
And I i might throw out an idea because of something that I'm seeing going on in the organization. And my director of development be like, That's it. You know, I wouldn't have thought of that, but that's totally the approach to take.
00:15:37
Speaker
And it's only because I have, a ah i think, a more holistic view of the organization that it's just not possible for my directorate of to development to fully grasp and do you know their job you know the best that they can.
00:15:51
Speaker
It sounds like you have a good relationship with your director of development. That's that's a real real boon for any nonprofit to have a close relationship between their CEO and their fundraiser.
00:16:02
Speaker
Absolutely. I mean, their office is right next door. We can literally talk through the walls to each other. You know, ah we're, you know, we don't have a lot of set meetings because all day long and we're in and out of each other's office, you know, bouncing ideas, asking questions, checking in with each other.
00:16:22
Speaker
And yeah, that that relationship is obviously, obviously, one of the more important relationships in an organization. Because we have to be pulling in the same direction, right? therere They're living in the in the development world all day long, but you know i'm I'm kind of jumping in and jumping out of it throughout the day.
00:16:42
Speaker
And so if I can't kind of jump in and be pulling in the same direction, you know really elevating their their their work, then you know we're going to be causing a lot of conflict. We're going to be causing a lot of you know, really wasted time and effort.
00:16:58
Speaker
You know, if we're start if we're not in alignment and we're pulling against each other, um it's going to come out and how we interact with those donors. It's going to come out and just the overall results of the organization.
00:17:09
Speaker
I guess I would ask too, what is your average amount of time per week that you spend on fundraising? It depends on the week, but I would say it's probably around eight to 10 hours a week is is what i'm I'm trying to put into that. And that's going to be a mix of,
00:17:26
Speaker
you know, doing direct donor work, you know, donor meetings, you know, to ah thinking strategically, to talking to my development team and helping them to strategize and and and plan.
00:17:38
Speaker
and and And so ah kind of, you know, there's there's ebbs and flows too, you know, as we we've been going through a capital campaign that that obviously adds, you know, some time to it, but it's probably around 20 25% of of my time.
00:17:54
Speaker
Got it. Yeah, that that sounds about right. So as a leader, and maybe it is the timepiece, I don't know, but what fundraising challenges are you finding yourself out presently running up against?
00:18:08
Speaker
Yeah, that that is really the big the big challenge is there's a lot of... ah a lot of things, you know, vying for the attention. And if I don't prioritize making those, those donor calls, you know, spending time and, and you know, and in strategic thinking around, around those relationships, it's easy for other responsibilities to creep in, you know?
00:18:32
Speaker
And so like, one of the things I've, I always try to do is anybody who gives over, over $500, I try to give them a personal call. And, you know, that takes a lot of time and, You know, it it may be, you know, 100 to 200 calls a year.
00:18:48
Speaker
But, you know, if if every one of them answers and even if we only talk for five to 10 minutes, you know, that's a that's a pretty significant investment of time. But it's something that I believe is is critical and is important to the health of our whole development strategy.
00:19:06
Speaker
And so that that's a big challenge. The other thing I think that and this is just I think globally an issue within the nonprofit community is we're increasingly seeing a lot of new nonprofits come online, which is is great, doing a lot of really great work.
00:19:25
Speaker
But, we're you know, you're you're you're seeing, you know, just more competition for. the same philanthropic dollars. And so you have to be a lot more creative. um yeah we yeah Another thing we're seeing is donors being really ah focused in on very specific ah causes or specific impacts that they're looking for.
00:19:45
Speaker
And so sometimes it takes creativity to help that donor see maybe how you are involved in that. And so it just means extra work, right? And so it's not it's not as simple as going in and talking about the mission, but it's helping to connect the dots on how the mission might be in alignment with some of their philanthropic goals.
00:20:08
Speaker
and And so I think that that all contributes to, it's it's ah can it's and just a challenging, I think, fundraising environment right now. Now, without getting too political,
00:20:20
Speaker
This is definitely not a X-oriented podcast. I know there's some changes going on at the federal level and the way funding gets out. And of course, that that I'm sure has a trickle-down impact on a lot of social service-related nonprofits such such as the Furniture Bank.
00:20:38
Speaker
Can you talk a little bit about how that has or hasn't affected you? And if it has affected you, how are you pivoting to deal with it? Yeah. Yeah, that's a great question. and And I like you, I try to avoid the politics of it. I i try to stay focused on just the just the raw facts.
00:20:57
Speaker
You know, we don't get any direct funding from the federal government, but we partner with about 80 agencies that we serve. And those agencies pay us a small fee to to so to serve them.
00:21:11
Speaker
and and And we've now ah lost at least four agencies from that list and and over $100,000 in revenue that we've been told of just in in the last few weeks that has been directly cut by executive orders.
00:21:29
Speaker
And so this is money that has historically you know been flowing from the federal government through these agencies out into the community through partners like us to make sure that folks in our community have some of their basic needs met. And so, you know, so that's a direct impact that we know as has happened. and And these are folks who are are helping, you know, ah refugees. These are folks that are helping homeless.
00:21:57
Speaker
These are folks that are, you know, helping those who are, you know, are our senior citizens and on fixed income. So, ah It's a number of different agencies that have been directly impacted by by these federal orders.
00:22:11
Speaker
And then the other thing is is that we know just broadly in central Ohio, there's $150 million dollars that was cut you directly from executive orders. And so that's $150 million dollars that was coming here to central Ohio every year to help care for our community and and the folks in our community And to have all of that money cut immediately, just think about the gap that that provides or the gap that let that leads here in central Ohio.
00:22:45
Speaker
that's That's not a gap that state and in local funds or philanthropic community can fill. That's a gap that ultimately results in cut services.
00:22:56
Speaker
and And so, you know, politics aside, that's going to have a real impact in our community. and That's jobs. You know, that's not just the the the folks who are being served. It's the that's the folks who are serving them that are are going to be impacted by that. And so, you know, we can argue and discuss, you know, the merits of of these decisions at a federal level without really thinking about the downstream impact, ah the the the literally thousands of lives that
00:23:30
Speaker
that are now disrupted as a result of of those decisions. Well, know that you're part of a cohort of human services organizations, the Human Service Chamber of of Commerce.
00:23:45
Speaker
Shout out to Michael Corey there yeah who leads that group. Are you all talking to each other about this change in the the the funding environment? Are you working together somehow to try and make sure that as few people fall through the gap as possible?
00:24:01
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. And that's one of the benefits of having a group like that is there's about 200 or so agencies that work together through that organization. And so we're connected, we're pulling together and and we're looking for ways you know that we can best fill the gap and and do it as efficiently as possible, but know that you know the gap needs to be filled. you know Otherwise,
00:24:26
Speaker
You know, the already increasing homelessness population here in central Ohio, that number is just going to skyrocket if it isn't for our agencies like us who are helping come alongside of those folks. And so, yeah, we're we're doing everybody's doing the best they can.
00:24:43
Speaker
and And there is lots of conversations about how we can work together and be more efficient. And I think, again, maybe one of the positives that's going to come out of this is that there's going to be maybe some agencies that have duplicated services that they're going to be able to say, hey, we need to come together and and and and and and and maybe merge or or collaborate so that we're not overlapping each other's services, services but we're you know maybe expanding each other's ability to serve by doing it together.
00:25:13
Speaker
That's all the time we have today, but be sure to tune in next week to hear the next part of this exciting conversation. Now, if you've enjoyed this podcast, please be sure to subscribe and give us a five-star rating on your podcast provider.
00:25:27
Speaker
I'm your host, Tom Dauber. Thank you for joining me as we journey together towards major gift mastery on the Abundant Vision Fundraising Podcast.