Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Tom Dauber: Embracing transparent curiosity for better results.
53 Plays5 months ago
In this episode, Tom discusses common assumptions fundraisers make about donors, why they prevent good fundraising and how to do better by embracing transparent curiosity.
Looking for Fundraising Coaching?
Check out www.abundantvision.net
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Abundant Vision Fundraising Podcast
00:00:11
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. I'm your host, Tom Dauber, president of Abundant Vision Philanthropic Consultancy.
Donor Preferences Discussion
00:00:33
Speaker
So I was meeting with a nonprofit leader this weekend, and we were just having a brief discussion.
00:00:41
Speaker
um He'd been listening to some of my podcasts. Ryan, I know you're out there, so shout out to you. um You've inspired this particular one. um
00:00:55
Speaker
He was talking with me about donors, different types of donors. In his experience, they really prefer to give to things in the community. And and he was struggling to understand how, why they might give to other causes or in different ways. It's a great question. And it's something that I run into a lot. um and And truthfully, you know, I've had my own assumptions about that over the years.
00:01:27
Speaker
And it's it's true, some donors do prefer to give in particular ways. There are donors that only want to give to their local community for various reasons. I think of a CEO I approached once of a pharmaceutical company and this person ah was from India and they only gave to charitable causes in India.
00:01:55
Speaker
And they had good rationale for it. You know, the the dollar can do a lot more in India than it can in the United States. but the The purchasing power is just better. So, oh, there was no criticism on my part for her rationale. Made sense to me. Probably do the same thing if I had those concerns, right?
Understanding Donor Interests
00:02:14
Speaker
So, but the only way that you can understand the various types of donors that you're engaging with And to kind of tease out what their interests are, why they give, how they like to give all those things is is really um by asking them. And I know that that might sound kind of obvious, but it's it's totally true. It's so important in fundraising that we never make assumptions for our donors.
00:02:54
Speaker
We don't want to assume, for example, that they want their name on a building or that other types of recognition are or aren't important to them. You know, you're going to run into some donors who really value, uh,
00:03:13
Speaker
Thank you notes. You're going to have other donors who are going to tell you, Hey, just don't waste your time on that. You know, give me a call. Let me know how my giving is making a difference, but, but don't waste postage, you know, cause they're frugal and that's their business. Um, I still might send them a thank you note every once in a while, but, uh, but you just gotta be thoughtful and the name of the game.
00:03:34
Speaker
for fundraising success really is trying to customize the donor experience in a way that makes them feel known and appreciated and as if they were really shrewd in investing in the work that you're doing.
Varied Donor Interests and Emotional Giving
00:03:50
Speaker
So when we look at the different types of things that a donor could be into, you know some of them could be international sorts of efforts, some of them could be into global types of efforts.
00:04:04
Speaker
um You know, I mean, if we think about even just our nation today, ah there were probably a lot of people energized around the recent election and giving to national causes that supported their candidate of choice.
00:04:22
Speaker
and And even today, I know a lot of lot of folks are are passionate about ah the war in Ukraine and are giving generously to nonprofits ah trying to provide relief there. right so So we can all think about those those sorts of efforts and and how they're being funded by people. um And there's also occasional giving. I'll never forget 9-11.
00:04:47
Speaker
you know, back there and in 2001, uh, I rushed out looking for some place to give blood to not knowing that blood donations weren't needed or helpful because frankly, there just weren't that many survivors, uh, to need the blood. But, but, um, but I, I'll never forget driving 20 minutes to the place that, um, normally there are blood drives for, uh, outside of my community and, um,
00:05:17
Speaker
There was nothing going on there. and But I was so frustrated and so really devastated by what had happened. I had spent time at the Twin Towers in my youth and and had positive memories there and lived in New York City for a few summers. And I was so moved, I felt like I needed to do something. And you're going to find that today.
00:05:44
Speaker
you know you're gonna hear about hurricanes and people being moved ah to support those types of efforts. um you know And there's there's great organizations like Convoy of Hope and the Red Cross and and many, many others that are really focused as disasters happen to get out there and go. And and you're gonna find those people that that care a lot about those things, especially if it's a location like for me that meant a lot to them.
00:06:11
Speaker
And then, of course, as my as my friend Ryan was thinking about, um local local stuff. People certainly care about what's going on in their backyard, what's happening to the youth in their community, all those sorts of things.
00:06:27
Speaker
um so So how do you know? How do you know what somebody wants?
Transparency and Customizing Donor Experience
00:06:33
Speaker
Well, when you approach them, the number one rule in fundraising is is be transparent.
00:06:43
Speaker
And again, we're not making assumptions here. So I would just and we just say to them, hey, you know i I know you've given a lot to to this cause over here locally. you've You've made a big impact. As someone who thinks about philanthropy, as someone who has has found joy in helping others, I'm really curious, what do you think about this cause?
00:07:09
Speaker
and And what about it is attractive or not attractive to you? Because I'm committed to it. I want to see it see this issue addressed. um But I know that not everybody's going to want to be a part of this effort. What do you recommend? How how should I be thinking about this work presently?
00:07:38
Speaker
so Once you've asked that question, i would I would just be quiet. I would let them talk and and hear what they have to say.
00:07:51
Speaker
um
00:07:54
Speaker
It's important in that effort though, is that you want to ask really clear questions. Part of not making assumptions is calling out the question calling out the the elephants in the room.
00:08:15
Speaker
What I mean is, if there's something that you're thinking is going to impact them, that's gonna impact the way they might respond to your solicitation or your invitation to be a part of such an effort, call it out. You know you might say something like,
00:08:33
Speaker
you know You've given a lot of money to this other thing over here. and And I know in a lot of situations, after someone makes a really big gift, a lot of times they they might be tapped out for a season. you know it's It's probably not the right time for them to make a gift. Is that your experience?
00:08:56
Speaker
Because you you might find that it's not. You might find that they're looking for the next thing to support. In coming to it from that perspective, what you're showing to your donor is that you have a desire to empathize with them and their situation, that you're being thoughtful about the experiences they're having, and and and even that that you're sensitive and and reasonable and not not making assumptions that they're going to want to be a part of what you're doing. And I'll tell you, people find
00:09:32
Speaker
transparency and clarity and in honesty, um very winsome. It's a great way to really connect with donors by just telling them the truth and laying it out there in a way that's that's not assuming. That's the approach that you want to take. Now, the other line of questioning and And I think I've talked with this before, talked about this before on another podcast, but you really want to take that opportunity while you have them there to learn about their deepest passions.
Understanding Donor Motives
00:10:11
Speaker
That is ask them what they like to give to and why.
00:10:20
Speaker
Oftentimes people will, will tell you about the other nonprofits that they like to support. And learning those motives it can be really, really important. Understanding that someone has a deep value for taking care of animals or supporting an organization that was there for them or their kids or their grandparents or or what have you, um that's really helpful to know. Because sometimes when you when you learn something like that, you can actually show them
00:10:58
Speaker
how there is a bridge between the values that they have, the concerns that they have, or the the giving motivations that they have, and the work that you're trying to do that they may not have seen otherwise.
00:11:19
Speaker
And that also gives you an opportunity too to ask them very honestly how they feel about your organization. and the work you're doing, do they know much about it? Uh, maybe they've only heard about the organization from afar, but haven't fully understood all that you're doing or why you do it. Uh, and the impact that you're making, it's a great opportunity. Um, now you might learn that they dislike you, not you personally, but, but your organization and that's actually helpful too, because we always want to be humble and we always want to
00:12:00
Speaker
taken take a curious approach and learn about where we may have made missteps, where our organization you may even owe somebody an apology. you know maybe Maybe your organization dropped the ball in some way. Maybe you didn't say thank you when you when you needed to. and And that isn't to say that there wasn't a good like a good reason for it. but What I mean is you know I've seen times where Major gift officers have transitioned out and there's been a gap in the role for a while. And thank you letters haven't been sent. People haven't been engaged properly. um there's There's good reason for that. That's nobody's fault necessarily. If an organization is understaffed and is missing a person, well, it it stands to reason that they they're going to drop the ball. I mean, that's just what happens when people leave.
00:12:57
Speaker
But once you know that there's been ah an offense there somehow, well, then you can address it. And then you can try to make things right. And you can show to the donor, hey, you know we're we're not perfect. We make mistakes, but we hear you. And we want to be responsive to that. So so again, learning how they feel about your organization um and and and the impact that you're making, that's so important. Because you might find you have a great ah great ally and advocate that you never knew about. um And maybe one that it was just a matter of time till they gave to you. You
Fundraising Strategy Services and Donor Engagement
00:13:34
Speaker
just, somebody needed to broach the topic. Tom Dobber here for Abundant Vision Philanthropic Consulting.
00:13:42
Speaker
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. 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.
00:14:00
Speaker
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. 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 dot.net to start your journey toward greater fundraising success today. Now, back to the show.
00:14:28
Speaker
You know, as you have someone that you're talking to about this sort of thing, you can kind of even conduct a mini feasibility study with them. And that is to say, you want to be prepared with some hypothetical questions for their response and consideration.
00:14:45
Speaker
This is really important, um especially if you're at a university or some other place where there's a complicated multi-step process of of getting things approved. That is to say, in many like universities, you've got to have a board of trustees agree to like a building project, a big building project.
00:15:13
Speaker
but at the same time, those boards of trustees aren't gonna wanna approve a boarding project a building project if they don't know that that money's coming in. And so what comes first there, the chicken or the egg, right? People don't wanna give to a project that hasn't been affordd approved by the board, but the board doesn't wanna approve anything that hasn't been funded by a donor. So what do you do? Well, this is the land of hypothetical questions.
00:15:42
Speaker
and and And so you just say this, you know if if there was a way that we could provide our students a better facility, if there was a way we could help solve issue X, whatever the thing is, if there was a way we could do this, would that matter to you? Would you wanna be involved in some way?
00:16:05
Speaker
and And at that point in the conversation, you you should have some plan. you know maybe Maybe the thing is, well, we really feel like we need to build a new lab or a new classroom or um a new outreach center. but Whatever the thing is, you should have some sense for what that would cost, how much that would be, even before you have permission from your board to move forward with it, but to just know.
00:16:32
Speaker
And and that would that would be the point, again, where you listen. When you ask, would that matter to you? You wanna know, well, why would that matter to you? How much does that matter to you? why did Why is that important in this situation, in this time, in this community, or in this context, right? And to the question, would you wanna be involved? You also wanna ask things like, well, how would you wanna be involved?
00:17:01
Speaker
Could you see yourself giving to that that type of thing? Could you see yourself volunteering on a fundraising board or a campaign committee? um Could you see yourself hosting an event in your home to encourage other people? you know Could you be an advocate for this project?
00:17:19
Speaker
um Broaching those questions from a place of of
00:17:27
Speaker
of the hypothetical scenario is fine, because then what that does, and but it's crucial that it's crucial that you communicate clearly, we don't know if this is gonna happen. Because unless we get the support to get the approval of the board, it's not happening. Because what you don't wanna do is get their hopes up that you're gonna do it for sure, right? You wanna to be very clear, this is very tentative. We don't know if this is gonna happen.
00:17:57
Speaker
Because what that also does is it creates a sense of urgency. Donors tend to be motivated, certainly by the emotion and the passion of a thing. But they also tend to be motivated by a particular sense of urgency that their gift, if made in a timely way, could make a real impact in this moment.
00:18:19
Speaker
you know um You know, when one time I closed a half million dollar gift because it came down to my organization who was competing with another organization, right, ah for a particular ah person. and We were both trying to recruit the same person and we needed to have ah particular facilities for that person. And it was gonna cost us at least half a million.
00:18:46
Speaker
And I was able to say to a donor, hey, if we can get this commitment from you, this is gonna let us beat out that other organization and and make sure we bring the best people to our organization, right? But it was very time bound. It was very time sensitive and they were all about it. Now, I talked to two other people and they turned me down, right? But they totally got it. They were not upset that I was asking them,
00:19:13
Speaker
on the spur of a moment for a very large gift, ah because these were all people we knew well, they knew we knew they were in their corner, and we knew they would want to know ah because of how important this recruitment was for the organization. you know and And so we led with that, right? Like, well, we know that this isn't the ideal time. um But if you could invest at this time, you could help us do something remarkable to move the organization forward. But but either way, it was all it was all tentative.
00:19:43
Speaker
if we can get this, then we can do that, right? But then that lets you go back to your board to say, hey, I've talked with 10 people and five of them have all said, if if we were doing this, I would be willing to do that, right? And and that can be really meaningful. I mean, there's there's folks, you know, in feasibility studies, when you when you hire a consultant like me ah to come in and talk with your donors about these things,
00:20:09
Speaker
um you know that that's That's the sort of thing that helps an organization know if they really can move forward, but it's all gonna be hypothetical. And you can have those hypothetical conversations with your donors, as but you just gotta be clear you know that it's that it's not a for sure thing.
00:20:32
Speaker
Again, you know back to that idea of even just just calling out the question very clearly. Are you the sort of person that we should be thinking about as a potential donor? And it's okay if you're not. Gotta always put that out there. we This isn't a place for judgment, right? This is a place for clarity and in honesty and transparency. Are you someone we should be thinking about as a potential donor?
00:21:01
Speaker
or Or are your philanthropic dollars fully committed at this point? Is this just not the right time? That's totally okay. We're just asking questions here and and there's never a bad question. you know you could You could even go as far as to ask them for advice about how would they approach funding such an effort.
00:21:26
Speaker
and And who might they be talking to you? two Who might they be talking to if they were you, right? because you you could learn some things. Now, you might get some advice that's no good. So you never wanna promise them that you're gonna do what they they say. um Sometimes you're gonna talk to people that aren't philanthropic, don't know much about giving or how things really work. And so they may just tell you, well, you need to ask,000 people for a dollar. That's really what you need to do.
00:21:58
Speaker
is just just get a million people to give you five bucks a piece and then you'll have all the money that you need you know for your $5 million dollars project. Well, it doesn't work like that. Uh, but you know, I've, I've had nonprofit leaders, frankly, that I thought should have known better actually come to me and say, Tom, Hey, you know, I, I was, I was watching this thing that Bernie Sanders was doing and raising all this money and couldn't, couldn't we just get, you know, our 8,000 alumni to each give us five bucks. I mean, couldn't we just do that? And, um, yeah.
00:22:35
Speaker
that was a non-starter. So again, you're gonna get advice, you're gonna get input that's no good, but but by just soliciting that advice, you're gonna begin to engage them, you're gonna be able to really see what they think and how they feel about the effort.
Avoiding Assumptions and Emotional Connection
00:22:50
Speaker
um And in some cases, you might get referrals to talk to people who who also ah care about that sort of thing, or or you know they may begin to open your network their network to you, which can be valuable to you as a fundraiser.
00:23:04
Speaker
So, so here's the take home. Never make an assumption that donors only like this or only like that. Heck, I had somebody not too long ago tell me donors don't like facial hair. If you want to be a fundraiser, you can't have a beard.
00:23:24
Speaker
Well, I had a beard for a decade and did just fine, as as did our senior vice president at the time, right? In fact, at most universities right now, since beards are in style, most of the men, ah many of them have beards, because that's just the end thing these days. But but somebody heard that once.
00:23:46
Speaker
and and made an assumption that that was just true. right you can't You can't make assumptions about donors. They're all going to have different different beliefs,
00:24:00
Speaker
different worldviews, different assumptions about life that they're operating from. And it it never pays to assume anything about a donor, right? I mean, think about it. We've got like 1.6 million nonprofits in our country doing all sorts of work. And most of them are dependent upon donor dollars, right? So if any one particular set of assumptions was true that like donors only give to their communities or donors only give to bricks and mortar or donors only like to give to endowment, or donors never like to give to endowment. Well, none of these places would, only one type of these places would exist. You know, there would either be lots of places with endowments or lots of places without endowments. There would be lots of bricks and mortar projects ah or no bricks and mortar projects, right?
00:24:46
Speaker
but But that's not what we see when we look across the country. We see lots of different organizations working locally, nationally, globally, funding all sorts of different things you know from efforts to you know serve the poor, drill water wells,
00:25:01
Speaker
um you know create endowed chairs, ah fund drug research. you know whatever it is, reaching kids in in in in small communities, all those sorts of things are out there and that money's coming from donors. So someone cares, someone believes, it's not gonna be every donor every time, but there's as many different donors and as many different interests of those donors as there are causes. That's the only thing I think we can really be sure of as we take this approach.
00:25:37
Speaker
so Lastly, rather than making limiting assumptions, you need to engage your donors and ask them yourself because ultimately you're the person as the as the the staff person or the leader at that organization that the donor wants to connect with.
00:25:57
Speaker
You're the one that has the credibility. You're the one that is the spokesperson of for your organization. So get out there, get on the phones, call people, and begin to have hypothetical conversations about how you could work together to to change the world. And one last thing, a fella out there who's a a great fundraising consultant, Jim Langley, had him on the show before. um He shared something that's relevant to this conversation.
00:26:24
Speaker
He said, elicit before you so elicit. And that's kind of the heart of what I was getting at today, right? um You wanna connect with them in a way that elicits their emotion and their interest, right? That provokes um their deepest concerns. because Because once you've had a conversation and you can begin to see those things come out of them,
00:26:53
Speaker
What do they get riled up about? What do they they get impassioned about? Then you know how to go in any given conversation. And it it may be, hey, it's not us. talk to Talk to our colleagues down the street because they're doing the thing you care about, right? But but ultimately, if you're wondering, how do I figure out what people want to give to, you've got to have conversations that elicit their passions and interests.
00:27:20
Speaker
so that you know how to solicit. So, elicit before you enjoyed this podcast, please be sure to subscribe and give us a five-star rating on your podcast