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Fundraising Courage, Board Chemistry & Big Vision Campaigns w/ Phil Washburn
66 Plays6 months ago
In this final segment of Tom’s conversation with Phil Washburn, President and CEO of the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, the focus turns squarely to the inner game of fundraising, the power of relationships, and what it takes to lead a mission-focused organization through major campaigns and big transitions.Phil shares honestly about his own journey from nervous asker to more confident, conversational fundraiser, and how deep donor trust, clear vision, and strong board partnership all work together to fuel impact.In this episode, we cover:
How Phil’s “baptism by fire” into fundraising shaped his relational approach with donors
Why honest, unvarnished conversations about financial challenges actually deepen donor trust
Moving from transactional pitches to conversational, collaborative asking
Practical question prompts Phil uses to understand what truly resonates with donors before making the ask
A powerful “Unity Build” story that brought diverse partners together around a shared community goal
How a clear sense of purpose sustains you through the hard and exhausting seasons of nonprofit work
Why the CEO–board relationship can make or break an organization
What a healthy, mission-centered board looks like in practice
How Phil invests in individual relationships with board members to strengthen governance and alignment
An inside look at the Furniture Bank’s capital campaign, new warehouse, expanded woodshop, and growing thrift enterprise model
How social enterprise and thrift stores are helping fuel mission, divert waste from landfills, and stabilize revenue
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. I'm your host, Tom Dauber, President of Abundant Vision Philanthropic Consulting. Last week's conversation was a blast. I'm so excited to have you with me for this next segment.
00:00:30
Speaker
Let's get back to the show.
Reluctance and Necessity in Fundraising
00:00:32
Speaker
Tell me a bit about your journey as a person who participates in fundraising, ah you know, as the CEO, but I know you were kind of the development guy in a previous life.
00:00:45
Speaker
Over over the the course of your career, where have you felt you've been really successful at fundraising? and And what's been a challenge for you as a fundraiser? Yeah, that's...
00:00:58
Speaker
that's ah That's a fun question, you know, because I would say, you know, as I as i shared earlier, i didn't really go into fundraising for the sake of fundraising. I didn't go into the nonprofit space to become a fundraiser. I wanted to to do the mission work that I that i felt really passionate about.
00:01:14
Speaker
But the organization i that I was going with, one of the things that they had as an expectation is everybody who serves with them raises their own salary. And so that was my baptism by fire.
00:01:27
Speaker
ah you know, and learning how to fundraise. I got a little bit of training and and then sent off to raise, you know, whatever I needed to to live on for the next couple of years.
Building Trust with Donors
00:01:38
Speaker
And and so, you know,
00:01:40
Speaker
ah You learn a lot just in in the process, you know, and and and I would say I learned a lot over those years of the importance of connecting well with the with the donor, um listening and understanding um their their their passions and their their perspective.
00:02:01
Speaker
And the and and I learned really the but the better that I did at connecting a at a real heart level with the donor. the the easier it was to get them to you know to to donate. And so um you know that's ah that that's one of the those kind of you know fundamental lessons is that I've learned over the years is it's really about the relationship.
00:02:26
Speaker
And so as I've you know done development roles um over you know the course of my career and and even now, you know that's i that's fundamentally what I always fall back on is is it's really the relationship building piece and finding that way to connect um and b you know ah you know be real with with the donor. you know i I believe in not sugarcoating. I had a ah major donor meeting yesterday and you know we we were talking very frank about the impacts you know that ah the the current economic you know situation is having on our organization and and some of our plans on
00:03:10
Speaker
how to respond, you know, and, and you know, it may sound, ah you know, ah you know, a little scary to be that open and honest about what you're thinking about having to do in order to balance your budget when you're asking this donor to continue to believe in you and invest in you.
00:03:28
Speaker
And yet, um you know, they really appreciated that honesty. And it really, i think, goes a long way to say, hey, we're in this together.
Conversational Fundraising Approach
00:03:38
Speaker
We're we're dependent on each other. they They want to do good work in the community and they know it's not their skill set to do that, and but they do have the money to be able to leverage for that. And so um um so that that that piece is you know really important for for our success is just building that um that strong leadership.
00:03:59
Speaker
a trusted relationship. The things that I would say, I, you know, I've always struggled with, I'm not great at the ask. I'll be honest. You know, that's, that's the point, you know, when I first started, you know, I could, I could, you know, have a great rapport and, and, and answer the questions and feel really comfortable.
00:04:19
Speaker
And then as I started getting close to the ask, man, my heart started beating out of my chest and, You know, ah you know, I get all all sweaty and and and and, you know, that's that's a that's a thing that that it's not easy to do. Right. It's not easy for whatever reason to ask people for money.
00:04:37
Speaker
and and And so that's something that I've just learned is it's a part of the job. It's a part of the role. If I want to do ah the work that i that I'm passionate about, um this is a part of what needs to be done. And i've you know I've gotten better at it. I don't get nearly as nervous about it as I used to.
00:04:56
Speaker
and And I've also gotten better at you know learning how to really phrase ah phrase the ask in ways that um that feel less intimidating, but still, um you know, kind of get get to the heart of what, you know, what what we're going at and and and making it more conversational versus, you know, just putting it out on the table and and and being silent.
00:05:20
Speaker
I've done that tactic um and and it works and it's important because yeah sometimes you got to you know give that donor time to to sit and think and process. but but also using question techniques to to kind of get to, you know, where where are they thinking? what's what's their What's their level of comfort? and and and And really having more of a conversational approach has helped as well.
00:05:45
Speaker
Tell me more about how, like like you've mentioned some things that you've done as you've gotten more experienced. Give me some examples of those for for our listeners that that may be really curious.
From Transactional to Emotional Fundraising
00:05:58
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, one of the things is is that when I was, you know, trained early on as a fundraiser, it was very much a yeah very systematic process. And you kind of, you make your pitch and you really try to connect with them through a couple of questions, but you really are, it's all getting to this this ask, right?
00:06:17
Speaker
um and And again, that that had its time and its purpose. I learned a lot from that. um But it it it leaned towards being very transactional. And so, you know, as I've developed really my own ah fundraising style and have they've learned that my strength in fundraising is my ability to connect with the donor um and um and and engage with them at a real up emotional level.
00:06:43
Speaker
um You know, I've learned to modify ah that a little bit. And so, um you know, one thing is just asking the question. So, you know, is there something that I've shared today that you really resonate with?
00:06:56
Speaker
you know, a simple question like that, that, um that I might be picking up that, hey, they they might be leaning towards this, but, but it gives me an opportunity to really hear from them that, they oh, you know, when you yeah you talked about that, that really struck me, you know, and and then it that helps me to fine tune my ask and say, okay, well, let's talk a little bit about that. What does that look like for you to invest? You know, what what would you think is a ah meaningful investment?
00:07:25
Speaker
You know, here's here's what that need looks like from our organization standpoint, what the cost is associated with that. um and it And it becomes really this, ah the you know, kind of joint conversation that's coming to to that that that point of, you know, that conclusion of the ask.
00:07:44
Speaker
and In the end, I'm still going to say, would you would you consider, you know, supporting us at this level for this, you know, particular, you know, program? But we've already had a lot of conversations around it before I ever and ever get to that that point.
00:07:58
Speaker
No, that's great. So, When you think about your career in the nonprofit world, um and you're you're going you're going on 25 years or so now, I'd i'd say, oh given we're about the same age.
00:08:15
Speaker
um Are there any highlights that you think of that you're especially proud of? Yeah, there's there's probably ah a couple that, you know, I think, you know,
00:08:26
Speaker
um I guess I you know i don't think of of what I've done in terms of of being proud of it or not, but I think there's a couple of really meaningful moments.
Success Stories: Faith Communities Collaborating
00:08:35
Speaker
um i When I was working for Habitat for Humanity, i had the opportunity to help develop what we called the Unity Build. And we would oftentimes get um a lot of diverse partners together to fund a ah house and then And then those partners would you know kind of break up their various different times to um to come and volunteer on the house. But most of the time, there was very little interaction between the various partners that we would pull together on that house.
00:09:08
Speaker
But I had this vision of what would it look like um for us to take folks from ah various faith traditions ah here in central Ohio and have them work together on the same on the same project.
00:09:22
Speaker
and fund the same project. And so, um you know, so I approached members of um of the the Jewish community and the the Muslim community, the Hindu community, the Sikh community, the Jain community, the Buddhist community, and and and then the Christian community and and invited them all to come together um to help fund a house for a family in our community that that needed affordable housing.
00:09:50
Speaker
and and and And not only to fund it together, but to build it together, to actually have days where folks from different backgrounds worked together on the same house. And it was really a ah ah beautiful image of what can happen when we kind of let um all of the differences that we have, ah you know, be put to the side and we focus on the things that we actually all ah believe in and agree on.
00:10:18
Speaker
you know, and, and one of the things we all, you know, believe is that fundamentally everybody deserves a good place to to live. Um, and, and, and so that's something that we can focus our, our, our attention on and, and work together on. And it was really a ah beautiful, uh, project to see come to fruition, to see, ah the relationships and the friendships, uh, that were built. And, you I, I, I talked to a Christian pastor whose, whose church, uh,
00:10:48
Speaker
built the walls of the house. um and and and and And he became friends with one of the leaders of of the of the ah Islamic mosque that ah was very involved in the project. And they and they would get together for lunch and and and would talk. and And what ah what ah ah what a beautiful picture of of what can happen when ah when we when we've kind of put our focus on the right things.
00:11:16
Speaker
That's fantastic. i've I've often thought about, you know, the the faith-based sector as a whole. um you know, beyond denominationalism or or various faith traditions. and and And we all have our differences, to be sure.
00:11:32
Speaker
And some of them are really deep, you know, fundamental philosophical ways of looking at the universe that are just, they're not the same. Yet yet with within that that faith-based community, there is so much commonality. And and I think We shortchange things by not looking to find unity, the unity that we can find in those those common values. So that that's bravo to you, Phil. that's That's a really cool idea. I hope they have continued on with that.
Nonprofit Sector and Faith-based Collaboration
00:12:03
Speaker
yeah yeah Yeah. You know, it's's to your point, one of the few things that most faith traditions that I've ever ah come across have in common is that there is some ah teaching on caring for the poor.
00:12:17
Speaker
Yeah. yeah and And so, you know, it's something that all of us, you know, no matter what faith background we're coming from, are being taught to care for the poor. Well, why can't we do that together?
00:12:29
Speaker
um and and And, you know, i'm I believe that, you know, um the way that we can oftentimes most effectively put our faith tradition into practice, whatever that faith tradition is, is through through service, is through, you know, putting it into action.
00:12:47
Speaker
by caring for the poor, by meeting the needs of the community. And so, um you know, I believe that that's that's why the nonprofit sector exists. When you look back in history, it's because faith communities saw a need and they came together and met that need. And it's what we call today the nonprofit sector.
00:13:08
Speaker
But it really has always been rooted in ah people of faith, putting that faith into action to make ah an impact in the world. Tom Dauber here for Abundant Vision Philanthropic Consulting.
00:13:21
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 That's when having outside expertise comes in handy.
00:13:39
Speaker
For 25 years, I've been helping nonprofits analyze the 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.
00:13:58
Speaker
Check out AbundantVision.net to start your journey toward greater fundraising success today. Now, back to the show. How does your faith inform the work that you do, Phil?
00:14:10
Speaker
Yeah, you know, you can probably hear it. It's a big motivating factor for me. and and and and And I don't do it out of obligation. It's really just an appreciation for ah what my faith teaches me that I've been given. um And that and when I understand how much I've been given, then I have an opportunity to give that back.
00:14:32
Speaker
um and and and and really unique and and and tangible ways. And so it's really what's driven my most of my career is a desire to really give back to the community, make a a very tangible impact in the lives of the folks that that come across my path. And I can't change people's lives.
00:14:55
Speaker
um You know, I don't have that ability, but I can meet a need, a very tangible need at a moment in time um that that potentially could put them on a different trajectory.
00:15:06
Speaker
and And that's my responsibility is just to to do what I can do at that moment um and and and and come alongside of them for the time that I can and and journey with them.
Managing Board Relationships
00:15:18
Speaker
And and and that's looked different at different places where I've been able to work.
00:15:24
Speaker
um but But that's really what gets me up in the morning. That's great. it's It's important to have good motivation to to keep us going when when times get rough, because in any in any profession, you're going to have that. But i think it's especially true in the the nonprofit world that that we run into days that are are just really hard yes sometimes.
00:15:47
Speaker
Well, you know another area of being a CEO that I think is unique from ah maybe a fundraiser's experience is is that of their relationship with their board.
00:15:59
Speaker
Can you talk a little bit about board management? um Where have you done a good job ah in in managing your board? What mistakes have you made along the way that maybe our listeners could learn from?
00:16:11
Speaker
Yeah, that's one of the really most important relationships for a CEO and for an organization to to to have right. and And I can tell you that um the CEO board relationship is probably the one thing that makes or breaks an organization more than anything else.
00:16:30
Speaker
um I've seen with my colleagues ah who who struggle in that space, who for whatever reason, they're just not on the same page as their board.
00:16:41
Speaker
um and And it has devastating impacts on the ability of that organization to fulfill its mission. i'm I'm really lucky. I have i argue that it's probably the best ah board in town.
00:16:56
Speaker
um i'm I'm sure others would would argue the same, but I have a fantastic board and what's so great about them is that they they really are mission ah centric at their core.
00:17:10
Speaker
And so accomplishing the mission is is everything that, you know, every decision, every conversation comes back to how is this going help us accomplish the mission? there and They're committed not just as board members, but they're also committed as volunteers.
00:17:25
Speaker
um they they're They're engaged at so many different levels. They bring their their their full self to the organization and not just their their name and their position or their title or their company that they represent.
00:17:38
Speaker
They kind of bring all of that to the table. And ah and and most importantly, they ah they know what their role is, which is governance and and and and holding me accountable to accomplishing the mission, ah but they don't get involved in the organization, the day-to-day operations.
00:17:59
Speaker
They trust me to be able to do that. And and and that's really critical, um that I'm freed up to make the decisions that I need to make in the moments without really fearing that they're looking over my shoulder, going to question my decisions. And so You know, it's an important relationship like any relationships. ah It's a little bit like major donor relationships where you got to develop those. you You got to spend time on those board relationships. And so, you know, I try to spend, you know, a little bit of individual time with each of my board members each year just to get to know them personally and and talk about their experience as a board member and and come alongside of them.
00:18:42
Speaker
um as well as you know ah you know all of the different committee times and and board meetings, you know just making sure that um we aren't just being transactional, but we're spending some time relationally as well in those moments. It's just critical to the success of the of the relationship.
00:19:03
Speaker
um One of the things I think I've learned is is when you're when you're in this unique position where they're your boss, but at the same time, many of them are looking to you ah to help lead and guide them on what their responsibility is as a board. It's it's a little bit of a unique situation. And and so um what I've found is that i've I've had to learn along the way is how I can come alongside of them and help them to understand and be most effective in their role as a board member, even though technically they're my boss.
00:19:43
Speaker
um You know, that that that that feels a little odd sometimes, but really, this is my day in and day out. I'm i'm eating, drinking, you know, breathing nonprofit work.
00:19:55
Speaker
Most of my board members, you know, they're they're in corporate settings or maybe larger nonprofit or governmental settings, you know, so they don't understand our world. And so it's my responsibility to help educate them on our reality and also help them know what they need to do to be the most effective board member they can be.
00:20:18
Speaker
Well, tell us a little bit, and you've you've told us kind of what your organization does in the community, ah but tell us more about, you know, your current vision, things you're excited about, you know, campaigns you've been working on.
00:20:31
Speaker
What are you most excited about presently at the Furniture Bank?
Furniture Bank's Expansion and Capital Campaign
00:20:36
Speaker
Yeah. So as I mentioned, you know, the the mission is about, you know, providing furniture and home goods. And and it all starts with us collecting donated goods, ah donated furniture, donated home goods that folks in our community um have, you know, gotten to the point where they no longer need it.
00:20:56
Speaker
And yet it still has usable life, you know, and that's really the driver of everything that we do. And so we spend a lot of time and and and money and investment going out and collecting all of that um because without it, I wouldn't be able to serve any of the 3,600 families that we serve each and every year.
00:21:17
Speaker
And so we, about three years ago, right, right as I was coming on board, we, we launched a major capital campaign ah that said, what would it look like for us to be able to not just serve 35, 3,600 families every year, but what,
00:21:35
Speaker
what would it look like for us to be able to serve 6,000 families in a year? And, uh, and a big part of that was, you know, we have to do a better job uh, you know, collecting and, and maintaining an inventory of the furniture and home goods that we need to make sure that families, uh, when they come in, whatever they're looking for, we have it in stock.
00:21:58
Speaker
And so we, uh, we've invested, ah ah Well, we raised, we originally, we're going to raise about $6.4 million. dollars We've raised almost $8 million dollars to build ah new warehouse um right on our site, on the west side of Columbus and the near west side of Columbus, and and then renovate our our offices that in the headquarters that we've been in for the last 16 or so years ah to really expand our ability to ah serve clients, to make sure that they have, you know,
00:22:31
Speaker
a good selection of furniture to choose from um so that they're not just being forced to take ah whatever we have you know at that moment. We really want to give them a dignified shopping experience so that they can ah feel supported and and and cared for, um but but also maintain their dignity and and the respect of the community. And so we're very excited about that. We've been ah actively under construction of a 50,000 square foot warehouse that we're very excited about.
00:23:04
Speaker
um But another part of that is that we actually produce furniture as well with volunteers. So we produce over 3,500 pieces of furniture every year in-house, almost 100% with volunteers.
00:23:16
Speaker
And so our new warehouse is going to have an expanded wood shop that's going to really allow us to ah produce even more furniture because we'll be able to accommodate larger volunteer groups and And that's gonna be very transformative because there's certain things like dressers and kitchen tables that people hold onto for a lot longer.
00:23:36
Speaker
um you know Many of us probably have a dresser in our house that's 75 years old or older, right? and And so you can hold onto those things a lot longer than maybe a couch, which you know may reach your end of life, 10, 15, 20 years.
00:23:52
Speaker
and and And so ah we produce dressers and and kitchen tables and a few other things ah just to make sure that every family has what they need at the moment that they need it And then the last thing we're really excited about is that we ah we've ah operated a ah number of social enterprises as a way to be a sustainable organization.
00:24:15
Speaker
um And, you know, when you think about all of the furniture that we're collecting, ah we are keeping it out of the landfill. and And if you you know talk to anybody who's in that waste management a world, our landfills in America are filling up at a rate that is unsustainable.
00:24:34
Speaker
And so we really are on the front lines of helping, not intentionally, it's just part of the the consequence of the mission, but to help divert literally tons of what would end up as waste ah from the from the landfills and keeping it in productive use. And so one of the ways we do that is we we have a couple of thrift stores that we we sell ah some of the usable goods that aren't necessarily appropriate for our families um and and sell it back to the community, keep it out of the landfill a little bit longer and use those funds to support our mission. And we're excited that we're launching our third thrift store um in the coming couple of months. And so that's a huge
00:25:18
Speaker
step for us. um It's a big step in a time when the economy is a little bit challenging, especially retail, but we believe it's the right thing to do to prepare us for when the economy does turn around.
00:25:30
Speaker
We're going to be raring to go ready to serve another community um with the furniture that they need for their for their community.
00:25:41
Speaker
That's fantastic. And it's, and it's great to hear that you overshot your, uh, your fundraising goal. I know that, you know, that wasn't always a given. No. And, and, and, and, and obviously it was, uh, uh, you know, it's great, but, but lot of it was because of, uh, increased costs, uh, you know, over the course of the last couple of years, uh, with inflation, a lot of things have gotten more expensive. And so we, we had to keep raising because, ah we know that the the costs kept rising um for what we needed to accomplish.
00:26:14
Speaker
But yeah, it always feels good when you can exceed that goal. so So, Phil, if folks want to learn more about your organization, maybe even send you a $500 check that would get them a phone call, um
Supporting the Organization through Donations
00:26:29
Speaker
how would they do that? Where would they find you guys?
00:26:31
Speaker
Yeah. So our website is And that's really our front door for all things, ah whether you want to make a donation financially, make a donation of furniture, um um you know, learn about the families and the stories of folks that we get to serve each and every day.
00:26:54
Speaker
um that That's the the best place to to start. um and And of course, We have a fairly active social media presence, um and I would encourage those who are interested to follow us um on on Facebook, as well as follow our thrift stores. You know, if you're a thrifter um and you like the hunt of a a good bargain and a unique piece of furniture, um there's always really fun, creative, interesting things that come our way.
00:27:23
Speaker
um and And we oftentimes will post about those on our Facebook pages for each of our stores. Our stores are called Furniture with a Heart. So you can just put that in the search bar and you can find our Lancaster location and our main location on Morris Road in Columbus.
00:27:40
Speaker
and And those are just great ways to continue to learn about us and support the work that we do. Fantastic.
Podcast Conclusion
00:27:48
Speaker
Well, Phil, it's been a real pleasure to have you on the show today. Thank you for sharing ah with us some of the wisdom that that you've gained over the the past few decades.
00:27:59
Speaker
Just hope that you continue to have success in serving our community. Thank you, Tom. Really appreciate Now, if you've enjoyed this podcast, please be sure to subscribe and give us a five-star rating on your podcast provider. 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.