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David Chambliss Part 4: Solicitations and Stewardship, Showing vs. Telling
54 Plays3 months ago
In this episode David talks about his experiences soliciting and stewarding donors and how showing potential impact beats "making an ask" and how showing actual impact beats thank you notes. He also shares his most awkward moments with donors and how you can avoid them!
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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. Last week's conversation was a blast. I'm so excited to have you with me for this next segment.
Audio Quality Apology
00:00:30
Speaker
Let's get back to the show. Thank you for your understanding on the poor audio quality this week and throughout the series with David Chambliss.
00:00:37
Speaker
Well,
Memorable $30,000 Donation Story
00:00:38
Speaker
we go in the order of of you know kind of ah the cultivation cycle. so So tell me, after your cultivation story, what's your best solicitation story? Yeah, that's that's a fun question, too, because you know what's funny in development is people always go, I could never do your job because I don't like asking for money. um And I'm always like, you know I don't really like asking for money. like that sounds like Slimy like they'll ask you like I don't know like it sounds like I'm just calling you and saying um You know get your pocketbook out. It's I know it sounds cliche, but I'm like, I don't like asking for money either But what I like to do is share the story of impact and I like asking for investment And so it's not like I'm like, hey Tom, would you give me X amount? It's always like I know you said that scholarships are important to you Can I share with you what an endowed scholarship might look like? I where you're kind of like showing them what an investment it might make. But with that being said, I thought I would, I wanted to share that because I do think a lot of times people think that we're just calling people at random. And I'm like, well, in my role, I'm building relationships with them and the university, you know, and obviously through me, but it's a like, I want you to be re-engaged with your alma mater or with your kid's school.
Building Donor Relationships
00:01:56
Speaker
So you know the good work that's going on there. And then let me share with you how you can make an impact.
00:02:00
Speaker
But there was a time in my early 20s where I visited an athletic director in his office of a D1 university like a big shot SEC school and I went down and I was super nervous and like oh my gosh I can't believe this guy even took a visit like he's got to be the most busy person alive I'm you know in my nice suit and tie and like ready to and he couldn't be more friendly and I like right away I realized like wow this guy this meeting is gonna be I think a little easier he was asking me all about me and like let me show you my office and have you ever been down and I just felt so at ease and I remember it was his 30th reunion at the University I was working for the time and so I asked him if you consider a gift of $30,000 in honor of his 30th reunion and he immediately was like yeah I can do that and I was like wow thank you so much and then he goes
00:02:52
Speaker
Do you basically ask do you think you should have asked for more?
00:02:59
Speaker
I thought I was gonna fall out of my chair. I was like, oh my gosh this guy I just like low what like should I I don't know. It just it just kind of came to me and I was like, no, actually, I think 30 is a nice way to get your foot in the door. And I bet when you come back for reunion, you'll want to make an even bigger gift than I would have been prepared to ask you for today. And so I kind of like tried my best to respond. But I just remember he ended up being a really generous donor and got involved and came back and all this stuff. But um I mean, when a donor says, do you think you should ask for more? i I was like, I'm I'm getting fired. Like there's no there's no.
00:03:37
Speaker
like this is this is the end of my career you know if somebody says yes quickly to a solicitation you immediately think Was that the right amount? Like were they like, you, you feel like you're going to offend them by asking for too much, but in a weird way, I've always felt that like you almost are more offensive if you ask for too little because people might think to yourself like, wow, this person, they actually think that I have, they might say, listen, that's, that's out of my capacity at this time or something. But I
Understanding Donor Capacity
00:04:06
Speaker
haven't really offended anybody by making a significant ask.
00:04:10
Speaker
they're They're quick to tell you that's higher than we were thinking. But I can tell you that there's been a lot of solicitations in my life where I'm like, we definitely asked too low. like They said yes so quickly that we probably should have got a better feel for that. So now, as I've gotten older, and again, there's no right way about it. There's always an art and a science to this. But I think before you make a major gift ask, I've always said, well, what's the impact you're looking to make?
00:04:38
Speaker
Like, what what is the total impact that you're hoping to make? And if that's a full scholarship or a full faculty chair, then let me tell you what that might look like in terms of like how much that might take philanthropically. Is that something you'd be comfortable talking about? That way, when you make the ask, you kind of have an idea of the ballpark they're thinking about. So they feel like me and have this guy across the table go, yeah, sure, I'm good for that. Do you think I should have given more? And I'm like, oh, man.
00:05:08
Speaker
Like, yeah. So he came back for his reunion. Yep. You end up getting a bigger gift out of him. Yeah, he did. he did get he He was starting to get a little bit more engaged. And I think this was sort of testing the water. um And he did end up doing a nice scholarship and getting and getting involved with athletics and all the things that they were open to. A lot of it was a timing thing, too. i It's easy in development to say like, oh, I'm the person that engaged this person. And you know I'm the greatest fundraiser.
00:05:37
Speaker
But a lot of times philanthropy is at people's timing. So it's not that they don't drop it. It's just they might have ah ah something happen or in their business like for the positive where they they received a nice amount of money or they finally reached a point where they have enough.
00:05:53
Speaker
that they feel comfortable giving back.
Timing in Philanthropy
00:05:55
Speaker
Because as you know, anybody that's worked in this field for a long time, you'll talk to somebody that's in the role that you were in 10 years ago, and you'll be like, oh yeah, that guy, like I saw him 50 times, and like I never could get him to make a gift. And they're like, oh, you you know he just put his name on a building, right? You're like, what the? That happens, and you have to be okay with that. that it's not Again, it goes back to the patience thing. it's the You have to be patient, and people's,
00:06:20
Speaker
philanthropic giving isn't always on our time. like As much as everybody I visit, I would like them to step up and say, yes, today I would like to support Vanderbilt or whatever institution you are at. The patience thing is like, if you can get them engaged, hopefully you are the one that is able to um get them to think about a nice gift and doing an impact.
00:06:42
Speaker
There's hundreds of people I visited that have said, no thanks or not right now, or Vanderbilt's not a priority. And that's OK. And I hope that somebody after me or who visits them something you know in 20 years or something, um you know maybe there's a better time and in people's lives where they can do that. I think you see a lot of people who are very generous to a lot of causes. And their first gift was $5 or $10 where you're going like, wow, like this in 1990, somebody visited them and said, will you just give to your fifth reunion? And they're like, yeah, here's $50. And because of that, and they came back, they're like, OK, here's ah and they got reengaged and they are remembering why they loved the organization. um But it's the patience thing. And, you know, this solicitation, is it timing? Is it the right amount? You know, you're always thinking of those things as you're as you're in the fundraising world.
00:07:35
Speaker
Could I have done something better? Should I have done something different? Trying to be too hard on yourself. But of course, when you and you have you know goals to hit and you want to be successful in the advancement professional, you do kind of think about that often. Should I be doing something different to cultivate, to solicit? you know Is there any other rocks I haven't looked under for potential you know supporters? So it's an art and a science and and patience that I'll keep going back to Yeah, well, those those are those are there are three great things there. um Well, tell me about your best stewardship story.
Emotional Stewardship Moment
00:08:15
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, again, I'm going to go back to the the greatest cultivation is good stewardship. So you have if you have somebody who has been a generous supporter of your organization, there's no better way of cultivating them towards a new gift.
00:08:32
Speaker
or additional support than good stewardship of their past so support. The worst possible thing you can do is not steward people and just expect that their money is just gonna keep coming in because you call them every two years and remind them if you aren't stewarding them and showing them the impact they're making and helping um they're somebody's life and whatever your organization. So I would say one of the best stewardship stories that is sort of fresh to my mind is I have a campaign committee And they're a group of individuals, alumni and parents, who are committed to supporting Peabody College and Vanderbilt University. We meet twice a year. And I think it was like last fall. um There was a couple on our on our committee that are extremely generous to the university and just the nicest people. And they just want to you know invest in in students' lives.
00:09:25
Speaker
and um I'll say that there's ah there's a really kind of long story backstory to how I got connected to the student for for another time. But last minute, very last minute, like morning of the campaign committee meeting, I was able to connect with the student that was on scholarship there. And I said, can you come to this room at three p.m. today?
00:09:46
Speaker
and like introduce yourself and and and he said sure and so like he wasn't on the agenda the dean didn't know this was happening i was on an email chain at lunchtime i can you still make it all this fun stuff.
00:09:58
Speaker
And he came and um I said, ah you know, this is a last minute addition to the agenda. I just want to introduce this young man. He's a junior. He's from Chicago. He is overseas like this, this organization and this organization. And he's got really high grades. And this past year he did a, he created a nonprofit where he basically picks up litter, you know, in the rivers and stuff like the most unbelievable, well-rounded, like makes you think, what the heck was I doing when I was 20 type kid?
00:10:27
Speaker
And I said, he's doing all of these things and he's able to do it because he is your scholars and your scholar. And he and I pointed to the family. They hadn't met him yet. um There wasn't a dry eye in the room. like they yeah they had not met him yet. they they mean They had heard that their scholarship had been awarded, but we hadn't done the scholarship reception and stuff that we do every year. And I said, this is your scholar. like He's here with your scholarship. And you know there was hugs, and they became very close. And everybody was just like, you could see people just melt because it wasn't about like
00:11:02
Speaker
all the money raised, it was like there it was there was the true story. Like it wasn't about this campaign. um And here's some quantitative numbers which are very important. It was about meet this young man.
00:11:15
Speaker
Yeah. And look how impressive he is. And look at all the things he's been doing in his first three years in college. And he's just the nicest guy. And he's able to come here because you right here are sitting in front of me provided a scholarship. And so that was a really cool storage stewardship moment. um And it kind of happened last minute. Like it wasn't something that I planned for for months. It was like I connected with this young man, like very close to that. And I was like, what if we brought in my mind, I was like, what if I brought him in and said like this is your recipient, like off of the cuff. And they became close with him and they became close with his family. And you know, that's just one of those stories where you're like, sometimes people want to see a real life. And and I think that Vanderbilt has done a really good job about that. When I was at Ohio State, I thought they did a really good job with that word. They really tried to share with the donors.
00:12:06
Speaker
Here's the impact that you're really having. like We can share with you numbers all day long, and that sounds amazing, but here's the student, here's the faculty, here's the research that changed lives, here's the building where kids you know make meet their best friends and that you help support. That kind of stewardship is...
00:12:24
Speaker
hard to recreate, like you, I mean, like hard to beat. Like that's, that's just really important. And so that was a cool story. Tom Dobber 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. 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.
00:12:54
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
00:13:21
Speaker
I'm curious, this this is my favorite question that I get to ask on the show. Yeah. Tell me about the most awkward moment you've ever had with a doter and how did it resolve?
Awkward Donor Interactions
00:13:33
Speaker
I love that question. I feel like i i feel like I've been to a few like AFP and case conferences where like that was the that was like the lunch topic and yeah everybody was like, oh, I got one. And you were just everybody was just one up in the next person where you couldn't believe it. um Because I'm like very laid back in my approach and like Like I said earlier, I've never made a stranger. Like when I meet somebody for five minutes, it's like, tell me your whole life story and like, Oh, your brother lives in Pittsburgh. Like he must know this guy. Like you're all of a sudden you feel like you know each other. It's hard to make me like kind of uncomfortable or awkward because like I'm not much somebody can say it like throws me off. I'm usually pretty confident in my approach, but also like laid back. But in any fundraising story, when you go to somebody's living room and say,
00:14:20
Speaker
Tell me about you and your background. You don't know where that's going to lead. And people will share everything from health diagnosis to relationship problems to issues with their ex or financial issues that you have to be like, oh, I'm sorry, or supportive of. um And so obviously over the years, there's been some super kind of awkward or you like leave the meeting and you're like, what just happened? Like, um,
00:14:47
Speaker
The one that comes to mind often, and I think it's it's just kind of more funny than it was awkward, but it was so awkward in the moment, is when I was probably in my mid 20s, so I only had a few years of professional experience out of the gate. I was in an older couple's home, just the nicest couple, and they I was talking about them. They met at the university that I was working at, and um they just were so sweet and you know very generous to the school, and I was just They're like, tell us about you. And I was like, Oh, I just finished grad school. And like, I've been doing this for three years. And I'm, and they were like, you know, like, that's really cool that you do this. Would you be open to talking to our son about what you do? Like he's still trying to figure out what, ah you know, ah and I was like, yeah, I'd be happy to. Well, the mom basically goes and knocks on the basement, like the door and was like, Hey, like Johnny or whatever. There's some, can you come up here for a second?
00:15:43
Speaker
They have like a 42-year-old son living in the basement, and he he's still trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. And she's like, let me introduce you to David. And he works at XYZ University. And um would would you mind like telling our son like kind of your background? And for like 30 minutes, I'm talking to their son about, so like what do you what do you like to do? And and it was just this very the conversation went from me talking about the the family getting involved to me being becoming like a life coach to their son. He had no interest in being in that living room at the time. He didn't care what I was doing. He was looking at me like, I don't want to do what you do. yeah You could tell the dad was uncomfortable with it, or he was like, I can't believe this just happened. The mom was sitting there like, yeah, like you should you should apply for a job there. um i just I just remember leaving the meeting and being like, what just happened? like I just became a life coach to somebody
00:16:40
Speaker
grown kid that hasn't. And I mean, I was I was kind of appreciative, like humbled that they would have asked me to do that. But it wasn't like maybe you could have a Zoom call with him in a few weeks. It was like, oh, we'll get him right now. And by the way, he's 20 years older than you. But and I was like, OK, this is uncomfortable, super uncomfortable. Wow.
00:17:02
Speaker
Goodness. I feel bad for their son because he was like, I don't, I don't care what this kid has to say. Yeah. da that's That's probably one of the awkward ones that I felt that I could share on here. Yeah. We had experiences where people have shared information like TMI, you know, you're like, listen, man, I didn't there, you know, there seems to be like this filter that goes away sometimes with people where they either are very comfortable with you or they don't have a filter with anybody and they're, they're uncomfortable and they're comfortable saying things to you that you're like,
00:17:31
Speaker
You shouldn't say that out loud. It's either inappropriate to say, or it's a thought that they had that should have stayed a thought. I had an individual who was very self-important, who was offended that a certain leader couldn't remember meeting them before.
Handling Inappropriate Donor Comments
00:17:56
Speaker
And he was from a part of the state that's known for organized crime. And, uh, let me know that if my leader did that again, that, that, uh, well, actually, no, he, he said, you know, if this were back in the day where I grew up, yeah you know, there would be physical and even sexual violence committed against that leader. And I was like, okay, so this is the last time you're ever going to be around my leader. 100% immediately. You're like not bringing this person around anybody of.
00:18:34
Speaker
any type of, you know, power or, uh, but that's, it's just so common in our fields when you meet up people and say, tell me about you, especially if they, you know, get to know you or they're very passionate about a certain topic. Um, or, you know, if you're, if I'm going to ask, Hey, how do you feel about this? I think they feel like they're comfortable sharing. Um, yeah, there's, there's dozens and dozens of stories that you have where people you couldn't believe divulge either information or said things of like, you know, family drama that they're having that they tell you about that you understand like, you know what, we're all human and like there's a human connection that you have to have with people that so you don't feel like a transactional robot that just shows up when your university or your nonprofit wants to, you know, share the good word and like
00:19:25
Speaker
Here I am. Let me tell you what's going on. And do you want to write a check and I'm leaving? It's like, listen, you're a human. I'm a human. I'm trying to help make a difference. I'm asking you to help me make a difference. And in the process, if you want to tell me about, you know, some struggles you're having with your family and stuff like I'm i'm open to listening. Of course, the awkward stuff comes when it's like more information than you were prepared to hear. Yeah. Or be a part of or, you know, commerce topics that are too sensitive that you don't want to learn an approach. But you're like, well, here we are.
00:19:55
Speaker
Um, but some of that's just, you know, growth and maturity over the years. You learn how to respond better because I don't know that there's for some, for some people, there's things that they can say or do where I'm like, I don't have a good response, especially if it's like this person you were talking about where they're like, if this happened when I was a kid, there would have been violent crimes and stuff. You're like, well.
00:20:18
Speaker
you're like, I don't know if you've heard, but it's not 1935 anymore. So yeah, but ah yeah and you meet with people sometimes are like, well, this will never happen under so and so's watch. I'm like, didn't that guy died in 1970? Not like didn't that president like, right? You always know everything's anchored to like your experience, even when we go back to our own alma mater.
00:20:39
Speaker
You're always like, I can't believe they would tear down that residence hall that was already falling down anyways. You're like, it was like a staple and like. That's right. ah man did Did you ever live in Rogers Hall? I lived next to Rogers Hall and I know that it was a ah popular, like thousands of kids lived there. I lived next to it.
00:20:58
Speaker
Yeah. So you're in Colvin, right? At VGS. So ah yeah I have so many memories from Rogers and I was so like, bummed when it got torn down. But as I remember it, like it was an asbestos-filled dinner. A hundred percent. It was like, I'm ready to be torn down 20 years before it got torn down. And like, in my opinion, you want to go back to your university and it's like news. You like, you want to see like all this new stuff.
00:21:23
Speaker
A small part of me is like, that's so amazing when you go back and you see all the growth. And
Nostalgia and Organizational Growth
00:21:28
Speaker
then a small part of me is like, these kids don't realize how good they have at these days. Like the dining services, like like in BG, like and it was Mac lawn when I was there. And now it's like a Dunkin Donuts and a huge dining facility. And there's all these new like Falcon Heights. And I'm like, gosh, this place is amazing. And then I'm a little bit angry at how nice Like the resident, but you want that. Like I don't think you'd want to go back and then and there's like kids hanging out of Rogers Hall. They're like, there's still a hole that punched in the wall in 2000. Like it's still there. Yeah. like yeah ye And so I think growth is inevitable and you want to, you want to be a part of an organization, not just university, but even like a nonprofit where there's like, yeah he always kind of evolving and growing and is you don't want it to feel like it's stagnant and like,
00:22:17
Speaker
Hey, it's the exact same thing that was 35 years ago. You're going to be like, what new things are changing to adapt to the culture of today and the times of of the now that you can make an impact? And I think that's the exciting part is when you work at a nonprofit and any type of development, you're like, how can I share the good work that we're doing and the even better work we could be doing if it was free or philanthropy? Like because of you, we've been able to do all of these things. And also because of you, if you invest in us,
00:22:46
Speaker
We can really grow this mission. We can make a difference. um I mean, that's, you only have to pick up the newspaper lately and see that there's been an assault in hu higher education and like leadership and decisions that they've made in different ways. I've been so, or so fortunate. Cause like here at Vanderbilt, our chancellor has been, I mean, a plus plus in all of the ways he's handled.
00:23:12
Speaker
so many of the tough things that that have happened and just like his approach to leadership and like how we were talking earlier about um it's not on us it's not on us to like decide how people should think it's sort of like the higher higher education should be a place where ideas are different ideas are brought together but respected and how do we have like that open dialogue and I think Vanderbilt has been in the forefront lately of just how do we share the good work that we're doing. We're growing like crazy. we we We're starting a brand new college, College of Connected Computing. we've got you know We're investing in a lot in athletics. We're investing a ton in scholarships. and it's like And we're trying to share that good word on a national scale. And I and i feel like we've done a really good job about it in a turmoil environment, to say the least.
00:24:05
Speaker
Wow. Well, in it sounds like, David, wonderful things are happening at Vanderbilt.
Career Reflections at Vanderbilt
00:24:12
Speaker
It certainly is clear that that you've had a fantastic career ah just develop over the years with all the people that have built into you and the great donors that you've gotten to work with. Thank you so much for sharing some of that wisdom, some of that experience with me and our listeners today. um We still appreciate having you on. Yeah, thanks for having me, Thomas. Great to catch up with you. And I appreciate you doing this podcast because I love learning from other people's experiences and just hearing about how people approach this um crazy fun world that we you know that we call fundraising and development and advancement. And I look forward to staying in touch with you and and hearing from some of your other guests.
00:24:49
Speaker
Hey, well, thank you so much. and And if you're interested in learning about, you know, the the fundraising program at Vanderbilt, so you can join that team and work remotely with David there, be sure to check that out. Is that vanderboat.edu? Yep, vanderboat.edu. If you Google Vanderbilt development alumni relations, we have a website now where you can go directly to finding the jobs that are posted.
00:25:12
Speaker
And on all of our jobs now, we put if they are need to be in-person, hybrid or remote, so you can see what that might look like. And yeah, love to love to have more people reach out and come join the Vanderbilt team.
00:25:26
Speaker
Thanks, Tom. Good to see you. Thank you.
Podcast Closure and Call to Action
00:25:29
Speaker
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.