Talking Shop

Comprehensive capital campaigns: Much-needed strategy and structure? Or antiquated and artificial approach to advancing the mission?

On the latest episode of the Talking Shop podcast, co-hosts Erin Moran and David Lively draw on their experience as former Campaign Directors (at DePaul and Northwestern) to explore the complexities of campaign planning and execution, what works well and what doesn’t work so well, and – gasp! – whether comprehensive capital campaigns are obsolete, altogether.

Erin and Dave examine the upsides of comprehensive campaigns (they can align with long-term University strategic plans) and the downsides (temptation to focus on ever-larger fundraising goals instead of the impact of each and every gift). They consider issues like the impact of artificial timelines, donor acquisition and fatigue during long-term campaigns, and whether targeted micro-campaigns are a viable substitute.

Tune in!

On this Talking Shop episode, co-hosts Erin Moran and David Lively tackle a big topic: What is the optimal fundraiser portfolio size?

The answer is, as with most questions that Dave and Erin confront: It depends.

When it comes to portfolio make-up, Dave quotes his friend Ben Porter, Chief Advancement Officer at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business: “If you’ve seen one university, you’ve seen one university.”

Most organizations roughly follow the “Robert Dunbar” approach to portfolio size and stack major gift officer portfolios with about 150 prospects. At Northwestern, David and his team made the argument to shrink portfolios to about 40 prospects and have experienced excellent results. And at EverTrue, we partner with tech-enabled fundraisers to have 1:1 contact every year with 1,000 prospects.

While thoughts about the number of prospects in gift officer portfolio varies (and depends on factors like business rules for assigning prospects, prospect rating criteria, logistics of assigning prospects to portfolios, etc.), when we dig into the data on portfolio health, there is a common theme that arises:

The prospects in gift officer portfolios should be folks that will be solicited (like, actually asked for a gift) within the next 36 months.

On this episode, co-hosts David Lively and Erin Moran discuss optimal portfolio make-up, criteria for a "managed prospect," and the foundational power of good data in building good portfolios.

“We all need to be able to speak to why this profession is important and how we all uplift each other.”

On Erin’s first day at Grinnell College, part of her orientation included an explicit explanation that, “You are here because of a lot of alumni who made a lot of gifts.” From day one as a student, she was intentionally educated about the positive impact of philanthropy.

Where do scholarship dollars come from? What resources are needed to raise those dollars? How was the new sports arena funded, or the new computer science building? Everyone on campus needs to be able to tell these stories (student affairs, career advisors, faculty members, deans, student leaders). And it’s on us as advancement professionals to lead that messaging.

On this episode, David and Erin confront the reputation of the advancement industry and our individual roles in shaping the narrative. They consider how our donors and potential prospects learn about higher ed fundraising. Which do they hear more of: impact stories about the diseases cured, degrees made possible, and lives changed by philanthropy? Or do fundraising headline scandals (a-la “Varsity Blues”) capture more of their attention?

Building a culture of philanthropy means telling stories of the impact of donations, over and over again, across all channels, at all levels of the organization, to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and to the rest of the world. Philanthropy is love!

"You rated this person as having a capacity to give $1.5MM, but I met with them, and they can clearly give upwards of $25MM. What gives?!"

On this episode, Dave and Erin explore a tale as old as fundraising time that costs advancement shops a lot of time and energy: the communication breakdown between fundraisers and prospect researchers.

Dave and Erin have been on both sides of this proverbial fence, and they talk through suggested solutions to the silos based on their experience. They hone in on the junctions in the lifecycle of a prospect where the People, Process, and Performance trifecta can be better aligned.

Some highlights from this episode:

"The prospect research profession is based on publicly available information. We have not yet hired paparazzi to be on our prospect research teams."

"They're just not talking with each other. And this really requires a partnership. Both teams need to understand the process of doing the ratings and the process of fundraising."

"The prospect research team shouldn't have to be the prospect cops or the proposal cops."

"Fundraisers are typically good at figuring out two of three important factors from their conversations with donors: capacity and affinity. But they're not particularly good at timing."

Tune in to the Talking Shop podcast on EverTrue Studios (www.evertrue.com/studios).

On this episode, Dave and Erin talk about proposals that may give the appearance of being alive, but are actually lifeless and refuse to die.

Zombie proposals: how to spot one and what to do when you realize you've got one in your portfolio.

Catch more brilliance on the topic of zombie proposals in David's recent Chronicle article, published with his Northwestern colleague, Brijesh Jani: https://www.philanthropy.com/article/how-one-university-used-data-to-eliminate-zombie-proposals-and-improve-big-gift-fundraising

It can be really tough to come into a new fundraising shop as the new VP. On this episode of the Talking Shop podcast, Erin and David talk about what to do when you’re the newbie at the top of the shop.

Also on the menu during this convo…

What to do about imposter syndrome

Lively’s Theory of Dysfunction

How data is dispassionate

The relevance of Rumsfeldian unknown unknowns

Being hyper aware of your blind spots

Using the 6-month mark to look under the rocks

Tapping into your personal board of directors

As the new VP, you likely don’t even know where the coffee maker is. Tune into the episode – and know that you’re not alone as you start this new chapter.

The Talking Shop podcast is featured on EverTrue Studios at www.evertrue.com/studios.

Why does toxic competition exist in some shops, but not others?

How can you tell if you’re working in a toxic fundraising environment or a healthy one?

What factors contribute to toxic competition among fundraisers?

Does incentive pay contribute to or minimize toxic competition?

What role does good data play in promoting a healthy work environment?

How can leaders build an environment of healthy competition that isn’t toxic?

On this episode of Talking Shop, Erin and Dave dig into toxic competition among fundraisers, why it exists, and what we can all do to make our shops more healthy, effective, and successful.

Tune in to the Talking Shop podcast on EverTrue Studios at www.evertrue.com/studios!

The answer to the question, and the answer to most questions posed by Erin and David on the Talking Shop, is “It depends.”

On this episode of Talking Shop, Erin and David talk about how to spot a “gift that eats” – as in, a major gift that will cost you millions as you run around trying very hard execute what that gift is trying to achieve.

They discuss when, if, and how to say “no” to a gift that eats.

They talk about why funding a Museum of Wooden Shoes is likely not a great idea, and how to recognize the “Museum of Wooden Shoes” gifts that are currently on the table at your institution.

Also on this episode: David claims to be 28 years old. When it’s a good thing to big adieu to a donor. And how to gracefully guide deans, faculty members, and presidents away from dangerous donations.

Tune in on EverTrue Studios at www.evertrue.com/studios.

David Lively is the Senior Associate Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development and Campaign Manager at Northwestern University. He has led advancement teams at some of the highest-performing fundraising shops in the country.

Erin Moran is Director of Product at EverTrue. She's a long-time advancement operations professional with a deep love for data.

Dave and Erin have been friends forever. And whenever they meet up for coffee (they love coffee), well – they just can't help it. They end up talking shop.

Advancement leaves Dave and Erin with no shortage of coffee talk these days. So, they've decided to make their coffee chats official.

On this podcast, Dave and Erin will break down the hottest topics in advancement. They'll discuss questions like...

Is there such a thing as a bad gift?

What should we do about the phonathon?

What’s the purpose of annual giving - is it short term or long term?

Are campaigns becoming an arms race, or are they obsolete altogether?

Every episode will be quick-hitting. (As in, consumable over a cup of coffee.) And, we hope you all use these conversations as fodder for the next time you talk shop with one of your advancement colleagues.

Welcome to Talking Shop - the podcast where an advancement operations nerd and a big-ideas major-gifts guy debate the hottest topics in advancement. Thanks for tuning in!