The Development Debrief

The name of and spirit of today’s episode is inspired by a special initiative at Columbia University that is taking place today, February 9th 2020. She Opened the Door began at Columbia with a historic conference in New York City in 2018. This could not be a more perfect back drop for our interview with Susan Feagin. The woman, the myth, the legend is one of the first female IVY league VPs, an extraordinary leader in the field, and more personally, my father’s mentor. Susan has opened the door for all of us in the hundreds of ways she has lead our field.

In this week’s episode, Steve Poskanzer, the President of Carleton College talks about his perspective on development and explains where their current campaign fits into his priorities. A true legal brain, he explains how this informs his preparation for making asks and I was surprised to learn of his strategy. Steve underscores the kindness of the Midwestern community, the value of a liberal arts degree and shares two pieces of advice he learned from his mentor Hugo Sonnenschein- the former President of University of Chicago.

Have you ever wanted to ask your Chief Development Officer what she thinks about the field, her own professional journey, or her biggest insecurities? From the bosses perspective, have you ever wanted to know what your direct report was really thinking? Have you wondered what motivates them and how they view their role in the organization? On this episode, my Dad and I ask each other these questions and we encourage you to do the same.

Dawn and I have an open and honest conversation about her work with the global donor community, Women Moving Millions, her own philanthropy, and how she would apply her seasoned marketing and sales tactics to managing a development portfolio. A graduate of Wellesley College, she has focused her business work on helping brands and companies spark innovation and develop new products and strategies to engage customers. From the Chairman's Office of Goldman Sachs to Kickstarter success, she understands the challenge of getting things done, regardless of scale.

Rhea and I share the story of how we met and became mentor/mentee. We talk about the culture differences in east vs west coast fundraising, working for public vs. private institutions, as well as the importance of being transparent with your bosses and mentors. Rhea talks about how to grow within a large institution and the importance of putting your well-being first- in the service of producing you best work.

Craig and I talked about the program he co-founded called The Four Decisions and the Two-Part Conversation. Craig explains how we can own the conversation through deep listening and good questioning. Discovering “what you don’t know” about your donors is especially important as Craig underscores that 75-90% of people’s wealth is in their assets, not in their cash. More important than any of these skills though, is to be sincere and be yourself as you champion the institution you work for.

I spoke with Chris about his career progression from research analyst to Director of Development. He shared the importance of internal relationships and personal metrics as tools to raising his first million and rising through the ranks at Cornell's New York City office.

This is the introduction for the stories-based podcast that interviews donors, professionals, and thought leaders in the field of fundraising.