News from the Institute for Leaders in Development

Led by Serena Bruzgo, President, Craig Hospital Foundation

A question we here often in this work and in ILD is, what size should a gift officer's portfolio be? Drawing upon her vast experience, Serena developed a process for determining portfolio size. She considers the weekly, monthly, and annual time she will need to spend with each donor and time required for other internal/external responsibilities from management, to staff meetings, to other types of fundraising and community involvement. Once you have this comprehensive understanding of your time, you will know how many donors you can work with at each engagement level.

Led by Serena Bruzgo, President, Craig Hospital Foundation



Fundamentals ~ Joy of This Work

Know Thyself: 
Use your strengths and those of your team members.

Love your Donor
Be authentic in sharing your joy and appreciation. Honor your relationship.

Donor Ready Initiatives
: Participants received thoughtful questions to ask themselves when considering readiness that can be tailored to each relationship. (i.e. Will this make good business sense to the donor? Will be donor be surprised by the amount, project, or timing?)

Give the Gift of your Time
: Map out your time on your calendar and protect the time needed for planning, reporting, research, stewardship, and in-person meetings or events.
Invite with Dignity: Be sure that you and the donor are prepared for the invitation. Throughout your time together, you can identify lots of "little yeses" you've received along the way and leading you towards the invitation.

Led by Martine Hyland (ILD '13, pictured center), Philanthropy Director, Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation & Lauren Wise (ILD ' 20), Philanthropic Advisor, CU Anschutz *

*Shawna English (ILD '21 pictured right), Philanthropy Director, Children's Hospital Colorado Foundation filled in for Lauren who wasn't able to join us this year but graciously shared her wonderful content.

Highlights

• Remember that it’s okay to ask permission. If you're worried you're not calling at a good time, just ask. Often people are happy to have you call again at a better time.
• Whether you're meeting in person or over the phone, keep this research based statistic in mind. The effectiveness of your communication comes
  7% from the words that you say;
  38% from the tone of your voice;
  50% or more from your body language.
  Over the phone, changing your body language could translate to having a more successful conversation even though the donor can't see you. Many find they have a better energy and tone when they're standing up or walking vs. seated.
• Reaching donors over the phone can be tricky. Martine shared, "Be persistent, I’ve never been scolded for it." Your donors are busy, busy people. By being persistent, they have more chances to get back to you when they may have a pocket of time.
• Martine and Shawna acknowledged that sometimes we're reaching out to donors who may have had a negative experience in the past, or just not have been contacted recently. These can still be successful conversations. They suggest saying "Thank you for your patience" vs. "I’m sorry." Another helpful phrase can be, "I’m so glad you shared this with me and I’ll make it right." These can be more powerful and more positive.

Led by Christy Clay (pictured top right), Strategic Planning & Organizational Effectiveness Facilitator, and Jen Darling (pictured bottom right), President & CEO, Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation. Jen is also one of the founders of ILD!

Highlight - Final Thoughts 

Manage/plan from where you are – even if you don’t have a development plan for your org or department, you can still make/manage your own plan

Hold yourself accountable – Find a measurement schedule that works well for you and go back and check in 

Control your time – Am I talking with the people who matter the most? How am I aligning with stakeholders and my direct reports?

Am I meeting your expectations? Ask this question of your team 

BIG VISION – Begin with the end in mind 

Focus and Filter – Be discerning and don’t follow every idea that sounds good. Being grounded in your Yes will help you say No.

Jen and Christy shared the science behind simplifying your work and focusing on your priorities...including living a balanced life and setting boundaries that work for you.

Andrea Pacheco, ILD '20, Vice President of Development, Conservation Colorado, and Amy Daly, ILD '14, Director of Communications, NextFifty Initiative, led the afternoon exploration of Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) [Pictured right: Andrea (left) and Amy (right)]

• If you are new to CCF, find the 10 principles here
• CCF is based on belief that the communities we serve and benefit must be centered. The national movement is BIPOC-led and ever-evolving. 
• Key ideas include: equally valuing the importance of our donors, volunteers, staff, and board; donors are part of a larger community of support; and moving award from transactional language in communications and relationships with our donors.
• On the foundation side, you'll see a move towards Trust-Based Philanthropy, which is a peer-to-peer funder initiative to address the inherent power imbalances between foundations and nonprofits. At its core, trust-based philanthropy is rooted in a set of values that help advance equity, shift power, and build mutually accountable relationships.

Scott Arthur, Vice Chancellor of Advancement at CU Anschutz [pictured right], led the morning session this month. He inspired the cohort with his vision for transforming organizational culture, metrics, and donor relationships. Scott makes every second count and covers a tremendous amount in just a few hours' time.

• The presentation is centered upon the ideas shared by Jim Hodge. Click here to watch his Ted Talk.
• Start by shifting away from a focus on securing donations. Donors want to invest in community change. Bring them along on that journey. It allows you to focus on the joy of giving.
• Culture matters. Create an environment where everyone feels welcome and valued. Establish trust. Be authentic. Eliminate gossip.
• Embrace benefactor-centric philanthropy – it’s about them, not us. Make your goal or project resonate. Will this be inspiring to the donor? This alignment helps to create a strong relationship.
• Metrics of visits – it’s not the number of times you visit that matters, it’s how deeply you engage a benefactor. Next, establish metrics for gift conversations and opening conversations. Focus on your engagement rate. Metrics should not be all about closing gifts and dollar amounts.

Dr. Ellen Winiarczyk, Director, Nonprofit Studies Program,University of Denver University College [pictured above right]

The class is using the book Strengths-Based Leadership and took the Clifton-Strengths assessment prior to the retreat. Ellen led the class through individual and group activities to help them better understand their profiles and also explore their group profile.

We're happy to share highlights from the day:

• A strengths-based approach is really impactful for teams. A much-loved example is Lessons from Geese, including the importance of standing by each other when one is weak and when one is strong.
• Operating in your "strengths zone," you may find improved: confidence, direction, hope, kindness, and a greater chance of good health outcomes in life. 
• Using this tool can increase employee and team satisfaction.
• Effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and build on each person’s strengths
• Diversifying team members' strengths activates innovation, adaptation, and ability to deal with changes
• Broader groupings of a team’s strengths contribute to overall success

Rebecca Arno, COO, Barton Institute for Community Action [pictured right] led the morning session, which provided an understanding of how the third sector came to be and how the history of charitable giving in the US created the environment we have today. 

• Consider the Role of the Government in Forming/Balancing the Nonprofit Sector
  (1) Regulation of influence (laws allowing and prohibiting lobbying); (2) Taxation (early tax laws spurred the creation of major foundations); (3) Involvement in addressing social issues: Hoover’s “low-cost governance” vs. Roosevelt’s “New Deal"
• Philanthropy isn’t just for the wealthy
  Early examples of mass philanthropy include campaigns to support the Red Cross and other public health campaigns
• Narratives of philanthropy are diverse and inspiring, a few groups to know:
  Black Resilience of Colorado | Latino Community Foundation of Colorado
  Native Americans in Philanthropy

Led by Tucker Wannamaker, CEO, THRIVE IMPACT | Using the book Leading Well from Within by Daniel Friedland, MD, Tucker brings authenticity, research, experience, and humor to a sometimes difficult topic...how do we handle and manage stress as nonprofit philanthropic leaders? 

Key Takeaways

• "If we want to lead well in the world, the first place we need to lead well is inside ourselves." --Daniel Friedland MD 
• The Superpower of Our Generation: Unlocking Collective Wisdom. Uses a new model of leadership based in invitation and inquiry rather than command and control
• People perform at their best and feel safety, belonging, and significance 
• Best to stay in a creative space where research shows high-performance leadership is achieved through strategic focus, authenticity, strong relational skills, concern for the community, and self-awareness 
• Practice mindfulness in a way that works and is impactful for you, ask positive/inquiry-based questions when you hit a roadblock or difficulty

THRIVE IMPACT also hosts a podcast designed for nonprofit leaders. Check it out here.

Resources to Share and Save | Ethics in Philanthropy 

Last week, the Class of 2023 heard from local experts who shared best practices with the class and led them through case studies to practice their ethical decision making.

Thanks to our session leaders:  Amy Stewart, Senior Director, Philanthropic Development, Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation; Lindsey Hersey, Human Resources Director, Dumb Friends League; Josh Zmroczek, CFRE, Director of Development, University of Denver, Sturm College of Law; Erin Osborn, Director, Prospect Research, Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation! 

Key Takeaways

•It's important to have conversations about ethics regularly and to update your policies to ensure that they are legally compliant but also in keeping with your mission and values. 

•You will sometimes be put in a position where you are educating a donor, boss, or community member. Talk about the likelihood of this situation ahead of time so that you are prepared. Having strong policies and great resources at the ready will be helpful. 

•The key ethical concern in DEI data collection is that it must be self-identified/self-disclosed.

We are happy to share links for you to save and share. 

AFP International
AFP Code of Ethical Standards | AFP Donor Bill of Rights 

Colorado Nonprofit Association 
Colorado Nonprofit Association's Principles & Practices in Nonprofit Excellence

ADRP - Association of Donor Relations Professionals 
Ethics Statement

APRA - The American Prospect Research Association
APRA's DEI Data Guide | APRA DUE DILLIGENCE TOOLKIT | Apra Ethics and Compliance Toolkit 

AHP - Association of Healthcare philanthropy 
AHP Professional Standards of Conduct

AASP - Association of Advancement Services Professionals
Statement of Ethics 

Case - Council for Advancement and support of education
Statement of ethics

Independent Sector 
Principles for good governance 

NCN - National Council OF Nonprofits
Ethics and accountability