In 2018, Unicef realized it had a problem: The international humanitarian group could not hold on to its major-gift fundraisers. In that year alone, 30 percent of the fundraisers who brought in the biggest gifts quit.
That rate of attrition was especially concerning because big gifts are born out of the personal relationships fundraisers build with prospective donors, says Kieran O’Brien, chief of global philanthropy at Unicef.
Whenever fundraisers leave, they put those relationships in jeopardy.
At Unicef, leaders wrestled with daunting questions. Would major donors bristle at building relationships with new fundraisers who didn’t yet know their passions and preferences? Could the organization still count on those donors to give? And how long would it take to fill all the fundraiser vacancies with qualified talent?
So many major-gift officers leaving spurred Unicef to address the isolation and burnout on its global development teams. One of its potential solutions: the Major Gift Leadership Academy, a new professional development program for fundraisers the charity rolled out in 2019.
Participants, drawn from development teams across Unicef’s international offices, meet four times during the yearlong program, each gathering at a different location. The goals of the program are to teach fundraisers more sophisticated ways to raise money and to create a forum for fundraisers around the world to connect and learn from each other.
“If you feel supported, if you’re part of a community, you’re more likely to stay in the role that you have,” O’Brien says.
Donor Psychology
Each in-person gathering showcases a different side of the organization. In Indianapolis, the home of the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, participants refresh their knowledge of donor psychology, discuss trends in global philanthropy, and hone their leadership skills.
“We are not separate from what we do,” says Genevieve Shaker, associate professor of philanthropic studies at the Lilly School and an instructor for the Major Gift Academy. “I really like to encourage people to dig into philanthropy in their life and where they come from and to bring that with them into their approach and to recognize that that is important in their work.”
Dadjie Saintus, deputy director of philanthropy at Unicef USA and a member of this year’s group, says this approach has helped her develop what she calls her personal fundraising philosophy. “That authenticity resonates with my donors and the relationships that I’m seeking to build,” she says.
At Unicef’s global headquarters in Geneva, the group takes a deep dive into the programs Unicef runs around the world. Fundraisers spend a whole day role-playing how program staff respond to a disaster.
Saintus reflected on this experience as she boned up on Unicef’s response to the deadly floods in Pakistan. Remembering the stress of making quick decisions in a high-pressure scenario, she says, gave her an even higher regard for Unicef’s emergency-response work. “These types of things, you can’t just recreate unless you’re able to bring people together and have that experiential, hands-on learning,” Saintus adds.
‘It’s Bringing Us Together’
Leadership may be the meat of the program, but knowledge of Unicef’s mission is the bones that give it structure. Unicef doesn’t market the program as a way to learn more about how the charity advocates for children’s rights around the world, O’Brien says, but the deeper ties participants make with the mission reinvigorate their work.
Saintus agrees. “Now I’m actually experiencing that I am part of this global ecosystem, this community,” she says. “It’s bringing us together.”
Between meetings, participants keep in touch using WhatsApp, sharing professional resources and asking for help with tricky fundraising issues.
“It’s invigorating to see them taking the information that we are providing and utilizing it right away to start thinking about what does this mean for my work?” Shaker says. “What does this mean for me as a professional? What does this mean for Unicef?”
In September, participants traveled to Zambia where they met with Unicef staff and saw the charity’s in-country impact first-hand. The trip was modeled after the visits the charity runs for high-net-worth donors. Saintus says that before everyone left, the WhatsApp chat was “exploding” with last-minute questions about packing lists. A group of fundraisers even tacked on a vacation together in Zambia after the trip concluded.
“It’s a strong group. Friendships build,” O’Brien says. “To many of them, it’s like college again.” Fundraisers come out of the experience with an international support group who can help them navigate professional challenges, he adds.
The program culminates with a visit to Unicef’s U.S. headquarters in New York City, where fundraisers meet their American counterparts and attend more sessions on leadership from Shaker and her colleagues at the Lilly School. At the core of her instruction, Shaker says, is the idea that, as major-gift fundraisers for Unicef, they’re also leaders.
“We want leadership to benefit from the strength of our diversity as people,” she says. “The nonprofit sector needs them. Unicef needs them. We need the next generation of leaders.”
It’s still early days, but there are signs that the program is helping the organization hold on to gift officers. Of the 24 fundraisers who have participated so far, only one has left the charity. Graduates have continued to keep in touch after the program and joined a mentorship program at Unicef, sharing their knowledge with other employees.
As this year’s Major Gift Academy moves into its last quarter, O’Brien encourages other nonprofits to explore programming for fundraisers on any scale that combines networking and professional development with enhanced knowledge of their mission.
“That’s really how you retain them,” O’Brien says. “You bring them closer to the mission, closer to each other. They feel supported.”
