To get the kind of big gifts that can transform an institution, fundraisers and other charity leaders must treat donors as key players in carrying out a nonprofit’s work. But it’s something that few charity officials do, says a new book based on interviews with more than 50 people who have made large gifts, including a $1-billion donation.
“Fundraisers spend way too much time strategizing about how to ask and far too little time on creating an environment in which philanthropists can become informed and deeply engaged partners,” writes Ronald J. Schiller in Belief and Confidence: Donors Talk About Successful Philanthropic Partnerships.
“Fundraisers who worry about how to separate people from their money,” he writes, “are left in the dust by those whose principal concern is enabling philanthropists to make their biggest and best contributions to society.”
Ask About Top Goals
Mr. Schiller, who worked as a fundraiser for nearly 30 years — his positions included leading a successful $2.3-billion campaign for the University of Chicago — says several wealthy donors told him they are seldom, if ever, asked about their charitable priorities.
“Most fundraisers don’t think to ask prospective donors about their ideas or what they are trying to accomplish with their philanthropy,” Ann Ziff, who made a $30-million gift to the Metropolitan Opera, told Mr. Schiller. “They miss an opportunity to gain potentially valuable input.”
Fundraisers base their solicitations on estimates of a potential donor’s wealth, but they should also spend time looking for those who have a track record of giving, writes Mr. Schiller, who is now an executive recruiter for nonprofits
Potential donors should be asked about their personal philanthropic goals long before they’re presented with a fully developed argument for why their support is needed, says Mr. Schiller.
“Presenting a shiny, four-color brochure with every detail finalized may seem like proper preparation and due diligence, but it is highly likely to backfire, except in transactional, lower-level fundraising, conveying to potential major donors that there is no room for anything other than their money,” he writes.
No ‘Us and Them’
Almost all of the donors Mr. Schiller spoke with told him their largest and most satisfying gifts had not been made in response to solicitations.
“Most of our gifts have been self-investigated and self-initiated,” Dennis Keller, founder of the for-profit education company DeVry, whose family has made nearly a dozen gifts of $10 million or more, told Mr. Schiller. “Encourage deep engagement through which philanthropists figure out what they want to do based on their core beliefs and informed desires to help.”
Donors like Mr. Keller use the word “we” when referring to projects and other works by charities that receive their greatest support, says Mr. Schiller. “Organizational leaders and donors talk about each other as partners,” he writes. “There is no ‘us and them’ "
Exude Confidence
Mr. Schiller says that because wealthy donors make their largest gifts to organizations in which they have confidence, fundraisers and their colleagues must demonstrate those qualities as well.
Few things dampen a donor’s enthusiasm more, Mr. Schiller says, than staff members who give the impression they don’t really believe in an organization’s work and its ability to raise money. Donors, he adds, are quick to discern whether a nonprofit’s leaders and fundraisers are really looking to solve societal problems or just to keep themselves employed.
“If one or more key leaders are unaware or, worse, unsupportive of a project,” he writes, “donor confidence in the project’s viability can be shaken to the point that donors are reluctant to make a philanthropic investment.”
Meanwhile, fundraising goals that staff members regard as overly ambitious or unrealistic can also undermine the confidence and support of donors, Mr. Schiller writes. “Reduced confidence spreads, causing donors also to retreat or turn their attention to other organizations.”
Get Donors Involved
Affluent donors frequently complain about lack of regular contact with organizations they have contributed to, Mr. Schiller says.
It’s important, he stresses, for fundraisers and other staff members to introduce donors to as many people affiliated with the organization as possible.
People who give a lot to an institution, he writes, tend to have more relationships with staff members, volunteers, and other donors.
Mr. Schiller’s book is available from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s bookstore. The cost is $45, or $31.50 for members of the association.
