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Understanding Your Philanthropic Family: The Research That Produces the Best Fund Raising Results

Understanding Your Philanthropic Family: The Research That Produces the Best Fund Raising Results. James M. Langley President, Langley Innovations. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family.

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Understanding Your Philanthropic Family: The Research That Produces the Best Fund Raising Results

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  1. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family:The Research That Produces the Best Fund Raising Results • James M. Langley • President, Langley Innovations

  2. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • What if a board member looks at your annual fund productivity and says, “This isn’t so great. My husband’s alma mater does much better than this. You should take a look at them.” • You, being the non-defensive pro that you are say, “Sure. As a matter of fact, we’ll look at the the ten best annual Funds in the country and find ‘Best practice.’”

  3. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • You research the top ten most productive annual fund operations, ask them to share data and allow a campus visit. • They collegially comply • Your team scours their annual fund practices, find common denominators and most creative approaches, and import them to your campus

  4. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • You faithfully apply the best practice of the top ten, work hard, stay on task, monitor performance, hold out hope, but..... • Your numbers barely move • What Might have gone wrong?

  5. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • What does this comparison tell you? • Is it about the fund raising tactics or the design of the community? • Is there a holy grail in these numbers? • What’s a better way of finding out why your alumni are not giving more?

  6. Ask Them !!!!Be Emotionally Intelligent !!!

  7. PSST, CAN YOU TELL ME HOW TO GET MY FAMILY TO ACT MORE LIKE YOURS? YOU HAVE TO TWEET TO THE YOUNG ONES PEER PEER

  8. Categories of Information

  9. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • How to get to the most useful information • Barriers and gateways to giving • Key populations • Alumni • Parents • Some combination of cost, case or connection

  10. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Functional evaluation versus State-of-my-relationship

  11. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • The Aspirational • Student Discovery • Prompts Self-discovery • Promotes alignment of purpose

  12. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • The Evaluative • Used by market-sensitive business • How did we do? • Areas of functional performance

  13. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Profile building • Religious • Responsible • Rooted • Belief + Behavior • Evidence of service

  14. Means of Collection

  15. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Focus groups • Actual and virtual • Surveys • Telephonic (Annual fund) • Virtual • Interpersonal • Students, staff*, volunteers, emeriti, parents

  16. The Art of the InterviewBeyond Survey Methodology

  17. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Interview Phases • Establishment (why I am here) • Identification/affinity (shared interests) • Value system framing • Values extension • Realization potential

  18. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Establishing the basis for the interview • Why? • So that we (the institution) can better understand and align with ... • the leaders of this community • the exemplars of this school • and, thereby, better serve (it’s not about what you can do for us but what we, you and this institution, can do for others

  19. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Establishing the basis for the interview • What will you do with this information? • Help the president better see • Understand how we can better align with the animating passions of our key constituencies • The more important the listener, the greater the application of the information gleaned, the greater the honor afforded

  20. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Identification/affinity phase • Purposes, aspirations of the institution you represent • To what extent are they shared • What current or potential facet of the institution is most valued by the interviewee

  21. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Identity/affinity questions • “What aspect of your campus experience proved most valuable over time? What was the high point of your time there? What was the most difficult moment? • “What is place of this particular institution in society? What are the most important purposes it serves? Is it living up to its highest purposes? When has it seem to be at its best? When has it seemed to have fallen short?”

  22. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Remember: Guarded questions beg guarded answers. The more your institution appears to be searching its soul, the more the interviewee will search his or hers

  23. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Value system framing questions • “Who have been the greatest influences in your life? Do you have a favorite quote, one that sums up your philosophy of life? Which historical figures would you most like to meet?” • “Who or what from your campus experience do you value most? What one thing do you want us to never change? What one thing would you most like us to change?” • “In your day-to-day life where you find your greatest rewards? Where and how do you feel your time is most productively spent? How do remind yourself of what is most important in life?”

  24. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Values extension questions: • “If you had an extra day in every week, how would you spend it?” • “What would be the greatest application of what life has taught you?” • “Over 40 billionaires have pledged to give away half their fortunes; what would you like to see them give to? What are the most worthy objectives of philanthropic support? Where can a difference be truly made?”

  25. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family

  26. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • Benchmarking yields functional comparisons but disembodied from emotion, place, culture • The interview pays a compliment, shows respect • Yield deep insights into individuals, constituent patterns, level of emotional attachment • Only when we understand the barriers can we convert them into gateways

  27. Understanding Your Philanthropic Family • The most important aspect of “family” research is that it allows the institution to see how it relates on a human level with those that might support it • As such it sheds tremendous light on philanthropic potential • And what it will take to realize that potential, well beyond what an advancement operation can do on its own • It will reveal the need for new models of engagement and the need to more carefully pursue the alignment of purposes

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