Avoiding Tunnel Vision: Balanced Fundraising in a Competitive Atmosphere

1. Avoiding Tunnel Vision: Balanced Fundraising in a Competitive Atmosphere David Newberry Tennessee Advancement Resources Council July 22, 2004

2. Maintaining Balance • Competition • Campus Demands and Needs • Equally Important Funds or Projects • Solicitors or Solicitation Teams • Other Schools and Organizations

3. A Common Scenario • Good fundraising program, successful. • Solid constituency which can be counted on. • New project, building or program needs to be funded. • We find ourselves trying to get more money from the same people. • Our efforts are not as successful.

4. The Situation at My Shop • Finishing up one comprehensive campaign, about to extend it another 4 years. • Annual • Capital • Endowment • We hired a new major gifts fundraiser in June ‘03 and gave him a very large goal. • Added that goal to our team goals. • Not successful. Why?

5. The Situation at My Shop • New buildings and projects in the campaign extension. • Library • Fine Arts • Science Building Expansion • Nursing Program • How do we raise more money from the same people without just shuffling money around? • Tunnel Vision

6. Common “Balance” Problems • One Fat Chick • Water Down the Soup

7. Common “Balance” Problems • Donor Fatigue • Cherry Picking

8. Common “Balance” Problems • “Redouble Your Efforts!” • Feeding Frenzy

9. Common “Balance” Problems • Burnout

10. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” • Administered in May and June of 2004 • Ninety-three educational fundraising professionals • Purpose: To assess how fragmented our fundraising efforts are, the impact of the fragmentation, and to gather strategies for dealing with fragmentation.

11. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 1. At your educational institution, for how many distinct funds are you expected to raise money? (For example, annual fund, capital projects, athletics, endowment, funds for a particular school or department, etc.)

12. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 2. Do you have specific goals for each fund for which you are responsible?

13. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 3. If you raise money for more than one fund, is it generally known or specifically stated that one of the funds is more important or urgent than the others?

14. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 4. If "Yes" to number 3, please list the specific fund that is the most important. • Annual Fund (mentioned in 25 of 62 responses) • Capital or Capital Campaign (12 times) • Unrestricted (9 times) • My favorite – “Whichever fund the President is focused on at any given time”

15. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 5. If you answered "Yes" to number 3, do you feel that the emphasis on this one fund makes it more difficult to raise money for the other funds?

16. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 6. Are you evaluated negatively if these secondary funds do not reach their goals?

17. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 7. What strategies do you use to try to maintain a balance among the funds for which you are responsible for raising money?

18. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” • “Other” Responses to Number 7 • I will use all these strategies with different individuals. • I identify donors according to their interest and where they are more likely to make the greatest gift. I then try to match them to the priorities. I also have different development officers working on different priorities to meet our goals. • We work with donors on an individual basis to determine personal interests and then match requests to interests. • We have development officers from each division, dept., or specific fund outline the needs and we let the donor decide where they would like to see their money go.

19. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 8. Is your institution currently engaged in a fundraising campaign?

20. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 9. If "Yes" to number 8, what kind of campaign is it?

21. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 10. If you are engaged in a campaign which is only for a capital project, to what degree do the efforts to raise money for the capital project cause you difficulty in raising money for funds outside the campaign?

22. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 11. If you are engaged in a comprehensive campaign, does your institution have a specific strategy for making multiple asks of the same donor for different parts of the campaign?

23. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 12. If you are engaged in a comprehensive campaign, are all areas of the campaign on track to reach their goals?

24. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” 13. What advice or strategies might you offer someone who has to solicit for multiple funds about how to balance one's efforts among them?

25. On-Line Survey“Maintaining Balance in Fundraising” • Multiple Asks • Donors solicited for more than one fund. • Research • Know your suspects, prospects, and donors! • Donor Interest • What does the donor want? • University Priorities • Keep in step with your leadership. • Organize! • Nothing just “happens.” Plan ahead. • Communicate • The whole team stays on the same page.

26. Tunnel Vision and Balanced Fundraising in a Competitive Atmosphere • Conclusions • Multiple Asks • Research • Donor Interest • University Priorities • Organize! • Communicate

27. Avoiding Tunnel Vision: Balanced Fundraising in a Competitive Atmosphere David Newberry Tennessee Advancement Resources Council July 22, 2004