Instagram Live Questions & Answers on Trends in Philanthropic Investing
Our Co-founder, Meg, went live on Instagram a few weeks ago to answer top-of-mind questions sent to us on philanthropic trends & major gifts. Keep reading for some snippets of Meg’s answers to those questions. To hear the full answers to all of the questions, as well as a bonus question, check out the video on Instagram. You can find us @GeorgePhilanthropy!
How has philanthropy changed due to the pandemic?
Philanthropy was trending towards its current state over the last handful of years and the pandemic just propelled it forward at a much quicker pace, and by that I mean: there has been this slow transition away from transactional fundraising to investment-like fundraising. This is a result of philanthropists understanding more about their gift and the outcomes they want to generate. The idea that COVID would upend the event scene was great to me because it forced us to focus on relationships with people and not just asking them for sponsorships in a transactional way.
How do you make the most of the recent migration of a lot of families and people to different parts of the country?
Nonprofits in Florida have a unique opportunity right now because so many people have moved there from different places in the Northeast. It’s not to say that the fundraisers in those Northeast locations don’t continue to have the same opportunity that they always have had to build relationships but if you happen to be living in a part of the world where you are experiencing a significant growth, don’t automatically assume that every single person who has money is your best prospect. Don’t forgo all of the work that you are doing with all of your relationships because you realize that a billionaire that you know nothing about now lives in your town. That person could have established philanthropic priorities and alliances to certain organizations that have gone on for years. Your job is to understand people’s capacity and their affinity. Those two things need to match up in order to create the perfect storm for a solid and genuine relationship and ability to solicit support. So, don't just assume either way, but be deliberate in your outreach and qualification stage to really assess the potential with different peoples. Capitalize on this moment! And do it intentionally, keeping your mission at the forefront of what you do when uncovering new prospects.
Is there a way to get someone to give a gift before the end of the year without sacrificing a bigger gift to a campaign in the near future?
Because campaigns present a time to solicit a bigger than usual gift, if you're not there yet, I would intentionally plant a seed for what’s to come next year with my ask. Meaning, if you have a prospect that gives you $5,000 every year and you know that that’s not in line with their capacity to give and you want to ask for, perhaps, $20,000 a year for the campaign, then in November, I would ask for a one time give of $10,000 and say really intentionally, “We've been grateful for and relied upon your continued unrestricted support each year -- gifts at that level without restriction truly allow us the freedom to be responsive to our greatest needs year after year. I want to ask for your consideration of a gift at the $10,000 level to make that ability even greater. Next year, I’d love your permission to come back to you and talk about what we were able to accomplish with that support, which is truly the cornerstone of our ability to respond to continual needs, and the outcomes we've been able to generate, and at that time, give you an update on our incoming campaign initiative -- both around the goals and successes, but most importantly, the impact and outcomes that can be expected from there." Don’t avoid asking for a gift this year because you think you’re going to lose your chances of asking for a bigger gift next year. But if you do, test them out at a higher level, and be deliberate about what you say so they aren't surprised when you come back to discuss something greater!
How long do I need to cultivate someone, before soliciting a major gift?
People do not need to think as long about giving a gift as they used to because they are getting more sophisticated. You might feel after one conversation that you can go back and ask someone for something but the most important thing you can do is understand what that person cares about. You need to know that you’ve had enough time with them to say, “What are your philanthropic priorities?”, “What do you want to invest in?”, or “What are the outcomes that you want to see?” Make sure they articulate the outcomes that they care about because your job is to align their support with your organization in a way that generates those outcomes. That might take five visits or pulling in colleagues, directors of programming, executive directors, or CEOs. It might mean bringing in another board member because you need to show that they can trust who they are giving to and investing in. It’s no longer a set period of time, but really rather the quality in which you qualify and understand your prospect and his or her needs. The ask should be easy if you set up the first two conversations well to do your homework in line with what they share.
If my organization knows what we need to fundraise for and how much it’ll cost, can we go straight into a campaign without a feasibility study or any planning?
It’s important that you go through some sort of planning phase. Take a solid period of time, which could even be 4 or 5 months for some organizations, and go through an organized and deliberate planning process that involves external constituencies -- but make sure if you do this, you are truly open to hearing what people say. Let a campaign firm or consultant do the hard work and give you a roadmap on how to be successful with the campaign. You shouldn’t assume you should just do what you know you need; you need to understand what your external constituency can buy into and is interested in. Your stakeholders need to have a seat at the table. Phil’s famous line is “a plan is no plan at all if it can’t be funded.” When you’re hiring someone to help you with a campaign planning study, you’re also using them as a first point of cultivation. They can ask people a whole host of questions to gather a lot of information, even more so than someone working at an organization usually can. You need to trust that the process sets you up for a much quicker and more successful initiative because you’ll have a roadmap to follow not just for overall campaign strategy, but each of your top prospects.
If you need assistance or have any questions accessing the video on social media, please email me (listed below)!
