Among the most pressing and relevant issues faced by museums and performing arts organizations today is the diversification of their leadership, staff and audiences.   This has long been an important topic in the field, but the dialogue around these issues has taken on new significance in recent years.  While attention is most often paid to societal or moral considerations around diversity, intentionally representing and serving more inclusive communities can also yield other important benefits over the long term.  

Public and private funding organizations, board members, and donors are increasingly requiring that institutions’ leadership and audiences reflect the communities they serve as a condition for funding.  Civic cultural plans adopted in recent years throughout the country – from New York to Dallas, from Boston to  Oakland – celebrate diversity and inclusion and suggest that future funding decisions will be evaluated in the context of organization’s commitment to these values.  A recent report by the Mellon Foundation indicates that concentrated efforts have led to improvements in the diversification of upper-level staff members in art museums over the past several years, but that there is still work to be done.  Likewise, a new program launched by the American Alliance of Museums funded by the Ford, Mellon and Walton Family foundations shows that issues of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion on boards will continue to be a focus among major funders of the arts in coming years. 

As your organization contemplates issues such as these, several suggestions may be helpful to consider:

Authenticity is Key

There is a natural tendency during challenging budget times – or when ambitious development officers are determined to do whatever it takes to reach their goals – to paint an artificial picture of an institution’s priorities or achievements to meet a donor’s or funding organization’s objectives in an attempt to secure a gift or grant.  This can be especially true when discussing issues of diversity and inclusion in the absence of a board-approved institutional plan.  Remember that those who have given to your organization in the past already know your institution’s culture and personality well, perhaps better than you realize, and those with whom you want a long-term funding relationship will quickly realize that the organization may not be as genuinely committed to addressing these values as portrayed.  Without sugar-coating the situation, be straightforward in admitting what work has been accomplished and is still yet to be done.  This will help preserve or build lasting donor relationships over the long run.

Establish Ambitious but Attainable Goals

Donors know that tackling issues of institutional culture takes time, especially those as deep-seeded as diversity, inclusion and equity.  The first step in creating measurable change is establishing agreed-upon goals that demonstrate real commitment and that can be built upon over a specified period.  If your organization is working toward being more representative of its community through its leadership, staff, and audience, it’s important that everyone involved understands and agrees which metrics are going to be used in setting these goals, whether they are based on regional data, data for the city in which the organization operates, data obtained from peers, national benchmark data for other institutions of similar type, etc.  What’s most important to donors and funders is that a plan for authentic, tangible change is articulated that can actually be achieved.  As a friend has often reminded me, “inch by inch is a cinch, but yard by yard is hard.”  Understand that, while you might be able to achieve measurable goals along the way, when fully embraced as an institutional value, diversification is a process that will likely never be fully realized.

Leadership Begins at the Top

Perhaps the most important thing for development officers and CEOs to remember is that, no matter how committed you, a group of staff or the senior leadership of an arts institution may be to issues of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion, sustained cultural change requires the commitment of the board to be most effective.  This endorsement, whether in the form of an action plan – or even just a written statement – demonstrates to your potential donors and funders that these are issues of institutional priority and not just a means to seeking their gift or grant.   

Embracing diversity is among the most important concerns facing museums and arts organizations in today’s fundraising environment.  Authentic, intentional organizational change can both create a stronger, more inclusive society while also providing the opportunity for your institution to establish deep, meaningful relationships with like-minded donors and funders.  And in such a world, everyone wins – most especially those who experience the joy and personal transformation your organization makes possible.

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In the world of advancement, we often face work environments where employee morale is low for a myriad of reasons. There has been no shortage of challenging and difficult events affecting colleges and universities, for example. How about state budget cuts? How about another negative impact on our budgets and institutional relevance and viability—declining enrollments?  What about administrative missteps? 

These scenarios can understandably create stress and uncertainty including college closures, department mergers, and personnel cuts. And those are but a few examples, which point to the many ways those of us in advancement can be dealt in the complex and challenging environment in which to do our work.  

In an important and timely article in CASE’s Advancement Weekly on boosting morale when times are challenging, several tips are offered to leaders working with a team or office environment experiencing low morale: be direct, rebuild trust, and inspire others. 

Being direct requires courage to share the bad news plainly without sugar-coating it. “At some point in human history, it was determined that the best way to deliver bad news was to either ignore it or jam it deep inside a daunting mass of big words,” explains Robby Brumberg. “Don’t try to bury bad news underneath mounds of meaningless buzzwords.”

Brumberg also recommends rebuilding trust so that your team can heal and work toward a common goal. “If your culture has been damaged, try to piece it back together. Use your communication to rebuild trust and reestablish connections,” writes Brumberg. When employees trust that they can discuss issues frankly with leadership, it’s far easier to discover and correct any issues before they have undesired consequences.

The Association for Talent Development asserts there are five questions to ask yourself when determining if you’re a trustworthy leader:

1. Do people constantly question your expectations of them?
2. Would most people describe you as someone who is reliable?
3. Is there a high amount of gossip and disrespect among your team?
4. Do the majority of team members underperform at the tasks you ask them to do?
5. Do you trust people to take on new responsibilities?

Inspiring others is Brumberg’s final suggestion to boost employee morale. This may seem obvious, but you should be intentional about what you say and how you say it. “You have a voice—a prominent one in your organization—so you might as well use it to spread a bit of mirth, hope and encouragement. If you deliver doom and gloom (or boring corporate spume), you’ll make morale worse,” says Brumberg.

Brumberg sums how to use up proper communication to boost morale by stating, “You can’t fix everything that’s broken in your organization—and you can put only so much lipstick on whatever messaging pigs you inherit—but you can use your position to uplift, encourage and energize your colleagues.”

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In 2018 the U.S. celebrated another record year of philanthropy with Giving USA reporting $410.02 Billion given to charities!

At Alexander Haas we remained committed to transforming organizations that transform lives.  

This year alone we worked with 70+ organizations in 21 states in 50+ communities on campaign planning and execution, annual fund enhancements, major gift program development, staff mentoring and training and even helped a couple of organizations to establish development offices for the first time. 

We conducted 263+ Campaign Strategy Study interviews with philanthropists to evaluate their potential support for client projects.  

Our clients included colleges and universities, independent schools, churches, human and animal welfare organizations, museums and performing arts organizations.  

During 2018 we helped to plan and execute campaigns with goals totaling over $2.5 Billion.

Suffice it to say that we have kept busy, as we know you have.  Here is looking forward to another robust year of philanthropy in 2019!

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This post will not discuss specific vendors or products. No doubt you already know what I am talking about simply because you are hearing from your current vendor. Rather, I want to focus on whether you need to change at all.

Just because a vendor comes out with a new or different version of what you are currently using does not mean you must go with it. If I am happy with a product, and it serves me well without me having to make accommodations or settle for poor efficiency, then I don’t change.

I do not “need” a new car every three to five years. In fact, I tend to drive them until my needs change. I hung onto my last car for 12 years. It had 250,000 miles on it and was replaced strictly because we had a child and needed a car that met all the latest safety requirements.

The replacement car is now seven years old and just hit 100,000 miles, and I see no reason to swap it out (even though all warranties have expired). In fact, the company no longer makes my model and hasn’t for three years, but that’s no reason to get a replacement!

It’s the same with fundraising databases. Contrary to what your vendor might tell you, and to dispel the myth propagated on the Internet, there is no “shelf life” for a CRM. This applies to products that are no longer under “warranty” or are no longer in production.

If your organization has stayed current with upgrades and releases to the product and underlying architecture, a replacement might not be necessary for 20 years (assuming it was first acquired in the 21^stcentury).

The key to long life for a CRM is the same as a car: regular routine maintenance and little or no “off-market” modifications. What breaks a CRM faster than anything is not using it the way it was designed, not maintaining its interior (data), and adding features that it was not originally designed to accommodate.

Regular data tune-ups are mandatory. Those do NOT need to be done by the dealer. Shop around for the best offer, remembering to get at least three recommendations.

A bi-annual check-up by a professional is also advised. Get an independent external individual, who is current with best practices and processes and someone who can come in and kick the tires. Often a poor-performing CRM is not due to the CRM, but how you are using it.

If you make a minor investment in ongoing routine maintenance of your CRM, you will easily save your organization six-figures or more. While one day, a major investment could be required due to regulatory or “safety” concerns. Remember, just because you hear on the listservs that “everyone is doing it,” does not mean you need to follow!

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What defines a successful board? How do institutions determine what matters most on their campus grounds? Rick Legon, President of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges joins Alexander Haas President and CEO, David King to discuss higher ed and current issues impacting students on this edition of Futures in Fundraising!

Catch a new episode of Futures in Fundraising each month on Tuesdays at 10:00 am (EST) on Facebook Live.

To download this show and catch up on others, find us on iTunes.

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After reading a blog I wrote some time ago about development officers who suffered from various mental issues, a colleague shared with me a Harvard Business School working paper (16-057) by Michael Houseman and Dylan Minor, on Toxic Workers.  Unlike many of those employees I referenced in my previous article who specifically suffered from a psychiatric diagnosis, the article on Toxic Workers covered a more general classification, defining toxic workers as, “those who are harmful to organizational performance” and who were terminated for toxic behavior.

Much has been written about talent management, particularly finding those outstanding employees who can serve as rainmakers, lifting up an entire organization by their productivity and positive attributes. A focus for most of our clients with open positions is to do just that, identify the best and brightest for the job.  But this article suggests that it may be equally if not more important to spend an equal amount of effort to avoid employing toxic workers.

A surprise to me was that “workers who are overconfident, self-regarding, and profess to follow the rules” are ones who are more likely to be labeled as toxic and terminated for behavioral reasons.  The article shared that toxic workers often lack compassion. Unfortunately, toxic workers are often more productive than an average employee.

Toxic workers are found to not only be harmful to the organization itself, but they also infect others with such behavior.  It is well documented that a negative factor has a greater influence on people than a positive factor.  I recall an article I read more than ten years ago that attributed this factor to basic animal instincts embedded in our brains from a herd safety mentality.  Having an innate sensitivity to negativity allows us to respond quickly and appropriately when our physical safety is threatened.  And it makes sense that the negative should take precedence over anything else holding our attention.  It may also explain why gossip is so addictive or why the horror genre has such a following!

The simple and obvious solution to toxic workers is to avoid them.  However, defining toxicity in the interview process is difficult, if not impossible in many instances.  A thorough reference check may be the better route to identify a potential problem.  A candidate who has had multiple employers with short tenures is an indicator of a problem.  Finding out during the reference process that the person was a great employee but not a good fit for that institution or that others did not enjoy working with the individual also may be a red flag indicating that further evaluation is in order.

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MINDING MILLENIALS

I have the impression that a lot of folks over 35 are dismissive of millennials, putting them out of their mind because of some preconceived notions such as ‘entitled, unreliable, or glued to their screens.’

Thus I was struck by this confluence of headlines over a couple of weeks in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the BoardSource newsletter:

• Young Nonprofit Professionals on Millennial Myths
• Student Debt Is Hurting the Nonprofit Workforce
• Millennial Women Doubt They Can Make a Big Difference, Study Says
• Millennials are less generous than 1970s pre-boomers
• Why Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff believes philanthropy can be contagious
• University Trust Lets Donors Do the Grant Making
• Millennials expect transparency, sophisticated storytelling and technical savvy from non-profits
• Volunteerism Rate Continues Slow Decline, Report Says
• A Year Before Public-Service Loan Forgiveness Kicks In, Uncertainty Looms

We tell ourselves that we call what we do ‘development’ because we are developing mutually beneficial long-term relationships between our institutions and our constituents. Well, where better to start than with this rising generation where there is every indication that there is great promise for philanthropy?  And I think they will teach us a few things along the way.

• Despite the frequency with which the word ‘transparency’ is used, I all too regularly see examples of a lack of transparency. Sometimes it’s simply that no one thought about it, but in some cases it is intentional, e.g., hiding a poor practice rather than fixing it.
• We shouldn’t need to be reminded of the power of storytelling, but I am glad that millennials are reinforcing its importance.
• We have to find ways to deal with student debt so that we don’t lose all that millennials can bring to the not-for-profit and public service arenas.
• How ironic that millennial women are the more generous force compared to older generations and yet are dubious about the impact of their giving. If ever there were an essential issue to address, it is this one.
• Innovation should be the order of the day, and the University of Virginia’s pooled approach to impact giving through the University Trust is a splendid example.

Instead of being discouraged about the future, as old folks often are when pondering the younger generation, I found myself coming away inspired by all that I see and read.

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You may have heard the phrase, “What gets measured gets done.” It’s variously attributed to Peter Drucker, Lord Kelvin, and the Renaissance astronomer Rheticus (the sole pupil of Nicolaus Copernicus). Its original version was, “If you can measure it, you can manage it.”  Measuring it, of course, doesn’t mean much unless you know why you are doing so.  In short, you need to be measuring toward an end.

We are often wont to say that our work in development is both an art and a science. While more research is being done to buttress the science part, things are probably still tilted more toward the art part. Thus, many folks are loath to measure what they do.

Nowhere is this more apparent than with major gift officers and their metrics for visits and solicitations. Some MGO’s plan their work, get after it, and the numbers take care of themselves. Others moan and groan and, sadly, game the system with such things as recording 10 visits when they bumped into that many prospects at an event. Or, they drop proposals like confetti just to make their numbers. Their numbers sometimes look good, well beyond goals; but, the quality of what underlies them is lacking.

The best MGO’s know that their work with prospects is most effective when they are up close and personal and that means visiting folks. I am reminded of the Vice President who had tent signs made for each MGO’s desk.  On the front it said something like, “The only way bees make honey is to leave the hive.” On the back, it said, “If you can read this, you are not out making honey.”

So, these effective MGO’s make sure they are seeing their prospects. It’s hard work getting the appointment and doing the travel to get there, but it pays off. While they use their metrics to make sure they stay on track, they are even more conscious of the quality of their visits and solicitations. In short, they know the goal is to build authentic relationships that lead to support for the institution.

Sometimes the problem is not the MGO, but the manager who only watches the numbers and fails to consider qualitative factors. Let’s say the MGO’s goal is 160 visits, 40 solicitations, and $1.5 million in gifts for the year. A good manager won’t squawk if the visits and solicitations are below goal but the dollars are above it because of a big gift that was complex. Or, the dollars were below goal because a big gift came in July 1 rather than June 30. Even the best MGO’s can’t control the timing of when their prospects may make their gift.  All they can do is make sure they are given the chance to make that decision in a timely way.

So, what’s the point of all this rambling? Metrics are important and should be a key part of a good major gifts program. But, they should be balanced with a qualitative assessment of what has been done this year and over time and conscious of the ultimate goal of building relationships and securing gifts.

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Have you ever had a runaway committee member who hijacks the meetings and goes on never-ending tangents that cause the meeting to run over? If so, you have experienced a Wild Thing. In my experience with Wild Things, they have passion for the organization and excitement for the project, but their enthusiasm can sometimes hinder the progress. Luckily for you, there are a few tips and tricks to control your Wild-Thing-volunteers and become Max, the King of the Wild Things.

1. Have an agenda: Give everyone a printed copy of the agenda to set a clear expectation of what you hope to accomplish during the meeting. If the discussions continue to carry over the allotted meeting time, consider adding start and stop times to each item on the agenda. If the topic time keeps running over, ask to schedule time on the next agenda for the topic or to resume the discussion at the end of the meeting.
2. Offer to meet one-on-one: Take the time to hear the person one-on-one and take into consideration their ideas and/or frustrations. Give them an opportunity to be heard without taking everyone’s time. Ask the member if you can concisely draft bullet points from the discussion and report back to the committee in the next meeting.
3. Prep Max (the leader/facilitator): Set your chair or co-chairs up for success by sharing an agenda before the meeting so they are aware of the business that will be covered. Offer to draft talking points for them to reference to keep the discussion moving and on topic.
4. Use the Wild Things to your advantage: Match the individual’s talents with the needs of the organization. If the volunteer is talking nitty-gritty and too in the weeds for the overall discussion, ask them to take charge on one particular item that they can run with.
5. Follow up with assignments and notes: To keep everyone on task, follow up with notes and assignments within two days of the meeting. This will serve as a record of what was discussed and next steps, which will keep the meetings moving forward instead of discussing the same topics over and over. Sending notes will also help in case someone missed the meeting and the items that were discussed!

Hopefully, these five tips will help to tame the Wild Things and lead to a more productive meeting for everyone. Always remember that the members on the committee are volunteering their free time and their time should be used as wisely as possible. Everyone wants to make it home for a hot meal!

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I’ve recently begun working with a client whose campaign reporting figures are…well….how to put it nicely….never accurate. And, I don’t mean a mistake here or there, every campaign update report we receive has multiple errors and each time I receive the report, it takes me quite a bit of time to reconcile the numbers to make sure that they are indeed correct . At least it provides me with some job security!

I get it, we are all human and we all make mistakes.  Goodness knows I’ve made plenty of mistakes myself so it isn’t that I am trying to be too harsh on this particular client. The reason I bring this up is because I’ve seen it happen all too often with other clients as well.  While some people feel this may not always be a big deal – especially if the job environment in which you work is a little more relaxed – sometimes a mistake or two or twenty can lead to dire consequences. For example, the issue for this particular client is that the co-chair of their campaign knows there are oftentimes mistakes and has recently considered stepping away from the campaign due to a lack of accuracy in the numbers and faith in the organizational and reporting skills of the Development Director.  Yikes.

I had another client recently who  mis-reported a “total raised” number to their campaign committee.  This wasn’t a mistake of $1,000 give or take – it was a six-figure mistake, and a costly one. Unfortunately that was the beginning of the end and, along with a list of other factors, ultimately caused this person to no-longer be working with the organization.

While the following 3 points of advice might seem like common sense, it is always a good reminder to double check your work!

1) Double-check or even triple-check your reports.

We’re all human, we all make mistakes, but errors, especially when it comes to campaign figures, can sometimes have       disastrous effects. Double checking your work only requires an extra few minutes of your time versus having to re-work something that ends up being incorrect, leads to you being scolded by a boss, or worse – losing the faith of the committee or your employer in your skills as a professional.

2) Bring in the good ole peer-review system.

At a previous job where I worked with many different financial statements and reports, we had a peer-review system. We reviewed our work ourselves, had a co-worker review it and finally had the boss review it for final approval before it went out the door. While this was tedious at times and could be frustrating when we really needed to get reports “off our desk” so we could move on to other tasks, it led to an impeccable accuracy in all of our reporting numbers and rarely, if ever, was there a mistake. Sometimes it’s good to get a second or third set of eyes to review your work.

3) Slow down!!!

As Development officers, it is hard sometimes not to rush through a call report, a numbers report or any other type of deliverable. But, when we rush, that is when most mistakes are made. Take a minute to make sure you are focusing on the task at hand and truly putting forth your best effort and concentration into your work to ensure that it is accurate.

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