Training in the Time of COVID-19

In conversations with clients and colleagues, I have heard that training is high on everyone’s list. With travel prohibited, many staff members are seeking additional training opportunities and many leaders are trying to structure appropriate learning opportunities for their staff members. That is well and good—an excellent way to utilize time.

Let me offer a suggestion for Training in the Time of COVID-19 (apologies to Gabriel Garcia Marquez) of development officers that should actually become part of our general training regimen for gift officers. This suggestion is born of several factors—my own experience, my work with many, many gift officers as both supervisor and consultant, and my review of any number of training opportunities afforded front line fundraisers.

First some background. In working with a front-line gift officer to assist in strategy development for prospects, I was reminded of a gap in his understanding. He was interested in developing an approach for an alumnus, who did not give personally, although the accounting firm for which he is the founder and managing partner made contributions. It was clear to me that he failed to recognize that gifts from the firm were, in fact, to some degree coming out of the alumnus’ pocket. While there was merit in working with that alumnus to secure an individual gift, to approach him as though he were not giving would be a mistake. In short, his lack of understanding of the differences among corporations was proving to be a problem in his work with a prospect.

That reminded me of my early days as a gift officer. I remembered dealing with a number of prospects who were involved in the world of investments. One was a hedge fund manager whose fund was a fund of funds, giving investors access to a good array of other hedge funds—sort of like a mutual fund approach to hedge-fund investing versus owning one specific fund. Let’s just say that, as he explained what he was doing, I was lost. I had no idea what a hedge fund was; to say nothing about some of the strategies those funds employed. I nodded, smiled and kept quiet. Another did technical analysis for a mutual fund company…say what?? A third ran a fund that employed a long-short strategy designed to give investors a steady return. As he described it, “This fund is for people who want to have a reasonable return on their investment. I’ll never hit a home run, but neither will I read the headlines and immediately get nauseous.” One other was employed by Bain Capital. As he described what this private equity firm did (and I had no idea what private equity even meant), I struck that “smile, nod, repeat” posture so familiar to me (and others) when being told something about which I know nothing.

So, what’s the point of this? I have come to believe that we would serve our budding (and some who may be in full-bloom) professionals well by ensuring that they have a basic—and I do mean basic—understanding of the language and structure of the business/finance world. Having a degree of fluency in those areas would be beneficial to most. Many of the prospects they will work with, will live in one or more of those worlds. Many who do not, will still have a familiarity with one or both. We take great pains to educate gift officers in the profession. We also make sure that they have a good understanding of our college and/or university. We provide them with continuing education opportunities of all sorts. Yet, I am fairly convinced that we do not serve them nor our profession well if we do not include the basic concepts and language of business and finance as part of their overall introduction to the profession. In doing that, we have resources galore, including faculty, our alumni or select board members, if we choose to use them. They could assist us in designing the training and even help with instruction…high-level, broad, but sufficient to give them some degree of fluency. In doing so, we are likely to help them become even more effective in their work with their prospects. So, as you think about the training or professional development you want to provide your staff—or some part of it—during this time of COVID-19 social distancing, give some consideration to this. Once we can return to normal (or a new normal), consider how it can be one essential component of the education of a gift officer.  

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Human Connection in the Time of COVID-19

Some of you may remember the concept developed by John Naisbitt in 1982, High Tech High Touch, which acknowledged that with greater reliance on technology, people would crave more TLC. How prophetic. Almost forty years later, we have transitioned to a time of super high tech, where technology plays a significant role in our lives. Thanks to COVID-19 all of us, including preschoolers through octogenarians, rely on technology for education, work, entertainment, religious observances, games, information, and social contact. Even our cats are entertained by video games. With a tablet, cell phone, laptop and of course, WIFI or cell connection, we could be content. But even the introverts among us still long for greater human contact, for high touch.

My colleague, Arthur Criscilllis, above wrote of using this time of COVID 19 social distancing to provide specific training to your development team on finance, investments, and other business concepts. Technical knowledge to further hone the craft of development is essential. This is also a time to refine the softer skills for your staff, especially as the reliance on technology creates a greater need for higher touch which is more challenging to deliver remotely. These may include understanding the hierarchy of human interactions, improving communication skills, collaborating across the organization, working with challenging donors, supervising and working remotely, time-management, but also developing prospect strategies, managing a portfolio and so forth.

These types of training could be offered in “virtual group” settings, but are much more effective one-on-one, where the content is highly personalized and customized to the needs of the individual. Further, the ability to participate in role playing and to address specific issues with prospects or colleagues in a confidential setting leads to more genuine interactions and better outcomes. Given the importance of communicating successfully across the airwaves, team members at all levels (executive and senior staff, front-line development officers, and those who play supportive roles) may benefit from customized training, coaching and mentoring.

As you plan professional development during this time of COVID-19 give consideration to this. Its impact will be both immediate in today’s virtual work world, and long-term once we find the “new” normal.

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Have annual performance reviews become passé?  A recent article states that “more than four-fifths of firms are ditching standard year-end performance reviews and ratings, including Goldman Sachs and General Electric.”  Keeping up with the times, General Electric is now using a mobile app in its new process to provide more timely feedback to employees.  Employees and their supervisors can log in at any time to provide feedback.

Years ago, there was a movement toward “just-in-time” feedback, which encouraged in-the-moment responses, both positive and negative, to employee actions.  One of the problems with this approach was the need to document such interactions and to weight them accordingly to how great a factor such occurrences were in the overall performance of the employee.

Development operations lend themselves to a “just-in-time” approach.  With most organizations tracking a host of activities ranging from number of calls, significant interactions, face-to-face visits, to number and total dollars solicited and closed, it becomes easier to address employee success (or lack thereof) continuously.  But this often leads to complaints that success only is defined in quantity, and that the quality of the work may be lost in chasing even greater numbers.  Some have reported that the review of individual metrics led to a lack of coordination and cooperation internally, as some development officers have been known to compete with each other for prospects.  In addition, the soft skills, such as certain behaviors, are not subject to the objective counting of tasks.  There are a number of universities that are setting both team goals and individual goals in order to foster collaboration.

A 2015 Gallup poll stated that 63% of employees surveyed felt that their bosses did not recognize their achievements.   Finding ways to reward and recognize performance continuously is an important motivator and leads to greater employee satisfaction.

Just like with training pets and raising children, feedback given months later is useless.  Using metrics to provide regular progress updates toward targets and coupling that with personal interaction with the supervisor provide a better understanding of expectations.  Development is a relationship business: treating employees with courtesy and encouragement while critiquing performance can – and should – be a hallmark of our industry.

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Two stewardship incidents stick vividly in my mind even though they were 25 and 35 years ago. Both times I was mad as hell.

The first involved a large program endowment and an aggressive Dean. We had a very good investment year and wound up in the top 10 in the NACUBO (National Association of College and University Business Officers) Endowment Survey. We were slightly ahead of Harvard and made sure the campus knew that.

The Dean, who was smart enough to know better, wanted us to double the endowment spending rate as a result so that he could fund a visionary expansion of the program.  When we refused, explaining that we had a commitment to preserving the spending power of the endowment and that there would be down years, he went ballistic. With a straight face he had a faculty meeting and accused the President and me of spending the investment windfall on a program in another college. Suffice it to say that we had a heated one-on-one discussion that ended his tirade, but it took several meetings with faculty to repair the damage.

The second involved a Director of Admissions and a large scholarship endowment that had come to us through a bequest. The Director of Admissions had some bold enrollment growth goals and wanted to raid the corpus of the endowment to award more scholarships.  ‘She (the donor) is dead and will never know,’ was the rationale he told the scholarship committee. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard this afterwards from our staffer on the committee. Again, I had a serious discussion with my admissions colleague about how that was not the way we treated donors.

These bad memories were prompted by this month’s CASE Currents’ article on endowments under attack by politicians and a piece Bruce DeBoskey wrote arguing for rethinking the Donor Bill of Rights in light of advances in technology among other things.

A sidebar to the Currents’ article provided advice to deal with a situation where a faculty member was chafing under some endowment restrictions and planned to wait until after the donor died to spend the income on other priorities. While I applaud the advice to deal with the situation with the donor now, I would also suggest some counsel for the faculty member about not bending the rules.

The Donor Bill of Rights was developed by the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and adopted in November 1993.

I think its principles are still sound today, but DeBoskey’s argument for his 10 ‘strategic partnership principles’ is well worth considering.

As a footnote, I had heartburn when I read a quote from Dr. Anita Levy, an AAUP (American Association of University Professors) official, commenting on how Western Carolina had negotiated a gift agreement with the Koch Foundation to allay faculty concerns about academic freedom. Ideally, Dr. Levy says:  “We would not have universities taking money from the Koch brothers’ foundation at all.” Until now I was not aware that the AAUP had appointed itself as the gift police to determine which donors should be permitted to give to American colleges and universities.  It’s one thing to take a stance against gifts that might impinge on academic freedom.  It’s another to advocate refusing all gifts from a donor regardless of the circumstances.

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My early career in fundraising was as a grant writer – I was comfortable there using my skills to clearly communicate the mission, goals, programs and needs of my organization.  Then one day, my executive director was double-booked for a meeting with a board member and a presentation to the local Rotary Club:  “Judy, you need to cover the Rotary for me.”  Ok, how hard could it be, right?  I know the organization inside and out and about everything we do and hope to do in the future.  So I trotted over to the golf club for the meeting armed with my slide carousel (it really was the dark ages) and thought, “this will be great; I’ll show them the slides, talk about what we do, answer questions and that will be it.”

Classic public speaking rookie mistake!  Everything that could go wrong in a presentation setting happened that morning.  The host didn’t realize I was bringing slides so there was a scramble to find a projector – no screen in the room because the group met for breakfast in a room off the main dining room. I thought I could ‘wing it’ and use the slides as the set up for the flow of my talk, but the room wasn’t really dark enough to see the slides clearly, and I had not thought of a back-up plan.  I managed to get back on track by reciting statistics and paraphrasing the grant information that was always in the back of my head. The gentlemen were gracious and politely attentive, but obviously glad when I wrapped up my speech quickly.

This was a missed opportunity to share in-depth information about my organization with a high powered group of civic leaders. I learned well then that speaking and presenting to Board members, donors, community organizations and school groups is very much a part of being a good development officer.  While most of us have the gift of gab and are very comfortable in one-on-one settings, the jitters take over when we are called upon to speak in front of a group.

How can one overcome the shakes, stutters, ums, ahs, and rambling content? I recommend Toastmasters.  For 90 years, this international organization has been training people to become exceptional communicators and leaders.  I have been a member for almost 9 years, and it is the best professional development experience.

At my home club (the President’s Club), I practice my speeches and presentations, and receive thoughtful feedback about every aspect of my work: eye contact, vocal quality, body stance and gestures, content and intent. In Toastmasters, I have learned valuable skills in how to develop and deliver compelling messages, how to manage speaking time, the importance of practice, and how to listen and adjust based on audience reaction. I think I have gained the most confidence in being able to speak off the cuff through the ongoing practice of the Table Topics exercise that is conducted at every meeting (a great skill for those moments when you see a major donor at the grocery store).

Now every time I make a speech or a presentation, I think back to that awful Rotary experience as a reminder that improvement is always possible and doing the work leads to success.  I encourage you to join a Toastmasters club – Expand your development horizons and become the best advocate for your organization in any situation.

Find a club near you:

About Toastmasters International:

Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development. Our membership is 313,000 strong. Members improve their speaking and leadership skills by attending one of the 14,650 clubs in 126 countries that make up our global network of meeting locations.

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I am often times surprised by how small Atlanta actually is; just yesterday I ran into a man I went to first grade with, whom I haven’t seen in years! It seems as if I cross paths with someone that I know, or at least have a mutual friend in common, everywhere I go. I find this to be especially evident in the work environment due to constant networking to build my web of connections.

Networking can:

1. Build your business contacts
2. Promote your organization
3. Find new supporters/donors
4. Make connections in the nonprofit sector

Whether taking a business breakfast with a fellow development colleague to discuss trends in nonprofits or attending conferences, networking is free personal advertising. Yes, the speakers at conferences are truly spectacular, but meeting peers can be one of the most beneficial reasons for attending.

I encourage you to round up a few people that you do not know, to get drinks after a conference or seminar to discuss.  Be sure to get the contact information for the individuals you meet so you can reach out to them and add them on LinkedIn. Always remember to follow up if you say you will!

Networking isn’t always about finding a job; although, most people wait until there is a crisis to start the process without realizing how long it can take. The most valuable networking opportunities arise when it is mutually beneficial. There is a careful balance of give and take that needs to be recognized, because no one likes to feel like they are being mooched off of. One simple way of avoiding this dynamic is to ask for advice – people like to believe that they are experts in their field and love to give advice.

Some tips for networking:

1. Maintain eye contact, smile, and uncross your arms
2. Always have business cards on hand
3. Listen actively
4. Be confident
5. Make an effort to socialize with new people
6. Seek advice
7. Ask open-ended questions
8. Follow up and stay in touch

Get out there and start networking!

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In my previous post, I spoke about networking and suggested a number of nonprofit and fundraising conferences taking place throughout this fall. Inspired by Eric Holtzclaw’s article on Inc.com, here are five ways to benefit from social media if you attend:

Prepare for the event.

Social media can be a useful tool even before the conference begins. Many events have a LinkedIn group, Twitter hashtag or a discussion group to help attendees get a feel for the conference, see who will be there and come prepared to interact with others. Reach out to anyone who seems interesting or try to connect with speakers. These tools also allow you to join the conversation beforehand by seeing what topics will be most prevalent in discussions, and how much attention the conference is getting.

Find relevant information.

You want to take as much information away from a conference as you can, but can’t be everywhere at once. Use social media tools like Twitter or Facebook, which now also uses hashtags, to get information about the sessions you were not able to attend. Sitting in a dull lecture? Check social media outlets like Twitter and Facebook to see if there are conversations going on elsewhere that are more relevant to your organization’s needs.

Create meaningful connections.

A great perk of attending a conference is the incredible networking opportunities you will find there. Many professional conferences have networking events, but there are several ways to supplement or enhance these connections. Keep in touch with the contacts you made before the event via direct messages or in-app messaging (like Facebook messaging), to arrange in-person meetings. You can also check Twitter for tweets using the event hashtag and contact people who seem interesting or are discussing topics relevant to you. Finally, you can use social media sites like LinkedIn to research the interests and backgrounds of people you are meeting up with, which hopefully results in a more productive conversation.

Take helpful notes.

Conferences can be great learning experiences, but only if you are able to take the information back to your organization and put it to use. Share the information you gather on social media outlets so you can not only keep track of what you have learned, but also inspire others. Interesting or useful facts can spark thoughtful conversations if shared on a discussion group, forum, Facebook or Twitter. It also shows your volunteers, donors and the general public you are putting effort into enhancing the innovation and knowledge base of your organization, which is always a positive. Finally, by reading others’ posts about the conference, you can gain insights you may not have had otherwise.

Keep in touch.

Use social media after a conference to maintain contact with people you met. It can be much more effective and personal than if you simply exchange business cards. Interacting with contacts via LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc, allows you to connect with them on a regular basis without much effort or time out of your schedule to meet face-to-face. Plus, follow-up is extremely important; it shows connections you are interested in maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship.

The idea of using social media may intimidate you if you have not had much experience using it. However, the tips I mentioned, combined with plenty of practice, should have you familiar with the tools in no time! Because while using social media to network can be work, it is certainly worth your while.

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It’s good to catch up with colleagues and make new acquaintances at professional conferences and other events. I attended CASE District III (CASE is the Council for Advancement and Support of Education) earlier this year, and was particularly delighted to see several long-time professionals in attendance who hold cabinet-level development positions, such as vice president or vice chancellor, at their respective institutions.

Why so delighted, you ask? Because having the chief development/advancement/philanthropic officer from top fundraising universities and colleges take the time to be present at a regional conference is vitally important for our profession.

And yes, I speak from experience. Having been a frequent speaker and presenter at numerous professional conferences and seminars throughout the region, I remember only too well when I served in similar high-level positions. At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing by opting to send other staff members to select conferences rather than attend myself.

I justified my decisions easily – and logically: The travel and education budget was limited; the staff benefitted more from the sessions and networking opportunities; I didn’t want anyone to think I was looking for a mini-vacation at the institution’s expense; and/or I just couldn’t get away from the daily grind.

If I had to do it over again, I would have budgeted more for our professional conferences, not only encouraging staff to go, but taking time to accompany them as well.

We are fortunate in our profession. There are several organizations like CASE that provide continuing education, along with valuable networking opportunities.

There’s no substitute for a quality network, and the contacts made at these events can be incredible resources. The relationships you build at events can help you in myriad ways, including:

• Recruiting new talent
• Collecting competitive intelligence
• Sourcing vendors or consultants
• Finding new customers

Along with relationship-building, conference attendees are exposed to informative sessions on such varied topics as making the case for additional staff, doing what is right when confronted with ethical dilemmas, and the art of the ask.

There are three questions that we, as development professionals, should regularly ask ourselves:

1. What are we doing to further our own continuing education?
2. What are we doing to mentor, coach or train our subordinates or colleagues?
3. What are we doing to help our industry grow and develop?

Attending professional conferences can answer all of the above questions. Please make time to be a part of industry events, regardless of your position within your organization. Your continued education, along with sharing experiences, successes and failures, will serve to grow our body of knowledge as a whole, and benefit each of us individually and collectively.

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