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As our firm has grown over the years, I’ve had the privilege of spending time with our new consultants, sharing our company history, axioms, and explaining how we “show up” for our clients.

Recently, the leader of a large $200M+ nonprofit asked me what I look for when hiring consultants. What advice would I give when hiring fundraising professionals? How does DBD Group differentiate itself from other firms in the same space?

I think he was surprised when I didn’t talk about years of experience, education or successful previous campaigns. Without pausing to contemplate the question I answered that I look for the gifts of presence and curiosity. These two gifts are a powerful pairing.

In a blog post from last year, I encouraged fundraisers to break the “rule” that all board members be required to fundraise (you can find that post here). The basic premise being that we should strategically recruit certain board members to actively ask donors for contributions and lean into the fact that other volunteers are on our boards for other skill sets. One of the many follow up questions I received was naturally, “So how do I keep board members engaged in philanthropy if they don’t ask others for money?”

In theory, we all know the importance of data when it comes to working efficiently and effectively. We’ve heard phrases like “data driven” and understand that to be good stewards of our work we should be using data as a regular part of our work.

Yet many nonprofits struggle to truly integrate data into their culture and in their decision-making processes. Here are some ideas on how you can more effectively integrate data into your organization:

How many times have you been told (or said) this: “It’s a board member’s responsibility to fundraise”?

Staff say: “Hey board members, fundraising is an expectation”. Then, when many board members don’t fundraise, staff bang their heads against the wall.

Rinse and frustratingly repeat.  

What if the world of professional golf could teach us something about how to handle this seemingly unsolvable problem?

It is Christmas season and while many know “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or “A Christmas Carol,” few have heard of the “The Bishop’s Wife,” a yuletide tale about a capital campaign to build a new cathedral. Star power of Cary Grant, David Niven and Lorretta Young aside, the plot is one that many might find far too familiar.

My neighbor Ben is a really good kid. I have enjoyed watching him grow into a fine young man. When I was asked to write a reference letter on his behalf for a college scholarship, I felt no hesitation. And when Ben received notice that he was a recipient, I was honored to be invited to attend the awarding ceremony.

In Part I of this series, we discussed the hazards of being in the “special events business” versus true fundraising. If you recognized your organization in that post, your next question is probably: “How do we become an organization more focused on major gifts?” The answer is all about culture change.

Part 1 of 2

Changing a board’s philanthropic culture is a big challenge. Convincing board members to become true ambassadors, as well as campaigners, for your organization doesn’t happen overnight, but is one of the best legacies you can leave. Cultural change takes time and consistent effort. Too often, we think of this as a one meeting announcement to our board and boom! We’re done.