Support Staff/Frontline Players: Do they have the equipment they need?
As a development professional, you have a responsibility for understanding gift arrangements, “the art of the ask,” and a host of other niche subjects to put you on the same page with your donor. Skilled major/planned gift officers are the “ball carriers” of a good development team. They can run the ball (major/planned gift) all the way to the field goal… if there’s a successful hand off. But, what about those folks who carry the ball, but aren’t on any of the regular training rosters? Too many development operations fail to consider the skill sets of those development players who aren’t generally responsible for scoring great gifts: the receptionists, financial staff, legal advisors, gift administrators, the janitor, and others who have contact with donors before the first gift is made and throughout the donor/institutional relationship. How can this diverse group (with no direct donor responsibilities) be prepared for a campaign? Anyone who has any contact with donors must have an understanding of campaign goals. If your receptionist can’t answer the question “Why does your institution need X millions of dollars?” you have a problem. If the gifts processing staff calls your donor to arrange for a pledge payment schedule, it would be disastrous if they couldn’t speak to the donor’s influence on the success of the campaign. In other words, campaigns, like football, don’t require that every member of the team have a “golden arm,” or that every staff member understand all strategies. However, a successful campaign requires that everyone on staff (janitor to CFO) be able to answer the question: What new and improved way do we serve the world as a result of a successful campaign? And, more subtly, what will we not be able to do if we don’t campaign? Involving your peripheral staff in this part of the planning process is key to the ultimate success of a campaign. At JBL, we prepare our clients to campaign by including these key players in limited aspects of the pre-campaign process. John is famous for his “Here’s a million dollars. It’s yours if you can tell me why this organization deserves it” game. To make it work in your organization, pull together a group of peripheral players and ask the question. Get their answers in writing. At the end of the game, be ready to teach them what your key messages are. Reward those individuals who “get it.” Throughout the campaign, keep this group informed on a regular basis – when key campaign goals are reached or even for minor victories. If a naming opportunity is won, this group should be included in a group email of congratulations to the team. The more they recognize their role (however circumscribe), the more they’ll be excited to play it. The key players in a campaign are many. At John Brown Limited, we’re happy to prepare your entire team for a successful campaign.
|
June 2008:Archived Newsletters |
