Stormproofing Your Major Donor Program

Recognizing that there’s no quick fix for current global inflationary pressures, what are some things you might do to weather the storm and potentially come out of the tempest even stronger?

Although the future is fundamentally uncertain, we can count on one thing. The tempestuous seas and fierce headwinds of the current economic environment will test the seaworthiness of many nonprofit organizations.

Some will simply batten down the hatches and seek refuge below deck, doing their best to ride out the storm. Others will wisely seek a more proactive approach to avoid ending up on the reefs and will thus have “all hands on deck” to maneuver the ship expertly until the seas again grow calm.

Recognizing that there’s no quick fix for current global inflationary pressures, what are some things you might do to weather the storm and potentially come out of the tempest even stronger?

First, let’s recognize that our country has weathered worse storms. For many organizations, riding this out won’t be easy, but neither will it be fatal to well-led and well-managed organizations.

Second, avoid the “gloom and doom” thinking that can very quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Don’t yield to the diseased thinking of the guy who was asked how long he had been sick. His reply? “In two more weeks it will be a month!”

Third, remember that only the most financially challenged donors temporarily stop giving entirely, and hopefully few if any of them will be among your major donors.

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Many organizations that have performed marginally in creating value for donors will find out too late they didn’t make the cut, and sadly, most will never learn why.
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Fourth, take advantage of this challenging time to review current strategies and programs and be sure that your donor cosmograph informs a truly strategic resource allocation framework for your organization’s development efforts (for those unfamiliar with a cosmograph, see my article, “The Call of the Cosmograph”).

Fifth, recognize that when donors cut back on their giving, your goal is to survive the cut. And who will survive the cut? Those organizations that have embraced what I call “the relentless pursuit of donor delight” and have been proactive and consistent in creating donor loyalty. When it comes to donor retention, it’s chilling to realize that even donors who indicate through surveys that they are “very satisfied” with their relationship with a nonprofit can still defect in a heartbeat. It’s delighted donors that don’t defect.

Many organizations that have performed marginally or poorly in creating value for donors will find out too late they didn’t make the cut, and sadly, most will never learn why. This points to the wisdom, if not the growing imperative in a very competitive environment, of knowing through research how satisfied your donors are. Especially your major donors for reasons that should be immediately clear from a cosmograph.

Sixth, don’t be a “fair weather friend” to your donors. As President John Kennedy once said, “Only in winter can we see which trees are evergreen.” During difficult times, some organizations neglect major donors who temporarily can’t give, thereby signaling that the only thing they’re really interested in is the donor’s money, not the donor. If you felt that way about an organization, would it continue to benefit from your support?

Because donor development, properly understood, is about developing donors as individuals (a different paradigm and practice than merely developing a donor base), now is a good time to do a reality check and confirm that those involved in your development efforts understand that development is about building relationships.

As anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time in the field of development knows, fundraising can be complex. In fact, according to one study, more than 50 distinct disciplines now characterize the field of development. That’s not good news for those who yearn for simplicity.

The good news, however, is that there are some simple and abiding truths that every CEO or development officer can follow with major donors. My partner, Bill McConkey, shares four abiding truths which, while especially appropriate to major donor development, can apply to other donors as well. If you ask me, these four “keys” should be committed to memory by anyone responsible for managing a portfolio of major donors:

Four Keys to Major Donor Success

1. Get involved in the lives of your donors.

2. Discover what their hopes and dreams are.

3. Show them how your organization can be a vehicle for the realization of their dreams.

4. Challenge them to make their dreams come true now.

Key # 1. Get involved in the lives of your donors. In multi-year major donor research conducted for my dissertation, one organization (among five) scored the highest in donor satisfaction and loyalty. Not surprisingly, this was an organization that had regular, quality, face-to-face time with their major donors. While we’re big believers in the importance of a sound direct mail program, we appreciate the wisdom in the adage, “Nobody ever got milk by sending a letter to a cow. You’ve got to get close, get your hands on, and stroke.”

Key # 2. Discover what their hopes and dreams are. The astute reader will notice that this flows naturally from Key #1. In other words, if you truly get involved in the lives of your major donors – in deep and meaningful ways – you’ll discover what is most important to them. But beware a trap that many CEOs and development staff fall into. They spend so much time talking about their hopes and dreams that they don’t have time to learn the hopes and dreams of their donors. This puts them in a “selling” mode rather than the more desirable “marketing” mode.

Think of it this way: “Selling” is taking what you have “on the shelf” (plans, case for support, initiatives, etc.) and attempting to persuade the donor to “buy” it. “Marketing” is finding out what the donor wants and then putting that on the shelf. This doesn’t mean that you become “donor-driven.” It means that while being driven by your organizational mission, vision, and values, you are passionately donor-focused. It means seriously listening to donors to “find the fit” between a donor’s motivations and specific aspects of your work. As Peter Drucker, the father of modern management wisely noted, “The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous.”

Key # 3. Show them how your organization can be a vehicle for the realization of their hopes and dreams. Let’s go back to the “shelf” again. If you have discovered what the hopes and dreams of your donors are, what kind of impact they want to have and what kind of legacy they want to leave, you can now show them how different programs or specific aspects of your work can be excellent vehicles for the realization of some of those dreams. If you have discovered what my passion is as a donor, and can demonstrate how your organization can be an outstanding vehicle for accomplishing my dreams, how effective do you think you need to be as a salesperson? Not very! By discovering what’s most important to me and demonstrating an interest in how you can further my hopes and dreams through a genuine philanthropic partnership, you’ve made “selling” superfluous.

Key # 4. Challenge them to make their dreams come true now. (aka, “Do your givin’ while you’re livin’ so you’re knowin’ where it’s goin’.) While our Donor Value Mapping process provides laser precision in identifying what really drives donor loyalty for a particular organization, it’s worth repeating one of the greatest truths of fundraising:

Of all the reasons why people give, one is more important than all others: someone asked.

This means that becoming involved in your donors’ lives, discovering what their hopes and dreams are, and showing them how your organization can be a vehicle for the realization of those dreams, isn’t enough. In and of itself, that would be tantamount to hitting the ball out of the park, running to third base and then walking off the field! It adds no more to the score than striking out. Remember, in the scenario I’ve outlined, you’re not simply asking for a gift. You’re inviting good friends and supporters to make their dreams come true through a genuine (and hopefully long lasting) partnership with your organization.

Invest in these four keys on a consistent basis and you’ll effectively stormproof your major donor program. Come economic winds or waves, you can count on surviving the storm.

Larry Johnston is president of McConkey • Johnston International, a fundraising, management, and organization development consulting firm. With 50 years of experience working with nonprofits, Larry holds a Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems. He developed the Donor Value Mapping process, a tool which helps organizations to maximize donor satisfaction, retention, and lifetime value. You can contact him at 303.638.1827 or by email at larry_johnston@mcconkey-johnston.com.