So Many Generations: So Little Time!

Posted on  December 6, 2019
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Thanks to Steven Shattuck from Bloomerang for inviting me to lead a webinar about

So Many Generations: So Little Time! 

The session touched on two topics:

  1. The five, yes FIVE, generations currently represented in the workplace.
  2. Five generations (six if you can count the most elderly of our citizens) of nonprofit donors.

What are 3 things you should keep in mind when identifying prospective donors:

  1. Looking for major and planned giving prospects? Boomers represent 43% of total giving. (Classy.org)
  2. Some generations might surprise you. For example, you might find it interesting to learn that both Millennials and Gen Z appreciate face-to-face interaction. (Thanks to Mary Kay Williams of MindShift Consulting in State College, PA for that tip).
  3. While giving varies based in part on income, 30% of Gen Z members report having made a gift to a nonprofit. (Classy.org)

Want to know more?

Finally, if you are particularly worried about Gen Z read this post from Sean Howard. Sean recently completed his first two years on the job for the Rutgers University Foundation. I know there are more Gen Z, Millennials, and Boomers like Sean because I teach them in Pen State’s online certificate programs in fundraising.

Never fear

even though you have so many generations to work with

each has something to contribute to your nonprofit!

Sophie Penney is the President of i5 Fundraising. Sophie’s mission is to help you more efficiently and effectively raise more money to change and save more lives. 

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Fundraisers: Harbingers of Hope

Posted on  November 14, 2019
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This article first appeared earlier this year after a series of violent incidents in the U.S. We are again experiencing challenging times, ones which are at best unsettling for some and for others seen as potentially world-rocking.

What is a fundraiser to do in such challenging times? I suggest that we have the opportunity to be harbingers of hope. Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers, once said:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” Fred Rogers

When I penned my e-book Fundraisers Channeling Fred Rogers this quote didn’t leap to mind. However, if you are a fundraiser you are a helper.

Yes, I know that your ED or your board might not understand your work. You face the hurdles of competition, donor fatigue, and burnout. In particular, a year-end you wonder if you will make it to the holidays (and not all fundraisers do as per my friend Jennifer Harris’ comment posted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy:

“We walk into organizations that, in our mind, are designed to do good,” says Harris, whose consulting group, the JH Collective, is based in San Diego. “There’s an assumption that the people working there are also designed to do good. And that’s not always the case. Organizations don’t always value their employees.”

The discussion, she says, should be “a lot bigger” than whether it’s inadequate leadership that leads to stress, burnout, and turnover.

“In our field, the boundaries are blurred between our head and our heart,” Harris says. “People who are called to this work have a higher calling to purpose.”

As a supervisor once said to me “we are doing god’s work.” You may not be religious or believe in a god, but you are, as the great Jerry Panas might have said, in a position to raise funds to change and save lives.

And you don’t just change the lives of those that your organization serves. You change the lives of donors. Remember you may be a harbinger of hope as much for a donor as for a client of the nonprofit that you serve. Like you donors seek to believe in a brighter, better future (see Jim Langley’s post Star of Wonder, Star of Light). When you are working to meet a mission that matches a donor’s hopes and dreams fading hope can be rekindled.

If you need some inspiration here are 45 Quotes from Mr. Rogers which was posted by Inc. If you need people to talk with reach out to others we’ve trod the paths and are willing to listen and assist.

Most of all, don’t lose heart, you are a helper, someone who can be a harbinger of hope!

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Endowments: Not a Tool, Rather a Way of Leaving a Legacy

Posted on  October 29, 2019
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I just returned from the #leadingage19 Annual Meeting and Expo. There I co-presented a session about endowments with Bill McMorran from Green Oak Consulting. Thinking about endowments and legacy giving reminded me of this story which I posted late last year.

“Today is my mother’s birthday. She’s been gone for nearly 20 years but her legacy lives on in the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren that are part of her family line.

Today she is the focus of an article about legacy because she is the perfect example of the phrase we use in our work: anyone can leave a legacy. As a first-generation American who lived through the Depression mom didn’t have much, yet what she did have she shared.

She gave in simple ways, in the church collection plate and by leaving food on the porch for people passing through the community who had no home. Those may seem small contributions but like the story of the starfish being thrown into the ocean one at a time, her gifts made a difference for each hungry person who came by our house.

I have come to realize that it was my mother’s example that led me to become a giver. In some ways it was also she who led me to become a fundraiser. I do what I do because, like my mom, I believe that giving is about changing and saving lives (sometimes of the donor as much as the recipient).

Mother, I didn’t say it when you were alive, thank you. Thank you for giving me life and for being the role model that you were, you may be gone, but your legacy lives on.”

My mom didn’t have the resources to create a financial endowment. However, she endowed her family with gifts equal to those given by the wealthiest of donors.

Is there someone who endowed you with a gift that has enhanced your life? Remember that donors may be thinking about someone like this when they choose to create an endowed fund in honor or memory of a loved one or friend (maybe even a pet).

As fundraisers, we come across people from all circumstances. Some appear to be lacking in resources yet are financially considered to be rich. Others have much, yet seem to be lacking in spirit and seek connection and meaning. Still, others are not able to contribute large sums of money but want to ensure a lasting impact by giving what they can in the form of a legacy gift.

All of these many other types of donors can create or contribute to endowed funds. We can help these individuals to make meaning of their lives and legacies. We can serve as conduits for them to pass on values or change the world in ways that will live on long after they have departed this world.

Whose life might you change today?

Looking for more writing like this? Check out posts by Jennifer Harris of JHCollective, Jim Langley of Langely Innovations, and Jay Frost.

Sophie Penney is the President of i5 Fundraising and the Senior Program Coordinator and a Lecturer for Penn State University’s online courses in fundraising.

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Fundraising Metrics That Matter: A Relationship Quotient?

Posted on  October 11, 2019
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Fundraising Metrics: Measuring More Than Money proved a hot topic! Over 100 people liked the article and many took time to respond or comment.

Featured in that article is what is now an award-winning book, Kathleen Loehr’s “Gender Matters: A Guide to Growing Women’s Philanthropy“. Reading Kathleen’s book led me to the text of a speech by James Hodges:

Philanthropy & Relationships: If Philanthropy is All About Relationships, Then Why Do Metrics Only Measure Money?

In the piece, Mr. Hodges suggests going beyond measuring money and focusing on a relationship quotient. On what factors might such a quotient measure?

  1. The degree of “relationship equity” that the fundraiser has with a donor (How well the two connect.).
  2. The “institutional relationship quotient” (The degree to which the fundraiser is building the donor’s relationship with the institution).

Are you saying

There’s a metric that we can use to measure what matters most, the relationship!?

If you are a fundraiser or are leading a team could you use, as Mr. Hodges indicates, a simple Likert scale to measure these two items for each donor in a fundraiser’s portfolio?

Sound like a lot of work? New software systems are already available that can help you track such data. As well, AI is already and will surely continue to enable those in even smaller nonprofits to measure what matters. Check out my Charity Channel articles:

Artificial Intelligence and Fundraising: Is a Bot Coming to Take My Job?

Fundraising and AI: Bots Don’t Trot

Are you using simple or sophisticated methods to measure relationship quotient? If so we would all welcome hearing from you because we can all learn from one another.

Sophie Penney, Ph.D. is the President of i5 Fundraising and in that role is a teacher, coach and consultant to nonprofits. She is also on the faculty at Penn State University, teaching online courses in fundraising and fundraising leadership.

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The Fundraising Times They are a Changin’: Lead the Way!

Posted on  October 3, 2019
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Yes, Virgil, there is a lot of change going with regard to fundraising:

·        There are five generations in the workforce (and one would think donors) and

·        There are a mind-boggling number of ways to give,

·        Yet the overall number of donors is on the decline.

·        We used to be the fundraisers, but now

·        Everyone is a fundraiser,

·        Maybe even robots (with the use of AI on the rise!)

This is a short list. What would you add?

At the AFP Central PA Capital Conference I led a discussion with 40+ professionals about leading through change. We didn’t talk about any one change, rather how to lead through all types of changes.

We explored a concept called Change Intelligence© (the brainchild of Barbara Traultlein of Change Catalysts.*

Session attendees discovered their own change leadership styles. Some led more with their head, others with their hands and some others with their hearts. (And yes, we noted that people might use some combination of the three).

The most interesting part involved a case study. What made that interesting? People had to work together with people who had different change styles.

This might seem a simple task but think about it:

·        We talk about diversity. But I wonder, when was the last time you sat with team members and spoke about how each of you deals with change?

·        Have you used the knowledge of how you each manage or lead through change to your advantage?

·        Put another way, by engaging others who possess diverse styles of change intelligence have you come up with better solutions to a problem than you might have working on your own?

Want to know more? I offered a few tips about leading through change in this piece. I didn’t have an opportunity to hear him speak but know that Dave Tinker spoke about fundraising after a tragedy. I too have led discussions about fundraising in times of crisis (and a crisis definitely results in change!).

·        What have you found to be an effective way of dealing with change?

·        Do you have a story to tell about how you or your team successfully navigated a change?

I hope that you will comment because we can all learn from one another. If you want to know more about my AFP session give me a shout out here.

*I don’t receive any remuneration for recommending Barbara or her work. Change intelligence is for me a fascinating concept, maybe for you too. 

Sophie is the President of i5 Fundraising and the Senior Program Coordinator and a Lecturer for Penn State programs in fundraising leadership and fundraising and advancement.

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