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In recent years, many leaders in the nonprofit landscape have taken important steps to incorporate diversity and inclusion into their organizations’ missions and practices. As nonprofits work with an increasingly diverse and globalized set of clients, beneficiaries, partners, and employees, many have engaged in thoughtful self-examination and made changes to ensure they engage effectively and communicate respectfully across any number of cultural barriers. Universities and independent schools may have offices or deans of multicultural education to advance the diversity and inclusivity of their student and faculty bodies. Many hospitals provide initiatives to help doctors better care for a wide cultural spectrum of patients and their families.

Yet how frequently are similar cultural considerations made in nonprofit fundraising? The landscape of philanthropy is also quickly diversifying , and many CCS clients work with constituents from a broad range of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds: from multiethnic Catholic parishes, to hospitals serving predominantly immigrant communities, to museums that increasingly partner with art collectors from mainland China and Hong Kong.

Developing cultural competence is essential to building trust and effective engagement with an increasingly diverse community of donors. It goes beyond making simple generalizations about people of different backgrounds; rather, it challenges professionals to deeply understand their donors’ mindsets and adapt their practices accordingly. Doing so will allow nonprofit fundraisers to build better relationships, expand their organizations’ reach, and more effectively and respectfully engage with philanthropists and donors from varied walks of life on their own terms.

What is Cultural Competence?

In order to fundraise effectively through a multicultural lens, it’s helpful for nonprofits to first understand the multiplicity of cultures that their supporters may identify with. When we hear the word “culture,” we may jump to considering national origin or ethnicity. These are certainly important cultural elements, but they aren’t the only ones. Culture – what social psychologist Geert Hofstede calls “the programming of the mind” – can account for how many different groups of people act, think and communicate. Age, socioeconomic status, religion, race, sexual orientation, nationality, and gender are all cultural factors to consider in fundraising, and (to complicate matters further) each person has several intersecting cultural identities. Families from Germany and China might approach giving to nonprofits very differently, but so might 35-year-old donors and 70-year-old donors, or Orthodox or Secular Jewish philanthropists. Before developing donor strategies, it’s critical for nonprofits to understand any significant groups within their supporter base that share a similar culture or identity.

Once fundraisers have identified their supporters’ cultural identities, they can use cultural competence to translate that information into a lens by which to effectively understand and relate to donors. Cultural competence is the ability to think and function effectively across cultures and work effectively with people from different backgrounds.[1] It can encompass awareness of one’s own and others’ “mental programming” and developing practical knowledge of how that programming will translate into everyday situations.

Applying Cultural Competence to Nonprofit Fundraising

Many nonprofit fundraisers already know their supporters’ cultures well and are cognizant of the best way to approach them. Fundraisers for Catholic churches have found that Vietnamese parishioners frequently prefer to give collectively rather than individually; others have noted that many Latino congregations center their fundraising around community-focused events rather than individual solicitations. Yet there are always ways to deepen and broaden one’s cultural awareness. Cultural factors to consider in working with donors can include:

• Language. What primary language do your constituents and donor base speak? Would they feel more comfortable speaking or receiving materials in their native language, or are their English-language skills a point of pride?

• Religion and spirituality. Religion can heavily impact a donor’s relationship to giving. Many cultures view giving as a religious activity and may prioritize gifts to their church, mosque, synagogue, or temple. Fundraisers should be aware of how religion influences a donor’s motivation, but also how religious observances might influence when and how to best discuss a gift. It’s important to be considerate of major holidays like Yom Kippur, when observant Jewish donors may consider it improper to discuss finances, or Ramadan, when Muslim donors may be fatigued or feel uncomfortable attending events with food as they fast. When planning events, fundraisers should also consider dietary restrictions.

• Age. Studies of generational giving demonstrate that a donor’s age can influence how, where, when, and why they choose to give. For instance, while 60% of donors over 75 contribute to religious causes, only 32% of Millennials aged 24-42 do the same. Age contributes to what people value in communication with an organization as well. For example, younger donors may gravitate toward online giving not only for its convenience, but also because they value reducing the paper use of traditional appeal and thank-you mailings.

• Nationality and ethnicity. Often the most common cultural miscommunications occur between people of different nationalities – people who may have grown up surrounded by norms, values, and unspoken assumptions that create just as much trouble as a language barrier. This can happen with fundraising as well. One independent school fundraiser spent many fruitless attempts to meet with his school’s Korean parent community, only to have them turn down all his meeting requests. He finally learned from a colleague that many parents were actually very interested in supporting the school, but felt uncomfortable because he’d asked to meet with them at home – an extremely intimate setting for Korean nationals. Once he began setting up meetings in bars and restaurants, he found parents were willing and excited to speak with him. Nonprofit fundraisers should make an effort to understand how national culture affects donors’ communication preferences, assumptions around philanthropy, and decision-making processes. In many cultures, the gender of the donor and fundraiser may also play a key role in how (or even if) meetings take place, who becomes involved in “charity work,” and who controls family finances. Yet while these can be deep and important considerations to make, small touches, like remembering to send good wishes to a donor on important cultural holidays, can also make people feel meaningfully seen and appreciated.

• Socioeconomic and educational factors. Finally, a donors’ educational and class background can also determine their approach to philanthropy – or even if they consider philanthropy something exclusively for “other people” with traditionally wealthy backgrounds. Written appeals that sound too formal or complex may come off as elitist to some donors, and organizations may need to put extra effort into engaging donors from backgrounds where giving was neither a possibility nor a priority. Nonprofits should reflect on how they conduct donor education and cultivation, and how they can share the impact of gifts of every size.

Developing Cultural Competence

So how can fundraisers build their cultural competence, avoid cross-cultural mishaps, and engage donors from a wide range of backgrounds? It may be tempting to hunt for easy rules of thumb or generalizations, but cultures and identities are incredibly complex and intersecting. Even two donors of the same ethnicity and religion might have wildly different personalities or value sets. Rather than make generalizations (“Latinos always put family first”) or hunt for resources that skim the cultural surface (“10 Tricks for Working with Businesspeople from X!”), fundraisers should look for ways to incorporate a culturally competent mindset into all their work. Cultural scholar Debra Deardorff[2] recommends building this mindset through a three-pillared “Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes” approach:

Developing the first pillar – cultural knowledge – might mean learning a language or developing expertise in a specific regional culture or religion, by spending time abroad, or attending services. Knowledge also implies cultural self-awareness, built by examining one’s own biases and assumptions. This examination often reveals that much of what seems “normal” or “common sense” may actually be determined by one’s own specific upbringing.

Of course, cultural knowledge is only useful if it’s effectively put into practice with other people. To do so, fundraisers need the second pillar of cultural competence – skills of listening and asking questions, thoughtful empathy, and the ability to work through conflicts and miscommunications. All of this should be undergirded with an open mind, a willingness to learn and be flexible, and a sense of comfort in unfamiliar or ambiguous situations where there may not be one clear “right approach.”

Deardorff’s model demonstrates a holistic approach to cultural competence, and all of these pillars can be incorporated through small changes in our mindset and daily work to have a big impact. Fundraisers can start with an attitude of willingness to learn over the long term, coupled with the humility that it’s not possible to quickly become fully competent in someone else’s culture. From there, they can:

• Reflect. Begin by reflecting as a department or organization to understand – what cultures and identities are represented in our donor body? In our staff? What are our own biases and assumptions that might be based on our cultural background? Do fundraising volunteers seem similar to the people they’re speaking with? Are we making decisions because they’re right for all our donors, or because it’s what we’re used to?
• Ask. Don’t be afraid to ask the right person to understand a complex or unfamiliar cultural situation. That person may be an organizational colleague, a board member or, in some cases, the donor themselves.
• Empathize. Everyone has their own assumptions of what’s normal. In working with donors, consider what actions might seem best from their perspective (which you should have an inkling of, if you’ve reflected and asked the right questions!). Ask, “how might we meet this individual where they are in with their approach and understanding of philanthropy?”
• Learn. In addition to reaching out to ask questions, there are many ways to learn about the history and context of the cultures your donors are a part of. Engage in conversation and ask people where and how you might learn more. If you’re interested specifically in developing your professional cultural competence skills in fundraising, the following resources are helpful:

– Lilya Wagner, Diversity and Philanthropy: Expanding the Circle of Giving
– Urvashi Vaid and Ashindi Maxton, The Apparitional Donor: Understanding and Engaging High Net Worth Donors of Color

– Related CCS Fundraising Articles:

Lasting Effects

Adapting a lens of cultural competency in fundraising will promote understanding through respectful intercultural dialogue. Ultimately, fundraisers with cultural competence will also be more empathetic, supportive, and understanding of the people they work with, regardless of background. Donors who feel authentically seen, heard, and understood will be excited to partner with an organization that allows them to do so on their own cultural terms.

[1] Adapted from Leung, K., Ang, S. and Tan, M.L. (2014), ‘Intercultural Competence’, Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behaviour, 1:4889-519.

[2] Deardorff, D. K. (2006), The Identification and Assessment of Intercultural Competence as a Student Outcome of Internationalization at Institutions of Higher Education in the United States, Journal of Studies in International Education 10:241-266.

CCS Fundraising is a strategic fundraising consulting firm that partners with nonprofits for transformational change. Members of the CCS team are highly experienced and knowledgeable across sectors, disciplines, and regions. With offices throughout the United States and the world, our unique, customized approach provides each client with an embedded team member for the duration of the engagement. To access our full suite of perspectives, publications, and reports, visit our insights page. To learn more about CCS Fundraising’s suite of services, click here.

Planning for a major gifts campaign can be a thrilling endeavor. The organizational work that precedes active fundraising is critical to setting a strong foundation for a campaign. This begins with the early, quiet leadership gifts phase to confirm pace-setting and attract momentum-building gifts. The official announcement of a public phase is then made to engage a school’s entire community with the aim of bringing the campaign to or over goal. It is this specific moment – “going public” – that causes many school leaders, board members, and fundraising professionals the most anxiety. However, by focusing on a few key elements of the campaign, beyond the amount of money raised, most campaigns will be prepared and well positioned for a successful public launch.

What Does Going Public Mean?

Formally, we define “going public” as the public announcement of a fundraising campaign and the initiation of gift requests to all parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends. More specifically, “going public” is the moment when a campaign reaches key milestones and benchmarks including exhausting the leadership and major prospective donor pools, building a significant amount of momentum and excitement internally and externally, and knowing that achieving the goal is more reality than conjecture.

Important First Steps

Most schools approach their campaign announcement and public phase primarily focused on the following steps:

1) Raise initial funds

2) Hit a predetermined goal

3) Make the public announcement

4) Raise the additional funds needed to meet the campaign goal

On its face, this strategy is straightforward and logical. A school would only announce its campaign goal if it was absolutely sure it would be successful. The reality, however, is that a campaign needs a strong foundation and infrastructure beyond the funds raised before going public. There are many reasons why a school would want its campaign to have a strong foundation and infrastructure but two stand out as the most critical. A campaign public phase 1) increases the scrutiny and desire for information from school leadership and the community, and 2) is characterized by a large influx of gifts of all sizes, requiring trained staff and a working database for accurate tracking and acknowledgement. Looking beyond the obvious concern of whether a sufficient amount of money has been raised, there are three key components every school should have in place before beginning a campaign’s public phase:

1) A complete case for support

2) An organized volunteer base and structure

3) A communications and marketing strategy

A Complete Case for Support

Having a solid case for support is intuitive but occasionally the case document or the correlating suite of materials is not as complete or robust as needed for a campaign public phase. School leadership must ensure that the campaign collateral – beyond the case statement itself – are ready for publication and dissemination. All campaigns should have:

A campaign name or theme
Clarity on all campaign projects and initiatives including benefits and associated costs
Various iterations of the case for support (long-form narrative; digital)
One- and two-page summaries
Infographics, video, and other visual elements as determined by the needs of their prospective donors.

Regular meetings and opportunities for the board, campaign leadership, and volunteers to engage with staff on the case for support will help to answer important questions and ensure consistency of message.

Cincinnati Country Day School—a coeducational private school in Ohio—used the creation of its case for support to address a number of important issues. In its most recent campaign case materials, the school acknowledged the importance and impact of gifts to previous capital initiatives. Having satisfied their desire to steward previous campaign donors, school leadership also included examples of how gifts to the current campaign were positively affecting change and benefitting students and faculty. Add to this messaging a simple, powerful campaign theme, a well-designed case statement, and well-detailed campaign initiatives, and Cincinnati Country Day School was more than prepared to announce its campaign with a solid suite of materials.

An Organized Volunteer Base

By the time a school has reached its public campaign announcement, it is imperative that the volunteer leadership is organized and prepared. Board and campaign leadership should have approved the timing and plans for going public, as well as the broader public phase efforts. Constituency-based volunteer groups – class or division committees, alumni committee, grandparents committee etc. – should be

recruited, convened, and given specific tasks or assignments. Having volunteers ready will help the school capitalize on the excitement generated by the public announcement. Ongoing training and staff support for volunteer outreach efforts will be an important factor in their success. Since the development staff will be supporting all of this activity, they must be prepared as well with clearly defined tasks and responsibilities for the public announcement and fundraising phase.

Communications & Marketing Strategy

The public announcement should be guided by a thoughtful, holistic, coordinated communications and marketing strategy. The strategy can be broken down into three phases: pre-public announcement, the announcement itself, and post-announcement through the campaign closing. The messaging leading up to the public announcement should confirm the goals, projects, initiatives, etc. that have been achieved and the positive effect they have had on students and faculty. The public announcement itself will need to be crafted so that it matches the tone of the launch event. Once the public announcement is made, the campaign must be prepared to act quickly to maximize the post-announcement activity. This means selecting powerful program examples, success stories and donor testimonials in advance to share with the broader school community. Everyone should be hearing regularly about the campaign through various platforms – mailings, social media, direct emails from the headmaster – including the launch of the “donate now” button on the school website or campaign microsite.

With the appropriate time to organize and plan for a major gifts campaign, most schools will initiate their quiet leadership gifts phase with the framework of these three elements – a solid case for support, organized volunteer base, and communications and marketing strategy – in place. As the campaign progresses and gifts are confirmed, the pathway to achieving the goal becomes more clear, and the details of when (and how) to “go public” solidify, school and campaign leadership together with development staff can rest easy in the knowledge that they are truly prepared for the resulting increase of activity and gifts that is indicative of a campaign in its public phase.

We are pleased to present the first edition of Perspectives on Healthcare Fundraising, a magazine for executives, development officers, and anyone navigating the current healthcare philanthropic terrain.

In this publication, our experts from the field report on pressing high-level challenges facing healthcare organizations today. These pieces will provide practical tools and actionable solutions to help bolster development programs of any size.

Within the magazine, you will find an infographic detailing the healthcare giving landscape, an accompanying analysis, case studies from some of our partner institutions, and the following articles:

5 Steps for Accelerating Your Grateful Patient Fundraising Program

Grateful patient programs allow development teams to build a pipeline of patients and patient families that feel connected to your institution’s goals and aspirations, and give fundraisers an opportunity to structure processes around engagement.

Major Event Planning: Maximizing the ROI

If someone has taken the time to attend your event, it means they have some interest in your institution’s mission. A strategic approach can help turn your event from simply fundraising to creating new major gift potential.

The Importance of Change Management in Systems Projects

The future of healthcare philanthropy will be built on a foundation of data-driven insights. Organizations able to aggregate and analyze their information will emerge as the thought leaders of the sector.

The Campaign is Dead: Long Live the Campaign!

With planning, your organization can mitigate the post-campaign drop in revenue by utilizing alternative fundraising designs.

Using Metrics to Strengthen Your Fundraising Program

In today’s evolving market with a desire for greater accountability, the need for ever-growing levels of support, and an increased competition for donor attention, a healthcare institution’s use of metrics is the key to increasing success.

To access our full suite of perspectives, publications, and reports, visit our insights page. To learn more about CCS Fundraising’s suite of services, click here.

Taking the time to share your organization’s case for support with your closest stakeholders is crucial to the success of your campaign. But as we know well, it can be difficult to convince your board or your marketing team that the quiet phase is necessary. They want to share the big news. It’s understandable. However, the quiet phase of a campaign is a vital stage prior to a public phase when the majority of fundraising will happen. Quiet phases, when deployed effectively, can create a sense of belonging, build confidence in your project, and promote deep understanding of why your project is worthy of support.

The truth is, when nonprofits launch capital campaigns, one of the first questions we hear is: “When can we announce this publicly?” The easy answer: The public phase should begin when you’ve raised 60%, 80%, perhaps even 100% of your fundraising goal. But it is more than that. Just because you aren’t putting out a press release doesn’t mean you should hold back from talking about your priorities (e.g. capital project, endowment need, etc.). In fact, it’s critical to share the message about the campaign within your community during your quiet phase. The warning here is that issuing a press release and sharing your story before you have personalized the messaging for individuals, foundations, and other partners is a missed opportunity.

Here is why you should think critically about your quiet phase:

Humans crave a sense of belonging

By inviting donors in pre-announcement, you allow them to share their knowledge or skills for the benefit of the project, introduce other interested parties within their networks, and build sustainable relationships that can lead to greater giving in the future. Studies show that our interests, motivations, health, and happiness are all tied to a sense of belonging.

Early gifts build confidence for the subsequent phases

Leading change is not easy. And most often, that’s what you’re doing in a major fundraising campaign. Strong leadership, strategic planning, and a clear value proposition can help, but even in near-perfect circumstances, you may still find opposition. Even in the best circumstances, you still need to convince your closest supporters that this is the right path forward. And that success begets further success – as those early supporters come on board, they create a network effect.

Early feedback helps to create a bulletproof case

When you can’t explain why a change needs to happen, you risk deepening cynicism and fueling resistance. Donors need to see clearly how their gifts will impact the community. Early supporters will always ask questions and encourage a deeper understanding of the change you’re aiming to implement. The tough questions may take time and effort to answer. If you hold true to the principles of the quiet phase, when the time comes to announce your project, your community will have all the answers they need to sign on to supporting your campaign.

Even the best laid plans…

Word has a way of getting around, and you may not always be able to control who hears about your project. In such cases, remember that just because you’re in the quiet phase of a campaign doesn’t mean it needs to be a secret.

Three Steps to Maintain Your Quiet Phase

Build a Campaign Communications Plan with implementation in mind. When you plan a capital project, most organizations can expect to submit plans for review or request permits that will become a matter of public record. Imagine that a local neighborhood association catches wind of your capital project and feels that the project will have a negative impact. With advanced planning and a communication strategy in place, you can turn this target audience into insiders. You can welcome them in for a tour and field questions, integrate feedback into your plans, and clarify misconceptions about the progress. Depending on the community you work in, you might even proactively seek out feedback or conduct a study to assess the potential impact on the community and to ensure questions can be addressed. Knowing when, where and how your information will be shared is critical for your ability to control the message.

Celebrate incremental progress. Positive coverage for your organization is almost always a good thing. Tactical steps can be exciting to celebrate and you can often do so without formally announcing your campaign. Did the city finally approve your building plans? Did the board agree to a major contract with a local company? Take time to think about all the steps in your plan that may be newsworthy and keep your wonderful donors in the know before the press gets wind. Take this situation, for example: A donor made the largest gift ever to a university working with CCS Fundraising on a capital campaign. The organization went ahead to announce the historic gift and impact it would have on the institution, but never mentioning the overall campaign. You should celebrate people and benchmarks and can do so without betraying your quiet phase.

When all else fails, guide the messaging as much as possible. If your organization has the opportunity to offer messaging to a reporter and encourage them to preserve the integrity of your fundraising plans, do it. Remind them that you are in the early planning phase of your fundraising campaign, but you’re thrilled that the project continues to move forward. You patiently tell them this: “Thanks for your interest in our project – it is indeed an exciting announcement for our community. I’d ask that we hold off on formal reporting about the campaign until we’re ready to make the big announcement and set up to take contributions. I will be sure to keep you apprised, since we expect there will be big moments to strategically share along the way.”

By its very nature, your campaign will be newsworthy. It’s perhaps one of those most exciting and transformational moments for your organization. During the quiet phase you will do everything you can to succeed in fundraising and be ready to pivot in an evolving environment. In doing so, you will maintain a positive message, bring your best friends closer, and shape a sustainable fundraising trajectory for your organization.

We have all been there before: The months of planning, recruiting a committee, selecting the appropriate honoree, repeated outreach to vendors and sponsors, proofreading the program and every last detail down to the seating plan and place settings…

Every year, development professionals devote an enormous amount of time, energy, and resources to executing a large annual special event, such as a gala, which can be a Herculean effort. Hopefully, the evening will have been a success with guests going home happy and significant funds raised for the charity in question…but what happens next?

Though special event fundraising is important, and arguably the most visible annual interaction an individual will have with a charity, the return on investment (ROI) can be low as industry standards point to the cost to raise a dollar not exceeding $0.50. Furthermore, the costs associated with staff time can be even higher. Therefore, one might consider implementing a relatively simple major gift strategy that can set forth a plan to boost the effectiveness and ROI of a special event.

Taking Action

A few years ago, Jan Wood, Chief Development Officer for Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) in Annapolis Maryland, began to formally assess the effectiveness of the Hospital’s special events. With a relatively small team of Major Gift Officers (two at the time), she began to consider how her department could best use current resources more effectively. “We had the tools, we just needed to adapt,” she said.

Jan and her team took active steps to put the plan in place. The first step came a week before the event. Prospect research was done to screen the guest list and focus attention on both annual donors and non-donor guests with high capacity who had shown the propensity to give to other similar causes. Next, in a special “Moves B Management” meeting, a small number of these screened prospects (3 – 5) would each be assigned to the appropriate Major Gift Officer with the goal of having a meaningful interaction at the event. This was done with a specific and targeted plan which included goals for what the conversation would produce. Following the event, the major gifts team would reconvene to debrief on what was discovered through meaningful interactions with prospects. They would then hit the phones to schedule meetings with their assigned attendees. The focus here was quality over quantity and meaningful interactions.

By implementing a metric-driven major gift approach, Jan’s team was able to see exponential growth in their rate of converting targeted attendees to major donors, thus maximizing the ROI from special events. Ultimately, Jan’s strategy has proven to be successful. In the first two years of implementing this plan, conversion rates rose from 0.5% to nearly 20% for AAMC’s largest annual special event.

5 Tactics to Consider for Your Annual Gala (Pre and Post)

Remember, if someone has taken the time to attend your event, it means they have at least some interest in your institution’s mission. A strategic major gifts approach will help turn your event from simply “fundraising” to hopefully “friend-raising” by capturing new major gift potential. Here are a few things to try right away:

Wealth screen your attendee list at least a week prior to the event and prioritize prospects.
Set realistic goals for your major gift team and the number of individuals they can make a meaningful connection with at the event.
Enlist the help of board members or appropriate friends of the institution.
Be strategic in your seating assignments, positioning high-capacity prospects adjacent to individuals that can serve as passionate advocates for the institution.
Formulate an appropriate follow-up strategy and hit the phones the following day!

Throughout this process, it is imperative that you track your progress. The most important thing is to start small and track data and lessons learned so you can better prepare for your next event!

This article is an update from a previous post published in March, 2017.

Diocesan and parish-wide capital campaigns create a diverse range of volunteer opportunities for devoted parishioners, including the chance for meaningful and thoughtful engagement with fellow parishioners. Your campaign’s success ultimately depends on the commitment of these volunteers who are asked to champion your case for support.

With this in mind, your first task in selecting volunteer leadership is identifying a chairperson or co-chairs. As a crucial leadership position, the campaign chair should be open to maximizing relationships to assist with major gift prospect visits. It is important for parish staff and lay leadership to identify a core group of individuals who will be able to assist the pastor and lead the parish campaign in three ways: give, inspire, and advocate.

Give

It is no surprise that parishioners who are generous in their church giving are also active and faithful stewards in the church. When launching a campaign, it is this flock that a pastor often looks to for initial feedback and support. With a personal invitation from the pastor, these committed parishioners may be willing to take on the task of joining your campaign’s volunteer committee. As a first step, prior to recruiting your volunteers, the pastor should be prepared to ask potential lay leaders for their gift. A financial commitment from the chair is a precursor to the campaign’s launch. Additionally, a parishioner’s commitment of their time, talent, and financial support will infuse early momentum into your campaign’s success.

Inspire

Capital campaigns present a unique opportunity for parishioners to get involved in parish ministry. This is great for your campaign, as the Corporation for National and Community Service reports that the second responsibility that volunteers take on is fundraising. An effective chairperson will be able to motivate and inspire fellow parishioners to make a personal gift, as well as to devote their own time to the project.

Advocate

When launching a capital campaign, it is critical to have strong leadership and support of both the campaign plan and the parish’s needs. While it is always important for pastors to serve as the lead in this role, campaign chairpersons are also helpful in this endeavor. The chairperson is able to talk about the campaign from the perspective of a parishioner. Additionally, they can also serve as a partner to the pastor, joining him on visits and hosting small groups to present and champion the fundraising effort.

Preparing the Chairperson for their New Role

Coaching a parishioner to take on a chairperson role requires hands-on guidance and support. There are three critical steps that church leaders can take to ensure the chairperson’s success:

Provide them with the proper support and resources.

Participation in a capital campaign can require a substantial amount of time from volunteers, especially the chairperson, in the early phases of the campaign. Ensure that your organization is prepared to provide training, feedback, and materials to support your campaign chair in their role.

Be clear about expectations and responsibilities.

The chairperson must understand the needs of the campaign and how their involvement is fundamental to its success. Be clear in responsibilities, expectations, and deadlines. Developing a job description can also be helpful in communicating the framework of the position.

Set them up for success.

Before sending your chairperson out on major gift visits, make sure you have carefully identified your prospects. Using Wealth Engine screening or other tools can be helpful, but also assessing anecdotal evidence and the parish’s history with the parishioner can help narrow down capacity, interests, and motivations for supporting the parish.

A capital campaign can be a transformative experience for your parish. Engaging strong leadership can inspire active stewardship for many years to come.

For more than 100 years, the traditional fundraising campaign has been the vehicle of choice for institutions to galvanize the community and secure significant gift commitments. Especially in the healthcare space, traditional campaigns are bigger and more popular than ever. Million-dollar campaigns gave way to $100 million dollar campaigns and now, multi-billion dollar fundraising campaigns are the norm. Campaigning raises more money, creates community excitement, provides a rationale to support giving, and demonstrates what donations will accomplish.

Sounds like a slam dunk, right? Not so fast. Traditional campaigns undoubtedly provide tremendous benefits to those institutions that run them well. Yet healthcare organizations may focus too much on the five- to seven year horizon of the campaign and forget to consider what happens when the campaign is over. You’ve surpassed your goal and celebrated your success. Now what? If you have not planned ahead, it is likely that your post-campaign fundraising revenue will drop to pre-campaign levels. While you funded the greatest needs of your institution, you neglected the overall health of the organization by failing to create sustainable growth.

Consider an Alternative Campaign Approach

To mitigate the traditional post-campaign lull, alternative fundraising campaign designs are becoming more common. Some organizations never stop campaigning, taking a perpetual approach with decade-long funding initiatives and back-to-back traditional campaigns. Others employ smaller and shorter mini-campaigns to continually target specific funding priorities, or to simply bridge between traditional efforts. Some organizations are scrapping the traditional campaign altogether, instituting a “never” campaigning approach where targeted transformational gift solicitations are built into “business-as-usual” fundraising.

While these campaign designs have separate benefits and risks, they all share one common element – the flexibility to pivot strategy to accommodate shifting donor desires, community needs, and institutional priorities. Economic volatility, new legislation, evolving trends, societal interests, and institutional leadership changes are just a few of the challenges that you could face during a multiyear campaign. Don’t get stuck in a campaign that restricts funding to a singular and rigid initiative. Consider a single project as one of your campaign funding priorities, not the only one.

Don’t Forget the Annual Fund

Regardless of campaign design, make sure you pay attention to your annual fund at the start. Consider growing your annual fund as one of your campaign goals or as a parallel strategic initiative. Focus on bringing in new donors and new dollars. Cultivate and upgrade your smaller gifts. Prioritize stewardship. These gifts may take years to cultivate, but by the end of your campaign you should see an increased fundraising baseline, a softened post-campaign revenue dip, and a secure fundraising future for your organization.

Embrace Flexibility

Campaigning is not a one-size-fits-all proposition, and traditional campaigning may remain the best fit for your organization. However, campaign timing and design should be grounded in the financial needs, strategic initiatives, and specific culture of each organization. The key is to remain flexible to changing priorities and community needs while addressing the traditional post-campaign revenue decline. Appropriate campaign design alongside a deliberate approach to building and sustaining relationships will ensure that your organization is in the best position to raise more money while growing sustainably.

This article is an update from a previous post published in November, 2016.

Giving days—24-hour digital fundraising challenges—are worth the investment. Executing a giving day strategy can be a useful tool to raise awareness and funds, as long as you make the right preparations and have reasonable and achievable goals. The organizations that are succeeding in their outreach have robust strategies that align closely with their wider institutional goals and include investments in time and staff resources.

Why Participate?

The purpose of participating in a giving day is to offer new and established donors a special reason to engage with your cause. Getting involved is essential, as they are increasing in popularity year after year. #GivingTuesday, the best-known giving day that takes place annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is growing exponentially. According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, in 2017 it raised more than $270 million — over $100 million more than the previous year. In 2018, overall performance exceeded expectations with $380 million being raised with an average gift of $105.

There are opportunities in every nonprofit sector on #GivingTuesday. For example, #iGiveCatholic, which was deemed “the most successful Catholic crowdfunding event to date” by the National Catholic Register, has taken online Catholic stewardship practices to the next level. #iGiveCatholic is a bishop-led initiative in partnership with lay leaders in Catholic philanthropy that offers assistance to Catholic organizations as they build their outreach strategies for the online giving event. Through this service, organizations gain access to training, toolkits, and materials to execute a successful plan. In 2018, the #iGiveCatholic campaign raised more than $5.6 million for 2,500+ participating parishes, schools, and nonprofit ministries representing 29 dioceses across the country.

There are also regional giving days to investigate in your own area. Whichever days you choose, follow our three steps to maximizing your giving day strategy.

The Three Keys

1. Preparation

Making the most out of a giving day takes planning. Many organizations stumble by jumping into the giving day conversation without proper outreach strategies, branding, or realistic goals. It is a best practice to create an outreach plan over six months in advance. You should have a calendar filled with strategies for:

Content creation (i.e. branded templates, videos, images, testimonials, podcasts etc.)
Email marketing to your database to build momentum
Social media posts across channels that tell a consistent story of impact
Website enhancements to serve as a “home base” for giving day promotion
Public relations/media outreach

The preparation stage also gives you an opportunity to survey the people who gave the previous year. Tap into your network to ask them what compelled them to give, what content they found most effective, and what they would want to see improved. This will help you create a new strategy that resonates with your core audience.

2. Standing Out Above the Crowd

As the popularity of giving days grows, the chances are good that your audience will be inundated by pitches from many like-minded organizations. Therefore, the way you present your mission can make all the difference. The first question to ask here is, Why should people give to our cause? Consider the elements of your case that stand out, and boil those differentiators into a ten second elevator pitch to grab attention and clearly present your case.

Once you have narrowed your focus, create professional-looking content that support your case. Think about using campaign-specific graphics and colors in emails and on social media. Remember that you will be attempting to attract new people who may not be familiar with your cause. Your messaging should aim to clearly underline who you are and why this day is special.

3. Promotion

While it is important to communicate your strategies well in advance, outreach should be ramped up a month before the giving day. This includes communications through all of your social media channels, your email database, as well as through events in your communities. It is also important to activate your strongest supporters to raise awareness. Pull a short list of your most active volunteers and major financial supporters and make personal calls to ask them for help in spreading the word.

When promoting your giving day, it is also essential to strike a balance between underwhelming and overwhelming your audience. Be purposeful with your outreach and avoid redundancies in your content to keep your audience engaged. For example, sending the same emails several times without adding something new to the conversation could slow momentum as you get closer to the day.

Following Your Giving Day Campaign

The first thing to do after your giving day is to track and publicize your results to celebrate your success. It is also useful to do an immediate internal evaluation to determine which parts of your plan worked and which parts didn’t. This audit will allow you to identify the outreach channels that were the most effective which will help greatly the next year. It is valuable to thank all donors who participated in elevating your cause through all channels.

If you’re just getting started, here are some reminders:

As you think about your strategic plan for this year and beyond, it may be tempting to participate in as many giving days as you can find, but you could risk spreading yourself thin. Take a look at your calendar, identify all the giving days you might want to participate in, and then see which ones fit your organization best. Try a few the first year and then assess which one(s) worked best for you.
It’s okay to start small. Consider a reasonable goal to create an early win.
No matter how far out your next giving day is, it is worthwhile to assemble your team to begin strategizing today. Take a look at the organizations who are doing it well, and brainstorm what it will take for your organization to exceed their success.

The ability to access and understand the signals within our data has reached peak importance within both the nonprofit sector at large, and across healthcare organizations in particular. In fact, the future of healthcare philanthropy will be built on a foundation of data-driven insights.

Organizations with the ability to aggregate and analyze their information will emerge as thought leaders, able to assess their fundraising to date and identify opportunities for growth.

Those with sufficient confidence in their data to act on the outcomes of that analysis will be able to capitalize on found opportunities, and secure the funding required to bring their visions to life.

In recognition of this potential, many healthcare organizations are seeking to modernize the way they manage information, taking a critical look at how data is gathered, entered, analyzed, and valued, as well as the tools and protocols utilized throughout the process. Hospitals and medical centers are investing in improvements to their IT infrastructure, from new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to record donor interactions and planned asks, to Software as a Service (SaaS) tools to centralize e-mail communications and create dynamic reports. Additionally, as healthcare consolidation/merger and acquisition activity continues to increase, health systems are streamlining IT operations in order to gain visibility into donor and grateful patient activities across an expanded network. Accompanying these structural changes are revised business processes and guidelines, requiring teams to learn new ways of working.

The Case for Change Management

Change management, an organization’s systematic approach to engaging with and supporting teams through times of transition, is vital for helping ensure changes are understood, controlled, and embraced by staff, and ultimately successful.

Investments in new technologies, systems, and data quality, and the insights they generate have promise, but only if they are:

Understood: do all staff know the purpose of these tools, and how each will be used to monitor and drive fundraising strategy?
Focused: is it evident what information matters to hospital and development leadership, and to each member of the team? Is it clear where this information is sourced?
Relevant: are the metrics used to track and evaluate progress aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives? Do they reflect the institution’s values?
Trusted: is leadership confident in the accuracy of the data to act when appropriate?
Actionable: does the data presented make it clear what needs to happen next?

It doesn’t matter how advanced an organization’s tools are if the rationale behind their selection, design, and desired use isn’t clear to the people who rely on them. Building a culture of awareness is key to increasing the receptivity to using data to drive decisions. It is not enough to gather feedback at the outset of a systems project and reveal a solution at the end. All stakeholders must be engaged throughout the process, and invited to co-create a narrative that captures the logic behind choices made at every stage.

This is especially important for healthcare institutions, where coordination between fundraising staff, physicians, patients, development, and hospital leadership is required, and effective philanthropy is reliant on insights and information from all parties. Coupling any information systems project plan with a parallel plan focused on change management will help ensure that all staff see the logic behind the implementation of new systems, processes, and protocols, feel empowered to make educated decisions in line with an institution’s data strategy, and that the practice of healthcare fundraising remains truly patient-centric.

Navigating Change in a Complex Operating Environment

Leveraging healthcare data for fundraising purposes means addressing the complexity inherent in serving a patient population. Solutions for the aggregation of data for analysis must be HIPAA-compliant, preserving the security of protected health information (PHI) across all platforms. Fundraisers must be able to develop prospect strategies in partnership with clinicians and communicate progress to both development and hospital leadership. Above all else, the collection and use of data for development activities must not interfere with the quality of patient care.

Navigating these intricacies and aligning the development team around the information that matters most is as much a change management exercise as it is a technical one. A good data strategy makes it clear what information leadership is choosing to use to oversee progress, and why. Well-designed systems and processes make it possible for the right stakeholders to access that information in a secure and efficient way. Ongoing socialization of the logic behind the insights is what makes it part of an organization’s culture. Understanding how one’s day-to-day work contributes to an institution’s big-picture objectives is what makes that work meaningful.

Three Guiding Principles of Change Management

Change takes longer than you think
- Don’t be afraid to dedicate time and resources to systems design projects. It’s worth putting in the time to achieve your target results as well as widespread utilization of new tools and processes
- It’s better to overcommunicate than to risk leaving stakeholders out of the conversation

The process works when everyone steps up
- Visible leadership commitment makes a difference – showing up to meetings and using new systems, reports, and data in managing the team adds credibility and reinforces the importance of the work
- Encourage and create a safe space for suggestions, criticism, agreement, and dissent as the process moves forward; allow everyone to bring their full spectrum of thoughts and emotions to the table

Keep the momentum going
- Having a central driver is key for keeping stakeholders organized and the project on track
- If there are areas where your project team is getting stuck, don’t be afraid of imperfect solutions – keep pushing forward, and revisit at a later date
- Design for the rule, not the exception. There will always be scenarios that you haven’t accounted for at each turn. If what you aim to accomplish with your data is well-understood, trust your team to make the right decisions given the circumstances
- Celebrate milestones throughout a lengthy project to keep morale high

Implementing an Effective Change Management Strategy

Invite Everyone to Help Design the Future
- Intentionally and proactively engage all stakeholders in assessing the institution’s current state and envisioning the desired end result. Everyone has something to bring to the table, regardless of level or role
- Conduct one-on-one or small group meetings to understand how data is currently generated, gathered, entered, referenced, and valued, what tools and systems are used, challenges from each person’s perspective, high-level needs, and specific functional requests

Develop a Data Narrative
- With leadership, define the values that drive your work, the questions that support those values, and the key performance indicators/metrics required to answer those questions
  1. From these conversations, develop a logical and approachable data narrative to contextualize systems and process changes
  2. Help all staff see the importance of their work in helping the institution achieve its top objectives
- Use storytelling techniques to communicate the rationale behind process changes so they are easily understood, explainable, and remembered by others

Socialize Your Solutions
- Devote time and resources to training the team on your new way of working
  1. Crowdsource examples of real-life tasks and challenges and show how they work within the context of your new tools and processes
- Provide an opportunity for staff to share feedback on what works and what doesn’t, and whether proposed solutions are meeting their needs
  1. Create an environment where staff members feel comfortable vocalizing their challenges. A staff assistant may not be eager to speak up about something they don’t understand while their manager is in the room
  2. Consider using tools like Poll Everywhere that allow participants to ask questions and share feedback anonymously

Case Study: A Plan in Action

A focus on change management was central to the success a leading academic medical center found in optimizing its approach to information management. Following a successful campaign, the institution partnered with CCS to evaluate its IT infrastructure, systems, and processes in preparation for ambitious future growth.

The project began with a deep dive into the structure of the medical center’s CRM and associated systems, coupled with an analysis of the processes by which data was entered, managed, and used. All 100+ members of the team were invited to share their perspectives, either in person or via an e-survey. Following over 30 hours of conversation with leadership and staff representing all facets of development, CCS Fundraising delivered a set of high-level and tactical recommendations to support the creation of a set of core reports to achieve consistency and visibility around key institutional metrics.

To operationalize these recommendations, medical center leadership convened a cross-functional working group tasked with documenting the structure, definition, and use of each key performance indicator comprising the reports. Meeting on a weekly basis to start, the working group engaged in healthy dialogue about the intended purpose of each metric, and how to maintain the integrity of data across systems. The group’s diversity made it possible to understand how each department would be impacted by changes made, and with decision makers present for every discussion, the group had the authority to act.

As each new definition, process, and report was formalized, the institution invested time socializing these changes in multiple formats across each unit, including in-person training, hands-on workshops, and small group meetings with opportunities for direct feedback. Medical center leadership elevated this work to a place of importance by providing updates at all-hands meetings, and kept staff informed as the project progressed. Additionally, given the consistency of messaging around intent and objectives, the institution strengthened working relationships with colleagues across the University through the course of the project. With clarity of purpose, everyone worked towards the same goal.

Today, the academic medical center is preparing to roll out a set of dashboards tailored to, and reflective of, the staff’s extraordinary work, an achievement built from the efforts and insights of every person on the team.

From Theory to Practice

For a healthcare institution, embarking on a systems optimization project means contending with complexity, balancing the priorities of multiple stakeholders, and wrangling data from disparate sources, all while preserving the integrity of the patient experience.

Before your project begins, spend time reflecting on the culture of your organization: how your staff communicates, shares feedback, and how each member of the team prefers to receive information. Be thoughtful about how you convene your project team: select a diverse group of stakeholders representing all user groups and levels. Anticipate pain points and devote time and resources to socializing solutions within and across teams. Help everyone see the importance of their work in the context of the organization’s goals. When done well, the process of bringing data together brings teams together, too.

Taking on a parish campaign of any size requires careful planning. Campaigns rarely fail in the middle or at the end. Success typically hinges on proper preparation prior to launching a major fundraising initiative. With increased competition for the philanthropic dollar, it is important that a parish undergoes necessary planning steps before proceeding. Consider the following five things before moving forward.

1) Assessing the Accuracy of Parishioner Information

Knowing how to communicate with your parishioners is essential to a successful campaign. Before taking any steps forward with your campaign plan or case for support, it is absolutely essential to know the accuracy of your parishioner records. Having a reliable database can be the difference maker in ensuring your campaign hits its target, and can help ensure certainty that you are prioritizing your outreach.

Ask yourself the following questions:

How many parishioner email addresses and phone numbers do we currently have?
Do we have reliable and consistent parishioner giving information?
When was the last time our parish conducted a census?

It doesn’t take very long for a donor database to need refreshing. Consider allocating staff time and resources to obtaining the latest contact information. Once you have ensured that your database is dependable, you can move into the next phase of campaign planning with confidence.

2) Activating Your Advocates: Volunteers

Your existing parish leaders will most likely champion your cause at every turn. However, it is important to look at volunteers at all levels. Volunteers can be your strongest supporters on the ground level, and the proper organization of their roles can make or break a campaign. One common denominator of successful parish campaigns is that there is a strong volunteer infrastructure in place that includes every aspect of an existing ministry. This includes lectors, CCD teachers, members of the finance and parish councils, Eucharistic ministers, and choir members. Existing ministry members are usually some of the most active, supportive, and passionate members of your parish community.

Prior to your campaign, create a list of all ministry groups and their members, including contact information, and categorize them into groups, each of which have specific action items and plans. It is also important to make sure to consider all volunteers—even those on the periphery— into this plan. Convene volunteers early and often through gatherings, such as a ministry breakfast, to communicate next steps and maintain momentum before the campaign begins. During this process, it will become clear who your biggest volunteer leaders are as they will be the ones who step up and take ownership of their responsibilities.

3) Honing Your Case for Support

Having clear and well-thought out messaging is paramount to any successful parish campaign. While overarching aspirations and grand visions are essential for inspiring support of your campaign, it is also important to focus on specifics. The campaign plan, which includes all internal steps as well as external goals, should be carefully thought through before embarking on the creation of your case for support. During successful campaigns, every detail has been considered. For example:

How much will every aspect of your case cost?
Is the parish set up to acknowledge and process a large volume of gifts over a multi-year period?
If your case calls for mostly capital needs, what is the precise construction timeline?

The best case for support is air-tight and thorough. It allows you to have answers to any questions that parishioners may throw your way, and shows that you have carefully thought through every corner of the campaign.

Begin with the tangible goals you hope to accomplish through your campaign. What are the areas that need financial support? If you can produce a detailed list of items, costs, and projected timelines, you are one step closer to creating a robust case.

4) Solidifying Approvals

Involving your arch/diocese before you begin work on your campaign is essential. Every arch/diocese has a different campaign approval process. It is worthwhile to consider all steps needed to gain approval—including paperwork and a cost breakdown—so you can formally enter into a campaign with full support from your church hierarchy. This is also a great opportunity to test how your newly-created case for support resonates with audiences. If your arch/diocese has questions or is uncertain about any aspect of your case, the chances are your parishioners may have similar concerns. Carefully consider all feedback and incorporate it into your final case for support.

5) Improving Your Online Communications

Your digital communications strategy shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be something that closely mirrors your mission before your campaign begins. Your online presence includes your website, social media, and digital branding. Everything should be consistent and backed by a comprehensive output strategy. Successful digital communications strategies also include emails and your e-giving provider. Having steady outreach to your parishioners is essential, and so is making the process of donor giving simple. Before embarking on a campaign, consider how you want to communicate and who will execute this plan. The importance of having proper staff time and resources allocated to these endeavors can’t be understated.

What to Do Today

If you are considering a campaign, meet with your leadership to begin discussions about what the pressing needs of your parish are, and how you hope to accomplish these goals. Build a consensus around priorities so you can start your campaign planning on the right foot.