julaug2010 grassroots fundraising journal

7/30/2019 JulAug2010 Grassroots Fundraising Journal

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HirinG your FirstdeVeloPMent staFF Person

CreatinG new Models oFManaGeMent

wHen to Hire a FundraisinGConsultant

Volume 29 number 4 JulyAugust 2010

A PubliCAtiOn OF

Visit us online at grassrootsfundraising.org


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Volume 29 | number 4 JulyAuut 2010

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th Chiook Fu i dv, CO. A mmb o th Fuigexchag, th Chiook Fu povis gats, tchica

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Too oTen, undraising can be a Thankless job, done in isolation with little or

no involvement in other aspects o the organizations work. Once you read this issue o

theJournal, however, youll see that undraising doesnt have to be a necessary evil as-

signed to a single person, but can be a shared responsibility across board and sta that

is un, rewarding, and not only supports but actually urthers programmatic work.

How to move undraising into its proper place in an organization is something weve

thought a lot about at GIFor ourselves as well as to support other groups that want to

create more sustainable organizational cultures. Weve expanded our content to include

inormation about creating a shared culture o undraising, sel-care and sustainability,

and team building. In our own oce, we build in support, training, reection time, and

accountability to help sta members with their undraising responsibilities.Tis issue o theJournalocuses on development stanghow to attract the

right people, how to keep them or the long haul, and when to seek the support and

assistance o a consultant. We begin with a case study by consultant Ruth Herring

describing how she worked with the Gay-Straight Alliance Network as they prepared

to hire their rst development sta person. Next, GIF intern alumna Ruth Zerezghi

describes three organizations with shared leadership structures and examines the eect

o shared leadership on the groups undraising eorts and development sta. Former

Journaleditor Stephanie Roth, o Klein & Roth Consulting, weighs in on when to hire

a undraising consultant and what to reasonably expect o them. And Nzinga Kon-

Miller o Watershed Company brings back her ech ips column with questions to

consider beore moving your o-line auction online.

Although the kinks have been worked out with our electronic delivery and access totheJournalarchive, were still missing email addresses or some o you. You really dont

want to miss out on the ree articles rom the Journalyou can get through the online

archive! Please include your email address with your next renewal or just email me

directly: [email protected].

Note that although it is easy to get what you need rom grassrootsundraising.org,

there are dierent logins depending on what you want to do. With each issue o your

subscription, we email you a new login to the ree Journalarchive. I you subscribe to the

electronic edition o theJournal, we notiy you via email when the digital edition is ready

to download. Tat email includes its own link and login ino. o use our webstore or

renewing your subscription, registering or webinars, or purchasing resources, you can

create a permanent account. Please eel ree to contact me i you have any questions.

Were gearing up or Money or Our Movements: A Social Justice Fundraising

Conerence, August 12-13th in Oakland, CA. I youre not already planning to come,

I strongly urge you to reconsider! GIFs undraising conerences are truly amazing

spaces where social justice undraisers and activists come together to learn new skills,

build relationships, and strategize on how to build well-resourced social justice move-

ments. Join the conversation about new ways o reaching out to our communities to

raise money and build movement at the same time.

Register today at grassrootsundraising.org/conerence!

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To o u r r e a d e r s


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in 1998, carolYn laub ounded the Gay-Straight Alli-

ance Network (GSA Network) in San Francisco. Its goal was

to empower lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGB) and

straight student activists to ght homophobia and transphobia

in middle schools and high schools. Since then, thanks to GSA

Network, the number o GSA clubs in Caliornia middle schools

and high schools has grown rom 40 to more than 775, and the

Network has trained and empowered more than 10,000 student

activists and won pioneering laws to protect all students rom

harassment and discrimination at school. As a respected leader

in the national sae schools movement, GSA Network created

and now coordinates a network o 26 statewide organizations

dedicated to empowering youth to create GSA clubs. GSA Net-

work now has ten sta members and a budget o $850,000.

As the long-term undraising consultant to GSA Network,

I worked closely with Carolyn, now executive director, to lay

the undraising groundwork at the organization and to hire its

rst Development and Communications Manager in 2008. Tis

article describes how the organization expanded to include a

sta person devoted to undraising.

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gsa ntw t p vpmt t p, j dw ( t), t wt gsa ntw yt mm t t

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2Grassroots Fundraising Journal Subscribe today at grassrootsfundraising.org


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Tw Y Ppt

Te decision to create the rst sta position devoted

completely to undraising grew out o a larger organizational

commitment to capacity building. In its rst eight years, GSA

Network relied on oundations as its primary unding source.

As the network matured and programs expanded, Carolyn and

the board o directorsmade up o high-school-aged GSA club

leaders and adultsrecognized that they must expand their

undraising by building a constituency o individual donors.

Tey mapped out a multi-year process that became the basis

or a unding proposal. As part o a larger capacity building

grant that included unds or program, the Caliornia Endow-

ment awarded GSA Network $48,000 over two years to put in

place the communications and undraising building blocks ortheir individual donor program.

Carolyn notes: We decided to invest rst in strengthen-

ing my skills in individual undraising rather than creating a

new sta position. I was condent in my oundation undrais-

ing skills, but I knew the board and I had a lot to learn about

individual donor undraising and communications. So I hired

expert consultants to help with both the communications and

the undraising aspects. Our communications, design, and

branding consultants helped us communicate our mission and

niche in the social justice, sae schools, and LGB movements

and create proessional, compelling, and engaging materials that

would inspire support. When it came to undraising consul-tants, I wanted to hire someone with a track record o building

individual undraising capacity in LGB movement organiza-

tions.

Carolyn understood rom the beginning o our consulting

relationship that excellent individual undraising starts at the

top, with the executive director and the board chair. From 2006

to 2008 we worked on development strategy and planning,

direct mail, email marketing, newsletters, special events, and

a sustainer program, created a board development committee,

and strengthened the partnership between Carolyn and the

board chair.

Carolyn and the board chair stepped into their roles as major

gis solicitors and strengthened the culture o undraising and

giving on the board. Tey worked together to nurture a group

o donors who gave $500 to $5,000 and to support other board

members in their undraising. Tese two years o consulting

were an organizational investment o about $36,000.

ct stt t nw Pt

By mid-2008, the organization was ready to hire its rst

development sta person. Carolyn explains: GSA Network

was celebrating its 10th Anniversary, and our programs were

well known. We had lost a large grant very suddenly, which

orced us to cut sta. Tis was a scary reminder o the risks o

over-reliance on oundation unding. I had learned what was re-

quired o me and o the organization to continue to develop our

individual donor undraising. We had laid the groundwork, and

the board and I were in agreement that it was the right time to

hire. In the 2008-09 budget process, we worked out how much

we could aord to pay, which helped me rame my thinking

about how I might structure the job. I consulted the wage and

benets survey or organizations o our budget size in the Bay

Area to get an idea o what kinds o positions were within the

salary range we could aord.

Carolyns next step was to meet with other sta to get theirinput and ideas and to share hers. GSA Network had recently

developed its long-term strategic direction, and sta discussed

how their new colleague could help advance that vision and

how this person might relate to them and their work. Inormed

by sta ideas, Carolyn decided that the organization needed a

Development and Communications Manager.

Even i we could have aorded a director-level person, I

would not have hired one, says Carolyn. I was looking or

someone with the aspirations to develop their own skills and

undraising leadership. I wanted a generalist with several years

o individual undraising experience, passion or our mission,

and the maturity to manage up. Hiring an excellent writer wasa bottom-line requirement; in my experience, good writing is

not something you can learn on the job, and I needed a skilled

writer I could depend on. I wanted someone who had at least

some background in program work, but who did not want to

do program work. I did not want to all into the trap o silos

program work over here and development/communications

work over thereso I hoped to nd a person with the skills

and experience to bridge those aspects o organizational lie. I

also needed someone to support me in doing my parts o the

individual undraising work.

Tanks to a three-year award rom the Evelyn & Walter

Haas, Jr. Funds Flexible Leadership Awards program, GSA Net-

work was deeply engaged in building its capacity as a leader in

the national social justice, LGB, and sae schools movements at

that time. Central to this eort was a ocus on building strong

and eective individual sta leaders and leadership teams.

Carolyn wanted to structure the Communications and

Development Manager job to make it one that would grow in

leadership responsibilities and encourage someone to stay with

GSA Network or many years. Tis goal, along with creating a

smooth transition, raised several important questions:

jyat 2010

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n What would the partnership with her new sta member

be like or both o them, and how would it dier rom the

partnership she and I had developed?

n How would Carolyn share leadership in undraising

and communications when she had been accustomed to

doing all these tasks hersel or so many years?

n Even though the new person would not be director level,

what authority would she have?

n How would Carolyn ensure that the new manager would

be able to grow as a leader, and what was her own role in

nurturing that leadership?

n What kinds o learning opportunities, support and

leadership development would the new person need in

order to succeed?

n How would they both get the advice they might need in

the coming years?

n How would the new person juggle both the undraising

and the communications aspects o the job?

n Since the new person would have a key role in supporting

board members in their undraising, what qualities and

skills were most important?

n Knowing that she could not expect the new person to do

it all, what did Carolyn see as the top priorities or the

rst year, and were her expectations reasonable?

Carolyn grappled with all these questionsconsulting with

her board chair, her leadership consultant, and mebeore we

draed the job description.

In writing the job listing and job description, we imagined

what the ideal applicants would be looking or and how we

could speak to their needs and aspirations. o reach job seekers

interested in small, social justice LGB organizations, Carolyn

advertised on Craigslist, Idealist, the Foundation Center Phi-

lanthropy News Digest, and on LGB job boards. Tirty people

applied. (See the listing and key elements o the job description

above.)

Te job itsel, and the announcement and description, were

very appealing to Jackie Downing, who eventually was hired or

the position. Says Jackie, I wasnt even looking or a job, but

candidaTes lookor strong organizations, executive direc-

tors who embrace their undraising responsibilities, specic

indicators o undraising accomplishments, opportunities or

leadership and career advancement, clear minimum require-

ments to apply, and a air salary and benets. We highlighted

all o these in our brie and longer listings.

T 50-w t:

Gay-Straight Alliance Network seeks Development &

Communications Manager to build existing individual und-

raising and communications programs in partnership with

undraising-savvy Executive Director. Pioneering leader in

LGB sae schools movement or 10 years, $850,000 budget,

individual giving $110,000, diverse undraising activities,

growing board.Full description/application ino: gsanetwork.org.

ky pt t pt:

GSA Network seeks a candidate with 3-5 years o experi-

ence who is eager to help us build our individual donor and

communication programs to help position the organization

or its second decade o growth and success. Tis will be our

rst Development/Communications sta position and will

work very closely with Executive Director Carolyn Laub,

who will continue to serve as the agencys chie undraiser

and spokesperson. Carolyn, with the participation o the

board and the assistance o a undraising consultant, has

built an individual undraising program that raised $110,000

in 2007 rom 387 donors through direct mail, e-mail, a

monthly sustainer program, small events, and ace-to-ace

solicitations or major gis o $1,000 and above.

We seek a candidate who is eager to play a leadership role,

partnering with the Executive Director, in building GSA Net-

works individual undraising and communications capacity

or the long-term benet o LGB youth and their allies in

schools across the United States.

Minimum qualifcations included:

At least 3 years o experience in a nonprot development

oce with an individual donor program, demonstrated writ-

ing and organizational skills and experience, and demon-

strated commitment to social justice, anti-oppression work,and LGBQ rights.

Te complete text o the Compensation and Benefts sec-

tion:

Full-time, exempt position reporting to the Executive

Director, salary commensurate with experience, excellent

vacation and medical, dental, vision, and retirement benets,

mentoring by experienced undraising consultants, proes-

sional development training opportunities, and opportunity

or advancement.

Te application required a cover letter, resume, and two

brie donor-related writing samples.

avt t Pt



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when I happened to see the ad I knew I could not pass up this

opportunity. I ounded the GSA club at my high school and I

have always dreamed o working at GSA Network. I was happy

that the job was a combination o individual undraising and

communications, which was a perect match or my skills and

experience. I recognized that this would be a move that would

give me a chance to pursue a career as a undraising leader. I

was attracted to GSA Networks strong emphasis on leadership,

and I could see that they were very serious about developing

eective teams.

Pp ct t itvw

Carolyn, two program sta members, and I reviewed the ap-

plicant resumes and developed interview questions designed toelicit inormation not only about candidates skills and experi-

ence, but also about values, the ability to tell a compelling story

and ask smart questions, the ability to connect with a variety

o people, and interest in both leading and learning. Carolyn

conducted an initial 20-minute telephone screening with 10 o

the 30 applicants, then she and two sta members conducted

rst-round interviews o our applicants, and I joined them or

interviews o the two nal candidates. Carolyn checked Jackie

Downings reerences beore she made the job oer. Trough

this collaborative process, Carolyn and her sta deepened their

understanding o each others perspectives and experiences in

their various roles at GSA Network.Carolyn notes, It was not dicult to decide whom to move

orward rom telephone screenings to the interview stage. I

someone had undraising and communications skills we were

looking or, but our mission and values didnt resonate with

them, or they didnt seem to understand how to talk about

LGB issues in a social justice ramework, they didnt move

orward. I they were passionate about our mission but didnt

have the solid undraising skills and experience we needed,

they didnt move orward. Tere were strong indicators that

the candidates we interviewed could do the job and that they

understood and could promote GSA Networks mission around

youth empowerment and social justice organizing.

Te process also made an impression on Jackie, who noted

that both the rst conversation and the interviews were crucial

in helping her decide that this position was a good match or

her. In my rst exploratory conversation with Carolyn we

talked mostly about GSA Networks commitment to anti-op-

pression work and youth empowerment. I could see that these

were not just words on paper, but deep organizational commit-

ments they had embraced and worked on since the beginning.

For me, these are core values. In the interviews people were

really riendly, and it was clear they were passionate about the

work. Tat impressed me, she says.

T nxt st

In the all o 2008 my role changed rom development

consultant to GSA Network to coach or the new sta person.

It was very important that I would have consulting and coach-

ing rom outside experts, says Jackie. I was condent that i

I didnt know something I would have the support to learn it.

She is also receiving support through the consultants provided

to her and the management team through the Haas Flexible

Leadership Awards program. Jackie regularly discusses issues

with peers at other small nonprot organizations, attends work-

shops, and reads articles in proessional journals, including theGrassroots Fundraising Journal.

Wt Mtt Mt t st

When considering hiring your rst development sta

person, keep in mind the ollowing principles, which are what

matter most to undraising sta:

n Structure the position to advance the mission and the

organizations strategic direction

n In the search, communicate the benets to applicants,

not only the needs o the organization

n Te executive director is your organizations chie sta

undraisern Te executive director can and must learn how to

undraise rom individuals

n Te executive director-development sta leader team

is core to undraising success: developing this team

requires time, energy and honest communication

n Te executive director must give the development sta

person real authority and support the persons leadership

n Demonstrate to program sta that undraisers are

their partners in advancing the mission and serving

constituents

n Be clear about what is most important: dont expect

someone to do it all

n Build in advice and support rom proessionals

We all continue to learn rom each others stories. I you are

thinking o hiring your rst development sta person, I urge

you to speak to colleagues, to ask questions, and to listen. n

rt h tt . s

vty vpmt pt, m t

vpmt t. s t [email protected].

jyat 2010

5

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aT a TiMe When The nonProiT sec Tor is challenged with

looking or innovative responses to the economic downturn,

shiing unding priorities, leadership transition, and many

other organizational issues, some social justice organizations

are developing leadership structures and organizational cultures

that reect and align with the values o our social movements

love, respect, air and equal opportunity, anti-violence, equality,

and anti-oppression.

Collective or shared leadership models are emerging more

and more, but how do they aect the undraising eorts osocial justice organizations, and are these models contributing

to happier and healthier development sta? o nd out, I inter-

viewed sta at El Centro Humanitario, Chinook Fund, and the

Colorado Anti-Violence Program, three organizations based in

Denver, Colorado that all have collective leadership models and

budgets o less than $500,000.

Mv t ctv lp

Various circumstances lead organizations to consider tran-

sitioning to a collective leadership model. One common trigger

is around hiring. When a new executive director was needed at

the Colorado Anti-Violence Program (CAVP), the hiring com-

mittee ound itsel analyzing what was being asked o potential

executive directors and i the leadership model that was in place

supported the principles o the organization.

Jerrilyn Page, director o sustainability at the organization,

was part o the hiring committee that ound itsel saying, One

applicant has this piece, but not this other piece, another has

that piece, but not that other piece. Tey need to be radical but

be able to navigate the nonprot sector, be compassionate but

be erce. Te committee realized that a huge laundry list o

skills was unairly being asked o one person and, by placing

those expectations on one person, they were actually setting the

new hire up or ailure and eventual burnout. Moreover, such an

approach didnt align with their values o building a supportive

community, ending root causes o violence, sel-care, and caring

or each other.

As a result, CAVP took a year to intentionally develop a

model that was properly resourced, that challenged traditional

hierarchy, and that was representative o the organizations

values. It emerged with a vision or liberationa values state-ment that is the basis or the leadership model and organiza-

tional culture they decided to create. Teir collective leadership

model, now in operation or a year, has three ull-time co-direc-

tors, each with their own area o ocus (advocacy, training and

education, and sustainability) and three part-time sta (a grant

writer, youth educator and advocate). Each co-director spends

60 percent time working on their specic area, 20 percent on

shared responsibilities, and 20 percent on supporting each

other. Additionally, each co-director supervises one o the part-

time sta members.

Te Chinook Fund set up a similar collective leadership

model aer the departure o their executive director. Te

vacancy o that position created an opportunity or the remain-

ing sta, board and volunteers to engage in critical analysis

o the organizations practices and uture direction. Te entire

Chinook community participated in an intentional process to

create a leadership model that reected Chinooks values and

new direction. In the end, a collective leadership model with

three ull-time co-executive directors (programs and education,

resource development, and communications and development)

emerged. Each co-executive director spends 50 percent o their

s lpct nw M Mmty rt Zz

c ctv lp dm



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time on their specic area, 25 percent on shared responsibilities,

and 25 percent on supporting each other.

At El Centro Humanitario, an organization o day laborers

and labor organizers, it was undamental that the organization

be completely worker-led; thereore, a collective leadership

model has been in place since its 2002 inception. El Centro

Humanitario helps empower workers to become leaders o the

organization by becoming speakers, organizers, and undrais-

ers. As a result, all decisions, programs, initiatives, and activities

are determined and led by committees o workers rom start

to nish. Te vision is that the entire sta and all committees

will be totally comprised o workers in the near uture; in the

meantime, the current sta act as a bridge, supporting the

implementation o programs determined by the constituentsand empowering workers to be leaders.

Teir structure has our ull-time sta (executive director,

organizing director, womens program director, and employ-

ment program director), two part-time sta (employment

program assistant and oce assistant), a board, and a number

o committees that are made up almost entirely o day laborers.

Tis dynamic ensures that the constituents are leaders o the

organization and eel a sense o ownership.

Although the models at each o these organizations vary,

they share these characteristics:

n An intentional process or creating and engaging in

collective leadershipn A desire to move rom a traditional, hierarchical model

that didnt represent or honor their values, principles or

identities to a model that did

n Engaging in work that leads to long-term, sustainable

social change

n Not wanting to set sta up or ailure, burnout or

unhealthy expectations

n Creating real growth opportunities or young and

emerging leadership

Wt at t ?

At all three organizations, there is a director/co-director who

manages the overall development eorts o the organization, but

the responsibilities do not sit solely with just that one person.

Collaboration is key to getting the undraising done. At CAVP,

Jerrilyn develops the overall budget with assistance rom the

other directors and board, but each sta member, including the

part-time sta, takes on various undraising tasks; in the end, Jer-

rilyn has about the same number o donor visits as the other two

co-directors. Tis has had a positive impact: in the rst year o the

new structure, CAVP raised $25,000 rom their individual donor

campaign, double what they raised the year beore.

At the Chinook Fund, Katie Tiede, co-executive director o

resource development, manages the overall undraising eorts

o the organization but has the assistance o the co-executive

director o programs and education, the undraising committee,

the board, and volunteers. Various tasks, such as preparing and

signing mail appeals, are shared. Te collaborative nature o this

model inspired Chinook to bring together its political education

and undraising programs to create Money & Justice, a series o

workshops or donors and volunteers to learn about and discuss

the relationship between money and social justice.

Te collective leadership model has also benetted und-

raising by providing all sta with knowledge about nances.

Neha Mahajan, co-executive director o programs and educa-tion at Chinook, says, Te ability to learn about the nancials

o the organization, the opportunity to take an active role in

developing, analyzing and applying the organizational budget,

and having that knowledge, helped me better participate in the

undraising eorts. Neha noted that this learning is especially

important or people o color, who are underrepresented in

nonprot development and director positions. Opportunities

like this help young leaders o color learn these skills and access

economic power or their social movements.

ransparency and constituent ownership are indicators o

successul collective leadership models as well. At El Centro

Humanitario, the board, committees o constituents, and sta allhave knowledge o the organizations nancial health and help

carry out the various undraising tasks o the organization. El

Centro has been extremely intentional and proactive about shar-

ing inormation and knowledge with constituents and providing

opportunities or them to contribute and be part o the work.

Te sharing o undraising responsibilities at El Centro has

been hugely successul, especially aer being hit with a big cut

in grant unding last year. Te cuts in unding provided an op-

portunity within the organization to develop a critical analysis

o their undraising model: that analysis noted their lack o

diversication, the vulnerable position the organization could

be in, and the lack o constituent participation. As a result, the

workers stepped up to nd new resources or the organization.

Workers went to local markets and solicited in-kind donations;

they raised more money through phone banking than non-con-

stituent volunteers; they donated ood and time or undraising

events; they contributed membership ees; and they paid or

various services and products.

Trough constituent ownership and transparency, collec-

tive discussions also emerged about how the organization can

create sustainable unding sources that align with who we

jyat 2010

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are and create jobs that go back to people in this community.

Tose discussions led El Centro to the idea o social ventures:

Green Cleaning or Lie, a worker-owned green cleaning co-

op, launched last winter. Te true success or El Centro is that

constituents stepped orward and took care o the organization

despite their own limited personal nances because they truly

saw El Centro as their own and wanted to see it continue to

provide programs and services.

ot stt ctv lp

In addition to creating space or creative undraising strate-

gies, the groups identied a number o other strengths and

benets o collective leadership models. CAVPs model, inu-

enced by a human rights ramework, has benetted rom havingthe identities and cultures o its leaders honored. Says Jerrilyn,

Te environment that has been created avoids setting any one

person up or ailure and eels really interconnected because it is

based on trust and our shared values.

At the Chinook Fund, Neha and Katie discussed how the

collective model has led to increased capacity or the organiza-

tion and increased condence and empowerment or them-

selves as leaders, given the community support and eedback

they received. Aer Chinook agreed to transition to a collective

leadership model, all three co-executive directors spent months

meeting with donors, grantees and community members to

gather eedback and responses about the shi. At rst, the newleadership team was concerned about how the community

would respond, but they were quickly met with lots o support.

I think the community was looking orward to change and

were open to alternative ways o doing things, says Neha. One

donors response to the non-traditional leadership model was

encouraging: [Chinook] has done something that I never could

have envisioned, she said, you have reinvented the organiza-

tionI dont want to get in the way o this growth.

Minsun Ji, executive director o El Centro Humanitario, ex-

plained that the strength o their collective leadership model is

the sense o community ownership that comes rom it. She said,

I do not worry about El Centros uture because I know that the

workers will always take care o the organization.

But that sense o ownership was not created overnight; it

required genuine engagement o workers and the valuing o all

people or all that they have to oer. As a worker-run organiza-

tion, it was important that everyone contribute nancially. It

took some time to get started and to break the myths about who

should give, but now everyone gives, says Minsun.

Te organization looks or creative and participatory ways

or workers to learn rom, get involved with, and support the

sustainability and success o El Centro. As with the worker-

owned green cleaning co-op, El Centro has been exploring

other social ventures that promote the skills o workers, build

condence, and provide meaningul growth or workers and

their amilies while putting power into the hands o the com-

munity. At El Centro, workers really eel a lot o ownership,

says Minsun. Tey are very proud o themselves and very

proud o the contribution they make to the organization. Be-

cause they eel really proud, they take responsibility.

c

Te primary challenge that all three organizations spoke

about was that a collective model requires more time. Group

discussions, idea sharing and processing, consensus decision-making, and meetings all take much longer in order to provide

a space where people eel heard, honored, and valued.

In addition, to have air and accessible participation in

leadership, more time is needed or capacity buildingskills

training and knowledge and inormation sharing. An added

challenge also arises when trying to nd capacity builders

when constituents are rom marginalized communities, such as

people who do not speak English and/or are rural, young, and

low-income. In the case o El Centro, its leadership does not

consist o proessionally trained nonprot experts but o mostly

poor immigrant day laborers. When El Centro was unsuccessu

in nding a grassroots undraising trainer who could speak toits members and needs, they had to create their own trainings.

Another challenge is that, because o deeply engrained ideas

about power and privilege, some unders do not believe that

people in constituent-led organizations based in marginalized

communities have the ability to lead their organizations, espe-

cially in a collective leadership model. Some oundations have

even withdrawn unding rom grassroots constituent-led groups

in avor o unding national organizations using traditional

models o leadership. Tis situation places a double burden on

groups like El Centro, which then has to redouble its eorts at

grassroots undraising, but whose constituents do not have the

resources to meet all the nancial needs o the organization.

Minsun o El Centro remarked that, given this situation, shared

leadership can sometimes eel a little ragile.

Nonetheless, El Centro has responded by strengthening the

undraising and nancial knowledge o its constituents rather

than abandoning their belie that the organization should be

owned and run by workers. In act, it was in this very challenge

that El Centro ound the opportunity to discuss and explore

creative and innovative undraising models and strategies that

reect social justice values, such as the co-ops.



11/20

stty

I asked the organizations i they thought their collective

leadership models were sustainable and could survive aer cur-

rent sta departed. Although no one answered with a resound-

ing Yes!, all stated that there is a commitment to ongoing

evaluation and tweaking o the model so that it remains

responsive and relevant to its constituency and organizational

eectiveness as time passes. Replied Katie o Chinook, I dont

know how long this particular model will be sustainable or

the organization, but I also dont think the 1950s model o

nonprot management was necessarily sustainable either.

Despite concerns about sustainability, all o the organizations

were very enthusiastic about their organizational structures.

Says Jerrilyn at CAVP, It eels amazing when you actually seethe model applied and result in positive conict resolution or

achievement o goals.

impmt s lp t Y ozt

I you want to try shared leadership at your organization,

here are several things the organizations proled here recom-

mend having in place or the sustainability, longevity and

success o this model: team coaching; group supervision; peer

coaching/peer supervision; exploration o individual leader-

ship styles; intentional conversations about values, identities,

backgrounds; individual mentors/supervisors; adequate time

or communication; a commitment to the process; trust build-ing; education, skills building, and training; and proessional

development opportunities.

In addition, they recommend these plans and processes:

n A clearly dened decision-making process

n A clear plan or conict management

n A plan or supervisionone that promotes accountability

as well as support and sel-care

n ime and space or brainstorming, reection, and

problem solving

n Creation o a sae space to discuss insecurities or the

need or skills building or education

n Opportunities to reevaluate goals and plans

n Knowing how to incorporate part-time sta in the

collective leadership model

While collective leadership models may not yet be perected,

there is great support or and interest in shared leadership, espe-

cially rom social justice organizations. Katie rom Chinook ad-

mitted, I it wasnt or the collective leadership model, I couldnt

have seen mysel staying this long. Based upon my interviews,

the interdependent, integrated nature o these models is helping

development sta last longer in development positions, creating

openings or young people who previously would have been over-looked or director positions, and creating healthier and happier

environments where social justice leaders can grow, avoid burn-

out, and remain sustainable leaders working or social change.

In order to have sustainable movements, we must build our

own sustainable models to support long-term work. We can no

longer try to t puzzle pieces into places where they just dont

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12/20

does This sound aMiliar? Youre overwhelmed by the sheer

volume o tasks in ront o youmaking sure your database can

produce the inormation you need or your upcoming undrais-

ing appeal, writing the appeal letter and producing a new remit-

tance envelope, updating your website to reect your current

activities and make it easier or donors to give online, organiz-

ing your next major donor campaign, coordinating your annualdinner (which has its own mile-long task list).

You know you need help, and youre not sure where to turn.

Hiring additional sta to take on some o the undraising tasks

is beyond your budget.

Here are some other options:

n Hire someone on a contract basis to take on one

undraising projector example, producing your annual

special event, coordinating your major donor campaign,

or dealing with the annual appeal

n Hire someone to provide training to give your

undraising team additional skills and condence

n Hire someone to review and analyze your undraising

program and help you develop a better undraising plan

o accomplish any o these tasksand, in act, all o them

your best bet may be to hire a undraising consultant. Whether

you want someone to take on one o your big undraising

projects, expand the capacity o your team with training, or help

you analyze and improve your undraising planning, a consul-

tant may be just the person you need.

Beore deciding whether hiring a consultant is the route to

take, its important to understand exactly what your needs are and

what type o support will be most useul in getting you where you

want to go. Tis article addresses key questions to consider when

making the decision o whether to hire a undraising consultant.

It does not discuss the actual process o hiring a consultant. (For

advice on choosing the right consultant, see Kim Kleins Grass-

roots Fundraising Journalarticle, Hiring a Fundraising Consul-tant, available at grassrootsundraising .org).

ky Qt

Do you have the capacityamong sta, board members and

volunteersto implement your undraising plan?

I recently conducted a undraising training or a group o

organizations working on domestic violence. I recognized the

name o one o the organizations because someone rom their

group had attended one o my trainings about 10 years earlier,

though the participant in this latest training was their relatively

new development director. It was clear rom the inormation

that this participant shared over the course o the day that do-

nor undraising at this organization had not grown much since

the last time I had seen them.

Te development director talked about the problem o not

enough time to do the individual donor work because o the

pressures o what elt like never-ending oundation deadlines

or letters o inquiry, proposals and reports. She said that even

though the executive director, board members, and even some

o the program sta were willing to help with undraising, it was

hard to carve out the time to plan and coordinate their eorts.

s W h ctt?y stp rt



13/20

I realized that all the training and consulting in the world

would not help this organization. What they needed was the

commitment o resources (including sta time) to their indi-

vidual donor program in a way that enabled them to be less

random and more ocused and consistent in this aspect o their

undraising.

A consultant can provide advice, guidance, and expertise

to create undraising plans, oversee a capital campaign, train

the board and/or sta in asking or money, and help address

problems that come out in the course o implementing a plan

(among other things), but the actual day-to-day work o carry-

ing out undraising strategies and building relationships with

donors has to be done by the sta, board members and volun-

teers who make up your undraising team.Where a consultant can be helpul in such a situation is in

addressing an organizations inability to orm a undraising

team or even to conceptualize what such a team would do and

who might be on it.

Do you have sta capacity but need help with strategy, plan-

ning and coaching?

Although a undraising consultant does not usually take

work o your plate (with some exceptions, described below),

they can ulll a critical unction in helping you to be more

strategic, better organized, and more eective in developing

a strong undraising program. Here are some o the things aundraising consultant can do:

n Conduct an assessment o your undraising programs

strengths and challenges, and deliver a set o

recommendations or how to improve your undraising

eectiveness

n Assist in the development o a undraising plan

n Review undraising materials, including undraising

appeals, case statements, annual reports, and so on

n Assist in the evaluation (and design) o your website,

looking at it through the lens o a donor or other

potential supporter or clear messages that make a

compelling case or why someone should support the

organization

n Provide undraising training to board, sta, and other

members o the undraising team on how to ask or

money

n Help you nd the best undraising database or your

organization

n Help plan and coordinate a capital campaign

n Provide ongoing support and coaching as you implement

your undraising or campaign plan

n Provide problem-solving assistance or the challenges

you encounter in trying to build a strong individual

donor program

n Coordinate one or more elements o your undraising

plan, such as member appeals, a special event, or a donor

campaign

Whether you hire a consultant to provide the most minimal

advice and eedback or to work intensively to coordinate a ma-

jor element o your undraising plan, remember that you need

to have the capacity on sta or among a group o very reliable

volunteers to work closely with the consultant and to carry out

many o the day-to-day activities. Many consulting relationships

run aground because o unspoken (and then unmet) expecta-tions about what a consultant can and cant do, or because o

conusion about the role o the consultant and the role o the

sta and/or volunteer team.

For example, years ago, I was hired to help coordinate a major

donor campaign. I did not realize until about three weeks into

the contract that the board and sta expected me to ask my own

colleagues and contacts or money. Tey were surprised at my

reusal to do that until I said, How would you eel i I contacted

your board members and donors or money or another group

that I was working with? Although they understood what I

meant, they were still disappointed and the relationship was dam-

aged. Now I clariy the boundaries o the relationship early on.

Do you just need extra help on a specifc undraising activity?

Consultants can do the more hands-on work involved in

certain types o undraising projects. Tis is oen the best

choice i you have a very small development department (or

i the department consists o one person who has additional

responsibilities beyond undraising) and the undraising activity

is labor-intensive over a limited period o time.

Special events is a common area or such consultant involve-

ment, as there are consultants who specialize in event produc-

tion and who carry out activities such as nding a venue; deal-

ing with all o the issues related to ood, drink, stage managing,

and working with the people who will be part o the program;

helping create the program book; and designing and producing

the invitation. Even when you hire someone in that capacity

they should not be expected to solicit sponsors or the event,

sell ads or your program book, or sell tickets. Tat will still

be the responsibility o your sta, board, and volunteers, who

are the ones, aer all, with the contacts and relationships with

potential supporters or your group or cause.

Another useul opportunity to use consultants is to coor-

jyat 2010

11

i el d n o T es


14/20

dinate a time-limited individual donor campaign or an

annual undraising phone bank, or to assist volunteers

in putting on a house party. In each o these situations,

however, the consultants time is best spent on overseeing

the campaign; producing materials to assist the team o

solicitors; providing support, coaching, and training; and

dealing with other logistical needs. Te consultant should

not be expected to host the house party, solicit donors, or

come up with her or his own list o people to ask.

Does your undraising team need new skills or motiva-

tion?

Even with experienced undraising sta, a willing board

and a good undraising plan, you may nd that there issomething else your undraising team needsan oppor-

tunity to learn new skills, understand how undraising ts

into the rest o the organizations goals and strategies, and

motivation to ollow through on their undraising commit-

ments. Although training itsel wont x all o the undrais-

ing challenges you ace, it can inspire, encourage, and give

clearer direction to your undraising team, as they gain the

tools they need to get out and start asking or money.

Fundraising training can be one o the most helpul

things a consultant can provide i the organization is ready

to put the people who have been trained to work immedi-

ately. For example, I did a training or a undraising teamthe day beore it was about to launch a $75,000 annual und

campaign with calls to potential major donors. We prac-

ticed making the phone call, setting up the meeting, and

asking or money. We reviewed how to know i someone

is a true prospect, and we went over the process o asking

and ollow-up. When the team began their work the next

day, the momentum and excitement o the training were

still resh.

Consultants are like anyone in any o the helping

proessionsthey help you best when you and they are

clear about what you need and what they can provide, and

when you are willing to do the work required to make the

project successul. Ultimately, the success o a consulting

relationship is like that o any relationship: it works best

when expectations are clear, questions are raised imme-

diately, conusions are discussed and resolved thoroughly,

and there is genuine respect between the consultant and

the organization. n

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undraising has becoMe an increasingly complex compo-

nent o an organizations work. As your undraising activities

grow, especially in the realm o individual donors, you will

nd that the need or dedicated undraising sta will probably

increase as well.

Many core principles about undraising have remained the

same over the years: the need or a strong and clear case or

support; the importance o building relationships and see-

ing donors as more than the money they give; the importance

o developing a systematic way o contacting, engaging, and

soliciting donors; and the role o a team o people to carry out

the work.What has changed pretty dramatically in the last 20 years is

the role o technology, rom maintaining a high-quality website

to using a database and working with our generations o do-

nors who are very dierent in their giving habitsrom some

who dont have computers to others who give only online and

have never written a check. New technology has also introduced

the abilityand thereore the needto communicate quickly

and immediately in response to events that aect your issue or

your organization. Tere is much more to keep in mind, and

decisions must be made quickly.

Because development work involves so many seemingly end-

less details, you need to have at least one person (and or largerorganizations, more than one) who is paying attention to the

whole picture: the inrastructure needs, keeping the undraising

team on track and on task, and developing and making materi-

als available to the team.

Whether it makes more sense to hire a dedicated develop-

ment sta person to play this role or recongure current sta

responsibilities to divide the undraising work across more

people is a decision your group will have to make. Tere isnt

one perect structure that were all waiting to discover, one

best way to organize undraising roles and responsibilities

that works or all time and all organizations. At dierent times

in an organizations lie, roles and structures change, depend-

ing on many actors, including the skill set o your current sta,

your ability to recruit a team o people to be involved, the kind

o work your organization does and to whom it appeals, and

the kinds o technology you need to implement certain types o

undraising projects.

What is absolutely true is that undraising cannot be as-

signed to just one person. Even with a development department

o one, there should always be other sta members involved as

well as board members and other volunteers.

W ctt nt e:T c st



15/20

aucTions, a PoPular WaY or many organizations to und-

raise ofine, are becoming an online avorite as more and more

nonprots shi ocus around engagement and undraising to

their online programs. But is an online auction right or you?

Here are some things to consider about running auctions

online.

a Y ay apt a dt

o?

I you are considering setting up an auction online but your

organization isnt already accepting donations online and pro-

actively reaching out to supporters to ask them to give, youreputting the cart beore the horse. Start with the basics: make

sure your supporters can easily give to you online. Ten make

sure to ask them to give through a dynamic online communica-

tions program that includes cultivation and advocacy messaging

(i appropriate) in addition to online appeals. In most cases,

making it possible or supporters to donate online anytime

rather than just within the window o an auction timerameis

going to be better use o your time and energy when youre just

getting started with online undraising.

I you already have a basic online donation system set up

along with messaging to your supporters to encourage them to

give to your organization online, thats a good start. It may well

be a sign that youre in a good position to diversiy your online

undraising arsenal. I you already employ good baseline prac-

tices or reaching out to existing and prospective list members,

then you have likely built a community o supporterssome o

them already donorsto whom you can reach out to promote

an auction or other alternative approaches.

d Y hv Tm?

Dont underestimate the amount o time that any campaign

or event requiring ulllment will requirewhether its an on-

line auction or a premium-based gi drive. And in the case o

an auction, youll need to account or the additional time it will

take to get commitments or the various services or goods youll

be auctioning.

Deciding what kinds o items youll be auctioning, and then

asking or them, can be a combination o a creative exercise

and brainstorming. Items that have some sort o connection to

your mission or outlook may be naturally more appealing to

your audience. Does your organization ocus on ood justice

issues? Seek out a months worth o shares rom a CSA, or a

catered meal or six prepared by the che on your board. Do yousupport youth with programs that teach technology and A/V

skills? Consider auctioning 10-hour blocks o technical support,

recording studio access and audio editing assistance, or a wire-

less router.

In addition to thinking creatively about the types o items

that are most likely to appeal to your audience, youll want to

involve your sta and volunteers in the process o inventory-

ing who your organization already has connections to. Tink

through how they might be able to help, and then involve the

rest o the team in ollowing up with your contacts to ask them

i theyre willing to donate the goods or services to your eort.

Implementing the auction takes several steps, including

getting good-quality photographs o the items on auction and

writing compelling descriptions o them to entice bidding.

Ten, o course, youll need to promote the auction wherever

you have built up a base o supporters: email, Facebook, witter,

MySpace, and ofine communications by board, volunteers, and

sta.

For example, i your auction will be open over the course

o two weeks, you might plan to send three messages, with

each highlighting one or two particularly appealing items. Te

s Y o bg, g, g?y nz k M

jyat 2010

13

T e c h T i P s


16/20

messages can be timed to go out when the bidding begins, then

at the midway point to keep up the momentum, and a lastchance message when theres about a day le to bid.

A note on timing: you can leave your auction open or less

time or or longerbut youll want to consider the volume o

messaging necessary to drive people to the auction. Consider

a timeline that allows enough room or three to ve email

messages (as well as updates to social networks) promoting the

auction. I you squeeze that volume into too ew weeks, you

may get messaging burnout, but spread it over too long a period

o time and you wont have the benet o sustaining interest and

maintaining a sense o urgency.

Finally, dont orget the ulllment. Youll need to plan or

the time and expense involved in making sure the people whosubmitted the winning bids get their items.

s t at sty of?

I was recently at a well-attended daylong event hosted by a

nonprot. Te event included an auction with a smorgasbord o

compelling items, classes, and services. Oddly, the auction had

been online or weeks leading up to the event. Even though Im

one to look or as many ways as possible to raise unds online,

this seemed like a case o overkill that did not seem to take into

consideration the experience o the ofine participants. Because

the event had been well promoted and the auction items were

so appealing, naturally, most o the goods and services that had

been eatured online had already been bid on numerous times.

By the time the event happened, the starting bids on many o

the items appeared to be deterring participationrelatively blank

bidding sheets were in abundance at the end o an otherwise

very busy day. Eager would-be participants, whose interest in

attending may have been piqued, in part, by the exciting prospect

o placing the winning bid on one o the items, were le out in

the cold o already-high bids. Te organization made money, o

courseso perhaps it seemed the end justied the means. But as

in all things related to undraising, its important to consider

the experience o your supporters and prospective supporters

Tis story leads us to another considerationthe geog-

raphy o your supporters. Are you a small, locally ocused

organization with most o your supporters in the area? Or

do you have a statewide, national, or international ocus

and a list o supporters who are broadly distributed? I

youre a mostly local group, consider the possible drawbacks

o duplicating your work online or o bypassing an oppor-

tunity or in-person contact in avor o running the auction

only online.

I would typically avor doing as much online as possible,

but in reality, sometimes the Internet just isnt the right venue

or an eort. I your organization hosts an ofine event, such asan annual dinner, that event may be the ideal setting or your

auction in terms o the opportunities or both undraising and

supporter engagement. Duplicating your eorts online may

simply be unnecessary.

c Y gt t T apt?

I you do decide to run an auction online, youll need the

technology to support it, which will take a little research. Your

best bet or covering your bases on the technology ront is to

check out online resources (see box). In addition, talk to people

who have already run their own online auctions. Find out what

tool they used, how much it cost, what worked, what didntand what theyd have done dierently i only theyd known then

what they know now.

Online auctions can certainly be eective, particularly or

larger organizationsOxams auction o the dress worn by

Keira Knightly to the 2006 Oscars not only brought in nearly

$8,000 rom tens o thousands o site visits, it also raised aware-

ness about the organizations eorts in Eastern Arica. Tis is an

exceptional case, o course, but rom Te Mimi Fishman Foun-

dation to Te Breast Cancer Fund, there are countless examples

o organizations that successully run auctions that tap into the

oerings o unique supporters and inspire constituents to bid.

Still, as with many ways to cultivate and communicate with

supporters online, make sure to do your homework. And above

all else, answer the one crucial question: have you already put

the most straightorward approaches or online undraising to

work or you? Beore you dive in, make sure youre prepared to

put the virtual auction block to use or your organization. n

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jyat 2010

15


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