Achieving Excellence in Fundraising

Eugene R. Tempel, Timothy L. Seiler, Dwight F. Burlingame

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781118853795
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Commerce
• Subtopic: Organismes sans but lucratif et organismes de bienfaisance

Achieving Excellence in Fundraising is the go-to reference for fundraising principles, concepts, and techniques. With comprehensive guidance toward the fundraising role, this book reflects the latest advances in fundraising knowledge. Coverage includes evolving technologies, the importance of high net worth donors, global fundraising perspectives, results analysis and performance evaluation, accountability, and credentialing, with contributions from noted experts in the field. You'll gain essential insight into the practice of fundraising and the fundraising cycle, reinforced by ancillary discussion questions, case studies, and additional readings. With contributions from members of The Fund Raising School and the faculty of Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, this new edition includes detailed guidance on nonprofit accounting practices as defined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, rounding out the complete, thorough coverage of the fundraising profession.

Designed to provide both theory and practical knowledge, this book is an all-in-one resource for anyone who performs fundraising duties.

• Understand donor dynamics and craft an institutional development plan
• Explore essential marketing and solicitation techniques
• Learn effective volunteer recruitment, retention, and management strategies

Fundraising merges a variety of fields including psychology, business management, accounting, and marketing, making it a unique role that requires a uniquely well rounded yet focused skillset. Amidst economic uncertainty and a widening wealth gap the world over, it's more important than ever for fundraisers to have a firm grasp on the tools at their disposal. Achieving Excellence in Fundraising is the ultimate guide to succeeding in this critical role.

PART ONE

A PHILANTHROPIC CONTEXT FOR FUNDRAISING

CHAPTER ONE
A PHILOSOPHY OF FUNDRAISING

By Henry A. Rosso

Introduction by Eugene R. Tempel

Twenty-five years have passed since Henry “Hank” Rosso undertook the development of Achieving Excellence in Fund Raising. The original edition won the prestigious Staley Robeson Prize from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives – now the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Fundraising was still two words then. Hank was a superstar among fundraisers. Many of us are privileged to call him our mentor.

Hank founded The Fund Raising School in 1974, 40 years prior to the time we began work on the fourth edition of Achieving Excellence in Fundraising. The work Hank started has grown and prospered with The Fund Raising School as an integral part of the new Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. However, we continue to feel his influence through the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy's Rosso Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Ethical Philanthropic Fundraising, through The Fund Raising School, through Achieving Excellence in Fundraising, fourth edition, and especially through this chapter.

In this chapter Hank offers his philosophy on fundraising, a philosophy developed over a lifetime of work as a fundraiser, consultant, and teacher. The principles upon which he founded The Fund Raising School in 1974 have stood the test of time and culture with adaptations and modifications rather than replacement, and so has his philosophy of fundraising. Both his principles and his philosophy have been substantiated by research on philanthropy, donor behavior, and fundraising available today. This is why we have continued to include Hank's Chapter, A Philosophy of Fundraising.

This chapter covers some of Hank's basic tenets, including:

• The importance of mission in fundraising.
• Why you exist is more important than what you do.
• The importance of integrating fundraising into an organization.
• Substituting pride for apology in fundraising.

Hank's original chapter, “A Philosophy of Fund Raising,” in subsequent additions, including this fourth edition, is included unaltered and in its entirety. The fourth edition is being published 25 years after Hank developed his original chapter. It is a tribute to all he contributed to the profession of fundraising and the development of philanthropy.

A central theme in Hank's philosophy and in the way he approached his work was “fundraising is the servant of philanthropy.” He opened and closed the first chapter of his book with that theme. Fundraising is not an end in itself. When it becomes that, both the organization and philanthropy are diminished and fundraising becomes a mere technical application of skills. Fundraising in Hank's view was only a means to an end that rested on organizational mission. We know today that donors are motivated to give primarily because they believe in the cause. The pillars that support Hank's central theme are as relevant today as they were in 1991. For example, research shows that high net worth donors depend on professional fundraisers and colleagues to help them make decisions about their giving (Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, 2014).

The most significant of these pillars is “why do you exist?” This question enables an organization to articulate its mission in terms of the societal values it is fulfilling. Mission is what gives us the privilege to ask for philanthropic support. Mission is particularly important in an era where nonprofit organizations are encouraged to develop new income sources, undertake market-based activities, focus on social enterprise, form collaborations and partnerships, and approach venture philanthropists with confidence.

Hank's philosophy also rested on the role of the governing board. He saw governing boards as not only being responsible for fundraising but also for stewardship of the organization's mission and resources. The governing board today must ensure the public trust of the organization if fundraising is to be successful. Heightened calls for transparency and accountability make the role of the governing board even more important today than it was in 1991. Trust is the bedrock upon which philanthropy rests.

Fundraising as the servant of philanthropy must be part of an organization's management system. This is a pillar of Hank's philosophy of fundraising that is also critical today. Fundraising cannot be a separate, isolated, activity. Ensuring trust means conducting fundraising that is based on mission by staff and volunteers who are committed to the organization and who represent the organization with integrity. Staff and volunteers of an organization who embrace a culture of philanthropy enable fundraising by accepting philanthropy as a legitimate and important source of income to support a worthy cause.

Hank believed that philanthropy must be voluntary. Today this pillar of Hank's philosophy is more important than it was in 1991. The interest in self-expression through philanthropy calls for a more open approach by organizations. Pluralism becomes an important tenant. Another of Hank's beliefs is applicable here: “Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching people the joy of giving.” To ensure long-term donor engagement and donor satisfaction that lead to increased philanthropy, fundraisers must remember that giving is voluntary. As we will see in Chapter 2, contemporary research demonstrates that there is a joy in giving.

Perhaps the greatest contribution Hank made was to teach the substitution of pride for apology in fundraising. As the number of people engaged in fundraising has grown, and fundraisers have sought a more professional approach, recognizing that fundraising is a noble activity based on organizational mission has been central to professional development. Another of Hank's statements about soliciting a gift is applicable here: “Set yourself aside and let the case walk in.” The case for support as discussed in Chapter 4 gets back to the main reason why individuals give.

The last two paragraphs of this chapter carry the same subtitle as the opening line, with a slight variation: “Fundraising as Servant to Philanthropy.” Hank explained the role of fundraising in terms that foreshadow the models currently needed to assist wealth holders in determining their philanthropy. He wrote of fundraising: “It is justified when it is used as a responsible invitation guiding contributors to make the kind of gift that will meet their own special needs and add greater meaning to their lives.”

Today more than ever fundraisers need a philosophy of fundraising. The call for accountability, the need to inspire trust, the leadership of volunteers, the involvement of donors in their philanthropy, and the new approaches to philanthropy discussed in the following chapters all call for fundraisers to be reflective practitioners who can center themselves with a philosophy of fundraising. Hank's philosophy provides an excellent beginning for us to develop our own philosophy.

A PHILOSOPHY OF FUNDRAISING

Fundraising is the servant of philanthropy and has been so since the seventeenth century, when Puritans brought the concept to the new continent. The early experience of fundraising was simple in form, obviously devoid of the multifaceted practices that characterize its nature in the contemporary United States. These practices now make fundraising more diversified and more complex than ever before.

The American spirit of giving is known and respected in other nations. American fundraising methods are equally known and admired abroad, as foreign citizens who have attended classes taught by The Fund Raising School will attest. Ironically, the practice of resource development that is so much a part of the culture, necessity, and tradition of not-for-profit organizations in the United States is not sufficiently understood, often misrepresented, and too often viewed with suspicion and apprehension by a broad section of our own population, particularly by regulatory bodies. Few still argue with the observation that fundraising has never been considered the most popular practice in this country.

Dean Schooler of Boulder, Colorado, a scholar and student of fundraising, takes the teleological view of a vitalist philosophy that phenomena are not only guided by mechanical forces but also move toward certain goals of self-realization. Indeed, fundraising is never an end in itself; it is purposive. It draws both its meaning and essence from the ends that are served: caring, helping, healing, nurturing, guiding, uplifting, teaching, creating, preventing, advancing a cause, preserving values, and so forth. Fundraising is values-based; values must guide the process. Fundraising should never be undertaken simply to raise funds; it must serve the large cause.

Organizations and Their Reasons for Existing

Organizations of the independent sector come into existence for the purpose of responding to some facet of human or societal needs. The need or opportunity for service provides the organization with a reason for being, as well as a right to design and execute programs or strategies that respond to the need. This becomes the cause that is central to the concern of the organization. The cause provides justification for more intervention, and this provides justification for fundraising.

The organization may claim a right to raise money by asking for the tax-deductible gift. It must earn the privilege to ask for gift support by its managem...