Are you an Accidental Fundraiser?

Jeff is our favorite Accidental Fundraiser.

As the Director of Lowell Observatory, Jeff Hall didn't intend to become a fundraiser. He has a B.A. in physics from Johns Hopkins and a Ph.D. in astronomy and astrophysics from Penn State. He joined the staff at Lowell in 1992 as a postdoctoral research fellow, probably intending to spend the rest of his career studying solar phenomena.

But over the years of his career evolution at Lowell, he became a fundraiser. And a pretty darn good one at that.

We're going to periodically have conversations with Jeff about his path as an Accidental Fundraiser and various topics from his perspective as the director CEO of a nonprofit business. Please subscribe to this series on our YouTube channel and here.

Episode 1: How Jeff became a fundraiser

Summary and transcript

Alice: Hello, and welcome to the GoalBusters YouTube channel and video vlog series, and our first ever Accidental Fundraiser vlog entry. You may be wondering what the heck is an accidental fundraiser, and that's what today's episode is all about. It's about figuring out what that is. I'm Alice Ferris. I'm the founder of GoalBusters Consulting with me is Jim Anderson, partner of GoalBusters. And the accidental fundraiser himself, Jeff Hall. Hi, Jeff.

Jeff Hall: Hi, Alice. How are you?

Alice: Good. Great. Thank you so much for joining us.

Jeff: Always a pleasure to join you and Jim.

Alice: We tease you because we call you the accidental fundraiser because, in real life, you're the director of Lowell Observatory. You're also a Ph.D. in astronomy, but you also happen to be, frankly, a kick-ass fundraiser. So, how does that happen? How did you become a fundraiser?

Jeff: It was this gradual evolution. I've been at Lowell since the late Cretaceous! I came here in 1992, as a dewy-eyed postdoc, fresh out of grad school on a three-year research appointment entirely funded under an NSF grant. But the nature of that research program is very long term. So we got the grant renewed in 95. Then in 98, got it renewed again. At that point, the director, Bob Millis, asked me if I would take over managing the outreach programs because I enjoyed outreach. So then I was 50/50 [between research and outreach]. Then, I started meeting with the occasional donor to talk about my research and got more involved in fundraising. Then, I became the project scientist for our huge new telescope and gradually sank deeper into the molasses, you know. At the end of 2010, I was appointed the Observatory's director. And at that point, you know, we were no longer the little observatory I came to in 1992, when we had maybe 40 or 50 employees. All of a sudden, we had 100, and we had added a $53 million asset to the balance sheet in this new telescope. So yes, we're still an observatory. But we are now a full-fledged, nonprofit business specializing in astronomical research and communicating that to the public. So I'm a nonprofit CEO, in addition to being an astronomer, and we all know what nonprofit CEOs have to do a lot. And so I've ended up doing a lot of fundraising because we have a lot of ambitions and a lot of generous donors and loyal supporters. You have to go out and talk to them and inspire them about the mission, and it's a lot of fun.

Jim: Was it always a lot of fun? Did you always enjoy it?

Jeff: No, no, it was definitely an acquired skill. Because early on, it was, "I'm going to sit down with people and asking them for their money?" And it was uncomfortable, especially when you were talking about planned gifts, and sitting down with people to talk about that. I practically felt like I should have my big black robe and a sickle. But you know, over the years, I've learned that that is entirely not the case. And it's a very enjoyable and incredibly honorable thing to be able to do.

Jim: That's an interesting pair of words. What makes it enjoyable? Why do you think it's honorable?

Jeff: Because you get to go (well, when we can go all over the country) all over the country and meet the most interesting people who are so genuinely interested in astronomy. And sometimes you don't even get to talk about the fundraising pitch because they're just peppering you with questions about the universe. Then I get to be an astronomer again for a little while. It's honorable, I think, because...well, let's go back to the planned gift. You both knew Don, and he left us virtually his entire estate after a terrible decline and death from bone cancer. I was able to visit him a few weeks before he died and show him pictures of the facility he had endowed. It was a deep honor to be able to bring him happiness and that the kind of joy that he saw that his gifts were bringing us in the final weeks of his life. And that is a privilege to be able to do that.

Alice: You know, it's interesting you mentioned Don because, as you did say, we both knew him. And in fact, he became a donor of Lowell Observatory way back in the Cretaceous when I was the development director for Lowell Observatory. The thing that I appreciate about him was that, many years later, when I had the opportunity to interact with him at an advisory board meeting, he came up to me and said, "Alice, you may not remember me." I'm thinking, are you kidding me? He was my first major donor! So I was like, "of course, I remember you." And he said, "I want to thank you." I said, "Why do you want to thank me?" He said, "Because you helped connect me with this organization. And I've had just a wonderful experience being part of the Lowell family. And, and I want to thank you so much for making me a part of this." I started to cry. And it's totally that human connection that you make with people.

Jeff: Absolutely. And we were his family, you know. He was a lifelong bachelor who would very loyally come to all the board meetings and interact as much as he could. And it was always nice to go up to Seattle and see him.  So yeah, you realize, after you gain some experience, meet with people and hear what they want to do, it's not like you're picking their pockets. It gives them joy to help you. [Fundraising] is empowering them to do something very meaningful to them. And that's just really fun.

Jim: I can't think of any better words of encouragement for those people who might be accidentally fundraising and who may still be at that point where it's a little uncomfortable. So what you shared is how you're not asking somebody to do something they don't want to do. In most cases, if you're talking to them, they've already made the decision. They want to help you. You're just helping them figure out how they can do it.

Jeff: Right. And what's the best way. That's one of the fun things about doing this at Lowell because we do all these research programs, outreach, historic preservation, capital projects, and every donor is a little bit different. Some people love to support the science, and others really want to enable us to reach lots of kids in the outreach programs. It's nice to have this menu that you can roll out in front of them.

Alice: Well, that's great. And thank you, Jeff, for taking a few minutes out of your very busy and very Zoom-y day.

What We Should Really Fear Right Now

Nearly everyone on the planet is currently a part of something that has already changed the world. The global experience of the COVID-19 pandemic is something everyone is sharing. It is changing our communities, our culture, and each of us individually. The world we return to will not be the same as the one we had. Some of those changes will be painful, and others will improve our world. Not everyone sees that. I’ve been thinking a lot about how different people are coping with their circumstances. I’ve also been angry about how unethical people are profiteering and fearful about how others are using this crisis as an excuse to take actions they’ve always wanted to take.

A few years ago, I was confronted with an organization that I felt was taking improper advantage of inexperienced fundraisers, specifically targeting those working at religious organizations. While I am not religious myself, I thought that this was unethical. Their actions seemed purely profit-driven, cloaked in philanthropy. It led me to coin one of my “Jimisms” which is a thought or concept I have that becomes a regular saying or quote. This one was, “The only things nonprofit organizations have to fear are the charlatans, the ignorant, and the angry.” I’ve thought about that a lot as I’ve seen people reacting to or using the COVID-19 crisis for personal benefit.


During this crisis, nonprofit fundraisers should be fearful of the charlatans. These individuals are profiteering off of the fear people have during this stressful time. Every person who becomes the victim of someone selling false cures or solutions loses a bit of trust, and that will harm all of us. Trust is the most important relationship we have with our donors. If they are trusting less, our work will be increasingly difficult.

The ignorant in this situation are those individuals who genuinely don’t understand what we are facing and who want to immediately force us back into risky activities that will lead to

further infections and deaths. The ignorant are also those who do not understand how a nonprofit organization works. They might think that you should work only as a volunteer. They do not know that each nonprofit is a business; instead of profits going to the few in power, financial gains are invested in the organization. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Some unethical people are running nonprofit organizations. But for the most part, the vast majority of money raised is reinvested in serving our communities.

Finally, we have the angry. They are furious about, well, everything. They are angry that their regular routines are disrupted. They are angry because they have to follow “someone else’s rules.” They are angry because they often perceive that some in our society are getting a free ride while they have to work so hard. They also tend to be very selfish and do not understand service or philanthropy. 

The three groups of people I just described were probably very much like this before COVID-19. A person doesn’t become a jerk because of a crisis. However, those emotions and attitudes are being amplified and revealed more clearly.

I’d like to add one more thing nonprofit fundraisers should fear. That is the people in decision making positions who are using the challenges we are facing as an excuse to take actions they wanted to take in the first place. They are using the crisis as a shield to fire or furlough people, to cut services and benefits, or to close facilities. These actions may be genuinely required in some circumstances. But I have already seen many examples of people taking such steps when they are not necessary. That person merely desires them. Anyone who falls into this category and makes such decisions is quite unethical and bordering on morally corrupt.

While there are a lot of concerns, fears, and uncertainties at this time, I’m optimistic that the kind, generous and compassionate people in the world far outnumber the “charlatans, the ignorant and the angry.” You just have to do your part to help some find the confidence to prove it. Remember, “you should be fundraising now!” If your mission was valuable to the people you served before this crisis, it is likely more important now. People need arts, social service, mental health, a clean environment, and all the other types of nonprofit organizations. If they loved you before, they love you now. If you serve people, pets, or the planet, you are providing an essential service.

Lessons from an Extraordinary (Donor) Journey

The #DonorJourney Crew, clockwise from top left:
Guy Mallabone, Sue McMaster, Jenny Mitchell, Stephen Pidgeon

"Do you have time for a quick call? I have a time-sensitive item to discuss with you."

This short message from Guy Mallabone was the start of an adventure that brought me to Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg and Saskatoon. All in five days.

The Extraordinary Donor Journey, presented by Global Philanthropic Canada, brought together Guy Mallabone and Sue McMaster from Calgary, Jenny Mitchell from Ottawa, Stephen Pidgeon from the UK, and me, the token American, for a curated conference for non-profit organizations across Canada. When we convened in Halifax, it was like being at the start of a school trip--you don't know most of your group well, and you certainly haven't traveled with them!

The pattern began: present the program all day, pack up the stuff as quickly as you can, take transportation to the airport, grab dinner, fly to the next city, slog on to the hotel, rinse, repeat.

Five days. Five cities. What could possibly go wrong?

Everything did not go perfectly. But thanks to the adaptability and team spirit of our mighty band, we thrived and, I think, came to truly care about one another in a short period of time.

While I learned many things from the program content of my fellow presenters, my strongest takeaways are from behind the scenes....

• How you think about money affects everything. I am grateful that Jenny shared the Sacred Money Archetypes model in her session. Jenny's explanation was, "If money were someone standing alongside you, what kind of person would it be?" Would it be supportive? Judgmental? Petulant? Rebellious? What the conference participants didn't know was that Jenny had all of us do the quiz at the start of the journey. Initially, our call backs to our archetypes were opportunities to tease Guy, but as the week evolved, I found that the context of money mindset was useful in understanding each other and our values.
• Trust begets trust. In reality, we didn't know each other well at the start of the week. It would have been easy, and expected, to be guarded until we got to know each other. Guy set the tone early, however, because of an unexpected family situation. He had to let down his guard and trust us. His ability to persevere under difficult circumstances led us to not only to deepen our connection with Guy, but with each other. This led to open and fulfilling conversations that I had with each of my colleagues, and I am better for it already.
• If at first you do succeed, try, try again. Halifax was the first time any of us saw the others' presentations. While the core parts of each of our presentations was the same in each city, we thrived off of drawing from each others' content and making small improvements from city to city. In many respects, we were accepting Stephen's call to focus on "the concept"--how can you think sideways to get at the core message? The chance to refine the same presentation every day for a week was a great way to challenge myself.
• It can be rewarding to be a sherpa. There's a lot of stuff involved in presenting a conference! At first, Guy carried all the banners and Sue carried all the other materials, but those barriers broke down relatively quickly. Pitching in and helping where needed felt far more rewarding than just watching others do the heavy lifting. By the end of the week, we were "Global Philanthropic sherpas," and proud of it!

As I write this, I'm still in Saskatoon; most every one else has gone home. I am exhausted, but grateful, for the opportunity to spend time with some amazing people. I've learned so much in five days, and hope to have a chance to do this all over again. To Sue, Guy, Stephen, Jenny, James, Steve and Jeff, thank you for an experience I won't forget.

The Party's Over! - Conducting Special Event Audits

GoalBusters conducted a FREE "Special Events" critical analysis webinar for nearly 700 Bloomerang registrants. Here is our presentation in SlideShare format.

The Party's Over: Conducting a Special Event Audit from GoalBusters Consulting

Here is the complete video presentation as delivered by GoalBusters' Alice Ferris, ACFRE and Jim Anderson, CFRE hosted by Bloomerang.

Everyone likes a good party, but what do you do when you know in your heart that a fundraising event has reached the end of its effective life? Rather than let the party go on, conduct an objective event audit and let the facts help you decide what do to next.

In this practical session, we'll discuss the signs of a failing event, the tools to analyze the event's effective return, ways to soften the blow to volunteers of ending a losing program, and strategies to evaluate new events before they even happen.

Outside Looking In - 6 Exercises for Finding Common Ground in Diverse Groups

A fundraising colleague, Dave Tinker, CFRE was asked to lead an educational session for refugee teens primarily from Nepal, Bhutan, and the Middle East to introduce them to fundraising as a profession.

He asked the #AFPeeps, an Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) volunteer Social Media group for recommendations for activities he could do with the refugee teens. I was excited about his project because it reminded me how often I work with groups that I am not, nor will ever truly be a part of. Alice Ferris, ACFRE and I have and continue to work with numerous culturally diverse groups; Native American, Latino, Rural, African American, Afghans, Iranians, and others. We find some of our greatest satisfaction working with people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

I created the following list of suggestions for activities that I think can work for any group, but will be especially effective if working with a diverse group. I think they can build trust and relationships among participants while delivering insight about your audience that you can draw upon while presenting for both humor and education. 

ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS:

1. "I Am, But I Am Not" (Defy stereotype exercise) Participants work in small groups to share what "other" people's stereotypes are of them, their culture or their country. They then share how they do not fit within those stereotypes. They report out to the group. This can be a verbal/written or drawn exercise.

2. "This is America?" (Cognitive dissonance exercise) Ask them to draw 2 things. What they thought America, Americans or other American students were going to be like and then to draw what they've learned "we" are really like. Goal: getting them to share their surprises and open up about their "American" experience.

3. "Good Heart, Bad Idea" (Critical thinking exercise) Ask them to draw or perform short skit about how they see people from other countries try to help through philanthropy in their home country but in ways that are misguided, clumsy or uninformed. Then ask them to provide solutions or advice for people who still want to help. This one will have to be delicately presented or they might be reluctant to share perceived criticisms.

4. "Sesame Street - One of these things is not like the other" (Breaking down barriers) Ask them to group themselves by different criteria; physical, demographic, geographic, cultural, religious, etc. They report out after each grouping about why/how they grouped themselves. The goal is to identify sub cultures that they share with "some" others but to finish the exercise where everyone is in the same group to identify that ultimately we all share some common culture regardless of resources, education or circumstances.

5. "The ONE Thing" (Self-awareness exercise) They work in small groups and explain to each other "The One Thing" they wish people understood about them, their country or their cultures that most people have a hard time comprehending. They report out why this is important to deeper understanding, trust and progress.

6. "Why Should I Care?" (Justify support exercise) Break them up in groups of 4-5. Try to mix them so they are with people they don't know. Provide a list of causes they can choose from. Make it about causes, not organizations. arts, education, health, social justice, animal protection, hunger abatement, clean water, etc. Do a random drawing after the groups are established to determine which group gets to pick their cause first from the list you create as a flip chart exercise. This will generate initial excitement and disappointment. Every person gets $100 in play money and 1 week of "virtual" volunteer time to give to a cause. They can give both to one cause or cash to one, time to other. Report out the winning cause and "You" make an actual $100 donation to a local cause in your group's name.

Regardless of the exercise you choose. At the end I encourage "You" to make a contribution to a cause that your group chooses and have them participate by signing a card that will accompany that gift. 

Be sure to provide a signup sheet and send contact information about how the participants can become more involved with causes they want to support either financially or through volunteer work.

Good luck! And have fun learning while you teach!

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Connect with GoalBusters     

Jim Anderson, CFRE      GoalBustersJim

Alice Ferris, ACFRE, CFRE, MBS      alice.ferris

Marketing With Facebook Photos

I often see organizations and individuals "repost" their existing Facebook photos duplicating the photos. This is unnecessary and ineffective unless you're reusing an existing photo as a Cover Photo or Profile Picture in which case duplication is unavoidable. However, if the goal is to "borrow" content from the past to add current visual content to a post today, there are few more efficient/effective ways to do that. 

 

The ultimate goal with Facebook is to increase engagement with audience. A person can't be engaged if they don't see your post and they won't see your post unless it shows up in their Facebook News Feed. How likely something is to show up on a person's News Feed is determined by "Facebook's feed prioritization algorithm" formally called "EdgeRank."  This algorithm determines which posts show up on in a user's news feed, how high in that feed and for how long.  Facebook execs claim there are as many as 100,000 variables that produce the News Feed. The three original EdgeRank elements, Affinity, Weight and Time Decay are still  part of the evaluation and interactions (likes, shares, comments) are very important.

If you repost an existing image or video as a new timeline update as opposed to sharing it from it's existing/previous location, you LOSE ALL previous interactions, meaning that new posts starts from "zero." If you do not want "waste" prior engagement and interactions there are a few more efficient ways to use existing content.

1. Share a link to an existing photo album. It will generate a post that looks identical to an original "new" post. AND it retains ALL captions, links, photo credits AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...it retains all the engagements...likes, comments, shares, etc. Those "engagements" are gold in increasing the post's rankings in Facebook's prioritization system. You can use Facebook's "share" feature or share the link by copying and pasting the url for the album.

2. Share a specific photo from an existing Facebook album. This allows you a wealth of photos you can post as you work to generate buzz for specific recurring events or ongoing topics while retaining all the engagements as mentioned above. It will navigate the user to the specific photo within the album and they can explore the album and your Facebook page from there, all while building your overall engagement. You can use Facebook's "share" feature or share the link by copying and pasting the url for the photo. 

3. Add new photos to an existing album. When you add photos to an existing album, the photos appear as a new post on your timeline and are a part of the existing album so viewers might explore previously posted photos. Also, when you add photos to an existing album that album "jumps" up to the top of the list of your photo albums because it has been edited with new content. 

TIPS FOR MARKETING WITH FACEBOOK PHOTOS

 

Improve Engagement When posting photos to Facebook that are suitable to create an album, ALWAYS try to post 4 or more photos. An MTV comparative test demonstrated that posting 4 or more photos generated 1200% more clicks than a single photo posted. To create ongoing interest and engagement you might choose to post 4 or more photos from an event over a period of days creating serial storytelling experience.

Be Strategic. Select your album's Cover Photo carefully. And think about how you organize your photos within the album to place the most dynamic photos first in the album to generate interest, even if that means putting some photos out of chronological order. You can always go back and rearrange the photos to be chronological later if that's important.

Tag People. When you tag someone, you often draw attention to your event or organization from people that are completely unaware of you. But don't over do it. Only post flattering photos and only tag a person in a few photos within a given album. Group photos are a great way to get a conversation started. Tag a few people and they or their friends will tag others.

Honor Privacy If you want to make someone aware of a photo but don't want to leave the tag "public," tag them and then immediately remove the tag. They'll get a notification, but it won't show up in other people's News Feed. 

Tell Stories and Provide Information. Always add captions, links and photo credits to your photos. Your goal is to create visual storytelling with your photos and your captions and links provide information and entertainment for your viewers while delivering "thank you" value to the people and organizations in the photos. It's just common courtesy.

Give Credit Where Credit Is Due. If you are posting someone else's photo, be sure to ALWAYS give them credit. When possible post a link back to a website, blog, or social media site that they would want promoted.

Photos can be your most effective posts in creating social engagement, I hope some of these tips help you better engage your communities.

Here are some additional training resources.

Fundraising Success:  Creating Your 'Virtual Porch'

Advancing Philanthropy:  Social Media - You’re Not Herding Sheep, You’re Tending a Garden

ONLINE Prezi Training by GoalBusters, LLC Plug In! Social Media for NonProfits

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Connect with GoalBusters     
Jim Anderson      GoalBustersJim

Alice Ferris      alice.ferris

100 Days of Gratitude, Day 12: The Team

Elta Foster, Alice Ferris, Jim Anderson & Tegwin Tiffany

Unless you're Kanye West or Donald Trump, you'll probably admit that you need other people to support and collaborate with you to in order to achieve your full potential.

I've been fortunate to be a part of many great teams from my undefeated High School Football team to record breaking corporate sales teams to the nonprofit organizations I serve today. But one of the most collaborative, supportive, fun and empowering teams I've ever been a part of was the Development Team at KNAU Arizona Public Radio. Together we achieved great things including producing the first, and only $1,000,000 fundraising year in the station's 30 year history.

The team begins with Elta Foster, the Membership Manager and the "foundation" of our team. Alice Ferris, ACFRE was the Development Director. She had just lost 1/2 her staff "overnight" when she hired me as Sales Manager. For about six months it was just the three of us doing the jobs of six people. That kind of challenge either brings you together or tears you apart. It cemented our relationships and they thrive to this day. Tegwin eventually joined us as Development Coordinator and Maddie (Synnott) Stansell rounded out our team as Development Assistant. Together we broke the records set before us and created new milestones. None of our accomplishments would have been possible if not for the strengths and sense of common purpose each person brought to the team.

We're taking Elta to dinner to thank her for being our "rock" and for her leadership and kindness. We're sending a care package to Colorado for Maddie and maybe we'll Skype to share "in person" how much her contributions and support empowered our success. Sadly, Tegwin is no longer with us, but we'll honor her contributions as well.

I've said before that all you need to create a successful team is cooperation and enthusiasm, but here are a few other characteristics that help create effective and highly producing teams.

Common Goals: Team members understand shared goals and agree that they are important and attainable.

Emotional Commitment: Everyone is personally invested in the success of the team and cares about their teammates' experience.

"We" Mentality: The team thinks in terms of "we," working together toward the same goals. Teams find ways to "pitch in," overcoming challenges and maximizing opportunities. It's unacceptable to say "It's not my job." Instead the question is always "How can I help?"

Specialized Skills: Individuals within the team each have unique valuable strengths and skills that they bring to each task and are recognized and valued by the team. Each has independent responsibilities that contribute to the common goals.

Clear Leadership: Leadership may change depending on projects, circumstances and events, but there are not battles for control during transitions.

Celebrations of Success: Long term goals can be draining. Strong teams find reasons to celebrate small successes in order to improve morale and provide motivation.

Thank you to the people that create teams that work. It isn't easy and takes time to mature, but when it works the end result is exponentially more than what you could have accomplished alone.

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Connect with GoalBusters
Jim Anderson GoalBustersJim

Alice Ferris alice.ferris