National Office & Local Office Fundraising: How Can We All Win? Planet Philanthropy 2017 National Office & Local Office Fundraising: How Can We All Win? Jan Kary, CFRE Jan Kary & Associates

Who’s Here? National office/headquarters staff? Local/field/branch/affiliate office staff? Others?

Have you heard these comments in your office?

Looking at same thing – from different perspectives

Possible Tension Points between Headquarters and Field Office Development Staff: Communication Ownership/management of donor relationships – and who gets the credit Understanding of each other’s responsibilities and time allocation for fundraising Staffing Access to, use of, knowledge about donor database Local office vs. national office governance/procedures

Best Practices for Mutual Success

UNDERSTAND: “Same Mission, Different Perspective” Situation viewed from different angles can influence different processes and/or conclusions Headquarters staff often looking at broader picture Field offices may focus on local implications and local program delivery

UNDERSTAND: Neither role is better than the other! Headquarters Often working with larger and/or nationally-focused donors May have a larger staff for delegation of work Local Best positioned to offer volunteer opportunities May have greater variety of fundraising tasks

Positive COMMUNICATION is key Relationships matter inside your organization as much as outside – think about collaboration strategies with your “internal clients” Respect your colleagues Communicate three times to communicate once Play nice

Create, maintain, and follow a collaboratively-created FUNDRAISING PROTOCOL re donor management: geographic size of donor by development staff who sourced donor by type of donor (individual, foundation, corporate, etc.) If by donor type, define terms

Create clear understanding of ROLES and GOALS Transparency can help: Who is raising what amounts from what sectors? Do national fundraisers have a local $ responsibility? Do local fundraisers have ownership of national relationships geographically close?

Champion an effective use of DONOR DATABASE Whether it’s an excel chart or Raiser’s Edge – there must be some form of donor management understood and accessible by all Database usage, access, and updates should be part of staff member’s standards of performance Electronic storage of all submissions Ensure that multiple staff not speaking to same donor

Consider a JOINT ASK One ask that includes local and national Who is best positioned to make the ask Clear roles and responsibilities Flexibility to adapt to the donor desires Deliver on everything that was promised If successful, replicate your efforts in other locations and ask for more support

8. “Walk a Mile in My Shoes” Consider spending a day or two in the office of the other National fundraiser: you may be surprised how many hats local staff wear Local fundraiser: you may be surprised at the limited time national staff have

Share BEST PRACTICES on regular basis Local/national fundraising staff gathering Quarterly calls Development success stories on a shared drive

Guard against “US vs. THEM” language Set the tone and model behavior for inclusive/”we’re on the same team” language Think about the “win” for the other side – how can you help your counter-parts “on the other side”? “A rising tide lifts all boats”

What helps in your relationship with colleagues on the “other” side? Let’s hear your tips! What helps in your relationship with colleagues on the “other” side?

Thanks for Coming. Jan Kary, CFRE jkary@verizon Thanks for Coming! Jan Kary, CFRE jkary@verizon.net Jan Kary & Associates 202.438-6750