School Fundraising Capacity Building Kay Sprinkel Grace January – June, 2014

Volunteer Leadership Development: Why Nothing Works Without It March 6, 7 – 8 p.m. March 18, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. 2

 Review of “homework” assignment from Webinar #2 (meeting to review “MVV”)  The value of board member and other volunteer involvement  Ways to increase the engagement of board members  A quick review of AAA (reference April 2013 workshop for detailed information)  Danger signs in volunteer engagement  Additional ideas for building a culture of philanthropy through volunteer leadership  Homework for Webinar #4 3

How Are They Regarded by Your School? Board and other volunteers are the primary relationships for all organizations They help you build other lasting relationships and create a culture of philanthropy in your organization

 Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation's compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain love for one another. --Erma Bombeck Volunteers are not paid -- not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless. 5

 Represent community and student interests and needs to which your school must ultimately respond  Willing to do many things to be part of your mission work in the community in addition to governance or advisory roles  In fundraising, provide peer-peer linkages and vast knowledge of the constituency  They are “connectors” (Malcolm Gladwell, “The Tipping Point”) and are our Ambassadors in the community 6

 Volunteers leverage limited development personnel resources through their involvement in case development, validation and articulation (reference your homework from Webinar #2); prospect research and screening; fundraising strategy development; cultivation of prospective donors; personal solicitation of prospects and on-going stewardship of friends and donors  When we grow them as leaders, we grow our school  To benefit from their experience in/with other nonprofits and their knowledge of effective models for developing donors and funds 7

 Your school’s relationship with its board and non-board volunteers is the model or mirror for its capacity to develop the kind of relationships that will lead to long-term relationships with donor-investors;  Board and non-board volunteers give more and more often than others and many will be or are already “major” donors (even if they do not give big gifts, they should be treated like they do) 8

General Observations from Decades of Experience

 Clear definition of role(s) and boundaries relative to staff who work in parallel or supervisory roles  Important jobs to do that are keyed to the outcomes for the school and your impact on the community (vision)  Clarity around expectations, outcomes, procedures, assignments, timelines 10

 Training and coaching in how to be effective board members or non-board volunteers  Appreciation that is sincere and tied to important outcomes  To be treated with trust and respect  Transparency, accountability and disclosure  To be given jobs that key into their motivation and at which they can be successful (AAA) 11

 Concern about “mission drift” – organizational issues that get in the way of their enthusiasm for articulating the bigger mission, vision and values message  Overlap and confusion about board and staff roles  Inevitable turnover in development and other staff: need to rebuild internal relationships while building external relationships 12

 Balancing organizational needs/demands against those of their jobs and families  Feelings of being “used” and then not appreciated; too little feedback on impact of service  Lack of consistent policies regarding volunteers 13

Getting Engaged in Development

 Roles volunteers can, will and want to play: ◦ Donor development (identification, qualification, development of strategy, cultivation, stewardship) ◦ Fund development (solicitation and renewal) ◦ Ambassadors in the community, building relationships with others who share your school’s values and vision and understand the importance of your mission 15

 More roles volunteers play: ◦ Advocates (formal and informal) for your school, particularly with community organizations whose interests parallel yours and with whom partnerships are possible ◦ Askers of their peers for investments (time and money) in your school ◦ Architects, Approvers and Articulators of the case, mission, vision and values (three ancillary A’s) 16

Engaging all volunteers 17

 Everyone thinks “development” (of relationships)  All volunteers and staff and understand the importance and purpose of philanthropy  Volunteers and the community feel the culture when they are with you

 Ambassadors ◦ Making friends ◦ Building relationships  Advocates ◦ Making the case (formal and informal) ◦ Key to volunteer recruitment  Askers ◦ Making the ask ◦ “Front line” fund raisers

 An attitude, more than anything: involves the full development team (Board, non-board volunteers, staff)  Organization-wide commitment to mission, vision and values and building lasting relationships (not just the responsibility of the administration or development officer)  An understanding that each interaction with anyone is part of the development process

Helping Create a Culture Of Philanthropy

 Systems liberate – have job descriptions for every volunteer role and board ◦ Start with an institutional vision and plan that is built around the culture of philanthropy ◦ Determine the kind of volunteers you will need to advance that plan ◦ Recruit and enlist strategically ◦ Orient your volunteers carefully ◦ Create an environment that will motivate them ◦ Give them lots of support and feedback ◦ Don’t be afraid to de-enlist 23

 Composition of the volunteer group responsible for marketing and/or fundraising ◦ Strategic recruitment based on a matrix that reflects the needs you are anticipating if you are to grow your relationships and giving programs ◦ Look for people with fund raising, marketing and other volunteer or related work experience ◦ Look for people who enjoy relationship building and are eager to share your mission and vision ◦ Provide job descriptions at the time of recruitment and an orientation after enlistment that reflects the importance of volunteer involvement in the long term vision of the school 24

 Increasing numbers of donors say that leadership (staff and volunteer) is a high influence factor in their initial and long term major investment in an organization  Board /volunteer/staff relationship must maintain a visible leadership balance that will satisfy discerning major investors  You also benefit the volunteers who learn leadership skills while volunteering for you – a great gift we can provide to those who have aspirations in the workplace and community 25

 Volunteers are leaders in the initiative; staff are leader-managers  Emphasis on shared vision between staff and volunteers and on articulating the partnership between your school and the community (as represented by the volunteers)  Volunteers play a critical role in engaging donors in your purpose and plans so they need to be part of the school leadership vision – they then can communicate how fundraising will advance the plans/vision 26

Tips for Success

 Each is a competent professional or volunteer and although s/he may be new to you, s/he needs to be treated with great respect  One-on-one meetings and coaching sessions are the best way to convey assignments, give feedback and receive feedback to assess satisfaction and progress  It is extremely important to convey expectations honestly when you are recruiting people: let them know just how much time this will take 28

 There are ways to involve all volunteers in the vision for fundraising: even though all of them might not (or cannot) be directly involved in asking they can be of great value in donor development. ◦ Get them involved in the new messaging and mission/vision/values clarification (Session 2) ◦ Share with them what impact increased giving can have on your school ◦ Give them tools (case expressions) to use in their roles as Ambassadors, Advocates and Askers 29

 Set high standards for the role of volunteers and be sure to convey the requirements of those standards for volunteer board composition, commitment and roles  Be sure staff understands and respects the potential and the limitations of volunteer/board member time, involvement and commitment  Forge partnerships through trust, respect, understanding of mission, common vision, shared values 30

John W. Gardner’s 9 Tasks for Leaders:  Envisioning goals  Affirming values  Motivating  Managing  Achieving workable unity  Explaining  Serving as a symbol  Representing the group externally  Renewing ideas and attitudes ◦ Charles DeGaulle, citing France’s unpreparedness for WWII, wrote that leaders were ”wedded to errors that had once constituted their glory” – renewal is the key to success 31

 A feeling of belonging  Belief that time spent in meetings and activities is worthwhile  Volunteer experiences with the organization and each other that are not only informative and worthwhile, but fun 32

 A sense of the future advancement of the school and a way to play a part in that advancement  Knowledge that your school, and their fellow volunteers, appreciate their gifts of time, talent and treasure 33

 Each volunteer strives to ◦ Be a champion and create champions ◦ Be a leader and create leaders ◦ Regard each gift as an investment; each donor as an investor ◦ Be a steward of investments and investors ◦ Market your successes in your community ◦ Keep your school’s message visible in the community and among other partner organizations 34

Danger Signals

 Declining attendance at committee or board meetings: ◦ Evaluate meeting content and structure ◦ Be sure time is not perceived as wasted ◦ Be sure people can be heard and that one person (or a small group) are not dominating ◦ Be sure to have a smart agenda and be very action focused ◦ SOS (Share Our Success) ◦ Mission moments ◦ Board, not Bored….. 36

 Failure to complete routine or special assignments on time: ◦ Evaluate clarity of your instructions and communication of timelines ◦ Meet with the volunteer to determine whether the assignment is something that motivates; if not, find another assignment (AAA) ◦ Determine whether the volunteer has a change in circumstances that precludes fulfilling the assignment and let him/her off the hook 37

 Passing of complaints among volunteers instead of passing concerns along to staff: ◦ Be sure people are listened to at meetings ◦ Inform all volunteers about the process for stating their disagreement with a staff or other volunteer decision ◦ Be alert to dissent and address it before it festers and spreads 38

 If board members start to micro-manage: ◦ Be sure there is not a real or perceived leadership vacuum at the staff level ◦ Meet with the volunteers to hear their concerns ◦ Meet with staff to review the problem ◦ At all costs, nip this trend in the bud 39

 When/if staff complain that volunteers (including board members) are a burden rather than an enhancement to their work: ◦ Develop better orientation of staff to the value of volunteers and why “front end” loading of time and effort into training and coaching will ultimately make staff jobs easier ◦ Determine ways to help staff communicate better understanding of shared roles with volunteers ◦ Provide better orientation of board and other volunteers about appropriate ways to fulfill their assignments and communicate with staff 40

Webinar #3 Board and Non-Board Leadership Development: Why Nothing Works Without It

 Volunteers add great value to donor and fund development programs for a variety of reasons  All engaged/trained volunteers are leverage for small development staff(s)  Volunteers at all levels have needs that staff must be sure to honor  Volunteer/staff roles and partnerships need to be spelled out accurately in writing and as part of board member orientation – the AAA approach is one to consider 42

 You can create a culture of philanthropy in your organization through structuring of effective board/staff partnerships  There are tasks (John W. Gardner) that all leaders need to fulfill  To be successful with volunteers, you need to know what works as well as the danger signals  Your success will be greatly advanced by effective recruitment, enlistment, orientation and deployment of volunteers 43

 “The usual trouble with volunteers is not killing them with overwork, but simply boring them to death. As with the arts of hospitality, the rule is that if they have a good enough time, they won’t want to leave, and they’ll be sure to come back.” ◦ Harold “Sy” Semour, pioneer hospital development leader and author of “Design for Fundraising” 44

 We have now bridged from an overview of fundraising, to mission/vision/values and case, to the role of the board. There are two (2) assignments for our next session (April 8 from 7 – 8 p.m. and April 29 from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m.) :  1. Review existing job descriptions for a volunteer role at your school and be sure it is clear and complete. An example is attached to this ; send me one of yours to review.  2. Identify a foundation to which you would like to apply for a grant, and prepare a strategy for creating and submitting a proposal, using the “MVV” you have refreshed. (homework from #2) A worksheet to help you was provided when this power point was sent out. 45

Kay Sprinkel Grace - Webinar #