Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:00.961 --> 00:00:08.766
I know you probably didn't wake up this morning excited about getting out there and asking your donors for a major gift.
00:00:08.766 --> 00:00:09.929
I get it.
00:00:09.929 --> 00:00:12.106
It's hard work.
00:00:12.106 --> 00:00:15.929
I have something that's going to help you.
00:00:15.929 --> 00:00:26.388
Every two weeks, I put out a quick video packed with game-changing content for executive directors trying to learn major gifts.
00:00:26.388 --> 00:00:57.962
In these videos, you'll get expert tips and proven strategies, practical fundraising hacks, innovative ideas to engage donors, real-world case studies and solutions and, for the first time ever, exclusive access to casual Zoom hangouts with fellow executive directors and me and Tim, who are sticking their toes into the major gift work just like you.
00:00:57.962 --> 00:01:08.165
Don't miss out on this opportunity to join a community of passionate fundraisers who are committed to excellence in major gift development.
00:01:08.165 --> 00:01:18.981
Go to nonprofitleaderonline and sign up today to receive your first video newsletter and start transforming your major gift program.
00:01:18.981 --> 00:01:20.543
I'll see you there.
00:01:20.543 --> 00:01:28.126
Welcome to the Practice of Nonprofit leadership.
00:01:28.445 --> 00:01:29.325
I'm Nathan Ruby.
00:01:29.325 --> 00:01:32.906
Wow, day 12.
00:01:32.906 --> 00:01:39.290
I am so proud of you for making it all the way through all of these episodes.
00:01:39.290 --> 00:01:49.813
Heck, I'm even proud of myself for getting through all of these episodes and I really hope you've enjoyed this.
00:01:49.813 --> 00:01:51.055
I hope it's been valuable.
00:01:51.055 --> 00:01:57.516
I hope you got a couple of things out of it to make your major gift work a little bit easier.
00:01:57.516 --> 00:02:01.659
I just want to thank you for walking through this with me.
00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:11.409
I had so much fun doing this and you know, and even I got to tell you, to be honest, there's a couple of times I was looking as I record these.
00:02:11.409 --> 00:02:23.468
I, when Tim and I record this podcast, we we use a system where we actually see each other, and even when we're recording separately or solo, we still record and video.
00:02:23.468 --> 00:02:31.349
So so I'm looking at myself and on some of these things I was actually looking at myself saying, yeah, nathan, yo get with it.
00:02:31.349 --> 00:02:33.121
You got to step it up in that area.
00:02:33.121 --> 00:02:35.806
So this is actually a big good for me as well.
00:02:35.806 --> 00:02:38.852
So today we're wrapping up.
00:02:38.852 --> 00:02:48.865
I've got three last things for you, very quick, they're not too long, and then at the end we're going to get an offer that I don't know.
00:02:48.865 --> 00:02:50.228
I think it's pretty good.
00:02:50.228 --> 00:02:53.621
We'll see when we get there if you think it's good too.
00:02:53.621 --> 00:02:56.287
So, all right, let's get, let's get going today.
00:02:56.366 --> 00:03:04.149
So number one of my three points that I want to share today, number one is if it's to be, it's up to me.
00:03:04.149 --> 00:03:07.354
Now, that's a quote I heard as a kid it was.
00:03:07.354 --> 00:03:08.203
I don't even know.
00:03:08.203 --> 00:03:10.051
It's always stuck with me.
00:03:10.051 --> 00:03:13.403
I think I did a paper on it or something, or it was part of a paper I did.
00:03:13.403 --> 00:03:19.042
But if it's to be, it's up to me, or if it is to be, it is up to me.
00:03:19.042 --> 00:03:20.284
I think that's the actual quote.
00:03:20.806 --> 00:03:28.848
The point is that if you want a major gifts program, if you want to increase your major gifts, it starts with you.
00:03:28.848 --> 00:03:40.651
If you want it to be successful and if you want major gifts to bring in more funding than you ever dreamt possible, it's up to you.
00:03:40.651 --> 00:03:42.727
You are going to have to lead this.
00:03:42.727 --> 00:03:45.147
You are going to have to make it a priority.
00:03:45.147 --> 00:03:46.602
Nobody else will.
00:03:46.602 --> 00:03:48.145
Your board is not going to do it.
00:03:48.145 --> 00:03:51.332
Your staff leaders are not going to do it.
00:03:51.332 --> 00:03:53.324
Your volunteer leaders are not going to do it.
00:03:53.324 --> 00:04:02.328
The only person in your organization who is going to make this a priority and actually do this is going to be you.
00:04:02.328 --> 00:04:05.852
If you don't do it, it won't happen.
00:04:06.432 --> 00:04:09.581
So, right there, and it's okay If it's not a priority.
00:04:09.581 --> 00:04:17.466
If you've got other revenue generating strategies that are working well, you just you know you don't have the time.
00:04:17.466 --> 00:04:19.591
You feel like it's just not a priority.
00:04:19.591 --> 00:04:21.641
It's okay, that's okay.
00:04:21.641 --> 00:04:30.831
You could put this off to the side for a while and come back to it later if you want, but just know, if it's going to happen, it's you that's going to be leading it.
00:04:31.432 --> 00:04:32.201
So that's number one.
00:04:32.401 --> 00:04:34.004
If it is to be, it is up to me.
00:04:34.004 --> 00:04:40.055
Number two you do not have to be perfect to be successful.
00:04:40.055 --> 00:04:53.255
You have to be authentic and genuinely love your donors, but you do not have to be anywhere near being perfect in order to be successful with major gifts.
00:04:53.255 --> 00:05:02.338
Remember, major gifts are about developing deep relationships and building trust.
00:05:02.338 --> 00:05:05.468
All right, those are the two biggest things.
00:05:05.468 --> 00:05:34.779
And you know, I have done I've done major gifts for decades plural and I have done major gift visits with leaders who were the most polished, incredible communicators, could tell stories of their organization that I knew what they were doing, I knew what the stories were and when they told it it made me tear up of how impactful it was.
00:05:34.779 --> 00:05:38.221
And, as you might expect, we got the gift.
00:05:39.362 --> 00:06:05.762
I have done major donor visits with leaders who, well, I mean, I want to be kind, I want to be, I want to use nice words, let's.
00:06:05.762 --> 00:06:12.274
Let's just say they struggled to communicate at even a a basic level.
00:06:12.274 --> 00:06:19.408
Even a basic level of communication was a struggle for them, because they struggled so much being in front of people.
00:06:19.408 --> 00:06:25.956
It just wasn't something that they had been trained to do, it wasn't something they were good at, it wasn't something they felt comfortable at.
00:06:25.956 --> 00:06:29.509
But kudos to them.
00:06:29.509 --> 00:06:41.747
They were in the room, they were doing the best they could and guess what could and guess what.
00:06:41.747 --> 00:06:42.228
We got that gift also.
00:06:42.269 --> 00:06:43.613
So it is not about a outstanding, polished presentation.
00:06:43.613 --> 00:06:45.401
Your donors, that's not what they're concerned about.
00:06:45.401 --> 00:06:47.127
They're not concerned with your delivery.
00:06:47.127 --> 00:06:55.572
What they are concerned about is developing a real relationship with you and the organization and how you're going to use their gift.
00:06:55.572 --> 00:06:59.709
That is what they are really, really concerned about.
00:06:59.709 --> 00:07:07.468
Okay, so you do not have to be this amazing, wonderful presenter to be successful at major gifts.
00:07:07.468 --> 00:07:11.274
All right, that's two.
00:07:11.274 --> 00:07:17.630
Number three and this is I don't know if this is the most important.
00:07:17.630 --> 00:07:20.377
All of these things are important.
00:07:20.377 --> 00:07:30.706
Everything this entire series has been important, but I think probably, if you don't get this one right, you will probably struggle.
00:07:30.706 --> 00:07:41.093
If you don't get this right, you're just not going to get your program where you need it to be, and that is truly understanding why donors give.
00:07:41.653 --> 00:07:42.975
I've talked about this before.
00:07:42.975 --> 00:07:44.696
I've talked about this in the podcast.
00:07:44.696 --> 00:07:49.439
This is nothing new, unless this is the first time you've listened to our podcast.
00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:51.379
Here's why donors give.
00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:53.641
There's only two reasons why donors give.
00:07:53.641 --> 00:07:55.882
One is to save a life.
00:07:55.882 --> 00:08:01.766
Two changing lives.
00:08:01.766 --> 00:08:01.966
That's it.
00:08:01.966 --> 00:08:03.430
That's all they give to saving lives and changing lives.
00:08:03.430 --> 00:08:06.680
They do not give to your leaky roof.
00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:09.108
They don't care about your leaky roof.
00:08:09.108 --> 00:08:10.992
They do not give to your budget.
00:08:10.992 --> 00:08:13.317
They do not care about your budget.
00:08:13.317 --> 00:08:22.896
They do not care that their gift will close the budget and make sure that everybody gets paid so that they can continue to do this great work that we're doing.
00:08:22.896 --> 00:08:24.370
They don't care about that.
00:08:24.370 --> 00:08:25.850
They don't care about your budget.
00:08:25.850 --> 00:08:31.997
They do not care about your deep-seated desire to become the largest nonprofit in town.
00:08:31.997 --> 00:08:34.972
I mean, I do.
00:08:34.972 --> 00:08:38.993
I would love my nonprofit to be the largest one in town.
00:08:38.993 --> 00:08:41.118
I know you probably do too.
00:08:41.118 --> 00:08:42.207
It's okay to admit it.
00:08:42.207 --> 00:08:44.995
You don't have to say it out loud, but it's okay to admit it to yourself.
00:08:44.995 --> 00:08:46.528
But they don't care about that.
00:08:46.528 --> 00:08:57.238
What they are giving to and why they are going to write their check is so that they can save a life or change a life, transform a life.
00:08:57.238 --> 00:09:00.836
Either one, you can say it either way Saving lives, transforming lives, changing lives same thing.
00:09:00.836 --> 00:09:11.548
So let's go back to our symphony example for a minute, okay, and we're going to go back to our favorite donors, the Macintyres, all right.
00:09:12.590 --> 00:09:21.684
When you listen to classical music, it is not just a bunch of notes crammed together on a page.
00:09:21.684 --> 00:09:31.072
It's not just a bunch of instruments coming and all getting in the same room and everybody's just playing whatever they want to play and it's just this cacophony of noise.
00:09:31.072 --> 00:09:34.936
That is not what a symphony is.
00:09:34.936 --> 00:09:40.145
That is not what a symphony is.
00:09:40.145 --> 00:09:44.232
When a symphony plays and when you sit and you experience a symphony, the music takes you on a journey.
00:09:44.232 --> 00:09:53.674
It's an opportunity to see the world in a different way, to see the world, even your own world, through a different lens.
00:09:53.674 --> 00:09:57.182
That's what a symphony is.
00:09:57.283 --> 00:10:01.955
Now, maybe you could tell that I really really enjoy the symphony and I really really enjoy classical music.
00:10:01.955 --> 00:10:05.211
Um, I also enjoy other types of music.
00:10:05.211 --> 00:10:24.816
I'm, uh, I could, I am comfortable sitting, uh, at the symphony or at a, uh, aerosmith concert and most uh, anything in between, uh, so I just I love music, the, the, the whole, the whole, the whole kit and caboodle of music, but that's what a symphony does.
00:10:24.816 --> 00:10:28.855
So, going back to our, our friendly donors, the McIntyres.
00:10:28.855 --> 00:10:51.238
They are interested in supporting the symphony at a at a major gift level because they believe that the symphony and classical music will change the world, because the people sitting in the seats, the people in the audience, are coming to listen and it will change their lives.
00:10:51.238 --> 00:10:57.716
And if it changes the lives of the people sitting in the audience, then maybe those people can change the world.
00:10:57.716 --> 00:11:05.839
That is why the Macintyres are so excited about supporting the symphony at a significant level.
00:11:05.839 --> 00:11:11.256
And don't forget, don't forget, they love the trumpets, because the trumpets are the best section.
00:11:11.985 --> 00:11:43.566
So the entire point of this process, the entire point of all of these episodes and everything I've shared with you and everything that you're going to do with your major donors, the entire point is finding your McIntyres, your donors, who are like them, like the McIntyres, have a capacity to give at a higher level, and finding out how they want to save lives and transform lives through your programs.
00:11:43.566 --> 00:11:48.634
Okay, then you do two things.
00:11:48.634 --> 00:11:50.738
You connect the dots for them.
00:11:50.738 --> 00:12:00.929
That is, through the cultivation process, you're finding out what they're excited about, what it is about your organization that they love the most, what connects them the most.
00:12:00.929 --> 00:12:07.109
Connecting the dots for them and then asking them for the gift.
00:12:07.109 --> 00:12:08.832
That's it.
00:12:08.832 --> 00:12:10.577
That's all we're doing here.
00:12:11.219 --> 00:12:17.976
So I want you to remember, if you don't get, that, your donor wants to save lives and transform lives.
00:12:17.976 --> 00:12:25.352
If you miss that point, you are going to miss the story that your donors need to hear.
00:12:25.352 --> 00:12:40.023
The dots that need to be connected for them, the paint by number set so that you can paint a picture for them that they go oh my gosh, this is exactly the type of things that we want to fund.
00:12:40.023 --> 00:12:43.460
If you don't do that, you'll never get there.
00:12:43.460 --> 00:12:46.437
You'll never have a thriving major gifts program.
00:12:46.437 --> 00:12:49.756
So okay, so those are the three things for today.
00:12:49.950 --> 00:12:53.015
If it is to be, it is up to me, it is up to you.
00:12:53.015 --> 00:12:54.615
You need to be leading this.
00:12:54.615 --> 00:12:56.115
You need to be driving this.
00:12:56.115 --> 00:12:59.720
You don't have to be perfect to be successful at this.
00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:12.041
My goodness, I have seen people who barely could say their own name Go out and secure major gifts, because they did it with love, they did it with passion, they did it with authenticity.
00:13:12.041 --> 00:13:13.772
They did it with passion, they did it with authenticity.
00:13:13.772 --> 00:13:15.635
You could do it too.
00:13:15.635 --> 00:13:24.374
And lastly, your donors give because you and your organization save lives and transform lives.
00:13:24.374 --> 00:13:27.698
That's why they give Okay.
00:13:27.698 --> 00:13:29.721
Here we go.
00:13:29.881 --> 00:13:31.244
I'm kind of excited about this.
00:13:31.244 --> 00:13:50.153
Yesterday I said that I would have an offer for you, and I do, and this is a special offer that, if you are listening well, actually, this is kind of weird If you are listening to this right now, then you are going to get an offer, this special offer.
00:13:50.153 --> 00:13:59.121
But not everybody's going to hear this, because I'm going to leave this version of this episode up for a while.
00:13:59.121 --> 00:14:02.913
I'm not sure how long I'm going to leave it up, but it's going to be up for a while.
00:14:02.913 --> 00:14:13.519
And then, when it comes time, then I'm going to change the ending and the offer is going to be different, but it's not going to be as good.
00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.283
So here's what we've got going.
00:14:16.323 --> 00:14:18.312
If you're listening to, this, this offer is for you.
00:14:18.312 --> 00:14:25.264
I am going to help you with your first major donor prospect.
00:14:25.264 --> 00:14:26.932
So here's how it's going to work.
00:14:26.932 --> 00:14:30.658
You reach out to me, just reach out to me on the email.
00:14:30.658 --> 00:14:33.062
Email is the uh in the show notes.
00:14:33.062 --> 00:14:36.356
Uh, just send me an email and say hey, nathan, I'd like you.
00:14:36.356 --> 00:14:41.842
Uh, I'm going to take you up on your offer and uh, could you help me with one major donor?
00:14:41.842 --> 00:14:43.668
And I will respond back to you.
00:14:43.708 --> 00:14:46.975
We'll schedule a time to get together and we'll we'll start the process together.
00:14:46.975 --> 00:15:00.798
So we'll we'll go through your donors, we'll talk about your donors, we'll pick one out that we'll make sure it's qualified to be a major gift, and we'll talk through your donors, we'll pick one and then we'll put together a cultivation plan.
00:15:00.798 --> 00:15:04.900
So you'll know what your first step is, maybe even your second step.
00:15:04.900 --> 00:15:11.363
It's hard to go three steps deep, because your third step is usually dependent on what the first two was.
00:15:11.363 --> 00:15:13.672
So we'll at least get you started.
00:15:13.672 --> 00:15:14.774
So you know what to do first and second.
00:15:14.774 --> 00:15:16.677
We'll get you moving down the path.
00:15:17.500 --> 00:15:21.876
I'll help you plan out each of these visits and then we'll debrief afterward.
00:15:21.876 --> 00:15:24.812
Sometimes we could talk on the phone on that.
00:15:24.812 --> 00:15:27.418
Other times we'll just we could do it by email.
00:15:27.418 --> 00:15:29.871
Hey, here's what's happened, and then I'll help you walk through.
00:15:29.871 --> 00:15:32.033
Okay, based on that, this is what we're going to do next.
00:15:32.033 --> 00:15:33.238
What's happened, and then I'll help you walk through.
00:15:33.238 --> 00:15:34.500
Okay, based on that, this is what we're going to do next.
00:15:34.500 --> 00:15:38.192
Um, I, when the time comes, I will get you coached up and ready to go on making the ask.
00:15:38.192 --> 00:15:50.399
I'll make sure you have the right materials with you, uh, and then we're going to assume a positive, we're going to assume a good, close, uh, and, and assume that we get the gift, and then I'll help you through what the stewardship phase looks like.
00:15:51.120 --> 00:16:09.197
Now I can't do this for everyone, obviously, because that's a ton of work, but because you were one of the first ones to get through all the way through these videos, all the way through the episodes, you know what you should be rewarded because you're first.
00:16:09.197 --> 00:16:10.554
So that's your reward.
00:16:10.554 --> 00:16:10.998
All you got to do.
00:16:10.998 --> 00:16:12.605
And, like I said, if it's not for you you're not ready for, that's your reward.
00:16:12.605 --> 00:16:12.967
All you got to do.
00:16:12.967 --> 00:16:15.114
And, like I said, if it's not for you, you're not ready for it.
00:16:15.114 --> 00:16:18.181
No worries, that's okay, it's okay.
00:16:18.501 --> 00:16:29.938
But if you're ready and you think it's time for you to get started on this and you're ready to get to work on this, send me an email, tell me you want the help and let's do it.
00:16:29.938 --> 00:16:31.520
Let's get on it.
00:16:31.520 --> 00:16:33.365
We could do that together and we'll walk through.
00:16:33.365 --> 00:16:34.072
We'll do that first.
00:16:34.072 --> 00:16:42.922
Major donor for you, all right, not for you, with you, with you, we'll do it with you, all right, that's it.
00:16:42.922 --> 00:16:44.336
I can't believe we're done.
00:16:44.336 --> 00:16:47.460
Thank you so much for listening all the way through.
00:16:47.460 --> 00:16:53.956
I was so happy to have done this, glad we could do it together and that's it.
00:16:53.956 --> 00:16:54.798
That's a wrap.
00:16:54.798 --> 00:16:56.120
Thanks again.
00:16:56.120 --> 00:17:09.018
That's all for today, until next time you.
