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Jason McNeal, Ph.D. Partner

April 27, 2017

Authentic Engagement: Re-Discovering

Advancement Meaning and Results

Question 1

Do We Have An Engagement Problem?

Strategic Planning

Strengths

Opportunities

Aspirations

Results

Gift Officer Turnover

Advancement Professionals - Turnover

“revolving door” jobs

“hardest to fill and retain” (Bell

and Cornelius, 2013)

Advancement Professionals - Turnover

“the average tenure of gift officers is 18 – 24 months nationally. . .” (CASE)

“More than ½ of all CDOs were serving less than 2 years in current role” (The NonProfit Times)

Advancement Professionals - Turnover

“1/2 planned to leave within 2 years”

40% may leave the professional altogether! (Bell and Cornelius, 2013)

Advancement Professionals - Turnover

“Epidemic” (Iarrobino, 2006)

Advancement Professionals - Turnover Costs

$3.67 million per staff member who left during

a higher education campaign (Advancement Weekly)

Advancement Professionals - Turnover Costs

Advertising costs

Search costs and fees

Professional development costs

Onboarding costs

Cultural costs

Your time

Is Turnover Truly An Engagement Problem?

Reasons for Leaving

Don’t like my boss

No potential for growth

Better opportunity (more pay) (Harvard Business Review)

Reasons for Leaving Advancement

Poor leadership – unrealistic expectations

No potential for growth

Lack of support (CASE)

Unrealistic Expectations

Goals should be crafted together

Goals should be based on shared values

Performance metrics ≠ the work

“Aspirations are not a contract”

Top 5 Reasons Employees Stay

1. Pride in the organization

2. Meaningful work

3. Compatible supervisor

4. Team affiliation

5. Fair compensation

Harvard Business Review’s Answer Exchange, 2014

Why Advancement Professionals Stay

1. Importance of institution and mission

2. “. . .included as a respected participant in discussions and decision-making. . .” (Cygnus Applied Research)

Why?

How?

What?

Source: Simon Sinek

The Golden Circle

How Leaders Can Keep The Best

1. Engage Others

2. Encourage The Best In Others

3. Inspire Action

Fewer Donors Are Giving

20

SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016

2015 contributions: $373.25 billion by source (in billions of dollars – all figures are rounded)

Alumni Giving Participation

U.S. Giving Participation

U.S. Giving Participation

U.S. Giving Participation

U.S. Religious Membership

-6

Alumni Giving Participation

-4.3

Are Decreasing Donor Numbers Truly An

Engagement Problem?

What Advancement Says

1. Better alumni/database tracking

2. More family foundations and DAFs

3. “the turbulence of the alumni experience on campuses in the 1960s and a lessened respect for authority might have a role to play in the decreasing alumni participation rates.” (“Next Generation of Alumni Giving,” Giving USA)

What Advancement Should Do

1. Engage – students before they leave campus

2. Communicate – with alumni about your institution

3. Invest – in alumni activities (“Next Generation of Alumni Giving,” Giving USA)

Average Donor Retention

Fundraising Effectiveness Project 2015, Association of Fundraising Professionals

Why Did Donors Stop Giving

0 20 40 60 80

Inaccurate Records

Program Completed

No Longer Involved

New Leadership

Household Circumstances

Decided to Support Others

Too Frequent/Inappropriate…

% who stopped giving

Source-Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2010 Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy

What Advancement Should Do

“. . . ensure further engagement with your

organization.” (Fundraising Effectiveness Project 2015,

Association of Fundraising Professionals)

Giving Is Flat

35

SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016

Total giving, 19752015 (in billions of dollars)

Giving as Percent of GDP

37

SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016

Individual giving as a percentage of disposable personal income, 19752015 (in current dollars)

38

SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016

Individual giving as a percentage of disposable personal income, 19752015 (in current dollars)

Giving Is Flat

“. . . stubborn 2%”

Giving Is Flat

Is 2% Giving Truly An Engagement Problem?

Alternative Explanations?

1. We have more professional development

2. We have more accountability

3. We have more 501 (c) 3 organizations

44

SOURCE: Giving USA Foundation | GIVING USA 2016

The number of 501(c)(3) organizations, 20052015

Alternative Explanations 1. We have more professional development

2. We have more accountability

3. We have more 501 (c) 3 organizations

4. We have more people asking for money

5. We have more and easier ways to ask for money

And yet 2% giving stubbornly stays

Engaging Donors

“. . .capture the philanthropic imagination of the American people.”

“. . .appeal to American’s highest values and aspirations, not their guilt.”

- Adam Meyerson, president Philanthropy Roundtable

Question 2

Can We Engage Better?

The Need for Engagement

Advancement is more than simply an “art and a science.” Great art can be created alone. The momentous “ah-ha” moment

of scientific discovery can be achieved individually.

Advancement, though, is only productive when others are embraced and engaged.

It is, by definition, a social process.

A First Step

The World We Live In

Mobile phones omnipresent

Texting/messaging = normalcy

Standing meetings are undervalued

Phone and face-to-face are “disruptive.”

No More Calls Please

Messaging Repercussions?

Mobile phones discourage human connection

Sending the “perfect” message is more important than face-to-face interaction

Device engagement discourages empathy

Alone with thoughts is diminished = lack of self-reflection (Reclaiming Conversation)

The Art of Authentic Inquiry

Authentic Inquiry is the gentle art of relationship-building by asking questions

based on your genuine interest in the other person and to which you do not

already know the answer.

3 Reasons You Should Practice Authentic Inquiry

1. You will gain information that will lead to better decisions and outcomes.

2. You will build stronger, deeper, and more trusting relationships.

3. People will think of you more positively.

What Does Authentic Inquiry Look Like?

We are fully attentive to the other person

We ask questions that are not leading, diagnostic, nor confrontational

We empathically listen

How Can We Best Practice Authentic Inquiry?

1. Become more curious of others

2. Understand it’s not about you and it’s not even about them

3. Ask for advice more (and solicit less)

Becoming Curious: The Balance Between Relationships and Tasks

Relationships Tasks

People To-Do Lists

Effectiveness

What’s It Really About?

Organization’s Needs

Donor’s Interests and

Values Gifts Relationship

Ask for Advice More, Gifts Less

“Seek first to understand, then to be understood” – Habit 5, Stephen Covey

If you want money, ask for __________;

If you want advice, ask for __________.

How To Ask for Advice 1. Advisory Councils

2. Focus Groups

3. Individual Conversations

Asking To Build Trust

People don’t give to institutions, they give through institutions

People give through institutions by giving to people they trust

The Art of Authentic Inquiry

The concept of “Story-Listening”

Donor Stories 1. Where/from whom did you learn to be generous? 2. What do you think of our organization/program? 3. What has been the source of your success? 4. Why did you first give to our organization? 5. What about giving do you enjoy the most? 6. Why do you suppose others give to us? 7. What change/outcome/impact would you like to see

result from your giving? 8. How does your giving reflect your values? 9. If you had a family or personal mission/slogan, what

would it be? 10. How do you spend your time outside of work?

Team Member Stories

1. What about your job makes you want jump out of bed? 2. What about your job makes you want to hit the snooze button? 3. What are you passionate about? 4. What’s your dream job? 5. If you changed your role completely, what would you miss the most? 6. If you won the lottery and didn’t have to work, what would you miss? 7. What did you love in your last position that you’re not doing now? 8. What makes for a great day at work? 9. If you had a magic wand, what would be the one thing you would

change about your work, your role and your responsibilities? 10. What do you think about on your way to work? 11. What’s bothering you most about your job? 12. What professional development opportunities are you most interested

in?

Listening To People

Watering Tomatoes

A Story of Listening

Question 3

Will We Engage Better?

1. We Must Begin by Understanding the

Value of our Work Differently

Benefits of Giving

“Mother Teresa effect”

- David McClelland and Carol Hirshnet

Benefits of Giving

“Helper's High”

(reduces stress, chronic pain, and even insomnia)

Benefits of Giving

-Reduction of negative emotions which damage the

body

Benefits of Giving

“One thing you get from caring is that you are not lonely. And the more connected you are to life, the healthier you are.”

Dr. James Lynch

Today, if we truly believe that giving is good for the donor. We will dismiss the notion:

That we are taking something from someone

That we are arm twisting

That we are spinning the donor

The we are hitting them up

That we are selling

That we are manipulating

What if we believe. . .

When Giving Becomes Good

2. We Must Focus on Bringing Value To Others, Not Extracting

Value From Them

Vertical Engagement

VP

DOD DOD DOD

Asst.

Horizontal Engagement

VP

Dev. Comm. Dev.

Services Alumni

Relations

Asst.

3. We Must Commit Ourselves to Enhancing a

Counter-Culture Movement

An Engagement Culture Task Accomplishment > Relationship Building Competition > Cooperation Individualism > Teamwork Knowledge > Caring Taking > Giving Problem Solving > Question Posing Teacher > Student Telling > Listening Broad > Deep Screen Time > Face Time Happiness > Meaning

Leadership Across All Levels

What engagement values will you affirm and incentivize?

1. Teamwork

2. Collaboration

3. Relationships

4. Meaning

5. Collegiality

A Cultural Challenge

A Culture of Authentic Engagement Introduces donors to students

Invites professors on donor visits

Asks donors for their feedback

Develops goals based on shared values

Asks teammates how we can be better

A Final Thought

“Everybody's on the phone; So connected and all alone;

From the pizza boy to the socialite; We all salute the satellites.”

Jimmy Buffett

“Everybody’s on the Phone”

Thank You

Jason McNeal, Ph.D.

865.850.1164 – mobile

jmcneal@gonsergerber.com

www.gonsergerber.com