An account of Christopher Whitney’s presentation on tertiary fundraising at the 2018 Educate Plus International Conference. Securing support from major funders takes organisation, planning, dedication and innovation – and the ability to inspire donors. It’s something Christopher Whitney, Director of Principal Gifts at the University of Cambridge in England says is akin to stage management. “When I conceive of principal gifts, I think about creating the most meaningful experiences for our principal donors. It is rather like the way artists create inspiring experiences for their audiences,” he told delegates in Auckland. “Developing strategies to engage our principal gift prospects is very much like stage management, with actors, sets, lighting and music, and co-ordinating this in a way that results in a great show – ideally with a positive outcome.” And he said the techniques applied regardless of the institution’s size. “Any organisation, regardless of how small or big, can – and I would argue should –stage- manage its principal gifts,” he said. “It does, however, take discipline and thought to do this well. “And I think what’s so exciting, is that we are all learning how to do this better, and we are seeing new and innovative ways of securing principal gifts.” Christopher said that defining an institution’s top donor segment was the first step in creating a programme. It is important to ask what is a big gift and what is a small gift for the institution. It is then important to look at how large the big-gifts segment is in the overall prospect pool. “With this in mind, what percentage of your time do you devote to the big prospects?” he said. “Segmenting prospects really helps structure the work and focus the mind, and forces you to think about how to get the best return on the limited time and resources we all have.” Once the segment of principal gift prospects is defined, the fundraiser’s core work is to gain insights about those prospects. You need to learn as much about them and their families as possible. Why they give? What are their trigger points? You then need to craft strategies to bring them closer to the institution. “Critically, prospect teams are formed to help with the overall engagement process,” he said. The teams include development staff as well as internal and external influencers such as key academics. You need to have a plan for how and when these individuals can be deployed to work with prospects. “I would say that at this stage your institution’s leader plays a particularly critical role, and you must define how she or he will be engaged,” he said. The team’s focus and momentum is maintained with regular internal meetings, reports and written strategies that include proposed activity and the ultimate philanthropic goal. “I like to challenge our teams to think big – what would be transformative for us and for our potential donor,” Christopher said. The size of engagement teams varies, but for the biggest donors they include the vice-chancellor or institution leader. Engagement teams are led by senior fundraisers. “As you are forming and optimising your principal gifts programme, I’d encourage you to think about how your current events engage your top people,” he said. “Can you stage-manage this better to give them a truly outstanding experience?” Meanwhile, the core of the gift architecture is a powerfully defined initiative – a philanthropic proposition designed to attract a donor, have an impact and make a difference to the institution and beyond. “The gift opportunity should present how the initiative enables our work, AND how it makes a difference to the world,” he said. “The most powerful and compelling gift opportunities find alignment between our initiative and a prospect’s interests and values, and they will successfully raise a prospect’s sights.” Christopher said the framework for gift opportunities include the value proposition – why the gift was needed – key factors that would influence the donor’s decision, and the context that aligned the organisation’s needs with the prospect’s interests and values. “Donors will give far more than what they thought they might, if we get this right”. Key questions for the funding team include defining the project and whether it has internal support, who would lead the effort, what the institutional investment should be, whether the initiative aligns with principal prospects, and how volunteers from within the institution can drive success. “Transformational ideas should be designed to attract a wide variety of donors, including alumni, friends, grateful patients and unaffiliated donors,” Christopher said. “There should be a variety of opportunities to give, although it is the sum of the parts that will make the overall opportunity truly compelling.” CHRIS PETERS WRITER CHRISTOPHER T PETERS LTD WWW.CHRISPETERS.CO.NZ Principal Gifts Inspiring the audience 6 6