An accidental fundraiser and data geek
I've been honored to work with Erin Troia over the years. I haven't met anyone with her ability to make data understandable for fundraisers and nonprofit leaders. I'm thrilled she'll be joining us in The Nonprofit Academy for the webinar Data. Curiosity. Creativity. Building the Bridge.
Since finding a person who understands data and communicates well with people is rare, I invited her in for an interview.
An interview with Erin TroiaMarc: Erin, how did you get into your expertise with fundraising data?
Erin: Just as I am an accidental fundraiser, I am an accidental data geek. My fundraising career started at the College of William and Mary with a serendipitous assistantship in the Annual Fund. I was only working there, managing the Class Agent program, to pay my tuition while I pursued a degree to work in my first love - student affairs. Half way through my Masters program, I realized that I liked being a student and not working with students. With one year to go, I threw myself full tilt into fundraising going on to work at the College for a year after graduating followed by stints in the Annual Fund programs at Georgetown and American University’s law schools.
M: What a great realization! So fundraising seemed a clear choice?
E: Yes. And my direction to success in fundraising seemed clear - to become a star I had to be able to close big gifts. And to do that, I took a position as a Major Gifts Officer in the Madeira School’s $60 million Centennial Campaign. After working my portfolio for a year, the department head took me aside and shared that the Annual Fund was in trouble and she needed me to take over that area instead of focusing solely on major gifts. The Director of Annual Giving position also oversaw advancement services and campaign communications. I bought a book for the latter and sent myself to training to learn Raisers Edge.
M: Wow! Learning Raisers Edge from a book?!
E: Miraculously, I loved it! I was shocked. My previous database experience had been to look up names, record contact reports and submit list requests from complex IT departments to support my segmentation efforts. NOW I was able to manage the pipeline for the campaign, run my OWN annual giving reports, and segment in ways I’d never thought possible. The Madeira Fund went from $1.5 million to $1.8 million in one year and I was hooked.
M: What a great story. And what an introduction to using data for fundraising!
E: Fast forward several years and I have become enamored with data and what it can do to help organizations succeed. The art and style are critical elements, but I have found that data helps drive decisions, provide clarity, and removes the “gut” instincts so many of us find to be a blessing and a curse.
Can you see why I enjoy working with Erin so much? I invite you to join us for her training: Data. Curiosity. Creativity. Building the Bridge. She's basing it off of Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs & Ham"!
You can learn more at: https://thenonprofitacademy.com/trainings/data-successful-fundraising/
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