Yours for the Asking: An Indispensable Guide to Fundraising and Management

by Reynold Levy

On a well-functioning fundraising team, the chief executive is the quarterback. More often than not, the CEO is expected to set the game plan in the locker room, dictate tactics in the huddle, call the plays, and execute on the passing and the running game on the field. Translated from football to development, the president is supposed to formulate strategy with volunteers and professional staff, lead most face-to-face solicitations, review written proposals, prepare voluminous correspondence, help to design special events, and mix and mingle at galas until a quarter to three, when there is no one in the place except me and my wife, Liz. These activities are punctuated by frequent meetings and phone calls throughout a typical workday.

Some prospects prefer breakfast, lunch, or dinner meetings. Some think holidays are a perfect time to gather with those representing a nonprofit. That prospect may need last-minute tickets to a sold-out event, or a restaurant reservation when all the tables are booked. He may need immediate access to a particular physician for a family member, or help in getting an elderly parent access to the right kind of nursing care. All of this activity absorbs energy. Fundraising is a client-focused journey. You must be present when the customer is available and willing, not at your convenience.

If your goals are lofty, if the cause is noble, then the fundraising process is often relentless and the personal costs consequential.

My allies in this struggle to preserve as many hours as possible in every day and week to raise funds are the watch and the list. I am a stickler for short, well-prepared, highly focused meetings. They are scheduled tightly, back to back, and I am devoted to having them start and end on time.

My deal with Lincoln Center’s staff is this. My door is always open to you, as is my schedule. I will answer all emails, phone calls, and paper correspondence, with rare exception, on the day they are received. But if a donor prospect calls while we are meeting, I will interrupt our session to pick up the phone.

Your second friend is the list. Every day, I know precisely what I want to accomplish to move forward the institution I help lead. And every day, it is as if internal and external forces conspire to keep me from attending to the items on that list in favor of someone else’s priorities. By being vigilant about inner direction and priority setting, one can process interruptions, satisfy the legitimate needs of others inside and outside of the organization, and still accomplish what you were bound and determined to do.

And, in her presence, the sense of humor, the poise, the persuasiveness, and the charm were entirely disarming. She knew why she was with you, and she was not leaving without a gift commitment. Her sheer energy and joy won you over. It was not for nothing that her nickname was Bubbles.

As a substantial customer or potential customer of virtually every money-center bank and investment house, David opened doors with ease and allowed Frank Bennack and me to join him in advocating on behalf of Lincoln Center’s.

In truth, though, one always had the feeling after joining John on a funding call to, say, David Rockefeller, Jr., or Jerry Speyer, or Arthur Ross, or Rita Hauser, or Josh Weston, that the man articulating the case mattered almost as much as the cause itself.

Having spent a lifetime dispensing advice to others, advocating their careers or their civic and charitable interests, how could anyone deny John a meeting, and having met, how could they say no to him? John’s fundraising prospects were defenseless in the face of his easygoing, persuasive power. He brought unparalleled authority to his requests because they were the product of a lifetime of devotion to institutions and causes that mattered and because of his own generosity and commitment to them. That track record had so won the respect, affection, and admiration of his colleagues in the business world and his social companions that as often as not I felt like the caboose to the Whitehead fundraising engine.

And he, like John Whitehead, had made many more deposits than withdrawals into life’s ATM machine of social, civic, and cultural commitment. That healthy bank balance put Frank on the side of the angels when it was he doing the asking rather than what he and his organization found themselves doing most often: giving generously, gracefully, and willingly.

1. DIVERSIFY FUNDING SOURCES In crafting a fundraising program for your organization or cause, aim to develop a diversified portfolio of supporters: institutional, trustee, individual and governmental. The best protection against downturns in the economy, setbacks in the stock market, or depressed earnings in corporate America is to develop and maintain a judicious mix of stalwart benefactors.

2. DIVERSIFY FUNDING METHODS Just as the sources of support should be many and varied, so should the methods for raising funds. Ideally, foundation and corporate grant making, business sponsorship, direct mail, special events, major gifts, membership programs, and bequests will all be incorporated into a coherent strategy with each of the component parts supporting one another.