In our blog we’ve pulled back the veil on our approach and methodologies through largely ‘plug and play’ resources and Masterclasses so you can skillfully engage the funding partners your mission deserves.
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A great deal of the underpinning of this approach to engaging funders was borne out of my years engaged with the Sandler Sales Institute methodology, integrity, and win-win-based sales approach. It has been adapted to the impact sector in consultation with the Sandler Sales Institute.
Designed for Institutional Funders & Individual Funder Prospects
This process increases the odds of great outcomes through a system that connects you deeply to future funders. This choreography will reveal your funder’s emotional link to your mission, build your and your organization’s credibility, and develop lasting relationships that make the necessary work of fundraising more fulfilling.
Note that the document is intended as a “cut & paste” and “plug and play” resource for the novice to the more experienced fundraiser, including board members.
Craft your approach based upon your understanding of the prospective funder’s giving history and known priorities, and with openness and curiosity to learn what would expand and deepen their giving to include your organization.
Cull the questions and add more questions to create a bespoke choreography for each respective funder based on your experience and personality as a fundraiser; your lived experience should inform and enrich this living document.
Note: The spirit of this document is to help reveal the funder’s strategic approach, and their “why”/heart for the issue area. Sharing your own ”why” you care deeply is also important as you discern if a deeply aligned collaboration makes sense from both sides. While one-off gifts are fine, the ultimate goal is to develop deep, effective, and sustainable alliances that are based on a shared vision.
The following are foundational rules to consider as you craft your approach:
Rule #1: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood (Covey). Whether in conversation with the decision making funder, or someone from a larger decision-making team, be genuinely curious about their story, and appreciate their philanthropic journey to date. When you ask your questions, deeply listen to their responses. Listening, not pitching, is the pathway to deeper engagement for both sides, resulting in greater emotional investment in you and your organization that often translates into greater financial investment and advocacy for your organization.
Rule #2: Know Your Funder. Foundation giving priorities are easily uncovered via the internet; however, obtaining a giving profile on individuals is harder to come by unless you or your “connector” has insights. Go in with at least two nuggets of information to show the funder that you’ve done your homework, and that you are focused upon them and that you are genuinely exploring if their heart and priorities are a fit with how you approach progress.
Rule #3: Lead the Donor Dance with Questions. The funder should be doing the majority of the talking, but it is up to you to lead the dance in a way that helps them arrive at the outcome that is for the highest good of all. The suggested questions in this document can be omitted or altered, mixed and matched, to reflect the personality of the development person and the donor. Tailored questions should not exceed one page, and many will be abandoned based on conversation flow.
Rule #4: Don’t react immediately. Take Notes. The answers they provide are specifically telling you how to engage them as your funding partner, but do so elegantly and at the right time. It may be in the initial meeting; it may be a much larger task that requires additional meetings, a formal written request and/or presentation, and other decision-makers.
Rule #5: Reflect back their vision and tie their vision into your Case for Support. Reflect back to the funder what was shared as the key reasons for giving (“Let me see if I’ve got this right….” “Did I miss anything?”). Then, if aligned, share how your organization matches its giving profile. Don’t add on what is not necessary; just because you think it’s a great feature of your work doesn’t mean the funder cares. In fact, it could pull attention away from what the funder most wants to focus on in your work.
Rule #6: We’re being cheeky 😉 Ben Zander says it best here. (Don’t take yourself so seriously!)
Jumping into the choreography, the following outline is meant to be crafted based upon your personality while stretching your comfort zone. Callings call for us to grow into them, so lead into discomfort as you adopt this methodology.
A. BONDING/ RAPPORT
Build trust through shared experiences and shared vision around advancing your mission. Share why this is yours to do. Trust is something that is partly earned because your passion and your commitment to the mission is clear. Sharing your personal “why” you care deeply about the mission builds trust and loyalty. Refer to the “Crafting Your Why” worksheet to uncover key messages that make you come alive.
In short, to be most effective, you need to share your deep care and commitment to your mission so that you can connect to the funder in a heart-centered way. From that space, you build your relationship with the idea of linked arms, vs. hand out. You are in it together – as equals but coming from different angles – to solve the issue(s) you all care about.
If rapport is strong right away and you intuit that it is safe to go into personal territory, then pose the question: “I can’t help but be curious; is there something in your personal journey that inspires you to care this deeply about (issue area)?” If rapport evolves over the course of the meeting, then you can bring this question in later in a natural way. It allows you to step out of your ‘roles’ and into a more richly textured conversation about a vision you both care about.
B. UP FRONT CONTRACT
Loosely translated, let’s show an appreciation for one another’s time, and set the tone as equals exploring joining together to solve an issue. Set expectations.
Before presenting your organization, uncover the funders’ giving priorities and the “why” behind them. As they share insights don’t jump in with “we do that” or anything that shines the light back on your work. Instead, wait. You’re gathering information now that will inform your presentation/case for support at the right time.
For each question, if you feel there is more to uncover that is important then you can explore it further with “Tell me more…”
INDIVIDUAL FUNDERS
Other: Bring in additional questions that tie in your organization’s strengths with the funder’s priorities. For example, was gender equality important, peace building, economic prosperity/poverty alleviation? Examples include:
INSTITUTIONAL FUNDERS
Other: Bring in additional questions that tie in your organization’s strengths with the funder’s priorities. For example, was gender equality important, peace-building, economic prosperity/poverty alleviation? Examples include:
People engage – to a large extent – based upon emotion, which is why identifying vision and/or pain points is so important in the courtship stage. This applies to all funders, whether a grant-making institution or individual. Without identifying and addressing the emotional link to your mission, the likelihood of an investment dramatically decreases. Help the funder realize the gap between where they are, and where they want to be, through curiosity and probing questions:
Your time is precious and a limited resource, so it is important to qualify or disqualify the funder candidate. Are they true prospects or just suspects? Does the funder make decisions on their own? Do they get help from colleagues, or a board, or in the case of engaging individuals, do they collaborate on decisions with a spouse? Do they think things over, are they data-driven, can a decision be made now? The goal is to uncover the following:
Sample Questions:
Weave in things they’ve shared, demonstrating you heard them and are tuned in to what is important to them in their giving.
Use visuals! 65% of the population consists of visual learners. “Do you mind if I show, not tell?” Have a slideshow with your live narrative (auditory learners), highlighting how their vision ties into your work. You can also use a video. In both cases, talk about the people in the slides/video. Tell behind-the-scenes stories of the people you are serving so the listener can connect with the human element while anchoring in your mission through storytelling.
Note: Many funders respond well to deadlines. It focuses on their passion and why you are doing what you are doing. Example: Now that the program has been a proven success since 2014, the vision is ___________ by 2028, a 3-year plan that needs a financial anchor now, someone like you who also cares deeply about (issue area). You could go further with: “I thought of you specifically because of your deep commitment to ________, and __________.”
Paint a picture of how their specific gift will make a difference. The arc of that narrative should include:
* We share in the pain of how things are. We share your vision of ________________ (example: lifting millions out of poverty in East Africa).
* This is how the communities we serve used to be (Stories/emotional textures of individuals who represent a larger population are most powerful, giving your audience someone to connect to and root for.)
* Because of partners like you, this is how they look today. (Stories/emotional textures of individuals who represent a larger population are most powerful.)
* By collaborating on this together, we can have XX impact within one year/3 years (urgent, tangible).
Quite simply: “We want to join together in our shared vision of ____________, and invite you on this journey alongside us.” Make a specific dollar amount ask based on all you’ve uncovered. If you are not confident in a specific amount based on how the conversation has unfolded, an alternative is:
“You’ve shared your heart and vision beautifully, and it’s clear that solving this (issue area) is something you care deeply about. I would love to invite you to join us, but I’m not sure where to go next in terms of making a financial ask. Based upon all we’ve discussed, where do you see yourself?”
Another Way:
“It’s clear based on our conversation that realizing our shared vision of ____________ is profoundly important to you. What would it look like for you to…”:
What they share in their answers are the specific ways in which to engage with them. The next step would be fulfilling what they need to engage (as long as it fits within your mission and approach, of course).
If the funder cycle is longer and involves a proposal or grant submission:
Send a short follow-up email thanking them for the exploration, and try to include an article of interest or some nugget, something that came up from your conversation that is not about your organization but places focus upon them and what they’ve shared as important to them.
Send a more formal follow-up email after the meeting to recap your understanding of the Funder’s giving priorities. Advise them that this will be the framework for a formal proposal. Ask: “Have I missed anything?”
Recording a voice memo and emailing it is also high-touch, expressing gratitude and warmth for spending time with a kindred who cares as deeply as you do about the vision. Be sure to write in the body of the email that it is a voice memo, otherwise people may be wary of opening the attachment.
Note: Written proposal/grant submission should be based primarily upon these funder priorities unless there is a formal grant format you are to follow. Your responses in any format should tie in all you’ve uncovered that illustrates deep alignment.
Regardless of what a person commits at that time, if it feels right (rapport is strong), ask: What other potential partners do you feel should know about our work? Who else cares as deeply as we do about ________?
Would you be comfortable with my sharing you suggested we connect?
If rapport is extremely high, instead ask: If I were to draft a ghost-written short blurb about our work, would you be comfortable making an introduction?
NOTE: Customize, add, and delete questions based on the funder and the circumstances.
If the answer is no, get clear on why you were invited to meet/submit a proposal, why they declined funding, and what opportunities may still exist in the future.
Share that you are always seeking to improve, and would like to gain more clarity via a 20-minute conversation. Sample questions:
Close with gratitude and a timeline for your follow-up communication (ideally within 24 – 48 hours).
by Natalie Rekstad | Black Fox Global
© copyright black fox global 2024
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