Who Are My Top Fundraisers? A Novel Way to Find Out With More Than Numbers

Who are the fundraisers in your organization most vital to success? To identify these key people, a chief development officer might simply tally the gifts secured by each individual, then determine who gets the most bang for the buck from their portfolios.

Yet Tom Mitchell believes such an approach is misleading, and even harmful, to the goal of raising money. Mitchell, the advancement chief at the University of Florida, has developed a more thoughtful way to identify the top performers among his more than 100 frontline fundraisers.

He and his team developed a system that considers dollars raised but also a host of intangibles, such as: Are fundraisers contributing to the development operation in ways apart from raising money? Are they good “citizens” of the university? And can they talk about the football team’s chances in the home opener?

These questions and more are built into a holistic rubric for how Florida measures the performance of its fundraisers. Every individual is evaluated based on criteria grouped into four broad areas.

Cultural fit. In this area, Mitchell’s managers assess whether fundraisers’ personality, drive, and interests align with that of the advancement office. “We’re assertive, not aggressive,” Mitchell says. “We have a culture of winning and of high performance. This is also a culture of metrics and measurement. If you don’t like to be measured, this is not the place for you.”

Other factors help determine fit. Fundraisers, for instance, must be knowledgeable enough about Florida’s sports to navigate daily conversations about Gator teams. “We released our men’s basketball schedule today, and it’s ranked the second or third toughest in the country,” Mitchell says. “You’ve got to be up on those kinds of things.”

Portfolio performance. Mitchell says the university evaluates a fundraiser’s gifts and pledges over three to five years. “We don’t judge people based on one year or two years. We know it’s going to take some time” to judge their work.

Managers also evaluate the proportion of gifts raised through deferred gifts or pledges versus a cash donation that will have an immediate impact.

Service to colleagues. Reviewing top performers from the past, Mitchell and his team found that the great ones made significant contributions beyond raising cash. So fundraisers are evaluated in part on their contributions to other development projects. For instance: Did fundraisers bring enthusiasm and new ideas to an office-wide group working to boost alumni participation?

Role in university life. “We want to know: Are they fully bought in to being good university ‘citizens,’ ” Mitchell says. To assess their campuswide contributions, managers ask such questions as: Are they attending welcome events for new employees? Going to athletic contests? Volunteering to represent advancement at university events?

Once high performers are identified, Florida gives them more attention and opportunities. Mitchell says he takes each one to lunch and makes sure he touches base with them two or three times a year.

They also are asked to represent the organization at events and serve on teams taking on new projects. “We want them to help us transform our organization, and we want them to transform the university,” he says.