February 4, 2011 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Fund raisers are increasingly enlisting people from throughout their organizations to raise money, especially in the bad economy.
Steven Escar Smith is one of those staff members. He is associate dean for collections and services at the Texas A&M University Libraries, and serves as interim executive associate dean. He also holds an endowed professorship.
In a column for The Chronicle of Higher Education called “A Field Guide to Happy Donors,” he writes about what he has learned. Among his suggestions for nonprofit workers who are new to working with a nonprofit development staff:
Trust the pros. Part-time fund raisers, like Mr. Smith, are akin to amateur mountain climbers, but fund-raising professionals are the Sherpas. “It is their job to guide us in the most efficient and safest way possible to the mountain top,” he writes.
Keep donors informed. Donors appreciate regular contact from the recipients of their gifts and want to be told how their gifts are being used—and whether they’re being used well. Something as simple as a phone call or a short note will suffice. The key is communication. Don’t fall out of touch.
“Good fences make good neighbors.” Set ground rules for any gift by using a donor- agreement form, which the development office will help you draft. The document makes it clear for all parties involved, and it can help serve as a reference to future development officers and others who may not have been involved in securing the gift in the first place.
Keep the mission in mind. Don’t accept a gift that’s more trouble than it’s worth and not part of your organization’s mission. Those antique radios with a supporting endowment may be nice, but maintaining such a collection could drain money from other priorities.
Remember to say thank you. Err on the side of offering too much gratitude after every visit or contact, not just when a gift is made.
“When amateurs go rogue in fund raising, unhappiness can occur,” Mr. Smith concludes.
