My Manifesto: How to be a Good Person ... and a Successful Major Gifts Fundraiser

You can be both a good person and a successful Major Gifts Fundraiser. In fact, you cannot long be the latter if you are not the former. After many conversations with family, friends, patrons, and colleagues, and through voraciously studying the art of major gifts fundraising and non-profit leadership, I felt compelled to put my thoughts together. Jerold Panas, Gail Perry, and many other leaders influence my work and thoughts. This my manifesto, draft 1.0 ... unlike a few papers at West Point, rough draft does not equal final copy. I am fortunate to have had meaningful conversations with other professionals, leaders, and mentors about these points, and I look forward to many more.

What I do is essential.

I ensure that people, organizations, programs, and buildings exist. I must ask, otherwise nothing valuable is born, nurtured, thrives, or survives. I must discuss philanthropy at least once, every contact. Giving back does not dominate a conversation, but it must be mentioned. I am a fundraiser first and friend last. I am a father, combat veteran, poor fisherman and golfer, better skier, and autocross driver—all these identities—before I am, lastly, a friend. But I am a friend.

I help people invest in solutions that change and save lives.

I ensure that investments move lives from mediocrity to excellence, inefficiency to productivity, dearth to profusion. I move people far beyond making a gift. I help patrons invest in solutions that change and save lives.

I invest in long-term relationships.

I build a personal and professional, mutually-beneficial relationship between patrons and recipients of their investments, understanding that their short-term imperatives might differ. I align long-term imperatives so that patrons know they will change and saves lives in their own, unique way that is also a solution the recipient desires. A strong philanthropic relationship is intensely personal and based on trust. Trust is felt and seen. I must visit in person to build the trust that leads to transformational investments that radically change and save lives.

To improve, I seek failure.

I know that not everyone will support my efforts for multiple, very good reasons. I welcome and tirelessly address obstacles to better myself and build the right relationships. Experience, learning, and reflection are key to self-improvement and obstacles provide the best opportunity to do all three. While I celebrate success, fundraising is a people endeavor, and all people provide me unique opportunities to experience, learn, and reflect.

My required traits.

My three required traits are understanding, vim and vigor, and integrity, essentially Panas' empathy, energy, enthusiasm, and integrity. Patrons will not see me more than once, make a transformational investment, invest in another solution, or introduce me to other patrons if I act without understanding, vim and vigor, or integrity. Understanding (Empathy, Interpretation, Intellect). “If I care, I matter. If I don’t care, I don’t matter.” This is the opposite of the axiom, “Those who care don’t matter, and those who matter don’t care.” To put understanding in action, I learn the patron’s reality, adopt that reality as my own, and adapt everything I do to change and save lives within my—perhaps altered—reality and my organization’s solutions. “Listen your way to the gift.” When I am talking, I am not learning. If I am not learning, I cannot appropriately adapt my behavior. I do not care, so I do not matter. Unique solutions exist for unique realities, so I use my skills of interpretation and intellect to offer the right solutions in the right reality. Vim and Vigor (Drive, Spirit). “My drive and spirit are a contagion.” My vim and vigor are so precisely focused and positive that the patron finds me unavoidably contagious. My relentlessly positive and focused behavior make patrons desire my involvement in their lives. Integrity (Honesty, Reliability). “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice … there is no twice.” I never offer an ineffective solution or fabricate a nonexistent problem. “On time, on target.” I am consistently reliable, before, during and after patrons invest in a solution. Reliability means that I am and everything I do is both timely and accurate. I deliver solutions when and where promised. 

Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. Be well and best wishes from West Point.