Berlin Symphony Orchestra

We have had in Australia for a little while the Berlin Symphony Orchestra.  Reputedly one of the finest in the world and they play to packed audiences all round the world.  They also have a very strong commitment to getting young musicians to want to play at the higher level.

Sir Simon Battle, who is the enigmatic principle conductor, takes a very passionate interest in these young people and their involvement in the workshops that the BSO hold wherever they are playing, says 'When a footballer goes to training to be the best he can be they do not sit in the stands and watch they go out and play football; music should be no different'.

He also said that "We must not only be High Priests of our art, but we should be Evangelists".

As professionals in our field we must recognize that this is a noble art, and we should be promoting it at every level we can.

I don't just 'do' fundraising; I 'am' fundraising.

The Beacons Wheel Chair Dancers

It’s Tuesday night, quite a long time ago, and we have just returned from Torquay where I was speaking about ‘Strategic Planning for Dummies’.  It was to a group of voluntary organisations within the Torbay Council District.  Judy came with me and on Monday afternoon we had a look at the town and decided that we would possibly never need to be here again, but it was an interesting experience.  Although they call it the English Riviera, for us there was not a lot that commended itself to us, although it is still hugely popular and in the summer every road would be grid locked with people coming down here to stay.

They paid my expenses and the Hotel we stayed in would have been a very special one but time had taken its toll and it had that old world decrepit look that matched the very ornate out of date décor.  In the dining room where we had breakfast there was this glass domed roof that would have been spectacular a few years ago but now was just an interesting bit of art deco that was in need of a good clean and tidy.  The whole ambiance seemed to reflect the era of Mrs Marple and we expected Hercule Poirot to walk in the door stand by the fireplace and tell us who killed the butler.  With all the people at Breakfast we brought the average age of the diners down quite dramatically because it seemed that this was the time when coach loads of OAP’s (old age pensioners) flooded the town and had dancing sessions.  It was also a bit scary to see almost all of them after they had visited the breakfast buffet carrying back a plate of prunes to assist their internals and I imagined that they would sit around after breakfast and the topic of conversation would be how their bowels are working this morning.

The Conference, for me, was two sessions, Morning and Afternoon and each went for ninety minutes.  In both my sessions there were 60+ delegates and I had a real good time.  There were people from all backgrounds and it was very interesting to try and connect with them with a little bit of banter about the cricket and my accent and I found them a very easy audience to work with.  I can be quite challenging at times but they got over it very quickly and responded well to my sessions.

At Lunchtime there was something different.  There were about 300 people there for the day and as I looked at the list there were only about two or three national charities represented as I guess most of them think that Torquay is not really close enough to London to worry about and so this vast number of people represented organisations like; a historic cinema and a heritage listed railway line, a local drug rehabilitation agency run by a couple who are ex addicts, and happy to tell me about it, there was the very senior gent who is raising money for a Christian Guest House and an animal refuge who have just lost their funding and their building and wondering which way to turn next.  So it wasn't the usual conference timetable.

For half an hour before lunch they had a demonstration by ‘the Beacons Wheelchair Dancers’.  The Beacons have been together as a team for something like 20 years and have a range of ages from what seemed to me about 16, a young woman in an electric wheelchair right up to a very ripe age of possibly nearly 80.  They performed dances from ballroom styles to formation sequences.  With such a variety of ages and disabilities, wheelchair styles from electric to hand propelled ones to some that were very new and very old there seemed at first to be a little bit of uncoordination and lack of togetherness.  I was sitting close to the front and taking this all in congratulating them in my head for their ability to be ‘out there’ and doing it in style despite their disability.  However it really took on new meaning for me when it was announced that Sue Cummins, the organizer and Debbie Pickerson would ‘sign’ a song for us.  Sue although in a wheelchair is very articulate and has eye and hand movements in line with some professional entertainers and although confined generally to a wheelchair does it very well.  They both started left stage and came on together and did a few turns to the introduction before they started their signing.  Debbie on the other hand I judged to be about 18-20, not in a wheelchair but with severe Cerebral Palsy.  It appeared that her ‘staggering across the floor’ would not be conducive to ‘signing’ but they took their places and ‘signed’ to the theme from Robin Hood Prince of Thieves; ‘All I do, I do for you’.

As this song progressed I was transfixed by this brave young woman who with all the difficulties of her life was able to get out their and entertain this large group of people and obviously enjoyed the experience.  Disability is really in the minds of those who arrogantly see themselves as normal.

I had had a few emotional weeks recently where the tears have come very easily, nothing dramatic but I guess a little tired and emotional day when again I looked for Edith at the Memorial Service last Sunday, but on this occasion as Debbie’s ‘gangly’ presentation took place I was literally transfixed and moved significantly at this young woman’s powerful demonstration of overcoming adversity.  I do not think that I was alone in that audience when the tears started to run down my cheeks but I just could not take my eyes off her.  I was so impressed. 

I would like to think that I have always had an appreciation of disability, ever since the days of Noweung in Bairnsdale where I taught Religious Instruction to the kids of this handicapped association, and working with Cory Hopkins at Muscular Dystrophy in Adelaide but this was something that almost made me feel insignificant in comparison to the achievements of this beautiful young woman.

Thank you Debbie!  For allowing me to see again that I am just a small part of the universe and that people like you have a far more significant place in it than I could ever hope to have.

It was a great day.

Twelve months passed and the Torbay Council asked if I would go back and do a plenary presentation about being ‘Motivated for Fundraising’ to the whole group.  I was using the illustration that there are times when some activity can spark the emotions enough to encourage people to support and, because we were in the same venue as the Beacon Wheelchair dancers used the previous year, I used them as an illustration.  I asked the group who was there last year and who had seen the Beacon Wheelchair Dancers last year?  There were quite a number of people who put up their hands and so I asked them if they were as moved as I was and most of the people called out their agreement.

At the conclusion of my presentation there were a few questions and then I saw the woman with the Microphone waving her hand for one last question.  It was Sue Cummins from the Dance Group.  Her question was ‘Is it too late to have an appeal now?  Of course it was a long time ago but I had to answer that it is never too late and I happened to have £20 note in my Jacket pocket and so I simply stepped to the edge of the platform and placed it on the floor and asked people to join me during morning tea.  I then left the stage and my moment in the spotlight was over.

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I received a letter from the Finance Officer of the Torbay Council a week or so later and he informed me that quite a number of people had joined me and a significant sum had been reached.

 All I had to do was ‘ask’!

What is the sign of a Failed Fundraiser?

Again I am having interesting conversations with people looking for fundraisers; and again the requirement is that you will need to do 'the ask'.  It seems that we fundraisers are being backed into a corner of our own making by some consultants who simply seem to want to run sessions on 'How to do the Ask'.  Where in actual fact I would propose that if you have to ask for the gift then you have failed in your role as a fundraiser.

Yes I would agree that we are there to raise funds but how we do that has a whole lot of different methods and modalities about it.  Doing the ask in a mail appeal requires a totally different set  of skills to that required for a major gift appeal. and yet is that we are looking for.

If, as a fundraiser I believe, and I do, that fundraising is more about people than it is about money then I will be committed to informing prospects about the role and urgent need of my organisation for funds.  I will need to do it in such a way that they are in no doubt that they have a significant role to play in the future funding of my organisation.  They will know how much we need and by when and what will be the result of their gift even before they make it and they will be so empowered and supported that they will want to give it.

If I have to ask then I have failed in my role.

So what is my role?  It is to place before appropriate prospects the aims and needs of my organisation so that people will want to support it before they have to be asked.

'2' in TEN

'2' in TEN is underway.   The committee have met and the Chapter 1 executive have approved our work and so it is a goer.  For so many years I have seen Fundraising Conferences deteriorate and simply become a opportunity to talk about the same things over and over again ad nauseum.  the '2' concept is different.  Yes we talk about fundraising but it has at it's heart personal development.

The best way to make better fundraisers is not to teach them how to 'do' fundraising better, but to teach them the skills that will help them in their personal relationships, at work, at home and simply to become more comfortable in their own skin.  Making better people will indeed make better fundraisers.

It is locked in and the dates are 16th 17th July 2010.  I am looking forward to it and I have no doubt that it is going to be a great Event

Who says "Fundraising is all about the people"?

When you are hiring people as fundraisers what do you look for?  The conventional current wisdom seems to be that we ask a few basic questions that revolve around; ‘What have you raised?’, and what seems to be the current inane question ‘Can you do the ASK?’

While I was in the UK one of my colleagues from London almost had a fetish to tell you every time that you saw him how much he had raised since he had been a fundraiser, I can still see the glint of pride in his eye when he told me that he had reached the £6 million mark.  Then there are those who proudly trumpet their financial success in the bio’s that fill up the pages of conference brochures; almost as if it was a sole personal accomplishment.  I would agree that there are times when all the skills that we have developed as fundraisers are crucial in getting the greater dollar for our organisation, that all those hours we spend with each other talking fundraising will give us insights and advantages in increasing our share of the philanthropic dollar.  


One of my most enjoyable appointments was one where we did win a number of Chapter awards and even a national award, and I really enjoyed getting the pats on the back and the awe it generated in some of my colleagues (I wish!) when we got up on the dais to receive it at the National Conference.  However the real story is that I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and everything fell into place around me.  It really was an award for other people than it was for me.  It also could depend on what organisation you are with.  We are all familiar with those charities that tick all the lovely soft cuddly emotional hooks and then there are the charities where you have to explain in detail, sometimes teach people how to pronounce the name, before you get to tell them what it is you want.  ‘How much money have you raised’?  is not just as simple as it sounds, but we still see the bio’s that tell in every ‘gory detail’, how much someone has raised.

So what do you look for in a fundraiser?

I have had the dubious privilege to sit in the interview rooms of a number of HR consultants looking to fill fundraising positions.  Almost universally you will be in a small room with round table and three chairs, with a sheet to fill in your details and a promotional pen from the recruitment organisation.  There will be windows that can vary from none to a panoramic view of the city that seemed to indicate that I would rather watch the view than engage in any sort of conversation about future employment.  Then there is the ‘record’ that you have to put on and repeat what you have written, that often they have in front of them that is possibly unread.   Plus all the other questions that have to be asked and trying to make that elusive contact with someone who you may believe is treating you just like a number.  I also have little doubt that often they sit there and ask questions in their mind that have as a possible basis; “how can I tell them kindly that they have no show with this position?”  And then that inane question; “Can you do the ASK?”

Over recent years with the apparent lack of effective members of Boards who have failed to ask for financial support because they give of their time and ‘they are really clever people’.  The role of ‘asking’ has fallen on the shoulders of those long suffering people we call fundraisers, you and me and a whole lot of other people as paid employees without fully knowing what is required.  The question is usually asked of us by people who have no understanding of how the process works and what I see as a general passing of the buck down the line to the next person in line who has ‘Fundraising’ as a KPI rather than a development role in the organisation.  I was in one appointment where I did ‘the ask’, and all the board members said no!  Was I successful in doing the ask?  Yes.  Was I effective at getting a result?  No; this possibly poses questions that there is another criteria that we should look at rather than the bland, inane question; “Can you do the ASK?”

How often have we as fundraisers enthusiastically propounded in text books conference presentations, seminars, workshops that fundraising is more about people than it is about money.  I would be one of those people who believe that this should be the holy grail of what we do.  So why is it we spend so much time on the end result of a relationship without giving our full attention to developing that relationship?  Yes of course we do talk about donor development but the vast majority of it is related to the process of upgrading them rather than on the development of the individual. 

I am a big fan of Geoffrey Gittomer who is a marketing Guru from the states who is over the top in just about everything he does and says, but so much of what he says is proven common sense in any field of endeavour.  One of his latest regurgitations is “All things being equal, people do business with people they like.”  This is not rocket science friends, but how often do we spend time getting to know people so that we get to like them and possibly in the process they might like us and the organisations that we represent?

One of my fundraising hero’s is Kent Dove who is one of the Guru’s from the Indiana School of Philanthropy.  I sat through a master class of his one time and it was all about managing and using fundraising staff.  He saw a fundamental flaw in looking at a person’s fundraising history and how much they have raised, where they have worked, but took a completely different view.  His view, and I believe him, is that most of the stuff we do in fundraising is based around process and can be taught.  When you are looking for people for any position you look for integrity, intelligence and energy.  With these characteristics you can teach them to do anything. 

Am I ‘having a go’ at our FIA education system where we have taught people over many years how to fundraise?  Am I calling into question the effectiveness of our skills 1-3 and all the multifarious offerings that are made around Australia every week?  Yes and no!  Why is it that after all these years we are still arguably, one of the most transient of professional populations with what seems to be an exciting group of new people entering the profession and  a plethora of old stagers, but seemingly, to my observations very few in the middle looking for Skills 3 and the development of their careers?

The recent Chapter 1 two day event; ‘2’, was an attempt to bring in the intense people skills that we often call Personal Development.  There was a mix of ‘Toolbox’ sessions where the practical sessions of some of the disciplines of fundraising were outlined well with enthusiasm, energy and professional expertise.  The presenters were asked not to make them 45 minute talk fests, but we looked at ‘how’ the session was presented in equal proportion to the information that was presented.  Each presenter in this session was asked to speak for a while explain the template that was included on a data stick and then respond to questions to ensure that the delegates had a good understanding of their subject.  This worked well and was well responded too.

The Personal Development side was a different side to much of what we have done in the past.  We started with an expert in networking who, over breakfast highlighted the need to build relationships into a prospect who may be a potential customer, client or donor.  We had a Life Coach who described her journey and in describing a point in her life 8 years ago when on her way to work in a senior corporate appointment, looked in the mirror and asked herself the question ‘Am I living the life that I want to live?’  We have all been there and possibly asked ourselves the same question.  We had someone who enlightened us with energy and enthusiasm and we heard about the importance of right thinking and positive affirmations around all that we do.  Personal Development is not just about ‘personal’ development, it also about developing relationships with others, in our case; donors.  What are some of the things that we can learn from others so that we can develop relationships to get closer to ‘The Ask’?   It will also help us to focus again on what we are doing all this fundraising for to be effective at developing such effective relationships with potential supporters, so that they support you without having to be asked.

Now wouldn’t that be something!

Great Assumptions

5 Great Assumptions

Ken Burnett is one of the Fundraising Guru’s from the UK and has travelled extensively since he published his book, ‘Relationship Fundraising’. It was not a new concept but it was published at a time when people were starting to get over-awed by technology and our profession was, to my mind, becoming overly professional and slick.

I found these the other day and thought that they may be of help to us

The Five great Assumptions that Underpin Effective Fundraising

1. Donors usually are generous caring people

2. They are intelligent and so know when they are being taken advantage of

3. They expect to be taken seriously

4. They are individuals, therefore are varied in their interests, habits and responses

5. They are most likely to respond better when they get from us what they want top receive, rather than getting from us what we want them to receive

Makes good sense doesn’t it?

Harley's, Starbucks, Club Med & Guinness

I have been reading some very interesting stuff of recent weeks and a lot of it revolves around taking business to the next level. Tom Peters is a business Guru from the States and I have been reading his take on the Tragedy of the ‘Common’, and he suggests that we need to take what we are doing to another level to reap the rewards of our efforts. In business he says that there needs to almost be a universal change from the term ‘customer service’ even if it is prefaced with exceptional or great or fantastic and use the word experience. We do not provide good customer care we give them an experience. He uses illustrations that many would be familiar with and turns them on their head and asks us to think about what it could mean for our organisations.

He talks about the fact that Harley Davidson does not sell motor motorcycles. Starbucks do not sell coffee. Club Med does not sell vacations, and Guinness does not sell beer. Think about it for a minute. One of the head honcho’s at Harley Davidson says that they “do not sell motorcycles they sell experiences. The ability for a 42 year old accountant to dress up in black leather, ride through small towns and have people afraid of him” It’s not the motorcycle its the experience.

Starbucks have identified a third place; it’s not home and it’s not work, but it’s the place that our customers come to find refuge. They have transformed the innocent cup of coffee into a Starbucks way of life. Club med is more than just a resort, it’s a means of rediscovering yourself, or inventing an entirely ne “me”. Guinness, as a brand is all about community. It’s about bringing people together and sharing stories.

Now when I think of how my organisation, and many others in the Not for Profit sector, markets itself I get very worried because so much of what we do is grounded in ‘old fashioned’ thinking that is not keeping up to speed with current thinking.

I am going to give some serious time and thinking as to what we should be doing in the near future, let me encourage you to do the same.

If you come up with anything let me know.

Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast

I was talking with one of the senior team at Gloria Jeans Coffees last week and she made a memorable statement as we discussed the different ways leaders can view the challenges facing their teams. Sadly it’s something many organisations don’t seem to understand- “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. I couldn’t agree more.

Now, I’m not one of these leaders that describes themselves as being a “big picture person” in an attempt to gloss over a lack of attention to detail. In fact, I love strategy. I enjoy problem solving. I care about scoring every point I can, not just winning the game.

But if I had to choose between culture and strategy as my primary weapon there is no contest. I will choose culture in a heartbeat.

1. Culture Is Soil
The culture of every organisation is to its team what soil is to the plants that depend upon it. Focusing on strategy without addressing culture is rather like planting a palm tree in a swamp. No matter how good your strategic initiatives may be in their own right, the likelihood of their sustained success comes down to culture more than just about any other single factor. I’m no horticulturalist, but it’s common sense that unsuitable, barren or toxic soil will eventually kill even the best plants. The leader that ignores culture is often the same person who rants about the ineffectiveness of their team, blames HR for poor hiring, moans about “Gen Y”. Their team are stunted, fruitless and impotent. And culture is their silent killer.

So what’s the true condition of your soil?

2. Culture Is Life Blood
The culture of your team is its life supply. Its essential role, like blood in your body, is to bring life to every area and to carry away the toxins that would otherwise destroy it. For better or worse, when a team is injured they bleed the true culture. Who we are when things go against us says everything about our actual values, regardless of what mission statement we put on our website. A healthy organisation has potent culture pumping through its veins, mostly unseen yet nourishing every part. No hardened managers blocking arteries. No internal bleeding quietly draining life away.

So do you need a blood test?

3. Culture Is Ideology
If we elevate strategy without giving attention to culture, we’ll win the battle but lose the war. Down through history the empires that have truly altered the world as we know it were those who ideas, world view and beliefs impacted the cultures that came into contact with them. The best teams have a pervasive passion about them. They get the big “why”, and as a result “what” and “how” tend to flow quite naturally. When we live our values its easier to develop people because everything we do and say is part of their training. Great ideology creates a contagious culture.

So what’s your infectious ideology?

From http://www.theleadershipcoach.com/

Artful Leadership

I spend a lot of time in second hand book shops. There is something magical about reading a book that already has someone else’s notes in it, that has been underlined and thumbed with an intimacy that speaks volumes about the person or people who have read those words before.

I found one a few years ago that is called ‘Leadership is an Art’ by Max DePree. It is not a along book, neither is it new so it does not have the more modern language of recent management or leadership ‘speak’, ‘The seven secrets of great leaders’ or ‘The 15 steps to being a creative leader’ or even ‘How to be a successful leader’. In its stead it makes excellent use of ‘the narrative’; the story telling about what Leadership involves and the ‘Tribal Story Telling’ that sometimes happens around the water cooler or in the lunch room. There are some amazing stories that speak about how a company or its leadership can be successful without resorting to a list of ‘do this and you will be successful’; very refreshing.

He tells the story of a city in America who would invite business leaders from around the country to look at their state and invite them to transfer their operations there or do more business with them. As part of this promotion he talks about one committee where they were discussing how they could dress up a particular facility that needed some dressing up. Some well meaning individual suggested that they put pink ice in the urinals. Strange though this may sound they were quite serious but the writer took it into another and related a question that was asked of him as one of the main leaders in his company; “what is one of the most difficult things that you personally need to work on?” His response was ‘The Interception of Entropy’

He was using the word in a very loose way and for him he explained that what leaders need to learn is to recognize are the signals of impending deterioration. He then goes on to list a number of things that are signs of this condition. Among them he talked

• A tendency toward superficiality
• No longer having the time for celebration and ritual
• When people stop telling ‘tribal stories’ or cannot understand them
• When problem makers outnumber problem solvers
• Leaders who seek to control rather than liberate
• Manuals
• Leaders who rely on structures instead of people
• Etc etc

The list goes on and if we were looking at some of the organizations that we are familiar with I guess we could come up with a lot more. His final statement is that we need to beware of putting ‘Pink Ice in the Urinals’.

Those of us who have positions of leadership in an organization could take note of some of these signs and address them before it is too late and we daily fill our own urinals with pink ice.

So much has been said about leadership that a single definition is hard to come by but one of his quotes resonated with me, in that he simplifies it into two responsibilities. The first is to define reality and the last is to say thank you. How simple is that? But he goes on to say that in between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor; that sums up the progress of an artful leader.