Let’s say your school or athletic program is about to embark on a major project. You close your eyes and imagine the final product. You see all the work completed. You see the happy faces of alumni, fans, athletes, coaches and students. Then you open your eyes and a tough question hits:
How are we going to get this done?
For administrators, the first step is asking for help. Philanthropic partners are among the most vital sources of funding for college athletics projects. As a result, donors are inundated with demands upon their time and attention, making them an increasingly scarce resource in a competitive environment.
Half of all donors give on a regular basis to just one organization, while 27 percent regularly give to a second, according to Gallup. Groups that aren’t considered a first or second choice typically receive a one-off donation. Organizations that fall to second or third priority risk being caught on a treadmill of fly-by contributions from disengaged donors.
To avoid this slippery slope, you must find strategies to cut through the noise to create meaningful and enduring engagement with philanthropic partners.
Organizations have to reacquaint themselves with the term “engagement.” It’s a popular buzzword these days — fan engagement, donor engagement, audience engagement, customer engagement, and employee engagement.
Engagement is the emotional and psychological glue that brings people together. Meaningful and consistent engagement drives behavior.
Donors support projects that reflect their stories and values before audiences they care about. They connect on a deep emotional level to their alma maters, their communities and students. Their giving tells a story about who they are, what they care about and how they view their legacy.
In other words, donors give regularly to institutions and organizations where their continued involvement helps them to tell their own story.
Advent has worked with programs across the country and has identified three best practices that engage donors effectively and create productive, lasting relationships.
■ No. 1: Elevate donors’ input
Donor input can be some of the most valuable you receive. Elevating donors’ input dramatically increases their sense of involvement and emotional investment in a project.
Soliciting donor input is not about gathering data, a cold process. It’s about listening, a process that involves active participation. In our work, we conduct in-depth personal interviews with donors and key stakeholders. We ask questions about why they care and why they are involved, gradually deepening the conversation for the interviewees to share their own stories.
We record and take notes. We ask follow-up questions. Then, we use these interviews to create work that connects and expands these stories, resulting in much richer and more successful projects.
This process requires focused, intentional listening. By listening, we create a personal connection. And by linking the donor’s story to the institution, we make a story connection.
■ No. 2: Help donors tell their story
We strengthen engagement even more by using what we learn to help donors tell their story more clearly and fully. We delve into what’s important to them and translate so that it can be appreciated by the community.
For example, alumni donors are often deeply invested in the impact a coach or mentor had on them many years ago. These connections are timeless and tie in naturally with today’s program values. Invite the donors to share in the storytelling of universal and enduring experiences.
■ No. 3: Give donors the credit
The best leaders share credit. Use every opportunity to give your donor partners credit for the ideas and inspiration that define your program. After all, they are an integral part of the vision and mission.
Discover and expand the overlap between your story and theirs, enhancing connections while reinforcing the direction you want to take.
By authentically and honestly engaging in conversation with donors through thoughtful questions and intentional listening, we forge lasting relationships that can be fruitful for years to come, allowing us all to tell our most important stories and communicate in a connected way with the community.
John Roberson is CEO and Todd Austin is president of Advent, a Nashville-based company that creates engaging brand spaces for corporations, universities and civic institutions.
