T H E martin L E T T E R

P u b l i s h e d b y M G I / S e r v i c e s a n d C o u n s e l i n f u n d - r a i s i n g a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s

Creating a Culture of PhilanthropyBy John A. Martin, CFRE

hy do some institutions consis-tently meet their fundraisingtargets, year in and year out,

including capital campaigns, while otherssoar and dive? What is it that drives consis-tent, quality performance?

When MGI Fund Raising Consulting beganexploring these questions several years ago,we quickly realized that neither institutionalsize nor fundraising goals were relevantmarkers in identifying “sustained perform-ance” institutions. Neither was organizationtype; successful educational institutions andhealth care organization displayed a consis-tent set of characteristics. And while maturi-ty of the fundraising programs played a partin these success stories, not all maturefundraising programs maintained the samelevel of success.

Our analysis led us to conclude that top-per-forming institutions share a “culture of phi-lanthropy.”

Every employee plays a part

Some people define philanthropy as volun-tary action for the common good. Many talkabout fund development as the engine thatdrives philanthropy. Without charitable giv-ing, most not-for-profits cannot survive.

Philanthropy and fund development -- inex-tricably entwined -- belong to the entire

organization. Every individual. Every depart-ment. All volunteers. For a not-for-profitorganization to be truly successful and effec-tive, the organization must develop a cultureof philanthropy.

This means that everyone in the organization... from the janitor to the president of theboard ... understands that philanthropy andfund development are critical to organiza-tional health AND that each individual (boththe janitor and board president) has a rolein the process.

But too often, this does not happen. Funddevelopment is isolated in one corner of theorganization. Or assigned to staff and/or acommittee of the board.

First and foremost, everyone should be anambassador for the organization’s service,and for philanthropy and fund development.Being an ambassador means doing one’sown job well, understanding how all the var-ious jobs in the organization create one inte-grated system, and – most especially – treat-ing all of the organization’s customers(clients, donors, volunteers, communitypeople, etc.) with care and respect.

If board members don’t talk enough aboutthe organization with their friends and col-leagues, it doesn’t matter how hard theexecutive director tries to raise funds. If thereceptionist isn’t sufficiently helpful, the best

direct mail solicitation will not be as effec-tive as it can be.

This is the culture of philanthropy. An atti-tude. An understanding. A behavior. After theculture of philanthropy is firmly established,fund development is more effective.

Tools for success

Organizations that have successfully estab-lished a culture of philanthropy share thesecharacteristics:

1. The governing Board acceptsresponsibility for and leadership ofthe annual and capital giving pro-grams. Many organizations hire develop-ment staff or assign development to theirexecutive director. All organizationsshould establish a board-level develop-ment committee. But regardless of staffor committee, the board is ultimatelyresponsible for the financial health of theinstitution. That means that the board isultimately responsible for fund develop-ment. Governing boards at philanthropi-cally savvy institutions understand theimportance of investing in their founda-tion or development office staffs to realizethe potential within their constituencies.Such boards are populated with individu-als equally adept at making solid businessdecisions and helping raise annual andcapital funds in partnership with CEOs

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M G I / S e r v i c e s a n d C o u n s e l i n f u n d - r a i s i n g a n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n s

Publisher: John A. Martin, CFREEditor: Pamela Capriotti, CFREContributing Editors:

Elizabeth HamrickJohn Schwietz

Published by:MGI Fund Raising Consulting, Inc.600 South Highway 169, Suite 180Minneapolis, MN 55426

For information on our services, call toll-free 1.800.387.9840 (U.S. or Canada)

Visit our website: www.mgifundraising.com

Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Brief extracts may be made with due acknowledgment.

Additional copies are available free of charge by contacting The Editor at our South East office.

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and fundraising staff. They take personalresponsibility for the success of annualand capital programs.

2. The CEO understands his/her role inthe fundraising effort and uses everyopportunity to communicate theimportance of philanthropy to inter-nal and external constituencies. Topfundraising institutions are headed byindividuals who blend management acu-men, vision, and interpersonal skills intothe ability to communicate to internal andexternal constituencies the value of phi-lanthropy to their organizations. Duringcapital campaigns, these CEOs may spenda significant amount of their time onadvancing the campaign — overseeingthe strategic planning/needs assessmentprocesses, recruiting campaign leader-ship, rallying staff around the institution’sneeds, addressing civic groups, attendingcampaign leadership meetings, and culti-vating and requesting gifts from the top25–30 prospective donors. Their institu-tions benefit from their investments inprivate philanthropy that can producefairly predictable results and a handsomereturn on investment.

3. The institution is open and frank indescribing its dependence on pri-vate philanthropy in its Board meet-ings, publications, constituentevents, and personal visits with con-stituents. There is a regular spot onBoard meeting agendas for reporting anddiscussing private philanthropy initiatives.The Board openly celebrates positiveresults or is visibly excited by news of amajor funding commitment, and Boardmembers openly volunteer to take onfundraising assignments. Regular publica-tions inform, educate, and celebrate phi-lanthropy. Publications and websitesopenly evidence the connection between

About the author…

John Martin, has more than 30 yearsexperience in the not-for profit field, onboth the organizational and consultingsides. Through his consulting work withclients seeking counsel for major capitaland endowment campaigns, Mr. Martin has earned a reputation as one of NorthAmerica's top strategists for the not-for-profit sector. His brash mix of social con-cern and aggressive business smarts hashelped raised hundreds of millions of dol-lars for colleges, hospitals, human serviceorganizations and arts and cultural groupsthroughout North America. He can bereached via email: martinmgi@cs.com

MGI is a full service fund-raising and com-munications consulting firm operatingacross North America. We consult through-out the United States and Canada for a widerange of not-for-profit clients:• Hospitals and Health Care Organizations• Social Service Organizations• Private Schools, Colleges, Universities and

Post-Graduate Schools• Cultural and Arts Organizations• Churches, Synagogues and Religious

Organizations

The experience and resources of the firmhave been used by a variety of clients fromwell-established national not-for-profitorganizations looking to prepare themselvesfor the 21st century to first time start-upcapital campaigns.

For more information about planned givingand planned giving consultancy, please con-tact John at: martinmgi@cs.com or call ourToll Free Number: 1-800-387-9840.

private philanthropy and excellent serviceto customers and community. Successfulinstitutions carefully craft personal com-munications to their most consistent andgenerous donors, which are often deliv-ered in person.

4. The foundation or development staffis proactive in explaining the insti-tution’s funding priorities toprospective donors and stewardingrelationships with existing donors.Publications and events may inform andeducate constituents, but gifts that make adifference are obtained by building andmaintaining personal relationships withprospective donors. Development orfoundation officers cannot increase annu-al giving totals nor achieve campaign suc-cess while working behind their desks.The institution that develops the closestrelationships with prospective donors,and stewards well the gifts of existingdonors, will receive the majority of thosedonors’ philanthropy. The desk and theoffice may hold the keys to donor strate-gies, but the strategy must be implement-ed frequently and in person.

5. Employees recognize the integralnature of philanthropy in generatingrevenue for the institution and,thus, are willing to support theactivities of the foundation or devel-opment staff.

6. Foundation and development staffsare acknowledged as important con-tributors to the life of their institu-tions and are accorded appropriaterespect.

7. The institution is genuinely proud ofits fundraising accomplishments andexpects to continue a pattern ofever-increasing fundraising success.