 Welcome everybody to another episode of the nonprofit show, you know, Friday is one of my favorite days, not because the weekend is around the corner, it's because we get to join with our friends at Fundraising Academy at National University to do our Friday Ask and Answer. If you've been with us for now, finishing up on three years, 700 episodes, you will know that every Friday we get to bring on a different expert from Fundraising Academy, put them in the hot seat and ask them to respond to the questions that come in to the nonprofit show. Today we're super excited. One of my favorites, LaShonda Williams, who's a trainer from Fundraising Academy based in the great state of Texas in Houston, welcome my friend. Thank you, Julia, and congratulations 700 plus episodes later. I know. You know, I only look like I'm 61, you know, I'm actually 25, the 700 episodes have aged me. No, no, no, but you're always forever young at heart and I tell people all the time you're never your actual age, you're only as young or as mature as you think you are and you are absolutely young at heart. So forever young, you, you found the fountain of youth. Oh my God, well, that's hilarious. Well, I hope so. Keep drinking that, that special water. Hey, as we move forward with another episode, we want to make sure that we give our gratitude and extend our thanks to our presenting sponsors. They include Blumerang, American nonprofit Academy, your part time controller, be generous, Fundraising Academy at National University, Staffing Boutique, nonprofit thought leader, and the nonprofit nerd. And if you've missed any of our episodes, go ahead and check us out on our archives. You can find us on Roku, YouTube, Amazon Fire TV, and Vimeo, and you can also now stream us on podcast. So wherever you like to queue up your content, we'll be there for you. Plug in those earphones and go with us every day. Okay, are you ready, my friend? I am ready. Let's get started. Okay, now you know, I love, love, love the name with health, because they're always like juicy questions. Okay, so this comes to us from Colorado Springs, Colorado, where, bless our hearts, they've just had a ton of snow in that part of the country. I mean, everyone has, but I mean, I think it's been really horrible there. Okay, how long did it take for you to become confident when making a donor ask? Well, I love my nonprofit and development job. I get sick to my stomach with nerves before an ask. Oh, wow, that is a really great question, and there is no proper answer. So I'll have to be very forthcoming with you. You know, I work in higher ed, and I happen to be working at my alma mater. And so working at my alma mater, I tend to already have a lot of relationships. And so those that I'm engaging with, either I know them directly or we have someone in common. So as a development professional, before you even begin to think about making the ask step one is developing the relationship. And so as you're developing the relationship and get to become more acquainted with your prospective donor, your confidence level should build because you're asking them probing questions to find out what their linkages to your organization, the ability as well as the interest. So with those nerves, I say for me specifically, I've been in the industry full time, six years in my alma mater, and I literally hit the ground running. So within one month, I was asking, however, for literally within one month. And so for others, I say, that you know, think about the scope of the relationship, think about the donor cycle. And for those of you that are familiar with the cost selling cycle, you know, making sure that you've asked all of those critical questions, because confidence comes from knowing your prospective donor. Now in the perfect world, in the perfect world, depending on what level gift you're requesting, because it may be an annual fund level gift, it may be a major gift, those will require different levels of cultivation and engagement. But in general, when you're thinking about a general ask for a smaller shop, I would say the sooner the better. And so I'm thinking no less than a month, I'm sorry, no less than a four month period, because that gives you time to ease them through the donor cycle. Okay, now let me ask you this. Do you find that it's easier to ask somebody that you know, or who went to your school, or have you have some connection, or somebody that you never knew and you started out, you know, in that cost selling cycle from ground one. And I guess I'm asking about this, I think of like personality, and I think about is it harder to ask somebody that you've known for a time, maybe not in this role. So I would, you know, I would say that it depends on the individual. So confidence is a major part of that. And so, you know, I've asked non alumni friends of the institution for financial support. And that is when I allow my passion to truly resonate in storytelling, and why you should support the cause. And the particular person that wrote in, they love their organization, they're committed to the mission. Then the next step is to simply convey that message in a way that the passion resonates. And as your storytelling, the individual will feel the passion. And as you're talking about the impact of your organization, those butterflies will start to fade away. Because with each ask, obviously, everyone may have some apprehension or some concern. But as you're talking about it, then they become, all of those challenges become alleviated because your entire relationship is manifesting it. And in that moment, as you're telling that story, your confidence will build as you continue to speak with that perspective donor. Now, I know you to be a vibrant, confident, super cool woman. It's easy for you for me to hear this from you. But when you dig down deep, and you've been doing this for a while, and you're professional, do you get these butterflies every time, like literally, so no one is butterfly free, trust and believe, you know, you have to take that deep breath and absorb everything, you know, and do that mental countdown, five, four, three, two, one. And then you're on and when you're on, you're being your genuine, authentic self. You are sharing your cause. You are sharing all of the reasons why the individual should support the organization. You're merely summarizing what your individual conversations have already been. And again, you know, the timeframe varies because for principle size gifts, it may take a year or even two. But if we're talking like annual fund level and some major gifts are you're able to cultivate that relationship relatively quickly, because there'll be instances where some donors will come to you ready. And it's a matter of you making sure that you engage them adequately and properly and give them the necessary information to make sure that that deal is sealed. But I say to the to the person with the question, you have the skills. You have the knowledge. You have the passion. Allow it to radiate through in your storytelling. I love it. I love it. Well, let's go on to another question that comes to us from Angela from Los Angeles, California. What is the typical size of a development portfolio and how many personal touches should be made each month? So that's two questions, LaShonda. Explain to us what a development portfolio for those who might not know what that means. So development portfolio is the number of individual prospects that you have that have been pre-qualified, that have demonstrated linkage, ability and interest within your organization. It is a part of phase one of the cost selling cycle, which is that pre-discovery. And so it depends again on the size of your shop. Most of the questions that were being asked are kind of broad questions, but I'd like to give you versions or variations as pertain to the questions. So for a smaller shop, you will have a smaller donor portfolio, because if you're one person singular and you're the director of development doing it all, there's only so many that you can handle. However, in a traditional shop setting, you're looking at anywhere from 100 to 150 for major gifts. And if we're talking principal gifts, then that number will be reduced because again, I mentioned earlier, it may require a little more time to cultivate and engage those relationships. So typical major gift portfolio is around that range. Now, when you're talking about touches, you know, there is the average number of touches and then there is the exception. And there are always exceptions to the rule because every donor is unique and different. So on average, I would say at least six touches because you want to have that initial introduction, the follow up email correspondence. You want to provide them with some newsletters, some content, some collateral related to your organization. And as you're getting to know them, you want to invite them to come to visit the organization. You may engage them in a virtual space. So there's a variety of different touches and each touch will be unique based on your prospective donor. The most important. Time frame, I hate to interrupt, but what's that time frame? So it varies again, depending on the shop. But I would literally, you know, when we're talking about major gifts, it can range anywhere from four months to a year. And the same with principal gifts. Principal gifts tend to take a little longer to cultivate, especially if it's a new relationship. So that's another variable to consider because there are instances where you have a donor that has made a major gift. However, they may have ability to make an even more substantial gift, which you would be cultivating. So it may take a little bit longer to get them to that next level. So again, there's a lot of variables in there. But on average, I would say six touches minimum because you want to make sure that you have not only cultivated the relationship, but you have truly engaged the prospective donor in a very meaningful way. And if you're managing multiple people in a portfolio, there's only so many hours in a given day and so many days a week. Yeah. And, you know, it seems to me and I would love before we move on from Angela, because this is a great question. But it seems to me that a lot of times we hear about portfolios and all this, but we never hear about, like, the management and dare I say, the cleanup. Yes. They just seem to, like, you know, get added on and build on. Can you talk to that a little to us a little bit before we move on? Oh, absolutely. So as you're transitioning prospective donors into becoming donors out, then you will also be securing additional prospects. And so again, it depends on your shop. If you have a prospect researcher in place in some shops I've seen where you're given an updated cold call list on a monthly basis. Yeah, on a monthly basis in larger shops. I'm thinking about one of my former employee employers. And every month there was a different set of prospects available as you're shifting out. So it depends again on the fluidity of your organization, the organization structure, the number of personnel that are front line officers. So there's not a concrete. However, there's like a textbook average response. But again, you have to really think about your organization and set realistic goals and expectations based on resources and those resources being the time, the people and the amount of money that your organization has to invest in those said relationships. Right. Well, I think, you know, when you just listening to you, I mean, this is really an indication of how you need to be strategic and you need to be thinking about this. And I can see two two paths here. You kind of get stuck just trying to keep your head above water or you can really drill down and say, OK, what is it we're going to do to navigate in a very thoughtful, intentional manner to grow our organization and to be more efficient? Exactly. And so with that, you know, it's the end of the year. Now is the time to be thinking about that year Q4. And so looking back was the number of individuals in your profile realistic and manifesting X number of gifts and X dollar amounts? Or is it something that you need to revisit? Because oftentimes we tend to we're very matrix driven, which is great because we want to have those quantifiable. However, the most important part of the entire process and philanthropy is that relationship piece. And that often requires quality time. You know, would you rather rush a prospective donor through the cycle to make an ask at the set dollar amount that you think that they should give? Or would you like to really take your time, dive in? Do all of the work with the pre qualification, you know, thinking about all of their holdings and then making a request for your organization that really is very impactful and they will allow the donor to see the value in all that he or she may bring to the organization. I love that. And I just think what you just said is magical thinking because it's it's just a generally sound way to be processing and thinking about this. Absolutely. I love what you said. Well, let's go on to Janelle from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She writes in, do you have any strategies for setting and keeping goals for the new year? I know this is a wide ranging question, but I want to set myself up for success and not disappointment. That's interesting. I could use some tips. I love it. It just built on and built on the previous question. So I'm loving this. So, you know, Janelle, the reality is now is the time and I'm going to say that consistency. So first and foremost, you know, we are metrics driven in this industry. So what I would say is take a look at your data. Allow your data to be your guide because when you make data based decisions, their sound, their thoughtful, their strategic, they can be intentional. So take a look at your data. What have been your results over the past three years? What has been the trend? How much has been raised? How many donors looking specifically at your retention rate? What is the average gift amount? You know, what are areas that have received significant support? And what are areas that may be priorities that have not received as much support? And that is how you begin to think about creating your strategic plan in essential elements that will provide you with the foundation to move forward to develop your goals. Now, when you're thinking about quantitative value because numbers do matter, looking at your trends, on average, I would say the safe yet stretch approach with goals is looking at the previous year and thinking anywhere from 10 to 15 percent increase based on your pipeline. And your pipeline is important because if you do not have a substantial pipeline, then you may have to modify accordingly. So, you know, setting those goals is important, but having that foundation of the quantitative information, being very strategic and looking at your numbers will help you create that foundation for success. I love that. You know, now I'm a really I'm totally caught up in this whole concept of goal setting and everything. And and I've done this since I was a teenager, you know, all the way through my process for me that has really helped is that and I'm very blessed because I work with three screens. So one screen that I always have up is it's like a task list of the things that I need to do for the day or the week and everything. But I have my goals right now in this like system that we created by month. I mean, obviously they're annual, but then I filter them in so that it's not just at the end of the year. And I'm like, did I achieve my goals? Well, it doesn't work that way. You need to be working on them a little bit, you know, at a time. I also have a porcelain elephant in my office that I look at every day. It's first thing I see when I come into my office and it's to remind me that how do you eat an elephant one bite at a time? Absolutely. Little things that get you propel towards and marching consistently towards your goal. And I think that's really important because I think so often and you've got to hear this as well, LaShonda, people get so frustrated with failure or disappointment. And a lot of times that happens in January because they write goals and then they're like, they don't. It's not enough to set a goal. You've got to set the path to the goal. Like, how are you going to achieve that? You can't just say, I'm going to be a six foot tall, thin blonde by the end of the year. Yeah, I would love that. That's going to require some work. Yeah, and a giant stretching machine in my office. OK, so you got to you got to back up here and say, how do we get to that goal? Exactly. And I think that's for me a big part of it. But yeah, and I love that Janelle wrote, I don't want to set myself up for disappointment. And you're right, you were spot on, Julia, when you said those incremental goals along the way. And, you know, what's really important, Janelle, to make sure that you don't set yourself up for failure. And Julia said it best. And that is having those monthly kind of goals. Identify some things that you can do and then make you make the time to celebrate those successes in between. If your annual goal for the next fiscal year is two million dollars at every million at every hundred thousand dollar increment, set yourself up for a celebration because we have to celebrate the small successes because they contribute to the overall arching big picture. And so, yes, absolutely, you know, having the foundation, looking at the numbers, identifying what is realistic, prospect pool and celebrating along the way. You know, I'll add one thing. And this comes to us from I learned this from the nonprofit nerd herself, Jarrett Ransom. And one of the things that she added to my personal equation was good, better, best three tiers. So when I'm setting my goals, you know, you know, the six foot thin blonde, OK, well, what about the five five foot five chubby blonde, right? You know what I'm saying? So that you're like, OK, you have like a goal. And then if you blow by it, you can instead of just given up, you can say, OK, well, how could I be a little bit better in what's best? And that has really changed some of my thinking. And so that is one tip. Again, I learned that from from Jarrett Ransom, the nonprofit nerd. And it it's it's very interesting for me. And maybe it's just my personality, LaShonda, but it's easy to seem like you can work towards that good and then keep going to better and best. Does that make absolutely. It's it. I mean, that is that is absolutely. It constantly thinking about it, evaluating, re-evaluating. And that also allows time in case of you need to pivot just a little bit. Just a little bit, because, you know, we can do our best as, you know, fundraising professionals to plan to the tee. However, there are instances where something will happen that we may not have anticipated, and that is the opportunity for you to pause and to pivot. So yes, giving yourself that latitude is really important as well. Well, if we didn't learn that from COVID, you know, 2020, did it to us. Yeah, baby. OK, Keith, from Cheyenne, Wyoming, just saying the two words Cheyenne, Wyoming gives me a chill because brutal weather, brutal. Right. Oh, OK. Keith, I hope you're warm and toasty. Have you ever heard Keith asks, have you ever heard or worked with a part time fundraiser? We're wondering if this concept would even work. We need to hire a fundraiser. This is a loaded question, isn't it? It is very loaded. It is very complex and it will require a lot of pre-discovery. So, yes, I've had the benefit and the experience of working with a part time fundraiser. So with that, generally speaking, when individuals are preparing for capital campaign, they'll hire part time workers and contract employees. But there are a couple of things that I would love to share with Keith before we even get to that point. You know, first and foremost is really identifying what it is specifically that you'd like that individual to do, what the parameters will be, what the expectations are, what resources you are going to make available and putting together an RFP that is ironclad because you want to make sure you're very clear on that. You'll also need some form of a non-disclosure agreement because you want to make sure that that particular part time professional understands that they're working for your organization. And that organization, the information retrieved is on behalf of the organization. The relationship is owned by the organization. You'll also need the confidentiality agreement. So you want to make sure it's very ironclad. So having all of those fundamentals in place, you know, what are the deliverables and what's the timeframe on those set deliverables for the expectations, what that financial goal is and when those what are the matrix for determining that and then ultimately what the pay period will be. And so when you're thinking about a part time person, I'd start within your network, your AFP chapter, see if anyone else has used a person before because you want to properly vet the individual and make sure that they're truly a fundraising professional. Then in addition to that, after you had an opportunity to complete the vetting process, which is great to identify prospects, but is that individual a good fit for your organization's culture? That's a whole nother conversation. So you want to make sure that that person is a good fit that would be able to benefit your organization, not only from an internal perspective, but outward facing. Does that person possess the personality in addition to the skills that meet your constituency and prospective donors where they are that could yield quantifiable results? So part time fundraisers can be very fun. They can be very helpful, but you also want to make sure that you put in the work to make sure that you're very clear about the expectations and you're protecting donor privacy and the resources that you're making available to the individual, as well as what those deliverables are. You know, it's so interesting hearing you speak on this and helping Keith. The end of this question that Keith writes in, he says, we need to hire a fundraiser. And with what you just said, LaShonda, it almost makes me think that you got to ask the question first. Why? And it's easy to say, well, we need money. OK, right. But but what you said was a process in itself. Exactly. You as an organization have got to really drill down to how this is going to be managed or the expectation of bringing new donors in is never going to be met. Right. And, you know, it's really important that, you know, you take the time because, you know, we need a fundraiser. It also creates a heightened sense of urgency. And there are instances that we are being, you know, reactive as opposed to proactive. So I would encourage Keith to, you know, take a second, you know, take a step back and go through the processes of strategically thinking about how that part time fundraiser will benefit the organization. Because keeping in mind with a part time fundraiser, just like with a full time employee, there is going to be training that's required. That individual will have to become, you know, vested within the organization. That individual needs to be very knowledgeable of not only the priorities, the impact, but be able to convey the cause in such a meaningful way that they can be successful, even though they may not be full time. Right. And so, you know, and I'm also thinking at this point, another viable potential option would be, you know, thinking about some of your volunteers of your organization and transitioning them into becoming more involved in the solicitation process, because volunteers are our number one advocate. Volunteers often transition into becoming donors. They're already invested into your organization. They know the organization's mission. They have supported it. And who better they can convey a message to prospective donors than one who has committed their time, which is your most valuable commodity. I love that. And, you know, I have to witness to you. I hadn't thought that I hadn't. My brain hadn't gone there. But, yeah, I love that idea, you know, especially as you said, you know, there's a passion that, you know, volunteers have. And think about that on that whole tool of saying, I'll never forget the time, right? Right. I'll never forget the time I witnessed this or engaged in that. That's mining gold right there. Those those volunteers, they live this. They live it. They know the impact. They have the passion and, you know, when you're talking about volunteers at this point, you still need to make sure you have the confidentiality agreement in place and understanding and defining in what way or what capacity you'll have them to participate in that solicitation process. But, you know, number one top priority in terms of effectiveness and fundraising peer to peer. Yeah. Yeah. And they can also help with, you know, bringing prospective donors in the fold because they have an entire network of friends that the organization may not have any connection with, but they can be that bridge or conduit to increase the number of prospects. So that's definitely a viable option that I would seriously consider. Well, LaShonda Williams, I would say that you are a friend in my network. It has been amazing, as always, to have you on another episode of the nonprofit show. Ask and answer episodes are my favorite. I love watching them when I'm not on them. I love being a part of them when I am. It's just riveting to get somebody else's intelligent observation and commentary and help on these questions that come in. They're super random. I mean, you got, I mean, from what we've. Right. We have a complete variety. Yeah. I appreciate the opportunity to share, you know, with you in dialogue and helping our fundraising industry professionals kind of go through some of the challenges and some of the questions they have. It's absolutely great. Yeah. It's a lot of fun. It really is. And it's a different day every day. And so we are so delighted. LaShonda Williams, trainer with Fundraising Academy extraordinaire based in Houston, Texas. And LaShonda is very interesting because you might have heard her say this, but I want to amplify this a little bit. You know, she comes from the higher ed sector within the nonprofit world. And those to me, LaShonda, those are the kings and queens of fundraising. You know, our higher ed, it's really remarkable. It's truly remarkable what our higher ed sector does. And so it's super cool to have you be with us. And I'm always delighted when I see your name come up on the schedule. The pleasure is all mine. And I can tell you working in higher ed every day has its wonderful benefits. And I tell everyone all the time that the value, the intrinsic value is unquantifiable. And I simply live for commencement day and the day that donors make their first gift. I love it. It's the best. Well, you are a treasure, my friend. I hope you get to enjoy a fabulous holiday. If you joined us in the green room chatter, we were talking about that. And before I go, I want to make sure that we extend our gratitude one more time to our fabulous presenting sponsors, Blumerang, American Nonprofit Academy, your part-time controller, Be Generous, Fundraising Academy at National University, Staffing Boutique, Nonprofit Thought Leader, and Nonprofit Nerd. Hey, my friend, have a fabulous holiday. Happy holidays to you too, Julie. Everyone watching today, and we know that you will have a fantastic new year filled with abundance in all aspects of your life. I love that. I love that's the perfect way to say it. As we end every episode, we'd like to remind ourselves, our viewers, our listeners, our guests to stay well so you can do well. We'll see you back here soon, everyone.