Another reason to appreciate Fridays

Don’t worry – there is coffee available on Friday morning class (thanks D-SIP alum!)  Luckily, the Friday educational component offers plenty to keep you awake and interested!

Plenty of interns enter D-SIP unfamiliar with the development profession and field.  Friday morning class offers an opportunity to explore the history of philanthropy, the psychology of giving, and the impact donors have within the university and Ann Arbor community.  Class time also allows interns the opportunity to discuss their projects – any questions about the workplace, research challenges, and accomplishments.

The best part?  The opportunity to hear from a number of university and community leaders about their philanthropic experiences.  D-SIP connects interns to major donors, dedicated Michigan volunteers, and nonprofit leaders.  These speakers help put the development experience in perspective, and offer candid advice about entering any profession.  We had the opportunity to ask questions and make connections with individuals who have had an incredible impact on the University of Michigan and the Ann Arbor community.

It’s safe to say that Fridays with D-SIP offer some of the best experiences you’ll have as an intern – and as a bonus, you can even take the class for credit.  If you have questions, feel free to email me at kbalzer@umich.edu – I’d love to hear from you, and I hope you’ll consider applying!

Why should I apply?

You might be thinking: fundraising?  I don’t really want to spend the summer cold-calling alumni asking for cash…and I really wanted to find an internship that helps me learn more about marketing/research/management instead.

I would venture to guess that most D-SIP interns had similar thoughts when they first discovered the program.  I was drawn to the possibility of staying in Ann Arbor for the summer (you really can’t beat it), but wanted to make sure I would have the opportunity to develop actual skills and gain valuable experience in the non-profit sector, where paid opportunities are few and far between.  I was graduating, after all, and wasn’t sure what the future held for me after August.  So please, believe me when I say: apply to D-SIP.  Not only did I develop some serious analytical skills, I did it while working in arguably the most fun environment ever (the Neutral Zone), alongside an interesting, committed staff who helped me more fully understand what goes into running a successful organization.

While interns spent their weeks working on a variety of projects, Friday classes gave us time to: debrief, ask questions we may have been too shy to ask our supervisors, meet high-profile community leaders, discuss (and often challenge) assigned readings, and learning more about the other D-SIPpers.  Each of us came from a unique perspective – we had different majors, different backgrounds, different plans for post-grad – but we all left the program with new friends, interesting stories, and a shared love for the Friday morning coffee.

I can’t say enough good things about my D-SIP experience and the Neutral Zone (seriously, you’d have to stop me), and I’m happy to say that I’m still in Ann Arbor, working in the development department of a local non-profit.  So even if you don’t think fundraising is for you – consider applying.  You might be surprised by what you learn!

Go blue!

Kate

I Get By With a Little Help From My Donors

Everyone, even the most stubbornly independent, needs someone to turn to in times of trouble. Here, “times of trouble” means anything from staining a brand new pair of jeans (it happened to me just a few weeks ago) to matters of life or death. When I am stressed, anxious, or upset, my friends and family are usually the first to know about it. Other times, an hour spent with the oboe or doing laps in the pool or does the trick. Sometimes all it takes for me to calm down is watching an episode of Friends that I can most likely quote verbatim.

It will probably come as no shock to anyone who reads this that institutions need support networks, as well. Having worked in philanthropy for over a year now, I knew this to some extent, but I only thought of organizations as needing financial support – with emphasis on the financial part.

The mailing I helped put together last week (with the fabulous group of volunteers that inspired my last post) has been a tremendous success so far. Our mailbox has been stuffed with patrons sending back their gift renewal, and throughout the day our Donor Records Manager receives calls from supporters wanting to declare over the phone the continuation of their gift.

This afternoon, my co-workers and I were eating lunch together when our DRM’s distinctive ring sounded. (When six people work in close quarters, it would be a huge mistake to have six identical sounding phones.) She answered the phone, and we heard her delightedly process a renewed contribution. She smiled as she spoke, as she would were she speaking to the caller in person. When she said, “Thank you so much for calling; we really appreciate it,” it was obvious to me just how much raising money for our particular institution meant to her.

However, what happened after she hung up the phone made me realize that the smile on her face was only partly due to the now enlarged size of our Annual Fund. “Renewal!” she exclaimed. Cheers sounded throughout the halls surrounding her office, and she continued smiling as she wrote down the final details of the gift on the pledge card she had on her desk during the call.

Someone from the next office over called back, “Renewal?” to confirm what she had just heard. We all exclaimed a positive response. I sat in my seat, munching on my turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich, and waited for the question to which I was dying to know the answer.

Activity in the office continued, without any further discussion or question. Some continued working on Monday’s self-esteem-boosting New York Times crossword puzzle, others relished in the relaxation that comes at the midpoint of any busy workday. I waited some more, just in case everyone happened to be distracted at the same moment and hadn’t had a chance to ask the question I wanted to hear. Why is no one saying anything? I thought. How much money was just given?

I’m glad I gave up on waiting for that question to be asked, because the words never sounded. As it turns out, the dollar amount was insignificant to the people in my office. Posts to this blog have been written about how small contributions are just as important as larger ones, but who says the amount even matters? Of course the amount matters when in the midst of a capital campaign, and a certain dollar amount guarantees a new building. However, when day-to-day Annual Fund renewals are made, the mere fact that one person thinks of an organization so highly that he or she is willing to make a phone call to show support is extraordinary.

For the rest of the day, I thought about the moment of silence that followed the exciting phone call this afternoon. Why did no one care how much money had just been contributed? It dawned on me that the only thing that mattered to my office, and the organization at large, was that they had a support network. Ten dollars, ten million dollars, or no dollars – amount is irrelevant. What matters is that, in times of trouble, they have one more person to turn to.

Please Give

In my previous post “More Bang for Your… Blood“, I expressed my views on giving in exchange for a reward. However, after reading everyone’s comments I felt a lot different about it. Watching this movie trailer also made me rethink my initial views on people who give because of guilt.

The main character (Kate) in this movie gives because she feels a huge sense of guilt, and the movie pokes fun at this type of motivation. Initially, I felt no connection to her and felt ok laughing at her shenanigans but then I realized that I give because of guilt too!

(Do Salvation Army fundraisers and homeless people strategically place themselves near stores to guilt-trip the shoppers? There are always fundraisers asking for money when I walk out of Urban Outfitters with two big shopping bags, and I almost always give because I feel so guilty.)

Before my internship, I always thought that there were better motivations for giving than others; like it was more noble to give “just because” rather than for a prize or guilt (as you all can tell from my previous posts). And I have never really had in depth conversations about why I give or asked other people why they give until this internship and blog began. Hopefully my fellow bloggers and I have got you all thinking about why you give.

So shout it all out there! What are some reasons you give?

P.S. If you are interested in seeing the movie it premiers THIS FRIDAY at the Michigan Theater! It’s called Please Give. It looks absolutely hilarious, was an Official Selection at the Sundance Film Festival, and comes highly rated on imdb and Rotten Tomatoes.

Better Late Than Never

Earlier this afternoon I was running some errands around town and was thrilled when a song that I used to adore came onto the mix CD that I was listening to. In the summer of 2008, I spent five weeks at a music festival in Tuscany. This particular song was extremely popular at that time and was my anthem for the entire trip. From the moment I stepped onto the train to the airport to the moment I landed back in America, I listened to this song as often as I could. It accompanied me out the door each morning; it followed me as I walked from cafes to gelato stands to pizza places; it sometimes even put me to sleep at the end of a long day. I didn’t like this song for any particular reason – the words didn’t seem to make much sense to me at all – but I loved how the music made me feel.

Almost two years later to the day, however, upon hearing the song for the first time in a while, it suddenly took on new meaning. The words made sense to me in a way that they never had before – they seemed to perfectly fit my current place in life. To me, it felt a little bit like realizing I could speak a new language without being aware of the years of practice I know are required to do so. Finding personal meaning in this song made me realize the amount of growth – personal, intellectual, and professional alike – that I have gone through over the past several years.

One of the most important lessons I have learned while working in development is that people need time away from large experiences (or large gifts) before they are ready to give back. My seemingly insignificant event today made me realize that this “break” may not even be for reasons of which donors are even aware. Sometimes it can take a bit of time (a few days, weeks, or even years, depending on the magnitude of the experience ) for people to realize just how much they have been changed or how much that part of their life meant to them.

There are parts of my time at Michigan of which I already know the impact. I had the opportunity to perform with extraordinarily talented musicians, learn from remarkable thinkers, and work with passionate professionals. However, as I look toward new beginnings, I am anxious to discover what lessons I learned at Michigan that haven’t yet broken the surface. What knowledge will I uncover over the next several months and years?

Tomorrow morning I will embark on a multi-day road trip to the arts institution where I will be working for the summer. Next Monday will be my first day in the office – looking forward to sharing more from there!

Success of giving

The other day at work, one of the gift officers I work with pop-quizzed me to see if I was up on my philanthropy knowledge. He showed me the pie chart below (without the text) and asked me which slice of the pie chart belonged to individual giving.

Half instinctively/ half guessing I guessed the largest slice. Turns out, I was right.

According to Giving USA, the total 2008 U.S. philanthropy was $307.7 Billion. Individual giving and bequests accounted for 82% ($251.94 billion) of the total philanthropic dollars, while corporations accounted for 5% and foundations for 13%.

I will admit that before D-SIP and my current position, I shared in the widely-held perception that foundations and corporations are the biggest/best sources from which to obtain donations. However, if we look at dollars raised in the past, the trend tends to be consistent– individual giving is the greatest portion of charitable giving. Even despite the difficult economic conditions in the last year which saw a 5.7% decline in giving, Americans chose to contribute to the causes dear to their hearts.

The brief Philanthropy: 101 session prompted a discussion about the way that individual giving differs from foundation and corporate philanthropy; individual giving by nature is a much more emotional “let’s do good things, let’s be passionate” experience. Foundation and corporate giving is about measureables, sustainability, the systematic approach to making a difference.

The way in which individuals–complex, emotional, intelligent beings–are involved in giving left me with some serious food for thought. Specifically, I am curious about the way in which we measure success (particularly in higher education).

At the end of a fiscal year, how can an institution know if it has been “successful”? Is it the total of dollars raised? Is it the level of donor satisfaction? Is it the number of initiatives/programs that are created? What should we be looking at?!

I’m curious about this because I think that when an institution’s philanthropic support is largely based on individual giving, success cannot solely be quantified, it cannot be turned into charts and graphs because it is naturally much more complicated than a 1 for “yes, I donated” and 2 for “no, I did not”.

In my mind, individuals are much harder to reach and harder to solicit, but also much more involved in their giving (especially when it comes to giving back to their alma mater). They want to support causes they believe in, and they want to work with institutions that make them feel that their monetary and emotional investment is valued. So, in my opinion measuring success cannot solely be a process in which we measure numbers that can be sliced and cut, charted and graphed, but also a measurement of the relationships created and their movement.

I think that being able to have measurements that are a reflection of where a donor started and how he/she has moved is just as important as the amount of dollars raised. Having the ability to know what prompted someone to give, how they moved through the process and what was the pivotal moment in this process which culminated in a donation (or not) is important. I think that there is just as much value in getting an individual to give, as there is in getting someone to move from not being a supporter to accepting that giving back has its merits. I think in many ways it can indicate what the fundraisers did right, but more importantly, it can indicate in which direction they need to be moving.

I’m not sure how institutions do this or even really think about it. It’s something that I am starting to explore more and more within my job so I am still forming my own ideas, but I do think it is very interesting to consider given the fact that individuals are clearly largely invested in giving.

Thoughts?!

** Source: Giving USA 2009 (givingusa.org)

Ready (or Not), Set, Go!

This is what graduating from the University of Michigan felt like exactly one year ago. I was very content living the college life and wanted nothing more than to stay. I disliked everything about the way that being forced to voluntarily leave Ann Arbor made me feel. While my serious lack of excitement about reaching the finish line was founded on numerous reasons, it was perhaps my complete lack of confidence in what came next that motivated my inability to get going and get excited about all those “great accomplishments”  and those “great mountains to climb” everyone kept talking about.

I started applying for jobs right and left. I joined every single job searching website and started cranking out job applications like WHOA without really considering where I had been and what my deep, deep desire was now that I had invaluable experiences and knowledge to share with the world from my time at Michigan. I graduated with a B.A. in Communication Studies and Italian, and I could see myself doing everything under the sun–moving to Italy to teach English, being a kindergarten teacher, PR, Television, Writing, Event Planning, etc. Is it clear yet that I had no sense of direction/didn’t want to accept I needed to find one?! I had to take it back to basics and consider what in my four years at Michigan had been pivotal–what had made my heart leap? I kept coming back to the U-M Development Summer Internship Program which I had participated in the summer before.

Before participating in D-SIP, the only thing I knew was that I wanted to do “good stuff”. I didn’t know how or where but I felt compelled to pursue a career with a mission. Participating in D-SIP opened my eyes not only to the importance of fundraising for higher education institutions, but to the vast world of philanthropy and the infinite number of opportunities available to do “good stuff” in a systematic and purposeful way. D-SIP also encouraged me to consider what philanthropic missions were important to me, and to become a serious participant in giving to those causes that were (and are) important to me, like education. The more I thought about this, the clearer it became that what was most important to me in answering the very frightening “what now?!” question was the underlying desire to enter a business concerned with giving back to society, with linking individual passions with the needs of our world, with the welfare of others.

Once I realized this, my job search went from being practically stagnant to moving rather swiftly. I really wanted to move to Chicago, and I was able to land a position at a prestigious institution of higher education in the area with their central development major gifts team. Crazy to believe (because it feels like I started yesterday,) but I have been in this position for the past six months and I could not be happier.

D-SIP surrounded me with incredibly talented and knowledgeable individuals who motivated me in my quest to find my path post-graduation, and who continue to encourage me as I dabble in higher education fundraising. I am incredibly excited to be part of this field and to share my experiences and thoughts on philanthropy with you all!