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Session 1B
Building the Plane While Flying: How to Get Your Advancement Colleagues on Board and Soar Together
Emily Thornton and Rosie Tarlton
Wednesday, September 21
10:00 – 11:00 AM (MT)
We've all been there. Your first day on the job, you find out who works well with whom, all the things everyone wishes donor relations could do, and you're overwhelmed. Where do you start? This session is meant for newcomers to donor relations or anyone new in an organization looking for ways to make an impact on their team. Plenty of processes exist because it's the way things have always been done, and there are natural silos between fundraising and donor relations. What if YOU could be the person who breaks down unnecessary barriers in your team? Learn how to look for easy wins and become a champion for donor relations. Get your advancement colleagues on board and the whole team will soar together to new heights! With real-life examples and tips from the donor relations team at Butler University, you'll come away with tips that are easy to apply at your organization and are guaranteed to build a better appreciation for the art of donor relations!
Learning Objectives
- Tips on integrating donor relations into every aspect of the fundraising process. Attendees will gain practical tips they can immediately apply when returning to their office. They will be encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and insert themselves into meetings and discussions throughout their department, even when they don't think it will be relevant. You can learn so much about the inner workings and behind-the-scenes processes by cross-training with other colleagues, offering to assist with projects, and creating solutions to problems. Your mere presence will encourage others to think about the reporting/engagement/stewardship impact of every strategy, baking donor relations into plans from the beginning.
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Building bridges and relationships with frontline gift officers/ Using the pandemic to realign donor and frontline fundraiser expectations: Too often, silos exist between frontline and donor relations staff. Why? Some depend on fundamental personality differences, but I prefer to think of it as a miscommunication and missed opportunity to be each other's best advocates. Practice putting yourself in their shoes! Offer to tag along on a donor visit to discuss those scholarship agreement revisions. Learn more about what it takes to be a gift officer. Then, translate that knowledge into ways that donor relations can remove unnecessary barriers to fundraising success. On the reverse, hold transparent conversations with gift officers about changes to policy and how they will impact the fundamental operations of your work and theirs. The more you can make the policies and procedures come to life by explaining them holistically through the lens of the donor experience, the more buy-in you will have. Also, the pandemic created a natural window to re-evaluate "the way we've always done it." Involve frontline fundraisers in your donor relations strategy sessions to brainstorm better donor engagement and reporting.
- Finding easy wins to demonstrate success to your broader advancement team. Showcase donor relations as a hub for innovation, engagement, and positivity. Any time you're new, it's critical to find your place within the organization. Look for solutions to common problems and find ways to alleviate them. By demonstrating that you hear their concerns and you are a willing partner in making the team better, you will naturally become more integrated with your colleagues!
Keywords:
Gift Documentation, Relationship-Building, Reporting, Strategy, Working With Frontline Fundraisers
| About the Speakers |
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 Emily Thornton
Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship
Butler University
For 10 years, Emily Thornton has worked with nonprofit organizations to form deeper connections with their constituents and raise critical funds to fulfill their missions. Experienced with all facets of the fundraising process, she has been involved in multiple record-setting capital campaigns in higher education with the record-breaking close of the $3.9B For All: The Indiana University Bicentennial Campaign and Butler Beyond: The Campaign for Butler University, raising over $263M.
Currently the Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship at Butler University, she previously worked as Director of Development at Indiana University and Director of Advancement for the Tau Kappa Epsilon Educational Foundation. Emily also serves on the National Campaign Leadership team for Phi Mu Foundation’s largest comprehensive campaign, which raised over $20M. Emily holds an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University, a Certificate in Fund Raising Management (CFRM), and a B.A. in Journalism from Mercer University. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband, Philip, and her son, Campbell.
 Rosie Tarlton
Associate Director of Stewardship and Compliance
Butler University
Rosie graduated in 2018 with her bachelor's in Philanthropic Studies and certificate in Nonprofit Management after completing internships with the Indiana University Foundation and the IUPUI School of Science Development and Alumni Relations team. Rosie took her first full-time professional position in southern Indiana as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at Hanover College. Her work led her to engage alumni through meaningful opportunities to deepen their ties to the College following graduation.
Rosie currently works at Butler University providing stewardship and engagement opportunities to alumni, donors, and friends of Butler. As the Associate Director of Stewardship and Compliance, she has a wide range of duties from preparing gift documentation all the way to carrying a permanent stewardship portfolio of donors. Her work is increasingly important as Butler University recently completed Butler Beyond: The Campaign for Butler University, the institution’s largest comprehensive campaign which raised over $263M.
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