Making the right hire

Before I begin about my thoughts around hiring for your fundraising team, please remember that I a  fundraiser. I am not a recruiter or a human resources person.

I do, however, hire people. I hire people to be part of an elite fundraising team.

So here are some thoughts:

The hiring process begins long before there is an open position. Whenever I meet people out and about who I think would make an incredible part of my team and seem passionate about the cause, I stay in touch with them and add them to my "back pocket" list. We all meet people who intrigue us or who we constantly here are doing incredible things in fundraising. So start that list.

Keep you job descriptions up to date. This is crucial. Make sure that the position you are putting out there matches the actual day-to-day expectations of the position. Job duties should match for sure.

Be very clear in your job posting. If you need someone to rock with corporate giving, make sure that is clear in what you post. It's also nice to put if the position is 9 -5 only or if occasional evening/weekend work is required.

Look at your budget with your team and see how the new person could support what you are trying to accomplish.

Start with ten-minute phone interviews. If you have a human resources person, take advantage of their expertise when creating questions.

Once you have a list for in-person interviews think of two others who might be able to do the interviews with you. Consider someone on your team and consider a program person.

In-person interviews are very important. Do not start preparing five minutes before. If you do, you are doing a disservice to you, your team, your agency and those you serve. Remember that you are looking for an individual to help your team go to new levels. Invest in the process. I will also add here that it is important for me to use the same questions for each candidate and to do each interview with the same co-workers.

If you have any past negative experiences in hiring, keep those in mind when interviewing. Be frank. Be clear about performance and expectations. Dig deep into your candidate's past experiences so you have a clear picture of what they can bring to your team.

With final interviews, it's great to include five minutes with the ED/CEO and/or someone on senior staff.

Finally, remember that the longer a future employee stays on your team and the more they bring to your team the better off everyone will be. Take your time.

Thanks so much for reading.

Tips for the fundraising professional's job search

I am on day 14 in Los Angeles.

A quick personal note (which I try to stay away from on my fundraising blog): We moved here after years of wanting to be in southern California for the warmer climate, the culture, the food and of course to be able to surf more often!

Being a fundraising professional on a job search in a city where nobody has ever heard of you isn't an easy task. Yet for some amazing reason I have had the chance to interview for some pretty incredible non-profits doing life-changing work in the Los Angeles area.

I wanted to pass along a few tips I do during the job process here. Some of these I realize are just :

Do not be in a hurry.

Get very comfortable with working with recruiting firms, especially ones who don't necessarily show that much respect for fundraising professionals or non-profit professionals as a whole.

Focus on getting in front of those who would actually hire you. This means rocking it through the recruiters.

As with any job, write an eye-opening cover letter specific to the position. Remember that you want to get in front of the person who will actually decide to hire you.

Be early to your interview.

Study the budget before the interview. For fundraisers this is crucial.

Don't promise the world. Focus on your past experiences and successes.

Dress for success.

Have a list of seven professional references that includes folks who you have reported to, who have reported to you, board members and professional contacts.

I think that's a good start!

Thanks for reading!

Onto my next big adventure

Although I try to keep this blog all about fundraising, this time I have to add a little bit of personal information.

Me and my family are moving to Los Angeles. This has been a big dream of ours, to be closer to the ocean and the chance to surf and sea kayak a couple of times a month versus once or twice a year. Plus, at 49, I am done with winter.

The big move happens next week, with my last day as Director of Development and Public Affairs at Urban Peak being July 2nd.

I will always feel incredibly humbled and intensely grateful to have had the chance to fundraise for Urban Peak and to support one of the most amazing program staffs I have ever seen. Ever. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on holidays, in heat, in frigid temperatures, in surroundings that most people would not even want to think about, the program staff at Urban Peak rocks it for youth with nothing, youth experiencing homelessness or on the verge of homelessness. Youth that most people would rather not even think about. Youth that in many cases have had their voices ripped from them.

There folks are my heroes. They are rock stars.

How was I so lucky to have had the opportunity to fundraise so they can do what they excel in? I have no clue. Yet I have been deeply touched. I will never be the same human being I was when I first began working here because of these people.

Youth homelessness is many times overlooked in the overall conversation around homelessness. This is one thing that has become super clear to me while at Urban Peak. The unfortunate reality is that without agencies like Urban Peak, young people who have been totally crapped on by society have very little chance of going beyond poverty, violence and hopelessness to move from a life on the streets to a life where they are housed, safe and living on their own without needing help from anyone. Like I have told many donors, if we can get into relationship with a youth living on the streets, that youth has a very big chance of not holding a sign asking for money when they are my age.

All of the successes with youth at Urban Peak happen because we have an incredibly passionate and compassionate group of people. They don't make a lot of money. They don't get recognized like sports stars. But they are the true agents of making this world a better place not only for the youth served by Urban Peak (2,385 last fiscal year) but for each one of us.

Please support your local agency that serves youth experiencing homelessness. If you are in the position to make a financial contribution to the agency you have just read about, please click year here.

And please stay tuned for the Los Angeles fundraising adventures!

Thank you for reading.

Making the move to Los Angeles!

My family and I have decided to follow our many-year dream and move to southern California. We will be living in the suburbs east of Los Angeles.

Leaving Urban Peak is tough. This is truly the most remarkable organization I have ever been a part of. On a daily basis we serve youth with nothing, youth who have been discarded and who in many ceases society has simply failed. The successes at Urban Peak to show youth that they are cared about and can rock it in life no matter what has happened to them is truly mind blowing.

I will be at Urban Peak through early July then we will pack up the U-Haul and head west.

I have begun the search for a development position at an agency serving those most people would not like to think about and rocking their mission. There seems to be an endless list of those types of organizations in LA and I am looking forward to getting to know many of them.

After a little beach time and getting to know our new surroundings I will be all set to rock it for those with nothing and hopefully become a part of another truly amazing non-profit.

If you are in the LA area I would love to meet you.

If you know of any amazing opportunities at non-profits in the LA area please let me know. My email is fundraisingdan@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!

Another loss for the non-profit world

I love being in the non-profit world.

I love being a fundraiser in the non-profit world.

I talk up our world all of the time. Non-profits need good pr.

Recently, someone I highly respect, decided to leave our world.

She couldn't take the lack of leadership.

She couldn't take the lack of transparency.

She couldn't take the politics.

I spoke with her several times. I urged her to leave where she was but to please stay in the non-profit world. Not all non-profits are the same and I knew she could land at an amazing non-profit that met her very normal expectations of a work place.

She decided to leave.

I am devastated that she is leaving us.

Non-profits change the world. We save lives and change lives every day. We do work that many would rather not even think about.

I have written about non-profit leadership, and lack of leadership. We need to get it together if we are to be a landing spot for incredible and passionate talent. Those we serve depend on it.

Thanks for reading.

Passion for the mission

I think of this often.

Does a member of your fundraising team need to have a passion for the mission of the non-profit?

I say yes.

I bring it up often when interviewing. I believe hiring the right people for your team is the first key to a successful fundraising team. Or any team for that matter. And I talk a lot about our mission when interviewing.

After all, we serve youth experiencing homelessness, youth who have nothing. We don't do the mission or the youth any justice if we can have folks out there building relationships in the community who don't have a passion for our work.

It's not difficult to figure out in the interview process. As a fundraiser, I want my team to have as many tools as possible to take out and build relationships and partnerships with. Their work will be so much easier if they are passionate for the cause.

Another reason I want members of team to be passionate for the mission is that I will know that coming to work and rocking it will fulfill them personally. Between being personally fulfilled, working with other who are equally passionate for the mission, being empowered and supported on all levels, and working with an elite team of fundraisers they will inevitably love their work!

I would love to hear what other fundraisers think.

Thanks for reading!

I started using lists

There seems to be  a lot of solid opinions on whether or not making lists help with finishing tasks or don't help.

For years I have met folks, speaking of fellow fundraisers here, who make lists and they work from them. I always thought that this was a great idea for them and I'm glad it worked for them.

Then, last year, while preparing for our weekly development team meeting, I realized that I was one of those fundraisers who works from a list. Just like that! And I had been doing it for some time.

You see, every Monday morning I prepare for our weekly team meetings. I create a list of items I want to chat with the team about and during our meeting we go over those items. Then, that LIST becomes a check off of items I will work on for the week.

It could include meeting with a particular staff member, something to bring up with my boss, starting an event invitation or working and working on a direct mail piece.

The simple fact is that for me, starting the week with a list of items, regardless of whether or not they are already on my calendar or in notes or whatever else I use to plan, helps me considerably.

It shows me the intensity of the week.

It allows me to celebrate as I cross things off.

It keeps me focused, which does not come natural to me.

It allows to continually throughout the week check in with others about what we are working on, how things are going with those items, and how others can support.

I could on. I won't.

For me, lists work. Or should I say, a Monday morning list for the week works for me.

I have met many fundraisers and work with many fundraisers. I realize we all have our tools that support us and the successes we have. This may or may not work for you. I wanted to share it because it works for me.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading!