'Execution of Tricks' Isn't Enough to Grow Giving

According to the 2014 Giving USA Report, Americans gave more than $335 billion to charity in 2013. It was the fourth consecutive year of growth in the fundraising sector, and total giving is approaching pre-recession levels.

However, that growth has not been in lockstep with other for-profit industries, and that concerns legendary fundraising consultant Robert Hartsook.

For instance, Hartsook says, the outdoor recreation industry was a $298 billion industry in 2007. At that same time, nonprofit giving was a $300 billion industry. In 2013, the outdoor recreation industry approached $800 billion, while philanthropy has been relatively flat at $335 billion, according to Giving USA numbers.

While this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison, Hartsook says it’s pretty close. So “why can’t we grow this?” He admits he doesn’t have an exact answer, but he does have some ideas.

“I think it’s the quality of training and preparation for fundraisers,” he says. “I don’t know that we’re really generating thinkers — we’re more concerned with the tricks and execution.”

That’s why Hartsook has been so active in education for the sector, including his work with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Avila University. And this summer, the Hartsook Institute partnered with Avila University to put on the Inspired Fundraising Summit.

At the event, fundraising research guru and professor Adrian Sargeant, the first Hartsook Chair in Fundraising at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, shared three keys he gleaned from studying exceptional fundraising teams in the U.K.

1. Fundraising managers need to think. “As a profession, we have at some point really fallen into the trap of execution of tricks. We don’t always think through who is this donor, what are we helping donors accomplish,” Hartsook says. “We default to gimmicks and tricks. Adrian made an incredible impression on how important it is to have people in those leadership roles who think and consider that.”

2. Too much time is spent on clearing barriers. “As much as 50 percent of time for leaders of [nonprofits] is devoted to clearing away barriers that are created in the organization itself — CFO issues, accounting, CEOs reluctant to ask for money, board members not participating,” Hartsook says. “It’s good to get all this wasted time out on the table so it can be corrected.”

3. Think long-term planning first. “If you think planning long term, midterm and short term, think about long-term planning first and short-term last. Then lay out a plan and execute it,” Hartsook says.

The key to growing the sector is training and educating nonprofit leaders. To Hartsook’s amazement, he’s found that the majority of nonprofit-management programs require no course in fundraising whatsoever.

“We’re generating future leaders and not exposing them to the fundamentals of fundraising, let alone how to manage it,” he says. “The problem isn’t that people know what to do and aren’t doing it — it’s that they don’t know what to do.”

Part of the issue, according to Hartsook, is that the industry is moving away from mission-driven people in leadership roles — whether that’s the CEO, president or board — and moving toward more professionals from the business world. So while there are undoubtedly many positives to that, “half the people are hired by boards to be managers and don’t understand what the fundraising piece is all about. They have not been formally prepared for that,” Hartsook says.

“The CEO doesn’t wake up and try to harm fundraising. He or she is doing the best they can do, but they aren’t educated on that,” he adds.

That’s why it is so vital for more education in the nonprofit sector for all levels of employees, particularly around fundraising. It’s the only way that giving will see the type of growth other business sectors have achieved over the years.