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Roles and Responsibilities
The CEO, volunteer leaders, and senior development staff work together to make the major giving program successful.
The CEO:
- Personifies the organization and, through stewardship activities, gives donors the assurance that their gifts will be wisely spent.
- Actively participates as the senior development officer, helping to identify, cultivate, secure, and steward gifts.
Volunteer leaders:
- As board members — review and approve all major and planned giving policies, make sure that they are carried out, and protect the donor's investment in the station by ensuring sound financial management.
- As board members and outside volunteers — take ownership of the organization as a community resource, ensuring that it reaches its full potential.
- As board members and outside volunteers — extend the station's circle of friends by helping to identify, cultivate, secure, and steward gifts from others in the community. New Hampshire Public Television and WFYI outline the specific roles and responsibilities of their volunteers in their job descriptions for volunteer committee members:
Development officers:
- Advocate for, establish, and maintain the program.
- Conduct planning, donor research, and strategy to enable leadership volunteers to assist in the major giving effort.
- Play an active role in donor stewardship to promote the relationships on which major gifts are based.
Development director:
- Advocates for sound, ethical development practice within the organization.
- Creates a donor-centered environment The development director has an additional duty, to coordinate development activities and resolve conflicts among them to ensure that donors with greater potential are promoted to greater levels of investment and involvement. This role is vital to identifying and upgrading those with major gift potential, and it is essential during a capital campaign, during which the "best donors" are usually asked to make a special gift.
Thus, development officers facilitate the work of others, though they can and do make actual gift asks, if volunteers are uncomfortable doing so. The CEO serves as the public face of the station, the person to whom donors entrust their gifts. Volunteers extend the reach of the organization into the community and serve as visible endorsements of its service and integrity.
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Attributes of Successful CEOs
The CEO is essential to success in major gift fundraising. This individual sets the tone of the organization, establishes the vision, and exemplifies the station in the public mind. In interviewing a cross-section of CEOs for this site, we identified the following shared characteristics:
- Puts good systems in place to monitor daily activities.
- Hires talented senior staff and empowers them to manager their functional areas.
- Promotes a sense of teamwork within the organization.
- Encourages strategic planning and managing to the plan.
- Spends substantial time (40-50%, by some estimates) in active community networking, cultivation, and stewardship.
- Listens to key constituents, seeking their advice and incorporating the best of it.
- Assures the openness and transparency of policy and financial information.
- Brings sufficient management experience to the position for sound decision making.
- Identifies and develops community partnerships.
- Communicates well with staff, management colleagues, board and/or licensing authority.
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Attributes of Successful Major Giving Officers
Major giving does not just happen. Like any fundraising activity, someone must be specifically charged with the activity or it will not take place. Ideally, that person will have major giving as his or her primary activity. This is an expense that many small and mid-sized stations feel they cannot now afford, but it is not a luxury. Success at major giving is partly a function of the resources the station is willing to invest in it.
The ideal major giving officer has several characteristics, calling for a mix of left- and right-brain characteristics that few people possess.
- A "people person," not just comfortable meeting others, but genuinely interested in them.
- An active listener, who not only takes in what is being said, but signals understanding to the speaker.
- Is knowledgeable in a broad range of interests and therefore able to comfortably converse on many subjects.
- A facilitator, comfortable with empowering others to succeed and willing to stay behind the curtain, when necessary.
- At the same time, a leader, fearless about closing the gift, when needed.
- Is passionate about public broadcasting and able to convey that zeal.
- Is detail oriented in such areas as event planning, file analysis, and record keeping.
Some knowledge of the local community is often helpful, but stations should also resist the temptation to hire those who have worked for several local organizations, as donors may perceive them as being hired guns rather than representatives of public broadcasting.
For stations that feel they cannot afford a major gifts officer, responsibility for major gifts is often added to the portfolio of the development director. Depending on that individual's experience, skills, and workload, this is sometimes not the best solution. Because they regularly deal with the public, corporate support representatives may also be good candidates, though the station must be careful that the candidate understands the difference between underwriting sales and major donor relationship building.
This Model Job Description (PDF, 20KB) may be used as is or can serve as a starting point for stations seeking to recruit a major giving officer. A job description for a planned giving officer is also included, and the two descriptions may be easily combined.
Clear job descriptions and effective staff organizational structures improve the development performance of any station, large or small. WLJT, Martin, Tennessee, one of the smallest stations in the MGI program, shares its organization chart and the job descriptions for its three development positions.
For information on conducting a performance evaluation of your major giving officer, see Measures of Success on the Evaluation and Improvement page in the Expand Your Program section.
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Importance of Volunteers
It is taken for granted that volunteer leadership is critical to major gift fundraising. But why are volunteers so important? Volunteers:
- Extend staff resources. A volunteer network provides more hands and more minds than the station can provide on its own.
- Expand the station's philanthropic network. Volunteer leaders expand the circle of friends and bring a more personal set of relationships to the table.
- Provide knowledge beyond the station. Volunteer leaders know the community and, through their service to other organizations, often know what works and what doesn't in local philanthropic efforts.
- Are more likely to make meaningful gifts. Those who invest their time are more likely to invest their treasure.
- Provide selflessness and credibility to the ask. Because volunteers derive no financial benefit from the station's fundraising efforts, their involvement provides a compelling endorsement.
Here are two examples showing how volunteers can make a big difference in a station's major giving effort:
- At WYES, volunteer network and solicitation has built what is, for its size, one of the largest major donor organizations in public broadcasting. The Producer's Circle Committee consists of members of the WYES Producers Circle who also provide volunteer leadership. Each year, a committee chairperson leads a prospect identification session in which members identify potential major donors from their personal lists and agree to invite them into membership through direct contact, phone call, or personal letter.
- The KLRU Producers Circle was established in 1992 with a core group of thirty charter members whose original goal was to recruit 100 members. A couple co-chairs the identification and solicitation effort each year, and former chairs, called "chair emeriti," remain involved. Through this system, KLRU volunteers have produced more major donors than the station's own file research.
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Volunteer Organization — Community Licensees
Most fundraising professionals agree that the ideal volunteer organization to lead major giving efforts is its own board of directors. Some governance experts see fundraising as an optional board responsibility, but to fundraising executives, it is usually seen as a core board task.
Resistance to fundraising can be avoided if expectations are clear at the time members are recruited. Many organizations provide a Job Description for Volunteers (PDF, 22KB) such as this from KQED, that is discussed with the individual at the time he or she is enlisted. WCVE has created an outline of expectations in its Development Committee Objectives (PDF, 2MB), and KUED has a formal job description for its Development Committee Chair (PDF, 78KB).
(See more on expectations under Identifying and Recruiting Board/Volunteer Resources below.
The expectations and responsibilities of board members should be further spelled out through a new member orientation program. This introduction to the station should include both written materials, and in-person presentations from a board leader and key staff. The Checklist for Board Orientation Materials (PDF, 67KB) outlines the items that stations should include in their board orientation materials. Another useful resource is the thorough Board Orientation Packet (PDF, 496KB) created by OPB.
Nevertheless, many boards remain resistant to playing a role in fundraising. Here are some Board Engagement Tips (PDF, 19KB) to overcome this reluctance.
If a board remains resistant, the station has two challenges. The long-range challenge is to assess whether it has the right board and the right board leadership. Changing the direction of a board is a long and time-consuming process. A case study in the sidebar describes how WCVE in Richmond managed this transition.
The short-term challenge is to make certain that board reluctance does not stall the major giving process. In these situations, here are some Volunteer Leadership Strategies (PDF, 17KB) stations have used to secure volunteer leadership.
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Volunteer Organization — Institutional Licensees
Stations licensed to government entities and universities have a different set of problems. Their governing boards are either elected, and therefore not selected for fundraising skills, or are so remote from the station that they are not able to devote time to it. Here are some successful Volunteer Organization Models (PDF, 19KB) now in use in public broadcasting. The sidebar contains some examples, including by-laws.
Whatever model your station uses, it is important to provide clear goals, adequate support, a measure of status and recognition appropriate to the job at hand.
Iowa Public Radio was formed in 2005 to bring together the public radio services of three state universities. Having completed the operational transition, it is now working to combine the three Friends groups into a statewide organization, and to add new Friends groups that cover all metropolitan areas of the state. CEO Mary Grace Herrington outlines the process (PPT, 96KB) and provides three important documents being used in that transition:
Also included is the letter of invitation (PDF, 236KB) to community leaders and major donors to Iowa Public Radio to participate in a series of discussion about the network's civic and cultural engagement opportunities. IPR has used this process to allay fears of a loss of connection to local stations and to explain how the network's distributed broadcast centers will maintain and strengthen these local ties.
An increasingly important consideration for an institutional licensee is the relationship with its parent, be it a university, school board, or state authority. Key issues in this relationship include:
- Editorial independence
- Financial challenges facing the licensee
- Licensee willingness to permit leadership volunteer involvement and input
- Cooperation/obstructionism by licensee funds development officers
The University Station Alliance (USA) has prepared a Peer Review Assessment Tool (PDF, 125KB) that can help a station to pinpoint these issues. While the tool is designed to be used by an outside facilitation team, using the tool internally can be a useful first step in identifying problems and seeking solutions. For more information, contact the .
The operating agreement (PDF, 146KB) between the University of Washington and Puget Sound Public Radio, which operates Seattle's KUOW, is one of the more innovative and productive institutional relationships in public broadcasting.
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Identify, Recruit, and Evaluate Leadership Volunteers
Volunteers can be found among your current and past board members, donors, members of advisory groups, corporate underwriters, and even newcomers brought in by other volunteers. The most important qualifications for fundraising volunteers is that they be active in the community, excited by your mission, and willing to make a meaningful gift themselves.
If they are already close to your organization, the CEO, Chief Development Officer, or major giving officer can approach them directly. If their relationship is not that close, the best person to approach them is another volunteer.
The rules for recruiting volunteers to your organization are to be clear in what you need, what is required of them, how you will support them, and what constitutes success. Rather than simply asking them to serve on a fundraising committee, answer the above four questions for them:
"We hope to expand the Leadership Circle by 10% this year and to increase revenue by 20%. We are asking you join the steering committee that is taking on that exciting challenge. (What you need.)
"As a member, you will be asked to help us identify five individuals who are capable of giving $2,500 or more each year to this station. Some of these may be on our files; others may be individuals you bring to our attention. We will also ask you to host a small reception — in your home, at your club, or at the station — where we can begin to tell them about the station, and to help us follow up with personal visits. You do not have to ask them to make a gift, if you feel uncomfortable doing so, but if you are comfortable, you will be far more effective than we are. That is the extent of your commitment. (What is required of them.)
"We will provide lists of suspects, train all members of the committee in cultivation and solicitation techniques, provide staff support for the reception, arrange follow-up appointments, and accompany you to all prospect meetings. (How you will support them.)
"We hope some of these contacts will result in gifts, but if you introduce us to five new friends who may eventually support us, you will have done your station a great service." (What constitutes success.)
Then, it is important to follow through, to give them what they need to succeed and recognize them when they have succeeded. Jeff Wright, former campaign director at Oregon Public Broadcasting, cautions against initiating volunteer activities that you cannot adequately support with staff. By doing so, you will not only fall short of your goal, but risk leaving a legacy of disaffected volunteers and donors.
Martha S. Richards, Executive Director of The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, has a checklist of opportunities she invites clients to present to every volunteer, no matter at what level. With Martha's permission, we have adapted this Volunteer Self Assessment Checklist (PDF, 30KB) for use in public broadcasting.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Oregon and Southwest Washington has developed a Board Member Nomination and Orientation Process (PDF, 14KB) that all stations with governing boards might study and, perhaps, emulate. Tom Soma, Executive Director of the charity, reports that prospective trustees are interviewed by a member of the board development committee before they are nominated, then formally voted on and, if accepted, invited to join the board. Successful nominees sign a Trustee Agreement (PDF, 22KB) that spells out specific roles and responsibilities. At the end of each year, every trustee fills out a Trustee Self-Evaluation (PDF, 44KB). Soma says that the process has improved the rate of board giving and participation and has produced resignations of those members who cannot meet the standards the charity sets.
KNPB in Reno uses a similar tool that incorporates a point system. Board members use this system to conduct an Annual Self Evaluation (MS Excel file, 18KB) of their own performance.
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