Let's Talk Fundraising

There's More Money Than Big Ideas: Why Bold Campaigns Win Big with Paul Johnson

• Keith Greer, CFRE • Season 1 • Episode 11

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Unlock the secrets to successful major gifts and capital campaigns with Paul Johnson, the visionary founder of Creative Fundraising Advisors. With over 30 years of experience, Paul shares his invaluable strategies and real-world examples, perfect for both small nonprofits and large institutions. We discuss the critical readiness factors that can make or break your campaign, and the necessity of having a big vision—your North Star—that drives transformative changes like new buildings, endowments, or programs. Whether you're a seasoned fundraiser or a novice, this episode promises insights that will elevate your fundraising efforts.

We dive into the importance of building a culture of philanthropy within your organization, especially crucial for smaller nonprofits. Paul offers practical advice on coordinating campaign plans with annual giving to prevent cannibalizing funds. We discuss how right-sizing your campaigns can build donor confidence and highlight the power of celebrating significant gifts to nurture a philanthropic spirit among staff and board members. By incorporating mission moments in board meetings and involving the entire staff in donor acknowledgments, you’ll see how these practices can reinforce the central role of philanthropy in achieving your mission.

Get ready to be inspired by Paul's tips on strategic planning and maximizing fundraising success. He outlines the key elements of a robust strategic plan, emphasizing clear mission, vision, and guiding values, coupled with actionable goals. Learn why individual philanthropy is pivotal in campaigns and how to harness the power of a strong individual donor base. For small fundraising teams, Paul shares strategies to leverage board members and leadership effectively. We end on an uplifting note, celebrating the nobility of the fundraising profession and encouraging boldness and confidence in your efforts. This episode is a treasure trove of actionable tips and inspiring stories, making it a must-listen for anyone committed to advancing their organization's mission through effective fundraising.

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Keith Greer, CFRE:

Hey, there, hi, and welcome back to let's Talk Fundraising. Today's episode is an absolute must-listen, especially if you're navigating the complex world of major gifts and capital campaigns. I'm thrilled to be joined by Paul Johnson, the founder of Creative Fundraising Advisors, who brings over 30 years of experience working with some of the most prestigious institutions across the United States. We'll dive deep into what it takes for both small and large organizations to launch successful campaigns, tackling the readiness factors that can make or break your efforts. Whether you're a small nonprofit or a large institution, paul's insights are going to be invaluable. He's sharing strategies, real-world examples and the key steps you need to take before embarking on a major fundraising initiative. So let's talk fundraising.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I'm very excited to welcome today Paul Johnson, who I've recently gotten to know. Paul is the founder and president of Creative Fundraising Advisors and he brings over 30 years of fundraising expertise to the table. Since 2014, he has led CFA in supporting a diverse array of prestigious clients, including the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, lincoln Center Theater and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Before CFA, paul was a senior consultant with Alexander Haas and held significant development roles at renowned institutions like the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Paul's strategic leadership has been pivotal in numerous transformative fundraising campaigns across the United States. Welcome to the podcast, paul.

Paul Johnson:

Thank you for having me. I'm happy to be here.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely. Could you tell us a little bit about your company and what you guys specialize in?

Paul Johnson:

For sure. Yeah, I mean we are a full-service fundraising consulting firm and we provide a really broad array of services for our clients, everything from campaign planning, campaign counsel, strategic planning, annual giving counsel, membership counsel. We provide board coaching and executive coaching and just a vast array of services. What I will say that I think is maybe a little bit different about us than some other consulting firms, is that in about I think it was 2017 or 18, I can't quite remember when I made a decision that we as a firm would, instead of going fully broad in the nonprofit sector, that we would really focus on four principal, what we call verticals. And the four verticals that we focus on and become real subject matter experts on are arts and culture.

Paul Johnson:

Some people call it social services, some people call it human services organizations, but that's sort of social service, safety net, environmental organizations and some educational institutions. So you know we don't generally do faith-based organizations. We don't generally do. You know United Appeals, and I always say that we don't do animal-based organizations only because we haven't ever been given the opportunity. But if someone came to us with a project having to do with puppies and kittens, I'd be all in. So we just haven't been given, we haven't been given that opportunity. Who wouldn't want to work with puppies and kittens?

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I'd be all in.

Paul Johnson:

So we just haven't been given that opportunity.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Who wouldn't want to work with puppies and kittens?

Paul Johnson:

Exactly, I mean animal welfare, you know. I mean hold up a puppy and raise a bunch of money. That's how I feel.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely so. Diving into this today, Paul, could you start by explaining what a major fundraising or capital campaign entails and why it might be crucial for an organization's growth?

Paul Johnson:

That's such a good question. So, in terms of what it entails, it entails a lot, right. I mean, it entails so much more than just like publishing a brochure and going out and asking for money, right, and you know organizations well. The reason campaigns are so popular is because campaigns work. We know they work. There's lots of evidence that they work, and what I am often fond of saying is that you never get your best gift out of anybody in an annual giving situation. You'll get a good gift out of somebody in an annual giving situation, but in terms of the best gift out of somebody, you are going to get that best gift out of somebody when they have an opportunity to engage with you in a transformational moment for the institution. And so that's really what organizations are looking at. Campaigns is that they're at a moment of transformation, right? So they are either looking to build a new building or they're looking to and I want to make a comment about this in a second but they're looking to build a new building, or they're looking to build an endowment, or they're looking to add a bunch of programs or do all of that. That's the moment of transformation that they need an injection of capital in order to transform from this level organization to the next level of organization. I always say that campaigns are about transformation and whether you're running a campaign that is a million dollars or $10 million or $100 million, if at the end of that process, at the end of that campaign, you are not transformed as an organization, you have not done your job right. We have not done our jobs right, because the organization needs to be changed. You need to look different, act different, think differently and be a different kind of organization. But really importantly. So, what I just talked about, like building a building, building an endowment, you know, funding new programs, whatever that's not really. I mean that is a campaign, but it really isn't a campaign. I mean that is a campaign but it really isn't a campaign.

Paul Johnson:

What we always like to talk about with a campaign is a campaign is really a big idea, right? A campaign is a big vision, a campaign is a North Star, right, and that all of the things that are being funded in a campaign. So, whether that's the building or whatnot, that is just a means to an end, right? So let me give you an example A big university decides that they want to be the world's leading expert in some sort of biotechnology field. They want to be the world's leading expert. In order to do that, they need to build a building, they need to hire faculty, they need to pay graduate students, they need to have undergraduate students, they need to have research funds. They need all of these things in order to achieve that North Star of being the world's leading expert in something. So that's the North Star. That is the North Star that is driving that organization, and so I think that is really one of the key elements for any organization thinking about whether or not they should engage in a campaign is that is that campaign being driven by a big idea and a big vision?

Paul Johnson:

And also, really importantly, is the entire organization aware of and bought into that big vision? Right? So is the board aware of that? Have they been brought along in the visioning process? Is the staff leadership aware of it? Is the staff aware of it? Because and I say this all the time campaigns are not the purview of the development director. They're not the purview of the board. They're not the purview of the development director. They're not the purview of the board. They're not the purview of the executive director. They're the purview of everybody. Right, the campaign needs to touch everybody at the organization and everybody needs to understand what is the transformation that we're going through right and how are we going to go through that together. So it's really getting a really clear understanding of what that big why and what that big vision is and then all of the things that are going to happen to make that big vision possible.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely, and I think that's such an important thing to talk about is that campaigns are really about engaging in that transformation and that the organization is needing to evolve into a different, into a new kind of an organizational program, into a different, into a new kind of an organizational program. And so what are some of the key indicators that an organization is ready to undertake that major fundraising campaign to make that transformation, and how can fundraisers assess these within their own organization?

Paul Johnson:

Yeah, it's a really great question. There are so many key leading indicators for that and in fact we've developed a 23-point campaign readiness questionnaire for organizations to see if they're campaign ready, and it tests things like and I won't go into all 23 points, but one of the things that really is important is is there a culture of philanthropy? Is there a culture of philanthropy that exists within the organization and we can talk about a culture of philanthropy later and what that means? Is there a culture of philanthropy that exists within the organization and we can talk about a culture of philanthropy later, and what that means? Is there a culture of philanthropy that exists on the organization? Is the right leadership in place to lead this campaign? And is the right leadership in place on the staff side and on the board side? Is the right board in place to lead a campaign like this? And if it's not the right board, what do we need to do to either get the board ready or to supplement the board to get them ready? Is there a well-warmed up cohort of major and principal gift prospects? Do you have those kinds of relationships? And if they're not, what do you need to do to get a group of prospects ready for a campaign like this.

Paul Johnson:

I'm also not saying that a campaign isn't an opportunity to engage new prospects, because in some instances it certainly is. But if you don't have a pretty robust major gifts program of people giving substantial and substantial is different for every organization right. But if giving meaningful gifts on an annual basis and really engaged in the life of your organization, that's going to be a slightly harder lift for you, a slightly bigger lift for you. But also, is your campaign grounded in a strategic plan? Is your campaign really well thought out in terms of what the impact is going to be on the organization? Does your strategic plan address the issues that are going to be addressed or that are going to be funded through a campaign? And so, have you gone through that strategic planning process? Have you gone through that visioning process? Do you have the right staff in place, right?

Paul Johnson:

So it's one thing and this is applicable to an organization of any size, right. It's one thing that you have to raise your annual nut every year. You know, no matter what that nut is. Layer on top of campaign on top of that, and then suddenly something's going to suffer, right? And the last thing we want to have suffer is your annual nut. That is, you know, absolutely key right. And so what do we need to do to either supplement the staff to support a campaign or what do we need to do on the volunteer side to make sure that there are volunteers in place that can act as ambassadors for the campaign and proxy fundraisers for the campaign in a smaller organization, right In an organization that doesn't have the capacity to add a lot of staff, right? So it's sort of looking at like what is that internal capacity for actually executing a campaign?

Paul Johnson:

The other thing I think that people have to remember is that campaigns are marathons and they're not, you know, sprints. And does the organization have the fortitude actually to think about a fundraising campaign that could last three, five, seven years? I mean, do they have the discipline? Do they have the organization? Do they have what is necessary to sort of go from A to Z in a campaign, a to Z in a campaign? So those are some of the key indicators that we look at in terms of campaign readiness.

Paul Johnson:

But we also going back to the first question is that we really look for that big why? I mean, I can't tell you the number of clients that come to us and say we need to raise an endowment and I'll say to them why. And they'll say, well, you know, because we just don't have enough money. I'm like, well, that's a terrible reason to start a campaign, right? Just you know.

Paul Johnson:

And I've said to clients, like, just raising an endowment because you need more money, I call that the everybody wants a new pony campaign.

Paul Johnson:

I mean, everybody wants a bigger endowment, right, but tell me what that bigger endowment is going to do for you, right, and don't tell me it's going to make you more financially stable, because that is making your problem, your donor's problem, right. You need to actually be able to tell me that by doubling the size of the endowment, you're going to be able to do X, y things that you cannot do right now, right, and that those X, y things are things that need to be sustained within the organization. And we need to talk about, like, what the impact of raising the endowment is going to be, not only on the organization but on the organization's ability to deliver on their mission, right. So we ask a lot of tough questions at the beginning of the campaign planning process and we push pretty hard in terms of like, and some organizations, you know, they know their why, they know their vision, and it's really awesome. But sometimes you have to kind of ask them like so what?

Keith Greer, CFRE:

So tell me why I need to care about that, like tell me why that's so important and why is that so important not only to you but to the community that you work in Absolutely, and I think that when people a lot of fundraisers think about campaigns, they think of major organizations that are tackling these projects, but it's also smaller organizations that can take on a campaign themselves For sure. What foundational elements does a small organization need to make sure that they have in place, compared to a large organization?

Paul Johnson:

It's a really great question. I think that for a smaller organization principally, you need to look at does the executive director or the whomever right of that organization have the time, capacity and inclination to spend a very good chunk of their time raising money? Right? Are they willing to dedicate 30 or 40% of their time actually raising money for a campaign Because that person becomes the de facto principal gift officer in a campaign? Right A, b, is there the volunteer force that is going to support a campaign for a smaller organization and it can't be a campaign committee in name only. It has to be a working campaign committee where volunteers are assigned prospects and they're actually going to do the fundraising work. Right, they're assigned prospects and they're actually going to do the fundraising work right.

Paul Johnson:

The third thing is and I can't emphasize this enough is a plan and having a really robust campaign plan and making sure that that really robust campaign plan is being planned in collaboration, in coordination with an annual giving plan, a really robust annual giving plan. So it's much easier in a smaller organization for a campaign to cannibalize an annual fund than in a bigger organization. That can absorb more of that sort of uncertainty. But smaller organizations can't really absorb that, and so what is the plan for maintaining an annual fund in a campaign scenario? The other thing, too, is that I think that one of the advantages, frankly, of a smaller organization doing a million dollars, that half a million dollars is transformational for that organization and you're very easy able to easily show a donor like what the impact of that, of that gift is right, and I think that's actually pretty, that's actually pretty thrilling. That's much more easily done than in a big hundred million dollar organization, where it's not that that gift is going to get lost, but the impact is not going to be as evident as with a smaller organization.

Paul Johnson:

I think that the other thing that's really important with smaller organizations is that their campaign feel right-sized to the donors. So I think that if you're, let's just say, a $3 million annual operating organization and you say we want to run a $50 million campaign, everyone is going to look at you like you have trees growing out of your head. People are just going to think you're insane because the numbers just don't make sense in their head. So we want to make sure that the campaign is right-sized to the organization and that it's actually achievable, because then you're going to have all kinds of donor confidence right, that it is actually achievable, and so I think that's really important. But again, a lot of the same principles apply to smaller organizations as they do to larger organizations. You know smaller organizations. I think it's even more important that a smaller organization have a strategic plan and that a campaign be born of a strategic plan.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Well, I want to touch on the strategic plan in just a moment, but I actually first want to circle back to talking about making the campaign needs feel right size for the donors. They'll right-size for the donors and I think that has to do specifically with something you mentioned earlier, which is making sure you have that culture of philanthropy within the organization, the board, your staff. How can you build and nurture that within those groups?

Paul Johnson:

Culture of philanthropy is really interesting. So a culture of philanthropy is the acknowledgement that one. Philanthropy is the secret sauce in organizations that often take organizations from good to great right. I actually call the culture of philanthropy in many organizations that funding the margin of excellence, right. So if you're a small performing arts organization, right, and you have earned revenue through ticket sales and whatnot, so you have an income source, but what really makes you great is that philanthropic revenue source, right. But in all organizations it's really philanthropy that is funding your mission. And so I think it's really working to educate everybody in the organization that philanthropy is really central to all of the work that they do, and philanthropy is central to unlocking your mission.

Paul Johnson:

So there are ways to do it. One is being sure and this sounds somewhat simple, but I think it really can be very powerful is that if somebody in the organization or whatnot brings in a significant transformative gift, right. Don't just share that with the development staff, share that with the entire staff. Right. Share that with everybody that they know what the gift is for, who it's from if they're allowed to say that and what it's for and what the impact is going to have, and let other people in the organization. Thank that donor, not just the executive director, not just the chair of the board, but let a program person you know thank that donor, not just the executive director, not just the chair of the board, but let a program person thank that donor for their generosity and allow people to actually celebrate those gifts, right?

Paul Johnson:

The other thing to do to ensure a cultural philanthropy on a board, for example, is making sure that when people are coming to a board meeting, they're remembering why they're coming to a board meeting of a nonprofit organization and that they don't feel like they're coming to the board meeting of a bank. Right, that the board meeting not just be about you know, the finance report and the investment report and this and that. But you know, make sure in your board meetings you have a mission moment in your board meeting and that the board members are reminded of, like, what you do as an organization and how that mission is actually being funded, right. So celebrate that in your board meeting. Celebrate gifts in your board meeting.

Paul Johnson:

Make sure that there's a lot of communication with your board about who is giving and what they're giving and what they're giving for. So if those are, you know two ways to think about a culture of philanthropy, but it's really. It's really putting philanthropy at the center of the conversation rather than, you know, oh, it's the fundraisers who take care of that. That has nothing to do with me, right? I remember, at one organization I worked at years and years and years ago, we got accused of oh, they just go to cocktail parties all the time.

Paul Johnson:

Of course of course, that's what a lot of people do. They're just going to cocktail parties all the time. They get to dress in nice clothes and they get to go hang out with rich people and drink wine. And what I would always say is, yes, we do go to a lot of cocktail parties, but I promise you that everybody is back at their desk at 8.30 the next morning actually doing work. And so I developed this presentation for the entire staff of this organization that was called Development. It's Not Just a Cocktail Party, and I actually walked through the role of each person in the development office and what they did and what their goals were and how they were achieving those goals. So people really understood what the development office was doing and what they were responsible for.

Paul Johnson:

The other thing, too is, I think that another way to develop a culture of philanthropy in the organization is for the development office also to acknowledge that donors don't always want to speak to development people, that they actually really want to speak to program people, whether that be a curator, whether that be a professor, whether that be whomever in the organization who's actually delivering on the mission. Let the donor have relationships with those people and cultivate those relationships, and so that both sides see what the other side is doing the other way and I think this is super important and I think organizations take this for granted a little bit too much but publish an annual report, like absolutely publish an annual report where link to that PDF so they can see it online and put it on your website and make sure that it's super transparent about what is the impact that this organization is happening and how is philanthropy supporting that impact. Again, I think it's just a matter of putting philanthropy at the center of the conversation.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I love what you're saying about how we need to make sure that we're acknowledging the relationships between donors and our program officers. I wouldn't be able to do what I do without that partnership with my program officers because there's just too many people to be stewarding and cultivating all at once and being able to make sure that those relationships are continuing with the organization and being able to make sure that those relationships are continuing with the organization even without my involvement is really critical, especially as we're kind of moving into that major campaign.

Paul Johnson:

Well, and also, I mean, we as development officers have a responsibility to be super nimble in our ability to talk about everything that happens at the organization, and I think that that's actually one of the core skills of a really good development person is having that ability to talk about what an organization does. But we can only talk so much. We actually have to engage the people who are doing the work, right, because in many, many ways or at least as far as I'm concerned they're way more interesting than I am right. They're way more, you know, they're way less of a talking suit than I am, and donors want to talk to those people, right, donors want to have those kinds of relationships and I think it's really important, you know. Also, donors want to.

Paul Johnson:

You know, we were working here I'm in Los Angeles today and we were working here with an organization that provides meals for people who are homebound with illness, right, and they have these like vast kitchens where the meals are being prepared and it's really an impressive operation.

Paul Johnson:

But those kitchens are very dependent on a vast volunteer workforce that comes in and helps prepare the meals and helps package the meals and every patient gets a different kind of meal.

Paul Johnson:

So it's very complicated.

Paul Johnson:

But I remember walking in one day to that organization for a meeting and I walked through the kitchens and I looked and I saw one of the volunteers was one of the biggest philanthropists in Los Angeles and like there she was with an apron on, like scooping out you know peas into a tray and I was like and I went up to say hi to her. I knew her and I looked at and she just was had this beaming look on her face right. She was so happy to be there, engaged in the work of the organization and, yes, she was very, very philanthropic with this organization, very philanthropic with this organization. But being able to be on the ground like that was super meaningful to her and I think it served that organization very well to open those doors to her and let her engage on that level and not be afraid that a big donor is going to come in and they're going to work in the kitchen and they're going to see that things get dirty. Don't be afraid of that and I thought that was really cool.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I love that because that's exactly what they're funding with their money, and now they're getting that hands-on experience, which is irreplaceable in any other context, so I love that.

Paul Johnson:

Irreplaceable.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Yeah.

Paul Johnson:

Yep, absolutely irreplaceable and they can actually see the benefit of the work that they're doing.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely. I want to get back to one of the other things you had said, which was talking about the strategic plan and how important that is. Before initiating a capital campaign, what should a strategic plan ?

Paul Johnson:

so many things. We see strategic plans that are in three parts, three big parts, right? The first is the strategic plan itself and, frankly, your strategic plan should be able to exist on a single piece of paper, one sheet of paper. And that strategic plan is a mission, vision, your set of values that are guiding the organization and three to five really big goals that you want to achieve over the next three to five years. Right, and it is not as easy as it sounds to get to mission and vision. I learned from a very close friend of mine who does a lot of strategic planning and she taught me this and I use it all the time now is that when you're thinking about mission right, mission needs to answer the question what good do you do and for whom? Your vision needs to answer the question what is the impact that you seek? So what good do you do and for whom? And what is the impact that you seek? And your vision really needs to answer that big. So what question? Right? You do all of these things. So what, like? What is the impact you're going to seek? And the impact can't be world peace, right? That just is. It's too big of a vision, right? So what is the vision that you seek as an organization? And then, what are those values that are actually guiding the decision-making at the organization? And getting into a values discussion is not. It's a very iterative and collaborative discussion about what the values of an organization are, and it really needs to be carefully vetted on the board level in terms of what are the values that are going to guide that organization.

Paul Johnson:

And then those big those three, four, five, big, big goals, like big, hairy goals that you want to achieve, right? So that's your strategic plan. It should exist on one page, it should exist on your website. People should have that piece of paper at their desk. Everybody should know that that's your strategic plan. The second piece of that is the operating plan. Right? So it's one thing to have that strategic plan, but if you're not operationalizing those three to five big goals and that operating plan is something that is really robust, like going through and looking at what are the strategies, what are the tactics, who's in charge, what's the timeline, how is that going to be achieved? What are all the steps that are going to be achieved to achieving that big, hairy goal? What is the team that's being put around that goal, all of that. Then the third piece of that is what is the accompanying financial plan for the strategic plan? So what's going to cost more, what's going to cost less, what's going to be equal in cost, right, and what kind of investments are needed? You know it's interesting.

Paul Johnson:

So if you put in a strategic plan, you know one of our big goals is to build a new building. Right, the operating plan behind we're going to build a new building because we need to X, y, z, whatever. That is right. The operating plan behind we need to build a new building can be pages and pages and pages long. Right, it's a very robust operating plan. Operationalize your strategic plan with really clear metrics and deadlines. Then the strategic plan might as well just live on a shelf somewhere and no one pays attention to it. But the other thing too is that the strategic plan is actually the purview of the board, right. That mission, vision, values and big goals that's the purview of the board, with staff input for sure. But it is definitely the purview of the board. The operating plan is the purview of the staff, right? So the staff takes that strategic plan, they operationalize the strategic plan and then they do an accompanying financial plan, you know what's going to cost more, what's going to be cost neutral and what's going to. You know where might we see savings right.

Paul Johnson:

One of the things, too, that's really important in a strategic planning process is that you know nonprofits are really really good at adding. They're very good at adding programs. What nonprofits are not so good at sometimes is subtracting, is taking away programs, and I think in a really rigorous strategic planning process, it's really important for an organization to look at programs and say you know what is this still working for us, right? I'll give you an example. The development office has done the same event every February for the last 25 years and nobody really comes to it anymore and we're not really raising any money. But we've just always done it that way. We've always done that event in February. Well, let's do some cost analysis as to the benefit of doing that event. And is that something that we can let go, so you can actually deploy your resources in a more effective way? And it's very hard for organizations to let things go. We've always done this education program. What I always say is the seven last words of a dying organization are because we've always done it. That's so true, right? And I think that it's really important to look at those things of like what are we not going to do anymore because it's not serving us well or it's not serving our mission very well? So that's an important, I think, an important part of a strategic planning process.

Paul Johnson:

So, when you're looking to answer, your question is how does that relate to a campaign? Right? So say again, going back to the example of we need to build a new building, great, in the operating plan you go into, like, why do you need a new building? Articulating that, why that should be part of the you know mission and vision a little bit. But it really is like why do you need that? What's it going to cost? You know what's it going to look like, not even what it's going to look like, but what's it going to cost? Like, what is the cost per square feet? How is it going to function? What is the timeline for all of those? I mean the operating plan for that can go on and on, and then figuring out if you can actually raise the money for that. So we need to do a campaign feasibility study, we need to do this, that and the other thing. So it's all wrapped up in that strategic plan about, like, in order to build this new building, we have to do these 27 things.

Paul Johnson:

One of the goals is financial stability, and financial stability isn't a goal. Financial stability is not a strategy. Financial stability is got to take that out, because that's not a strategy. You know. That's not even really a goal. That's an outcome, right. So what are the things that you're going to do that are going to cause you to be financially stable? Right, but it's not a strategy and it's not a goal. It's an outcome.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I think that's a really kind of eye-opening moment for a lot of people to think of it that way.

Paul Johnson:

It's hard. It's hard for people to get their heads around that way, and it could be like we need to double the size of our endowment so we can do X, Y and Z, which will also allow them to be financially stable. That's great right, but financial stability is an outcome, it's not a goal.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absol utely and you had talked earlier about having a financial plan as part of a strategic plan and so kind of looking at that cause I think that's what a lot of fundraisers are going to be focused. What are the sources of revenue we should be focused on during the campaign.

Paul Johnson:

Individual giving, foundation giving, bequests I don't know why they quite separate out bequests and then corporate giving. I think those are the four areas. When you add it together, about 93% of the money in this country is coming from individuals, right? So between people, individuals who are giving money, people who are giving through bequest because those are individuals after all, right. And then you look at those foundations, and I can't remember the exact number, but a certain portion of those foundations are actually family foundations, where those decisions about grant making are being made by families and by people rather than by program officers or boards or whatnot. And then corporate giving is a very small slice of the pie.

Paul Johnson:

So, yes, by and large, campaigns are very much driven by individual philanthropy, right.

Paul Johnson:

That is not to say that there isn't a place, certainly, for institutional giving, certainly for foundation grants, absolutely.

Paul Johnson:

And in some instances there could be some corporate support, particularly if it's around the area of program growth, around the area of they're really going to be a corporation, I think is going to to see the impact of their giving, you know. But but there are always exceptions, and you know you mentioned in my bio that we worked on the Academy Museum and a big chunk of that of that campaign was corporate giving, because it was the movie studios, it was some luxury brands who wanted who you know were close to the industry and whatnot. So we saw a lot of corporate giving in that project. I'm just here in LA and there's a client who we're working with that could get a big gift from one of the baseball teams here. So I'm not going to say entirely that institutional giving has no place in the campaign, because I don't believe that, but I think that you need to just be aware of where their priorities are and allow that to be a very as we would with an individual allow that to be a very donor-centric conversation.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I think that's really great. For the organizations that are maybe more focused on, or reliant on grants at this point, do you think that they're ready to go into a capital campaign or do they need to do work to really build up that donor base before they can start doing that transformative work?

Paul Johnson:

Boy, that's a good question. I mean, I would, I would and this is a big generality, right? I would. I would say that, by and large, you need to start building that individual donor base before you really think about launching a campaign. Right, and again, that's not to say that there isn't a big place in those campaigns for foundation money, because there probably is. I think it's really just an assessment. You know, I don't think there's a generic answer to that question, because I think it's really very much dependent on the organization, because we work with some organizations where there's huge foundation investment in the organization and are willing to invest in the campaign too. So I think it's different for every organization. I really do. But, honestly, if you're not somehow building an individual donor base, you are potentially leaving money on the table.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely, and you've worked with organizations of all sizes. Really Can you provide examples of how maybe like a three-person fundraising development team can really effectively scale their efforts for a large campaign, compared to maybe a 30 or 100 person fundraising team?

Paul Johnson:

It goes back to a little bit of what I said earlier about you know who else can be deployed in the organization to support that campaign, right? So, either on the board level or on the leadership level, even on the program staff level. And also, you know, one of the things with a small organization that I think is really important is to not get overwhelmed by the campaign, right that and I said this earlier campaigns are marathons, they're not sprints. You know, take the campaign in bite-sized chunks, right, and figure out what you can achieve like this quarter in the campaign, and make sure that you're managing it in bite-sized chunks rather than you know, oh my gosh, we have to raise $10 million in the next two years. I have no idea how that's going to happen. Take it in bite-sized chunks.

Paul Johnson:

But I also think that, like I said earlier, having that campaign plan is going to be really, really important.

Paul Johnson:

But I also think, too, what we often hear with smaller organizations is oh my gosh, there's no way that we're going to be able to compete in a campaign scenario because of all these big, sophisticated organizations out there doing these big campaigns, and we're just like this little David and Goliath situation. And what I would say to that is, first of all, there's more money out there than there is big ideas, right. And if you can have a really clearly articulated vision for your campaign and a really clearly articulated case for support that can cut through the noise of some of the other campaigns, you need to trust that your donors or other donors are going to follow along right and that they actually will see the value in supporting your campaign because of the impact you're going to be able to have. You know the same way they might support a campaign for the big orchestra in town or for the big university in town or something like that, and trust your donors are going to come along with you.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I love the quote that you just said, and I don't know if you came up with it or if you found it somewhere, but "there's more money out there than big ideas. I think that's such a battle rallying cry for all of us out there working on these campaigns.

Paul Johnson:

I will admit that I stole that. I stole that from my very close friend and consulting mentor, Jim Hackney, who used to work at Alexander Haas. He used to say it all the time, but I think he got it from someone else too. So there's no such thing as an original thought, but I say that all the time. There's more money out there than there are big ideas. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Also, don't be afraid to be really bold. You know, be bold with your. Just because you're a smaller organization doesn't mean that you can't be bold. You know, make sure your campaign is right size, but also be bold in your asks.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

For fundraisers that might feel a little bit nervous about the magnitude of their campaigns. What advice would you give them to build their confidence and their readiness?

Paul Johnson:

Well, like I said before, I think it's about breaking things down into manageable chunks. Right, don't think about everything that you have to do in the next five years to achieve this campaign goal. Think about what you have to do in the next three months to achieve the goal that has been set out in your campaign plan. Right, and focus on your campaign plan and make sure that that campaign plan has quarterly measurements that you can measure progress against. The other thing is don't get distracted. Don't let picking up the phone and making an appointment with that campaign prospect fall to the bottom of your to-do list. There are always a million other things that you can do rather than actually picking up the phone or writing that email or sending that text message or whatever you know, asking for a meeting with that major good prospect. Make sure that that is a part of your work plan. It's a part of your.

Paul Johnson:

You know, sometimes we say you know, take Tuesday mornings and Tuesday mornings from you know 9 to 1230, you're going to start making those calls, you're going to send those emails, you're going to do something like that 9 to 1230, you're going to start making those calls, you're going to send those emails, you're going to do something like that, like blocking it on your calendar and make sure that that becomes, because it's very easy in a smaller development shop to become overwhelmed by all the things. Like we have a gala to plan and I have to get this year in mailing out, and then we have Giving Tuesday and we have this and we have that and suddenly, like, your campaign work falls to the bottom of the list, right, and so make sure that you like find time in your week to actually focus on, like today's campaign day, right, and so I'm going to focus on what I need to do today for the campaign. You know and also remember and I've alluded to this a few times that in a smaller campaign, a smaller organization campaign, you're going to have a pretty active either board or campaign committee or whatnot. You have to find time to manage those relationships, right, and that's also really important.

Paul Johnson:

It's sometimes in a smaller organization when you look at capacity to do a campaign. A smaller organization may not have the resources to hire a major gift officer or a campaign manager or something like that, but what they may have the resources to hire is a development associate or a campaign manager or something like that, but what they may have the resources to hire is like a development associate or a development assistant who can actually relieve some bandwidth from the development director. And by relieving that bandwidth from the development director it allows them to focus more on the campaign. It's remarkable how that kind of change can be effective.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely, and we've talked a lot today, kind of in theory and in generalities. But before we go, can you share a success story from an organization that you've worked with that went through one of these major campaigns and the transformative impact it had on their mission?

Paul Johnson:

Absolutely so. The organization is called Project Angel Food, and Project Angel Food is an organization that delivers medically tailored meals to people who are homebound with various illnesses, and I can't remember the number of illnesses that they help to support. It started as an aid service organization in the 1980s, but then it's grown into supporting many other people During the pandemic. They did not close down one day during the pandemic. Literally not close down one day during the pandemic. Literally, they delivered meals every day during the pandemic and during 2020, they delivered 1 million meals to people, which, yeah, incredible, right. So they had a board member and they had a board member who was an architect and they said you know what in your building, if you like, move this room and move that around and da da da, we could create efficiencies so you could go from delivering a million meals a year to delivering 2 million meals a year, so you could double your impact and it would cost about 5 million bucks.

Paul Johnson:

So they called us and this is a very, very well-known organization in Los Angeles. It was started by Marianne Williamson, who you may know because she's an occasional presidential candidate, and David Geffen. David Geffen was the first donor to Project Danger Food, and so it's a kind of storied organization in Los Angeles. And so they called us and they said we need to raise $5 million. And I was like, really, I mean that should be easy for you all. And they said, well, we've never raised that much money before. And you know they were still doing like telethons and you know lots of events and whatnot, and and they said we just want to do this little, this little project. So I said, well, we're still going to do a feasibility study, cause I just I want to get a sense of this.

Paul Johnson:

So we did a full feasibility study for them and the response to the feasibility study was so bonkers, it was like bonkers that we recommended that they do a $15 million campaign, not a $5 million campaign. And I'll tell you I'll tell you, keith, we were holding back because I just had a sense. And we really then worked with them after that to really articulate the why of the organization. And they and they did a great job of like putting an amazing case together and they started thinking really big. A great job of like putting an amazing case together and they started thinking really big. And one of the things they started thinking about is like what if they created a research center for, like, the impact of medically tailored meals that was then replicable in other cities? I mean, they really started thinking, thinking big, when they announced their campaign. They announced their campaign with $53 million.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Wow From $5 to $53 million.

Paul Johnson:

So had they not gone through the process of that feasibility study and that really careful campaign planning and that really careful visioning about the future, they would have sat there at $5 million, right, probably achieved that pretty easily, but it wouldn't have allowed them to significantly transform themselves as an organization, and not only are they able to double and triple the number of meals that they're delivering, but they're actually creating a model that is replicable around the country, and they're actually. Now. What they decided to do is they actually bought the building across the street. They're expanding across the street. It's going to be a much bigger organization, but it was thrilling, right. It was just really thrilling because they actually took the time to do the study, to do the work and then to really begin to dream about what philanthropy could do to deepen their impact.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Absolutely. What an incredible story, and I just want to say thank you so much for joining us today and for sharing your wisdom and expertise. You're with Creative Fundraising Advisors. We'll provide a link to your website in the show notes of this, but I want to ask you is there any final thoughts before we go that you want to share with folks?

Paul Johnson:

I do have a final thought, and the final thought is that I've been doing this for 30 some odd years, right? Nobody has ever yet thrown me out of their office for asking them for too much money what you're doing. I really think that fundraising is a very noble profession, right, and I think that there's a nobility and there's a dignity in what we do. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, there's nothing to be ashamed of, and when you are actually inviting people to invest in your organization, you're actually helping them realize their dreams, right? And so I think that, if you have that mindset, when you're asking people for money, sky's the limit, right, because nobody's ever thrown me out of their office for asking for too much money. People have laughed at me, but they've never thrown me out of their office, right. So you know, be bold, be bold, be courageous, and what you're doing is really important work.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

And hopefully one day you'll get a puppies and kittens organization reaching out to you so we can check off that box as well.

Paul Johnson:

I would love that. I would love that so excellent.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

Thank you for joining us.

Paul Johnson:

Paul, thank you for having me.

Keith Greer, CFRE:

I really appreciate it. Have a great day.

People on this episode

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Keith Greer, CFRE

Host
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Paul Johnson

Guest