A Hate-Hate Relationship (Part 2 of 2)
Speaking from personal experience, I recognize the constant challenge it can be to enter cultivation work into your organization’s donor relationship management system (DRM). I know of very few major gift fundraisers who are consistently proactive and disciplined in completing this task.
Part 1 of this topic was directed to managers of major gift officers, giving a quick missive on ways to help their MGOs document activity in the DRM. Rather than expecting their MGOs to solve this problem, I noted that managers must initiate finding a solution. Raise the issue and listen to the response. Discover what they need in order to create an effective system of entering activity in the DRM. Ultimately it is up to the manager to set the MGO up for success in this regard.
Now I’m 🔥coming in hot🔥 with an important message to my fellow MGOs: Once you and your manager have agreed on how cultivation activity will be documented…do it. Follow through.
Here’s a way to think about it:
I presume that most of us are motivated to have our expense reimbursements processed in a timely manner - thus we likely have a good system for submitting everything properly. However, if your accounting department receives a reimbursement request with no receipts or documentation, you will be waiting a long time for that reimbursement.
Question to consider: Can you take your system for submitting expenses and retrofit it for DRM documentation?
I realize that, as MGOs, you are likely cultivating relationships with 100+ high maintenance people. This is complicated. It’s nuanced. It might feel nearly impossible to adequately represent the work you’ve done. I understand.
My encouragement here is that you don’t have to be comprehensive. I believe good DRM documentation for each giver in your portfolio should include:
📋 A summary of your most recent engagement, followed by a brief description of your next step
💰 A giving goal
📈 Key milestones in their lives in the recent past or the foreseeable future
🙏 A strength of relationship assessment
🧑💼 Names of the connector(s) who put you in relationship with them
Here is the system I’ve developed for myself:
I use a combination of spreadsheets and digital 3x5 cards (and sometimes real world cards 📇) for documenting cultivation activity. Updating this takes about 30-60 minutes of my time per week. I have an assistant who then takes the information from my spreadsheet and cards and updates the DRM. In the event that I haven’t updated the spreadsheet and cards adequately, we do a call to talk verbally through the past 5-7 days of activity.
How does activity documentation work for you? Send me a note so I can add it to the list of helpful DRM strategies for MGOs!
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I look forward to hearing about your good work.
Blessings,
