The Day we Ignored a Billionaire’s Phone Call

Years ago, I was reviewing the records of a small non-profit’s list of $1,000 donors.  

We were identifying current donors that could give at a transformational level if we had the chance to meet with them. We knew we were on the precipice. We had great leadership, a great team, and we filled a great need.

One name in these records jumped off the page. 

She is, quite possibly to this day, the most well-to-do supporter that had ever given to this organization. And she had been loyally and modestly giving every year for the last seven years. 

There were only two notes in her file, I’ll never forget them. They read: 

February 2010: Visit request call from President, left message. 

February 2010: X called back and left message about visit. 

That was it. I reviewed the list in June of 2012. 

Two and a half years had passed. No one reconnected with this donor after she had taken the time to call us back about a visit request. 

To be fair, at the time we were a small group with a small team. And no one realized who this donor was; she didn’t have a famous last name.

But that’s the point. Donors call our organizations all of the time. Imagine if, at the time, we had a system that knew who called, why, and who should be informed of the call. 

Does your organization have a system like this in place? Do your phones save call numbers so you can reconnect? Are your interns answering donor questions or are you forwarding those calls to your major gift officers?

We don’t know who is going to call our team looking for answers. But we do know that our donors are busy people. And they are used to excellent service. With some focus, we all can provide excellent service to our members. 

Building a culture that embraces the importance of fundraising can make an incredible difference, quickly. And it can invigorate our teams. 

Think about it. We have a chance to celebrate philanthropy with our entire team, not just our fundraisers; and the opportunity to introduce our donors to our entire team — from our president down to our newest hires working the front desk. 

As we move into 2021 take some time to think about how you can build a culture centered around fundraising. You will be surprised at how many members of our team will buy-in and begin connecting the dots on their own.