Building Lasting Relationships

Hi, everyone!
 
I hope you are starting to warm up a bit, depending upon where you live. Cold, warm, rain, ice – well, that’s the Midwest in the United States. While I don’t prefer winter, it has a benefit of pushing me into a very different lifestyle for a few months. In the warmer months, I like being outdoors, such as being at the lake, and it lends to interacting with more people. But, winter gives me the opportunity to hunker down indoors where I see fewer people and focus more inward on relationships. 

This transition got me thinking about donor relationships. The research articles I am sharing this month are all about donor relationships. This has led me to re-ask you a few critical questions (listed below) about your donor relationships. You have heard me ask these before, but in light of the research I am sharing, the slow transition to early spring, and the recent posting of the JDLA podcast on Sunsetting Foundations, I felt it would be a good time to probe them again. 
 
In thinking about your relationships, remember that it is not only your donors and general volunteers you have to see as long-term advocates but also your staff and your board. These are two often-overlooked constituencies that should be our number one long-term advocate focus. Based on this, I have a few questions for you to think about:
 
• What are you doing to foster a 20+ year relationship with your current staff? By the way, the highest impact NPOs have an average of 22-year tenure length of senior staff members.  
 
• What are you doing to foster a 20+ year relationship with your current board and past board members?
 
• Are you thinking about the lifetime giving value of your relationships as opposed to just how much they gave this year?  Remember, a donor who gives for 25 years usually will give a lot more than someone who is a donor for 5 years. Think about the long-term, lifetime giving value of your relationships.
 
• Do you believe someone should be in a relationship as an advocate with your organization for 20+ years?  The answer to that may surprise some of you.
 
• Do you believe your board and staff understand why they should be in a 20+ year relationship with your organization?

• Lastly, do you believe people would want to, based on how you engage them and the value you create, want to be in a 20+ year relationship with your organization? 
 
These are just some starter questions that could be good for discussion in staff and board meetings. I hope they add value.
 
Have a blessed month!
 
Jamie