Josh Birkholz
Posting on analytics, technology, visualizations, fundraising, and other unrelated things I find interesting like Doctor Who, sci fi wierdness, crazy new ideas, and interesting people.
Author of Fundraising Analytics
Principal at Bentz Whaley Flessner
Founder of the analytics group donorcast
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HAS EVERYONE SEEN THIS
NO
WELL THEN WATCH IT
#amymeetsabed -
This GameFly Commercial is too HILARIOUS!
A MUST WATCH!
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Game Of Thrones
i like games like this
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Prospect research is not what it used to be. As campaigns continue to grow in size and scope, fundraising operations increasingly professionalize, and tools expand, the information-based support of major gift development also continues to evolve.
As a prospecting professional now in my 15th year, and one privileged to work alongside some of the most amazing prospecting professionals in the industry, including Bobbie Strand, Randy Bunney, Karen Greene, Diane Crane, Jennifer Cooper, Pamela Poland, Chris Cannon, Ali McLane, Rachel Schaefer, and Alex Oftelie, I’m privileged to have had a unique vantage point to see this evolution first hand.
In 1986, Emily Pfizenmaier Henderson stated in the book edited by Bobbie Strand, Prospect Research: A How-to Guide, the following description of prospect research:
A productive research system must keep research in perspective. It has only one purpose—to support the cultivation and solicitation effort. Unless prospects become donors, research will be in vain.
Surely prospect research saw its origin in the support of cultivation and solicitation. Organizations realized significant risk and costs in developing relationships and asking for gifts with limited information. And, information was difficult to attain. Prospect Research, as an industry, professionalized information acquisition and translated this information into capacity ratings, timing considerations, and supporting strategic information for cultivation.
Did this risk and need for information go away? Certainly not. However, the tools became more accessible, information is now easier to find, donor management systems were able to store and report gathered information, and additional needs now exist. The increase in campaign demands required a substantial investment in prospect identification volume. As Prospect Research demonstrated an increasing ability for proactive research, these programs were tasked with prospect identification.
The added focus of feeding the pipeline required Prospect Research to add new functionality and expertise. Peer review and news alerts were insufficient for achieving campaign prospecting requirements. Massive scale filtering and qualification efforts were necessary. In response, this adaptive field incorporated wealth screening for broad-scale capacity assessment, and predictive analytics for broad-scale likelihood assessment. To evaluate the effectiveness of identification efforts and to address the risk of names slipping through the cracks, Prospect Research also developed complex prospect management systems.
Today, these multi-faceted, integrated programs are even changing their names to Prospect Development. Prospect Development programs are characterized by distributed labor skilled in the following components:
- Predictive analytics and data acquisition for identifying prospects and large-scale data maintenance
- Prospect identification research geared towards efficient vetting of leads and feeding the discovery process
- Prospect management, which ushers leads from assignment to stewardship
- Prospect research to continue providing the important support of cultivation and solicitation, however more likely directly entering assessments into donor management systems to produce profiles instead of traditional, unfielded shadow Word documents
The Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement, or APRA, continues to evolve and advocate for this dynamic field. Their ability to adopt prospect management and analytics alongside prospect research demonstrates unique awareness of the changing requirements of our industry.
My firm, Bentz Whaley Flessner, an investor into prospecting thought-leadership from our beginnings in the early 1980s, continues to reside at the forefront of developing integrated prospect development programs. In fact, the most common request I get from fundraising executives today is, “Help us develop an integrated prospect development approach.” Organizations that systematically identify, qualify, maintain, and research their best prospects simply raise more money. And, they do it more efficiently.
What about that 1986 definition of prospect research? The same Bobbie Strand,
wisely penned this revised observation in 2008 (from A Kaleidoscope of Prospect Development):
Prospect specialists must understand the giving potential—not of one prospect, or a small group—but of the entire constituency in metrical terms. How many? How much? How often? When? Where? How? Numbers of everything, type of constituents, donor levels, percentages of participation…
…[to] sustain a steady program of prospect identification, research, and qualification of new and previous prospects to keep the pipeline flowing and the prospect pool robust.
Prospect Research certainly is not what it used to be. It is so much more.
Principal, Bentz Whaley Flessner
I hope to see all my West Coast Friends in a couple weeks. You know you want to enjoy some techie-fundraising goodness! All the cool people will be there. Justin. Katrina. Me. And, I look so good in the video image below…
We’ll be in Seattle on 5/23, San Francisco on 5/24, and Anaheim on 5/25 talking about social media that leads to real fundraising results and the latest in analytics for fundraising. Hope to see you there! (to sign up, click on the above link by city and date)
Q&A with Fundraising Expert, Joshua Birkholz, on the Benefits of Predictive Analytics
In today’s tough fundraising environment, knowing how to use your wealth of prospect and donor data is essential in saving time, money and resources, and generating more revenue.
Joshua Birkholz, fundraising expert and author of the book, Fundraising Analytics, talked to us about redefining fundraising and the impact predictive analytics can have in helping nonprofits succeed in funding their important missions. Birkholz will also be participating in IBM’s webinar on Wednesday, May 9 at 1:00 pm ET, Successful Fundraising: Using Analytics to Gain Donor Insight.
Birkholz, an admitted IBM SPSS predictive analytics champion, says he’s been riding the analytics wave since helping build a fundraising solution for the University of Minnesota focused on major donors in 2002.
Fundraising today, according to Birkholz, whether in healthcare, higher education, social service or environmental has changed considerably. It has become a higher touch, more focused conversation with donors as they are now investing in the mission, longevity and impact of an organization.
Q&A with Fundraising Expert, Joshua Birkholz, on the Benefits of Predictive Analytics
In today’s tough fundraising environment, knowing how to use your wealth of prospect and donor data is essential in saving time, money and resources, and generating more revenue.
Joshua Birkholz, fundraising expert and author of the book, Fundraising Analytics, talked to us about redefining fundraising and the impact predictive analytics can have in helping nonprofits succeed in funding their important missions. Birkholz will also be participating in IBM’s webinar on Wednesday, May 9 at 1:00 pm ET, Successful Fundraising: Using Analytics to Gain Donor Insight.
Birkholz, an admitted IBM SPSS predictive analytics champion, says he’s been riding the analytics wave since helping build a fundraising solution for the University of Minnesota focused on major donors in 2002.
Fundraising today, according to Birkholz, whether in healthcare, higher education, social service or environmental has changed considerably. It has become a higher touch, more focused conversation with donors as they are now investing in the mission, longevity and impact of an organization.
I hope to see you tomorrow!
Making the jump to lightspeed is reckless without checking the navicomputer. Jumping into a campaign without coordinates can be equally perilous. What data is truly relevant to effective campaigning? Join Josh Birkholz, author of the top-selling nonprofit book,Fundraising Analytics: Using Data to Guide Strategy as he guides you through the sea of information to your campaign destination.
In this webinar, participants will learn:
- Why quantitative analysis is a strategic difference-maker in campaign preparation
- Examples of measurements in areas of giving trends, production yields, engagement, and goal forecasting
- How in-house analytics capacity is within reach for most major gift fundraising programs
Josh Birkholz
This was an impressive effort. Nice job FSU! And Nice job Justin Ware, social fundraiser extraordinaire!
Find out more about social media services at Bentz Whaley Flessner.
7 steps to rolling-out effective performance management plans at your nonprofit.
Do performance metrics actually change behavior? Part 3 of 3
In the third installment of my thoughts on performance metrics in nonprofit fundraising, I hope to present an approach to implementation. As we discussed, an understanding of the interests and drivers for each staff member is requisite for establishing a system of motivating them. And, the data only serves to motivate independent of human intervention in cases of peer input, aligning self-interest, and fun - none of which are really mutually exclusive.
Ideas are only as good as your ability to make them happen. I’ve worked with many organizations to transform their operational approach to fundraising. These systems all start with great ideas. Those that succeed, followed a process for implementation. There is no perfect process, but any process is better than no process. Where to start? I’ve found these 7 steps remarkably and consistently present among succeeding organizations.
Task Force of Early Champions.
Identify those precious individuals who understand the need for a new approach and will rally their friends. Assemble them into a task force. Even if they are only somewhat on board, the involvement with the task force will likely strengthen their adoption. Ideally, pursue a cross-functional team. I recommend a member of leadership, 1-2 major gift officers, a prospect researcher or management specialist, and a report writer / IT representative.
Project planning
The task force should be responsible for assembling the initial project plan. Some of the success-factor steps below should be part of the plan. But the tactical elements I won’t address, such as system coding, report writing, documentation, and materials, should also be included. As with all plans, it is important to assign responsibility for steps, set timelines, and establish a regular meeting schedule or communication to keep on task.
Communication (Group and Personal)
Whenever you roll-out new responsibilities to your organization, you must anticipate ambiguity of understanding by the recipients. Whether willfully or otherwise, staff will not understand or will not believe this is real without evidence. Regular communication to each individual is necessary. But, it is even more critical to communicate with the group. Knowing ones peers receive the same message is the start to implementing peer input as a behavior driver.
Ongoing Feedback Loop
Through the interpersonal and group communication process, you should learn the personal drivers of each gift officer or staff member. As a manager, this is your responsibility nevertheless. So, at this point in the process, it is time to consider those self-interests, peer delivery mechanisms, and fun challenges to tie-in to your performance process. Feed the competitive performers with contests to work in the stadium box for a big game, to attend a premier event, win a new GPS for donor calls, or even a cash bonus. Post a large report in the break room for all to see. Set individualized targets with progress towards goals on the dashboard or periodic reports. The idea is to deliver data tied to peer inputs, self-interests, and/or fund with regularity and consistency.
Transparency
Nothing kills trust faster than secrets. Nothing kills organizational performance faster than lack of trust. Don’t change the rules. Don’t keep secrets. Apart from donor intentions and privacy, there is no need for secrets in fundraising. When people make mistakes, talk openly about them. Showing your forgiving side will propel an innovative spirit among your team. Be open about how performance or lack thereof makes you feel. When things work, celebrate. When they don’t, be honest.
Really Listen (Actually Consider Feedback)
Most leaders are afraid to really listen. We might assume that feedback reflects a dislike or disapproval of us and our abilities. We might also assume that feedback is just excuses for nonperformance. But, sometimes feedback is just feedback. Our team has a perspective we may not see. Whether input is constructive or otherwise, it is your responsibility to really listen and find out. If the feedback is constructive, actually consider it. You will build trust with your team. And, you might fast-track right past employee compliance to the prized stage of employee engagement; where employees actually perform, not because they have to, but because they choose to perform.
Thank Adopters Publicly
Nonprofits will have entire strategies for thanking donors. If you don’t, you have issues more serious than employee performance. Normally, these donor relations strategies will consist of acknowledgement, recognition, and stewardship of gifts. When your employees choose to perform, it is a remarkable behavior worth acknowledging. Thank these employees publicly; so all might see your appreciation. Tell the employee what it means to you and what it means to the organization. You should be good at thanking donors. Try to be that good with your team.
I hope my musings on performance management provide you with some value. If not, I sincerely apologize for wasting your time. Please drop me a note or give me some feedback. I read every note and try to soak it in.
Josh Birkholz
Do performance metrics actually change behavior? Part 2 of 3
In my last blog post (part 1 of 3), I discussed motivating behavior by being mindful of employee self-interest while outlining organizational priorities. In this week’s posting, I want to discuss the idea of the data-itself motivating behavior.
The concept of the feedback loop describes the interchange of data which influences behavior directly. You might be familiar with the Wired magazine article on the subject which used speed limit radar signs as an example. Even though the speedometer provides you with direct data on your speed, the radar sign declaring “Your Speed is:” has a greater impact on changing your behavior. Even though this is only 20 degrees difference in sight line, it makes a difference. A motivating factor might be that other’s also see your speed.
Data changes your behavior when peer input is a factor (pressure or competition), self interest is a factor (personal security or success) and in gamification (fun). the speed limit sign is an example of peer pressure. A leader board is an example of positive competition.
A good example of personal security is mission control. An astronaut will immediately act upon data because it is tied to his or her well being. Hearing “Fire!” or “Danger!” will cause us to react without being told we need to change what we are doing. The reaction is without persuasion.
Success-based self interest might be seen in the stock market. Based on performance data alone, we might buy or sell securities, rethink our 401K distribution, or change or risk levels. Motivated by success, the data alone changes our behaviors.
We also see this behavior in video games. When I am playing Bioshock, I will switch from Eve to weapons when my Eve levels deplete. Or, I will play more conservatively when my health meter declines. No one is persuading me to change my behavior, the real-time data is all I need.
How on earth does this apply to fundraising? I think your mind is probably racing the same way mine was as I thought through these examples. Motivating gift officer performance is thought to require management intervention based on findings in the metrics. However, if the metrics can be delivered in such a way that influence is immediate, there is a distinct advantage.
Are your reports tapping into peer pressure or fueling competitiveness? In other words, do you communicate these broadly for all people in your organization to see? Do your fundraisers, as described in my first post, see their performance and the resulting organizational benefit as directly tied to their personal benefit? Is it fun?
As you develop or enhance your fundraising performance metrics, consider these examples to see real and immediate change.
In part 3 of 3, I will describe 7 steps to rolling-out effective performance management plans at your nonprofit.
BWF analyst position open. Sure, its mostly charts, graphs, forecasting, and predictive modeling on the surface. But the impact is transformative. I do this work because I care deeply about the nonprofit sector. When nonprofits do well, we all benefit. I only want colleagues who share my passion. In exchange, you will get autonomy to excel at your job, opportunities to publish or speak about your work, and the respect of your colleagues and industry. Did I also mention we’ll pay you for this?
DonorCast Senior AnalystDescription
Bentz Whaley Flessner, a leading fundraising consulting firm for over 20 years, provides quality advice for every step of the development process to educational institutions, academic medical centers, healthcare systems, and arts and cultural organizations—nationwide—with specialty counsel on advancement services, annual giving, prospect research, and analytics.Bentz Whaley Flessner seeks a Senior Analyst to join the DonorCast team. Under the direction of the director of DonorCast, this person will:
Conduct analysis of nonprofit constituent data to support prospecting, campaign preparations, program review, and constituent relationship management projects.
Produce analysis reports using contemporary data-visualization techniques.
Carry out predictive modeling methodologies in support of the DonorCast projects.
Participate in the engineering of new analytics solutions, including but not limited to data mining, forecasting, simulation, segmentation, and market research strategies.
Market the DonorCast products and implementation services of Bentz Whaley Flessner.
Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Qualifications
The following qualifications are required.
Bachelor’s degree
Demonstrated competence in statistics and data analysis
Experience with SPSS, SAS, DataDesk, or equivalent statistics application
Strong understanding of MS Office suite including Access, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
Solid oral and written communications skills
One or more of the following qualifications is preferred, but not required.
A bachelors degree in statistics, economics, business, or related field
Graduate-level degree in statistics, economics, business, or related field
3–5 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, preferably in prospecting, prospect management, annual giving, or analytics
Published or presented work on the topic of analytics as it pertains to nonprofit fundraising
To Apply:
Interested parties should submit a cover letter, resume, and three professional references to Alex Oftelie at aoftelie@bwf.com, or Bentz Whaley Flessner, 7251 Ohms Lane, Minneapolis, MN 55439. Applications will be reviewed upon receipt with a deadline of December 16th, 2011.
Cherly Cerny discussing mobile fundraising.
From mobile applications and websites to near field communication, Cheryl Cerny has a lot of great experience and advice to offer fund raisers who are considering a move towards mobile. (Filmed in Chicago during the Fundraising Forward Charette)
