Episode Notes
What you decide to focus your energy on every day makes a BIG difference to your results…
The fabulous growth in high value income achieved by Shelterbox over the last 18 months has been achieved in large part by a deliberate focus on two result areas: creating WOW moments and setting up ‘virtual teas / coffees’ with supporters.
In this episode, Clio Gressani, who leads the Partnerships and Philanthropy team at the charity, explains the unusual way she helped everyone understand what great relationship fundraising looks like. And she shares inspiring examples of how her team have followed through on the idea, made supporters feel special and grown income.
If you’d like to share this episode to help other fundraisers, thank you very much! And do let us know what you think. Clio and Rob are both on Linked in, and on twitter we are @cliogressani and @woods_rob.
Further Resources
Would you like training, inspiration and support to increase fundraising income? You can find out more about our flagship 6 month programmes: the Major Gifts Mastery Programme or the Corporate Partnerships Mastery Programme by following these links.
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Our training and inspiration club for fundraisers, the Bright Spot Members Club, has an extensive library of Rob’s best training films, a supportive community, and access to live masterclasses and problem-solving sessions with Rob and other experienced fundraising / leadership trainers EVERY WEEK. To find out more about how to get access to all these resources, go to www.brightspotmembersclub.co.uk/join/
Quote
‘I want us to be like Netflix, but for good. So you know how Netflix keeps you glued to your screen by using insight, data, and fantastic storytelling? That’s exactly what I want to do in our fundraising.’
Clio Gressani
Transcript for Episode 88
Rob:
Hello, and welcome to Episode number 88 of the Fundraising Bright Spots podcast. My name’s Rob Woods, and this is the show for anyone who works in fundraising, and you what some ideas, and a little dose of inspiration to help you raise more money and really enjoy your job.
Rob:
Now if you work in major donor, trusts, or corporate fundraising, or if you manage someone else who does, I think you’re going to find today’s episode really interesting. Today I’m talking to a fabulous fundraiser named Clio Gressani from ShelterBox about some of the things that she and her team have been doing to grow their high value results so emphatically over the last two years.
Rob:
I first met Clio in 2020 when she attended the Major Gifts Mastery Programme. When I heard some of the ways she’s implemented ideas from that course, I realized they’d make for a really interesting podcast episode to help other fundraisers. In particular they’ve done really well at focusing their energy on building relationships through more conversations, as opposed to seeking income, and also on creating special wow moments for their supporters. I also love the way Clio has helped others to clearly understand what great fundraising looks like in their team. I really enjoyed hearing Clio’s examples, and I hope you will too.
Rob:
Clio Gressani, how are you?
Clio:
I’m good, thank you, hi Rob.
Rob:
Hi, Clio, thank you so much for making time to chat to us for this episode of the podcast. Just before we get going let me get the details right. You work at ShelterBox, and what’s your job title?
Clio:
I lead the partnerships and philanthropy team.
Rob:
Okay, thank you. And I believe you and I met virtually about a year and a half ago, and then you came on our major gifts mastery program and I really enjoyed getting to know you, and have regular chats during the six months of that program, albeit virtually. And you and I were catching up the other day, and I was just blown way by some of the ways you and your team have been working in the last year and a half. You’ve achieved some stunning results, and all credit to your team, they’ve achieved some stunning results for your charity, and I just got really excited by some of the little examples and stories you shared with me to bring to life certain sounds fundraising principles, and I’ve got a feeling our listeners will enjoy hearing some of those things you’ve been doing too.
Rob:
So if I were to start out, I mean maybe we can come on to specific tactics, but I think you were saying to me it really all starts with what are we about, what are we here to do, what’s our vision? Could you talk to that idea first, and then maybe we’ll move on to more specific examples after that.
Clio:
Yes, sure. So I’m really lucky to work with really talented and passionate people that trusted me, or were crazy enough to trust my vision for the team. So basically I want us to be like Netflix, but for good. So you know that Netflix keeps you glued to your screen by using insight, data, and fantastic storytelling? That’s exactly what I want to do. So I want to use data and insight, so the things that we know about our donors, the things that our donors know about themselves and their philanthropic giving, and they told us about. But also I want to combine that with fantastic storytelling and impact data and stories to create some very personalized stewardship plans for all our donors, trust foundations, major donors and corporates, so they keep on staying with us and they want to hear more about ShelterBox, because they want to have a bigger impact. And we tell incredible stories of the impact that they are having with ShelterBox.
Rob:
Wow, I love this already. And I’m reminded of a thing I saw on the wall of a football clubhouse about a month ago. So my son plays football, under twelves, and on a Saturday morning I went to watch him play a football match, and on the side of the clubhouse there, where the players can get changed, it announced, our football vision. And at the time I actually took a photo, I can’t remember all of the nonsense jargon words they said, but this is a club for children aged, I guess, five or six and up, up to the ages of 18. Every year they’ve got a football team, and their vision was, oh my goodness, “To play strategically organized and carefully coordinated,” blah, blah, blah, blah.
Rob:
I mean, I understand that lots of organizations have these complex visions for how they want life to be, because human beings on their own do that, but especially when a committee of people do that we invent these extraordinary mission statements. But for someone to go to all the effort to paint it in beautiful paint, these seven sentences on the side. I mean, as an adult I didn’t understand what it meant, how an earth a 10 year old would, and therefore it make any difference to the way they train or play, or even if they understood it the first time, because they’re a genius, how they would remember it and it be alive in their nervous system as they go out to train or play when they’re tired. It just chuckled to me that someone had taken so much time and effort not just to invent it, but to paint it up there.
Rob:
And what I love about your way of doing things is although you’ve explained in really clear terms what you mean by that, your team know, what should I try to be doing? We’re trying to be like Netflix for good, and it’s simple and easy and emotive and they’re able to, I guess some people might think it’s a bit cheesy, Clio, you’re not Netflix, are you? But the brilliance of it is most people understand what Netflix is about, and by using that analogy in just a few words you can have everyone know what the North Star is for what we should be trying to be like today. Did you come up with this in reaction to a lot of the complex versions that our sector can come up with?
Clio:
Yeah, totally, yes. And what I really wanted when I first joined this new role, I wanted to create something that was really understandable and that even my six year old son could quite understand. And so when I first discussed about the vision with the team they looked at me a little bit skeptical, but now they’ve really embraced it, and I heard that they were bold in talking about our vision for the team with other teams that didn’t have a specific vision, because they now believe in it and they find it inspiring in their daily jobs.
Rob:
So that’s really interesting, Clio, that you made that decision, and that it’s helped your team in that way, and they’ve brought into it. In terms of how that translates into key performance indicators, and so on, what have you elected to do in the last year or two in that way?
Clio:
So I’ve really asked my team to focus on two very simple KPIs. The first KPI is wow moment, so I want my team to focus on doing the extra mile, or doing things that are unique for our donors, and to generate that wow moment for our donors. And the second KPI is virtual coffees or teas, so they are measured against how many virtual or in person teas and coffees they can have and secure with all our donors, so trusts and foundations, major donors, and corporate partners. So they are not obvious KPIs, but the team were bold enough to believe in those, and they’ve achieved fantastic results. So I’ve really tried to shield them from the income KPIs that of course we are measured against as fundraisers, but I really tried for them not to look at them daily or monthly, and I tried for them to really focus hard on reaching those other KPIs, so non-monetary ones, so the virtual teas and coffees and wow moments.
Rob:
Fabulous. So I think intellectually many fundraisers, especially ones who’ve been on my Mastery Programmes, absolutely see the value of doing things week in, week out which build relationships and help donors feel great, rather than focusing on things like how much money have we got yet, and how much money do we need to get next month. Many people see the value of that, but then in practice every Friday the manager still sends around a spreadsheet asking how much money have you raised? So actually in truth it’s really hard for the practitioner to focus on relationship rather than things to get money.
Rob:
But I love the fact that you’ve done your utmost to help them genuinely care about doing this, knowing that if they do work really hard to do these things, if we are right in our beliefs about fundraising and relationship, the money will flow anyway, and importantly the donors will really enjoy supporting us. So well done for following through on that philosophy in the way you do your KPIs, and I mean congratulations, you and I were just chatting the other day and you were so excited and so proud of your team because I gather this last year you’ll have raised more than you ever have, and I think you’re a team of four or five people, and for the first time you’re breaking through the million pound mark that your high value team will have raised. So to me, that’s as strong an endorsement as I’ve ever heard for the notion that this approach to KPIs, and this philosophy of relationship and more conversations, rather than focus on money, actually does generate results. So congratulations, Clio.
Clio:
Yeah, and congratulations to the team. And I think that also having those two KPIs in mind really help them, and me, to feel more energized and happy about our work. An example of a wow moment is that we usually give our donors a thank you call, not just when they donate, but also when it’s their first donation anniversary. So with our database we know the first time they ever donated to ShelterBox, and so we call them on that day to wish them happy first donation anniversary. And of course, as you can imagine, it’s a nice core, they are surprised, it’s really lovely for them to hear the impact that they had over the years. But also it’s very rewarding for my colleagues and myself to do and make those phone calls, and we usually go the extra miles.
Clio:
A very inspiring example is from my colleague, Alex, whom wanted to give this happy first donation anniversary call to a man who’s been donating to us for many, many years, but he found out that this man had been moved to a care home. And so instead of simply not calling him, my colleague found out what type of care home, where was it, and he called reception, and then he explained the reason for his call, and then the reception put him through a nurse, and then another nurse. At the end he managed to talk with the donor, and just simply say, “Happy first donation anniversary,” and mentioning all the years he’d been supporting us. And he was simply impressed, and he was really happy to hear, he was moved to tears. But it was also a very rewarding moment for Alex, he was very moved too, and he felt really inspired by this conversation. So I think that the wow moments really generates wow moments for us as a team as well, so they’re definitely helping and boost the team morale and our own daily lives.
Rob:
That’s fabulous, and I am especially moved to hear what you said because literally yesterday I went to visit my uncle who’s in a care home, and that was quite an emotional experience for me. I haven’t seen him for a long time, and was very thought provoking for me as to what life must be like at that stage, and especially if you’re not getting many phone calls or visitors, my goodness, this is powerful stuff that we as fundraisers can do to make a difference to people’s lives, to our supporters’ lives, every bit as much as to those that our charity serves.
Rob:
There was one other example that I just jotted down on my notebook the other day, because anyway, I can just tell this is the right thing to do, it’s a wonder thing to do, and you mentioned the various examples where this thank you anniversary call you make is all about helping them feel great, it’s not about asking for money, but there was an interesting twist to some of these calls that you say your colleagues have made.
Clio:
Yeah, well remembered. We called one of our regular giver, he’s a very generous donors who gives regularly a couple of hundred pounds, and we gave him the thank you call, and the call went very well, but the next day our supporter care team said that man canceled that recurring gift. So we had a few meetings where we were discussing what’s going on, what went wrong in the call. And then after a few days we decided to approach the donor and ask him if everything was right, and acknowledging the fact that he canceled the donation and we were confirming that the recurring donation had been canceled. And he replied to the email saying, “Actually I’ve had to cancel it because I’m now doubling my monthly donation, so apologies for the confusion, but I had to cancel it to double it.”
Clio:
So it was a huge relief, we didn’t have to put into consideration the entire approach, but definitely is paying off, and as I said, it’s very good for the team, but I find also our donors really enjoy it as a way to hear from us and hear most importantly about the impact that they’re making, and if they can, they want to make more and a bigger impact.
Rob:
Hi, it’s Rob, and I just want to jump in quickly to let you know a little bit about our flagship courses, the Major Gifts Mastery Programme, which is the one that Clio did, and the Corporate Mastery Programme. We are now taking bookings for both as they start again in April 2022. Across six months they give you a blend of master classes and individual coaching to help you grow your confidence and your fundraising results. To give you a sense of the difference they can make, here’s what one fundraiser, Sarah, had to say.
Sarah:
I’ve just finished Rob Wood’s Major Gifts Mastery Programme, and it’s been amazing. The last six months of doing this course I’ve had the most successful time in my job to date. I’ve had three or four major breakthroughs, my confidence has increased, and it’s no coincidence, I know this course has helped massively. Also my colleague who works with me has been doing this course as well, and she’s had the best six months in her career as well. Again, major breakthroughs, and I really encourage you, if you can find the budget within your organization, to apply for this.
Rob:
If you’d like to find out more about either program, go to brightspotfundraising.co.uk/services. Right now let’s get back to my chat with Clio as we explore the difference it makes when you focus more of your energy on generating more conversations with your supporters.
Rob:
That’s fantastic, Clio, and one of the things you mentioned and in terms of KPIs was the importance of getting more conversations, I think you called them virtual cups of coffee, virtual cup of tea, with people as a major indicator of, are we building relationships? Are these relationships getting deeper and more satisfying? What do you mean, when and your team talk about a virtual cup of tea or virtual coffee, what do you mean?
Clio:
So we mean having the opportunity to have a real conversation with our donors and really listen to them and try to better understand their values, their philanthropic interests, and better understand how to tell the impact that they could have with ShelterBox if they decided to donate more, or to donate for the first time. So we usually approach those meetings in a very informal way, of course, we need to be professional and very prepared, but they are informal meetings, so we don’t go there with a specific agenda or with a number in mind to ask them. The main purpose is to have more information about them and to have a better understanding of their world so we can then tailor the ask, or tailor the different fundable opportunities we want to put in front of them.
Clio:
And I think, again, my team is fantastic in doing that. And my colleague Natalie stewarded the relationship with a new donor, a new trust, that donated the first time last year, and they donated a very small amount, around £5,000. And Natalie really embraced the concept of building a relationship with the trust, and drip feeding impact stories, and demonstrating the problems, but also the solutions, and how can ShelterBox help people affected by disasters and conflict? And she had a few of those informal chats and virtual coffees, and she learned a lot about their philanthropic interest. She listened to them, and she was able to significantly increase the amount of money that this family foundation decided to give to us. So I said last year they gave £5,000 for the first time, and in total this year they are giving £110,000. So it’s a big growth, but I think that is all down to the relationship and to the fact that we learned what they really care about, and so we were able to give them the opportunity to fund things really they care about.
Rob:
Fabulous example, Clio. And what have you learned since making it a KPI that we focus on getting more of these conversations and doing them that way, rather than focusing on the money? What have you learned about how your team have really taken the ball and run with it and managed? The truth is many corporates, many major donors, and many trusts might not be laying awake at night waiting for our call. They might not think we need to better understand them, they just gave the £5,000 and tick. Whereas I sense your team have been more proactive, more creative, more brave in just coaxing people who do care, who might care, into saying yes to an extra chat or a first chat. What have you learned about how they’ve managed to do that?
Clio:
I think that they tried to put themselves in the shoes of our supporters, and so offer them inspiring stories, but then always mention that we are here if you want to have a chat, or we’re here if you want to know more about the impact you’re having, or sending specific requests for a meeting or a virtual cup of tea and coffee. So basically I think that having the specific KPI, and knowing exactly the direction we’re trying to go to, really helps them to focus on building relationships. So I think it’s the combination of wow moments and virtual cup of teas and coffees that really challenge them to know where to invest their effort and their creativity.
Rob:
I think you mentioned, once you really think this way, in my analogy, from my programs, you value test drives, not selling cars, and you focus your energy and attention that way, you start to discover lots of small opportunities to just send an extra little offer, an extra little nudge, that before you wouldn’t have done so, and I think you mentioned sometimes they just get results by proactively, whenever they send a thank you, they’re just a bit more proactive in making it easy for someone to say yes to a next chat, is that true?
Clio:
Yes, absolutely. And every opportunity is good to do something extra, or to do something unexpected from our donors, or to offer them the opportunity to chat. We always wants them to feel that the door is open and we are really keen to hear from them and listen to them. We also explicitly asked for their support, so in terms of knowledge, and in terms of feedback, it’s not just money. So for the first time this year ShelterBox talks about climate change and how climate change impacts the people that we support, because of the increase in weather events. But that was the first time we publicly and openly talked about climate change, and we wanted to test our messaging with our donors, and so we offered them the opportunity to feedback.
Clio:
And we had an incredibly good response, and donors wanted to sit down with us for hours examining our messaging and telling us what they felt, and telling us their concerns, and telling us the things that they were passionate about. So they really felt that we were here to listen to them, and that’s of course another important bit into the relationship building, if you really value their views, and if you really want value what they think about you as an organization. So we’re not just asking to meet for discuss a fundable opportunity, or to hear about their philanthropic interest, but also we ask to meet them because they might help us put together stronger messaging for next year.
Rob:
Yes, that’s brilliant, isn’t it? Because I think most of us can see how we don’t want to be seen just as a money machine, though we may be happy to donate financially. To be seen as having other things to offer, for our opinion to be really valued, that’s very enticing to someone who cares about solving a particular problem, and I think just following through on that, giving people the opportunity to help in that way, I can absolutely see how they would say yes if they possibly could.
Rob:
One question I’ve got is this is an obvious tactic in a way, but I think some organizations might not follow through on it as much as they could because they’re wary of receiving advice or criticism that the charity or the leaders of the charity, those in charge of strategy, might not be able to say yes to. So the fundraiser might fear opening a can of worms and taking on points of view which actually just aren’t practical for the charity to implement. Was that a concern for you or any of your team? And if so, how have you managed to be confident to be vulnerable and ask for advice without fearing this kind of difficulty?
Clio:
We asked a very specific question, which was what do you think about our messaging? So we didn’t ask a strategic support from them, we didn’t ask, do you think that ShelterBox should talk about climate change? But we asked them, what do you think about the way we presented our role to play within the climate change, or within the climate crisis? And then actually we were really happy to hear, and really challenged and really interested to hear their feedbacks, because every time you write a piece of paper, especially as a fundraiser, every time you write for an ask, you would love to write it with your donors perspective and with your donors eyes and pen, and so having the opportunity to hear directly from them was really valuable for the entire organization.
Clio:
We had our brand and comms team, our PR team, and even our CEO were really interested to hear about those feedbacks, because they are not as lucky as we are to have that one-to-one conversations with donors, and so they were really, really keen to hear our donors comment and their suggestions, because it’s a unique opportunity to see your work through the eyes of a potential funder, or a current funder.
Rob:
Just to be clear, in terms of the practicalities, was this asking for their ideas and advice? Was it a combination of written format sometimes, because you could include that question in an email, and individual conversations as well? And if so, any tips for the listener on how to make most efficient the feeding back of those insights to your colleagues?
Clio:
That’s a very good question. So actually we sent a campaign, so it was a fundraising campaign, with in-depth analysis of our activities and our programs related to the climate crisis, but the covering letter of that funding packages was an ask to hear their thoughts.
Rob:
Clio, thank you so much for sharing all these ideas and examples, and I offer huge congratulations to you and your team for making this great stuff to happen.
Clio:
Thank you so much to you, Rob, and some of these ideas and ways of working have been inspired by the Major Giving Programme that I’ve attended, so yeah, thank you.
Rob:
So I hope you enjoyed Clio’s ideas and examples. If you did, and you’ve not yet subscribed, do click that subscribe button today so that you don’t miss out on all the other juicy episodes we’ve got coming up, including more great insights from Clio, and the second half of my conversation with her. For a full transcript, and a summary of the episode, go to the podcast section of our site, which is brightspotfundraising.co.uk.
Rob:
If you’re interested in finding out more about the Major Gifts Mastery Programme, which is what Clio did, or the Corporate Mastery Programme, which follows the same format of master classes and individual coaching support, then do check out brightspotfundraising.co.uk/services.
Rob:
And if you enjoyed today’s episode, I’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to share it on with your colleagues, or on social media, so we can get these ideas out to help as many people as possible. Thank you for your help. And Clio and I would love to hear what you think about this episode, we’re both on LinkedIn, and on Twitter Clio is @CleoGressani, that’s G-R-E-S-S-A-N-I for her surname, and I am @Woods_Rob. Finally, thank you for listening today, and I look forward to sharing more Bright Spot stories and insights with you very soon.
