It’s not uncommon for donors to have multiple, specific criteria for establishing their named scholarship fund. They might even say during the process, “we’ve thought a great deal about this, and we know what we want.”
They proceed to describe a scholarship fund that could only be awarded to a diminishing number of students enrolled today, or a scholarship fund that is difficult to match to enrolled students because of the stated multiple criteria.
Some gift officers are so thrilled to simply get a gift of any kind they excitedly agree to all the donor’s stated preferences. “It’s what they wanted to do,” is the rationale.
But other, more effective gift officers will slow down the process and ask the simplest of questions: “why?”
“Tell me more,” for example, “about why you’d like your scholarship to go to a student who majors in business, is from Greene County, and plays the violin?”
The effective gift officer will gently, but with confidence and expertise, explain that reducing the number of criteria and broadening the others will actually bring more satisfaction to them as donors. The effective gift officer helps the donor move beyond their stated preferences and uncover deeper preferences revealed through questions and prompts.
Because even though the donor has, “thought a great deal about their gift,” the effective gift officer has thought far more about giving.
The effective gift officer knows what missteps to avoid in order to create the most impact and delight for the donor. The effective gift officer knows that just because a donor states their preferences, doesn’t mean those preferences will satisfy them (or the mission) best.
Our best work isn’t giving donors what they ask for. It’s helping them understand more deeply what they actually want.
