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Page 4 - Personal Comments, Ruminations, Complaints
We had too many to list all... but below are a few randomly selected responses to the last question on our survey:
Question 52: What did we miss? What questions should have been clearer or more detailed? What else would you like to know about your colleagues, personally and professionally? This block will take up to 2,000 words. Go!
All comments have been kept intact in their original form other than a few typographic fixes. Some of the comments below will not make sense unless you know the questions (or have taken the survey). So here's a PDF (in a pop-up window). Better yet, take the survey and then come back to this page!
Comments in red are those of the editors (that's us at VirtualGiving: Viken Mikaelian & John Foster). Please take our comments with the sense of humor in which we wrote them. Also remember... we placed a few "silly questions" in our survey to keep it light. You will see what we mean from some of the references to "politics, beer and sports."
There's some serious stuff embedded here, so sit back and read these through.
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Your Peers' Personal Comments (Question 52):
- How many are gift planners?
- Well, we're currently between directors so my ideas for changing all of our fundraising methods (ok, initiating comprehensively thought out fundraising plans) have yet to take any force. I'm trying to hold on and go with the flow until a new Director is in place. I'm confident that my answers to a questionnaire like this will be 100% different next year at this time when we have a plan in place.
- Methodology for gaining appointments, then for cultivating, closing, and stewarding planned gifts. Advanced degrees. ACFRE status. Miles flown and driven annually to see donors/ prospects. Marital status (single/married/divorced, widowed), # of children, grandchildren; number of hours spent with family/week. Number of charities served thus far in career, number of years spent per charity. Favorite books in field (e.g., "The Gospels of Wealth," "The Millionaire Next Door/Mind of the Millionaire," "Three Signs of a Miserable Job"). Disturbing trends in the field, what you love/hate most in a boss, the biggest wastes of time in our work schedules, the most important elements in our work schedules, what I love/hate most in training conferences. That's enough for now.
- I would like to know how long my colleagues have been working in the nonprofit arena. I would like to know how many feel that their performance criteria are fair. I would like to know how many plan to change jobs in the near future. I would like to know how many feel that they are financially prepared to retire.
More choices for sports, more questions re: major gifts more questions re: benchmarks.
- Level of education — how many of us have several graduate and/or professional degrees and are they helpful in getting and performing job (I for instance have an M.A. and a J.D. that have very little to do with day-to-day work at present but I know impressed the person who hired me) — geographic reach of charity may influence many of the factors you ask about, including size, salary, and how many visits are performed; distinguish between national and regional (and even more local) charities? — A question: when was the last time you got a CLT? PIF contribution?
- Educational background. Planned gifts and women.
- For some of the questions, there was no place for my answer. So, I answered a few questions with an answer that was not completely true.
- How much support does each dedicated planned giving director have and how does that impact their work?
- You didn't ask me for my sign, shame on you. You could have drilled down on the college education with respect to advanced degrees. That said, your question about two technical might bear fruit if there was a correlation between techies and we lawyers. Number of years in planned giving would be interesting as well as what types of planned gifts have you personally closed. Okay, enough for now. My boredom is over and I have to go find some junk food left over from the last event...
- Because we are a denominational institution, our connection with churches is vital. Therefore, we do more seminars (between 3 of us we do 40-50 per year in churches), meet face to face with an average of 5-10 persons per seminar. This would blow the "personal visits" off the charts. Our department does at least one community seminar per year, plus participate in two or three seminars presented by supportive professionals. My assumption is that most do not do many seminars.
- How many have taken special certification courses in planned giving? Did the larger percentage of a nonprofits planned gifts last year result from bequests, charitable remainder trusts or other.
- Thanks for the opportunity.
- Actually my favorite sport is basketball and you left it out of the survey — shame shame. [So is ours. We can't believe we forgot. - Editor.]
- Your questions about being listed in someone's will... I could not answer accurately because my institution has decided not to have a policy on such a thing and leave the ethical decision up to the individual. In my opinion, it all depends on the number of zero's that are attached to the bequest. Someone's ethical standard will be different based on their personal wealth and the more zero's that are attached to the bequest, the more likely they are to accept it.
- You ask about what salary we are making. It would be interesting to know what salary we think others are making and what salary we believe we should be making. [On the next survey. Good idea. - Editor.]
- This survey was quite fun. I currently serve as the director of major and planned gifts. My wish for my colleagues is that more major gift officers and annual fund officers had a better working knowledge of pg tools and the characteristics of pg prospects.
- It was an interesting survey. I will certainly think about the question of being left money?????
- You asked about CFRE — what about my MBA and my 24 years on Wall St.?
- Thanks for the entertaining way to end my day. I don't really have anything to add to your very creative questions. The results should be quite interesting.
- Great survey, since I will be missing NCPG I hope to hear/see the results published somewhere like the PG Journal perhaps. Kudos on a fresh approach!
- What percentage of giving comes from annual direct appeal letters; what percentage from monthly mailings (newsletters), percentage received in last fiscal year from bequests, percentage of increase/decrease of giving from faith based organizations and also from corporate giving. And finally, I was a bit disappointed that basketball was not included in the sports question.
- Length of time of job Length of time in planned giving Most valuable aspect of belonging to professional organizations Certifications held other than CFRE Whether your org has a planned giving section of website Whether you prepare materials for website, or you outsource What type of gift illustration software you use What type of gift management software you use If you use any type of relationship management software How much professional development training you do per year Whether you use consultants or outsource any part of your planned giving program Whether you provide planned giving services or expertise to other nonprofits.
- Is planned giving a component in active campaigns? Are you reporting gift expectancies along with campaign totals?
- In the question about what I'd like to do after work, I think there should have been an answer with an active workout choice (maybe tai chi qualifies, but I don't know). Anyway, thanks for the survey — it was fun!
- You did not ask if I have a CFRE. The answer is yes but it is not important to me.
- Not all beer drinkers drink PBR [Pabst Blue Ribbon]; Basketball is a very — popular sport to watch [we forgot this in the survey], most CEO's are pains in the ass questioning every penny you spend and wanting more revenue to come in, and finally how many of us have had our lives ruined by someone from the opposite sex. [Now getting just a little too personal, don't you think? - Editor.]
- I am most interested to hear how colleagues have expanded their areas of responsibility to make fuller use of their talents and expertise, and, if this was not possible, what they did next. Am also interested in that age old question of what is the best way to ask for — and show evidence militating for — a raise.
- Though I have been in development for 27 years, I have been focusing on planned giving for only one year, so am not yet as knowledgeable as I would like to be.
- Ask for traits-aggressive, competitive, passive; also ask for size of family, parent living or deceased? A deceased or ill parent often changes a planned giving officer's approach with older donor. Glad I could help!
- The question about the cash assets of the US should have included an "I don't know" choice. The Question about favorite sport to watch should have included "other" since I would have chosen golf. The ethics question about the donor leaving a personal gift to the development office was hard to answer because it needs more thought and explanation.
- I'd like to know if my colleagues have ever accepted a gift from a donor (tickets to events, pieces of jewelry, etc etc etc.) I like to know future plans of gift planner - plan to stay in field, to shift, etc I'd like to know how long they have worked in development How long in gift planning I'd like to know if they support their own charity by giving Do they do this freely or because they were forced (coerced) to do so? I'd like to know what software they use. What reference books. What online lists. I'd like to know if they have written their own will. If so, have they included a bequest in their own plans? If they have more than once charity listed. That's all! [That's all? Phew! We have a lot coming up for the next survey.]
- Do you feel other colleagues/directors of stewardship in your office support and work on planned gifts? Where do you want to be in five years? (Title) What is your biggest impediment to raising more planned gifts? (Internal or External)
- The after work adult beverage selection was too narrow particularly in the red wine arena; a Rhone would hardly be the choice, perhaps a Zinfandel or an old growth vine.
- Should all participants be candid in their responses, it will be an interesting study. You also seem to be the kind of company that it would be fun to work for/with. [We are, and we truly thank you. - Editor.]
- Some of the options to some of your questions were written offensively. I recognize you were trying to be funny and make it interesting. But to require someone to say "I don't care" when the answer is "this does not apply" or something along those lines makes the survey respondent feel stupid and less inclined to take the rest of your survey. [We were trying to be funny and not offensive. - Editor.]
- Here are some other questions: Do others in the planned giving field feel that their supervisors and peers in leadership gifts are supportive or antagonistic to their work. What degree of planned giving expertise do most PG directors find their VPs have? What do most PG professionals consider to be their next career move, is it more likely to be VP, Director somewhere else, consulting, corporate, other?
- This was more fun than most surveys - thanks!
- Would like to know how my colleagues feel about asking for money! PS: Not to be nit-picky, but according to the counter, this block will take up to 2,000 characters, not words! [Jeez, you should work for us as a proofreader. - Editor.]
- What was the size of the average planned gift you closed last year?
- What types of media do other institutions use to market their planned giving office? We currently use: 1. Website 2. E-Blast (emails) 3. Local Magazine 4. Alumni Newspaper 5. Planned Giving Newsletter 6. Annual Recognition Event (for planned giving donors) [Smart question. We've been asked to write for radio, TV and in-house closed-circuit TV. - Editor.]
- Interesting, Viken. [Okay... who are you and how do you know me? - Editor.]
- If you could do anything else for a living, what would you do? If you didn't have to work, what would you do? Include white wine as a choice...
- How many hold financial planning degrees?
- How did they develop the skill set needed to become a planned giving professional?
- How often do you work with a donor's professional advisors in closing a gift? How often have you turned down a gift? Don't know how to precisely word the question, but it would be interesting to know how development professionals deal with a donor/prospect with diminishing faculties. Are you registered in states where you have CGA donors?
- Do you have a planned gift with a non-profit?
- Survey was long but amusing. Good job.
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Personal Comments, Ruminations, Complaints