Fund Raiser Looks for Good in a Bad Economy

January 10, 2009

Fund Raiser Looks for Good in a Bad Economy

Tired of worrying about the bad economy? So is Jeffrey A. Schoenherr, a senior fund raiser at the Johns Hopkins University.

“If I don’t hear about the topic from my colleagues and the staff members that I manage every day, then it is undoubtedly the opening line of each donor I visit,” he writes in a new column
for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Mr. Schoenherr says that he recently decided that enough is enough—after making a comment to his staff about how the plunging stock market would likely depress giving to the university’s capital campaign. “I noticed immediately the defeated look on their faces and the hesitation in everyone’s eyes,” he writes.

From that moment on, Mr. Schoenherr says he resolved to concentrate on positive aspects of both challenges and opportunities posed by the financial crisis. One is the chance to visit with donors and—instead of talking about a gift now—brainstorm with the person about what he or she would like to support with their money when times are better.

“That’s the kind of conversation you have to have with each of your potential donors,” he writes. “Help your donors visualize their future goals for giving and you’ll turn ‘I’m not in a position to give at the moment’ into ‘I’ll be ready to give in six months.’”

—Holly Hall

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Fund Raiser Looks for Good in a Bad Economy