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Wow! Well said and well-documented, Marilyn!

I remember hearing from a veteran P.I. at a major museum who was
re-assigned to the Development Department and presented with an unasked-for
bonus structure and orders to keep cranking out the grant proposals. She
was demoralized and so were her non-bonus eligible peers. It created doubt
about her motives in initiating projects and the whole arrangement didn't
last long.

P.I.'s have to have a fire in their belly to pull together major federal
grant proposals. Bonuses tied to dollar amounts devalue that combination of
passion and expertise. I don't know the traditional Development Department
ethos but I imagine many feel the same way--they are not in sales. That
story of four premature $25K gifts that could have been 6-figure gifts is
chilling

Rachel Hellenga
Hellenga Projects
[log in to unmask]
312-593-0444
On May 22, 2013 1:36 PM, "marilyn hoyt" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
>
> *****************************************************************************
>
> Re:  To bonus in development (or not....)
>
> Fortunately, this is a set of questions addressed in the code of conduct
> for the Association of Fund Raising Professionals:
> COMPENSATION AND CONTRACTS
> 21. Members shall not accept compensation or enter into a contract that is
> based on a percentage of contributions; nor shall members accept finder’s
> fees or contingent fees. Business members must refrain from receiving
> compensation from third parties derived from products or services for a
> client without disclosing that third-party compensation to the client
> (for example, volume rebates from vendors to business members).
> 22. Members may accept performance-based compensation, such as bonuses,
> provided such bonuses are in accord with prevailing practices within the
> members’ own organizations and are not based on a percentage of
> contributions.
> 23. Members shall neither offer nor accept payments or special
> considerations
> for the purpose of influencing the selection of products or services.
> 24. Members shall not pay finder’s fees, commissions or percentage
> compensation based on contributions, and shall take care to discourage
> their organizations from making such payments.
> 25. Any member receiving funds on behalf of a donor or client must meet the
> legal requirements for the disbursement of those funds. Any interest or
> income earned on the funds should be fully disclosed.
> -----
> So, bonusing is not considered unethical, but it is bounded by "common
> practice" among culturals in your area.  Where is your board coming from?
> --Fundraising is not another word for sales.  It is relationship building.
>  Donors of all kinds -- government, individuals, foundations, corporations
> -- are being asked to support the mission of our organization.  So, are
> they being asked to support the mission...or are they being asked to
> support a staff bonus?  Is there a self-interest at work here?  If there is
> even a hint of self-interest, donor/gant relationships are disrupted.  And
> even if this worst case scenario does not play out, other negative
> consequences can result. Here's an example from one of my colleagues who
> works in major gifts for a large national charity.  "It's coming up to June
> 30th and I needed another $100,000 for the top bonus. So I asked four
> $25,000's and got them.  I hate this system.  Each one of them was worth
> six figures if I could have more time to cultivate them."
> --Are you really seeing bonusing in your area culturals? Working
> nationally, I often see bonusing hourly frontline staff selling
> memberships.  I see it in outsourced phone sales, even gala producers.  I
> have seen development staff hired because of their experience with the
> foundations, corporations, and government agencies that fund culturals...as
> well as many of the "frequent flier" major donors.  These desirable
> development candidates could see bonusing as an oddity, or even a red flag.
>  There are so many idiot nonprofits who think they should hire a
> development officer, put them in an office and shut the door so they can
> "raise money."   High performing professionals watch for these
> dysfunctional nonprofits where staff and board members don't understand
> that they have key roles to play in development.  And they won't take a
> position with them.  It's too much work to turn them around.  It's bad for
> development resumes. And it makes for miserable years in one's career.
>  Development is a highly competitive field.  There aren't enough
> experienced professionals to fill all the positions.  So good people don't
> need to take bad jobs.  I think bonusing can make your job look like a
> "bad" job if it is not typical of the compensation practices of the most
> respected culturals in your area.
> ----------
> Now, let's think for a minute about your board.  They are coming from a
> world where bonuses are common (and, where a recent study reported in the
> Harvard Business Review reports just 28% of employees with a passion for
> the Fortune 500 company for which they work)  We work in a high
> passion/high commitment field. Does your board really think you are going
> to hire an unmotivated person?  If they want to gauge performance, the
> standard practice is to hire a fund raising consulting firm whose practice
> includes diagnostics and ask them to run an audit comparing your shop to
> similarly-sized cultural development shops.
> Beyond adequate development staffing, do you have key resources in place to
> take development to the next level:
> 1)  foundations, corporation, government grants:  well networked, well
> credentialed staff and strong programs
> 2)  corporate sponsorship:  strong brand + strong programs
> 3)  government discretionary:  politically active/connected trustees
> 4) events:  socially and/or corporate-connected board
> 5)major gifts:  socially, corporate-connected board
> An experienced development officer can help the board with recruitment and
> leadership development.  They can train staff and build a high-volume
> yera-round development calendar.  This is an ongoing process, and funds
> raised will notch up as staff capacity and board development notch up.
>
> *See you at Fund Raising Day in New York, June 7, 2013!*
>
> Marilyn Hoyt
> 110 Sixth Avenue
> Pelham, NY 10803
> 914-815-0671*
>
>
> *
>
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