How do you find a ‘chairman’ for your zoo fundraising campaign…?
This is definitely one of the critical success factors of this kind of exercise.
The campaign chairman needs to be someone who:
- commands respect within the community from which you expect to raise the money
- understands and endorses the zoo’s mission and the rationale of this particular exercise
- can get things done in a no nononsense manner
- is willing to actually ask for big gifts
- is willing to make a gift himself that is seen to be generous within his or her ability to give
- is willing to stay the course
The right person is likely to be a very senior business figure. Ideally they will be remaining in their core business role for the campaign’s duration. If they are to ‘retire’, you must be sure that as an individual, as well as a business leader, they continue to have the relevant relationships.
I will blog on this again in more detail, if anyone asks me to
John
3 Responses to “How do you find a ‘chairman’ for your zoo fundraising campaign…?”
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Hi John, Steve in Emporia, Kansas again. Please give me more on a campaign chair. How to narrow the list of prospective candidates, how to ‘court’ them and how to gage if they are completing what you need them to. Any ideas and info will be helpful.
Steve
Hello Steve,
Okay, well first of all you will need an agreed ‘job description’ (even though the individual will not be remunerated) and probably a ‘person description’ too. Perhaps my comments above are a start.
Now draw up a very initial list of people who your internal zoo people think might fit the bill. It doesn’t matter if it is not in the event a very good list and if all those first names get ultimately discarded – you need to start somewhere.
Once this is settled, who is the best connected, most influential person you know, someone with a good business track record?
Ask them (assuring them of the confidentiality of your discussions) to comment on and add to your list. You should be as ambitious as possible as to your Chair’s stature – reach for the skies!
You can probably approach people you don’t actually know too who would be happy to help build your knowledge. What about senior ‘professionals’, like lawyers, accountants, architects, adverting executives, all of whom need to know other important business decison makers and to market their services. Business journalists and recruitment specialists also have interesing angles on the influence structures in your region, and who wants a knighthood ( except not in the USA).
As it develops , your list should also be showing who knows who, and who could act as a door opener to actually ask your Chair to do the job.
That door opener – together with your CEO need to then make the approach.
It may well be that you will come acroos your perfect Chair whilst seeking advice on the list. Everyone loves to give advice ( like me!) and this can gradually bring into greater interest in your project.
You ask how you can be sure the Chair will actually perform. There should be a pretty strong view tin the first place that anyone you approach would not dream of starting something they don’t finish. But the’ job description’ and an explicit plan should be there at the beginning. Moreover your Chair has to make a gift him or herself that shows their commitment.
If this all looks too ambitious because Emporia Zoo just doesn’t yet have the neccessary profile amongst your business community, you may need to run some kind of extended ‘cultivation’ campaign before you even start looking for your Chair.
Getting rid of a Chair that does not deliver…? That’s perhaps another ( hopefully unnecessary) story for another day
Hope this helps a little
Be nice if some of our other zoo development colleagues in UK, Netherlands or Australia dropped in with a comment or question – however bried?
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