How things look makes a difference. 

 

Today I’m going to share some stories (specifics omitted of course) about maintaining spaces and places named by donors.  They put their name on it, or a loved one’s, and when they visit they want it looking nice. 

1. The Smith Auditorium. This was a remodel of an existing space in a campus building. The donor named the room after her late husband. The gift request was exactly what we had been told it would cost to build, rounded up to a whole number. This room got a great deal of use for conferences and big lectures – GREAT.  But after 5 or 6 short years it had lost its luster, and campus funds were impossible to get.  The donor returned for a visit and was pleased….and unhappy. We got a quote for paint and repairs and put out an appeal to all the conferences that had used the space. It simply said there were no funds in the university budget; we wanted them to have a nice space to meet, and we wanted to honor the initial investment of the donor.  All but $5000 was raised to do the repairs.  The donor stepped in to provide the gap. Moving forward, a maintenance charge was added to each use of the room that was sincerely saved for this purpose.  The plan for upkeep was shared with a story about the person honored in newsletters and the contract for room rental. It has never been a problem since and everyone feels a part of keeping up a great space.

2. At the onset, everything about the Root Building was listed for naming options that included a percentage for upkeep. Then, these funds were SET ASIDE for this purpose.  Every donor was told that part of the naming opportunity included a provision to keep the building maintained.  Every donor agreement was signed additionally by the physical plant.  There were some donors who felt this should not be part of the giving process.  The story never changes.  We want you to always be proud to have your name attached.  Planning for upkeep is how we can assure it will be so.  This plan worked because the use of the money was honored.  That doesn’t always happen and then not only don’t you have upkeep money, but you have also violated donor trust. No ‘borrowing’ from upkeep funds.

3. Mary Jones named the care unit after her late husband.  In 10 years, a major upgrade was needed and there were no funds.  The Director of Development went back to Mary, who was a bit unhappy with the lack of planning for this. No other donors wanted to upgrade someone else’s building.We decided to ask Mary to provide half the costs to serve as a match for other families who had used the facility and could appreciate the importance of upkeep. It worked. Others were happy to make smaller gifts and Mary felt she had partners and was not asked to shoulder the entire cost. The work was staggered so that it all would not come up at the same time again hopefully making it manageable for the non-profit to budget for in the future.

Takeaways from this?

1. PLAN for maintenance when creating naming options.  Tell the donor that these dollars for maintenance are part of the gift they are making and why. Be transparent.

2. Set aside money for maintenance and don’t borrow or rob it for another purpose – no matter what! Invest it for earnings.

3. If you need to go back to an original donor – do so. Be sincere, be humble, be genuine in wanting to fix this for the person named. 

4. Keep up with upkeep! Fixing a small problem is a lot cheaper than letting it go. Keep on it for your donors and bring them to see the place so they, too can get maintenance moved up.

Remember, this is really part of Being a Grateful Recipient,  you are building long-term trust and encouraging more and larger future gifts.