Attracting Eclectic Donors

The world is full of "eclectic" donors—people who give in a lot of different areas. How do you capture their attention? Learn from one donor, David Spaulding, and the fundraisers he's met along the way. 

This Army veteran shares how he's turning his love into a lasting legacy and the online connection that spurred regular gifts to an organization 1,000 miles from home,  as David reconnects with his inner city roots to make a difference.
 
Insightful's free eBook
Know  More. Raise More. is presented by Insightful. The team at Insightful knows connecting with donors is hard. That’s why Insightful helps fundraisers like you better know your donors (and the people you would like to be donors) so you can: 

• Raise more money
• Advance your mission
• Do more good in the world

There’s a big change happening right now affecting fundraisers. Over the next decade, up to $70 trillion dollars will shift from aging baby boomers to millennials. This wealth transfer is already underway.

Are you prepared to work with millennials?

Start by downloading Insightful’s free ebook:
9 Insights Fundraisers Need to Know to Prepare for Millennial Major Donors. Just head to insightfulphilanthropy.com/ebook

Transcript

Jennifer Trammell: 0:06

Welcome to"Know More. Raise More. " the podcast for fundraising professionals, where we share firsthand stories from donors and gift officers who have real relationships, working together to change the world for good. I'm your host Jennifer Trammell. On the podcast today, the eclectic donor, someone who gives in a lot of different areas, and how your organization can be one of them. David Spalding is just like a lot of us when it comes to philanthropy. His family has been impacted by diseases, his education wouldn't have been possible without scholarships, and things catch his attention online or in the media. And sometimes he's compelled to send a check. We take a look at the wide variety of ways David gets engaged with organizations like yours. This army veteran takes us on his philanthropic journey with some of the fundraisers he's met along the way, as he turns his love into a lasting legacy and reconnects with his inner city roots to make a difference. Know More. Raise More. The podcast for fundraising professionals is brought to you by insightful, insightful helps improve engagement between nonprofit organizations and donors. We know connecting with donors is hard, insightful, helps fundraisers, like you better know your donors, so you can raise more money, advance your mission, and do more good in the world. David, welcome to Know More. Raise More. Thank you, Jen. Well, it's great to have you with us because you are an example of a philanthropist that I think a lot of us can relate to. And I'm excited to share your story with our audience today. Let's start just by learning more about you. Will you tell us a little background about yourself your career, your family?

David Spaulding: 2:13

Okay, well, I grew up in Philadelphia in what would be called today, I guess, an inner city neighborhood. And we didn't have much money, we probably would at any time, I'd be classified as lower income or bordering on poor, in fact, and at times that we benefited. I remember a couple occasions where someone would show it show up at our door at Thanksgiving with a turkey and some food and, and I was not even conscious of the fact that we weren't financially well off. I was totally oblivious. And when they would show up with a turkey, I just thought, boy, isn't that a nice gift. But in looking back, I can see that we really time struggled. So I went I went to public school in Philadelphia. And at some point, I can't say exactly when the idea of going to college was planted in my head. And by no means was it from family. Both my parents were high school dropouts. And so we did not have a background that said, Yes, you should be going to college. But for some reason that seed was planted. And so when I was graduating high school, I looked around and I only applied to two schools, Temple University and Penn State, I was able to get into both. I chose to go to temple because I could come you didn't have enough money to live on campus. And they did rely quite a bit on scholarships. So again, benefiting, I guess, in a sense, from the generosity of others, I went on active duty in the army. I earned a master's while I was on active duty. And then after I got out, I got an MBA. And subsequent to that not that long ago, I earned my doctorate. So clearly education is important to me. I've worked for several companies over the years and little over 30 years ago, I started my own business. So we have a firm, the Spalding Group, and we're headquartered in Somerset, New Jersey. Talk about my family. I mentioned my wife, she passed away in July of last year. We have two sons and three grandchildren. When it

Jennifer Trammell: 4:21

comes to philanthropy, you've given in a wide variety of ways to a wide variety of organizations, sometimes more modestly, sometimes very generously. And we're going to talk about those big ways in detail in a little bit. But you've given it a lot of smaller ways that add up to a big impact. And I'm curious what motivates you to give back?

David Spaulding: 4:44

Well, I guess fundamentally, it's the idea of tithing, so I do adhere to the idea of tithing. I'm Roman Catholic, and in the Catholic Church, we typically do not talk about tithing, but it is clearly part of the Bible and the idea of giving back 10% Not necessarily to the church. So I do, I do donate to our church or to the church I attend, but also to, to donate to other organizations and so on. And so it's I'd say, it's been a little bit of a gradual process, although over over time, I've often given to one charity or another, maybe somebody is coming, looking for a contribution to a 5k, or whatever, and usually happy to do that. But the idea of making them a more committed regular series of contributions that began maybe 10 or 15 years ago, where there were certain groups that I would become aware of, and I thought, rather than just making a one time contribution, or maybe once a year contribution, I would just make it a monthly so that way, it's real simple. It's earmark comes out of my account every month to send a certain amount of money to one charity or another.

Jennifer Trammell: 6:04

What do you think about those organizations? Or the causes that you give to? How do you pick? How do you decide where to allocate your dollars?

David Spaulding: 6:12

Well, I'd like to say it's a conscious effort, but I think it's really somewhat unconscious. And then after afterwards, as I review, I realized, oh, yeah, I tend to give a lot to this group, or this type of group or another type of group. I mentioned, I grew up in Philadelphia, and again, not a particularly wealthy area. And so I'm very sensitive to children, especially in communities where they're disadvantaged. Okay. So was probably 15 years ago, I was reading The Wall Street Journal, I learned about a Catholic school, I think they're located in the Bronx, that they're there, they're serving the needs of the community. And, and these are, for the most part, pretty poor kids trying to get into this school. And so I made a decision then that okay, every month, we'll just send some money to them. And so I that's just one example of being sensitive to the inner city, right inner city, you have to might be struggling. Also, health is another area for me. So a dear friend of mine died of cancer a number of years ago. And every year, his family's involved in a in a 5k walk. And every year, I send a check for them. My mother died of breast cancer, um, she died of cancer, but she had did have breast cancer. And so every year, there's an opportunity to give the breast cancer I do. My wife died of lung disease. And so every month, send a check there. So when it's when it's a health issue that I can relate to, directly or indirectly, I also see that as an opportunity

Jennifer Trammell: 8:08

to give. So it really sounds like you're giving tends to fit in a couple of categories, medical health, education, and assisting the disadvantaged particularly looking at children in the inner city. Is that fair? Yes. And like you said, it wasn't that you set out with those categories. In the beginning, it was almost unconscious and naturally developed, that those are the areas where you tend to go.

David Spaulding: 8:33

I think there's a lot of people who can relate to that. Yeah. And at our company, also, we, we make an effort to, to give a few years ago, we started our own program to buy coats for kids. So what had happened is I had read an article about kids that were going to school in the winter, just wearing a hoodie. Well, if you're in New Jersey, in the winter, it's pretty cold and wearing a hoodie, you're not really wearing the proper attire. So we started off by reaching out to one or two of the schools. It's actually my assistant who does that for us, reaches out, identifies what the needs are and then buys, buys coats for them and mittens and hats. And we also did something last year, where we bought the notebook computers or whatever they're called for the kids who were around blacks. Yeah, because they're staying home but some of these kids didn't have access to that. So again, they're being disadvantaged so we bought some of them. And I just want to say that I I'm, I'm not in the tooting my own horn. Okay. The school. They really wanted to acknowledge us for doing this. I really don't want acknowledgement. All right, I don't. I don't believe that I that I want When you know that it's appropriate to say, Hey, look at me look at what I'm doing. Okay? On the other hand, though, it occurred to me, if we do let some people know, then maybe they'll do the same thing. And so I last year I posted on LinkedIn, hey, we did this. And maybe you and your company can do it too. Okay? I'm not. I'm not saying hey, look at me, Aren't I a good guy? No. Maybe you can help the kids in your community, because maybe you're not even aware that there are kids there, that they just don't have the money in the home to properly clothe the kids for the for the weather, so maybe you can help them, right.

Jennifer Trammell: 10:41

Really using your work as an example to others. Absolutely. Let's talk more about your family. So you and your wife, Elizabeth, Betty, you were married 48 years. And she was Elizabeth Sinkinson back when you met her, what more than 50 years ago? Tell us about Betty? Well,

David Spaulding: 11:06

yeah, so when I met her, she was going into her senior year at Archbishop Prendergast High School. Now it's associated with a school that was next door, which was for the boys, Bonner. They've been combined. And I was going into my junior year at Temple. And we met at Ocean City, New Jersey, we started dating. And it didn't take very long for me to fall in love with her. And we got married a little more than two years after that. So we knew each other for over 50 years, which was pretty cool. And married for just about 48. My wife was a blessing she and a lovely lady. kind, sweet. Everybody liked her. She was a wonderful mother, a phenomenal grandmother and pretty darn good wife too. So we we built a really wonderful life together, we did a great deal. I'm fortunate with my company. I do a fair amount of travel both in the country and, and globally. And, and she was able to accompany me many times on those trips. So we were able to see things and do things. So I would say that we had a really rich, rewarding life together. Yeah. It

Jennifer Trammell: 12:25

sounds like a beautiful life. And you wanted to do something special to honor Betty's memory and really the legacy that you guys have built together. Tell us how you went about that.

David Spaulding: 12:35

It's hard to say what triggered it. But I was actually sitting right here at my desk a few months ago, and I thought, well, maybe I could look into setting up a scholarship at her alma mater. So I reached out to the school to inquire Do you accept this? I was pretty sure they would, who's going to turn money down. And I explained that I wanted to set up an annual scholarship in my wife's name. The school meant a lot to her. I think it meant a lot to her sisters as well. And because I had the opportunity again to attend some of the events there and I know that she had a certain fondness for this school, that it would be a nice thing to do.

Jennifer Trammell: 13:22

After the break Bonner Prendi, Executive Director of Advancement Tara Basile, and President Dr. John Cook, join the conversation for their perspective on fundraising. Listen up. If you've ever had a communication mix up, you know an email that went unanswered a donor phone call you never knew about. Tara shows us how to bounce back and still close the gift in a way that feels good for your donor. There's a big change happening right now affecting fundraisers like you. Over the next decade, up to $70 trillion will shift from aging Baby Boomers to Millennials. This wealth transfer is already underway. So are you prepared to work with millennials? Start by downloading insightful free ebook, nine insights fundraisers need to know to prepare for millennial major donors. Just head to insightfulphilanthropy.com/ebook Go to insightfulphilanthropy.com/ebook to get the nine things you need to know about millennials from millennials. That's insightfulphilanthropy.com/ebook. John and Tara we're glad to have you join the conversation. And tell us about Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Pendergrast Catholic high school

John Cooke: 14:50

or do you want me to do Tara ?

Tara Basile: 14:52

Dr. Cook you know, yeah,

John Cooke: 14:54

people always ask us what what is in the sauce of Bonner prendi because it just seems like every time you There is a sense of sense of family and close knit community and culture. And I think that which really makes us unique here at the school. At one time, we were two separate schools, Monsignor Bonner Catholic High School for Boys. And it was archbishopric as Catholic High School for Girls, a world one campus literally feet apart the two buildings but they were two separate functioning Catholic Schools back in the day, about 12 years ago, they were combined under one administration.

Jennifer Trammell: 15:30

And listeners, here's what you need to know. After that, with low enrollment, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia accepted a proposal to shut down some schools, including Bonner prendi, the community pushed back and the administration appealed.

John Cooke: 15:46

And this is one of the going back to family and sense of belonging. The alumni really put a lot of effort and money into the cause and improve the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that Bonner party should stay open, they can stay open because of their investment in the school and because of the importance of the school, to the community that it's in. So it won the appeal. We just welcomed our one of our largest classes in the last five years at 230 Freshmen with the largest incoming class in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. So it is a huge success story. You know, 10 years ago, closed down, appealed it, and now we are doing very well, a lot one of the largest in the system. You know, our because of our alumni and are giving back to the school, we consistently meet our fundraising goals and surpass them every year. And we set a new goal every year and continue to surpass that. And it's been able to prove the Archdiocese that we are very committed to what we're doing. Our alumni are very committed to what we're doing in providing a Catholic education for our students here at Bonner. Prendi.

Jennifer Trammell: 16:57

That's amazing. You mentioned the support of alumni being so critical to fulfilling this mission of providing a Catholic education. Tara, tell us more about the role of philanthropy in the work at Bonner prendi.

Tara Basile: 17:11

Well, it's every day, it's very important, I added the, you know, 800, in, you know, 800 students, we have 747 of them need financial assistance, to help pay for tuition. So, without the support of scholarships, we were talking about, or just general funding to keep the building going to keep the experience of the whole student, the holistic education, the whole student, we wouldn't be able to be here. So really, our donors, our alumni, friends, they make it they make it work, and they the students are able to get the education they have because of them.

Jennifer Trammell: 17:56

Now, there was a communication mishap when David initially reached out about setting up a scholarship to honor Betty. And I bring this up, because it's something that happens to all of us at one time or another. And I think fundraisers listening can really learn from you, Tara about how to recover.

Tara Basile: 18:13

Well really was an interesting kind of situation, shall we say? David will say this. I voted David in July of 2021, after getting inundated one morning with a bunch of messages that were left on our contact us at the school, almost a year prior August 2020. And they got stuck in computer heaven. And it was almost a year now. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. So right away, I just had to get on the phone and apologize to people. Because the thing about philanthropy, I think, is communication. We're all people we're giving to people we're getting because of people. And I call them I tried calling right away. And I the number wasn't working probably because he moved at that point. So I found an email address. And I just said, I found this message a year later. Incredible. Right away, I pulled out your book to look at Betty's picture and to see what she participated in. I was able to reference, you know, her parish, St George's and glenolden. And I'm Apprendi alum too. So I could relate to a lot of that. And I just said, if you've done this at another institution, I'm so happy you were able to do this for yourself and for her in her memory. And if you haven't, hey, you know, let's talk and he got back. He got back. No, this is great. I haven't been able to. So the thing I have to say about philanthropies just constantly, you have to keep the communication lines open and and be available to folks. So that's and then we just start the conversation I learned about Betty and him and his family and what his interests were and what her interests were especially in the business side the classes she took when she was about Randy and I went back to the Tuition Assistance Committee, which we have here and said, we have an opportunity here for scholarship. And this is where we want to head on and, and it really just kind of flourished. From there.

Jennifer Trammell: 20:15

David, what does it mean to you and your family to have this scholarship up and running at Bonner prendi. Now,

David Spaulding: 20:22

I'd say it means a great deal. My sons, when I told them what I had done, they were very pleased, very happy to see that and, and I'd say, it means a lot to be able to honor Betty this way, with a lasting legacy, if you will, just so that every year 234, students will get some benefit. And associated with Betty, I know, under spring, there will be some sort of event that we can go to. And because I'm stuck here in Naples, the benefit of the beautiful Delaware County weather, but my sons who live in, in New Jersey, they at least they will go and so maybe they'll have an opportunity to meet the recipients. So I'd say for our family, it's a really big deal. She, she she was she was the core of our home. And she will always be in our hearts and now have a way for others to benefit. So it's great.

Jennifer Trammell: 21:28

Dr. Cook, from your perspective, what does it mean to students who received scholarships like this,

John Cooke: 21:34

especially in today's world, with the challenges with the pandemic, and everything that complicates that with people being able to work and families being able to afford things or rising prices, it means a lot, and we've worked really, really hard to keep tuition reasonable, but we still have to have tuition. But we, you know, we, we pretty much say to our families, if you're willing to, you know, give a little bit and help help pay that tuition, we're going to do what we can to make this affordable for you. And when when alumni and alumni family stepped up like the spottings to provide those opportunities and provide the Bonner Prendie family experience to our students, they're very, very touched and grateful for the opportunity to be able to do that. We we make it a teachable moment, too, because sometimes they may not realize, and I think the event that David was talking about later on is very intentional, to really make it personal, to pair up our recipients with the donor so they can really see a face for for both for both parties. So the students can really appreciate, you know, the sacrifices that alumni are making to help support the Bonner party education for our students here. But also put a story to it. Because as David shared, his wife had a great experience here at Prendie back in the, you know, the late 60s in the 70s that really impacted her life, and we want to provide that same opportunity for our current students. So truly is a legacy to provide our students that opportunity to connect them with the alumni and provide that funding to help support their their tuition to attend Bonner prendi.

Jennifer Trammell: 23:10

Tara, how do you advise other fundraisers who are in positions like yours to do that work of engaging donors? What advice do you have to them? When I talk

Tara Basile: 23:22

to my peers, when I talk to other fundraisers, I am always trying to, I tried to push making the personal communications making the touches making the phone calls, introducing them to the students as we do in May, most recently, the scholars the scholarship, the spot on scholarship scholars, two of them are going to LaSalle University and the president at university came to the school, handed them their acceptance letter in person. And I realized at that moment when Dr. Cooke was taking photos and like David would love this, we got to share this with him. This is what it's all about. You got to see it. So the more you share pictures and see that it's you're actually giving to another person and the benefit both this to the student and to the donor. But if if I were going to talk to my peers, I would say make it personal. And for fundraisers. I've often had conversations with donors, and it didn't quite work out. And I got it them to other organizations that were a better fit for what they were talking about what makes them feel better. So, you know, we all have to work together.

Jennifer Trammell: 24:37

Well, nice work. And it's fun to have both sides of that equation with the donor and the organization here to celebrate together. Thank you, John. Thank you, Tara.

John Cooke: 24:47

Thank you for and thank you David for everything you do for Boehner brandy.

David Spaulding: 24:51

Our pleasure, thank you.

Jennifer Trammell: 24:54

After the break from Catholic education to inner city funding, our eclectic donor takes us down another path, giving thousands to building better men in Detroit. Program Director and Founder Odis Bellinger joins the conversation. And he proves it doesn't take face to face meetings to get new donors involved. Know More. Raise More. is brought to you by insightful. Remember, for insights on Millennials from millennials Download Insightful's free eBook. Nine insights fundraisers need to know to prepare for millennial major donors. Just head to insightfulphilanthropy.com/ebook. That's insightfulphilanthropy.com/ebook. Well, Odis, we're so glad you could join us today. And I'm hoping you'll start by giving us an overview of building better met.

Odis Bellinger: 25:54

Well, you know, building a better man is derived from my dysfunction growing up without a biological father. And it's just when I got like 12 years old, I wanted to be able to do something for young man who felt like me, I just didn't know what it was, you know, when I came home college have just started a program, but I neighborhood just to help young men who are living in poverty and not have father figures, things of that nature. And our mission is to enhance the social, academic, and mental development of young males ages seven to 17. Our vision is that from them being involved in our program, they will become productive members of their respective societies. So, I mean, we just have a lot of different programs for them, from academics, to sports, to vocations. And we, just the other day, we did a, like a TED talk with the boys for 10 weeks they were, we taught him public speaking skills. And then he actually did their speeches in front of our families or friends. And we're already start taking those skiing in January. And it's just a lot of different things that we do with a young man. And we could not do what we do. If it wasn't for angels, like, like David, I mean, he, he saw what we were doing. I've never actually met him in person. I just met his heart. And sometimes I'd rather meet a person's heart to meet them in person. So if I could meet all our hearts, like David, our program would definitely be in a much better position, you know, so it's constantly a stress, we're constantly pushing the program. David doesn't like me to brag or talk about what it is he does. He I mean, but uh, he's tremendous. I mean, he's helped us out in ways that people to live right in my city don't or people don't see every day though.

Jennifer Trammell: 28:19

So you guys have never met in person that is so interesting,

Odis Bellinger: 28:23

I've thought about just flying down there, shake hands and get back on the plane. So,

Jennifer Trammell: 28:27

David, tell us about how you even came to know building better man and Odis?

David Spaulding: 28:33

Well, he had posted something on LinkedIn a few years ago. And it's been so long, I don't remember what it was, and basically explaining what what he was doing there. And I was intrigued by the idea of somebody in that area, doing something for these young folks. Right. And that are in in areas where they're not doing financially very well. And probably you're in many cases don't have a father figure to lead them. And so he, what he shared, I would just very impressed with so I made a decision right away. I want to help him, right. So I reached out and find out where can I send the check. So I sent an initial check, and I made the decision that just going forward, we read sending something every month to him. And over time we become LinkedIn friends, we're Facebook friends. And so I get to see because of what he shares, some of the things he's doing with these young boys not only serving us as like a father figure, right, having a male role model, but giving those kids something else to do, right. Want to do do what I could. And that's what I like to do. If I can help Odis. I'll do it because I know he's helping the boys in this community.

Jennifer Trammell: 29:55

Odis, what does it mean to you to have a donor like David who's taken an interest in your program from 1000 miles away?

Unknown: 30:03

Well, you know, it's a game changer. Because of me, it shows that you know, I'm a person that I do believe in. And God, I do believe in people being able to connect with others, and not just for their own personal gain. I mean, he doesn't have to help, but he does. And as you see, some people make it about race. We've been seeing that throughout the years and politically and with different movements. And as you see, I mean, we don't look away. You know, I mean, he's a, he's a lot better looking at me, but, you know, we don't look alike. But uh, it's just, it just goes to show you that. It's not about race. It's not about socio economic level. It's just about, you know, being concerned about mankind. So I just wish we had, at least about 10 to 20 more Davids. I mean, how else was

Jennifer Trammell: 31:20

great. Well, Odis, thank you for joining us.

Odis Bellinger: 31:22

Thank you. Thank you, you know, we definitely appreciate you. And again, thanks to Dave.

Jennifer Trammell: 31:31

You've worked with so many organizations, you're a very eclectic giver, and a very generous giver. Is there something that you love that organizations and fundraisers do when they work with you? And on the flip side, is there something that just makes you shake your head and say, Oh, I wish they wouldn't do that. I like

David Spaulding: 31:49

to know what they're doing. Right? The communication so like, with Odis, putting out on social media, some of the programs so I can see on a going forward basis, the differences they're making, right? What I would prefer they not do is send me things, all right. I got stuff in the mail every month, save the money, don't, don't send me anything, I don't need to be getting things in the mail I don't need. Sometimes I get little gifts with their name on it. I don't need use the money for the kids. I really don't need anything from you.

Jennifer Trammell: 32:39

thank you for being an example for all of us of how we can make a difference in our own ways. And that collective impact is truly doing good in the world.

David Spaulding: 32:48

Thank you. Appreciate the opportunity to chat with you.

Jennifer Trammell: 32:54

Could you see a lot of your own donors and David Spaulding five key takeaways from our conversation. Number one, as Tara showed us, you can recover from communication mishaps. While letting an email or phone call go unanswered for days, months, even a year is embarrassing. Reach out, apologize. Let the donor know what happened. And find out if there's still an opportunity to work together. Number two, as a fundraiser, know your donor, find out the categories that are important to them. For eclectic donors like David, there might be quite a few. So for example, if it's someone inspired by change happening in the city where they grew up, share an article about big changes happening there now, and explain what your organization is doing to make a difference. Three, when you're working with an individual donor, ask if there's an opportunity for their company to give as well. David set up programs through his company like coats for kids. Number four, don't forget the importance of media appearances and telling your story on social media. Remember, Odis and David's connection goes back to a LinkedIn post, and several of David's gifts started by reading an article that highlighted a need. You can track your organization's appearances in news sources across the country using insightful and number five create teachable moments for future philanthropists like at Bonner prendi. When students have a chance to meet the donors who make their education possible, plant that seed for the next generation of giving. When you better know your donors, learn their passions and truly engage them with your mission. You can raise more to keep doing good in the world together. You don't want to miss next week's episode of Know More. Raise More.. Bill Jarvis, managing editor of the study of philanthropy, charitable giving by affluent households is here to break down this reports and really pinpoint the important information for fundraisers like you. I gotta tell you, you probably shouldn't listen to this one while you're driving, because you're going to want to take notes. Join us next week. Thanks for listening to Know More. Raise More. I'm your host, Jennifer Trammell.