CASE STUDY
Restructuring and training team to gain fundraising insights and efficiencies
CEO added middle-management and enhanced fundraising team by promoting from within and training new talent
Shannon LaHay, Former CEO
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada
Enhancing the existing development team
Shannon LaHay joined the Brain Tumour Foundation in the role of CEO. With a background in fundraising and a reputation for moving strategic initiatives forward in times of change, she joined the organization to propel its future plans forward.
Based on her background, she identified that the fundraising team could be performing better. However, as the CEO, she had other areas to focus on and did not have the time to identify the root causes of poor results on the fundraising team. She needed an external expert to assess the situation and prescribe next steps to enhance the team’s performance.
Additionally, without a fundraising director, all 5 fundraising staff members reported directly to her. She needed to appoint a director to manage the team and ensure team members had the skills they required to create and follow a fundraising plan rather than conduct ad-hoc fundraising initiatives that raised minimal net revenue as it had in the past. A current team member showed promise, and Shannon needed someone to coach that person into a role with leadership responsibilities.
Training and coaching to build team capacity
Shannon had known Growth & Co.’s CEO Larissa Stoddart through their overlapping time at Western University and fundraising associations in London. Based on their past interactions and Growth & Co.’s work with other large national organizations with strong brands, Shannon knew Growth & Co. was the right consultancy to bring in to address their challenges.
Shannon hired Growth & Co. to work with two of the fundraising team members. With team member Ness, Larissa provided guidance throughout conducting a fundraising audit, creating a fundraising plan based on audit results, and crafting a compelling case for support. Ness learned how standard operating procedures and automation could reduce errors and inefficiencies on the team, and the templates provided by Growth & Co. saved her time in making those improvements. Ness also received coaching on managing change within the team and supporting team members throughout those tough changes.
Training with team member Ben focused on major gifts. A recent hire who had personal connection to the organization due to being a brain tumour survivor, Ben had the personal connection to the cause that is so important to fundraising. With the Fundraising Intelligence training program and coaching calls with Larissa, he gained the knowledge he required to begin having conversations with fellow survivors regarding how to financially support a cause that meant so much to them all.
A team structured for success
As a result of the coaching and training with Nes, Shannon was able to restructure roles on the team and Nes was promoted into the director role, giving the team direction and clear guidance on their roles and responsibilities while freeing Shannon’s time from needing to supervise the entire team - saving 5 hours per week alone in reduced one-on-one meetings and emails with team members that enables her to tackle more strategic priorities of the organization.
Nes was able to make the team proactive instead of reactive by creating a clear fundraising plan. She also clarified the reasons why donors should support the organization by writing a compelling case for support. Additionally, she was able to hold team members accountable to their newly defined roles based on the fundraising plan, helping them focus their energy on tasks that have high payback.
As Shannon put it a few weeks into our work together,
“I’m thrilled with how things are going. We’re achieving what we set out to do—identifying what we’re doing, what we’re not doing, and what we should be doing. in fundraising We’ve established a baseline of where we’re at. Previously, there was a lot happening, but no clear strategy.
We’re also accomplishing the goal of growing Nes's capabilities to take on new responsibilities. I can see she has gained confidence in speaking up. Ben's training is also going well; his skillset is advancing. Both team members are asking smart questions, which is inspiring productive group discussions. We’re now presenting things as best practices within our team. The right questions are being asked, and our team will be so much further ahead as a result of working with Growth & Co."
At the mid-way point in our work, we checked in with Shannon again. She said,
“Our comfort level has increased significantly. We can see the fundraising plan and understand where we’re headed. Other departments, like programs, are looking at the fundraising team and realizing that an audit isn’t a scary thing. They see that the fundraising team is comfortable with change, and they will be too. We now have templates for communicating with donors, which are being implemented as planned. The email updates are helpful, and I know Larissa knows what she’s doing—I see the results, so I don’t have to worry.”
At the end of our engagement, Shannon shared,
“It was great not to be so involved as a CEO. When we first started working together, I was overwhelmed. I knew what needed to happen in fundraising but didn’t have the time to address it. You took it off my plate so I don’t have to. Thank you again for all the incredible support you provided to our team this year. I’m excited about how well-positioned we are heading into next year.”
Ben also had feedback to offer: "My client journey has been phenomenal. I took the job but knew nothing about the nonprofit sector, coming from a higher education background. I mentioned in my annual review how grateful I was to have access to you to get up to speed with fundraising. The content is high-quality, and the training is far better than what I experienced in the higher education sector. The content and coaching are personally tailored, and it’s clear that you genuinely care about me as a person and my professional journey. Your calm, nurturing demeanor was exactly what I was hoping for. It made a huge difference to my confidence, competence, and comfort in this role. I wouldn’t be enjoying this career transition at all if I didn’t have access to this support and training. It’s been phenomenal. This has been the number one factor that allowed me to feel comfortable in the role and will be a strong indicator of my success. Your great, calm, nurturing demeanor was exactly what I was hoping for."
After our last session, Ben said "Thanks, as always, for a terrific final group coaching call today. I hope you can see the tangible good you are doing with this group of terrific fund development professionals! I could almost see people’s stress and anxiety melt away throughout the call. You might have a superpower!"