← What the Fundraising
What the Fundraising
266: From Insight to Impact: Nurturing Donor Relationships with Tyler Mallory
00:26:19
Loading summary
Transcript25 lines
- [00:00]
Tyler Mallory
Foreign.
- [00:04]
Mallory Erickson
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Zefy. I have been excited to learn about Zefy and what a game changer it has been for so many organizations. Plus, the platform is 100% free. They even cover credit card and transaction fees. You can set up donations, sell tickets, and manage your donors all in one place. And it only takes 15 minutes to get started. Start fundraising today at Mallorykson.com backslash Zephi. That's Malloryerickson.com Z, E, F, F Y.
- [00:39]
Tyler Mallory
We can leverage all the AI sort of data points. We can pull this from that source and we can spend hours in preparation prior to a qualification visit. But at some point you just gotta pick the phone up because the data may not actually tell the true story. And so what I'm seeing in AI, it's a tremendously helpful tool, but it's a tool like, I think the moment that it really becomes a crutch, I think we rob ourselves and potential donors of the opportunity to find that true alignment.
- [01:14]
Mallory Erickson
Hey, my name is Mallory and I'm obsessed with helping leaders in the nonprofit space raise money and run their organizations differently. What the Fundraising is a space for real and raw conversations to both challenge and inspire you. Not too long ago, I was in your shoes, uncomfortable with fundraising and unsure of my place in this sector. It wasn't until I started to listen to other experts outside of the fundraising space that I was able to shift my mindset and ultimately shift the way I show up as a leader. This podcast is my way of blending professional and personal development so we, as a collective inside the nonprofit sector can feel good about the work we are doing. Join me every week as I interview some of the brightest minds in the personal and professional development space to help you fundamentally change the way you lead and fundraise. I hope you enjoy this episode, so let's dive in. Welcome everyone. I am so excited to be here today with Tyler Mallory. Tyler, welcome to what the fundraising.
- [02:16]
Tyler Mallory
Thanks, Mallory. Excited to be here.
- [02:18]
Mallory Erickson
Why don't we start with you just introducing yourself to everyone, telling folks a little bit about you and what brings you to your current role, and then we'll dive in.
- [02:27]
Tyler Mallory
Sure. My name's Tyler Mallory. Super excited to be on here. I started out my career sort of really in the sales and business development world and spent the lion's share of my first third of my career helping physicians and hospital systems find really sort of the right fit with medical products. And then I kind of made a big pivot in my career and went into the nonprofit space and Worked as an executive director, did a little bit of fundraising in there, and I'll kind of dip into that in a little bit. But really, again, sort of created opportunities to find alignment between programs and needs. And then the really short version is I've kind of stumbled like a lot of people into fundraising a few years ago. And so now I work at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and do primarily major gift work. Had the opportunity to serve as an interim chief advancement officer for a short little stint. And engaging alumni specifically around supporting efforts in student affairs.
- [03:30]
Mallory Erickson
Okay. I love hearing about stories when people started outside the nonprofit sector and then found their way in, then found their way to fundraising, which actually I'm sure there's a lot of your early career that is valuable in the work that you're doing today. I'm curious for you. Like, I think we're at a moment. I love what you said about alignment too. And I feel like we're at a moment where, I mean, that's always been really important. But as we think about donor engagement and I want to talk a little bit about AI, like the good, the bad, you know, the ugly. But I feel like that alignment piece, as we are saturated with more information and touch points with the rise of sort of like AI and content, our ability to cut through the noise and like be really clear about that alignment and build real connection is like more important than ever. What are you sort of seeing there in terms of what's working to be able to build opportunities to find that alignment? Are you noticing things change because of AI? I'm just sort of curious about your orientation to that.
- [04:41]
Tyler Mallory
Yeah. Okay, so there's a lot there. I'll start with finding alignment. I think that I've only been in higher ed for three years. I would say my development work prior to that was in kind of just the, the nonprofit space and maybe about 10 years doing that. But what I found in higher ed and specifically as we engage a huge number of alumni, we have a half a million alumni that we're sort of tasked with engaging what I think we're finding, and it's not just us, but there's a shift towards less traditional things, sort of more cause based initiatives. And so maybe that's specifically in student affairs, but I think what we internally and the people that I report up to, but also this is my experience day in and day out, is there needs to be a true willingness to sort of like take a step back and meet people where they're at. It may not be the program that they participated in 35 years ago, which is why they showed up on my CRM to begin with. It may not even be the thing that they donate donated to three years ago. But I think if we're genuinely inquisitive, genuinely curious and really fight for to discover what makes people tick. And then I think if we're very open handed on sort of our end on the university side of like, okay, this may not be my specific thing, but like I'm going to connect you to this over here. I think sort of again that sort of curiosity and open handedness seems to be where a lot of the traction is being gained, at least on my end. And so it's not just, I don't fundraise for engineering, but it's sort of. It's not just engineering, it's leadership in engineering. Right. Or it's not again somebody who went to the school of social work. It's mental health sort of focus in social work. And I think that institutionally requires a lot of flexibility and again sort of open handedness. And so now I'm going to tie it into AI. I think the interesting thing with AI is it does it depending on what programs you're using or sort of what you're able to leverage or not, whether you're a small nonprofit or a large institution. I think there are some programs that can give you a little bit of a window into where to go with people. Our vice chancellor sort of made this comment the other day and he's like, at some point you just got to pick the phone up. And what he was trying to communicate in this is sort of like we can leverage all the AI sort of data points. We can pull this from that source and we can spend hours in preparation prior to a qualification visit. But at some point you just got to pick the phone up because the data may not actually tell the true story. And so what I'm seeing in AI, it's a tremendously helpful tool, but it's a tool like I think the moment that it really becomes a crutch, I think we rob ourselves and potential donors of the opportunity to find that true alignment.
- [07:30]
Mallory Erickson
Oh my God. Okay. There is so much in there that I am like that I am obsessed with. So I love what you're talking about around the. And we're hearing this all over the place right now actually around the fact that donors are, you know, maybe changing is like the wrong. They're evolving because humans evolve. And we've like historically maybe made a lot of assumptions about because somebody cared about this thing at one point, that's going to continue to be their priority, and maybe it could even continue to be a vehicle of giving. Okay, yeah, I do still care about this thing, so I'm going to give that monthly gift or that annual gift. But really, like, the transformational gift is an understanding. Like, what, what that intersection of all these different pieces that they care about right now. And what I hear you talking about here that is, like, so important is this need as fundraisers. I hear you say that about flexibility, and my first inclination was thinking about that on, like, a structural level in the institution. But there's also this flexibility inside us as fundraisers. Like, what allows us to be really open and dynamic in those conversations, to be open minded to the fact that this gift might integrate the library and this STEM education program. So talk to me about how you sort of, like, maybe in yourself, but also in your team, think about, like, nurturing and sort of like cultivating flexibility beyond just the structure. Because when we think about AI, typically I think we're like, okay, well, yeah, all these insights could triage and segment and automate whatever. But I'm actually really interested, to your point in the flexibility in relationships that's required to move people and find that alignment.
- [09:22]
Tyler Mallory
Yeah, well, I've been lucky enough to have a front row seat to a little bit of the longer game in fundraising. And what I mean by that is not just the churn and burn. I've got a trip coming up, I need to fill this trip, and then two years later, I move on from this department and I'm somewhere I've had the opportunity and again, the privilege to engage with people through sort of multiple cycles of giving. And 500 gift one year, that, fast forward 10 years is, you know, is a $500,000 gift. And I believe that takes place or that really, truly blossoms as people are engaged in the ways that are most meaningful to them. And so here's where I'm going with this. I think that for me personally, I'm never thinking about just that first. Like, I'm always fighting for what, like, what is behind this. Like, tell me more, tell me more, tell me more. I'll steal a term. I think it's from. There's a team on Deloitte, and I think they call it the toddler method. And it's sort of like, I think you have young kids, it's sort of like when you're trying to discover sort of really meaning behind the meaning. You just keep asking, why? Like, oh, I support. What are There other organizations you support? Yeah, I support the Catholic Charities. Why? Well, because it's something we didn't know. Okay, well, why? And now you would probably do it a little bit more gingerly than that, but. But I think when you can really kind of sort of get to the core of that and not do it in some sort of mechanical way, but it's like, I think that, like, something truly gets unlocked. And I think, where does that come from within me? It's like, oh, I think begins with a genuine care. And again, having seen what these types of philanthropic opportunities can do to people and to organizations, I know that if I keep fighting for that alignment, that it can mean something great now and profound five years from now or ten years from now. And it does require that open handedness. Mallory, we actually just received a transformational gift from a donor. And when he was first, he gave a transformational gift, I think maybe seven years ago, and the athletics department engaged him and said, you know, sort of wanted to know if he would give a gift to the athletics department. And his response was, that's not where I'm at. That's not my passion. And he just kept being engaged by our athletic director and who's a gifted leader. Josh Whitman, gifted leader. And Josh engaged him and said, hey, I'm faced with this leadership challenge. Can you help me think through this? And there was this genuine relationship and curiosity that was formed without an agenda. And what was sort of one of the natural outcomes of that is that, oh, $100 million transformational gift to our athletic department that just came through. And I think, yeah, there are some things that you can maybe teach there sort of as, as a fundraiser, but it's like, oh, but I really believe that the real magic happens when it's like when we actually truly care about people and just again, sort of to try to discover, like what, like why. Like why. Yeah, what is it about that? And AI can't do that. As somebody who loves AI, AI can't do that to your business that you're practivating. Sort of like it can help teach some things, but it can't force that. That kind of connection that is, I think, integral for us and specifically in this season. But also I think donors are begging for that. They're desperate for that type of real connection.
- [12:31]
Mallory Erickson
Yeah.
- [12:36]
Practivated Announcer
With every modern tool and technology available to us, why do we still struggle to meet the donor where they are in their journey? It's because technology can't replace the number one skill set fundraisers use and need every single day. To move from insights to action. The art of human conversation and connection. Because conversations move missions, the right conversation can unlock generosity, deepen trust and fuel impact. But fundraisers rarely get a safe place to practice those high stakes moments. That's why we built Practivated, the first AI powered donor conversation simulator. Built just for you. Our AI coach, Tivi, provides real time, personalized feedback so every fundraiser can build confidence, sharpen their storytelling and strengthen relationships. From onboarding and readiness for new fundraisers to tackling situational fundraising challenges and scenarios that help you unlock stalled donor relationships, Practivated is here to support you to increase giving. Are you ready to see it in action? Step into practice today at www.practivated.com. that's www.p r a c t I v a T-E-D.com practivated confidence for every conversation.
- [13:57]
Mallory Erickson
It's so interesting. I could not agree more with everything that you said. And I think that like, care and curiosity and the intention of the interaction, like, just changes everything. Anybody can say I'm looking for alignment, but like, if alignment can't just be like your fundraising strategy, it has to be like, your true intention is like looking for alignment if it's there and also recognizing when it's not there. You know, I will often say, you know, you're fundraising in an alignment first way when you're actually letting donors go or walking away from people or recognizing when something isn't in alignment because that's a sign you're actually really looking for alignment, not just a way to convince them that there is alignment. Right. Which is like such a different thing. And so everything that you're talking about is so interesting. And it's interesting, like you brought it Practivated and you're right, like, well, the idea behind Activated is that it's, it's AI for the fundraiser. Right. And not it's interesting, of course. Like, I don't know, somebody's going to tell me I'm misspeaking here. I'm sure, like, of course the skill building piece is really important, but for me it's actually a lot, it's about a lot more than the skills because I actually believe that fundraisers and all of us have deep inside of us real curiosity and real and genuine care and that we're in this work because we actually have those skills. But there's all this stuff that gets in the way. Stress, scarcity, mindset, fear around the pressure around the metrics that we're trying to meet and that holding that with these donor conversations we actually, like lose our capacity to use these things that are innately inside of us. And so for some people, sure, they need to be trained in insight gathering and they need to build skills there. But I actually think for a lot of people, and I've said this in my coaching for years, like, that my job is to actually remove things. It's like you have this thing, there's all this stuff getting in your way, these narratives, the self doubt, this belief. And my job is actually to take it away, not like add a bunch of stuff. And so it's just so interesting because that is something I'm thinking about a lot with the tool is too, is like, what does it take for us to be genuinely curious?
- [16:15]
Tyler Mallory
Yeah. Mallory, I'm sort of a visual thinker and I'm sort of what's coming to mind right now is. And I think you probably do. It sounds like you do a lot of this in your coaching and impractivated, but I'm picturing a Venn diagram. Right? Okay. And in this Venn diagram, there's me, like the individual and sort of what's going on inside of me and what I sort of am bringing into the conversation. There's the institution and its priorities. Right. And then there's the donor. Right. And what it is that they're hoping to accomplish. And I think it's not just the institution and the donor, and it's not just me and the donor. Right. And I think that this all. We find that sweet spot, we find that, that intersection within the Venn diagram when Tyler, like, it's the best way for Tyler to help that sort, to help hit that bullseye is for none of it to be about Tyler. Right. And I think one of the reasons why I've probably been successful over my course of my career is like, I am not defined at all or by my metrics or by anything of that nature. And my eyes are not fixed on myself, but solely on how do I find. Help them sort of find this alignment with whether it's this organization or my previous organizations. And I think I'm encouraged, Mallory, to hear that you're kind of helping others do that work. Right. It's sort of like where they're not afraid of rejection. Right. They're not afraid of, you know, the metrics, you know, or hitting that. Like, I think that's profound and I think that the more that we can be focused on others specifically in those conversations, the better.
- [17:41]
Mallory Erickson
Yeah, totally. Because when I think about that piece around, like, sometimes we just have to Pick up the phone. Right. Like, I wish I was like you naturally, where I didn't care about metrics and could. But I definitely feel pressure like that. And as a fundraiser, I had a million reasons to not pick up the phone. Right. I didn't have enough data about this. I wasn't positive about this. Like, I could deflect and I could make my fear sound like loyalty, compassion, empathy. Right. I had all these ways of spinning it, but really what it was was fear. Fear that I couldn't handle an open conversation, fear that I would say something wrong that would ruin an opportunity. And so I think what you're also talking about that I love, and I'm curious how you sort of navigate this is something I'm hearing in how you build relationships, is that you, like, nothing is really binary. Right. It's not like, oh, I could screw this up with this one thing, I might say, because it's not a pitch that you get right or wrong. It's this, like, exploration that's really about them. So it almost seems like it's reshaping in a lot of ways, a lot of those fears, too.
- [18:54]
Tyler Mallory
Yeah. Yeah. I think there are plenty of relationships that we've all had where things have maybe not gone as we planned. And, gosh, I can't. So many times when I was running a small business, there were so many mistakes that we made, so many customers that we had upset, like, some in my tenure and some in years prior. But I think we never viewed those as hurdles. We viewed those as opportunities. Like, you know, and I think the same is true with donors, people who are. Have been frustrated by the university or where it's headed or that, you know, this decision that was made, I'll just pretty bluntly and also, you know, very carefully say, like, some individuals I engage with want to sort of wash their hands and sort of move on, while others sort of are raising their hand saying, hey, hey, how can I help contribute to the problem that I'm concerned with? And I think if it's not black or white, it's not binary. Maybe it's like. But I think a closed door isn't always a closed door. I do also think there is a lot of freedom in sort of like, oh, this person just hung up and moved on. It's like, I've got 490, 900,000 other people to. It's like, it'll be okay. It'll be okay. I think we have that luxury. I recognize that all organizations or nonprofits do, but I think that I just Want to name that, that's helpful as well. But I think if we as people, I think if there is really truly a genuine connection, if we are engaging people, not because, you know, with these sort of questions or framework, if we're engaging them, not because my training told me to do so, but like, but if I'm engaging with them in a caring way, it's sort of like my turn question or my pit, you know, my invitation to a conversation about, for, like, it doesn't matter if I fumble through that. Like, of course I want to execute it well, of course I'm a representative of the university. Of course if I ask it in this way, it might open up. And it's like, I am not dismissing hard work, I am not dismissing the importance of training and frameworks, but it's like, oh, no, genuine connection first, Genuine curiosity first. Let that be the tip of the spear. And I think that will pay far better dividends than, than anything else.
- [21:02]
Mallory Erickson
Yes, yes. Oh my God, 100%. Also, I love what you said about I have 400 and whatever donors because I'm. Whenever things like that happen, I'm just like. Or they'll be like, I have so many emails to respond to or so many donors to. And I'm like, what an amazing problem. That's like my favorite problem. And so I love that. And I think that you're right. Like, I interviewed this researcher at Wayne State. He runs the Fear Lab there. And I was learning about, you know, what are ways that we can conquer fear and move through it and make sure that it's not holding us back from picking up the phone. And he was talking about knowledge and he gave a few different things that have been scientifically proven to reduce fear. Knowledge is one of them. Control, or the feeling of control is another. And there's something really interesting in what you're talking about here that relates to that, which is, yes, to a certain amount, those trainings or whatever it is, we want a certain amount of knowledge to reduce our fear. Like we, we know what might happen in this situation, but we don't want to over index on knowledge where we're in perfectionism. And we're actually just using that sort of training to delay our actual engagement. And then the thing about control, which I've never thought about before, and so I love how you're talking about this, is that when you really shift your intention and your goal is to learn about X, Y and Z, or your goal is to like, hear somebody out who's really frustrated with something and Just create space and validation for their feelings. Like when that becomes your goal, you have control over how you show up in that way. Right. Trying to control exactly how much this person gives by the end of the conversation, that's actually your fear is just gonna kind of skyrocket. But if you can shift around what you're talking about, it just can completely, I think like regulate your nervous system and allow you to go into that conversation so much more open and curious and all the things that you're talking about.
- [23:06]
Tyler Mallory
Yeah, and I'll tie in a fun little AI thing too here. It's sort of like if I recognize that it's not about me and that I'm just potentially another person that's moving the conversation forward, I might engage with someone genuinely and out of curiosity and I might share the, our mission with them and they just might not be ready. And it's sort of like, okay, then I sort of put them back into the c. You know, it's like different terminology here, but it's like I put them back into the CRM and then I trust that the system, my peers, our institution, will do what it's supposed to do and re engage this person at a different time. And sort of like there's open handedness there. Right. And we can use, you know, fast forward three years and AI is going to pick up the fact that this person engaged in a major gift conversation but yet wasn't yet ready express these interests. Okay, great. Now it's not Tyler that's engaging with them now it's this other person and now they are ready. Wonderful. I think again, when you have the opportunity to sort of sit in an organization for a really long time, you might be able to see some of those come to fruition. But there's a lot of turnover in fundraising and I think recognizing that it's a long game and you sort of fight to genuinely connect and you sort of trust the system and trust, trust what you have in place. I think that readiness might bubble up in a couple years, that inclination might increase. And I think there's an opportunity for technology in those things in the future.
- [24:29]
Mallory Erickson
Okay. I love it. That's. I could talk to you forever, but I have to watch the clock. So I, I'm so grateful for just how much wisdom you just dropped in 25 minutes for everyone. And I think it's such an important. It can be really hard to like sit in the discomfort of the unknowing around where a relationship is going. And for those of you who may be more like me feel the pressure of numbers and things like that. But I think everything that you're talking about and that orientation and that focus on the other person like and their experience is just so important and wise. Tell everybody where they can go to connect with you or learn from you following this episode.
- [25:10]
Tyler Mallory
Sure, you can email me if you want. I welcome any conversation there my email tyler mallorymail.com you can also find me on LinkedIn. Just Tyler Mallory and I'm not really on. I have an Instagram profile but I'm not really active so you won't really gain much there other than some old pictures.
- [25:29]
Mallory Erickson
Amazing. Thank you so so much for joining me today and for this conversation.
- [25:34]
Tyler Mallory
Thanks Mallory. Enjoyed it.
- [25:41]
Mallory Erickson
I hope today's episode inspired or challenged you to think differently. For additional takeaways, tips, show notes and more about our amazing guest and sponsors, head on over to Mallorykson.com podcast and if you didn't know, hosting this podcast isn't the only thing I do every day. I coach, guide and help fundraisers and leaders just like you inside of my program, the Power Partners Formula Collective. Inside the program, I share my methods, tools and experiences that have helped me fundraise millions of dollars and feel good about myself in the process. To learn more about how I can help you, visit MalloryErickson.com PowerPartners Last but not least, if you enjoyed this episode, I'd love to encourage you to share it with a friend you know would benefit or leave a review. I'm so grateful for all of you and the good hard work you're doing to make our world a better place. I can't wait to see you in the next episode.
- [26:41]
Practivated Announcer
Fundraising is hard. Every donor conversation carries pressure and most fundraisers are expected to just figure it out through trial and error. That's why we built Practivated, the first ever AI powered donor conversation simulator. Made just for fundraisers. It's a safe, judgment free space to practice your pitch, refine your storytelling and build the confidence that drives real results for your mission. Because conversations move missions forward. With Practivated, you and your team can practice anytime. Get real feedback instantly and walk into donor meetings ready, not rehearsed, but prepared. See how practice changes everything. Try practivated today at www.practivated.com and start building confidence. One conversation at a.