To bring to life the concepts and ideas discussed in the Future of Philanthropy series, we bring together experts in the field, who can offer first-hand experience and important insights on these topics. This Q&A focuses on leadership—how the rapidly changing world of philanthropy is placing new and different kinds of demands on advancement leaders.
Panelist: Shelley Goode is Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer for AARP Foundation. She oversees fundraising across the Foundation, AARP advocacy, and other AARP affiliates. An inspirational leader, culture champion and strategic visionary, Shelley served most recently as chief development officer of Girl Scouts of the USA, where she led a revenue-generating team responsible for securing diverse funding streams from individuals, corporations, foundations and government grants. As chief development officer for the KIPP Foundation, a nonprofit network of 280 college-preparatory public charter schools, she raised funds to implement diversity- and inclusion-focused solutions for students with low income, and has shaped policy and strategy at the C-suite level in various roles, including as vice president of resource development for Oxfam America. In her more than 30 years of experience in fundraising, marketing and communications, and nonprofit leadership, she has led teams that deal with how to best deploy the forms of capital at our disposal — human, financial, social — in ways that sustain quality of life, unleash talent and spark development. Shelley has served in leadership roles with Volunteers of America, the Smithsonian Institution, Spelman College, Syracuse University, and Johns Hopkins University, and currently serves on the boards of the Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust (MS GIFT), and Mary Baldwin University and The Fred Hollows Foundation (USA).
Panelist: Dino Hernandez is the first Chief Advancement Officer at Northwestern Michigan College, where he leads all fundraising endeavors for the NMC Foundation, as well as overseeing executive administrative functions for public relations, marketing and communications (PRMC) in collaboration with the AVP of PRMC. Also within his oversight are the Dennos Museum Center, International Affairs Forum, and WNMC radio. As a key member of President’s Council, he will work closely with the entire executive team. Previously, he served as Chief Development Officer at the University of The Bahamas, where he increased giving 148 percent; prior to joining the University of the Bahamas, he spent 13 years at Lawrence Tech in Southfield, MI, where he directed and led two comprehensive campaigns. One had a goal of $20 million that closed at $46.6 million, while the second goal of $75-$100 million closed at over $110 million. His teams have been honored with seven CASE Circle of Excellence Awards for fundraising improvement and innovation.
Panelist: Gina E. Wood is Chief Development Officer at the Rainforest Alliance, where she leads the global fundraising functions (individual giving, institutional relations, strategic partnerships, and overall revenue operations) with a goal of diversifying and increasing the organization’s revenue. She is a results-driven leader with more than 15 years of fundraising experience in the nonprofit sector, and a track record of building and strengthening global partnerships, securing transformative gifts, board development, leadership annual giving, stewardship, events, and strategic development. Having raised millions of dollars, she is respected by her colleagues as a strategic advisor, creating successful fundraising campaigns and engaging partners across the globe. Prior to joining the Rainforest Alliance, Gina served as Senior Vice President for Global Partnerships and Impact at the Atlantic Council. During her eight-year tenure, she led a high-performing team which played a significant role in securing an eight-figure, multi-year gift and supported leadership to exponentially grow the organization’s overall revenue. Gina also has extensive state and federal government experience, having served in the cabinet of a former South Carolina governor and in the executive and legislative branches of government in Oregon. Her federal government work included the allocation of discretionary funding at the US Department of Justice.
Moderator: Tom Herbert is a Senior Consultant with Aspen Leadership Group and brings twenty-seven years of experience in higher education advancement. Most recently, he was appointed Miami University’s Vice President of University Advancement and Executive Director of the Miami University Foundation and later promoted to Senior Vice President for University Advancement and President of the Miami University Foundation. He successfully completed Miami University’s first $500 Million campaign and successfully launched its first $1 Billion campaign. During his time as President of Miami University’s Foundation, he nearly doubled the size of its board and as well as its endowment. Tom previously served at Dartmouth College, where he first held the position of Associate Vice President, Individual Giving and was promoted to Vice President of Development. Before his Dartmouth appointments, he served in various roles at Indiana University and the Indiana University Foundation. Tom has presented at numerous development conferences for the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (“CASE”) and served on its National Commission on Philanthropy.
Tom: Thanks to all three of you for making time to discuss this important topic, in terms of what you’re seeing with your donor base, organization, and talent management. To get us rolling, maybe we could just hear from each of you and get a sense of what you’re each working with, within your own shops. Shelley, if you don’t mind, I’ll just toss it to you to get us started.
Shelley: Sure, thank you, and lovely to meet everyone and to be here. I’ve just recently started with the AARP Foundation, and so my references will be partially the Foundation, while also pulling in threads from other organizations. We have a large base of more than a million smaller donors, mostly 70 and older, and over 90% are AARP members and yet we also have younger prospects who are adjacent to the donor base. So, I see a real dissonance in how to court the younger donor while also maximizing the potential of our older donors.
Now, that dissonance is not something new—I’ve witnessed that at other organizations. It’s common to have to grapple with the different sectors of your donor base in terms of how you approach and engage, understanding what narratives will resonate with each. At Oxfam America, we had a primary base of smaller donors, and then a smaller subset of major donors and mid-level donors. I think you would see that pattern at many organizations.
Gina: First, it’s good to meet everyone. Similar to Shelley, I’ve been at Rainforest Alliance for less than a year. So, I’m still getting to know our donors. We’re a unique organization, in that we have been known for decades as a leader in certification of small farm holders and protector of the forest. Our funding model is a combination of royalties we receive from certification and philanthropy and governments. But unlike other organizations, we use social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities.
Today, we’re aiming to build and expand our individual giving donor base. We’re restructuring and rethinking our approach from small and mid-level donors, to upgrading to major and principal gifts to high-net-worth individuals. That’s where I see the greatest potential for revenue growth.
Interestingly, at the Atlantic Council, we grew philanthropic revenue, particularly with private foundations. What I’m finding at the Rainforest Alliance is more engagement from corporate foundations as opposed to private foundations. Part of the reason is that, as an international organization, our work happens outside the U.S. and we get a lot of funding not only from governments but also multilateral organizations. The lack of funding from private foundations suggests to me this is an area of growth opportunity. The other potential driver of revenue growth for us is both Gen Z and Gen X, because they’re more interested in giving to a cause where they can actually see the results of their gifts.
Dino: Like both of my colleagues, I’m new in this role. But with fresh eyes, I have many of the same observations as you both. Many of our donors are what I’ll call “glocal”—global in their thinking, but very local in their giving. And I think the most surprising thing is that, demographically, most of our giving comes within a 25-mile radius of our college. It’s very similar to other retirement zones where there’s no other higher-ed institution that we compete with.
One thing that’s also unique about NMC is that it was not established by an act of the Michigan legislature, it was created by the community. So, the community comes out in full support of everything we do. They own the college, and what was surprising for me was that it’s not primarily alumni or corporations giving, it’s actually family foundations driving the giving—because so many folks have retired up here and set up private family foundations. In many ways, it’s like my prior role at University of the Bahamas. This part of Northern Michigan almost operates like an island. Folks come in high tourist season and then fly south or west for the off-season. While they’re here, giving surges. So, our programs are designed to maximize their presence.
I’ll add one last thing: tactics and strategies. We all remember the good old days when we used to write handwritten letters, or pick up the phone to connect with donors. Those things play very well here, and my team said, “Dino, we should send out a note that you hand sign, just introducing you to our donor base.” Once that message went out, if I was walking in downtown Traverse City, I’d get stopped by strangers, “You must be Dino Hernandez. I got your letter. Thank you so much.” Here, even in an age of digital communications, it’s hands-on and high-touch. We leverage a lot of data behind the scenes, but we still have to do some of the old-fashioned things.
Tom: Absolutely great. Thank you. I have a follow up question to press into the donor-based demographics a little bit. If you were looking out five years, what sort of changes might you anticipate or project? Shelley, I’m going to toss it to you to start again.
Shelley: Sure. Currently, more than 90% of the million-plus potential donors at the Foundation are AARP members. And so, one of the key changes and challenges I see is bringing in people who are not in that portion of the AARP membership. Another challenge and opportunity goes back to planned giving. I know that it should be a bigger slice of the pie here, especially with the aging donor base and the size of our donor base. So, that’s something that I envision.
I love Dino’s word ‘glocal.’ It reminds me of that book, Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors Are Revolutionizing Giving. We all need to learn how to speak to the desires of people to both invest locally in communities, but also satisfy their interest in potentially having a global impact, and being change agents. I use that word impact because many of the questions we get revolve around impact: ‘What is the impact of what you’re doing? What is the impact of my gift? How is my gift joining with others?’ You want to build that sense of community around the impact of your work and the impact donors can make with their gifts. So, I see leaning into that sense of community to strengthen the donor base and for broadening at that major donor level.
The AARP Foundation is different in that we have a smaller portion of donors who are one-percenters. We have to create a narrative for a wider audience, one that communicates our strategies for changing the circumstance of low-income older adults living with poverty. We also need an internal education component to help people understand why we’re doing these things. You need to interpret the outside environment for people internally, to help them understand how advocating for these kinds of fundraising strategies will help us develop and grow.
Tom: Makes a lot of sense. Gina, what about for you?
Gina: I’d certainly concur with what has been said. Rainforest Alliance works in agroforestry, deforestation, biodiversity, global economics, and our approach sets us apart because we focus on market-based solutions. When I think about our primary individual donor profile right now, it’s female, middle-class, and probably between the ages of 35 and 50. I do think this is going to evolve as younger adults continue to increase their giving in causes where there is an impact. This is a priority donor target, so we will build a strategy to engage with us. Young people who come from wealth are benefitting from the transfer of family wealth. Working with these donors will require an ability to work with donor advised funds.
I’m focused on individual giving, the largest share of giving to organizations, and I agree with Shelley that one of the things I hear from donors is an emphasis on impact. It’s critical that we create a compelling narrative and make sure we’re mission-driven in our fundraising strategy.
The other shift in giving to watch is a lot of foundations have traditionally had hundreds and hundreds of grantees. Today, they’re narrowing their focus to what they refer to as ‘big bets.’ They’re identifying a single issue to focus their investment, a problem they want to solve, and explore how their investments can demonstrate solutions that lead to real impact. The Ford Foundation is a good example; they have shifted their focus to social justice. Also, the MacArthur Foundation’s 100&Change and The Rockefeller Foundation made a huge shift toward climate and resilience. Organizations will need to consider how they might align with these opportunities and be positioned to manage these big bets.
Tom: That’s very helpful. It sounds like the through line. So, despite whatever demographic changes are happening, and shifts at major foundations, the continuity among all demographics is this focus on demonstrating impact? Does that sound right?
Gina: Absolutely, philanthropist from all segments, including Gen Z want to know that their contributions are making a difference and can show impact on the issues they care about.
Tom: Dino, I want to turn to you on this question, because you also oversee marketing, PR and a number of other outward facing comms functions, right? And there’s an integrated challenge here in terms of appealing to different demographics with tailored messaging. Maybe you could speak to that a little bit as well?
Dino: Absolutely, and I’m going to mirror what my two colleagues have stated. I’m back in the Midwest and dealing with folks who have started businesses and worked very hard. They definitely want to see a return on investment and an impact from their hard-earned dollars. So, I think the onus is on us to make sure they see that, and it’s not just a publication with glossy photos and quotes, it’s seeing how lives have been transformed.
But something else we have to be ready to address is any change in the external environment. For example, in the state of Michigan, right before I started, Governor Whitmer and the legislature made community college free for the first two years. So now, as fundraisers, we have to pivot. How do we make a case for scholarship funding when the state is covering tuition? The case we make is for something called “tuition and beyond,” which is the full cost of actually attending college. You need to put gas in your car, pay for food and books, pay childcare expenses if you have kids. And when we explain the nuts-and-bolts of what a typical student has to sacrifice, it can actually be a stronger and more compelling case for donors.
I also want to briefly cover Tom’s question about PR and marketing. Believe it or not, people still read the newspaper here in Northern Michigan. So, we’ve got to constantly market on multiple channels—traditional print and radio, as well as digital channels like TikTok, X, or Facebook for us old people. For example, at NMC we’re stewards of the Great Lakes. So, we have a Fresh Water Innovation Center and the only Great Lakes Maritime Academy. Even our culinary institute is farm to table. Those themes of sustainability and growing talent locally, are what reinforce our case for support. So, it’s a multi-channel effort with a ‘glocal’ message that appeals to different segments in each of those comms channels.
Tom: That’s perfect. That was a great example of pivoting your fundraising to address external changes. I want to follow up with a broad question. How demographic shifts impacting the way your organizations deliver on the mission itself, and does that carry through to the philanthropy program?
Gina: Our CEO joined Rainforest Alliance over three years ago, and one of the many efforts he has been leading is a strengthening of our alliances, positioning us to execute our 2030 strategy to scale impact across critically important landscapes. This required me to think about how do we support this bold vision, and what is the cost? How do I devise a case for support that builds on the success that we’ve had, and articulate our impact, and how will we deliver the solution we’re striving for?
Like what Dino was talking about, I’m working closely with our marketing and communications team, which is focused on expanding our brand and visibility. We’ve gone through a rebranding and have new ways of talking about our organization, a new tone of voice. It’s my role to use this positive message and share with our donor audience.
I think we have strong potential to increase our visibility and resonate with new donors. I’m especially excited about our new and much more appealing merchandise to share with our individual donors. We’re planning a listening tour with a few select donors to receive their feedback on our programmatic priorities and progress on Vision 2030 as a way of approaching donors that have lapsed and re-energize our stewardship program.
Tom: Shelley, we’re looking at what experts call “peak 65” as a huge wave of Boomers reaches 65—the largest surge of retirement age Americans in history. The oldest Gen Xers are approaching 60 years old, and 71% are considering delaying retirement. How does that impact the mission and potentially how does that flow through the philanthropy program?
Shelley: One of the things I need to stress, in delivering on our mission, is the importance of communications and what we say—that is, when communicating a narrative to our audience that one might assume everyone understands what we are trying to convey, but they may not. It’s our job to connect the dots for donors. For example, we need to connect the dots between the 39 million older adults living with low income now and the next group that will follow. What are the things that we can do to assist those who are in that upcoming generation? What tools, education, and help can we provide older workers in their 50s in finding jobs, because you’re less likely to find a job if you’re in your 50s. How can we work with older adults living with low-income to improve their financial resilience?
That’s a story that we have to refine and perfect, and so we’re trying to shape that narrative now in ways that are more donor focused. I know my colleagues here have probably been in the same position of saying, ‘It’s not about us.’ It’s not enough for the people around the table in our respective offices to agree with what we’re saying. There’s a lot of pressure to help external audiences not just understand how we are addressing complex issues, but how we’re doing it in a way that’s meaningful for them and their desire for impact. And, again, that goes to internal education. Sometimes you need to challenge the organization’s internal assumptions about how people are receiving your messaging on the other end of your communications.
Words matter. For example, I remember being a part of an organization that was using the word ‘need’ to talk about scholarships—as in ‘need based’ scholarships—and it was not resonating. It conflicted with donors’ views of self-reliance and their own perceived history of pulling themselves ‘up by their bootstraps.’ So, the phrase evolved to ‘affording opportunity,’ which allowed potential donors to see themselves in these students. You have to be honest and transparent about what you’re hearing from outside constituents, and whether your messaging is effective. I also found that donors like to be on the inside when you’re discovering these things; they can be your advocates and share in your learning, which can help them to be change agents with you.
Tom: Dino, what about delivering on the mission and responding to these kinds of demographic changes?
Dino: Absolutely. I’d reiterate the same themes. I’m very fortunate because my president calls himself a ‘possibilitarian.’ One of the things that impressed me about NMC was its responsiveness to community need. My mother is a retired Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurse, and at NMC our nursing students were saying that they would prefer an accelerated program to get an Associate’s degree and eventually work toward a Bachelor’s through another four-year institution that we have a partnership with. So, we created an accelerated program and just awarded and recognized the first cohort.
It’s opportunities like that, working with local industry and other institutions, that make a lot of things possible for NMC, and I’m seeing such initiatives flow through to the philanthropic program, too. We’re expanding our aviation program to help address a national shortage of commercial pilots. It has become a combination of a public-private partnership where we’re working with the state on funding and infrastructure, working through the Foundation for private support to purchase airplanes, and working with industry. What I’m especially proud of, through our aero program, is the number of women who are now coming into what was predominantly a male career.
I’m seeing the same thing with our construction management program, more women entering the workforce in disciplines that may not have been as welcoming before. Because of NMC’s outreach, there are eighth graders outside this building, right this very minute, with faculty, driving heavy tractors, and young women seeing that there are industries possibilities they never even envision before. Part of our success at the NMC Foundation, which ranks in the top 20 in size of endowment, is built on this ability to listen to constituencies and act on those needs.
Tom: One last question. With respect to demographics, how you’re seeing those issues come up in your respective organizations as it relates to talent management—hiring and retaining talent?
Dino: You know, Tom, this question is very timely, because I just announced a reorg of the NMC Foundation Team, and I explained to the team where I was going with that. In full transparency, I was brought in as a change agent and to lead the next comprehensive capital campaign. But in addition to leaving a legacy, I want to make sure that I’m teaching-up, training, and coaching the next generation of leaders.
Here in Northern Michigan, where I’m unlikely to find seasoned talent, I’ve got to build from within and identify opportunities for those folks who are ready. I know there’s going to be a lot of my time spent on coaching, mentoring, and developing people, but ultimately, that’s why we’re here in our leadership roles, isn’t it? Part of that was announcing the promotion of an eight-year veteran to head up our NMC Foundation team, and I’m asking all the other department heads to make sure there’s a succession plan in place for them. When I left the University of the Bahamas to take this role, I made sure that I coached up and mentored successors, and I left two outstanding Bahamian women ready to take the helm.
Shelley: One of the first things I try to do is ask people what their interests are, and what’s their professional vision for themselves? I’m trying to reconcile their aspirations with the box that they may be in within the organizational structure.
Building on that, I have leaned into creating team-based environments where you could be leading a team but not have the highest title. It gives people an opportunity to own streams of work. It gives them leadership exposure, because while we all have hierarchies, I try to break those down as much as possible to create as much space for people to lead from where they sit. You have to create that environment where everyone has an opportunity to share their capabilities and without being reliant on, or boxed in, by titles.
What that does is challenge the organization across demographics, because what you’re saying is that it’s about the work and the person, it’s not about a power hierarchy. That approach to mentoring leadership can be disruptive in a very generative way. And so, those are the kinds of things that I do in trying to both develop and unearth talent, unleash skills and passion, and then provide opportunities for growth.
I’m also looking for people with adaptability who can pivot, and who are not looking for a rinse-and-repeat role. Because even if you’re the best, if you’re pushing you can still get better. Especially in growing organizations, people need to be able to operate in a space of ambiguity as you’re continuing to push an organization forward. The assumption is that younger people might be more adaptive, but I’m finding they still need mentorship in how to do it—because they may not have adequate experience or an understanding of how to be adaptive in these spaces, and how to leverage leadership opportunities in order to grow.
Tom: Gina, what about for you? How do you bring the next generation along?
Gina: That’s a great question, and I think about it more in terms of my last position, where I started out with no staff, and over eight years handpicked a very high-performing team with an average tenure of about three to four years. Two things stick out to me about what drives team performance. One is having a diversity of staff, which gave us a diversity of talent. The other was breaking down silos between revenue streams. Integrating how we work made a huge difference in our fundraising efforts. Staff became aligned with donor interests and everybody knew who the donors were; everybody knew how to interact with them, regardless of what kind of donor they were. In addition, the communication and transparency piece was extremely important because that’s how you build trust with your staff.
Now, I’m at an organization with a very different culture, not U.S.-based, with people in different countries; so, fundraising is very different. Like Dino, I’m recruiting for several positions, but potentially rethinking traditional structures because, in a non-traditional organization, you have to adapt.
The last thing I’ll say is that feedback is important: asking people what they need, and then also getting your own feedback, you know, ‘Am I providing you with what you need to be successful?’ Because development is not easy, and the way you support your staff will translate into how they interact with the donor community. You have to role model behavior.
Tom: No question about it. Well, I just can’t express enough gratitude for your thoughts and your input this afternoon. Your time is valuable, and you’ve got many, many demands, and this has just been outstanding. The hope is that our advancement colleagues reading this will find your insights and counsel valuable in their own work.
NEXT UP on December 17th: An in-depth article from ALG’s Gregory Leet on how a narrowing pyramid, and increasing wealth concentration, are impacting fundraising strategy and tactics.
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