From Silo Syndrome to Cross-Departmental Collaboration

You want to expand and improve your team, right? I know you’re nodding, saying “of course, but…” I know all the ‘buts’ and have uttered them frequently over time! If adding staff members is not an option for you right now, there are still ways to grow your team and better serve your institution and your donors.

With a challenge from our new head of school to seek improvements and increase efficiencies, our campus is moving to centralize certain functions and transition to integrated database systems. We’ve changed the structure of the donor relations team, along with the ways we partner with and steward internal constituents. We’re working to demolish silos and build cross-departmental partnerships.

Three offices on campus doing similar tasks? See what ideas come into play when you get them together to find the best and most effective way to function. Different departments researching and ordering from multiple vendors at varying price points? Form a “Build Our Brand” team and order in bulk from preferred vendors, saving money and staff time while ensuring the brand is widely and cohesively communicated.

Not quite sure where donor relations fits? Depending on your institution, you may report to the vice president, the director of development, the advancement services director, or any number of positions. Last year my position moved from the advancement services team to special programs, which encompasses on- and off-campus events and stewardship activities for alumni, parents, and recognition society members. Regardless of your structure, work to make sure that colleagues on your team and within your department are well-versed in the function of donor relations. Make a habit of mentioning programs that endowed funds support at office-wide meetings, celebrating newly-named spaces, seeking input for personalized reports, and more.

Find ways to cross-train so that all staff members feel involved. Our gift processor assists with notes to acknowledge marriages and births during slow gifting periods and our annual giving coordinator builds time for thank-you calls into phonathons. We tap our director of alumni relations to follow up with current scholarship recipients to ensure completion of their correspondence to donors. All of these enhance the staffer’s role while sharing the responsibilities of donor care.

“I never knew how that was used!” When this remark about a report popped up at a cross-departmental meeting, we knew we had taken the right step in scheduling a regular meeting with select team members from donor relations, special programs, and advancement services. Sometimes we get caught up in the details of our roles without understanding the broader ways that our daily efforts help meet the institution’s mission. As Lynne Wester often says, “Feed the data people.” Granted, they are very special – and you should apply this to colleagues in your office and across the organization with whom you partner. Involve them. Be sure to let them know that their work has an impact. Thank them - and always reciprocate when they are swamped!

A recent successful structure change occurred when the newly-created regional engagement officer positions were filled. These staff members fill a dual role of discovery and cultivation of constituents while also engaging with prospective students and their families. Although based in the advancement office, they attend admission office staff meetings and team retreats, and travel to student fairs and outreach events to expand awareness of the school. For advancement, they work to deepen community relationships, build volunteer engagement, and secure annual fund participation. Follow-up to visits and events is coordinated with donor relations. This partnership with the admission office has led to more coordinated efforts and a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of each department’s charge. 

These changes mean that while ordering tchotchkes with colleagues, I am able to ensure consistency with our brand and educate others on the strategic value of useful items. As I announce an upcoming lecture at a staff meeting, I mention the endowed fund that supports it and the story of why the donor established it. I share our gratitude mindset with other departments at potluck lunches, arranged to enjoy relaxed conversations (and delicious food!) while students are on spring break. Each of these actions contributes to improving donor relations.

As colleagues within the office hear the back stories and better understand the value of tasks, and as staff from other departments are integrated into planning meetings, it becomes easier to understand and genuinely appreciate our donors. This has an exponential effect as we work together to build the awareness that donor relations is the responsibility of each person in the organization. As I say during orientation, “Everyone is on the donor relations team!”

DeWayna Hogue Pittman
Assistant Director, Advancement Operations and Donor Relations
Mercersburg Academy