EPISODE · Aug 24, 2023 · 1H 8M
161: David Lively, Northwestern University
from RAISE Podcast
With over 30 years of experience in higher education advancement, David Lively has directed successful development strategies across five comprehensive fundraising campaigns. Lively joined Northwestern University in January 2012 and in his current role managed "We Will. The Campaign for Northwestern," a $6.1 billion University-wide fundraising campaign. At Northwestern, he oversees a team of 60 development professionals responsible for principal gifts, regional and international major gifts (including offices in New York and San Francisco), and gift planning.Lively earned a bachelor's degree in history from Southern Methodist University, a master's degree in history from Colorado State University, an MBA from the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, and a certificate from the Management Development Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. In April 2017, he authored Managing Major Gift Fundraisers: A Contrarian's Guide (published by CASE).
What this episode covers
When David Lively arrived at Northwestern, he asked the head of Prospect Research for data on: - Fundraisers’ portfolio size - % of contacted prospects within portfolios - % of solicited prospects within portfolio Here’s what he found: 45% of managed prospects with capacity to give over $1MM had not been seen in three years. 55% of managed prospects with capacity to give six-figure gifts had not been seen in three years. And the average number of prospects within a portfolio that WERE contacted in the past three years? 40. Fast-forward 10 years: Under David’s data-driven leadership, 79% of the major donors to Northwestern’s campaign are first-time donors. This week on the RAISE Podcast, David and Brent dig into the portfolio purgatory problem that exists across the fundraising industry. They talk about deep portfolio clean-up and optimum portfolio make-up. They discuss the data points that unearth long-overlooked prospects. They debate the value of measuring asks over visits or dollar amounts as gift officer metrics. Also covered during this convo: the similarities between playing classical piano and fundraising. Being a Northwestern Dad. The value of getting an MBA as a fundraiser. Tune in to learn from the Major Gift Contrarian himself.
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161: David Lively, Northwestern University
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