The prospect management, research and analytics (PMR&A) team at the University of Virginia has experienced substantial growth since 2022, expanding by approximately 400%. With this growth, we recognized the importance of supporting advancement in their goal-setting process. Leveraging our diverse expertise and industry best practices, we developed a new, comprehensive process to assist development officers in this critical task.

Establishing Ranges

First, we needed to define various roles and levels for fundraisers, considering factors such as tenure, management responsibilities and the size of the unit we support. We then developed a rubric that incorporated these criteria and applied it to an Excel sheet containing the fundraisers.

 

 

The team extracted historical data from the database to gain insights into the following goal categories previously established by leadership for development officers:

• Visits
• Number of asks
• Dollar amount of asks
• Granted number
• Granted dollar

Exporting data to Excel for the past three fiscal years, we identified and removed outliers (any large numbers that could skew the data) to refine our analysis. This allowed us to clarify the development officer roles as defined earlier. By utilizing these defined roles, we established appropriate goal ranges for each subset of development officers.

Creating Documentation

The next step involved creating comprehensive documentation and clear language regarding the new process. We defined our team's role throughout this initiative and developed two key documents to guide development officers, supervisors and PMR&A team members. These documents assisted in aligning and standardizing goal ranges with development officer roles in the new prospect management policy across university advancement.

These documents include a resource guide and worksheet, as shown below:

The resource guide includes historical goal data for each development officer from the previous three fiscal years as well the average. It also includes goal range recommendations and fundraiser level definitions. This document is sent in advance of the meeting for the development officer and their manager to review to ensure a constructive conversation.

 

 

The worksheet is for the development officer to review and complete prior to the meeting. The worksheet’s purpose is to prepare the development officer to discuss challenges and opportunities that may affect their goals in the upcoming FY.

 

Timeline Roll Out

Next, we presented the new process to leadership for approval. After incorporating their feedback, we received clearance and successfully launched the process to the development officers.

Two months prior to meeting:

• An email is sent detailing the new process guidelines and emphasizing the need to update proposals to ensure the accuracy of information for the current and following fiscal year.
• Each PMR&A member schedules a 45-minute meeting with their assigned development officers and their supervisor.

One months prior to meeting:

• PMR&A team members gather data and insights to suggest goal ranges for each development officer and their supervisor to consider for documentation.

Three weeks prior to meeting:

• We email the resource and worksheet documents to development officers (DOs) and supervisors for FY24 goal setting. These documents included a three-year performance overview and average for each development officer, the suggested goal ranges, prompts to guide the conversation and our goal recommendations.

Two weeks before meeting:

• We encouraged each development officer to review the suggested ranges and goals with their supervisor before the meeting to prepare and align on upcoming projects and the pipeline

At the meeting:

• By the end of the meeting, the development officer and supervisor would have agreed on goals, which the prospect manager would then report to leadership for final approval

Navigating the Meeting (And Delicate Conversations)

As PMR&A, we acknowledged that discussions about performance can be sensitive. We encouraged development officers and supervisors to view these meetings as an opportunity to finalize goal setting, rather than as part of the performance evaluation process. They can continue performance discussions during the annual review. To support these conversations, we included prompts in our documentation to guide the discussion.

The prompts below were to be completed by the development officer before the meeting.

• Share your challenges and opportunities for the next year. What should you consider as you plan your goals?
• Top 3-5 priorities for the coming fiscal year as it pertains to your portfolio, donors, units and activities.
• What skills would you like to learn this year? What professional development goals would you like to discuss further with your manager?

Feedback and Refinement

After the first year of implementing this process, it was essential to gather feedback from both our team and fundraisers. We reviewed the data and goal ranges to ensure they remained effective. We also solicited feedback from the leadership team on the process and areas for improvement. By addressing both challenges and successes reported in these meetings, we were able to refine and enhance the process each year.

Enhancements We’ve Made Since Launch

• Review and adjust the ranges based on 1-2 years of experience with the new ranges
• Better prepare supervisors and set clear expectations for conversations
• Remove the PMR&A member from the meetings
• Review and update the support documents
• Initiate the goal-setting process in April-May to ensure goals are entered into the system by the start of the (July 1) fiscal year

Overall, this process has been well received by the advancement community here at the University of Virginia. We hope that this information empowers you as you work on your organization’s goal planning. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out to either of us.