Founder Q&A: Is The Veritus Way Relevant to Any Fundraising Strategy?

When we talk about The Veritus Way™, we’re referring to our proven approach and structure for relational fundraising that’s focused on making meaningful connections with your donors. But does The Veritus Way still apply when you’re talking about other fundraising strategies, like events, corporate sponsorships, grants from foundations, or other institutional fundraising?

Yes! No matter the setting, the basic principles of The Veritus Way are still relevant. When you apply for institutional funding, you need to understand the passions and interests of your intended audience so you can connect them to your mission. And when you’re hosting an event, every attendee has their own areas of interest. Your goal is to discover those who have a passion that’s aligned with your mission, and then serve them by sharing information about that specific need and the impact they can make through their giving. 

Watch the video below to hear from Veritus Group Founder Richard Perry about how these core principles are relevant in any fundraising context.

Read the transcript below:

Jeff Schreifels
Hi! I’m Jeff Schreifels, Principal at Veritus Group. I have with me Richard Perry, our founder. Richard, I have a question for you. Years ago, when you started Veritus Group, you came up with the system we now call The Veritus Way. It’s the whole thing about qualifying and tiering donors, setting a goal for each qualified donor, uncovering the qualified donors’ interests and passions, and creating a personalized plan to ensure that those interests and passions are fully served and fulfilled. And we have shown over all those years that it really works. In fact, when a major gift officer is co-managed by Veritus, the value attrition of managed donors moves from 40% to 60% loss each year to between 7% and 12%. And our clients see a 20% growth in revenue on average, in just the first year of working with us. So here’s my question: We have specific, quantifiable, and objective data that proves The Veritus Way works for mid-level and major gifts. Does it work? Is it relevant to other fundraising strategies, like corporate and foundation fundraising or events? What do you think?

Richard Perry
Well, it absolutely is relevant. And it does work, Jeff. And here’s why. When you think about the nature of a corporation, or a place of worship, or a foundation, or any institution – when you think about these organizations, they are exactly like a person or human being. They have specific interests and passions, just like a person does. They have certain inclinations, just like a person does. They might have a different process to do the ask. And you have to jump through, you know, certain kinds of hoops that they have set up. But the need to identify and then serve the institutional passions and interests is really not any different.

Jeff Schreifels
So what you’re saying, Richard, is that for any institutional fundraising, you still need to identify the passions and interests of the institution? You still need to tier, set goals, and write plans that are specific for that institution? You still need to do all the same kinds of things we do with an individual donor?

Richard Perry
Yes, you do. There may be a very different way to ask, and you know, maybe some paperwork or formal applications. But in every one of those situations, you have a group of people with specific needs that need to be met, just like you do in major gifts. And the frontline fundraiser must identify those needs and serve them.

Jeff Schreifels
Well, what about events? You included them in your list at the beginning of the conversation. Do all of those principles apply to events as well?

Richard Perry
Well I think they do. And here’s why. An event that is properly organized must identify that theme or category of program that will resonate with the majority of the event attendees, and then feature that theme throughout the event. Why? Because the people attending the event will come with a leaning toward a general passion and interest that will need to be served. I think you can see the logic of all of this. So work needs to be done on the front end to figure out what event theme will align with the interests of those attending; at least most of those people attending. It really is the same, same principle. It’s about treating people within an institution, or at your event, in a manner that recognizes and serves their needs.

Jeff Schreifels
Thanks, Richard. I hope this has been helpful. At its core, any fundraising you do, whatever the setting, must be organized to serve the needs of your donors. And identifying those needs and creating content and communication that fulfills those needs is what will lead to success in your fundraising. If you want to learn more about how to identify your donors’ passions and interests, we encourage you to download our free white paper on this topic. You can do so at the link below or in this post. Thank you and take care.

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Ready to connect with your donors on a deeper level?

Download our free White Paper, Discovering Your Donor’s Passions and Interests, for a framework to help you learn more about what drives your donors to give.