What to Do When You Inherit a Caseload

Jeff Schreifels 

One of the most common challenges you’ll face as a fundraiser is taking over a caseload that’s been managed by somebody else. Whether you’re starting at a new organization, taking on a new role, or simply adjusting caseloads internally, it can be challenging to know how to pick up the thread so that the relationship with the donor feels seamless and transparent. For this episode, I’ve invited my colleagues, Diana Frazier and Matt Gill, to share their tips and strategies for what to do when you inherit a caseload so that your donors feel cared for, and you can continue to grow those relationships. I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Recorded 

Welcome to the Nothing But Major Gifts podcast from Veritus Group featuring Richard Perry and Jeff Schreifels. Twice a month, we bring you the latest and best thinking about major gift fundraising, so you can develop authentic relationships with your major donors. Here are your hosts, Richard and Jeff.

Matt Gill 

Welcome to the podcast today. I’m Matt Gill, and Diana and I are taking over the pod to talk about what to do when you inherit a caseload. First off, quick intro, who the heck are we? My name is Matt. I’m a Client Experience Leader here. I’m also in the Navy Reserves, and I also occasionally teach at the University of Minnesota. Way back in the day, I was a client of Veritus. Diana, do remember that?

Diana Frazier 

Yes I do. I remember it well.

Matt Gill 

Glad I was memorable. It was a really, really impactful experience for me. And I’m glad to be on this side of things. Diana was my coach for everyone who’s out there. Diana, who are you?

Diana Frazier 

Who am I? I am Diana, Diana Frazier. I’m also on the Veritus team. I’ve been a Client Experience Leader for quite some time, and I get the title of senior so you can do the math, if you figure that out. I live in Philadelphia, I am a runner, I love my dog, and I love reading. And I love working with fundraisers all across the United States and Canada. So let’s just jump in. Let’s take over Go ahead, Matt.

Matt Gill 

Let’s do it. Happy to be here with you. So what we’re talking about today – we’re talking about inheriting a caseload and what to do. So there’s lots of ways that you could end up inheriting a caseload. Either, you know, part of a caseload or a full caseload. So I think what we should probably start this conversation off with is discussing some of the scenarios and what you might need to keep in mind if one of those scenarios applies to you.

Diana Frazier 

Sure, Matt, like there are two, if you think about it, there’s two basic scenarios. You’re either a new hire, or you’re new to the role in the organization. And you’re taking over a caseload from somebody else who held that role. Or you’re absorbing part of a caseload from somebody who’s left the team, and they’re taking that caseload and they’re carving it out. So those are kind of two different roles or scenarios that might happen if you do it.

Diana Frazier 

There are definitely some considerations. If there is overlap with the other fundraiser, take time to capture as much as you possibly can in the CRM. Now, there are a couple reasons people don’t want to do it. They think they don’t have the time, they don’t think it’s that important. Could be they didn’t keep good records themselves, either wherever they scribbled things away, and they’re having a hard time, you know, recompiling it. But this is a really critical thing. If you’re a leader listening to this podcast, part of your role of the exit of somebody leaving your team is to carve out time on the calendar where they’re going to sit and do that. They don’t have to do it alone. They could do it with somebody there. I’ve been in a situation where the person told me stuff and I scribbled furiously and recorded. The point being is it’s so, so important.

Diana Frazier 

And I know this firsthand, because I walked into this situation at University. I walked in the door, not only were there no notes, I kid you not there wasn’t even a pencil in the pencil drawer. There was nothing; not one thing for me. So I had to, the best I could, learn about donors by looking at everything possible in the CRM. And because it’s University, we have those, we’re infamous for those basement filing cabinets of the alumni. So I went down and I grabbed 10 folders at a time. And I tried to reconstruct a history as best I could. It was painful, and it made my process of getting to know donors a lot longer than it needs to be. So ideally, you’re going to get that.

Diana Frazier 

The other thing you want to talk about is a warm hand-off. And what does that mean? You want to use this where there’s somebody who can actually do the introduction for you. It can be the gift officer who’s leaving, if they’re able to identify the top donors, and you’re overlapping by two or three weeks. That’s wonderful, if that happens, and that person can introduce you by email, phone, Zoom, face to face. Whatever you can make happen. That is going to be the best possible handoff. But maybe that’s not at all achievable. So maybe a leader can step in that role. Maybe the vice president of your department, or the president or executive director of the organization, or another key leader in the organization knows those donors. They can facilitate that.

Diana Frazier 

The reason you want to do that is that kind of gives you immediate legitimacy with a donor. And also, when you’re having those meetings or calls, you’re not yet a subject matter expert in the organization, if you just walked in the door, right? So there’s somebody who can also do the color commentary, be the subject matter expert, and really help you through that. And if you are doing an email hand-off, and you’re the gift officer leaving, or you’re the executive director during the intro, I know you’re gonna think I’m crazy for saying this. But please be sure to copy the new fundraiser on the email. I’ve seen it happen. Email goes out to introduce them and the poor person is not even included. So that’s just something that, throw that in for free, folks.

Matt Gill 

It almost goes without saying. It almost goes without saying, but we’re saying it.

Diana Frazier 

We’re saying it because we’ve seen it. You’re hearing the truth here, folks. We see it all. So Matt, what are some of the things you need to keep in mind at the beginning part when you’re inheriting a caseload? What have you encountered? What have you seen?

Matt Gill 

Yeah, so you know, taking over a caseload, a lot of times, thinking about the different scenarios that you just talked about, you know, what might be the protocols for an introduction to the new caseload? You know, what do you know about the donor, what’s the donor’s history been with the organization, what’s been decided with regards to the various handoffs that you’re going to do? If it’s going to be a warm handoff, if it’s going to be, you know, who’s going to be doing that handoff? How much time has gone by between the last contact with the organization? That’s kind of the first consideration, you know, what’s the introduction protocol? And then, you know, how are you going to use the previously assigned fundraiser? In the scenario where they’re still around, and you’ve got the opportunity to have these joint visits or you were able to download a lot of the information from the previously assigned fundraiser, then that’s a great resource. And sometimes it’s not terribly appropriate, frankly, because sometimes people leave under inauspicious terms or circumstances.

Diana Frazier 

Big word there, Matt! Inauspicious. I love it. Love the vocab.

Matt Gill 

You all know what I’m talking about. Or there could have been a poor experience that really needs to be addressed with the donor and some trust needs to be rebuilt. Not all donors get along with all fundraisers and vice versa. We’re all human beings, and sometimes personalities clash; sometimes, you know, things happen. And certainly there’s a lot of repair work that needs to be done. When that’s the case, you know, so let’s talk about that real quick, Diana.

Matt Gill 

Thinking about coming in behind a fundraiser that maybe had a troublesome relationship with a donor, that it definitely colors that donor’s experience with the organization, you know, thinking about how to address that, in my opinion, and I think you’d agree with me, we want to meet this kind of head on.

Diana Frazier 

Yeah, put it right out there.

Matt Gill 

Yeah, like, I understand that, you know, in the past, there’s been some things that have happened, and let’s talk about it. Just kind of put it on the table and use that opportunity to improve or repair or even reset their relationship with the organization. Some of the language you could use you know, we’ve spit-balled a couple of little phrases just now, but you can throw stuff in your intro letter. Now I’m sure it, let’s say you’re the fifth fundraiser this person has been assigned in the last three years. I’m sure no one listening has ever had that experience. You know, throw in the intro letter, you know, I’m sure this is frustrating, you know, to have your contact here change this frequently, but I look forward to learning how I can help repair that, help build your trust, help continue to you know, deepen your connection to this organization. And try to move from there. Right?

Diana Frazier 

You’re really trying to meet them emotionally where they are. There’s no point in pretending that they’re not frustrated. So name it, meet them, and move forward to be positive.

Matt Gill 

Yeah, and you know, even talking about if there are those negative circumstances in which the previous fundraiser left, their previous relationship manager, you put all positive spin as much as possible, you know. The good news is that we’re able to move forward, or even just, you can share, they took a different role at a different organization or, you know, oftentimes it’s they took a growth position somewhere else, or took a growth position within the organization. And that’s, you know, those are positive things. And the donor is, you know, they have a relationship with the fundraiser, but their primary relationship is with the organization they’re investing in. And also, it can be tempting to, when you’re trying to put a positive spin, or you’re coming in, and you’re really excited about your new job, and they’re frustrated, because you’re their fifth fundraiser in three years, to say, well, I’m here now, don’t worry, I’ll be here for the foreseeable future. And let’s be honest about what the foreseeable future actually means. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

Matt Gill 

Moving into kind of other procedures for taking a look what was, you know, think about the caseload you’re coming in, we would want to have this gut check on that caseload. Who’s relationally qualified? Who, no kidding, has had two-way communication and is interested in that kind of a thing with the organization? And you know, you’d want to assess that for yourself as an incoming fundraiser; that’s your first you want to just verify, you know, in that first introduction process cycle, you know, are these qualified donors in this qualified caseload? Are they actually qualified or not?

Diana Frazier 

Yeah, Matt. That’s an incredibly important point. And I can give you an example, right out of my own history as a gift officer, I had a donor that was assigned to me, that had been assigned to a previous person, and given a substantial gift. But it had been a while. But there was no, I could see no evidence of anything going on with this donor. No ongoing communication, nothing. I talked to my vice president, I talked to other people on the team; nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. That should have been a clue to me, that nobody seems to remember this donor who gave I think it was like $25,000. What’s going on here? I happened to bring it up with the chair of what we called there our annual fund. And she goes, “Oh, Diana, they’re not a donor really to the university. They gave because of my husband. It’s one of those things: you give to my charity, and I’ll give to your charity.” Thank you, after spending hours on this donor. Calling, writing a letter and calling and leaving messages, and the person is probably thinking jeez, this is wild, she doesn’t understand. But it’s that kind of thing. That’s exactly what you could be chasing; something that is ephemeral, because you didn’t do the gut check. So real life story telling you like it is.

Matt Gill 

Love that. You know, I’m thinking about, while you’re telling your story there, it reminds me of a client I had who, and this is relatively common. I think they booked pledges; they often asked on a five-year cycle with reunions. And they booked pledges and they would book it in the year the pledge was made. And then it looked like in their data that the donor hadn’t given for like four years before it was time for them to reunion and then pledge again. And that kind of data can impact how you approach a caseload. Like oh, shoot this guy, he hasn’t done anything for like four years. Do I even introduce myself to him? And, you know, that’s just like, it’s kind of a nuance that, you know, as a leader, you would probably have to pass down to a new fundraiser as a, you know, as a fundraiser you’d want to notice and try and do that. It’d be something to keep in mind as you’re inheriting your caseload.

Diana Frazier 

Yeah, exactly.

Matt Gill 

Speaking of leaders, Diana, you’re hiring your new your new fundraisers and you want to set them up for success. You desperately need them to be successful. Right? So let’s talk about some ways you can set up your fundraisers for success as they’re coming in on day one. So I think, looking at giving a caseload to your new fundraiser, you know, really be realistic with the, be open and honest and realistic with the fundraiser with the situation they’re coming into. You know, what’s the caseload been doing? You know, are the donors qualified or not? Or, you know, who’s active, who’s not active? Are these people we’re hoping this new fundraiser will re-engage or, you know, is the fundraiser expected to go and find some donors, or find some sort of prospects to bring into their caseload?

Diana Frazier 

No, no, no, no.

Matt Gill 

You don’t want that. But be realistic and honest and make sure those expectations, especially in year one, are grounded in reality. And I’m sure we’ve never seen this scenario before, where a fundraiser leaves, their caseload sits for a little while. And maybe that tier A, those top 10% of donors get picked out of that caseload and farmed out to other fundraisers. (A) because they can’t be left alone for as long as it takes to hire a new person and (B) because they’re great donors. And we all want to have great donors in our caseload. So, you know, back to that realistic comment before, you know, is the caseload as robust as it was, when it was left from the old fundraiser and in giving that caseload to the new person, you know, are they being set up for success? Right?

Matt Gill 

Ah, one last, I mean, just one last thing to think about as a leader, you know, if the fundraisers new to fundraising, we see this, we see this a lot from people coming from sales, people coming from marketing, people coming in from the corporate world, from other places, I think, even people coming in guns blazing and just raring to go. Both the leader and the fundraisers need to be patient with how long it’s going to take to get to know donors, to move that relationship forward, and to come to a place of trust with the caseload. As leaders, you want to make sure they get solid training, if they’re new to fundraising. You know, Veritus Gift Academy, of course, is a great resource, there are others. And don’t always assume that the transferable skills or experience are always going to work, or they’re always going to relate, or are always going to be applicable. There’s lots to learn, that is specific to fundraising. And you know, be honest about that and be patient as you learn those. Make sure you know, new-to-fundraising folks, they may not know what they don’t know. Leaders slow down, explain things. And then focus on you know, there’s the process part, and then how that relates to the money expectations part of the role. Anything to add there, Diana?

Diana Frazier 

Other than just to restate it, somebody skills, while they might be transferable, they’re not exact, and you really want to pay attention to that. And make sure that the new fundraiser understands fundraising. And then the way you go about that.

Matt Gill 

Love it. Thank you. So let’s talk, I guess, maybe some tips and best practices. You’ve seen Diana, when a fundraiser inherits a caseload.

Diana Frazier 

A lot of it’s in that communication, when you’re getting started with them. I will say there’s a tendency to default to email when you’re taking over, I think we get in our head, oh, that’s going to be fast, that’s going to be efficient. And one thing you’ll hear Veritus say all the time, we’re not asking you to be efficient, we’re asking you to be effective and effective isn’t fast necessarily. It gets faster over time. So think about your first interaction. We actually, if you’re doing a letter, which we think you should start with because a letter is something people tend to hold on to as we get less personal mail, but customize that letter. And hand address it and do those things that you would do just like if you were starting a qualification process. Make some references within it. I just worked with someone today. She is new to fundraising, a new fundraiser taking over a caseload that was left fallow, if you will, for nine months. She’s taking the time to mention the other person’s name within the letter. So that the donor saying oh yeah, they haven’t forgotten me or they’re not stupid. They didn’t forget that somebody reached out to me before. Taking that extra time and yes, it will take more time to craft those letters, is highly effective.

Diana Frazier 

Now the exception is if the donor has clearly said in the record that they want email, not letters, then obviously you go to email. And you want to customize it, just like you would at the beginning. The other thing that’s happening there is it shows the donor that the organization knows who they are, even if there’s been some transition in their point of contact. And that’s a critical piece. Donors don’t want to feel like they’ve been forgotten, nor should we forget donors, because there’s a transition. And I would say, do these in groups. Do not walk in day one, and suddenly whip out, you know, 150 intro letters and wing them across the United States. How do you do that follow up? So do it just like if you were starting from scratch with a new portfolio. Do them in rolling batches, because whatever letters you send out, you need to be following up to setup phone, or zoom, or face to face meetings to try to get that engagement. So if you send out 150 letters in one day, you’re not going to be able to do the follow up for all 150 people the next week, and those will kind of go stagnant while you’re doing that. So just, you know, again, be effective, that’s we’re wanting you to be effective and efficient.

Diana Frazier 

The other is take this opportunity to reuse a survey or questionnaire tool, even if the donors have had it in the past. Maybe it was sent to them and the never replied. You can use all of that in your note, in your cover note with it. And you can say something like, I know you’ve filled this out before for Matt a few years back, and I can see that. But maybe your interests or your communication preferences have changed. So I’m giving this to you now. And that answers the why now? Why are you asking me to do that?

Diana Frazier 

The other thing is the pressure around solicitation. And there’s two parts of this. One is the fundraiser’s angst that we sometimes bring to it. We feel like we can’t ask because we haven’t met the person yet. And while I understand that, on a certain level, the thing fundraisers have to remember, is the donor knows the organization. They know they’re a donor. So don’t shy away from connecting in if that’s when the donor prefers to give. And you can say something as simple as Matt, I’m sorry we haven’t connected yet. I did see that you typically give in the spring and I wanted to make sure I engaged with you or reached out to you or you know, whatever language you want to use, to give you the opportunity to give now. Use this as a way to show the donor that the organization knows them and their giving preferences. So again, it’s about building that trust that no matter who the gift officer is, it’s the organization that the donor is ultimately connected with. Matt, I know, you have something along these lines you wanted to talk about.

Matt Gill 

Yeah, you know, I actually worked in an organization where one of the senior leaders had been there a long time and had just a lot of donors. And, you know, they had been there, they’d managed a whole bunch of these folks. And when they ultimately left, the interim, who came behind them said, whoa, there’s no way I can manage these donors. They shouldn’t have been managing this many donors. We got to kind of farm this out. We’ve got to farm these donors out to the team and let’s give five here, ten there. And, it became this oh, these are so and so’s donors. Like these are board members. They’re important people. As if they were totally different human beings invested in the organization from the folks who were on our caseload already. And there was this intimidation factor, where in some cases it felt like I need to have something real important to call this person about or this person is someone whose name is relatively famous in town, how are they going to respond to me calling them? And so there’s this intimidation factor because of the previous relationship manager had this elevated role and had been in the organization for so long, that it kind of impacted the way that some of us reached out to those folks when we inherited them. So make sure that doesn’t happen.

Diana Frazier 

Yeah, so really get in the right mindset right from the start. If you’re an established fundraiser, sometimes they can get lax over time and they get to know the donor that can lead to a loss of context and information. We hope that’s not true. If you’re an established fundraiser, document, document, document please. It honors the donor, it honors the mission. Get away from the mindset that it’s my caseload or it’s your caseload. It’s the organization’s caseload of donors. And it’s a group of people. Caseload can sound kind of clinical. It’s a group of people who have invested in your mission, right? They want to see a preferred future from whatever you do. So honor that.

Diana Frazier 

And imagine who may have to come in behind you. It’s a very important thing. Whatever you’re doing someday in the future, somebody else is going to be in your role. And do you want to help that person or hinder that person? And even maybe more important than that, do you want to help that donor continue to have a good experience investing in change for your organization? Or do you want to hinder your donor by making this gift officer ask the same six questions for the sixth time that they had a new gift officer? So I’ll stop beating that horse. Thank you for joining me, Matt. This was fun. And we hope you all get some great tips on how to manage inheriting a caseload in a way that honors your donor. If you’d like to learn more about strategically managing your caseload, I highly recommend that you join us for an upcoming session. It’s our Certification Course in either Mid-Level Fundraising or Major Gift Fundraising, either one. All of our upcoming available sessions are listed in our website under training or in the show notes. Thank you. Take care, and we’ll see you next time.

Matt Gill 

Bye.

Recorded 

Thank you for joining us for the Nothing But Major Gifts podcast from Veritus Group. Richard and Jeff also write an ongoing blog that you can subscribe to for free at veritusgroup.net. Please join us again next time.