On Track to Success - The Importance of Activity Tracking

Grace DelNero, FOCUS

I am a competitive runner. It is in my blood. When training, it is critical to do a number of different things well in order to be successful throughout a racing season. Weight training, long runs, speed workouts, core strength, sleep and diet all play an important role in athletes’ success. It is not only important for athletes to put in the time and energy, but it is just as important to keep track of these daily efforts. Throughout the season we keep detailed records of our training, paces, workouts, weight room reps, how we were feeling and how our training affected our performance. Tracking our training essentially helps us improve as runners. We are able to see what works well and how we could become stronger and more efficient.

The same is true for committed development professionals. I recently moved to Denver, CO to represent FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, at the national headquarters. The mission development team at FOCUS is committed to excellence and one way in which we are able to do this is to keep detailed records of our goals, activity and performance. Not only is this a common practice amongst athletes and other business professionals, but it is also scripturally based. Acts 2:4 references the “5,000 that were added that day, not including children and women.” It is scriptural to keep track of numbers. This process helps development directors to be accountable and to be held to higher standards.

Key elements to start tracking as a development professional:

GOALS It is important to know where you are going in order to stay on the right path. It can be helpful to set daily, weekly, monthly and annual goals. For example, I have annual fiscal goals that need to be reached in order to fund the ministry growth and expansion of FOCUS. In an effort to accurately track these goals, we create individual proposals that will provide a planned forecast for the fiscal year. This allows the FOCUS staff to gauge our financial position and philanthropic efforts throughout the year.

Set audacious goals that are challenging, feasible and mission-driven.

ACTIVITY In order to successfully reach your goals, it is beneficial to track your daily activity. A marathon begins with a single step and a $50,000 visit begins with a single phone call. I track my daily activity from the number of phone calls made to the number of appointments set. I also track my face-to-face development visits by the type of visit (discovery, cultivation, solicitation or stewardship). By tracking how you spend your time in and out of the office, you can objectively see how you are doing.

Below is a sample of how I am currently tracking our weekly activity. The more activity we have, the more attainable our goals become.  This chart tracks the number and type of daily appointments in the first yellow block. It tracks the number of phone calls, contacts (calls answered) and appointments set as a result in the orange block. The daily time tracking in the red section is divided into six segments: hours spent in administrative tasks, phone calls, in the field on visits, professional development, other and personal vacation. The final row is a total summary of all weekly activity. You can see the number of phone calls it takes to set 20 meetings per month, you can see the number of solicitation visits or stewardship visits you set throughout the year and you can track the number of hours you spent in order to make this possible.

PERFORMANCE The field of philanthropy is both relational and results driven. It is important to keep this in mind when tracking the results of all activity. After every visit and phone call made, I update the database with the results of our conversation including business information, family updates, financial information, prayer requests and the purpose and outcome of our conversation. The more information you record, the better. Including notes about the number of attempts with no response, conversations with secretaries and the actions necessary to schedule face time with someone will help to gauge the standard for future appointments. Capturing this information and storing it in a database immensely helps the development efforts and helps foster the relational aspect of caring for donors.

Creating a call report after every meeting allows you to record the results of your conversations. I know a Development Director with the motto, “If it is not recorded in the database, then it did not happen.” The call report will aid in your follow-up conversations. The more activity you have, the harder it is to remember every conversation. A detailed call report with action steps allows you to effectively follow-up with your visits on a personal and professional level. You will be able to ask about your recent solicitation, referrals or family events.

The more detailed you can be in your notes, the more effective you will be on the phone. When you are able to track individual birthdays, then you are able to call and wish your benefactors a happy birthday. When you track their children’s names then you can ask how Johnny is doing next time you call. When you track your specific ask amount, then you can follow-up on that specific solicitation. If you are diligent about tracking this information then when you leave the organization, the relational information does not leave with you. It is often easy to overlook tracking the relational results of meetings but it is important to have both qualitative and quantitative results from all visits.

It may seem tedious, but it will be fruitful both now and for future generations of development directors. The process of tracking will help to create a culture of accountability and credibility within our field. Keeping detailed track of all development activity is advantageous in promoting staff performance and demonstrating the overall value of the development office. It will also help development directors manage our prospect pools and time more efficiently. Creating a more accurate forecast of the fiscal year helps nonprofit organizations properly budget their expenses and growth rate for the future. This is a tangible way for development officers to see their success and to be appreciated for the hard work and dedication needed to advance the organization’s mission. Challenge yourself and commit yourself to excellence. When you are doing that it is fun to track your efforts and you are sure to reach your audacious goals!