Unit 1: Introduction and Key Questions
Offering family philanthropy services means thinking and acting more like a professional services firm than a charitable organization’s fundraising team. Donors and fund advisors may compare your services to those they expect or receive from a wealth management or law firm. They may also compare you to the stewardship and engagement experiences they’re receiving from larger institutions such as universities and hospitals.
This module will help you better understand types of customer relationships, customer experiences, and the channels through which you deliver those experiences. As always, document your assumptions, test them with some trusted customers and allies, and then revise your work along the way.
Key Questions
As you review the units, keep in mind these key questions:
- What type of relationship does each customer segment, or each member of a family, expect from us?
- How does each customer segment want to be reached with our value proposition? Which channels of communication will best integrate with their work and personal routines?
- How might their relationship expectations and preferred channels evolve over time?
- How well are we meeting those expectations and how costly is it to do so?
- Do we have an intake and on-boarding process that involves the broader family and sets expectations early for family involvement?