Carolyn's Nonprofit Blog

A few years ago, a wonderful philanthropist who has become a good friend suggested I write about my experiences working in Dallas. Particularly, she was fascinated by my ability to secure private jet travel free of charge to visit remote natural areas across Texas for the Nature Conservancy of Texas.

My blog is focused on sharing information that is accessible to people at all levels of society. I admit, I have feared my readers might consider me a snob by discussing this aspect of my major gift work. But enough time has passed. I will at long last reveal one fascinating way a major gift fundraiser can meet them where they are.

I had moved to Dallas to help open the North Texas office of the Nature Conservancy of Texas in the 1990s. My successful development and implementation of the first corporate conservation leadership luncheon in Austin – successfully bringing testy environmental factions together with the CEOs of leading corporations in partnership with the Austin Chamber of Commerce – meant I was potentially a good fit for Dallas. Texas Nature Conservancy had tried to open an office in Dallas twice without luck. Those involved were well meaning, but my sense of it is, the CEOs and philanthropists remained reticent. Yet, North Texas needed to have a “safe” environmental nonprofit with which civic leaders could work and develop a realistic environmental footprint in the community.

You might say that Dallas and Fort Worth civic leaders did not, “suffer fools gladly.” Merriam-Webster notes to suffer fools gladly means: “to be kind to and patient with people who are annoying or bothersome.” And they were not. I witnessed that myself.

But we did have a couple of corporate champions who believed the new luncheon concept would set a new standard for environmental nonprofits and attract other allies at their level. You have to recall that at the time, most environmental nonprofit staff and volunteers were admittedly pretty gritty. They had great enthusiasm but little polish, and were generally unwelcome with the C-suite.

I arrived and set up shop, launching immediately into the planning of a corporate event at the downtown Fairmont Hotel (which is easy to get to and trusted by the corporate sector). The event was held in partnership with the Dallas Regional Chamber, further underscoring the businesslike approach and nature of our work. It was a great success, and led to the presentation of several subsequent annual events. But what to do in-between the now eagerly anticipated luncheon events?

By now, the North Texas office of the Nature Conservancy of Texas was looking solid in the eyes of the corporate sector. Thanks to volunteers like Robert L. Thornton, III, Richard C. “Dick” Bartlett and John W. Norris, and Caroline Rose Hunt to name a few, we started to gain meetings with noteworthy potential donors and partners. It was a dream team.

But if you aren’t used to working in the major gift arena, you may not realize that a nonprofit fundraiser in this situation must wait … and wait for in-person meetings to share your story and begin a meaningful relationship. One must be exceedingly patient. But the work of the Nature Conservancy of Texas was so exciting, as we identified and hoped to save parcels of wildlife habitat in the diverse and unique ecosystems of Texas, a huge state. I so wanted to tell our story to people who could make a difference.

One day, having been privy to a few conversations about private jets, I got to talking with one corporate CEO and volunteer. If we could borrow his corporate jet for one day – knowing how busy he and his colleagues normally are – we could invite other CEOs, and fly to the far reaches of Texas to see our preserves and potential preserve properties. We could leave early in the morning, and return to Dallas the same afternoon. Food would be provided during the day, of course, also an SUV with driver, and we would provide an expert scientist (or two) to guide us. Done.

This led to several private jet jaunts to and from Dallas on behalf of the Nature Conservancy of Texas. There was no cost to our nonprofit for the transportation. We happily supplied the rest.

Based on one of these trips, I was instructed to follow-up with a grant proposal. My grant writing colleagues are still shocked today when I explain I was told to write my request for $1 million on one page, single spaced. To exceed one page of argument on behalf of our preserve project was to forfeit the grant, I as firmly told. You can imagine how hard I worked on that one page request. And we received the grant (follow instructions, please).

We did branch out to one long “weekend” jet trip that involved staying overnight at a private ranch. This included three corporate jets flying in from Dallas. They landed at a remote air strip in West Texas. As the planes began to land and the one-person air traffic controller was guiding them in, she turned to me in our little airport “hut” in astonishment and said, “lady, who are you?!” I still laugh as I recall that comment.

The corporate luncheon event and the private jet trips were only possible with intense, sometimes mind blowing attention to detail. I would say in hindsight, if you are not willing to attend to details, you are not a good fit for major gift fundraising of this type. From coordinating airplane pilots and corporate staff managing corporate jets, to developing itineraries, coordinating nonprofit staff, vehicles and food (keeping any food allergies and/or preferences in mind), one must walk through every possible aspect of the trip, and anticipate potential problems. The goal is to have smooth sailing throughout the adventure, with no surprises.

There you have it – I have honored my friend’s request and shared my tale. Very best wishes for your fundraising success!

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