Holly Hall Miori On How to Talk with Donors about Sensitive Topics

From the AFP International Conference on Fundraising in New Orleans earlier this year, Amy Eisenstein talks with Holly Hull Miori, director of development and alumni relations for the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, about how to talk with donors about sensitive topics.

Video Transcript

Amy Eisenstein:   Hi, my name is Amy Eisenstein, and I'm here with Holly Hull Miori. She works at the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, and the School of Arts and Humanities. Welcome, Holly.

Holly Hull Miori:   Thank you for having me, Amy.

Amy Eisenstein:   Thanks so much for being here. Today, we're going to be talking about having difficult conversations with donors. Tell us, what does a difficult conversation with a donor look like?

Holly Hull Miori:   Sure. Well, some of the subject matters that I've worked in have not always been kittens and puppies, is what I always say. I have a background with Alzheimer's, hospice, and now Holocaust studies. These are difficult, though it's really more about the topic with these donors that make it difficult to have. You're dealing with maybe more sensitive information, security, or even marketing conversations.

Amy Eisenstein:   How should fundraisers approach these topics?

Holly Hull Miori:   Think very carefully when you're dealing with a difficult fundraising topic about a lot of different avenues: your marketing side, how you tell your story, and just things like sensitive information that you may be dealing with. These are all things that you need to have protocols for, and think through these items within your particular organization.

Amy Eisenstein:   Give us an example of a protocol that might be appropriate, and help fundraisers navigate these difficult topics.

Holly Hull Miori:   Sure. One of the things that we do with the holocaust studies program, with the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, is we may be gifted with someone's very special story about their particular experience during the Holocaust. Some of that information we may ask them to speak about with our students. We may ask them if they're doing a news story to give us copies of that, and we do keep that information in our database, so we can be aware of their particular story, and be stewards of their individual story. We do want to be respectful of if they would like us to talk about that or not, and if they're also wanting us to be very public about their background, or if that information is just for us on staff.

Amy Eisenstein:   Tell me another example of a difficult fundraising topic that our fundraisers might be involved with.

Holly Hull Miori:   Alzheimer's is a really great example. I've worked with that topic in the university and at the academic level as a graduate student. The hard part about Alzheimer's is there is no cure. We know that right now, unfortunately, so when we are working with families who may have Alzheimer's in their family, it's hard to have those conversations, because we know there's no cure. There is, unfortunately, no hope right now. But then, I think as fundraisers we have to take that as our motivation—to keep raising those critical dollars for research.

Amy Eisenstein:   Turning what seems like maybe is a hopeless situation into a hopeful situation.

Holly Hull Miori:   Yes, yes.

Amy Eisenstein:   Yeah.

Holly Hull Miori:   You have to remind yourselves constantly of the end goal. I think that also helps you with your day-to-day, as well. Giving you hope and vision and a strategy around what you do.

Amy Eisenstein:   Right. Talk about some of the key takeaways that you'll be sharing with participants in your session at the conference. What do you want them leaving knowing and ready to do?

Holly Hull Miori:   One of the key takeaways that needs to come out of these difficult fundraising topics is marketing. You don't want to victimize the victim again, but where can you find that hope? Our hope is coming from our graduate students in the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies, or it's the young ladies with BvB Dallas that are trying to tackle Alzheimer's and telling their individual stories—and not getting lost in the hatred that comes from that, or the lack of hope. It's really getting to the end goal for us. I think for me, specifically, working in Holocaust studies, I like to focus on our graduate students, and their great work, and what they're doing to make a difference, and fulfill our mission of teaching the past and changing the future.

Amy Eisenstein:   I know that sometimes with difficult topics, especially something like the Holocaust, you get unwanted attention at organizations. How should organizations and staff members handle things like that?

Holly Hull Miori:   Unfortunately, the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies did get some unwanted attention from white supremacists not too long ago, and we became part of some pretty hateful items that were on the internet. For us, we had to take that, and it gave us resolve to do our job even better, and raise more funds, and bring more awareness to what our research is doing, and how we can affect today. But with those difficult fundraising topics, sometimes we have to get into the uncomfortable conversations about security. We've had to heighten security at all of our events, and also talk very transparently with our supporters and our community about this. This unfortunately has been our new state of affairs and that we are having resolve to not back down on what we're doing for the public and for our university and the student population. But we're going to continue to teach all about the holocaust and what its implications are for the future.

Amy Eisenstein:   Yeah.

Holly Hull Miori:   For us, we've had to just have some candid conversations as staff with our advisory board, but that hasn't stopped what we're doing. It only has given us fuel to the fire, if we can call it that, and we keep going. We do more events more than ever, because of that.

Amy Eisenstein:   Yeah, good for you. Any final thoughts you want to leave with our viewers today?

Holly Hull Miori:   Sure. With difficult fundraising topics, I encourage each fundraiser, and the staff, at those respective nonprofits to find their hope. Find what makes what they do really important, and focus on that. Make that what you do. Make that be the reason you wake up every day, and do what you do.

Amy Eisenstein:   Yeah, I think that's why we're all here, right?

Holly Hull Miori:   Yeah. I think sometimes we have difficulties with either unwanted attention, or just having a general bad day, or the topic's difficult to work with on a day-to-day basis. But continue to think about that hope, and I think that's how I've done over 10 years of fundraising with these difficult conversations—staying focused on the end goal, and I think it will make you even be more successful.

Amy Eisenstein:   Great. Well, thank you so much for being here.

Holly Hull Miori:   Thank you for having me.

Amy Eisenstein:   Thanks so much for joining me. For even more videos, interviews, tools, and resources, I hope you'll visit my website, AmyEisenstein.com, and subscribe to my weekly newsletter.

For even more interviews, tools, and resources, I hope you’ll visit my website www.amyeisenstein.com