As competition intensifies for corporate and foundation philanthropy, staff in corporate and foundation relations (CFR) need to partner with stakeholders across campus to provide innovative opportunities for corporate and foundation engagement. To encourage this collaboration, CFR performance metrics should reflect the importance of these internal partnerships and the unique ways that CFR prospects are approached.
Yet CFR staff are often assessed with metrics based on those used for major gift officers. These MGO metrics do not necessarily emphasize the timelines, activities, and strategies that lead to success with corporations and foundations.
Update metrics to incentivize partnerships and new revenueConsider updating CFR staff metrics to prioritize building internal partnerships and seeking new revenue—even if it doesn’t count as philanthropy. New non-philanthropic commitments increase the probability that a corporation or foundation will one day make a gift, and CFR teams should lay this groundwork.
Furthermore, metrics should account for differences between major gifts and CFR in terms of timelines and stewardship reporting. CFR staff conduct fewer in-person visits, and gifts may take longer to close over time. Plus, reporting often needs to be much more detailed in order to successfully steward these commitments over time. Acknowledging these differences ensures that staff are incentivized for activities that lead to new CFR partnerships and deepen relationships with current supporters.
A new tool to update CFR staff metricsUse the Advancement Forum’s Corporate and Foundation Relations Metrics Compendium as a starting point to update metrics for CFR staff. The compendium provides sample metrics that can be adapted to your institution to gain a full picture of CFR staff performance. Over time, these metrics will ensure that staff are building both the internal and external partnerships necessary for…