An Interview with Lisa Mantone

What one thing would you want a potential client to know about you?

After all the years of working with so many different organizations, it is still a thrill to see how a major, transformative gift shines a light on the impactful work being done.  It has a lasting meaning to communities served and that is wonderful.

What is your specialty?

Working with individual giving has always been what I enjoy doing most.  Also, I consider strategy around capital and endowment campaigns a specialty. 

When the contract has ended, what do you hope your clients have achieved?

I hope they see there can be joy in fundraising.  While the work we do can be hard and has a long view. There are moments throughout the steps, especially securing a major gift, that remind us why we do this work. If everyone involved, including staff, Board and volunteers, enjoy the process, it creates momentum that can sustain the fundraising efforts whether it is annual or a multi-year campaign. 

What book do you turn to for fundraising best practices/advice?

Lewis B. Cullman, a truly great philanthropist, wrote a book called “Can’t Take it With You: The Art of Making and Giving Money”.  In this memoir, he talked about his joy with serving on boards and supporting so many incredible institutions.  As he wrote, “…giving has always been a pleasure, a chance to do some good with the success of my business career.”

What are your top 5 tips for working with a fundraising consultant?

1. Allow time for the consultant to do their discovery about what is unique for your institution, including an assessment of where fundraising is going well and where improvement may be needed.

2. After this assessment, be clear about where you think best for the consultant to focus their time.

3. What is the expectation on “work product” you hope to achieve by end of the contracted time.

4. As much as possible, be open to suggestions.  You have hired a consultant for their expertise and there may be ideas, while new to the organization, they could be impactful to fundraising in the long run.

5. Enjoy the relationship with the consultant – it is an opportunity to test new initiatives and especially those that may have a great impact on fundraising results.  It is a partnership!

What are your top 5 Fundraising Tips for a Capital Campaign (if applicable)?

1. Planning is key! It may take time in advance but is better in the long run and worth the effort. 

2. Opportunity to get an outside perspective.  Sometimes when we are too close, we need to be reminded of what makes our institutions great and worthy of raising major funds in a Campaign.

3. Be sure to have a goal that staff and Trustees believe is achievable.

4. Assess your fundraising staff to be sure you have what you need to achieve your goals. It is a time to do the exercise with return on investment if you are looking to expand staff.

5. Think big – Campaigns are an opportunity to inspire donors to be part of something that is lasting and is part of their legacy.

What are your top 5 Fundraising Tips for a Feasibility Study (if applicable)?

1. Unique opportunity to refresh your case for support.  While it will be used for the campaign, it also can energize the annual and day-to-day fundraising. 

2. Great chance to discover potential new leadership from within your organization.  More than likely, this engagement will be an impetus for involvement beyond the campaign period.

3. Research your current donors and prospect lists.  It is a time to discover donors who have greater potential who may not have been on the radar but come to the forward.

4. Assess your development staffing to determine if you have what you need to achieve the Campaign goal and beyond.  It is an opportunity to do a return on investment with hiring gift officers that could cultivate and solicit a new group of prospects.

5. At the end of the day, it is all about timing.  Campaigns, when planned and timed properly, can maximize fundraising for the short- and long-term goals.

Lisa A. Mantone is a senior fundraising executive with highly impactful results for Annual and Capital Campaigns as well as a leader in building winning teams to achieve maximum results. Her past work has included leading fundraising departments at the Museum of Modern Art, New York Philharmonic, WNET NY Public Media and Columbia University. Read more about Lisa on Our Team Page here.