Get Out of the Building

“Get out of the building.”

I had never heard this expression until recently when a colleague at my alma mater shared it with me in the context of my work as a fundraising volunteer.

In planning for the college’s annual volunteer conference, he asked for my thoughts about content for breakout sessions, explaining that he’s a “get out of the building guy.” Thankfully, he also shared this link because I had no idea what he was talking about.

In a nutshell, it means you have to get out and talk to your donors and other stakeholders to discover what they want before you can sell it to them.

In the context of the volunteer conference, it would be far better to get input before finalizing the schedule and far more likely to encourage attendance for those who had a stake in the planning, even if only to share an idea or two.

It got me thinking about other development contexts in which getting out of the proverbial building would be a good idea:

Major Gifts: This is perhaps the most obvious because you really need to get out of the actual building for this one, especially now that things are opening back up. If you don’t get out and talk to prospects with the greatest capacity about their interests, you’re leaving money on the table.

Strategic Planning: Don’t assume you know what your constituents need or what they hope you will give them. Ask.

Events: Is attendance on a downward trend? Find out why.

Donor Relations: Is that printed annual report giving you the ROI you think it is? Bring it up in conversation.