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Invite colleaguesEnhancing fundraising performance through pipeline-based goal setting
Abstract
Like many large, decentralised organisations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign historically used matrices or manager discretion when setting goals for fundraisers, resulting in a spectrum of performance standards. Acknowledging the importance of portfolio health to a fundraiser's success, Illinois launched the Stoplight system, a pipeline-based approach to setting goals that combines a discounting algorithm (science) with fundraiser knowledge about each solicitation (art) to arrive at aspirational, yet achievable goals. Pipeline-based goal setting at Illinois resulted in improved fundraiser confidence, more ambitious dollar targets, and increased closures from pipeline, even among pandemic disruptions.
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Author's Biography
Katie Harrell Senior Director of Performance Management Operations at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is an MBA-educated advancement professional with a proven track record of implementing organisational change in complex, matrixed organisations. A strategic leader in philanthropy in higher education, Katie believes strong systems drive excellence in performance, which is summed up well by James Clear, ‘You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the levels of your systems’. Katie couples her background in analytics and business operations with experience across advancement functions to translate data to strategy and back again, filling the gap between technical and strategic advancement operations. Katie earned an MBA from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a Bachelor of Music at the University of Louisville.