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Case Studies: FundSvcs

LISTSERV Choice Awards Grand Prize Winner: FundSvcs

Email by email, for 20 years, the FundSvcs discussion list has been uniting and empowering the people who never ask for donations yet are instrumental to the success of any non-profit or academic institution's fundraising and development. It's the largest subscription-based LISTSERV^® list serving the non-profit community, with more than 3,500 subscribers across 24 countries.

Helping non-profits and universities get the donations they need while helping to shield organizations from legal or regulatory snafus in the course of their fundraising efforts, advancement services professionals are at the heart of the "back office" operation of any development program. Their responsibilities include gift processing, database updates, technical support, compliance assurance and more. FundSvcs, conceived and created by John H. Taylor in 1994, is a daily information exchange resource for the advancement services profession.

Taylor transitioned the email list to L-Soft's LISTSERV software in February 1999. "Shifting to L-Soft likely saved the life of FundSvcs. The options and web-based functionality made the decision a no-brainer."

Taylor notes that since 1999, the FundSvcs LISTSERV list archives have been offering an extremely helpful body of knowledge to the profession and answering many questions that subscribers would otherwise have to post to the list. But with the ongoing evolution of technology and regulations that impact the profession, FundSvcs subscribers can still rest assured that that they will receive emails immediately, informing them of any changes that affect their work.

As both the foremost resource and place to call home for advancement services professionals, FundSvcs provides information on topics including fundraising software options, IRS and other rules and regulations, professional development and virtually any other topic relevant to the operations of a fundraising program – and even helps influence policy when needed. As Taylor describes, "The LISTSERV list gets new information out instantly to over 3,500 advancement services professionals worldwide, while also serving as a platform for informing regulatory and administrative authorities of where changes, or reinterpretation, of legislation are needed."

In its two decades, FundSvcs has enjoyed pro bono hosting services with every organization Taylor has been employed by, including Duke University, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), RuffaloCODY and North Carolina State University.

"Every one of these organizations saw and respected the value FundSvcs provided to the advancement services community," Taylor says.

In mid-2013, when Taylor left NC State, he determined that it was time to transition FundSvcs to a permanent home. The result: The Association of Advancement Services Professionals (AASP), the preeminent advancement services association that Taylor helped to form, hosts the list, with Taylor continuing as list moderator and administrator.

Reflecting on the grand prize award in The Mailys, Taylor says: "FundSvcs has been a labor of love for me ever since I conceived it back in the mid-1990s. I am passionate about the work that advancement services professionals do, hence the creation of the email list and AASP. It gives me great pleasure to accept this award on behalf of all that we have done, do, and will be accomplishing in the future."

As for the success of FundSvcs, Taylor offers a few key tips:

"Make it relevant, make it timely, and make it appealing to the membership. Do these things on a regular basis and membership will grow on its own," he says, adding: "The profession is limited in size. So at some point subscribership will slow. And that's okay as long as it continues to meet the needs of the community."

"Adherence to our netiquette rules is key."

"Subscription options and ease of access clearly make a huge difference compared to other forms of lists."

"List management is just that – active management. You cannot just start a list and let it run itself. Monitoring error messages – inactivating accounts when the individual sets up a vacation message that runs amok – sending messages to posters when content is not entirely appropriate – advising subscribers when changes or outages (when changing hosts) might occur – are all key. But I cannot emphasize more the importance of establishing list protocol, and publishing it at least twice a year."

See FundSvcs List Netiquette Protocol »

FundSvcs List Netiquette Protocol

For those of you relatively new to FundSvcs, the below information is shared semi-annually to ensure that FundSvcs remains one of the top (and largest, with over 3,150 members) nonprofit listservs for advancement professionals in the world!

Remember that there are no real "rules" or regulations pertaining to the listserv. It is here to be used for our mutual benefit. It should not be used for anything unrelated to the purpose for which the list was created – discussing and furthering the advancement/development services profession. The more we adhere to the following suggested guidelines, the easier it is to follow discussions and be of assistance to one another:

1. Many routine questions have been asked and answered in the history of the list, so do not hesitate to search the archives, containing over 14 years of discussion, by key word or topic for some ideas first: http://listserv.fundsvcs.org/fundsvcs.html. Some people find using a site-specific Google search to be more useful, as do I. To initiate that simply type the following in a Google search box: site:FundSvcs.org [key word or phrase];

2. Requests for feedback and information are common. Responses to those queries are encouraged to be shared with the list, so please do not send a "me too" message to the list. If a poster asks for off-line responses for compiling and sharing with the list, then simply wait for the compiled summary;

3. If you opt to reply to a current message with a new question rather than post a new message, remember to modify the subject line so everyone gets an idea what the message is really about and can answer (and subsequently search the archives) accordingly;

4. Related to the above, if you receive a Digest version of the list and wish to reply to one of the messages contained therein, please change the Digest subject line to the same as the message you are responding to, and delete all of the messages in the Digest with the exception of the one you are addressing;

5. If you are the first to respond to a query, or opt to create a new reply message from scratch, please include the original message in your reply as a reference point;

6. It is appreciated if you would add a signature line to your list posts so that those reading the message know clearly who is asking the question and what organization you represent, so that we can get an idea of the context in which the question is being posed. This isn't necessary if you have already provided a signature in earlier portions of the thread;

7. When going on vacation or an extended absence, either unsubscribe from the list, change your mail setting to either "no mail" or a Digest version, or make sure that your organization's auto-reply function sends the reply to the original poster and not the list to avoid clogging the server (and my in-box!). If you wish to suspend your subscription, unsubscribe, or modify your subscription options, do not e-mail the list – or me! Instead, simply go here – http://listserv.fundsvcs.org/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=fundsvcs&A=1 – and make any/all adjustments necessary;

8. Do not use e-mail "stationary" when sending messages to the list. For many people this impacts the amount of time it takes to open the note. For others – particularly those on digest – it renders the message unreadable. Please remove all unnecessary formatting altogether, including fancy signature blocks. They rarely enhance the discussion;

9. It has long been our policy that no for-profit entity/organization can market their wares/services on this list. This includes for-profit product promotions deliberately initiated through a respective client nonprofit organization. For-profit vendors and partners are not prohibited from monitoring and participating in our discussions. Most assuredly, those of us who utilize vendor products and services are encouraged to share our experiences with those publicly when that insight is requested. That's what makes this list tick! It should also go without saying that, while not a "corporate advertisement," promotions that seem to financially benefit specific individuals are inappropriate as well. Nonprofit associations/organizations (AASP, ADRP, AFP, AGB, AHP, APRA, CASE, NACUBO, PPP, etc.) offering professional development opportunities to advancement services professionals, may continue to post those opportunities to this list. However, the actual proposed announcement must be submitted to me in advance for approval.

Happy listing!

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