Latest / Unstoppable Success Podcast / How Purpose-Driven Leaders Build Relationships That Create Impact

Transcript

How Purpose-Driven Leaders Build Relationships That Create Impact · Unstoppable Success Podcast

• 0:20
  Jaclyn Strominger: And welcome to another amazing episode of the Unstoppable Success Podcast.
• 0:24
  Jaclyn Strominger: I'm your host, Jaclyn Strominger.
• 0:26
  Jaclyn Strominger: And as you know, on this podcast, we hear from amazing individuals.
• 0:30
  Jaclyn Strominger: We hear their tips, their tricks, their insights on having unstoppable success, their leadership uh information and tips and insights.
• 0:40
  Jaclyn Strominger: We get it all.
• 0:41
  Jaclyn Strominger: And I love to share today's guest.
• 0:43
  Jaclyn Strominger: We have Tina Ruffin.
• 0:45
  Jaclyn Strominger: Let me tell you a little bit about Tina.
• 0:46
  Jaclyn Strominger: She is so amazing.
• 0:48
  Jaclyn Strominger: But she is the major gifts officer with renowned health foundation.
• 0:52
  Jaclyn Strominger: She manages a portfolio of more than 200 donors.
• 0:56
  Jaclyn Strominger: She has helped secure over 7 million in philanthropic support for critical initiatives, including children's health, cancer care, heart and vascular programs, nursing excellence, workforce development.
• 1:09
  Jaclyn Strominger: She is known for her ability to build meaningful relationships and align donor passions with community needs.
• 1:15
  Jaclyn Strominger: Tina works closely with the executive leadership, foundation board members, physicians, and the community partners to create lasting impact across northern Nevada.
• 1:26
  Jaclyn Strominger: And her work goes far beyond fundraising.
• 1:29
  Jaclyn Strominger: It's about inspiring generosity, building trust, and helping individuals create legacies that improve lives for generations to come.
• 1:39
  Jaclyn Strominger: And today we are going to explore the power of purpose-driven leadership, the art of building authentic relationships, and how one person can create extraordinary impact by connecting people to a cause greater than themselves.
• 1:57
  Jaclyn Strominger: Welcome, Dina.
• 1:59
  Tina Ruff: Thank you.
• 2:00
  Jaclyn Strominger: You're welcome.
• 2:01
  Tina Ruff: That is that's a great intro.
• 2:02
  Tina Ruff: Wow.
• 2:03
  Tina Ruff: Thank you.
• 2:03
  Jaclyn Strominger: I will send it over to you so you can use it for future to come.
• 2:07
  Tina Ruff: Yeah.
• 2:07
  Tina Ruff: Well, I think it was a lot of my LinkedIn page, I think, right?
• 2:10
  Tina Ruff: Yeah.
• 2:11
  Jaclyn Strominger: Yeah, I think take a lot of it from there.
• 2:14
  Jaclyn Strominger: So you're welcome.
• 2:15
  Jaclyn Strominger: So I'm so glad to have you here because you do such a great job.
• 2:18
  Jaclyn Strominger: And it's truly like building your business and your job is about building relationships.
• 2:26
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, it is really, it truly is.
• 2:28
  Tina Ruff: Well, first of all, I want to say thank you so much for having me.
• 2:31
  Tina Ruff: This is an honor.
• 2:32
  Tina Ruff: And so, and I was prepping myself a little bit in the car as we do on the way to work, you know, really thinking about our day and thinking about the podcast and stuff.
• 2:40
  Tina Ruff: And you just hit the nail on the head on what my what my life really is, really personally and professionally.
• 2:48
  Tina Ruff: It's really about, and we talk, I talk with my colleagues and my office mate, Jerry Kale, and it really truly is about building relationships and having that ability to be able to connect with people on a certain level.
• 2:59
  Tina Ruff: And then eventually, what's the desired outcome?
• 3:02
  Tina Ruff: Is it a friendship?
• 3:03
  Tina Ruff: What's the desired outcome?
• 3:05
  Tina Ruff: Is it a gift?
• 3:06
  Tina Ruff: And and really making an impact on the community.
• 3:09
  Tina Ruff: And so it all is that it's that relationship and how you foster that to get to the end result.
• 3:16
  Jaclyn Strominger: So I'm curious because I talk about this all the time, but how do you go from A to Z?
• 3:24
  Jaclyn Strominger: Like, what does that process look like?
• 3:27
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, and so it really starts with yourself internally and how you want to serve others, right?
• 3:33
  Tina Ruff: Like it comes from a certain, I this is me speaking from my personality, and and I really think fundraising is being a development officer is a calling.
• 3:42
  Tina Ruff: And I think that like, you know, people that do nursing and people that do certain in in certain sectors, I think when you truly love what you do and you truly want to serve your community in a high, high impact way, it comes down to serving others.
• 3:56
  Tina Ruff: And so when you get to that point A, you're starting at point A, how can I help you?
• 4:01
  Tina Ruff: And how can I, what is it that I can help you with?
• 4:04
  Tina Ruff: And can I get what was your, you know, when we first start out with somebody, let's say it's a grateful patient and it's it's just a cold outreach, it's and they take the time to want to talk with us.
• 4:15
  Tina Ruff: It's like, tell us your interactions, tell us your interface with renown.
• 4:19
  Tina Ruff: Like, you know, tell us, give us, give us the good, the bad, the ugly.
• 4:22
  Tina Ruff: We know we're not perfect, but we also know we do great things.
• 4:25
  Tina Ruff: And so just letting them talk, and then you're listening to them, not telling them and saying, We want a gift from you now.
• 4:34
  Tina Ruff: It's really building that trust and that point A to get to Z is to, and I think Z, everyone thinks the outcome would be the gift.
• 4:42
  Tina Ruff: No, I think the outcome is really having them being part of our family and really enjoying.
• 4:47
  Tina Ruff: I think, like, I think maybe W would be like the gift, and then you go like relations, you know, continue to foster that relationship, but then it's just having them be part of our family.
• 4:57
  Tina Ruff: But being at A is really serving them in a high level of saying, hey, we're here for you.
• 5:02
  Tina Ruff: Oh my gosh, Renown's listening.
• 5:04
  Tina Ruff: Who's this Tina Ruff girl in the foundation?
• 5:07
  Tina Ruff: Like she she reached out to me and oh, she just wants your money.
• 5:10
  Tina Ruff: No, that's not true.
• 5:10
  Tina Ruff: Tina's really gonna help you.
• 5:12
  Tina Ruff: It's it's bigger than it's bigger than it's bigger than the gift, really, honestly.
• 5:17
  Tina Ruff: And it's about the relationship and really trying to serve others.
• 5:20
  Tina Ruff: And it's that's an individual piece, but the other part is really helping other not for profits and others who are in our business, because not everyone likes to raise money, you know that, right?
• 5:31
  Tina Ruff: Like there are people that say, I don't want to do your job, I would not do your job.
• 5:35
  Tina Ruff: And I'm like, Oh, I love my job.
• 5:36
  Tina Ruff: Like, but it's it's it's fun because we get to connect people who have capacity and who have affinity, and they may not have the affinity for health care, but they might have the affinity for something that I might be able to connect them to.
• 5:52
  Tina Ruff: And so I always say raising tide rising tides, raise all ships, especially in this community, right?
• 5:58
  Tina Ruff: Like if I can connect somebody and their affinity to something else other than renown, that's just gives me credibility because I care about them on a different level, not just some surface transactional level, right?
• 6:11
  Jaclyn Strominger: Right.
• 6:11
  Tina Ruff: So that's what it's about.
• 6:13
  Jaclyn Strominger: So, you know, but the the I think the part that I find that I'm that I'm curious about because I think a lot of people get stuck on this, because we do want to serve, right?
• 6:27
  Jaclyn Strominger: We do want to help.
• 6:28
  Jaclyn Strominger: But how do you how do you go to the point, like how do you get to the point where you can say, would you like to give a gift?
• 6:37
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, so it's kind of it's a balance, right?
• 6:40
  Tina Ruff: It's like you find out when, you kind of figure out when they're ready.
• 6:44
  Tina Ruff: Oftentimes it's, you know, you've really done, you've really sat there and listened to me teeny, you spend a lot of time with me.
• 6:49
  Tina Ruff: I really should do something with renown, or it gets to the point where it's like, hey, you know, you've kind of you've seen, you've talked to me, you know, you've been on a tour, you've come to an event with us and stuff.
• 7:01
  Tina Ruff: So what do you think about renown?
• 7:02
  Tina Ruff: Do you really do is this something that you might want to invest in?
• 7:05
  Tina Ruff: And it's not like give us money or whatever, but if you want to invest, and then they start to think about it, and then they say, you know what?
• 7:12
  Tina Ruff: I really like that presentation.
• 7:14
  Tina Ruff: I really like Dr.
• 7:15
  Tina Ruff: Lane.
• 7:16
  Tina Ruff: I love what you guys are doing.
• 7:17
  Tina Ruff: I, you know, you've really changed my, you really changed my focus.
• 7:20
  Tina Ruff: You've really made me really think about my next gift or what we're gonna do.
• 7:25
  Tina Ruff: And so it's just it's and it's really some people are ready to pounce immediately, but some people, uh 95% of the people really take the time to really think about their gifts, right?
• 7:37
  Tina Ruff: And like it's and the impact it can make.
• 7:39
  Tina Ruff: And if I as a development officer can show them through stewardship, really that's the art of it, is stewardship is really giving them the impact of what their gift is going to do.
• 7:49
  Tina Ruff: So they may give me 5,000.
• 7:50
  Tina Ruff: I'm still gonna give them a huge impact on what that what that's done because the gift next year might be 25,000.
• 7:57
  Tina Ruff: Right.
• 7:58
  Tina Ruff: And that's a nice escalation, or it might be 25,000 as a test gift.
• 8:02
  Tina Ruff: I might get a million the next year because we've stewarded them appropriately and showed them that we they can trust us with their money.
• 8:11
  Tina Ruff: And you have impacted this many patients in such a meaningful way.
• 8:16
  Tina Ruff: And they're like, it's powerful, it's it's just powerful stuff.
• 8:19
  Tina Ruff: I just can't even, that's why I love it so much.
• 8:21
  Tina Ruff: It's just people out of money that want to make an impact, and you just got to make sure that you steward them appropriately.
• 8:28
  Jaclyn Strominger: You know, and it's it's interesting that it it's it it is about sharing with them that impact, right?
• 8:36
  Jaclyn Strominger: And and what what their gift is is doing, and it comes down to like how they're serving others, but also it has to it has to, if the person doesn't have it in their values, they're not going to, you know, some people don't want to give, right?
• 8:51
  Jaclyn Strominger: Because they it's not their value.
• 8:53
  Jaclyn Strominger: So it's it's it's finding that.
• 8:55
  Jaclyn Strominger: So has has there been something that you have done that you're like, you know, almost like depending on the bucket, so to speak, and saying, Oh, because of what you've learned, like I know, you know, John over there, he's super, he's a nice guy, but it's not his value is not to give, or that you can like tell something about somebody's values to help again decide what bucket to put them in.
• 9:22
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, so so my my job is to raise money at the end result, right?
• 9:28
  Tina Ruff: And there's we have metrics, we have all kinds of things, is it that's how you're evaluated in your position, right?
• 9:33
  Tina Ruff: And so we can't we can't spend time on somebody who I'll I'm there for them and they have my card and I'm there as a resource.
• 9:42
  Tina Ruff: And so that's what I say, hey, if I can answer any questions, because healthcare is very anxious, like everyone, a lot of people get anxious when it comes to something.
• 9:49
  Tina Ruff: And so they may not want to give a gift, but they know that I'm there to serve them.
• 9:53
  Tina Ruff: And if I'm on the inside, that they can call somebody instead of the you know, the the hotline or the number or whatever where they're gonna get a not a human or something.
• 10:03
  Tina Ruff: They want that human voice.
• 10:04
  Tina Ruff: And so if they call me, I can at least answer a question and I can say, let me know if I can connect you, let me know if we can do lunch, let me know if you know, because I have been able to bring physicians to lunches with donors or prospective donors, and then maybe that might turn the tide and it may not.
• 10:21
  Tina Ruff: And then if they don't want to give, they may have a friend that is, you know, you know, the people get together and they have cocktail parties and they talk about their health all the time.
• 10:29
  Tina Ruff: And what are you doing about this?
• 10:31
  Tina Ruff: And what do you do?
• 10:31
  Tina Ruff: Oh my gosh, you need to call Tina.
• 10:33
  Tina Ruff: Let her let you know, talk with her about this.
• 10:35
  Tina Ruff: And so they may not be the person who wants to give because it's not their values, but the they're in somebody in their network might want to.
• 10:42
  Tina Ruff: And so you always want to make sure that you're keeping that relationship, they know that they can call you.
• 10:46
  Tina Ruff: They may not be getting the love that all my other people are getting because of the time and energy I need to put into because I know those other individuals are gonna give, but I also want to make sure that I'm serving this community at a high level where I'm available, right?
• 11:00
  Tina Ruff: So I'm always available, and so they know they can call us and I'm gonna help connect the dots.
• 11:06
  Tina Ruff: I'm not gonna just shut them off because they're not a they're not gonna give to renown.
• 11:10
  Tina Ruff: I know they're probably gonna give to somewhere else.
• 11:12
  unknown: Right.
• 11:13
  Tina Ruff: Right, right.
• 11:13
  Tina Ruff: Or if they don't want to give, if giving, like you said, is not their values, right?
• 11:17
  Tina Ruff: Then I'm still gonna be here as a resource, and you never know.
• 11:21
  Tina Ruff: They may put us in their estate.
• 11:23
  Tina Ruff: Right.
• 11:23
  Tina Ruff: Right.
• 11:25
  Jaclyn Strominger: So So, you know, it's something that you just said.
• 11:27
  Jaclyn Strominger: I just want to, listeners, I think this is really important no matter where you are in like in your sales or or in your building your business or anything part of your life.
• 11:36
  Jaclyn Strominger: Here's the key thing, what Tina just said, which it's so important.
• 11:40
  Jaclyn Strominger: She's still staying connected with people.
• 11:43
  Jaclyn Strominger: It might not be that she's reaching out to that person every month, but it could be the it's the reach out like in six months, you know, and it's not saying, hey, I'm checking in.
• 11:58
  Jaclyn Strominger: It's it could be, or even it's sending a card just saying, hey, I was thinking about you and just wanted to drop you a note, right?
• 12:05
  Jaclyn Strominger: It's so staying connected to people because you don't know where somebody is in their journey at that moment.
• 12:13
  Jaclyn Strominger: You don't know what's happening in anybody's lives.
• 12:16
  Jaclyn Strominger: And until somebody says tells you to go, you know, take a hike, most of the time it's it could be, you know, a no not right now or a no not yet.
• 12:29
  Jaclyn Strominger: Or you know, but stay connected because because, as you just said, which is so important, that one connection can lead to a different opportunity.
• 12:40
  Jaclyn Strominger: Listeners, you guys have heard me say this a lot, like relationship capital.
• 12:44
  Jaclyn Strominger: It's relationship capital equals the people that you know times the action, but and it's the people to the nth degree.
• 12:50
  Jaclyn Strominger: And the nth is the how many people that they know.
• 12:53
  Jaclyn Strominger: Because one conversation with Tina could lead to Tina saying, ooh, I know Joe.
• 13:00
  Jaclyn Strominger: And then Joe could be the conversation that changes your world.
• 13:04
  Tina Ruff: Yes.
• 13:05
  Tina Ruff: I can't tell you how many, how many parties I go into now that a lot of donors are at, and people are like, You're Tina, you're the one I'm told I need to talk to.
• 13:14
  Tina Ruff: Like, I can't tell you how many times it happens now.
• 13:16
  Tina Ruff: Oh, you're Tina.
• 13:17
  Tina Ruff: Oh, Tina, people talk about you all the time in Montreal or in Arrow Creek.
• 13:20
  Tina Ruff: I'm like, are you serious?
• 13:21
  Tina Ruff: You're like, yeah, and it's no joke.
• 13:23
  Tina Ruff: Like, I'm not that it's weird.
• 13:25
  Tina Ruff: It's just because people are saying, Oh, you need to talk to Tina.
• 13:27
  Tina Ruff: Well, it might be that I need to connect them with premiere care.
• 13:30
  Tina Ruff: It might need mean that I need to, you know, recommend a cardiologist.
• 13:34
  Tina Ruff: It might mean that I need to, you know, see if I can help with whatever I can help them with.
• 13:39
  Tina Ruff: But it's fun.
• 13:39
  Tina Ruff: And I I think it's and this is my love language, like serving.
• 13:43
  Tina Ruff: Like, this is what I love to do.
• 13:44
  Tina Ruff: I love to serve, I love to help, I love to connect.
• 13:46
  Tina Ruff: And if I can do goodwill by it, then we're all winning.
• 13:50
  Tina Ruff: Great.
• 13:51
  Jaclyn Strominger: So, do you have like one story that you know that just stands out to you because how it has made a bigger or big transformation or made a transformation larger small?
• 14:03
  Tina Ruff: Oh my goodness.
• 14:04
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, I've got several.
• 14:07
  Tina Ruff: One, we had an event, and this is about a couple years ago.
• 14:10
  Tina Ruff: We had an event, it was a heart and vascular salon at one of our donors' homes in Montreux.
• 14:15
  Tina Ruff: And you know, you you cast a wide net, you get a bunch of people there.
• 14:18
  Tina Ruff: We had about a hundred and maybe a hundred people in the place.
• 14:21
  Tina Ruff: And I so when you're when you're doing an event, a salon, and it's building awareness, not raising money and doing a hard ask at the event, then where the where the where the rubber meets the road for a development officer is the follow-up after the event.
• 14:39
  Tina Ruff: And what that means is you look at who was in the room, you're doing the outreach, you're saying, you know, can I you call, they pick up the phone, you say, Hey, thank you so, so much for coming to this event.
• 14:52
  Tina Ruff: What did you think?
• 14:53
  Tina Ruff: Well, this woman gets on the phone and she's just like, and it's one of those calls, right?
• 14:57
  Tina Ruff: Like a development officer doesn't want to have to handle, but you do because that's what you do.
• 15:01
  Tina Ruff: And she's like, it was a fundraiser.
• 15:03
  Tina Ruff: And I said, Huh.
• 15:04
  Tina Ruff: Well, tell me more.
• 15:06
  Tina Ruff: I go, because that's a little bit weird that we didn't present it as a fundraiser and we didn't want it to look like, well, you're the foundation, you're having it.
• 15:12
  Tina Ruff: I'm like, yeah, I said, but we really that's how we do this, is we really want to make sure that we're building awareness first and getting people in the door and talking and showing you our physicians and our relationships with the University of Nevada at school med.
• 15:26
  Tina Ruff: And then, and she, so she was really kind of, and you'll have to laugh at me, Jacqueline, is I say, She was giving me the Heisman, like she was just giving me that she's giving me this, and I go, Yeah, okay.
• 15:38
  Tina Ruff: And so she goes, I she's and then she goes into her health journey, and so I'm listening, I'm listening, yeah, about you know, this and this, and you know, I've had to do this and this, and so then it morphs into hey, I'm not gonna say her name, but hey, I'll say Sally, it's a different name.
• 15:57
  Tina Ruff: I said, you know, I work directly with heart and vascular, and I work with our division chief, and I I know he would have lunch with you.
• 16:06
  Tina Ruff: No, he would not.
• 16:07
  Tina Ruff: No, there's just no way he's too busy, he will not have lunch with me.
• 16:11
  Tina Ruff: I said, Okay, but can I try?
• 16:14
  Tina Ruff: So, sure, you can try.
• 16:16
  Tina Ruff: And I go, Okay, so I call up division chief or you know, whatever we do.
• 16:22
  Tina Ruff: We can say, Yeah, sure, I'll have lunch with her.
• 16:24
  Tina Ruff: She goes, You're kidding.
• 16:26
  Tina Ruff: And I go, No, I told you I will do this.
• 16:28
  Tina Ruff: She is now just fast forward.
• 16:31
  Tina Ruff: She is like one of my friends now.
• 16:34
  Tina Ruff: I've like, she's like, I go to her house, she just texted me and was like, Hey, what are you up to?
• 16:40
  Tina Ruff: Like, she invites me to the Reno Phil.
• 16:42
  Tina Ruff: She reminds me like we're friends now.
• 16:43
  Tina Ruff: She's she's I'm working on her still for some for a donation and stuff, but she's single, you know, she's trying to figure out and she has a huge affinity for the University of Nevada.
• 16:52
  Tina Ruff: And so I don't, I don't really, that's great.
• 16:55
  Tina Ruff: I love that she has that, but eventually we might get a gift.
• 16:59
  Tina Ruff: But I was able to do a service recovery, that's what we call that term, service recovery, on someone who was really like adamant that you just want my money, and you know, this is what you guys do and stuff.
• 17:11
  Tina Ruff: So I now I'm like a resource for her.
• 17:13
  Tina Ruff: Like I and I I that's the way I can serve her, right?
• 17:16
  Tina Ruff: That's just an example.
• 17:18
  Tina Ruff: I mean, I have other several examples too, like a grateful patient who had to go over to UC Davis, and this is actually current, and because we didn't have the equipment here for this long, long, long-term procedure.
• 17:30
  Tina Ruff: And so he wants to help one of our units.
• 17:34
  Tina Ruff: And he said, I want them to have what I had to go and do.
• 17:38
  Tina Ruff: So we had to out-migrate health, and you know, we don't want to do that, we want to keep care here.
• 17:43
  Tina Ruff: So he's giving us half, he's committed half of what this system is gonna cost renown to put this, implement this at renown.
• 17:52
  Tina Ruff: And so he's committed to half that gift.
• 17:54
  Tina Ruff: And so for me to be able to meet with him, hear his story, lost his wife to pancreatic cancer, you know, yeah, yes, and has been embedded in this community and just having that conversation with him and listening to him.
• 18:07
  Tina Ruff: We went from handshake to a hug at the end of the meeting and like, yeah, and just keeping him aware via email or whatever of we're waiting for approval process, we're making sure it goes through the proper channels before we, you know, fund it and or get the funding for it.
• 18:24
  Tina Ruff: And so we just last night got approval from you know the leadership, the approved the us wanting to go after funds for it.
• 18:33
  Tina Ruff: So then he said, that's great news.
• 18:35
  Tina Ruff: This is what I'm gonna need.
• 18:36
  Tina Ruff: And so we're literally gonna be able to fund a project that is so meaningful that really means a lot to him and to the service line that he's supporting.
• 18:45
  Jaclyn Strominger: Right.
• 18:45
  Jaclyn Strominger: And to and well, and then then ultimately to the community, yes, that we're serving here and here, right?
• 18:51
  Jaclyn Strominger: And so that just creates a you know, a huge, you know, a crazy lasting legacy and impact, an impact in the in the community, you know.
• 19:02
  Jaclyn Strominger: But you know, so this journey of like, you know, getting into fundraising, whatever, how did you how did you get into this in the first place?
• 19:16
  Jaclyn Strominger: Like, where did that you know come from?
• 19:20
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, so so my uh people that know me pretty well know that my whole background has been athletics, been college athletics, right?
• 19:27
  Tina Ruff: I played at Arizona State, you know, two-time team captain, and I was I got two degrees at Arizona State.
• 19:32
  Tina Ruff: I went into coaching and then I went into administration because I it was my it's just it was my that's just in my blood.
• 19:38
  Tina Ruff: That's what I want to do.
• 19:39
  Tina Ruff: Sorry, my camera just moved.
• 19:41
  Tina Ruff: Sorry.
• 19:41
  Tina Ruff: And I I so when I was going through athletics at the University of Nevada, which is where I really got most of my most of my administrative athletics background, was I was able to go from different position to position to position and really grow and then oversee sports, oversee coaches, you know, help them and you know their processes and all this other stuff, and then also support them.
• 20:06
  Tina Ruff: And so one of the ways I was able to support them was on the philanthropic side in athletics, like in advancement, and then also doing some alumni relations for former student athletes at Nevada at university, we have Wolfpack Athletics, and really getting into on a on a on a smaller level was getting them to donate back to their teens.
• 20:25
  Tina Ruff: And so it was like, this is still your team.
• 20:27
  Tina Ruff: We want you to, and and and it's really hard with alumni because and I don't know if you've had the exposure to alumni, you're an alumni and your kids are gonna be alumni and all this other stuff after they get through school, is not many alumni give back, and it's a very small percentage, right?
• 20:41
  Tina Ruff: They just don't, unless they're like they need unless they're like million billionaires and they need to load that money and they want to support their almond mother, but it's very small percentage.
• 20:51
  Tina Ruff: So, with that, I was able to bring them back, take them to a couple games, do tailgates, and then they gave back in small ways, but it still gave back in such a meaningful way to their team because they knew it was still their team, and they're like, oh my gosh, I haven't been back in so long.
• 21:06
  Tina Ruff: This is so amazing.
• 21:07
  Tina Ruff: And I'm like, this is what it's about.
• 21:09
  Tina Ruff: It's about making that team still have that relationship with that alum.
• 21:13
  Tina Ruff: Who knows?
• 21:14
  Tina Ruff: They might be in the hall of fame at some point.
• 21:16
  Tina Ruff: You know, some point they might be the Colin Kaepernick, they might be the Joel Petonio who's giving millions, or might give Joel Batonio gave a couple millions back to the university.
• 21:25
  Tina Ruff: So it might get to that, but it's getting that relationship started and built.
• 21:28
  Tina Ruff: So that's where I kind of started with fundraising and development.
• 21:32
  Tina Ruff: And then I just started there, and then I took the athletics director position at Truckie Meadows Community College.
• 21:38
  Tina Ruff: And so, like, that was part of my job was to go out and get philanthropic support from this community here to support two soccer programs and them knowing me and knowing and having trust in me, saying, I want to help.
• 21:54
  Tina Ruff: So when I was able to get different funding for the soccer field, for the fitness center, and for the actual Teams, like I was able to offset some of those costs and cash outlay for us because of the relationships I was able to build and build a Mighty Lizard Club, the Booster Club, and all this other stuff.
• 22:11
  Tina Ruff: So then how I ended up renowned was a gentleman that I knew when I was at Arizona State who was our chief development officer.
• 22:19
  Tina Ruff: You know, I had lunch with him and I said, How did how did you make the jump from college athletics to health care?
• 22:27
  Tina Ruff: And he said, you know, you know, there's a learning curve, of course, it's steep, it's a different industry, right?
• 22:32
  Tina Ruff: Like healthcare is a whole acumen, there's a whole different thing.
• 22:35
  Tina Ruff: But it's so so does athletics.
• 22:36
  Tina Ruff: But you just, when you grow up in athletics and college athletics, you just there's a curve.
• 22:41
  Tina Ruff: There's just definitely a steep learning curve.
• 22:43
  Tina Ruff: However, it's like the coaches are the doctors, right?
• 22:46
  Tina Ruff: Like the coaches are leading their teams and they have their, you know, they have their different service line, just like the service line and the doctors, you know, you just you work with them and you become aware of what, you know, the nurses and the APRNs and just what their needs are, and the administrators that support them.
• 23:04
  Tina Ruff: And then you start to learn leadership.
• 23:05
  Tina Ruff: So he's like, you know, it it's a great, and it's so rewarding because you're helping people with their health care and you're helping advanced care.
• 23:13
  Tina Ruff: You're not filling a hole, you're not filling a budget hole with donor dollars.
• 23:17
  Tina Ruff: You're really, you're really helping in addition to what the institution, what renown or what hospital healthcare needs to advance in this community.
• 23:26
  Tina Ruff: And so he told me like what that was, and he's like, you know, I'm gonna have a position come open.
• 23:31
  Tina Ruff: You should try to, you should think about it.
• 23:33
  Tina Ruff: And I said, okay.
• 23:34
  Tina Ruff: And I knew I wanted to become a better fundraiser.
• 23:37
  Tina Ruff: And if I could do that full time, then I could be a better fundraiser and really serve.
• 23:44
  Tina Ruff: And so I got into this role, and it's really it's it, I've I've grown a lot personally and professionally in this role, thank God.
• 23:51
  Tina Ruff: And I, like I've said, it's a calling.
• 23:54
  Tina Ruff: And you really you really need time if you're gonna be a major gifts officer or a development officer, I should say, and then get into a major gifts officer, is really give yourself a an on-ramp.
• 24:04
  Tina Ruff: And it's really hard not to get frustrated because burnout, burnout happens because you may not be bringing in the dollars that you should be at the rate that somebody uh above you might think that you should be, but stay the course and just continue.
• 24:20
  Tina Ruff: And we talk about this as practitioners in this industry is you gotta do the work, right?
• 24:25
  Tina Ruff: You gotta do the work, you gotta do the outreach.
• 24:27
  Tina Ruff: You've got to, if you're at events, you've got to go and meet with people, you know, you've got to be able to build your business, like you and I talk.
• 24:34
  Tina Ruff: You got to build your business, you've got to build those contacts, you've got to build those warm intros.
• 24:38
  Tina Ruff: Warm, like it's those intros that like people are gonna help you.
• 24:42
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, because sometimes the cold call, it'll work, but sometimes, like we said, you someone told me to talk to you, or hey, I need you to talk to this person, right?
• 24:52
  Tina Ruff: Or you're using your network.
• 24:53
  Tina Ruff: So I said, I call you because you're in my network.
• 24:55
  Tina Ruff: I call you and I said, Hey, do you know somebody that might but know might know something about this or more might know that person?
• 25:02
  Tina Ruff: And you're like, Oh my god, my husband knows that person.
• 25:04
  Tina Ruff: He'll totally have an issue.
• 25:05
  Tina Ruff: If there's that piece, but also like I don't know, but I I kind of got off track there, but I just think that that's kind of the beauty of this industry is like you've got to do the work.
• 25:15
  Tina Ruff: You just can't sit back.
• 25:17
  Tina Ruff: You just can't sit back and think people are gonna come to you because you're you're that entity.
• 25:21
  Tina Ruff: Oh, we're this, they're gonna they should give to us.
• 25:23
  Tina Ruff: They do, they have choices, like they this year, because you probably made them mad, or you probably said, you know, or whatever, they may not give to you.
• 25:33
  Tina Ruff: Well, okay, well, how do you repair that?
• 25:35
  Tina Ruff: Or you may not have to repair it, they might just be gone, or you know, because we make mistakes, and you know, maybe we might offend somebody by asking them at the wrong time, which I've had that.
• 25:46
  Tina Ruff: I've had that, and I've I've I'm repairing that because I I got misread.
• 25:50
  Tina Ruff: They thought that I was asking for a really large amount, and I was telling them the total what it's gonna cost, and she was offended, and I was just like, that was not my intent.
• 25:59
  Tina Ruff: Will you have drinks with me?
• 26:01
  Tina Ruff: Will you go out?
• 26:02
  Tina Ruff: And she's at I go, I love, I I love what you're about.
• 26:04
  Tina Ruff: I love you know, you really have to reverse that.
• 26:07
  Tina Ruff: And so we're not perfect for sure.
• 26:09
  Tina Ruff: We're not, we do make mistakes, but those are the types of things that I think that where was I?
• 26:15
  Jaclyn Strominger: I think I lost my I lost where I was at, but but you know, but Tina, and and listeners, I want to bring up with something that Tina said as she was talking that is so important, and that is stay the course and to be learning, to always be learning, and that and whether you realize it or not, you know, so and and and in business or in things, so many times people say uncle or quit, whatever the word is you want to use, right before they're about to take off, right?
• 26:54
  Jaclyn Strominger: Or they stop, you know, and and so stay the course and stay with it.
• 27:01
  Jaclyn Strominger: You know, it's it's interesting.
• 27:03
  Jaclyn Strominger: A lot of times people will think, oh, you know, give it a year.
• 27:08
  Jaclyn Strominger: A year is almost like a ramp up period, particularly for somebody that's like in a new industry and something that you're there's learning.
• 27:16
  Jaclyn Strominger: You don't become a goat overnight.
• 27:18
  Jaclyn Strominger: And I when I say goat, like the greatest of all times, right?
• 27:21
  Jaclyn Strominger: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: No, you're right.
• 27:25
  Jaclyn Strominger: You don't hit goat status overnight.
• 27:28
  Jaclyn Strominger: I mean, think about it, you know.
• 27:29
  Jaclyn Strominger: I and I and I, you know, it's the you know, I think I've said this a lot recently.
• 27:35
  Jaclyn Strominger: It's the 10-year overnight success.
• 27:37
  Jaclyn Strominger: It took 10 years to get where they somebody was.
• 27:40
  Jaclyn Strominger: It took, you know, I don't care whether you're talking about Muhammad Ali, you want to talk about Michael Jordan, you want to talk about Tom Brady, you want to talk about Babe Ruth.
• 27:52
  Jaclyn Strominger: I mean, like who name your name your goat, right?
• 27:58
  Tina Ruff: Well, you got it right on the head right there.
• 27:59
  Tina Ruff: So in the Slight Edge, there's a book called The Slight Edge, they talk about 10,000 hours of like to be an SME or to be, you know, it's practice, and it's 10,000 hours.
• 28:08
  Tina Ruff: Well, you said 10 years.
• 28:10
  Tina Ruff: Well, I mean, whatever it is, it's a it's a long period of time.
• 28:13
  Tina Ruff: It's a lot of practice, it's a lot of doing and failing, doing and failing.
• 28:16
  Tina Ruff: And then the one thing I think that I really like to tell people that I've learned I'm also in this high potential program, and I love it so much here.
• 28:23
  Tina Ruff: Renown, Renown does such an amazing job on developing our staff into leaders that want to grow.
• 28:29
  Tina Ruff: And one is a high potential program.
• 28:31
  Tina Ruff: We talk about self-awareness, but then having the ability to close that loop on self-correction and what that looks like, and being able to really be self-aware, you know, and sometimes this industry is not for everybody, and be having that awareness, and hopefully you're not quitting, like you said, too soon, or get or have give or you're given the grace to be able to stay in it to become good, but having that self-awareness and then being able to feel that, understand it, and then self-correct.
• 29:05
  Tina Ruff: And then the other thing that really I think drives us in this industry and probably in business too, is having empathy and really being able to sit there and listen and be empathetic without them thinking that you have ulterior motives, right?
• 29:20
  Tina Ruff: Like that's where people think you always have ulterior motives because of the industry that we're in, and of course you're trying to get my money.
• 29:26
  Tina Ruff: Well, no, I think I think if you can approach it going back to our very beginning of the episode, was really building building that relationship, listening, and then it's gonna take it's it, they're not just gonna write, open up their checkbook immediately.
• 29:39
  Tina Ruff: I said 95% of the people just don't do that.
• 29:41
  Tina Ruff: Some people already, but some people it takes a lot of time.
• 29:45
  Tina Ruff: And in our world, it takes about 18 to 24 months, so almost two years to get an actual major gift.
• 29:52
  Jaclyn Strominger: Right.
• 29:53
  Jaclyn Strominger: So I've I've I I have shared this saying, but revenue is a byproduct of trust.
• 30:02
  Tina Ruff: Oh yes, right?
• 30:03
  Jaclyn Strominger: Revenue is a byproduct of trust, one thousand percent, right?
• 30:07
  Jaclyn Strominger: So, you know, and it takes that time, and you know, and it it takes time to to build that relationship, and if we can, you know, if we can go the long game and not pitch slap, you're right, right?
• 30:24
  Jaclyn Strominger: And it's it's really important.
• 30:28
  Tina Ruff: Well, and okay, you really hit on the long game too.
• 30:30
  Tina Ruff: Like I love what you just said because we naturally human behavior want that instant gratification, and that's where we snap into transactional behavior.
• 30:41
  Tina Ruff: And if we as major gifts officers can relax a minute, you know, and really kind of keep the eye on the ball, the long game, and understand that what we do now, negative or positive, will impact what happens later.
• 30:58
  Tina Ruff: And you have to continue to do the work to get to that and stay in it, stay in that marathon to be able to get to that major gift.
• 31:05
  Tina Ruff: But we we the fault that we make and we we snap back into is instant graphication, seeing that number go up, and asking for the gift now when they're not even ready.
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 31:17
  Tina Ruff: Or getting a getting a number that I asked for 15, I could have got five million because I didn't do the work and I didn't know and I didn't prime them and I didn't listen, and I went for the transaction versus the transformational.
• 31:33
  Tina Ruff: Does that make sense?
• 31:34
  Jaclyn Strominger: Oh no, it totally does.
• 31:35
  Jaclyn Strominger: I I mean, I give a talk and one of my slides, it literally is transactional slash transformational.
• 31:42
  Jaclyn Strominger: It's like I'm like, oh my god, you're speaking my language, girl.
• 31:46
  Jaclyn Strominger: Because it's so true.
• 31:48
  Jaclyn Strominger: It you know, transactional means that you, yes, will you get some sales?
• 31:52
  Jaclyn Strominger: Yes.
• 31:53
  Jaclyn Strominger: Will you be busy?
• 31:54
  Jaclyn Strominger: Yes.
• 31:55
  Jaclyn Strominger: But is it going to give you the long range success that you want?
• 32:00
  Jaclyn Strominger: No, transformational.
• 32:03
  Jaclyn Strominger: And transformational is not necessarily thinking that you are going to like transform somebody, but you're transforming a relationship into something that is one and done, to just a handshake, to the hug, to the long-term, you know, saying, Oh, I know Tina, I know Jacqueline, I let me refer you.
• 32:25
  Jaclyn Strominger: Oh, let me refer, oh Tina, you know.
• 32:28
  Jaclyn Strominger: And it's not about right, it's the transformation of you know thinking about and you know what you do every day, which is serving others, yeah, and not about not about checking the box.
• 32:47
  Tina Ruff: Right, right.
• 32:48
  Tina Ruff: Yeah.
• 32:48
  Tina Ruff: And I have a couple thoughts on on that.
• 32:50
  Tina Ruff: Is so oh my God, I just lost my train of thought.
• 32:55
  Tina Ruff: Hang on a second.
• 32:56
  Tina Ruff: I was thinking about, oh, one of the biggest compliments I had was just recently, and it happened a couple times.
• 33:03
  Tina Ruff: I'm at the point now with some of my donors, my donors, our donors, sorry, the people that I have in my portfolio, to where they're like, Tina, you're our friend.
• 33:12
  Tina Ruff: Like we consider you our friend.
• 33:14
  Tina Ruff: Like, yeah, like that is a huge thing for me.
• 33:20
  Tina Ruff: And if you can get, and some people want to keep their work separate, of course, right?
• 33:24
  Tina Ruff: It's a professional relationship, but still they consider me a friend.
• 33:27
  Tina Ruff: I got invited to someone's 70th birthday party in Phoenix.
• 33:30
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, and still.
• 33:32
  Tina Ruff: And I win.
• 33:33
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, and so like those are the that that's what's really the transformational.
• 33:38
  Tina Ruff: It went from the transaction getting to know me to the transformational, where, you know, if they need to call me invent, they can call me invent and we'll be in the personal hat.
• 33:48
  Tina Ruff: They got the personal hat on, or I've got I can put the professional hat on and say, okay, what do you guys need this year?
• 33:53
  Tina Ruff: What are your guys' biggest, you know?
• 33:55
  Tina Ruff: But they we can have this conversation that's not so stuffy, right?
• 33:59
  Tina Ruff: Like it, but when she said we consider you a friend, I'm like, oh my gosh, that is so meaningful.
• 34:06
  Tina Ruff: I don't know, it was heartfelt to me.
• 34:08
  Jaclyn Strominger: That is so important.
• 34:09
  Jaclyn Strominger: That is so important.
• 34:10
  Jaclyn Strominger: Well, Tina, I could talk to you about this stuff, all of this forever, but you teach great wisdom on this, and I love these come this conversation.
• 34:17
  Jaclyn Strominger: So please, please, please tell our listeners how they can connect with you, maybe pick your brain a bit a little bit on both leadership, fundraising, all the all the things about building relationships.
• 34:32
  Tina Ruff: Yeah, so I check my I have my phone, which is connected to me all the time.
• 34:36
  Tina Ruff: I'm always on, as you can imagine.
• 34:38
  Tina Ruff: I'm always there to help people if I can.
• 34:40
  Tina Ruff: If I'm sleeping, I probably won't get to you.
• 34:42
  Tina Ruff: But anyway, my email is Tina T-I-N-A dot ruff, r-u-f-f at renown.org.
• 34:50
  Tina Ruff: And renown is r-e-n-o-w-n dot or g.
• 34:55
  Tina Ruff: And then also you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
• 35:01
  Tina Ruff: Jaclyn should I share my handles or I'll put all of those in the show notes.
• 35:06
  Jaclyn Strominger: I'll I'll put them in there.
• 35:07
  Jaclyn Strominger: Yeah.
• 35:08
  Tina Ruff: Okay, yeah.
• 35:08
  Tina Ruff: And then, and then I don't know.
• 35:10
  Tina Ruff: I don't know how often people give out their cell numbers on your show.
• 35:13
  Tina Ruff: But if somebody, if someone, if they email me or DM me and we start building that relationship, then I'll give my cell number out and stuff.
• 35:19
  Tina Ruff: But I and I love answering questions.
• 35:21
  Tina Ruff: And I also may ask you a couple questions depending on what industry you're in, because I'm always a lifelong learner.
• 35:26
  Tina Ruff: And book recommendations.
• 35:27
  Tina Ruff: God sakes, I need some book recommendations.
• 35:30
  Jaclyn Strominger: So always good for book recommendations.
• 35:32
  Jaclyn Strominger: So, listeners, please do me the favor.
• 35:34
  Jaclyn Strominger: Reach, reach, reach out and connect with Tina.
• 35:36
  Jaclyn Strominger: She is truly, truly amazing.
• 35:37
  Jaclyn Strominger: And then, listeners, please do me the favor.
• 35:40
  Jaclyn Strominger: We have an amazing community that is growing on the school platform.
• 35:45
  Jaclyn Strominger: We share information every week, things for you to act on and do to help you have unstoppable success.
• 35:52
  Jaclyn Strominger: So click that in the show notes and join our community.
• 35:55
  Jaclyn Strominger: And then please make sure that you share this episode with your friends, your business colleagues, because there is some great nuggets of information in here that I am sure they could all use to help them have unstoppable success.
• 36:08
  Jaclyn Strominger: Tina, thank you so much for being an amazing guest.
• 36:11
  Tina Ruff: Thanks for having me.
• 36:13
  Jaclyn Strominger: It's such a pleasure.
• 36:13
  Jaclyn Strominger: And listeners, thank you so much for listening.
• 36:16
  Jaclyn Strominger: This is unstoppable success.
• 36:18
  Jaclyn Strominger: I'm your host, Jaclyn Strominger, and our goal is to help you leap to your greatest success.
• 36:24
  Jaclyn Strominger: You've been listening to the Unstoppable Success podcast with Jaclyn Strominger.
• 36:37
  Jaclyn Strominger: Subscribe, share, and keep building your unstoppable life.
• 36:42
  Jaclyn Strominger: We'll see you at the top.