"The gun, the shoes, and the meaningful mission moment..."

Kimberly Bottom (00:07)
Hi everyone, welcome back to the Nonprofit Diaries, where we share the stories that don't make the newsletter. I'm your host, Kimberly Bottom, and our guest this week is someone that I have been lucky enough to know for years. We've crossed paths at more conferences than I can count.

Eric has spent over two decades in fundraising. He has raised millions for organizations like St. Jude's, the Boy Scouts of America. He's actually an Eagle Scout himself, so that commitment to service goes way back. Today he serves as the chief community officer at Avid, and that title basically formalizes what he's been doing all along. Showing up, building trust, and connecting people across our industry.

But here's what you really need to know about Eric. He's the mastermind behind the Top Gun Takeoff Challenge. The rules are simple. If you take a flight, you watch Top Gun Maverick while your plane takes off, you post that proof on LinkedIn, and Eric will personally assign you a call sign. So mine is

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (01:04)
Gosh.

Kimberly Bottom (01:05)
Bedrock. Eric delivered my wings at AFP Icon this year. Thank you, sir. So to honor his visit to our podcast this week, if you have them, put on your aviator sunnies and salute.

To the community commander,

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (01:15)
Yeah.

Kimberly Bottom (01:16)
Eric Ironclad Tomalis Eric, thank you for being here.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (01:20)
Thank you so much, Kimberly I appreciate it. I appreciate the invite the invite and really, really honored what you just shared about me and thank you for having me on here. I thought you were going a different route. Not top gun takeoff, but I thought you were gonna say the inventor of the standing desk in a in a hotel room with the ironing board.

Kimberly Bottom (01:34)
That is another pro tip for anybody listening.

So Eric has he might be at a conference every week of his life. I'm not sure. That's kind of what it feels like. because he is absolutely just an engaging speaker. He's got such a wealth of knowledge that he is generous enough to share all of that with the world and be on the road 300 days out of the year. But he's come up with some pretty good life hacks. So I'm gonna drop Eric's LinkedIn link in the description for this podcast. If you're like, hey, tell me what your tricks are.

The ironing board standing desk is definitely one of the good ones, so

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (02:05)
in front

of the window because now it's natural light. And that I mean it's it's very strategic on all the pieces. Yeah. As long as the room looks clean. I mean that's all that matters. And housekeeping was here this morning. So

Kimberly Bottom (02:08)
Correct. You don't need a ring light. It is. You gotta make your bed. I get yeah, exactly.

Okay, that's fair. Well, I can't even see your bed. So, you know, it could be a mess down there and w we'd never know. But well, I appreciate you being here. Kinda as I had I mentioned in the beginning, Eric, you have I mean over five thousand donor visits in your career, is that right? That's insane. So

You've definitely got stories. You gave me like a little teaser to some of them. Some of them are like heartwarming. One of them's a little frightening. And then there's a woman with a shoe. So let's just let you kind of take this over and

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (02:42)
Yeah.

Kimberly Bottom (02:43)
start with sharing some of these stories when you have these donor visits.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (02:46)
Thanks so much. The the background my background is a little unique and I've said I've s I've d been deliberate on who I what I've been doing over the last twenty-some years of individual giving, grant get building, grateful patience, you know, focus on foundations, a whole host of different areas and tech and agency and other things on the on the side. but where I really grated it out was like my first job out of college. And you know, I remember taking ownership or or leadership of a of a nonprofit organization. I'll share it's actually it's a my fraternity. it's a fraternity

foundation. And so

My remember the first day on the job, our president came to me from our board and was like, Eric, we need to raise $15 million this year. What is your plan? And I 15, 1, 5. And I was like,

Kimberly Bottom (03:24)
Fifteen million?

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (03:27)
you know, I was like, let me ask, like I'm always big about data and how may how and everything else. And I said to him, I was like, well, how many living alumni do we have? And at that point, we had 200,000 living alumni to our organization. We're one of the largest fraternities in the country.

multiple chapters around the world and country and everything else. But it was like, and then I asked the second question. I was like, okay, how many donors gave to our foundation? I think the number was like 50. It was very small. It was like 50 to 60 individuals. But

those 50 to 60 individuals funded all of our leadership programs, activities, everything else inside our institution, which was like the 10 to 15 million dollar budget, right? Which

heavy, heavy major gifts. And I kind of pardon my language, I thought that was kind of bullshit.

You know, I was looking around the entire room and I was like, We're not curing cancer, we're not saving the world, we're developing leadership programs for young men to be better humans and into our into our society. And I was like, What if we just go out there and ask as many people as we can to contribute something small and mighty that can grow into something for our organization?

what we did is we hired gift officers straight out of college and it had a sales mindset. This is 2001, 2002 as well. so it's a lot different than where we are today, where I could hire gift officers where it was very sales driven, where we said, let's make 250 face-to-face visits in a year and hope 50% of them contribute. And

we and the other spicy thing we did is this is back in the day, is we asked on every donor visit. You didn't do that back then. I remember getting like

Yelled at by if organizations saying, hey, you need to cultivate, build a relationship, and then ask. But we were like, no, we don't have time to do that. So we really got into it, it's the precursor of the mid-level program or a monthly giving program where we would ask everybody for a $25 monthly contribution over a five-year period, which equates to $300 a year to $1,500 over five years. Every single person got an ask right on the spot.

But it was a really great experience because I would have my team, we would fly into a city Tuesday through Thursday, and we would visit with 10 to 12 individuals, you know, over cups of coffee or in offices or homes or wherever it would be. that forty-five minutes

was the story, was setting the

tone, building the relationship, talking about our case for support, talking about the opportunity, and then asking right there on the spot and then moving on to the next person and doing

it all over again.

Kimberly Bottom (05:54)
I feel like most early on fundraisers would be like, All right, the easiest thing would be to just reach out to those major major donors and be like, A little more, please. But you actually what you did was create a model that could scale this in the future. So now you've done the hard work of getting these people on board, as long as you're stewarding them well. That's like

Actually how you sustain a future for a non profit.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (06:15)
Yep. And it's even better. It goes deeper than that. You're you're spot on, but it goes deeper than that. Not only that, but like my staff. Like

Kimberly Bottom (06:21)
Yeah.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (06:21)
I had two, like I had a mid-level gift officer and they'd be on the team for two years. And again, think about the numbers and the metrics. 250 face-to-face visits each year. 50% of them contribute. So 125 donors in that first year, another 125 donors that second year. Then I promote that mid-level gift officer to a major gift officer and take

those 250 donors.

And put them in their portfolio. So it's really relationship driven. We're not just

hiring a major gift officer and saying, Hey, here's a portfolio, go build a relationship with all these random people. It was already there.

my mission moment of last year, and it was very spot on. one of those individuals that I've known, he's my age. I saw him at an event, and he's like, he said his name's Jason. he sat me down, he was like, Hey, you don't remember this story, but I'll tell it to you. And he's like, and he's still working with our our the our fraternity foundation on the as a volunteer. He's like, Twenty some years ago, you asked me to give, and I said no.

And you know, on the spot and everything else. And now and you did what every good fundraiser does. And it's the Starbucks rule. Remember, is like, hey, could you donate a Starbucks? And I went and I pivoted with him and I was like, you know, do you drink beer with your fraternity brothers? And because we were at a fraternity event, he's Yeah, I was like, would you donate five dollars a month and give up a beer a month? And he's like, Yeah, I can do that. Then he's like, the next year you called me and said, Will you do $10 a month? And the next year you called me and you say, Would you do $20 a month?

And I did this. And I can I can remember parts of it. He's like, Eric, I have just passed $150,000 lifetime giving to the foundation.

Kimberly Bottom (07:55)
Wow.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (07:56)
It started with the $5 gift. And that's where I love where his brain is, because he's on the board for this foundation. And

Kimberly Bottom (08:04)
Yeah.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (08:04)
it's not just year-over-year budgeting, year over year numbers and everything else. He sees the lifetime value of our donors and how you have to plant a seed to grow a tree.

to s like sit so to to put like have success in the organization. And I think to me that still gives me chills every time I think about that story. And it's how many people do we touch, you know, of the two hundred and fifty people in a year, fifty percent of them said no. But they may have given somewhere else, you know, and somewhere el in later down line. They just said no right there.

Kimberly Bottom (08:34)
Yeah, the butterfly effect, right? It might not have in the moment been a big splash, but it will create waves for the future. my gosh. Love that. Chills over here as well. That's a such a meaningful mission moment. okay. You've gotta tell me about this time that a donor pulled a gun on you. I'm sorry, what Okay.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (08:50)
Yeah, no, it wasn't pulled a gun on me, but like I

always had a thing where I would visit them wherever they wanted to. And I still

and I remember I'm he's he was in West Virginia and I don't wanna say anything about my that's where my wife was born. I love the state of West Virginia. But it was sitting at his desk and literally there's a handgun sitting and pointing directly at me on his desk. And going in and I was you know, I'm a son of a cop and immediately I was like I

I'm okay with guns. I understand them. I know how the rules and everything else. And I said to him, I was like, Do you mind putting that away?

Kimberly Bottom (09:24)
Yeah.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (09:24)
He's like, Well, it's unloaded. I was like, Cool. Can we put that away? And

Kimberly Bottom (09:27)
Yeah.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (09:30)
he would he wouldn't. And then I said, Do you mind turning it around? So it went

Kimberly Bottom (09:34)
Yeah.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (09:34)
to him instead.

Kimberly Bottom (09:36)
At the very least, right? I'm

like what do you feel like that was a strategy move for intimidating people coming in his office? I'm confused.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (09:43)
You

he was the o and he was the only individual this is pre like tech, right? Where we have all these opportunities. I always take my notebook with me and I would ask every single donor prospect, Do you mind if I take notes? 'Cause I okay I have no good memory, so I had to write all these different things. And he was one of the few that said, No, I don't want you to take any notes. And I was like, Huh. But he donated, fantastic gentleman, everything else. But once you get over that, it was like one of those moments where you just had to like

Check it out. Check each other.

Kimberly Bottom (10:14)
Right. Well, I mean, I guess that's the thing that gosh, you don't even think about when you're reaching as many people as you've reached five thousand face to face visits. It's a lot of personalities in there. You can't be able to be a chameleon, yeah.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (10:24)
Very much.

Yeah. Well, and you that's very true. You had to like mirror the person. You have to understand how they operate. You know, I got to the point where even when you're sitting down having a meal, you know when to eat and what when to pick up the forks and how and when to talk and when like how you don't want to be too aggressive or too domicile, but it's just that middle ground of being being firm without being aggressive or assertive.

Kimberly Bottom (10:48)
Yeah, and I I love the mirroring principle. I ha I always had an old news producer who said like the cleanliness of the newscast and the attention that we take, it makes somebody like ours better and they don't even know why. Like I feel like that's kind of like when you can curate that experience for a donor or for somebody, it makes them feel seen and heard and appreciated and they might not even realize the psychology behind it, but it's such a skill to develop as a fundraiser

Last one, 'cause I have to know what this means. You said something about a woman with a shoe. What what are we

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (11:15)
yeah. Well

and it's like knowing your community. Like so I selfishly I ha had this rule of wherever I would do donor visits, I love and it's awkward and I get it, but I love meeting donors in a hotel lobby because everybody knows where the Marriott is. It's easy, it's free parking, clean restroom, free Wi Fi. I if I can meet in the lobby, it's usually free coffee or something, some type of beverage. No wait staff is gonna wait interrupt

Kimberly Bottom (11:40)
What a happened.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (11:42)
me in the middle of my donor visit. Like

Everything about it. Where it gets awkward is when a man asks a female to visit in a hotel lobby. that's the challenge, but

Kimberly Bottom (11:52)
So yeah.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (11:54)
that's where the openness was like just being open and frank and saying everything else. But I remember this one woman, professional person and everything else, and I was visiting with her, and I saw her walking toward me. She's an attorney. I remember the being her being an attorney, and all I did was text my wife, Red soles.

And my wife because I don't know. I like this is where you have to know your community. And my wife immediately wrote back, Ask high. Immediately. It's like

Kimberly Bottom (12:23)
Your wife is so smart.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (12:25)
the what is it, the Louboutin shoes or something? Yeah.

Kimberly Bottom (12:27)
louboutin yeah, Christian Louboutin

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (12:29)
She donated fifty thousand dollars right on the spot. And it's just like knowing what we know in the database, what we know, but going into the wealth screening, going into the prospect research, going into all those different things, doesn't really matter, right? Like

It does, but it's it's everything else.

They all have different processes and perspectives and stories and messaging and imp issues where you gotta be a counselor every once in a while. That's like a webinar in itself. but the thing that also just stays with me is every single donor has walked me to the door, walked me to the elevator, walked me to the car, walked me to the

Because they're excited. Like they're literally giving you a check and they're like, I'm so passionate about your organization that you're serving and they want to give you more and support you and y and and the your organization. So yeah, I just love I think our community is awesome. I think the owners are awesome and just, you know, the way they operate. So

Kimberly Bottom (13:21)
I think Erik that might be a little bit of undue credit for yourself because the the reason they're excited is because you're a great communicator. Like I don't feel like every

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (13:28)
Good storage. I think that's it. Yep.

Kimberly Bottom (13:30)
single fundraiser might get that experience. And the fact that every donor has walked into the door means that you are you're doing your calling, my friend.

So I'm so glad that you're in this profession, not only driving real change for organizations, but also like setting the example for people to to move forward in fundraising. Because if you were

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (13:47)
You're the best.

Kimberly Bottom (13:48)
doing something else, the world would be at a loss, my friend. I'm so glad that you're here with us.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (13:53)
It's a community. We're all in it together. Yeah. Heck yeah.

Kimberly Bottom (13:56)
Well, two community people in the same room. I can agree with that very much. Well, thank

you for taking the time again while you're on the road for a conference on top of your ironing board standing desk. Joining us today, it really, really means the world to me that you make time for us to share these stories because we are a little bit less connected nowadays, even with the the endless connection on these devices. I feel like these stories just bring us together and make us remember why we do what we do. So thank you for your time, my friend.

Erik Tomalis (Avid) (14:23)
Thanks

for creating this. This is fantastic.

Kimberly Bottom (14:25)
Of course, of course. All right. For everybody listening, you know the drill. This is your weekly reminder to hydrate and practice self-care. Very important, right? And if it helps and you want to submit your own diary entry and be featured on the podcast, there is a link in the description. I would love to have a chat with you. So until next time, take care everybody. We'll see you on the next episode.