Be Like Brian

If you’re a public media fundraiser, think for a moment about what it takes to raise a million dollars in acquisition revenue. Perhaps it’s a couple of years’ worth of on-air pledge drives. Or some combination of direct mail and digital marketing efforts. Maybe you have a million-dollar events program or a seasoned major gifts team identifying prospects and cultivating them during luncheons, station visits and formal galas.

Now, think about raising that revenue by yourself. On foot. One step, one door knock and one conversation at a time. And just to make it interesting, now consider doing all of that that in the dark, in the middle of a cold New England winter.

Welcome to the world of the door-to-door canvasser.

It’s hard to imagine a more challenging way to raise a thousand dollars, let alone a million. I think you’ll agree that canvassing isn’t a job for the faint of heart.

Well, GBH in Boston is fortunate enough to have a canvassing fundraiser on their team that has taken on the region’s toughest conditions and found fundraising success. His name is Brian McMahon, and although he’s modest and unassuming in his daily life, as a door-to-door canvasser, simply put, he’s a rock star. In fact, he’s the most successful canvasser in the history of CDP’s canvassing program. Full stop.

Thanks to his effort and unrelenting dedication, Brian has single-handedly acquired a staggering 10,000 donors and added nearly $1.1 million in revenue for GBH’s local public service mission.

And if you think that’s impressive, consider this: to reach this historic milestone, Brian has endured every conceivable weather condition, knocked on more than 100,000 doors and had over 50,000 conversations. Fifty. Thousand. Conversations.

Oh, and to do all of that, he’s covered enough miles on foot to walk around the moon. Twice.

And he’s done it all in the name of public media.

“Brian’s efforts over the years have been nothing short of astounding. The contributions that he has made to GBH’s membership have shown that canvassing is another important strategy that can make a measurable difference to a station’s program,” says Suzanne Zellner, GBH’s VP for Corporate Sponsorship and Membership. “Brian has had tremendous success driving canvassing revenue and is a truly unique individual. He has been with the team since its inception and has been part of its evolution, making GBH canvassing a more successful operation each year.”

Fundraising is full of metrics, and canvassing is no exception. I could go into detail about Brian’s stellar conversion rate, his revenue-per-shift stats or the number of highly retainable Sustainers he’s enlisted in support of GBH (hint: it’s a LOT), but that wouldn’t tell the whole story.

Because the one thing we don’t measure is heart. And Brian has plenty of it.

He serves as an inspiration to others on the GBH canvassing team, and, in turn, the performance of the Boston office inspires other canvassing offices across the system. The result? Near-record-breaking results for CDP’s canvassing program, even in the midst of a pandemic.

Talk about impact.

And despite being one of our longest-serving canvassers, Brian shows no signs of slowing. He is purpose-driven and tireless. Even when the days are short, the weather unpleasant and the odds for success don’t look promising, Brian heads out, his passion for public media and his motivation intact. He heads out, and he makes it happen.

The CDP team has dubbed Brian “The Million Dollar McMahon,” and while he’ll probably be embarrassed by the attention, there are lessons here for all of us.

Be tireless in pursuit of success, even when it’s not easy.

Be ready to bounce back when someone tells you no.

Be passionate about your mission.

In short: Be like Brian.