Fundraising

Fundraising Tremors

This week has been a busy one for those in the professional fundraising crowd.  The Association of Fundraising Professionals held their annual conference which I followed on Twitter using #afpmeet.  There are some great links, resources and videos if you search using this hashtag.  Additionally, in the April 8th issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy you can find the annual Fund-Raising Services Guide title, Keeping Donors Loyal in Tough Time.  A couple bullet points from the insert that I found to be most helpful.

   * Ask donors for advice- it makes them feel involved and valued.
   * Focus on the most-loyal donors, and give them more attention.
   * Be specific in thank-you notes about the results of donors’ gifts.
   * Donors want accountability along with thank-yous.

Some resources from the AFP conference include:

The Nonprofit Times put a series of videos online from the Association of Fundraising Professionals conference.


The Chronicle of Philanthropy created a Conference Notebook that they updated throughout the event.  An entry entitled, What Makes Donors Give: A New Study Offers Clues was fascinating.


And lastly, here are a couple of of interesting tweets from the conference:


AmyBlogTalk: #afpmeet Archbishop Tutu philanthropy is the opposite of selfishness #Cinch: http://bit.ly/bapzYB

gonnagetthere: #afpmeet “You cannot separate fundraising from leadership anymore” Karla Williams Session on NPO Leadership Models (via @TammyZonker) Amen!

ToDiFor: 66 percent of high wealth donors said they quit giving because they did not feel connected any longer #afpmeet

BTalisman: RESOURCE: #nfp Posted links to handouts, info etc from #10ntc and #afpmeet http://bit.ly/c8KNc7

Beyond Donation to Contribution

I donate to organizations and causes that generally align with my personal values.  I am usually moved because they grab my attention.  The organization is remarkable enough that I take the time to donate.  Many causes fall into this category and most get a donation of some predetermined value.

I contribute to organizations who provide me a chance to engage and interact.  A staff member calls to ask for advice.  I attend an event and suggest a resource to enhance the program’s effectiveness.  I communicate with a board member who helps keep me advised on the enterprise’s focus.  I serve on a task force.  I bring the organization ideas and feel the resources are considered.  I am able to use my talents on behalf of the cause.  I understand how I can impact the mission and programs of the organization.


I donate to these organizations also but at a much higher level.  Not only do they receive a financial contribution ten times greater but they get my talents.  I do not have time to contribute to every nonprofit but appreciate the ones that provide the opportunity.


Are you trying to cultivate donors or contributors?  How do you know which approach will most engage an individual?

What Does A Young Donor Value?

Millenial Donors has just released an informative report quantifying the philanthropic preferences of the Millenial generation.  The data provides a unique window into the values of young donors as they consider donating, volunteering, and engaging in the social sector.  A couple key findings include:

  • 91% of Millennial donors are at least somewhat likely to respond to a face-to-face request for money from a nonprofit organization, with 27 percent being highly likely to respond to such a request. Only 8 percent are highly likely to respond to an email request.
  • 55.2% of Millennial donors are likely or highly likely to respond to a specific request or particular project. 55.7% are not likely to respond to a general, non-specific ask.

Find the full report at http://www.millennialdonors.com/.

Feeding the Monster

Do you ever feel that fundraising success breads uncontrollable growth?  A nonprofit organization reaches a certain level of contributed revenue and decides to send their Executive Director onto the road to raise even more money because it is clearly there to be had, or so they have heard.  The Executive Director’s absence means a senior program staff member or administrator needs to assume some of the day-to-day duties, which can be tremendous professional development training for an aspiring Executive Director when done thoughtfully.  Now the Executive Director can only reasonably spend so much time focused on advancement so they implore the Director of Development to increase the staff’s time on the road.  Money is coming in, connections are being made, new networks are being tapped and everyone feels the momentum.  Additional staff are added to cover new regions and handle giving levels that are no longer the domain of the top fundraisers.  Leadership levels once thought unobtainable are created.  The donor database is exploding with entries and a new website is created to encourage online giving to handle the smaller membership contributions.  A new module for the fundraising software priced at twenty-thousand dollars is considered so an even more sophisticated approach can be obtained.  Donors are receiving email blasts, customized letters assuring them that their funds have transformed the cause, links to YouTube videos, invitations to special events and a summary of the planned giving opportunities that they might consider in their estate.  Mailings are outsourced to large distribution centers, marketing has taken on two consultants, the board just added five new members all of whom made transformational gifts in the last six months and the Executive Director is now a platinum frequent flyer member of a hotel and airline company.  The board’s finance committee reviews a draft budget that shows significant increases in administrative costs but the business manager assures them that the revenue they are generating from contributions will clearly be the best return on investment they could ever consider.  Graphs are charted, PowerPoint slides prepared and the board votes in favor of an annual budget that makes last year’s bottom line number look like just a line item in this year’s version.  The cycle continues, spinning faster with over-the-top galas, regional gatherings with donors who have never visited the enterprise’s headquarters and national conference speaking engagements titled “How to Fundraising With Style.”

In reviewing the organization’s strategic plan one sees modest projections about fundraising growth, conservative staff growth and an initiative to enhance the programs the nonprofit already produces.  The Executive Director’s goals speak of doing more with the resources at hand.  There is nothing about the meteoric expansion of revenue and expenses. 

The big questions becomes, is the organization aligned to take advantage of real-time opportunity that fundamentally enhances the enterprise’s orbit or is all of this growth feed the fundraising beast?  Does more money mean more resources and no way of knowing if the organization is really generating meaningful growth.  Or has the sensation of forward movement become an addiction to the point that nobody knows who is at the wheel.  Has the monster taken over driving and has the organization decided to pay his gas bill?

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Getting Attention: You Just Missed Conan O’Brien

Seth Godin makes a compelling argument in his book Linchpin that attention is one of the most valuable resources.  With so many entities vying to be noticed it is hard to be seen.  The classic nonprofit refrain is, “we are the best kept secret in town.”  

I am encouraging organizations to think beyond just fundraising when they discuss the development and advancement activities of their organization.  In the same way that corporations link their philanthropic activities with a marketing plan, I think social enterprise organizations need to consider the same tactic with a slight twist.  

Possible scenario.  Conan O’Brien is on Twitter.  He has over a half-million followers and he just started following one person nineteen hours ago.  His tweet reads:

“I’ve decided to follow someone at random. She likes peanut butter and gummy dinosaurs. Sarah Killen, your life is about to change.

Imagine if this first follow had been your cause?  In 140 characters he would have drawn the spotlight onto your enterprise.  Imagine the fun you could have had with this opportunity.  I see an invitation to visit, a parade, a gold plated key, honorary membership, and a YouTube video going viral.  Without asking for a dollar this is a pre-built marketing campaign.

Okay, we all missed the opportunity with Conan.  But who is your organization connected to that might have the ability to bring authenticity and  attention to your cause.  Is there a graduate of your program with 5,000 followers on Facebook?  Does a volunteer’s spouse write a blog with five hundred readers a day?  Is there a film-maker in your midst?  Perhaps none of these individuals would show-up on a screening of potential donor capacity.  But each one is an artists and has a craft to share.  They offer a different philanthropic talent, a chance to move your organization into the center ring of a circus with four thousand other acts competing for attention.


Who do you know?  Do you really know all their talents?  Are you concentrating on the right people and screening for the right treasure?  What could an artist do for your cause?   Consider what one unemployed celebrity did in one tweet.

Raising the Stakes

Simple reminder last week.  I was checking-out after getting a much needed haircut.  The receptionist asked if I wanted to leave a gratuity and I said, “five dollars.”  The woman next to me had just said “five dollars” in response to the same question.  She glanced at me and then changed her mind and said, “make it ten.”  I am not sure if my gratuity influenced her or if she realized my simple haircut on a receding hairline probably cost less than hers.

One of the reasons nonprofit organizations rely on gala fundraisers is that peer pressure adds to their success.  When the auctioneer asks for all the participants to raise their paddle to ‘fund-a-need’ it is hard not to participate.  When everyone at your table is bidding it is hard not to get caught in the moment.  It takes energy to drop-out of bidding for a live auction lot if a spotlight is shining on you.

Most capital campaign fundraising strategy is sequenced.  You start with donor A.  If donor A gives you go to his or her friend donor B and leverage donor A’s gift.  Sometimes you will even take Donor A and B with you to visit the elusive donor C who may make a bigger gift than A and B combined.  If you asked donor C for a gift with no momentum and having not tapped the network of friends you may have never been successful in setting-up a meeting.

Momentum and relationships are important factors in influencing success for your cause.  What can you do to enhance your existing relationships?

 

How to recognize your team and raise money

Thanks to Holderness School in beautiful Plymouth, NH for this creative faculty recognition and fundraising idea.  Instead of a live auction over Parent’s Weekend, the school held a raffle with twelve items.  Most of the raffle items were weekends at ski resorts, tickets to a Boston Red Sox game or lodging for graduation weekend.  Parents, students, faculty, trustees and friends could buy raffle tickets online and distribute them as they wished into the virtual raffle buckets.  The most popular item was a get-away weekend in Sugarbush, VT.  The catch was the winner had to select a member of the staff (at the time of purchasing the tickets) to receive the award.  For example, a parent purchases the tickets, put them in the Staff Get-Away prize, names there student’s History teacher as the recipient and should the parent win the History teacher receives the Faculty Get-Away package.  The house in Sugarbush sleeps 12 so the faculty member can invite friends and colleagues should they wish.


I think this is brilliant for a variety of reasons.  This particular raffle prize honors the staff and faculty.  The “winner” of raffle immediately passes the gift along to the teacher they named.  The faculty member gets an unexpected weekend vacation.  It builds a sense of community, much like a young child with a bunch of balloons walking along handing them out one at a time to strangers.  At the end of the event, the Get-Away raffle package received the most raffle tickets, meaning this item alone was a major revenue generator for the school.

How can you honor and reward your professional team in creative ways?  Can you create a scheme where the organization, donor and staff all win at the same time?  Does you reward program enhance your organization’s values?  Is it expected or unexpected?  What has been successful for you?

Specialist vs. Generalist

Specialists are experts in a very specific area.  Specialist can wax an Olympian’s skis to run .01 faster, enough to win a gold medal.  Doctors specialize, you have a pediatric anesthesiologist in surgery as opposed to just a general anesthesiologist.  A travel agent can customize a vacation on cruise line in the Caribbean that best fits a client who uses a wheelchair. 


Generalist have a level of comprehension that covers a wide range of information.  According to Wikipedia, a generalist species may survive in a wide variety of environmental conditions.  Generalist are small town doctors who are miles from the big city hospital and must handle whatever walks into their clinic.


The world appears to be headed towards developing more specialists in the years to come. Have you seen nonprofit fundraisers specializing in annual fund, capital campaigns, planned giving, alumni relations, major gifts, leadership donors?  Look in the Chronicle of Philanthropy classified section and you can see the diverse requirements and specializations within the field of Development and Advancement.


Nonprofit boards are being made-up of more specialists.  The matrix many boards use for selecting new board members includes professional skills such as accountant, attorney, builder/architect, business owner, technology, human resources.  These are tremendous skill and clearly add value to the expertise of the board.  Rarely do you see the matrix list the attribute of ‘generalist’.  Who has the expertise to manage all the specialist information and mold it into a format from which a board can make the best decision?  Who has the vision that considers as many of the opinions and views before reaching a conclusion?


In the coming years, I believe generalist, an individual with the ability to think strategically and globally will become a specialist.  The available pool of generalist is being reduced every year as more individuals train to develop technical skills.


How does your enterprise balance the specialists and generalists?  Do you have the specialists necessary to tackle the details?  Do you have a generalist to bring the conversation back to 30,000 feet if necessary?

Checklists

Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande is a great reminder of how a simple approach builds long term performance and consistency.  Although the checklists reviewed by the author were developed and tested in the medical world with an aim at reducing infections and deaths the tactic is applicable far beyond the ICU.  The application of a checklist strategy to business and nonprofit worlds are evident and meaningful.  When preparing for a consulting engagement I often use a checklist to outline the client’s outcomes and manage the process.  Although it feels a bit like baby-steps it helps reduce the number of times a board retreat tries to do a 180 in the middle of the day because I missed the client’s intended outcome.  Why re-invent the wheel every time you appoint a new Chair for your organization’s largest fundraiser.  Imagine how much easier it would be to recruit a new volunteer to lead your next major event if there was clarity about the role and a template to follow.  Another opportunity exists with the orientation of new board members.  Many new board members take a couple meetings to get up to speed and begin contributing to the board’s deliberation.  Does a document exist within your organization to get the newest members involved more rapidly and effectively?  A few examples of unique checklists:

  • An outgoing Board Chair leaving a checklist for the incoming Board Chair.  The checklist outlines some basic strategies for general responsiblities over the course of the coming year.  Illustrations from the list: meet with each board member individually twice a year to hear their needs and thoughts; hold an annual gathering with the Advisory Council.
  • Board nominating procedures.  Have a checklist for the process that starts with identifying new board members and continues from cultivation to nomination.  Few boards have a wait-list of potential new board members and therefore the process is best not left for the last minute when it appears unprofessional and the pool of potential new board members may not be as anticipated.
  • Assessment of the CEO should be a consistent and transparent process.  How un-nerving for a CEO or Board Chair if the proceedure needs to be recreated each year or is only considered when a problem exists.
  • Roles of the board.  Give a checklist to each board member and allow them to mark the responsibilities as they accomplish them:  80% attendance of board meeting, Annual Fund contribution, serve on one committee or task force, attend three programs, advocate for the enterprise in a peer or business circle, write thank notes to 20 donors… the list is customized to your organization’s greatest needs but the steps are clear.



I have encouraged clients to take a few moments to design a simple checklist for some element of their organization that is critical but deemed reasonably simple.  One enterprise created a checklist for reviewing the financial statement during a board meeting.  Initially, only a few board member really knew what they were looking at during the report.  Now the Finance Chair walks step-by-step through the reports and everyone at the meeting understands the information and can truly fulfill their responsibility as a fiduciary.


What checklist might be most meaningful to your organization?  How would it change your organization’s effectiveness if you got the process correct almost every time?

Nonprofit Concierge

I recently had an opportunity to visit with the nonprofit conservation group, Scenic Hudson in Poughkeepsie, NY. This is a tremendous enterprise focused on the preserving key land in the Hudson River Valley. One of the pleasures of the visit was the tremendous thought that had been put into planning the tour. As we reached each site a Scenic Hudson staff member or key leader from a partnering conservation group was waiting to give a brief tour of the specific project. I mentioned to the Executive Director that I felt as if I was part of a bank heist since we switched vehicles and pick-up drivers repeatedly to expedite our travels.

The lasting impressions from the visit:

* Gained a wonderful appreciation for the programs and priorities of Scenic Hudson. Connected with 4 staff members, 1 board member, 2 volunteers, and 1 strategic partner.
* Explored 4 different projects on foot and drove past countless others. Stood at key viewpoints and was able to see property that Scenic Hudson had deemed classified as critical.
* My time and hopefully Scenic Hudson’s resources were used effectively (and efficiently). And I made an online donation on the train ride back to NYC.

The epiphany that I believe would serve numerous social sector causes is to think of yourself more like a concierge. How can you customize a meaningful experience for individual advocates or donors? What would be a great use of your limited resources and the guests time? How do you orchestrate an experience that would be so memorable that your guest could be reminded of the event and immediately be transported back to a powerful memory? If you selected 5-10 individuals to focus on, what might be your organization’s return on this type of investment? What would you like a Mayor, foundation president, celebrity, journalist, or prospective board member to experience?