Looking for volunteers that are motivated?  Perhaps stuffing gift bags for the upcoming gala is not the highest use of your generous volunteer’s skills, the one who happens to be a CPA and could provide assistance to your enterprise with a pending balance sheet project.  How are you engaging the architect, school teacher, warehouse manger, or author who are fans of your cause?  There is no prefect model.  Each person requires being treated and engaged differently- which makes developing a genuine volunteering relationship so time consuming and challenging.  But given the chance to have 15 highly capable individuals providing essential focused tasked versus 100 people running an assembly line production, I think one can make a reasonable argument for engaging the 15 individuals and their talents.


Organizations like Catchafire.org are focused on finding the ideal pairing of mission related work with individual expertise.  One blogger referred to Cathafire as the eHarmony of the volunteer network.

Words of Change
It’s a lot easier for an organization to adopt new words than it is to actually change anything.
 When you look at your current strategic or long range plan and compare it to your last version, did your cause create real change or simple wordsmith concepts from the past?  It is exciting to talk about striking out into the wilderness and journey towards a significant landmark.  It is another thing to sleep alone in the middle of a forest and listen to strange sounds outside your tent.  If you are not experiencing moments that jolt you from the day-to-day routine, you may not be on the journey you wrote about.  Real change takes more than words.

No Coupons Needed

What is the value of withholding a benefit from a customer or member of your enterprise because they do not have the appropriate coupon?  An offer is extended to those who have a pre-existing relationship with an organization and then the success of the transaction hinges on a the client having the action code at their immediate disposal when they are ready to interact with your cause.  Frustration and dissappointment are always present when any part of the system falters.  Why not extend the offer and opportunity to anyone who meets a specific criteria?

Costco allows only members to shop in its warehouse.  Then why not extend the discount on an item to anyone who purchases the product within the determined time frame and quantity.  Perhaps Costco’s motivation revolves around hoping not everyone will redeem the coupon and their business model is focused on acting like a commodity instead of building a relationship with its customers.

The next time you offer a buy one ticket get another for free promotion, try designing the entry point to be simple.  If you are sending out usernames and passwords (that can be distributed to non-members and friends in an instant), consider setting clear parameters and letting your community engage with you immediately. 

In and age of Groupons, Woots and livingsocial offers, the competition for easy-to-use discounts are ubiquitous.  It is incumbent on us to provide a transparent and efficient process.  Engage, do not enrage your customers and fans.

The Ultimate Live Auction Item?

If you hold a fundraising gala with an auction component invariably you encounter unique items that are difficult to value.  Common examples include fine bottles of wine, a vehicle, or luxury trip.  All seem like solid winners at first glance.  What could go wrong?  Imagine three magnums of library wine worth $5,000 being auctioned for $500.  Who makes the call to the winery to share the news.  Or having the winning bidder of the car contact your organization the next day and express their desire to have the car in a different color, additional features added, and delivered many states away.  The luxury trip that includes airfare and a stay in a major European city suddenly consumes days of staff time as they work desperately to book the hotel and flights during the height of tourist season when the winning bidder decides travel during the blackout dates.  Are you going to say ‘no’ to the donor who contributed ten thousand dollars?

A couple questions I have found helpful when evaluating an auction lot that may appeal to a limited market.

  • What is the purpose of the auction?
  • Will the lot help achieve the auction’s purpose?
  • Will the auction item generate buzz or a marketing message that will draw significant attention?  Tickets to the last taping of Oprah’s talk show might make your cause the talk of the state.
  • What does the sponsor/contributor of the auction lot need in return?  Marketing, seats to the auction, personal recognition, a chance to speak at the auction, future business transactions, a guaranteed reserve.
  • Is there a reserve (or cost) to the item?  What will the organization net from the lot?  Is the lot worth having the winning bidder contribute a significant sum for the return on investment (i.e. cause pays $40,000 for a vehicle, winning bid is $55,000, net of $15,000 to the organization)?  Is there a more effective way to raise the same amount of money?
  • If the winning bidder of the unique lot does not participate in bidding on other lots and skips contributing to the fund-a-need, does the organization meet its revenue goal?
  • Are there at least two individuals committed to bidding aggressively on a the lot?  One person can tell you that they are willing to bid to a specific ceiling but without competition they are not going to bid against themselves.
  • Does the organization maintain the resources to manage or leverage the requests for exchanges or refunds?  Do you have the appropriate restrictions listed in the auction catalog and a person of standing who can enforce the fine print?

I had the fortune of being involved with a leading charitable auction that was generously supported by a leading luxury car manufacture.  Each year we would announce that the car you see outside the auction tent is the car you get (insert Robin William’s speech about the three wishes as the Genie in Aladdin, “no exception”).  Within seventy-two hours of the auction each year we would receive a call from the winning bidder asking for assistance in trading or altering the features of the vehicle they had won.  We were in the car business with no automobile showroom experience.

May We Borrow Your Name?

I served an organization that printed a customized letterhead listing by name all the board and advisory council members once a year as part of the annual appeal.  As board members we were asked to put a personal note on the letters addressed to friends or acquaintances.  When a contribution were received, we were asked to follow-up with a written thank you note.

What is the impact of seeing individual names on letterhead?  Does it change your giving patterns?  When we see a celebrity that one identifies with is involved in a cause, does that inspire?  Lance Armstrong’s work with the LIVESTRONG Foundation generates national media attention that might otherwise be challenging for the foundation to create on its own merit.  Does your participation on a board provide certainty to your friends and colleagues that effective work is being performed?  Donor recognition walls are a vehicle to publicly recognize the names that make-up our community of supporters.  They celebrate and memorialize the commitments to a campaign and serve as a lasting endorsement of the cause.

Political campaigns are very effective at collecting the names of those who are willing to endorse a candidate.  Having guidance and recommendations makes the process of voting less complicated.  

Where have you seem the names of those who serve used effectively?  When is putting the names of those closest to the organization a powerful motivator.  When do you want your name used to influence the actions of others?

Trying
Try not.  
Do. 
Or do not.  
There is no try.
                                                     – Yoda    
I am not sure that I completely agree Jedi Master Yoda’s sentiment.  Without trying we would not advance into the liminal space that connects our dreams to reality, however I concur that we are often perceived based on doing or not doing.  Our communities judge our causes based on action.  Few resumes that highlight how hard we have tried successfully land a dream job placement.  Rare is the annual report which successfully reflects on a year of trying as the headline.  We celebrate that which we have achieved and can touch, we acknowledge those ideals not fully formed.  
I watched David Russell’s The Fighter recently.  Without trying there would be less to despair or celebrate at the end of the film.  The connection to the characters in the film are deeper because the audiences witnesses each individual’s battle, both literal and figurative.  Trying is noble and builds a following of dedicated fans but ultimately we must achieve victory or defeat, acknowledge momentum gained or lost, and demonstrate change.
Like steel work on a skyscraper there is a subtle balance between that which is fixed in place (do or do not) and that which is suspended by wire waiting to be attached (trying).  Our progress is measured by the iron that has been secured to the main skeleton.  But we cannot overlook that we marvel at the process.  Each beams hoisted and tethered in the sky despite the odds steel in this form is a highly unlikely candidate for flight.
If we communicate that which we do or do not we provide a sense of certainty, a monument for celebration or memorial for reflection.  It is the narratives behind these tangible structures where the stories take on dimension.  It provides us as individuals with an entry-point for alignment and wonderment.  We can resonate and empathize with the notion of trying even if the ultimate accomplishment outstretches our individual talents.
 Do It! Let's Get Off Our Buts

Like a Fine Bottle of Wine

When one orders a bottle of wine in a finer restaurant there is a well crafted ritual.  A sommelier will pour a taste into the glass of the patron, providing an opportunity to ogle, swirl, sniff, taste, and swallow the varietal.  If the wine is as anticipated then it will be served to the guests.  If there is a problem the sommelier will provide the patron with options.  The process carries a strong level of inherent trust that comes from a tradition.  When done well the presentation is an art form in itself.

I have noticed how easy it is to deliver a service (the bottle of wine) to a customer and consider the transaction complete.  Did we introduce the opportunities to our guest and allow them to pick the appropriate service (introduce the wine list, help orient them and make recommendations)?  Do we help the client get started (show them the label, open the bottle, and pour an initial taste)?  Are we immediately available to gather feedback (awaiting the nod of approval that the wine is as anticipated)?  Have we assembled the resources for others to share in the experience (placed wine glasses with the other guests)?  Are we alert to their needs (check on the patrons enjoyment of the wine and prepared to bring another bottle)?  Are we memorable (do we steam the label off a particularly memorable bottle or provide a patron with the business card of the proprietor of the winery)?  Are we available to join the celebration (be prepared for the guest who wants to pour us a small taste of an especially fine vintage).

Enterprises that treat the services they offer like a fine bottle of wine build loyalty, are memorable for their expertise, raise prices, and break out of the commodity race.


Cheers!
Secrets of the Sommeliers: How to Think and Drink Like the World's Top Wine Professionals 

My Idea

One of the barriers to successful mergers or partnerships is the emotional attachment to the idea. It is challenging to let go of a concept that we raised from the creative incubator and developed into a reality. The arguments for developing a partnership may be compelling.  But is the letting-go of the ownership of an initiative that often keeps an enterprise from transitioning to the next level.  What does not show-up in a Venn diagram is the power of emotion.  Sometimes small considerations that allow for the founder to keep some attachment to the original concept can allow the partnership to progress.