Category: Financing & Loans

Last week I ended with the thought that a good reason to work with a consultant is to help you avoid disaster. Considering that, here are a few more reasons you might want to talk with a development/fundraising consultant.

When you want/need to dramatically increase your fundraising goals.
Too many nonprofits, wanting to expand their services, arbitrarily
increase their fundraising goals … without first determining if the
new goal is attainable.

A fundraising goal is determined by a number of factors, and a
development consultant can help you identify and evaluate all those
elements – so that you don’t adopt a goal that’s unattainable. Not
reaching fundraising goals “tells” your constituency that you don’t
have the support of the community, and/or that you are poor planners
… and shouldn’t be running a nonprofit.

No one wants to support an organization that’s perceived as a loser!

When you’re in need of, but don’t have effective volunteer fundraising leaders.
Too often nonprofit board members decide that they don’t/shouldn’t have
a role in the fundraising process … except to tell staff how much money
they have to raise.

A consultant might be able to help you identify/cultivate/train a cadre of
(non-board) volunteers who would care enough about your organization
and its mission, and would recognize how they could benefit, to want to
help you obtain the funding you need.

======================================
Have you heard about The Fundraising Series of ebooks?
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive.
========================================

When you have the finances to pay the consultant.
An organization cannot even consider engaging a consultant if it doesn’t
have sufficient funding to cover a long enough period of time to allow the
consultant to determine what actions/activities will support the nonprofit
in pursuing/attaining its goals, and to work with organizational leaders to
implement those actions/activities.

When you have and will take the time to work with the consultant.
Too many NPOs hire a consultant, get the consultant’s report, then put the
report on a shelf – with the intention of implementing its recommendations
“when they get the money.” What a waste !!

If board members and/or staff can’t or won’t take the time to work with an
objective outsider, then don’t waste your time and your organization’s money.

When you need a mentor, someone who can help you grow in your leadership/development position.

When you want to make a point with your board members and/or executive director and need to have them hear it from an outsider.
It’s weird that, so often, a board (or executive director) will “listen” to the
same recommendations from a consultant that staff has been suggesting
for years !!

Need some other reasons?

Consultants are (should be) the folks who have been there and done that. So, when you aren’t sure, talk to a number of consultants … to find the one with whom you are the most comfortable, and who matches your needs and those of your organization.

And, remember, an ethical consultant will first chat with you about your situation and suggest whether s/he can help; and, if s/he can, will only work with you on a fee basis – never a commission or percentage.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Next Week is Part III of the Use of Checklists
to increase your likelihood of success in the
Combined Federal Campaign.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating
or expanding your fundraising program?
AskHank
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you heard about
The Fundraising Series of ebooks?
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99-$4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page.

The need to engage a Development/Fundraising consultant depends not only on whether or not your organization already has the specific expertise it needs; but, also, if an outside perspective is needed to help you identify your strengths and/or weaknesses, or if an outsider is needed to help you break up your internal logjam … and get things moving.

This is the first in a two-part series addressing the questions of when and why to engage a fundraising consultant. Please note, fundraising consultants are not fund-raisers – they don’t (shouldn’t) do “it” for you.

Consultants can teach you how to do “it.” They can help you design the process to make “it” happen. They can coach you while you’re making “it” happen. They can work with you to help you make it happen. They can (in the proper circumstances) go with you when you’re making “it” happen. They can suggest changes in how you do “it,” and in how you think about doing “it.”

But a good consultant knows that s/he is not the best person to be asking your (potential) donors for gifts. The consultant is an outsider, and outsiders cannot be as effective in making “it” happen as can be committed insiders.

You should consider hiring a consultant:

When you want to know if your fundraising program is as effective as it could be.
It’s sometimes called a fundraising audit, and the essence of the
process is that you get an objective outsider – with the appropriate
background and experience – to take a look at your fundraising
programs, and provide you with a report of his/her findings. Said
report should include observations, comments and recommendations
on what you’re doing right, as well as what you could be doing more
effectively.

When you are thinking about or are desirous of implementing a new (type of) development program.
Once in a while someone might ask why you aren’t doing what that
other nonprofit is doing, or why don’t you try this great fundraising
program that they’ve heard stories about. Asking those questions
is good; but, leaping into a new program without sufficient information
expertise and funding can be disastrous.

The right consultant can help you determine if you’re ready to take
that leap, or if there’s specific information, expertise and budgeting
you’d have to acquire first.

When you think there might be a need for a capital campaign in your organization’s future.
Much has been written about readiness and preparation for a capital
campaign (Book Five in The Fundraising Series – Capital Campaigns),
so I’ll try not to repeat a lot of what’s been said so many times before.

Except that … “A capital campaign can not only be a great fundraising
and leadership generating process, but it can also be the riskiest step
any organization could take.”

Considering that, and the need to begin the capital campaign “process”
years before you actually start soliciting campaign contributions, the
right consultant can help you determine if such an effort could be
successful, and what you’d have to do to be sure that it is. Keep in
mind, no organization can afford to risk a failure … the consequences
could be disastrous.

There’s that word (disastrous) again. So, one reason to engage
a consultant is to help you avoid disaster.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Next week we continue with our discussion of when
you might want to hire a fundraising/development consultant
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating
or expanding your fundraising program?
AskHank
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you heard about
The Fundraising Series of ebooks?
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99-$4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page.

1. Your Bequest Program: It’s Easy Getting Started by John Elbare, CFP

The simple bequest, which is a charitable gift in a donor’s will (or living trust), still accounts for most planned gifts. Bequest marketing should be a part of every fund raising program. Simple marketing messages can reap huge future revenues for your organization.

All of your loyal donors are good prospects for a bequest. Let them know that you are interested in gifts by will. The idea of arranging a bequest simply does not occur to most people. Provide them with a steady stream of reminders.

Put your bequest reminder in all of your communications. The message is simple: Please remember us in your will. Include that tag line on your stationery and your donation receipts. Make sure every newsletter contains a brief article or simple display ad about leaving a bequest. Add basic information on bequests to your website.

Let your donors know how important bequests are to your mission. Use testimonials and stories from people who have already arranged bequests … telling why they did it. Emphasize the idea of endowment. Many people like the idea of leaving their bequest to an endowment fund that will support your organization long after they are gone.

Prepare a simple fact sheet that tells your donors how to arrange a bequest. Make sure you include your organization’s exact legal name, address and tax ID number, so their lawyers can write the bequest correctly. Improperly worded bequests can cause major headaches during probate, when it’s too late to correct your organization’s name..

Use every opportunity to get your fact sheet to your donors. Offer it in your newsletter and on your website. Include a check-off box on your donation envelopes, that says “Please send me information about arranging a charitable bequest.” And, always carry a few copies when you visit with your donors.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
John Elbare, CFP, has spent the last 30 years helping non-profits
raise more money through large, planned gifts.
He shows them how to add an effective planned giving
strategy to their current fund raising effort
without a lot of extra expense or staff.
You can contact him at John Elbare, CFP.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

2. Being Quick and Genuine with Your Thanks To Donors by Tony Poderis

Thanking donors seems like something so basic that we shouldn’t even have to talk about it. But more mistakes, with more devastating results for donor loyalty, are made in the thanking of donors than anyplace else.

So, let’s go over six, absolutely essential rules for saying, “Thank you.”

— Thank A Donor Immediately. Send a thank-you note for a gift no later than the day after the gift is received. Nothing is more important than a prompt thank-you.

— Be Humble. Don’t act as if or communicate the thought that you were expecting the gift as something that was the donor’s responsibility to do.

— Praise The Donor’s Generosity. Do not stint. Let the donor know how important the gift is. You met goal; You are on your way to meeting the goal; Their gift is among others which set a new record for donors contributing.

— Praise Your Donor’s Leadership. Anyone who gives is a leader and should be treated as such, and call attention to the fact that their gift will influence others to give. This is important as a way to let the donor know that your cause is worthy and attractive when they see/know of the endorsements of others.

— Thank Your Donors For Past Support. When you receive today’s gift remind the donor how appreciative you are of past support, but do not talk about future support. Do not say thanks out of one side of your mouth and hint at future requests out of the other. Some organizations I know actually send along with their thank you for a donation received, yet another gift return envelope – that’s a bad practice.

— And finally, Never Let A Hint Of Disappointment Show. Never, ever show a lack of gratitude for a gift, whatever its size. Never make mention that the gift was lower than that which they had given previously. Chances are they had a very good reason for the reduction, something which could be troublesome to them. Don’t make them even more uncomfortable by reminding them.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have a question or comment about the above posting?
You can Ask Tony.
There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website:
Raise-Funds.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you would like to comment/expand on either of the above postings, or would just like to offer your thoughts on those subjects, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page.

In January 2009, a US Airways jet taking off from LaGuardia airport jet hit a flock of geese 3 minutes after takeoff and immediately lost power in all engines.

With two minutes of altitude left, Captain Sully and his crew reached for their checklists dealing with loss of engine power and emergency landings; and, in what is now known as the “Miracle on the Hudson,” safely executed an emergency “landing” on the Hudson River.

This is a great example of bravery, coolness under pressure, flawless execution, maybe divine intervention (I’ll leave that up to you), and a least a little good luck. It is also an outstanding example of preparedness.

Where it’s obvious that the crew was prepared, the question here is, “What does all that have to do with your non-profit?”

Three weeks ago, I introduced the idea of checklists as an extremely valuable tool that can be used for your non-profit’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) fundraising effort.

Checklists are valuable, in and of themselves, and in certain occupations – flying, medicine, scuba diving, they can be, literally, life-saving….

In other arenas, such as the building industry, well designed checklists and processes can save millions of dollars, by avoiding mistakes before they happen.

As Dr. Gawande explained: “…the volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our individual ability to deliver its benefits correctly, safely or reliably.”

So what are the benefits to a non-profit of using checklists?

There are three key points that I want to share with you, two directly from the book, and my analysis of what industry is most similar to the non-profit industry.

The first consideration is that the act of preparing the checklists is as important as the checklists themselves. (A first draft can be done by an experienced member of your CFC action team, it can be done by an experienced staffer, or it can be a great learning/training assignment for someone new to your non-profit or to your team.)

Second, no checklist starts out being perfect. They must all be tested and revised based on experience and actual use.

Third, one of the most valuable techniques available is one used by the building industry, where “double checklists” are now an industry standard. For every project there are two checklists, with the first being the actual Project Checklist, and the second is the Communications Checklist.

As the project steps are completed or problems are noticed and reported, the second checklist specifies what must be communicated to what other involved parties. In the building trades, there are sixteen different types of contractors, plus inspectors, financial reporting requirements, etc. … and everyone must know the current (and pending) status of all elements of the project.

While it may sound surprising at first, I think that the non-profit world is very similar to the construction industry because of the number and variety of different people working within a non-profit: full- and part-time paid staff, volunteers, and members of the board of directors.

In most NPOs, there are three requirements for every task: First, knowing what the task is … that it exists. Second, performing the task. Third, communicating the task’s successful completion to someone. While the “someone” varies, there is almost always a required communication in addition to the task.

In my October 1st posting, I’ll discuss the specific areas for which your CFC Action team should develop needed checklists.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Next Week, another Two-Fer:
A piece on starting an effective Bequest Program, and
A piece on the Importance and Timing of the “Thank You.”
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
During his 25-year career in the Federal sector,
Bill Huddleston, The CFC Coach,
served in many CFC roles. If you want to participate in the Combined Federal
Campaign, maximize your nonprofit’s CFC revenues, or just ask a few questions,
contact Bill Huddleston
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks?
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.”

1. A Love Note From Your Millennials

Dear Boss,

The Internet, The Internet, The Internet.

Love, Your Millennial.

I had a boss who would yell questions at us from his desk chair. Didn’t matter what people were doing, or who was around. If he wanted to know something, he’d just blurt it out and expect an answer.

Now, we, his mostly-Millennial staff, weren’t really bothered by his gregarious personality. But his questions tended to be the type that could be easily answered with a quick internet search. This we found a little annoying.

So, our running-joke response became, “Did you Google it?” Which, of course, he found annoying.

As the first generation to grow up online, Millennials have an internet-first mindset when it comes to communication, problem solving, shopping, you name it. Now, contrast that with the network-first mindset (“Who do I know who can help?”) of many in older generations. These different approaches are a recipe for tension in the workplace.

Well, the internet isn’t going away. As it evolves, so must the business of fundraising. Good leaders will help their organizations adapt and move forward. They will align strategy with mission and talent with strategy. And, given that roughly 40% of their talent will be Millennials, they’ll need to leverage the techy know-how of younger staffers and position them for growth and success.

On the other hand, there are things the internet has not, and never will change about fundraising. A person’s motivation for making a major gift is a great example.

Philanthropy is very personal and very emotional. And at its best and most impactful, it is worked out within the context of relationships: donor to organization, donor to executive director, to volunteer, to development officer, etc.

Building trust relationships takes face-to-face interaction, shared experience, and time. Pretty un-digital stuff. And the best fundraisers I know have been doing it for decades. Millennials must be prepared to learn a lot from these folks.

2. A Few Things That Fundraising Managers Need to Keep in Mind When Working With Tech-Savvy Millennials:

a. Stay open to the possibility that technology has enabled a better way to do something.

Technology has completely changed the game in some areas of fundraising. New research tools have made it easier to find information about prospects; there are more ways to communicate with donors, including texting and social media; and there are new ways to solicit and receive gifts … internet crowd-funding is just one example.

Don’t ignore these trends. The Millennials on your staff certainly aren’t. Why not task one or two of them with investigating and developing recommendations for you?

b. Stay open to learning about that better way from someone younger than you.

According to MTV’s No Collar Worker study on Millennials in the workplace, 76% believe “my boss could learn a lot from me,” and 65% say they could be a technology mentor for older workers.

Perhaps this is nothing more than hubris, but keep in mind that Millennials tend to pair technological know-how with an entrepreneurial spirit. We don’t want to work for organizations stuck in the past and we love the idea of being part of new, innovative solutions.

Engaging Millennial employees in the process (yes, even at the strategic level) will keep them energized. And it will prevent the best ones from jumping ship as soon as the next opportunity comes along.

c. Yes, they’re checking Facebook at work. And it’s not the end of the world.

Millennials are indeed chronic multi-taskers. In an always- connected world, it’s not uncommon for us to text with friends, check our Facebook feeds, and stay on top of the day’s news, all during business hours.

Yes, there are potential productivity issues here (more on this below), but my advice for you is to not go there. If you’re worriedabout how your Millennial employees are spending every minute of their time between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, then you’ve got bigger problems.

When evaluating performance, focus on real, measurable outcomes that matter: dollars raised, prospect visits per month, etc. If your employees are making it happen in these areas, who cares if they’re multi-tasking during business hours? Stay focused on the main objectives and your employees will too.

Millennials, be sure to watch for my posting on October 15,
That one is for you!

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Next week, watch for Bill Huddleston’s second piece on
The Use of Checklists to Ensure Better Outcomes
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

K. Michael Johnson is a major gift officer at a large research university
and the founder of Fearless-Fundraising.com,
where he discusses the inner game of deeper relationships and bigger asks.
You can contact him at K. Michael Johnson.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

1. Four Major Donor-Retention Sins
by Jonathan Howard

You know that the key to net gains and year-to-year growth of your direct mail fundraising lies with your donor retention rate. Helping first time donors become loyal friends can generate as much as an 80 percent return on investment.

That’s a pretty great business model. But few nonprofits get it right. Here are some key reasons why American philanthropy’s donor retention stinks.

Stingy thank-yous. I just sent you money to change kids lives or save the world. Now I want swift assurance that my money is making that important difference. Instead, I get a form letter back, focused on the tax-deductibility of my gift from some mid-level employee in the development office. Often these aren’t even personally signed.

Awkward introductions. I’ve just taken one step into your world. Are you going let me know you’re happy to see me, bring me up to speed on your work and dreams and introduce me to other people I’d find interesting? That’s the job of the friendly welcome package that donors … the “package” they should get within two weeks of their gift. But generally don’t.

News I can’t use. My donation is not a license to bore me with “news” about your meetings and big shots, or just as bad, to give me no news at all. I want to know how you help me be more like the person I want to be: compassionate, effective, wise. Donor communications should be all about the donor, not the organization. The word “you” should appear in every item.

Ineffective asks. Some nonprofits fail at mail because they don’t ask for repeat contributions soon enough or often enough. Others fail because they treat donors like automatic teller machines. Both groups fail because they don’t offer donors good reasons to give again. It’s not “mail” that donors dislike – it’s the lack of sincere respect and regard for them that turns donors off.

The answer isn’t turning off the mail. The answer is using mail to build an honest relationship of head and heart with your recent donors.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jon Howard is Vice President of Cause & Effect, Inc.
He has helped nonprofits develop successful direct response strategies and
effective donor communications for more than 25 years.
Contact Jonathan Howard or
visit the Cause & Effect website
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

2. Make your Grant Proposals More Visually Appealing
by Jayme Sokolow

For better or worse, I have looked at thousands of proposals in my lifetime, both inside and outside the government. Many of them have been visually unappealing. They repel rather than attract readers and are difficult to read. They are uninviting and hence a chore to analyze and evaluate.

This is odd, as the people who put proposals together are often highly intelligent. Perhaps because they are so focused on the content, they ignore the obvious need to make their proposals readable … pleasing to the eye.

We know a great deal about what makes proposals visually appealing. There are ways to avoid giant blocks of plain text without a great deal of effort.

Bryant Freeland has some simple, practical suggestions that we can all follow to visually help separate our proposals from the others:

• Every page should have a graphic, table, or color to get the reader’s attention. A good page template with your organization’s logo and headers and footers can help make each page more inviting. Even text-oriented readers need visual cues. Good graphics, tables, and color increase interest and understanding, especially when they are well-integrated with the text.

• Create heading styles that easily show sections and subsections. Chunks of text should be broken down into manageable sizes for readers.

• Use page breaks and binder tabs to show where sections begin and end.

• Use different font sizes, bold text, and color to highlight important points.

• Use plenty of indented, bulleted and numbered lists to display information and emphasize major points.

These are simple tips, but they will make a big difference in how your proposal appeals to evaluators.

Do not, however, value style over substance. Good grant proposals, regardless of how they look, must demonstrate an understanding of the identified problem, emphasize features and benefits, and present a superior solution to the problem identified in the grant guidelines.

If you can do this and make your proposal visually appealing, you are likely to have a much more competitive application.

Next Week, Watch for a Fascinating piece about
How Fundraising Managers
Can Work Effectively with Millennials

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop
successful proposals to government agencies
Contact Jayme Sokolow..
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Look for Jayme’s ebook on
Finding & Getting Federal Government Grants.
It’s part of
The Fundraising Series of ebooks
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you would like to comment/expand on the either-or-both of the above pieces, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subjects of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.”

Are you feeling overwhelmed?

I think for many of us, that answer is, “Yes” – at least part of the time … or in some aspect of our lives. You’ve probably heard it said that the amount of information a person living in the Middle Ages would have been exposed to in his or her lifetime is equivalent to the amount of information in a single Sunday New York Times !!

And that example is from the 20th century; and now, in the 21st century, the amount of information that we are exposed to daily has increased exponentially. And, with that “overload,” the challenge of being able to filter out unnecessary information and acquire actionable and useful knowledge are even harder.

In my next several posts I will share with you techniques that can help you deal effectively with the amount of information we are all bombarded with every day, and how one particular tool can be very effective with the tasks associated with using the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) to generate one of your non-profit’s streams of revenue.

What is this powerful tool? A checklist, actually multiple checklists, and learning how to create and use checklists for your CFC tasks can have multiple benefits for your CFC action team, and for your whole organization.

The definitive book on the power of checklists is “The Checklist Manifesto, How to Get Things Right” by Atul Gawande, M.D. He is an expert on patient safety in surgery, not just on the development of checklists.

I highly recommend that you read that book, but if you don’t have time to do that, here’s one timesaving technique to (at least) get an idea of his most important points … or those in any book.

Go onto Amazon, read the table of contents, read the excerpts available, and read at least 3 of the positive reviews; and, equally as important – read at least 3 of the negative reviews … which can give you feeling for what others thought might be some points that were not covered as well as they might have been.

I did read the entire book, and the Amazon reviews as well; and, even the “negative ones” are pretty positive.

(By the way, there are more than 500 reviews of the book on Amazon, and since 15-20 reviews is a more typical number it does give you a feel for the fact that many people have found this work of value.)

On September 3rd & 24th, I will cover how the process works, some typical areas for CFC checklists, and how a technique that’s critical to the success of the for-profit sector can be extremely valuable for your non-profit.

One point about checklists, if they are too long or too complex, they don’t work.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Next week, watch for a twofer:
A piece on Direct Mail and Donor Retention, and
A piece on Having Your Grant Proposal Stand Out.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
During his 25-year career in the Federal sector,
Bill Huddleston, The CFC Coach,
served in many CFC roles. If you want to participate in the Combined Federal
Campaign, maximize your nonprofit’s CFC revenues, or just ask a few questions,
contact Bill Huddleston
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks?
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you would like to comment/expand on the the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.”

Please Note: We are in the process of switching from posting half of each of two different articles each week to posting only one piece each week. So, over the next ten weeks, some will be in the old format (two halves) and some will be in the new format.

August 13:

 

Checklists – A Valuable Tool for the Nonprofit – Part I
by Bill Huddleston

Addressing the challenge of being able to filter out unnecessary information and acquire/apply actionable and useful knowledge.

August 20:

 

Four Major Donor-Retention Sins
by Jonathan Howard

The success/growth of your direct mail fundraising program lies with getting those first-timers to keep giving.

August 20:

 

Make your Grant Proposals More Visually Appealing
by Jayme Sokolow

People who put proposals together are often highly intelligent;but, perhaps because they are so focused on content, they ignore the obvious need to make their proposals pleasing to the eye.

August 27:

 

Things That Fundraising Managers Need To Keep In Mind When Working With Millennials
by K. Michael Johnson

Millennials have an internet-first mindset when it comes to communication, problem solving, shopping, you name it. Now, contrast that with the network-first mindset (“Who do I know who can help?”) of many in older generations. These different approaches are a recipe for tension in the workplace.

September 3:

 

Checklists – A Valuable Tool for the Nonprofit – Part II
by Bill Huddleston

Checklists can be lifesavers … literally as well as figuratively … and not just in the world of fundraising.

September 10:

 

Your Bequest Program: It’s Easy Getting Started
by John Elbare, CFP

The simple bequest, which is a charitable gift in a donor’s will (or living trust), still accounts for most planned gifts — and it is the easiest program to implement.

September 10:

 

Being Quick and Genuine with Your Thanks To Donors
by Tony Poderis

Thanking donors seems like something so basic that we shouldn’t even have to talk about it. But more mistakes, with more devastating results for donor loyalty, are made in the thanking of donors than anyplace else.

September 17:

 

When to hire a Fundraising/Development Consultant — Part I
by Hank Lewis

A fundraising consultant can be of great help, not just in providing expertise that your organization would not otherwise have available, but also in getting things said to your board and/or your executive director that can’t/won’t be said by a member of the family.

September 24:

 

When to hire a Fundraising/Development Consultant Part II
by Hank Lewis

There are lots of issues/circumstances that would more easily be resolved with the help of a fundraising/development consultant.

October 1:

 

Checklists – A Valuable Tool for the Nonprofit – Part II
by Bill Huddleston

Making the most of your checklists – improving the likelihood of success in your Combined Federal Campaign enrollment.

October 8:

 

Reason And Emotion In Grant Writing: An Observation
by Tony Poderis

On June 18 & 25, Lynne deLearie wrote about “Reason and Emotion in Grant Proposals. Coincidentally, I’ve recently been involved in some discussions in which some folks were leaning much too far in one direction or the other….

October 15:

 

Tech-Related Advice For My Fellow Millennials
by K. Michael Johnson
In my last post, I shared a few thoughts with fundraising managers about supervising “digital natives.” Today, I have some tech-related advice for my fellow Millennials.

 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks.
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you would just like to offer your thoughts on this posting, and/or you would like to suggest topics you’d like us to address in future postings we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.”

1.
A Different Kind of Scheduling May Help Improve Your Grant Proposals
by Jayme Sokolow

As grant proposal professionals, we are very focused on schedules. In fact, it is one of the first things we do when making a decision to bid.

There is, however, another kind of scheduling that we often slight when developing proposals, and that is our own schedules.

According to Mason Currey’s Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (2014), we might learn something about how creative people structure their days by studying the lives of artists.

Around 1822, Ludwig van Beethoven usually slept eight hours and upon waking carefully ground 60 coffee beans (some say 57) for his morning coffee. He then composed for eight hours, had dinner with wine, took a long, vigorous walk with a pencil and blank sheet music, stopped at a tavern to read the newspaper, and then ended his day with a simple supper followed by a beer and a pipe.

In 1852, Victor Hugo slept eight hours and liked being awakened by the daily gunshot from a nearby fort. He drank freshly brewed coffee and ate two raw eggs while composing a letter to his mistress. He then wrote for five hours, took an ice bath on the roof of his house, and then entertained guests and had lunch.

Afterwards, he did strenuous exercises on the beach, visited his barber, went on a carriage ride with his mistress, and ended the day with a combination of letter-writing, dinner, and cards at his mistress’s house with friends.

While I would not recommend that anyone follow the specific schedules of any artists described in Currey’s book, I do think we can learn some things about scheduling from these artists.

Despite the variety of their routines, they all balanced a regimen of sleeping, eating, exercising, and socializing with family and friends with work. They lived busy but not frantic lives.

Perhaps a different kind of scheduling can help make us better proposal professionals … and more fulfilled adults.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop
successful proposals to government agencies
Contact Jayme Sokolow..
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Look for Jayme’s ebook on
Finding & Getting Federal Government Grants.
It’s part of
The Fundraising Series of ebooks
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

 
2.
A For-Profit Salesperson’s Guide to Getting a Job in Non-Profit Development
by Tony Poderis

During the past decade or so there have been a considerable number of sales and marketing professionals losing their jobs due to “downsizing” of their companies … and the poor state of the economy in general. Many have asked me how they might be able to make the transition from sales to development.

The primary and most direct way for sales professionals to obtain positions as development professionals in non-profit organizations is for former sales professionals to promote and demonstrate their sales skills and experience as relevant to what they would do in a non-profit development setting. Maybe that’s your current goal.

When transferring your for-profit skills to the non-profit world, you must adjust your jargon accordingly: use “Development Speak”—in terms of donors, not customers; fundraising goals, not sales quotas; solicitations and proposals, not sales presentations; constituency, not market area, etc.

If you want to transfer your skills to a non-profit setting, then you must work to transfer the terminology as well if you want to command attention and interest. For your additional language changeover procedure, observe and utilize the “same-as,” and “not-so-same-as” elements comprising commercial sales plans and non-profit fundraising plans, as is shown on the comparison matrix.

This for-profit to non-profit comparison of sales and development components should encourage you to realize that your for-profit experience and skills will work in a non-profit setting.

Now you need to convince the non-profit interviewer and her or his associates. Just remember to cite the many line-item similarities and to be at home with the simple differences in terminology for the others that function much in the same way.

Perhaps with a more open mind and a change in attitude, non-profits can directly help to promote a new, readily available, and most promising pool of development professionals. Non-profit officials can take on a new and enlightened view of what it takes to be a fund-raising development officer.

Non-profit organizations can more quickly, and with confidence, seriously consider what experienced, competent, capable, and customer-oriented sales professionals can bring to the organizations’ attraction of charitable funds.

By hiring such professionals—the ones whose sales methods and techniques will surely never compromise the integrity of their organizations—those non-profits can greatly relieve the often arduous, and sometimes fruitless, search for good development professionals.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have a question or comment about the above posting?
You can Ask Tony.
There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website:
Raise-Funds.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.”

1. Is There A Role for Direct Mail in a Capital Campaign? by Hank Lewis

First, a quick look at Direct Mail. But, since The Fundraising Blog currently has a Direct Mail Expert addressing that topic, I’ll be very general in my observations.

Direct Mail is the tried and tested tool for Donor Acquisition – (see the postings on “Direct Mail” at Direct Response Fundraising) – but a Capital Campaign is definitely not about Donor Acquisition.

The success of a Capital Campaign relies on obtaining a sufficient number of major gifts/commitments to reach its goal; and, major gifts are (almost always) obtained through personal (face-to-face) cultivation and solicitation, not through Direct Mail.

A Capital Campaign should, in fact, be able to reach its goal relying only on major gifts. That doesn’t mean there’s no place for Direct Mail in a Capital Campaign, quite the contrary. Direct Mail can play an important role in a Campaign’s success.

So, isn’t success in a Capital Campaign measured in dollars?, in reaching its goal? Not completely !! Success is based on a number of elements:

1. If we reached or exceeded our dollar goal.
2. If the campaign leaders are happy with their roles, effectiveness and recognition.
3. If those leaders would be willing to “do it again.”
4. If the major donors now want greater participation with the organization.
5. If prospective major donors have been identified for the next such effort.
6. If corporations and foundations were “impressed” with the broad support, and would, therefore, be more likely to provide support in the future.
7. If the people who comprise the nonprofit’s “community” feel that they are an important part of the successful effort.

And, those last two items are where Direct Mail plays a part in a capital campaign. That role is not in the dollars that can be raised in response to mailings, but in the number of people/donors that can and wanted to be a part of that major fundraising effort.

Of course the dollars are welcome, but Direct Mail in a Capital Campaign is about getting a broad range of people to feel that they are part of the nonprofit’s “community” … and its success. The greater the “community’s” participation, the greater the potential support of the nonprofit on an ongoing basis … from corporations, foundations and individual constituents.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program?
AskHank
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you heard about
The Fundraising Series of ebooks?
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99-$4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

2. Millennials in Fundraising: An Introduction – Part II by K. Michael Johnson

Last week, I introduced you to the Millennial generation and highlighted their increasing presence in the workforce. I also pointed out that many in older generations find Millennials to be entitled, distracted, and even downright obnoxious.

But are we truly that different, or is this characterization just the typical “kids these days” attitude every generation has toward the ones that follow?

Well, the data is all over the place. One thing that can be said with absolute certainty is that we Millennials are the first generation to grow up connected to the internet. In fact, many Millennials don’t even remember a time before broadband.

According to data from the U.S.Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Millennials are more optimistic about the future, as well as more ethnically diverse than previous generations.

And there is some data to validate the popular view that we were raised by over-indulgent, hovering parents, who solved all our problems for us and made sure that all of us (not just the winners) got trophies in every activity. All we had to do was show up, and we got an actual award !!

So, we Millennials clearly grew up in a very different world. And as a result, we have a unique perspective about work.

Our transition into the workforce has certainly caught the attention of the media and the broader business community. Whether perception or reality, much of the conversation around Millennials in the workforce tends to fall within one of three categories:

• Millennials are very tech-savvy, yet always multi-tasking and unfocused.
• Millennials are entitled and self-absorbed, how can anyone manage them?
• Millennials want to make a difference, but have little loyalty to and faith in institutions.

Given our desire for impact, it makes sense that many in my generation seek work in the nonprofit sector. This is a good thing, and should be encouraged.

But, in many ways, we’re not wired like the fundraisers who have gone before us. We have much to learn and there are, indeed, pitfalls to avoid. There are also new opportunities to be seized.

Stay tuned – I have some advice for my fellow Millennials in fundraising. And I have some thoughts about how older colleagues and managers can have productive and (dare I say it) enjoyable working relationships with us.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
K. Michael Johnson is a major gift officer at a large research university
and the founder of Fearless-Fundraising.com,
where he discusses the inner game of deeper relationships and bigger asks.
You can contact him at K. Michael Johnson.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

If you would like to comment/expand on the either-or-both of the above pieces, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subjects of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.”