Category: Financing & Loans

[Also introducing a new member of The Fundraising Blog family, K. Michael Johnson, who will be writing on the subject of Millennials in Fundraising — Those who are already part of the development world, and those who might become part of that arena.]

1. Millennials in Fundraising: An Introduction – Part I
by K. Michael Johnson

Self-absorbed. Entitled. Distracted. Soft. Flaky. …and those are just some of the words commonly used to describe the Millennial generation.

Now, contrast those terms with the desirable qualities most nonprofits list in fundraising job descriptions:

Dynamic. Energetic. Motivated. Professional. Innovative.

The two sets of adjectives couldn’t be further apart !! So how can Millennials ever fill these jobs? But they must !!

Millennials are an increasing percentage of the labor force, including the nonprofit sector. And, when it comes to development, Millennials will be responsible for more and more of the “asks” our sector makes over the years ahead.

This is the first installment in a series that will tackle the topic of Millennials in fundraising. We will consider common barriers to success and how they can be overcome. We’ll also think through the upside of Millennials engaging in fundraising work. And, of course, we’ll take a look at generational differences in the workplace and what that means for nonprofit organizations.

But first, who are Millennials? The Pew Research Center defines Millennials by the birth year range 1981-1998, which essentially means people aged 16-33 today.

And, depending on who you ask, the Millennial generation is roughly the same size as the Baby Boomers, or a bit larger. Either way, it’s a big group, possibly the largest generation in history, accounting for about 80 million people in the U.S.

Before we get too much further, I should disclose that, yes, I am a Millennial, albeit one of the oldest you’ll find !! Facebook wasn’t around until just after I graduated from college, but I did get my first email address (remember AOL?) in sixth grade.

As an older Millennial, I feel I have a unique vantage point. In many ways I relate to my generation. In many other ways, I find us obnoxious.

What do you think ?

This “Introduction” continues next week.

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

2. Retention – Where The Money Is by Jonathan Howard

The best business is repeat business, whether you are selling razor blades, cars or support for a worthy cause.

In fact, many retailers take a loss on a special offer just to attract customers. They know that some of these new customers will spend enough over time to offset the total cost of their loss-leader.

The same principle applies to direct mail. An estimate from the Association of Fundraising Professionals says that nonprofits spend $1 to $1.25 for every dollar raised in new donor acquisition mailings.

But the cost per dollar raised for renewal mailings to past donors is just 20 cents, according to AFP. You really aren’t adding net resources to your cause until you secure second gifts from those first-time donors.

That’s why a second gift is even more important than the first.

From that gift on, the value of each donor to your organization grows. The lifetime value of a loyal donor can make that small loss on acquisition fade into insignificance. The donor’s value to the organization grows with each subsequent gift.

Unfortunately, something like 70 to 80 percent of first-time givers don’t make a second gift.

Think about that. Some generous person ran the gauntlet of distractions to open your new donor appeal. They took in your message and responded with sympathy. They weighed the pros and cons of giving. They made a decision to act. They acted: wrote a check, found a stamp, walked to the mailbox.

They must have felt pretty good about donating to help your organization. Your acquisition mailing made them believe that their donation would make a difference that they wanted to make.

Yet seven or eight of these new enthusiasts will probably never repeat this satisfying act of support to your organization. We’ll look at why – and how you can beat those odds – in a future post.

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Jon 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
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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.”

1. Understanding Donor Retention
by Jonathan Howard

In a prior post, we looked at a mailing designed to bring in new, first-time donors, a process called donor acquisition.

Now lets’ talk about the other side of an effective direct mail program: keeping the donors you already have, called donor retention.

I compare the interplay of acquisition and retention as similar to what happens when you pour water into a bucket that has a hole in the bottom. Whether the water rises or falls depends on whether you add more water to the top (acquisition) than you let pour out of the bottom (through poor donor retention).

Good donor retention makes the difference between winners and losers in direct mail fundraising (and most other types of fundraising, too). High retention means lower fundraising costs, higher return on investment and a much better chance of growing donor numbers and income over time.

But you can’t hit a target that you can’t see. So take the first step to succeeding by putting a number on your donor retention. Start by comparing data from the last two full years.

The math is simple:
• Count the number of donors who made a gift at any time in 2012. Count individuals, not gifts.
• Now, run a query or manual count to find out how many of those same also gave you one or more gifts in 2013. These are your “retained” donors. (The missing people are your “lapsed” donors – the hole in your donor bucket.)
• Now divide your 2013 retained donor number by the 2012 total donor count, then show the result as a percentage. That’s your retention rate !

For example:
Total individual donors in 2012 = 1,000
2012 donors who also gave in 2013 = 500
Your retention rate = 50% (500 divided by 1000)

Retention drives your net donor income. Moving that needle upwards must be a key objective in any direct mail program.

Next Wednesday, we’ll look into how retention drives donor income.

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

2. The U.S.-Style of Fundraising Can Work in Other Countries
by Tony Poderis

The Steps Needed To Make It Work
Three weeks ago, I posed a number of “loaded” questions; and, if you answered, “Yes,” to even one of these questions, you already know that change may be difficult to initiate.

But, with the understanding/acceptance that the charitable impulse lives in (almost) everyone, everywhere, it becomes your job, as a fundraiser, to introduce in your country or to your charitable organization the system of philanthropic fundraising we use so successfully in the U.S.

Growing the Philanthropic “Habit” in Your Country
It is likely that you will need to start a new philanthropic “habit” where none exists. This can be accomplished by patiently and politely introducing people to the process of fundraising and explaining why it is necessary. You should also explain that such expressions of charity and compassion can be just as rewarding to the individual donor as helping a neighbor in need – in fact, if you can get an actual donor to make that point, all the better !!

To assist nonprofit organizations in building the philanthropic spirit and the habit of giving in your country, you must show potential donors that all contributions will be used in exactly the way each organization promises.

The names/identities of your leaders should be public information … to give your potential donors confidence that your organization is being guided competently and honorably.

You must also honor the confidentiality of your donors. Their names should not be made public without their approval.

Openness, honesty and reliability are key issues if you wish to build trust among potential donors, so you must prove not only the value of an organization’s work, but also the efficiency and honesty with which it delivers its programs and services.

Only then are you ready to begin real fundraising.

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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” at the bottom of this page.

1. April 27th was National Tell a Story Day
by Jayme Sokolow

What, you may ask, is the connection between National Tell a Story Day and grant proposals? A great deal, at least from my perspective.

Stories are universal because we use stories to create meaning. When you cite a statistic or make an argument, often your listener’s eyes glaze over. But when you tell a good story, you engage, entertain, and make a point.

Although grant guidelines often make sustained storytelling difficult in proposals, there are always opportunities for short stories or anecdotes to help support your argument(s).

When you tell stories in proposals, you engage reviewers just as you do when you chat with colleagues at the office or talk with friends over dinner.

I recommend that you follow these six tips for telling better stories in your proposals. They are based on a recent Grammerly post on “Storytelling 101” that appeared in the May 5, 2014 HuffingtonPost.

Show, Don’t Tell: Don’t just tell the reviewer what to think – paint a vivid picture through a good story and your point will be richer and more impactful.

Be Specific: Engaging stories provide their readers with vivid details. Tell a good story in your proposal by providing rich details, and make your point come alive.

Engage the senses: In your proposals, tell stories that engage all the senses. Make a point and be as vivid as possible without becoming florid.

Be concise: Cut out unnecessary words, avoid repetition, and get to the point quickly. Your distracted reviewers will appreciate it.

Cut out most of the adverbs and be sparing with adjectives: Don’t reply too much on words that end with “ly” (adverbs) or modifiers (adjectives).

Proofread: Nothing destroys confidence in a story or a proposal like too many typos and grammatical errors. Proofread carefully.

Stories can engage those busy reviewers who are easily distracted. Tell a story that holds the reader/reviewer, and your grant proposals will become more compelling.

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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)
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2. Donor-Centered Planned Giving – Part II
by John Elbare

Look at your donor stewardship process and imagine how it feels to be a donor to your organization. Are they thanked promptly and properly? Are they kept informed about your service goals and results? Are they invited to tour your facility or meet with your CEO? Are you doing everything you can to help them feel part of the mission?

A good way to measure how well you are building relationships with your donors is to measure your donor lapse rate. It should go down as you improve your stewardship. The lower your donor lapse rate, the more loyal donors you will develop, and planned gifts are made mostly by loyal donors. You need to grow your base of loyal donors.

Next, keep an eye on your growing pool of loyal donors and look for opportunities to begin cultivating relationships on a personal basis. You can do this by visiting with them, learning about their concerns and values, understanding why they care about your mission, and then – when the time is right – propose a planned gift idea that is perfectly aligned with their values and charitable goals.

Done this way, planned giving becomes routine and productive. Your donors will appreciate the opportunity to help in a significant way.

The hardest part is getting your own organization to understand the value planned giving and the need to invest in it now for donations that will arrive several years in the future.

Done right, planned giving is not a side-line to the other fund development activities. Instead, planned giving is the big prize that is earned at the end of the donor development process. Get your organization to understand the donor development process, and you will finally be on a clear path toward raising the all the funds your organization needs.

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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 .
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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.”

1. Donor-Centered Planned Giving – Part I
by John Elbare

Planned gifts almost always result from strong donor relationships, yet many non-profits fail at this. When a donor feels a part of your charitable mission, planned giving become almost inevitable. But when donors feel neglected or ignored, planned giving is very difficult.

Do you work hard to raise funds? Perhaps you hold fund raising events, send out mail solicitations, seek online donations, and conduct an annual fund program. You work your heart out, put in long hours and use all of your creative juices just to meet your annual goals. Yet you may be leaving the big prize on the table, unclaimed.

In almost every case, a donor can leave a planned gift that is much larger than his or her cumulative lifetime giving. Yet many organizations are solely pre-occupied with bringing in immediate, spendable dollars, and they ignore this potential for huge future revenues.

If you focus solely on immediate revenue, you are not taking the long view. You are overlooking the real value of your donors, if all you ever ask for is an annual gift. Sooner or later you will hit a ceiling where it becomes very hard to achieve significant increases in revenue from year to year.

The only dependable way to break out of this trap is to make a serious effort to raise planned gifts. The beauty of planned giving is that it allows your ordinary donors, even those of modest means, to make large gifts in the future.

These planned gifts can be transformational for your non-profit, as they provide large fusions of revenue, once they start arriving. It is paradoxical, but the only sure-fire way to achieve big increases in fund raising revenue is to take the patient approach of developing donor relationships.

The trick is to turn your donors into loyal donors. Given their future value as planned gift donors, the effort is time well spent.

(Part II posts next Wednesday)

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

2. Using Both Reason and Emotion in Grant Proposals – Part II: Emotion
by Lynn deLearie

Last week I emphasized that the use of reason – or logic – is important because proposals must logically show that non-profits will use grant funds to effectively deliver the outcomes that grantors are hoping to achieve.

The use of emotion is important because decisions about grants are made by people, and people are swayed by emotions. We have all heard the phrase: “You need to connect with someone’s heart before you can connect with their wallet.” This is certainly true in individual fundraising – that’s why we all receive so many heart-touching direct mail appeals. This element is as important as reason, when seeking grants.

In Using Emotion:
• Give hope in your needs section. People want to help you accomplish something. They want to feel that they are helping you to help others; and, they tend to disengage when they feel your cause is hopeless.

• Cite credible research in your needs and methodology sections. People listen to authority figures. Credible research tends to set proposal reviewer’s minds at ease, and allows them to more easily make decisions based on their feeling.

• Include a client profile in your demographics section. People connect more to a real person than to a bunch of statistics.

• Mention/discuss your collaborators and other stakeholders, even if not requested. People like to be part of a pack, and grantors want to know that you are part of a larger cause … a cause with other involved stakeholders.

• Include other local, relevant, institutional donors and giving amounts in your program budget and program sustainability sections. Let foundation reviewers know that their peers have already evaluated “you,” and have approved !! That’s peer pressure at work.

• Include tangible results in your evaluation section. Tangibility bolsters the belief that the grant will make a difference.

• Include a cover letter – even when not requested. Include photos and stories about your clients – again this helps people at the foundation connect to your cause.

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop,
enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them
secure funding from foundations and corporations.
Contact Lynn deLearie
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Look for Lynn’s ebook on Grants & Grantsmanship.
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.”

1. Using Both Reason and Emotion in Grant Proposals – Part I: Reason
by Lynn deLearie

Successful grant proposals are often carefully crafted using both reason and emotion. This week I’ll address…The Use Of Reason.

Grants are NOT no-strings-attached gifts. Grants are contracts between grantors, who provide the funds, and grantees, who perform the tasks and deliver the outcomes described in the proposals. Proposals must, therefore, logically show how non-profits will use grant funds to effectively deliver the outcomes that grantors are hoping, and expect to see achieved.

In Using Reason:
• Follow the guidelines, follow the guidelines, follow the guidelines – ‘nuff said!

• Use credible research in your needs section, to help make the case for support. This demonstrates that you clearly understand the needs of your target population within the broader context of your community. Citing credible research also adds to the credibility of your organization. Check with your program staff – they are the experts on what your organization does and will have the most relevant and up-to-date research related to their programs. Ask them for data and statistics to use to make a strong case for supporting what they do.

• Use demographic data to describe your target audience. Include all relevant statistics: race, age, gender, income, etc.

• Indicate that your program model is rooted in research-based best practices. Reference the studies from leading institutions that your organization used to develop your program model.

• Include quantitative metrics in your evaluation section. Quantitative metrics are measurable, and grant reviewers are increasingly asking for more meaningful data. Programs are intended to change behaviors and/or attitudes. Measuring how many people showed up is no longer good enough. Measuring knowledge before and after a particular program activity (pre- and post-testing) would be a viable quantitative metric.

• Indicate that you use your evaluation findings to modify program design. This will demonstrate that your organization takes program evaluation seriously. You are evaluating your programs to improve their effectiveness, not just because grant applications require that you do so.

• Financials – definitely need to be reasonable here… and follow the guidelines! Many foundations define reasonable as spending at least 75% of your annual operating expense on programs and services.

Next Wednesday I’ll take a look at the Emotion side of proposal preparation.

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop,
enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them
secure funding from foundations and corporations.
Contact Lynn deLearie
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Look for Lynn’s ebook on Grants & Grantsmanship.
It’s part of
The Fundraising Series of ebooks
They’re easy to read, to the point, and inexpensive ($1.99 – $4.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

2. The U.S.-Style of Fundraising Can Work in Other Countries
by Tony Poderis

Understanding the Concept and Asking The Hard Questions
The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom share a long tradition of people helping others through their support of nonprofit/nongovernmental organizations.

Fundraising for charitable organizations that promote human welfare—as well as for arts and cultural entities, and for NGOs that do good works—is not just accepted, but is encouraged in our societies.

While the U.S. and some other countries enjoy a long heritage of private support for charitable organizations, individuals in other countries are just as caring and supportive as Americans, Canadians and Britons.

The philanthropic process of raising money, however, has been entirely unknown to folks in countries other than those three or, at best, only introduced in recent decades.

The fundraising process should be the same no matter where it is practiced. What’s missing in countries with young or newly emerging nonprofit and NGO charities is the philanthropic system itself, and the habit of fundraising/giving. These are, of course, formidable challenges. But I know from experience that they can be overcome.

Where Do You Stand?
First, let’s determine exactly what challenges you may face by reviewing the following questions:

— Is there little or no tradition or habit of fundraising in your country?

— Are there few, if any, favorable tax provisions or other incentives in place to encourage charitable giving by individuals and businesses?

— Is there a long-standing tradition of parents bequeathing all, or most, of their assets to their children?

— When government funding of nonprofit organizations and NGOs is cut, do nonprofit organizations in your country turn first to the international community for support, rather than developing fundraising capabilities at home?

— Regarding the seeking of funds from the international community, on the other hand, does your government inhibit foreign funding from coming into your country?

— Do some in your government discourage the work of charities for selfish gain? Do they themselves secure funding that they directly apply to the public’s needs so they can make their constituents beholden to them, thus helping those officials retain their positions in the government?

— Are your government’s laws, regulations, and its general oversight of charities operated through a maze of bureaucracy whose red tape makes it harder for charitable organizations to be established in the first place and to freely function later?

This posting continues on July 9, addressing the Steps Needed to Make It Work.

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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.”

June 18:

Reason and Emotion in Grant Proposals –
Part I: Reason
by Lynn deLearie

Successful grant proposals are often carefully crafted using both reason and emotion. On one hand, proposals must, logically, show how non-profits will use grant funds to effectively….

 

June 18:

The U.S.-Style of Fundraising Can Work in Other Countries – Part I
by Tony Poderis

The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom share a long tradition of people helping others through their support of nonprofit/nongovernmental organizations.

 

June 25:

Donor-Centered Planned Giving – Part I
by John Elbare

Planned gifts almost always result from strong donor relationships; so, when donors feel neglected or ignored, planned giving is very difficult.

 

June 25:

Reason and Emotion in Grant Proposals – Part II: Emotion
by Lynn deLearie

The use of emotion is important because decisions about grants are made by people, and people are swayed by emotions.

 

July 2:

April 27th was National Tell a Story Day
by Jayme Sokolow

What, you may ask, is the connection between National Tell a Story Day and grant proposals? Stories are universal because we use stories to create meaning. When you tell a good story in a proposal, you engage, entertain, and make a point.

 

July 2:

Donor-Centered Planned Giving – Part II
by John Elbare

Look at your donor stewardship process and imagine how it feels to be a donor to your organization. Are you doing everything you can to help them feel that they’re part of the organization and its mission?

 

July 9:

Understanding Donor Retention
by Jonathan Howard

Good donor retention makes the difference between winners and losers in direct mail fundraising (and most other types of fundraising, too).

 

July 9:

The U.S.-Style of Fundraising Can Work in Other Countries – Part II
by Tony Poderis

…with the understanding/acceptance that the charitable impulse lives in (almost) everyone, everywhere … you may have to encourage/create a new “philanthropic habit,” where none exists.

 

July 16:

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

Millennials are an growing percentage of the labor force, including the nonprofit sector. And, when it comes to development, Millennials will be responsible for more and more of the “asks” our sector makes over the years ahead.

 

July 16:

Donor Retention – Where The Money Is
by Jonathan Howard>

Nonprofits spend $1 to $1.25 for every dollar raised in new donor acquisition mailings, but the cost per dollar raised for renewal mailings to past donors is just 20 cents.

 

July 23:

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

A Capital Campaign should 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.

 

July 23

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

Millennials grew up in a world very different from previous generations and, as a result, we have a unique perspective about work. Also, given our desire to make an impact, it makes sense that many in my generation seek work in the nonprofit sector

 

July 30:

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 must do when making a decision to bid. In that context, we might learn something about how creative people structure their days by studying the lives of artists.

 

July 30:

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

… there have been a considerable number of sales and marketing professionals losing their jobs due to “downsizing” of their companies … and many have asked me how they might be able to make the transition from sales to development.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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. Successful Proposals Find Common Ground with Funders
by Jayme Sokolow

In a recent issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Daniel Pink, the author of To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others (2012), discussed what he found in his research about fundraising. His advice is refreshingly clear and straightforward. The following is my summary of his basic principles, and how I would apply them to making your proposals sell.

Rethink your notion of selling. Successful sales are about how to find common ground with your customer. “Selling is helping/getting people to do what they’re already inclined to do,” says Pink.

See things from the customer’s perspective. Learn about the funder’s interests.

We must get “out of the anchor of our own position” and see the world from other people’s points of view. To do this, you often have to take a lower profile and listen and ask questions rather than make statements.

Listening is really important. Most people don’t know how to listen well, but you can really understand your funder only by carefully listening and actively reacting to and complying with what they are saying.

When you address your problems, do so through a narrative. Stories engage the reader, and funders respond when they are engaged. The bigger the grant being sought, the more important it is to begin and sustain a conversation with and appeal to people through stories that convey a sense of purpose.

Proposals should convey a sense of resilience. Anyone doing proposals will become familiar with rejection. To survive that rejection, to get past the “No,” to make it through to the next acceptance, your proposals should demonstrate optimism, competence and forward-visioning.

According to Pink, selling and fundraising are about finding common ground. Raising money via grant proposals is pretty much always about finding common ground with your customers, your funders. Find this often elusive common ground, and your proposals are likely to be more persuasive.

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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. The CFC and Non-Profit Sustainability – III
by Bill Huddleston

As I noted, last week, the fundraising pyramid is a pretty good model for what it shows … that a relatively small percentage of the non-profit’s supporters will provide a relatively larger percentage of its funds.

With the emphasis on the 80/20 rule, or the 90/10 rule, what can be easily glossed over is the fact that in order to have the 20% percent, you also need the 80% base.

You have to deliver excellent service to all of your supporters, including volunteers, donors and others who just call and ask a question about what you do.

Over time, some of these first time contacts will become your major donors, but there’s no way to tell at the beginning of the relationship, which ones will develop into your biggest supporters.

Another aspect of the CFC that is often not recognized, because all the results are reported annually, is that many CFC donors are multi-year donors, giving for five, ten and twenty years during their Federal career.

Because of the popularity of the “anonymous donor” option, and that the results are reported only on an annual basis, this important factor is often overlooked.

A CFC donor who donates $10 per pay period for ten years has given $2600. Those dollars are reliable, predictable and unrestricted, putting the small regular donor in a higher level of giving category than you may realize at first.

Another reason that you don’t want be too quick to abandon your workplace giving fundraising program is that it is the only method of non-profit fundraising that is subsidized by the sponsoring organization.

The sponsor absorbs many costs that don’t fall on either the donor or the non-profit, costs that never show up on the non-profit’s balance sheet, even though the organization benefits !!

Examples of the subsidies are the salary costs that are paid to the CFC volunteers who plan, manage, and conduct the CFC campaigns and solicitations each year; plus the space that is made available for charities at charity fairs – they pay no “booth rental fee” the way they would at conferences.

This was just one small example of how the matrix map can give you another, valuable perspective on your fundraising, and help you assess your CFC program in a larger context. It can also be a very valuable tool for a non-profit to use as part of its strategic and business planning efforts.

My next series of posts will look at some ways you can, and should, increase your CFC visibility during the summer months.

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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, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject(s) of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page.

1. Who Are Your Planned Gift Prospects? – II
by John Elbare, CFP

The one thing we know for sure about donor behavior is that most planned gifts come from loyal donors. By “loyal” we mean those donors who reliably donate every year.

They are already sold on your mission, they believe in your cause, and they probably would like to do more to help, if they could.

This is the one critical prerequisite for launching a successful planned giving program. You need loyal donors. If you do yet have a growing base of loyal donors, you need to stop, back up, and take a look at your donor stewardship efforts.

If your organization has been around for at least a few years and you have a problem with a high donor lapse rate, you need to fix it.

Successful planned giving is all about building on rock solid donor relationships. Once you do have a growing base of loyal donors, you have a fertile pond in which to fish for planned gifts.

The fascinating part is that donor giving levels have very little to do with their likelihood of leaving planned gifts. It is the act of repetitive giving, year after year, regardless of the amount that signals a donor’s inclination to consider a planned gift.

Do not make the common mistake of looking for planned gifts only among your larger gift donors. Most organizations with successful planned giving programs have been pleasantly surprised at the large planned gifts they receive from donors who gave only $25 or $50 a year during life.

In our next Planned Giving post, we will discuss just why this is so and how you can use this knowledge to start raising planned gifts right away. We will also learn why donors often find it easier to arrange a planned gift than to give a larger annual gift.

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

2. The CFC and Non-Profit Sustainability – II
by Bill Huddleston

As I noted, last week, “Money Tree” programs are the ones that produce significant revenue with little direct effect on advancing program. They are, however, more important than may first be realized because they provide the funding to keep the “Hearts” beating.

The “Money Tree” is the category where a well-run CFC program for your non-profit should end up. Although it may be in the “Low Impact, Low Profitability” range when you first begin developing your CFC revenue stream, don’t be too quick to categorize it as a “stop sign” action.

It is interesting to note that there are some non-profits where their CFC revenues are in the “Star (High Impact, High Profitability)” category. One small cancer support charity, for example, receives 50% of its revenues through the CFC.

For many CFC charities, as they first begin developing their CFC revenue stream, their CFC activities may be in the “Low Impact, Low Profitability” category. But don’t be too quick to put it in with the “Stop Signs.”

You may be familiar with the concept of the fundraising pyramid, the 80/20 or 90/10 rules, but one problem with much of the fundraising literature is that there’s often a built-in presumption that the pyramid has already been built.

While this may be true (and often is) what’s ignored in that formula is the idea that you can determine in advance just who the people are in the twenty (or ten) percent category, without having to “bother” with the other eighty percent.

It doesn’t work that way.

What happens in the fundraising world is very similar to the stages that a farmer creating an apple orchard goes through. He first acquires a selection of seedlings, plants them, weeds them, waters them, prunes them and keeps pests away.

Some of those initial plants will die regardless of the best efforts of the farmer, others will grow to be a decent apple trees, and some will end up being a stupendous producers.

There’s no way to tell which of the seedlings (donors) will be in that top twenty percent. It doesn’t happen overnight and it’s impossible to predict which seedlings (donors) will be the dead or diseased seedlings (lapsed donors) or the decent seedlings (multiple year donors to the annual fund, with modest increases over time).

The fundraising pyramid is a pretty good model for what it shows … that a relatively small percentage of the non-profit’s supporters will provide a relatively larger percentage of its funds.

I’ll continue that thought next Wednesday.

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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, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject(s) of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page.

1. The CFC and Non-Profit Sustainability – I
by Bill Huddleston

In their 2010 book, Non-profit Sustainability – Making Strategic Decisions for Financial Viability, the authors, Jeanne Bell, Jan Masaoka and Steve Zimmerman, emphasized the fact that a non-profit’s “financial sustainability and programmatic sustainability cannot be separated.”

It’s impossible to have a successful non-profit that pays attention to just one of those principles, but yet most of the financial information and information about program impact is not discussed in an integrated manner.

The tool that was developed by the authors as a means of integrating this type of information and displaying it in a useful fashion is the “Matrix Map,” which combines group programs and financial information by business line as a means of developing an understanding of the actual impact of various programs.

I do recommend that you pick up a copy of the book because this post presents just one small example of the concept, and of the techniques covered.

The idea that both financial sustainability and programmatic impact are essential to non-profit success is sometimes referred to as the “dual bottom line.” The Matrix Map is a tool that places the various programs on a quadrant type chart, along with the related descriptions and financial results.

• The “Heart” programs are those that are important to core of the non-profit’s mission, but they do not generate significant revenue;
• The “Star” programs do both;
• The “Stop Sign” programs may be ones that have outlived their usefulness, and should just be discontinued, or given to another non-profit; and,
• The “Money Tree” programs are ones that produce significant revenue but do not have a big (direct) impact on program. They are, however, more important than may first be realized because they “provide the water” for the Hearts.

The “Money Tree,” at the least, is the category where a well-run CFC program for your non-profit should end up.

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See Part II of this piece next Wednesday, May 28.
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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)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

2. Evaluating The Chief Development Officer – III
by Tony Poderis

Last week I noted that not all of a Chief Development Officer’s responsibilities are directly related to fundraising … another reason why his/her performance should not be evaluated based just on dollars-raised.

Chief Development Officers are often involved with, if not supervising, marketing, public relations, communications, budgeting, etc., thus further complicating an assessment of that person’s effectiveness in carrying out her/his responsibilities.

The CDO’s bottom-line accountability depends, in great part, on the degree of coordination required and desired with fundraising volunteers, and the number of them organized, trained and managed in order to carry out the various campaigns and special events to their fullest capacity and effectiveness.

Another reason not to judge the CDO based on dollars is that where there is often the “blessing” of a serendipitous major donation, too often there is also the “curse” of a totally unexpected loss of a major gift which greatly and negatively affects the bottom line, but no way was the fault of the Development Director.

Along with the CDO’s ongoing work to help meet the current and impending funding needs, that professional will also be working with key volunteer leaders in the process of identifying, meeting with, and cultivating potential donors for their future (near and long term) giving.

That development professional may also be involved in the planning for a future endowment or capital campaign. And the results of those efforts will not be seen for some time … not now, as part of your current review and evaluation of your CDO.

Ideally, another area of activity on which your CDO should be evaluated … your organization will also have programs and services which can be “packaged” for corporate, foundation, or individual sponsors and underwriters.

Projecting those activities over time, well beyond the end of the current fiscal year, again gets one into the realm of “development,” a word denoting action and forward movement, but with results and evaluation being on a stretched sliding scale of time.

A final thought: When a Chief Development Officer is hired, s/he should have enough experience/expertise to tell an organization about the criteria on which s/he should be judged … and in what timeframe.

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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 – $3.99)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

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

1. Preserve Institutional Knowledge to Ensure Better Proposals
by Jayme Sokolow

Most of us work in or with institutions that pride themselves on their ability to identify and access information quickly, but those institutions very often have short memories.

As Ron Ashkenas has pointed out in the Harvard Business Review Blog Network, although organizations “spend a lot of time and resources developing knowledge and capacity . . . most of it resides in the heads, hands, and hearts of individual managers and functional experts.”

But as time goes by, the effects of entropy take over and, as individuals in the organization leave, retire, or take on new positions within the organization, the knowledge fades.

There are, however, ways that nonprofits can institutionalize knowledge in proposal development to create better processes, better content, and more informed proposal team members.

Following Ron Ashkenas, I recommend three approaches to overcoming institutional amnesia:
• Recognize that the preservation of institutional knowledge is an organizational challenge  and responsibility, and formulate an explicit strategy for the maintenance of that knowledge, especially within your proposal team.
• Identify those important pieces of information that every member of the proposal team should know and make sure they have easy access to that information.
• Use technology to create a simple but effective database where the proposal team can access the “institutional memory,” and where they can record new institutional knowledge as the proposal develops. (You could use SharePoint to do this or imitate Intel, which has its own internal wiki named Intelpedia.)

As people age, we learn that our precious memories can become quite fragile. And, even though nonprofits seem more resilient than any individual, they seem to age even more quickly. As a result, nonprofits need to actively preserve their institutional memories. If they do not, proposal development is likely to become less efficient and less effective.

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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop
successful proposals to government agencies
Contact Jayme Sokolow..
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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)
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2. Evaluating The Chief Development Officer – II
by Tony Poderis

Last week I suggested that there are many factors that can impact the success of a development program, and, thereby, affect how the CDO’s performance is perceived.

— Significantly high startup costs for new and emerging organizations can greatly and negatively affect the raising of donations and the bottom-line in terms of numbers of gifts, amounts, and when they are received.

— Initial “investment” costs for new major campaigns, such as for capital, endowment, sponsorships and underwriting. All do take time, maybe years, i.e., the word “development” in our profession. These long-term efforts significantly influence when and how much money comes in.

— Focus on time and money spent for telefunding, direct mail, social media, and Internet fund-raising activities differ from organization to organization.

— Impending and costly new and expanding program and service initiatives to be installed by the organization as directed from the long-range strategic plan, will certainly impact the development officer’s performance and results.

— How much, how little, or how not at all, the Board of Trustees directly assist and participate in the development activities. This makes a huge difference from non-profit to non-profit regarding how development staff is evaluated and of course it directly affects the efforts to win new donations, and certainly impacts the results of refused, increased or decreased donations.

— The quality, skills, experience, and capability of any given development staff person can and do range far and wide to greatly influence the development officer’s performance evaluation.

— Performance, good or bad, is greatly influenced with the development office resources at hand and willingly provided by the organization’s leadership in terms of adequate support staff for the Director of Development to satisfy fully all of the requirements and directives of campaign volunteers, donors, and prospects.

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All too often, a development person is required to perform other activities
within the organization which are peripheral to fundraising. I’ll address that
issue and a few others in Part Three of this series, next Wednesday.
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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 the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject(s) of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page.