Category: Financing & Loans

When I was living in New York City from 1968 to 1976, the New York Knicks were one of the most feared teams in the NBA. With players like Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, and Bill Bradley, the Knicks were a joy to watch, especially during their 1969-1970 season when they beat the Los Angeles Lakers to claim their first NBA championship.

Although the Knicks had great basketball players, they also had a great coach and a future member of the Basketball Hall of Fame – Red Holzman. Holzman’s simple but difficult goal – “see the ball on defense and hit the open man on offense” – worked wonders for his players. Overlooked, however, was Holzman’s subtle managerial style, which has much to teach grant Proposal Managers.

I was reminded of Holzman’s coaching talents recently, when I read a stimulating article in the Huffington Post by Mike Berman, on the eve of the NBA playoffs, on Red Holzman’s leadership. I would like to use Berman’s article to distill the essence of Holzman’s approach to leadership because I think his managerial style equally applies to successful grant Proposal Managers.

Holzman’s Management Approach
• Be modest
Holzman said that “I don’t think there is such a thing as a coaching genius, just hard workers.” For Holzman, action, deeds, and credibility mattered more than words. He embodied the values he preached. Proposal managers should understand that their success depends on the quality of their proposal teams and the support of their nonprofit organizations. Because grant proposal development depends on teamwork, cooperation, and the skills of others, Proposal Managers should be modest about their successes.

• Know what you intend to accomplish when you assume a leadership role
Clearly state your goal and performance standards and reinforce them regularly from the beginning. Too many proposals begin without a clear plan and schedule, and too many grant Proposal Managers do not seem to understand that the quality of the proposal development process will determine the quality of the proposal. Establishing clear goals and performance standards will help improve your proposals.

• Maintain a focus on the fundamentals and what matters most
Avoid over-complication. There is a big different between attending to details and micro-managing.

• Monitor
Once the team has embraced your system, let go … and empower people to succeed. Good proposal development should include periodic reviews, milestones, and deliverables. This framework will enable a proposal team to succeed by creating a clear context for their activities.

• Achieve results by training, coaching, and mentoring
Help your fellow proposal team members to perform well. An important part of any grant Proposal Manager’s work should be to help improve the performance of team members and help advance their professional careers.

Sports analogies with the business world are often trite and strained or just plain silly and they seem to be a virtual monopoly of out-of-shape men. However, a great coach and person like Red Holzman has much to teach us about the essence of leadership. Apply his approach to proposal management, and you should improve your grant proposals.

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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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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, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

…a guest posting by Andrea Kihlstedt

What personality traits make up an ideal nonprofit fundraiser? In my last post, I discussed the common misconception that you’ve got to be an extrovert to connect with donors. In that post – and in my most recent book – I’ve shown that many of the introverts among us can bring unique strengths to the fundraising table.

Today it’s time to talk about another common misconception about fundraising: the idea that, to get the gift, you have to be able to speak from the heart. You know the kind of person I’m talking about – whether a famous orator like Martin Luther King, Jr. or your organization’s executive director when she gives a talk that brings people to their feet, some individuals have the gift of moving hearts to action.

Few of us doubt that a person like this can become a great fundraiser. As you know, fundraising is about building relationships – and who doesn’t want to have a relationship with someone who knows how to make them feel wonderful and inspired?

But what about the people in your organization who lead from their heads rather than their hearts? I’m sure you know many individuals like this – those folks who want “the facts,” and who prefer thinking logically to thinking emotionally. They care about details and want to know how things work … and why.

You might think that someone like that would bore donors to tears – and if allowed to take the analytic side of their personality to extremes, they might do just that. However, it is also true that, with the right training and encouragement, the analytical thinkers in your organization can be very effective at motivating some donors to give major gifts.

When I was first coming up with the Asking Styles system, one of the first people I thought about in this regard was my husband, Tyko. On the surface you might not think Tyko would be a good fundraiser; he’s a retired academic who prefers the logical approach, rather than the emotional.

On the other hand, Tyko would be the perfect person to send to meet with donors who, like him, are interested in the facts about your organization and exactly what their gift will accomplish.

By their nature, analytic thinkers would never consider meeting with a donor unless they have a firm grasp of the facts about the organization they’re about to represent. If the donor wants to know the rate of return on your endowment investments last year while considering an endowment gift, your analytic thinker won’t just have the simple answer. He or she will probably also be able to explain your investment strategy and your fund’s projected earnings for the next five years.

So yes, an analytic thinker has the potential to bore donors who prefer to lead from their hearts. On the other hand, donors who are more interested in the facts aren’t likely to connect anywhere near as well with intuitive, emotion-based presenters.

As a heart-based, intuitive thinker myself, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished I had an analytic thinker with me while being peppered with detail-oriented questions by donors!

While I am generally well-prepared with stories and basic information, talking about facts takes me out of my flow and actually makes it harder for me to connect with a donor. But combine an intuitive person like me and an analytical thinker like Tyko, and you’ve got a team that can both inspire and inform a donor no matter what their style.

With more than thirty years’ experience in this field, I’ve discovered that virtually anyone can become a successful fundraiser – introverts as well as extroverts, and analytical and intuitive thinkers alike.

The real key is to encourage every person who helps with your organization’s fundraising to be their authentic self, to create teams with complementary personality traits (or as I call them, Asking Styles), and to pay attention to your donors well enough to understand which approach(es) will work best for them.
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Want to find your asking style, use Andrea’s Asking Style Assessment; and, if you want to read more about Asking Styles, take a look at Andrea’s book, Asking Styles: Harness Your Personal Fundraising Power. You can contact Andrea at Andrea Kihlstedt.

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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)
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‘Grants management’ encompasses a breadth of activities within a wide range of organizations and agencies, from small NPOs to federal agencies such as the NIH.

In the context of this post, I am defining grants management to encompass those activities conducted by NPO staff for the purpose of ensuring grant compliance, from the time the grant is accepted until it has been closed out. An important distinction is that the above definition excludes grants from government agencies, as the management of which is very complex.

However, management of grants from private and corporate foundations is still important, since it ensures compliance with the programmatic and financial elements of grants. It is important to remember that grants are NOT a no-strings-attached gift – they are a contract between the grantor, who provides the funds, and the grantee, who performs the tasks and delivers the outcomes described in the proposal.

As I’ve written previously in this blog, grantsmanship is a team effort, and your team is essential for effective grants management. Hopefully, you have worked with your organization’s program and financial staff people when preparing grant proposals, so they will be aware of the program goals, outcomes and metrics, evaluation methodology, and program budgets (see the chapters: “If You Evaluate It (Well) – They Will Come,” and “Developing Financials for Grants” in my ebook on Grants and Grantsmanship ).

Upon acceptance of a grant, a good practice is to meet with the program and financial staff people who will be involved in implementing the funded program. At that meeting, the grant management activities (listed below) should be discussed and assigned to the appropriate staff member(s), along with a schedule for when the tasks should be completed.

Depending on the size and culture of your NPO, you (as grant manager) may be involved in many of those activities, or you may function more as a project manager.

I strongly recommend against a hands off project management approach, as you are ultimately responsible for completing and submitting grant reports, and this is impossible to do well when trying to gather all the program and financial data from others at the eleventh hour! You may choose to meet (or communicate via e-mail) periodically, throughout the grant period, with those staff members … to ensure things are running smoothly.

Grant Management Activities:
•  Conduct program activities as outlined in the grant proposal
•  Evaluate program effectiveness as outlined in the grant proposal
•  Communicate with grantor (if needed) to request change(s) to
program design and/or grant expenditures
•  Maintain financial records for program expenses and revenues
•  Complete and submit grant reports throughout the grant period
as requested by the grantor, including financial reports
•  Complete and submit final grant report by grantor’s deadline,
including financial reports

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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.
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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 cheap ($1.99 – $4.99) ☺
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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, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

A fundraising campaign brochure can be an important tool for communicating the worth of a campaign to a targeted audience, as well as for making an organization’s “family” more knowledgeable about their organization and the purpose and structure of the campaign.

Often, when the subject of a campaign brochure publication comes up, it is greeted with an exclamation that goes something like this: “A brochure won’t raise a nickel !!” That response is far too dismissive and, if left unaddressed, could result in a disregard for what is actually a key fundraising tool … particularly for capital and endowment campaigns.

True, “People raise money, publications don’t,” but people can be more effective in raising money if they are given the resources that can help establish the best possible climate for a solicitation.

Having an official brochure in hand is essential in establishing the perception in the minds of some potential donors that the campaign is structured and is being conducted in a professional manner. It is also a necessity for some volunteer leaders and solicitors as a bolster to their levels of comfort/confidence.

Hand some people a brand new, “off the press” publication and watch their faces brighten and eyes spark with interest. Just the feel of the publication in-hand often works wonders.

Too Many Cooks (Writers/Designers/Editors) Can Doom A Campaign Brochure
On this subject, I have seen campaigns languish and die because the organization could not agree on the text, design, length, graphics, etc. of the brochure.

Typically, this impasse occurs more often in capital and endowment campaigns than in annual fundraising efforts because campaigns, which are (by definition) of limited duration, are viewed as special events.

Because they are not repeated every year, a previous brochure is not there to serve as a comfortable model. Faced with the prospect of creating a document from scratch, everyone on the campaign committee seems to be magically transformed into a writer or creative artist.

In their need to feel adequately prepared for success, volunteer leaders often have the tendency to become inordinately involved with the actual nuts and bolts of developing the campaign brochure.

Therefore, the campaign management professionals, guided by the expertise of communications specialists, should make decisions about the brochure and other related materials … and stick to those decisions.

Accept the fact that it will be impossible to obtain the complete agreement of everyone involved on each and every point, so don’t set up a situation where you have to ultimately disregard some campaign leader’s stated preference about a favorite color or treasured phrase.

While consensus is important in fundraising, it does not mean that you must arm every member of your campaign committee with veto power….

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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 cheap ($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, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

In marketing and media awareness terms, the “Rule of 7” states that before a customer or donor actually makes a purchase or a gift, they need to be “touched” in some way before they will act.

“Touched,” means contact by: a piece of mail, an email, a radio discussion, an advertisement (print or electronic), a conversation, and any other conceivable method of communication.

Since the numbers of communications are increasing, marketers are now saying that you must include opportunities in your plans to reach people 21 times … before they will do what you want them to do, because they (mentally) tend to screen out two of every three of your efforts.

So what does this mean in terms of the CFC solicitation period that we are in now?

It means that you need to expand your efforts to generate CFC awareness. If you’ve been following my CFC posts you know how strongly I emphasize the need to use all 12 months to generate awareness of your participation in the CFC.

That’s what you should have been doing; but, if you haven’t, generations of college students have proven that cramming is better than doing nothing at all.

So, what follows are some techniques that can help you expand your visibility and, thereby, increase your contributions in the latter part of the CFC campaign.

CFC Donors: You thanked those donors … who released their names and contact information to you in the last CFC. So, for those you can contact, contact them again. Thank them again for their continued support, and share with them how their payroll deduction gifts really make a difference to the people that you serve.

General E-mail list: Use your in-house email list to communicate with all those folks about all of your year-end giving opportunities … including the CFC, and any other workplace giving campaigns in which your non-profit participates. That way, your donors get to choose what method(s) they want to use to support your organization.

Media Releases: NPOs that have opportunities to get media coverage during the holiday season should make sure to include mention that you’re in the CFC … and include your CFC ID number.

Signage: If your nonprofit has street exposure, put a sign in your window with the CFC logo and your 5 digit ID.

Vehicles: If you have vehicles with your nonprofit’s name on them, get magnetic signs printed that have just the CFC logo and your CFC 5-digit code. CFC donors who see your vehicles will easily recognize what that logo and number represent.

In All Of Your Communications make it clear that your organization is in the CFC, what your 5 digit code is, and that you very much appreciate the support of all of your Federal donors and volunteers.

Face Time Counts: This is the oldest adage in leadership and sales, because it’s the most important. Have you trained your staff that, when talking with their friends, they should ask them if they have any “Federal connections” … people to whom they are close and who are in the Federal government – spouses, siblings, parents, neighbors, friends, etc. As Stephen Covey outlined in “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” you achieve higher levels of success by focusing your efforts on your “Circle of Influence” … start where you already connections.

Relationships Are Key. That simple three-word sentence is the mantra of all fundraising. It takes a great deal of effort, thought, capability, energy, resources, and committed people to actually develop a sustainable, growing, and effective development program, but that mantra is the key, the basis of all successful development efforts … including workplace giving and the Combined Federal Campaign.

Don’t think of all of those awareness-generating techniques as just one-shot deals, and certainly don’t think of the CFC as an ATM machine.

If you take the time and do the work to develop relationships with your CFC donors, they will support you for many years. Don’t, and they won’t !!

Next month’s post: Update on the proposed CFC regulations and the Congressional Hearing.

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We’re taking a short break … for some turkey.
See you next Tuesday.
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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 cheap ($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, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Last month I went deep into Bequest Promotion Channels.

This month, Stewardship. The donor who has included your charity in their will can change their mind and undo their gift at any time. Why does that matter?

It matters because you need to steward your bequest donors well, so they don’t change their minds.

You don’t have to break the bank or trip over yourself to be good them, but you do have to keep them in mind, look for opportunities to make them feel close to you and treat them like a member of the family.

The last stat I saw on this was a few years ago. At the time, four percent of people who made a charitable bequest changed their mind later. The odds are clearly in your favor, but you want to make sure your donors don’t slip into that small minority. So practice good stewardship.

Here are a few ideas:
Send Cards. Have a supply of birthday and anniversary cards, and send them. For a twist on the typical, send anniversary cards based on donors’ relationships with your charity: the date they told you about their bequest for you; the date they made their first gift; the date they joined the board; or the date they paid off a pledge. Be creative. You’ll surprise the hell out of them!

Send Handwritten Notes. These are so rare that they’re an extra special surprise. No need to fill an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper. Use note cards or writing stationery. Sincerity and thoughtfulness don’t have to be long-winded.

Reserve VIP Seating. At your next event, carve out a bunch of seats and call them VIP. Set them aside for your bequest donors, or all your planned gift donors. It costs nothing because you already paid for the seats. You’re just making them special.

Host a Reception. At that same event, add a reception. This will add to your event budget, but not terribly. You’ve already got the venue booked and catered, now add a 45-minute VIP reception at the beginning or end.

Go on a Trip. Seniors love cultural or historical places, or quirky places they wouldn’t go on their own. It’s OK to charge a fee for transportation, admission and a meal if you can’t afford to pick up the tab, but maybe you can subsidize the cost if you can’t pay the full price.

I used to take planned gift donors to The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. Our group loved to tour the classroom kitchens, and then we had a delicious lunch at a student-staffed restaurant. We paid for the bus and charged our donors the balance.

Your stewardship need not be expensive. Thoughtful and gracious will go a long way to preventing bequest donors from undoing their gifts to you.

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Tony Martignetti, Esq. is the host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio.
He’s a Planned Giving consultant, speaker, author, blogger and stand-up comic.
You’ll find him at TonyMartignetti.com.
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Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and cheap ($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, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

In every fund-raising campaign, toward the end of the drive, we always must address any number of proposals and presentations which were made seeking donations, but for which we’ve still not gotten a definitive response.

We were not given a “Yes,” or a “No.” Mostly we were told, “I’ll let you know,” … or something like that. The books are closing. The campaign is at its end. What do we do to get a final answer from those key prospects?

Following-up a presentation, especially that of of a major gifts proposal, looks for the most desired timing and process. The proposal was already made to a prospect, and the final decision is still pending. It usually starts with the “comfort level” of your association with the prospect which enables your instincts to tell you when and in what manner to proceed, so as not to be intrusive and annoying to the prospect.

In specific terms, what you were told during the proposal presentation regarding decision making, possibly covers these three scenarios as the prospect:

(1) Cited a duration of time, such as a few days, weeks, or even months, to an explicit calendar date, when they will make their decision known to you. (Remember, even though we want the funds “now,” it is still up to the donors to determine when it is best for them to give.)

(2) Indicated they will think it over, and will let you know at the “appropriate” time.

(3) Requested that you resubmit your request “at a later time.”

Those three scenarios, and other variations, could be addressed at the appropriate time by utilizing one or combinations of the following:

(A) Contact the prospect and simply and directly – and politely – seek their response. (Again, this is naturally dictated by the “comfort level” of your association.)

(B) Telephone or send notes of appreciation for their thoughtful consideration of the request in the first place, and briefly cite again the main points of the campaign or project. Reiterate the applicable “named gift opportunity” or membership level related to their gift.

(C) Initiate an “informational” follow-up contact, providing to your prospect up-to-date fundraising news and reports that would be bolstering and compelling. Talk about the encouraging results of the fundraising to-date, and remind them that they can be part of the eventual/public success.

(D) Use the impending/looming☺ end of the fundraising program — cite an imminent campaign deadline, the end of the fiscal year, that you are getting close to meeting the terms of a challenge grant, and that their commitment now will help ensure the campaign’s success.

Remember, chances are good that you will not receive a cool reception regarding any “bother” you may think you would be causing. Just be polite, have no hint of crisis in your voice, and always show appreciation, even if you do not get the gift – or get less than you had asked. After all, they were considerate enough to give your request some degree of thought.

Maybe Next Time !!

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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 cheap ($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, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

It’s been my honor to have served as board president of two nonprofit organizations – a synagogue and a music society.

I learned a lot during my terms with these organizations, but perhaps my most important lesson was the need to acknowledge people and express my personal appreciation of them, to them.

That is something we need to do a lot more of in our grant proposals.

The Importance of “Thank You”
Unfortunately, today we all are drowning in clichés and platitudes, many of them patently insincere. How many letters do you get a week from your bank or investment companies that tell you how much you are valued as a customer, and how many of these same banks and investment companies helped topple the economy in 2008 through their greed and criminal behavior? It often seems as if we are living in an age of insincerity.

As grant proposal managers, we are always under a great deal of pressure to adhere to schedules and milestones … and produce outstanding proposals. And, while immersed in those hectic work schedules, we often forget that our most valuable asset is our proposal team.

We cannot treat each other as tools or cogs in a gigantic grant proposal wheel. Instead, we must acknowledge what every study has demonstrated – that we all need to feel appreciated and valued.

We also know that when we acknowledge and thank a colleague, we feel better too. Expressing appreciation is a very pro-social kind of behavior.

Saying thank you increases the likelihood that your colleagues will not only help you but help other people too. Saying thank you is a form of social capital. It helps build trust and cooperation.

How to Say “Thank You” More Often
Mark Goulson in a Harvard Business Review blog has provided us with a good roadmap for providing a meaningful thank you. I will modify his suggestions and apply them to grant proposal development.

I encourage proposal managers, and everyone on grant proposal teams, to take these four steps to say thank you:
• The first and most important step is to be grateful for the work your colleagues
are doing. You cannot give a sincere appreciation and thank you unless it is real.
They will immediately see through any acknowledgement that is not genuine.
• Thank them for something very specific. For example, you could say, “Mary,
I really appreciate that you stayed late today and helped us finish
our red team review.”
• Acknowledge the sacrifices that people are making. “I know that you could be
spending today with your kids at the playground. I really appreciate you working
this Saturday afternoon to finish our grant proposal.”
• Tell people what their work personally means to you. “Mark, I couldn’t have
managed this proposal without your great work on resumes. You helped make
this a very strong proposal.”

Follow this simple rule: You cannot sincerely say thank you enough to your grant proposal team.

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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 cheap ($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, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

A Guest Posting by Sue Smith

An issue was raised in a listserve: “As someone more used to working with the clients, I have become more and more concerned about the exploitation of clients and ‘their stories’ as fundraising tools. I am constantly being asked to ‘provide a client or two’ who are willing to be interviewed, photographed, [and] have their story shared. One part of my brain understands the necessity, and I have rarely felt the results were anything less than tasteful. But another part of me is very uncomfortable with the notion of ‘using’ our clients to get money from people.”

Susan responded:
The decision to make a gift is, above all else, an emotional one.

People don’t support agencies like yours because they like the idea of it or what it does. They support you because you have a track record in making a difference in people’s lives. They support your organization because it helps people.

How do they know that? They know because your organization takes the time to illustrate what they do by telling people’s stories.

Although we’ve all heard people say that they support an organization because they “like what it does,” what they really mean is, “We like what you do for people.”

You’ve heard it zillions of times before — people give to people. They don’t give to equipment, programs or bricks and mortar — they give to [obtain/maintain] equipment that saves people’s lives, or [to fund] programs that make the neighborhood a better place for people in which to live/work, or to [erect/renovate] buildings that will provide shelter for people, etc. etc.

Telling an appealing story about a person or family who has received support, help, and services is a powerful way to illustrate what your organization does.

If you say the same thing, but in the abstract, via the words of the Board president or Executive Director (i.e., “Our program is unique because it, blah, blah, blah…”) you’ve distanced your potential donor from a powerful experience — the actual experiences of a person who receives direct benefit. That’s what encourages people to give.

Second, by allowing your agency to use a personal story, you provide a consumer/client/patient with a good way to give something back to the agency and to help the agency do something it needs to do on an ongoing basis — raise funds.

Most clients/consumers/patients would love to have a way to help the agency that has helped them. Not all can volunteer time or give money. But many people who have received services are delighted to share their personal stories to help other people who may be in a situation similar to their own, or to help the agency that has been so helpful to them.

Of course, when we tell people’s stories and they are good enough to allow us to do so, we should be mindful of the fine line between telling a good story and exploiting a person’s misfortunes. We should also be careful not to compromise a person’s right to privacy/confidentiality.

But you shouldn’t assume that every time a PR or fund development person approaches you for [the name of] a good client to interview, or for a possible anecdote involving clients, that the request constitutes exploitation or is in some way using them.

I used to ask rehab staff, nurses, physicians, teachers, etc., in various NPO’s where I have worked as a development director to think about people who used our services and whose stories were compelling. They would come up with several suggestions and they would talk with that person on my behalf to see if they were willing to share their stories. I never had anyone say no.

In almost all cases, they allowed photos, were able to read/approve the copy I created and, for direct mail, I told the story in the first person and asked the client/consumer to sign the letter.

We had wonderful results!

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Sue Smith, a long-term development practitioner and consultant,
currently serves on the staff of the Mohawk Valley Community College.
Sue can be reached at Ssmith@mvcc.edu
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Have you seen
The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
They’re easy to read, to the point, and cheap ($1.99 – $4.99) ☺
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In a previous post, I introduced “A Four-Step Process for Effective Grantsmanship,” including:

(1) prospecting for foundation funding,
(2) cultivation,
(3) grant proposal development, and
(4) grant management and stewardship.
(See Chapter Five in my ebook: Grants & Grantsmanship)

So far, I’ve provided a lot of information on steps one through three, as well as on grant reporting (part of stewardship), but I neglected to introduce step four with a post on stewardship.

This post is that introduction:

The Association of Fundraising Professionals defines stewardship as, “a process whereby an organization seeks to be worthy of continued philanthropic support, including the acknowledgement of gifts, donor recognition, the honoring of donor intent, prudent investment of gifts, and the effective and efficient use of funds to further the mission of the organization.”

Although the term is most often associated with individual donors, it is also an important element in your grant program. As I have said in previous postings, “relationships are at the heart of all fundraising activities, and grants are no exception.” Stewardship encompasses the activities you undertake to maintain and build relationships with your foundation grant makers.

As with individual donors, stewardship of foundations encompasses three elements: gift acknowledgement, donor recognition, and reporting.

Gift acknowledgement is straightforward: send written acknowledgement of the grant within one to two days of receipt of the grant, typically a letter signed by your executive director. It is also a good idea to have your ED call the foundation manager or trustee to thank them personally.

Donor recognition is more involved and can include any or all of the following:
•  Listing the foundation grant in your annual report, on your website, in e-mail and social media communications
•  Writing a press release about the foundation grant and what it means to your NPO’s clients
•  Including the foundation name on a donor wall or other named space signage
•  Honoring the foundation at an event hosted by your NPO

An important consideration for ALL donor recognition is to involve the foundation’s leadership – either the manager or trustee – before you publically recognize the grant. They may want to remain anonymous, or they may want as much publicity as they can garner and will want to help craft the messaging. Either way, the recognition you provide should be what the foundation leadership wants to receive.

Reporting encompasses formal grant reports as well as informal communications on your NPO’s accomplishments. I covered formal grant reporting in my March 1, 2012 post, “The Dog Ate My Foundation Report,” and included a number of ideas for informal communications in my June 14, 2012 post, “Who Moved My Funder.”

I’ll conclude this post with WHY stewardship is an important element in your grant program. For the simple reason that it’s much easier to retain a donor (in this case a foundation grant) than to recruit new donors, and stewardship is critical to donor retention.

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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.
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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 cheap ($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, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.