Category: Financing & Loans

Fundraising is all about getting your potential donors to want to give to you — if they want to, they will; if they don’t, they won’t !! Too many nonprofit board and staff members don’t understand that little bit of rocket science.

Too many board and staff members are focused on “how wonderful the organization is,” on doing good works, and on helping people, often to the exclusion of what their constituents really think/want.

To turn potential donors into actual donors, there are three things that impact that transition: (1) What your current donors like about you; (2) What you need to know about your potential donors; and, (3) What would you have to do to influence those potential donors.

This week I’ll talk about the first, and next week, the second and third.

So, how do you know, how do you find out how your constituents and (potential) donors feel about your organization, about its programs and about their effectiveness?

To answer that question, and the others that are inherent in this discussion, I must make a few assumptions: That your potential donors are aware of your existence, your programs and your effectiveness; That yours is not a brand new organization; and, That your development program is well beyond the “fundraiser” stage.

A mature development program has a number of components, including direct mail, social media, special events, major gifts, etc., and is supported by the detailed record-keeping that allow you to generate reports indicating to which specific mailings/events/programs a donor responded.

If you have a mail acquisition program, and you send a number of appeals to the same list, you would have a record of the appeal(s) to which your new donors responded. For those who are ongoing donors, if you’ve given them a choice (a checkbox) as to which programs they’d like their contributions applied, then you’ve got those records.

To which of your email messages have your constituents responded? What aspect(s) of your mission drew those responses – requests for more information?

Have you segmented your mailing list to send different groups of constituents different newsletters?

O.K., I think I made my point.

So, obviously, if you have a mature development program, you have the means to determine what it is about your organization and its programs that your donors like.

If your development program is still in its infancy or growth stage, then the above might help you establish a direction for it.

One other thing you might consider … a survey — email would be great for the purpose, and you’d get your responses back fairly quickly.

Keep it simple, ask only one-or-two questions. For example, you can list the various aspects of your mission and/or the various programs you use to further your mission, then you can ask that respondents hit and indicate their priorities on that email (i.e., Which aspect of our mission is the most important to you? The second most important? Which program(s) are most important to you … on a scale of 1-5?).

Once you know what it is that your donors like about you, you can look at a massive list of potential donors and begin to identify those with whom you’d have the best chances….

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For this discussion, I refer you to one of my earliest postings, What Is A Major Gift? for a definition of that term, and I add one additional criterion … that it is not a one-time gift

“Stewardship,” in the context of development/fundraising, is doing what needs to be done to keep donors feeling good about having given, and doing what needs to be done to get them to want to keep giving.

“Stewardship” is, in effect, “Cultivating” the donor in anticipation of when they are ASKed for their next gift.

The two terms are essentially synonymous, with the latter taking place before the gift is solicited/obtained, and the former taking place following the contribution.

So, what needs to be done?? Let’s start with the easy stuff:

The “thank you” for the first gift is step one of the stewardship process. There can, in fact, be more than one “thank you.” There can be a “thank you” from the Board Chair, one-or-more Board Members, the CEO/ED, the staff person(s) who guide the program that will be funded (in-part or fully) by the gift, and/or someone who will benefit from the program funded by the gift. And, by no means, does that list limit who can proffer a “thank you” – which can be in person, in writing and/or electronic.

Step Two could include periodic newsletters, emails, personal (handwritten) notes and DVDs showing how the gift has made a difference. Again, that was not meant to be a complete list.

Step Three could be one-or-more invitations to see the organization serving its community.

Step Four could be recruitment to participate in providing the program services – i.e., reading to kids, visiting with oldsters, working the serving line at a soup kitchen. The possibilities are endless … well, almost.

Step Five could be the naming of a program or part of a program in honor of the donor and/or someone s/he wishes to honor – keeping in mind that you don’t want to name a program or part of a program unless you know (not believe or hope) that funding will continue for that service.

Step Six could be recruiting/training the donor to be a spokesperson for the organization.

In Step Seven you could recruit/train the donor to help you evaluate other (potential) donors.

In Step Eight, that donor could be soliciting major gifts on your behalf.

For your organization, there can be as many steps in the stewardship process as would work for you and your donors, keeping in mind that some donors like to be cultivated, some don’t, and some are somewhere in the middle.

Also, it is not my intention to suggest that all of the above numbered steps should be implemented, nor that they should be implemented in any specific order … although some of those steps logically come before others.

If you’d like to add to the list, please write to me, Hank, and, if I use your thoughts/comments in a future posting, I’ll provide attribution.

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating
or expanding your fundraising program?
AskHank
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Have you heard about
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 would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, email Comments to offer your thoughts. Your comments, with appropriate attribution, could be the basis of a new posting.

As previously noted, if your phone program is primarily a fundraising solicitation tool, then the goal must be to raise as much money as possible.

That happens when all of the elements in a phone program support/enhance each other. We’ve talked about caller recruitment, training, scripting and pre-call mail or email. We’ve also talked about the “relationship” between the prospects, the organization/institution, and the caller.

Callers must be judged, primarily, on how they deal with and relate to the prospects. They are not evaluated just on the basis of how many calls they make in a session and/or how many dollars they raise. Of course those latter two elements are important, but emphasizing the number of calls doesn’t allow callers to use their judgment and give their attention to prospects who might (now or later) make significant commitments; and, just emphasizing the dollars would encourage callers to end seemingly unproductive calls … without a thought about the future of the “relationship.”

When two people are engaged in conversation, there is a relationship that exists between the parties, a relationship that should grow as the conversation becomes more meaningful. And, even though there is a script to be followed, it’s how the caller uses the script and his/her voice (tone/inflection) that engenders a “connection” between the caller and the prospect.

If the caller uses his/her voice properly, and creates/maintains the relationship with the prospect, then the dollar commitment becomes much more likely.

This leads us to another consideration. It’s easier for two people to establish a relationship if they feel that they have “things” in common … or, at least, don’t feel as if they don’t have anything in common.

For example, how uncomfortable do you feel when you call a company’s customer service center and wind up speaking to someone from a different country/culture? There’s often something missing in that conversation … a connection, a feeling.

Another example relates to generation. When I was growing up I was taught that, when someone says, “Thank you,” my response must be, “You’re welcome.” So, when I thank someone and their reply is “No problem,” there is a disconnect, a discomfort … a minor discomfort, but still, a discomfort. If, then, there are other such disconnects, chances of establishing a “productive” relationship are further reduced.

Speaking with someone whose culture matches or is similar to yours is a major factor in creating the comfort level that allows the creation of a “relationship.” I am not suggesting that callers are only assigned to prospects with identical cultural profiles, even considering the “difficulty” of making that happen, but I am suggesting that some emphasis be placed on that issue during caller training, and some consideration be given to caller/prospect assignments.

We’ve seen movies/tv that showed telemarketing/calling centers where every caller had his/her own carrel, separated from all the other callers. We’ve also seen public television fundraising where all the “operators” are sitting next to each other. I favor the latter arrangement for callers, where they are being reinforced in what they’re doing by others doing the same thing. Callers are working together to achieve a goal.

Callers should be working in a comfortable environment: comfortable chairs, headsets instead of handsets, the ability to take breaks when they need to, with drinks and snacks available.

And, since you want to keep the callers who are “relationship builders,” those who bring in the dollars, they should be paid enough to keep them from going elsewhere where they can be better paid.

Three final thoughts: (1) Telephone fundraising is serious business and should not be conducted in a “party” environment or with a “let’s-have-fun-mindset; (2) There is one person who is as important to the success of a phone program as the caller, that’s the person who trains the caller and provides ongoing supervision, training, and evaluation; and, (3) an effective phone program can get prospects to make multiple gifts during the year … obviating the need for the terms “annual fund,” annual giving” and “annual gift.”

Any thoughts/questions ?? Agree/disagree ??

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

If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, email Comments to offer your thoughts. Your comments, with appropriate attribution, could be the basis of a new posting.

Our apologies. Circumstances precluded our posting last week … first non-holiday week we’ve missed in five years.

We continue, now, with our series on Telephone Solicitation. And, by the way, our use of that term excludes telemarketing, robocalling or whatever you call those intrusive, unwelcome calls that always seem to come at inopportune times. Telephone solicitation for nonprofit organizations is about a personal contact.

Two weeks ago we ran out of space (because we want the postings on The Fundraising Blog to be worthwhile reading, easy to read, and short enough so that you’d not give up on reading a piece that looked too-long-to-read-right-now) and didn’t get to talk about caller training.

Caller training should have, as it’s main focus, the relationship between the constituent and the caller. It is about the connection they both have with the organization; the connection that the “letter-writer” tried to establish in the pre-call letter; the experiences/attitudes they may have in common; and, most importantly, how the caller treats the constituent.

For a call to be successful, both the caller and the constituent must be comfortable. At the end of the call, both participants should be smiling. Their feeling should be that they had just had a nice/pleasant experience.

For the caller, that feeling should make him/her look forward to the next call, to want to make that call, and experience that feeling again. For the constituent, that feeling should reinforce his/her feeling of commitment … to the organization and to follow through with what s/he promised during the call.

An essential element in the training process is the formal script that the caller will use when making contact with constituents. (The reason the best callers are actors is that they can make their use of a script sound like they just thought of what they wanted to say, and not like they’re reading a script.)

The wording must be conversational, not stiff, and must focus on the reason for the call. The script should not get into a “Hi, how are you” format. It should begin with the caller identifying him-/herself as the person that (the first section of) the pre-call letter/email said would be calling. If the prospect has received the letter, the rest of the call is easy … because the caller will then address sections two-and-three of the letter. (In case you missed it, the sections of the pre-call letter were discussed in the posting on June 11th.

Once the caller has identified him-/herself, the next step is to emphasize what was said in the letter about the need for a particular program, and that Mr. Kramden had asked that “you consider a commitment of….” Note, so far, the assumption is that the pre-call letter was received, that the prospect has read it, and has thought about the “support” that had been requested.

The assumptions continue, with the caller asking how the prospect would like to structure his/her commitment – “Will you be sending your check for that amount sometime this month, or would early next month be better for you?” There should be no discussion as to “IF” the prospect will make the commitment. The only question is “WHEN?”

Once the desired result (the commitment) has been obtained, then (appropriate) thanks will be in order, and mention that you will tell Mr. Kramden of the donor’s commitment. Following that, there can/should be chit-chat … conversation that will engender those “good feelings.”

OK, maybe you’re saying to yourself that the above sounds pretty impersonal, but it’s up to the callers, by their tone of voice, inflections, attitude, to show that they care … about the organization, about the program that needs support, and about the person with whom they are speaking.

The first line, the first thought, in our last posting noted that, “The key ingredient of an in-house telephone solicitation program is the person making the phone call.”

Next week we’ll wrap up this series with some varied thoughts about
the process – the callers, the training, and the calling environment.

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

If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, email Comments to offer your thoughts. Your comments, with appropriate attribution, could be the basis of a new posting.

The Campaign (Annual, Endowment Or Capital) Is Over And The Goal Has Been Achieved — Life Is Good!

Issue a press release and a final newsletter thanking campaign leadership, volunteers and the donors. Single out people who should be commended, and praise the campaign chair. Then, be sure to convene a meeting of the campaign leadership for in an-depth, no-holds-barred, assessment and review of what was accomplished and what was learned.

Follow the First Rule in evaluating a completed campaign: Don’t wait! The Second Rule is to get the evaluation done quickly. That way, knowing all that is important about the finished campaign, leads to helping the next campaign to be an even better one.

The Campaign Is Over And The Goal Has Not Been Achieved — Life Has Been Better!

This has happened to me more times than I like to admit. Goals and resources do not always match, campaigns do develop insurmountable problems, and sometimes you just can’t pull it off. Fundraising professionals have to be prepared for the occasional failure.

Bear in mind, however, that a campaign can come up short of its goal and still have demonstrated a lot of accomplishment. You may still be able to say congratulations to volunteers and donors. Though not enough, the money raised may be an all-time high for the organization’s annual fund.

You’ll still be able to build or renovate … perhaps reduced degree. You’ve raised a goodly amount of endowment funds, enough to help safeguard your organization’s future. More donors than ever before may have given. More volunteers worked the campaign than any before. The campaign may have come within 10 percent of a goal we knew to be very ambitious.

It is the rare campaign in which you cannot find a positive accomplishment to call to the attention of volunteers, donors, and the public. Make lemonade from lemons.

So issue a press release and a final newsletter thanking campaign leadership, volunteer solicitors, and the donors. Single out people who should be commended, and praise the campaign Chairperson. Thank-you functions are still appropriate. Donors still need to be told how much they are valued and appreciated.

With the people who worked on the campaign, you need to be practical and honest about the disappointment, but don’t let words of regret, frustration, and unhappiness get to the ears of those who gave.

If you become preoccupied with the shortfall and forget all the good things that happened, you do a disservice to those who worked a campaign and to those who gave to it. They should never be left to think their efforts were a waste.

I liked to host a thank-you function or functions for my volunteers and major donors. The format should be in tune with the organization and the community — a cocktail party, picnic, or open house, for example. Don’t forget to seek underwriting for this event. Board members may contribute food and drink at their home, country club, yacht club or even in their corporation’s board room.

Editor’s Note: As has been emphasized so often in these postings: Goal setting is not an arbitrary process!! If adequate research and planning precede goal setting, the risk of not attaining the goal is reduced dramatically.

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You can Ask Tony.
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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 would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, email Comments to offer your thoughts. Your comments, with appropriate attribution, could be the basis of a new posting.

The following is a recently received email. My comments/responses are the indented paragraphs.

We’re a relatively young 501c3, at about 5 years old, but have relied mostly on dues from members up to this point. Last year we participated in our state’s annual nonprofit day of giving.

It is my observation that memberships/dues are not the best ways to
raise money. As an organization matures, it becomes easier to raise
a lot more from contributions, because people who pay dues very often say,
when asked for a contribution, that they’ve already paid/given for the year.

We earmarked all of that income as Educational Scholarship money, to turn around and give to applicants from the local high schools (not our membership), and to each of 3 local university/college art departments (it was their discretion which student was awarded.)

Simple enough. This year, we’d like to … fund those same scholarships again, perhaps in greater number, but we’d also like to spend some on educational opportunities for our own members – via workshops, visiting expert artists, etc. (Membership is open to anyone declaring themselves an artist, and we have 3 levels of membership with varying benefits.)

Ethically, we wonder if just saying/advertising on social media that we’re “raising money for scholarships and education” is enough, or if we need to be more specific. (Like 80% to fund our scholarships and 20% to our own workshops. Spelling out the details on our donor page).

Yes, you need to be more specific, but not in terms of percentages. Explain (briefly) about the scholarships you award and the educational programs you provide … and, how those scholarships and programs make a difference in the community. Phrase it in terms of how people benefit, not in terms of what a great job you’re doing.

Ethics often equates to transparency, and for a nonprofit, that’s essential.

Also, ethics requires that if you ask people for money for one-or-more specific purposes, and they give to specifically to support those purposes, you have to use their gifts specifically (only) for those purposes.

Financially, we’ll track the funds separately. Not sure how that will effect our annual IRS info/bookkeeping.

Tracking funds via the nonprofit equivalent of an income and expense statement is standard. BUT, you not only have to report to the IRS, you have to report to your constituency/community. Remember, pretty much nothing a nonprofit does is secret. And, if you budget wisely, spend wisely, and report your income and expenses properly, it’s good marketing, good community relations and a good basis for asking people to support what you do.

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

If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, email Comments to offer your thoughts. Your comments, with appropriate attribution, could be the basis of a new posting.

I had a conversation, recently, with a board member of an organization – a type of “foundation” that raises funds to support activities designed to advance/sustain their profession, who indicated that the board was “disappointed” with the total dollars that have been raised over their first few years.

When the organization was first created, they sought the advice of a development consultant (me) … who explained the basis of successful fundraising: prospect identification; determination of the needs of prospective donors; working with those prospects to find the fit – where prospect needs could be satisfied by making significant gifts to the organization; determining the amount of the “Ask;” and, actually asking for the gift.

The members of that organization’s board insisted that their organization’s members were different from every other group of prospective donors, that their members would want to help/contribute, that all that needed to be done was to make those members aware of the need, and that they wouldn’t have to be evaluated, cultivated and “Asked.”

Not surprisingly, those board members were also extremely uncomfortable with the idea that they’d actually have to ask someone, face-to-face, for a specific dollar figure. Their solicitations were all passive – emails and flyers lauding the goals of the “foundation,” signs and a sign-up table at meetings, etc. So, no surprise that they’ve only been able to raise 10% of the funds they’ve publicly stated were needed to do what should be done to maintain/advance their profession.

These are intelligent, highly educated, capable people who, like many who would be similarly described, believe they know fundraising/development better than those who trained for and have decades of experience in the field. Can you imagine how disbelieving, even horrified they would be if I told them I knew how to practice their profession better than they do ??

I wonder whether their inability/refusal to take the advice of the fundraising professional stems from a fear of having to ask people for money, from an arrogance often seen in many of the “highly educated” or a combination of the two. Is it possible they’d rather fail than overcome their fears of Asking?

Whatever the reason, this “foundation” has to choose between doing it their way, and not having the funds to actually do what’s needed to ensure their profession’s future, or….

This is not, by the way, an unusual occurrence … and it’s not something that only happens in relation to fundraising/development. It’s fairly common that people/groups/organizations are unable or refuse to accept the advice/direction of the consultant/expert from whom they’ve sought that advice/direction. I’m sure a psychologist could explain it !!

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

If you’re reading this on-line, and would like to comment/expand on the above piece, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply.” If you’re reading this as an email, and you want to comment on the above piece, email Comments to offer your thoughts. Your comments, with appropriate attribution, could be the basis of a new posting.