Category: Finance

I have a BIG problem with the word/concept of “philanthropy” as it is often misused in the nonprofit/fundraising world.

Too often, people in the nonprofit sector equate the terms fundraising, development, charity and contributions with the concept of philanthropy. They are not synonymous.

Philanthropy, in its literal definition, refers to “love of mankind/humankind. In the broad context of fundraising, it relates to giving that is motivated (primarily) by the desire to help others.

In last Tuesday’s posting, “When I Forgot the Meaning of Philanthropy,” Tony Poderis related a good example of where real philanthropy comes from – that some people’s “desperate need to receive was the perfect balance for [his] need to give.” Truly, in the end, his was an example of philanthropy, of his desire/need to help others.

The thing is, and my focus here is on the definition and use of the word “philanthropy,” not everyone gives for philanthropic reasons. For the most part, people aren’t giving out of their love of humankind. That doesn’t mean that people are not giving to help other people, it just means that many are giving to (primarily) satisfy their own needs.

“People give because giving (in some way) makes them feel good.” I can’t imagine a person making a gift and not getting some good feeling from the act.

Whether a donation is made because the donor wants to be (or feel as if) s/he is part of a particular group, because s/he was brought up to believe that you’re supposed to give, because it looks good to the community, because the solicitor is someone that s/he cannot refuse (for whatever reason), to get one’s name on a donor list or a plaque, or for whatever other reason a person might have for giving, not every gift is philanthropically motivated.

Indeed, giving tends to be an activity/action that makes the donor feel good. Even s/he who gives grudgingly, in the end … and for whatever reason, feels good about giving.

My point, with this exercise, is to emphasize for folks at nonprofit organizations that if you want people to give you their money, you must know/understand what motivates your potential donor.

That a nonprofit does wonderful things and helps lots of people may not be the reason that every current and former donor has made their gift, and it may not be the reason that they and others give in the future.

For those who give to causes/organizations like yours for philanthropic reasons, an appeal on that basis is usually sufficient. For those who are motivated by other reasons, you need to appeal to them based on what will make them want to give … and that may not have anything to do with how wonderful your organization might be.

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at [email protected]

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If 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.

In the 7 Keys to CFC Success, Key #3 is “Use all 12 months of the Year.” By the time you get to the actual CFC solicitation period in the fall, you’ll need to have already planted the seeds of awareness in the minds of your current and potential new donors.

Communication and marketing professionals will tell you that a person needs to have had at least seven “touches” (meaning any type of communication, including letters, ads, conversations, etc.) with an organization before they will act — whether to donate, volunteer, or make a purchase.

One program that provides multiple communication possibilities for many non-profits is the “National Volunteer Week” program that is sponsored by the Points of Light Institute. It began in 1974 and has grown significantly over the years, and the Points of Light network now includes more than 70,000 organizations.

The Institute provides many free resources to non-profits about the many aspects of National Volunteer week, including a free resource guide … that is available at: Resource Guide

As stated in that guide:
National Volunteer Week, April 15-21, 2012 is about inspiring, recognizing
and encouraging people to seek out imaginative ways to engage in their
communities. … you can leverage this brief window of national opportunity
to advance your individual cause and promote volunteer commitment in
your community.

I added the emphasis (bold-face) to the above to help you understand how important it is for your non-profit to benefit from this type of opportunity. This is just one example of the types of leverage available to non-profits, but it’s an extremely important one – don’t let it slip through your fingers !!

Volunteer Appreciation – Events

Many non-profits hold their own volunteer recognition efforts during the month of April, and as they are recognizing their program volunteers, it’s a very easy and simple step to add recognition of your own fundraising volunteers, as well as of the federal employees who are CFC volunteers each fall. The most basic tenet of all successful fundraising is to say “Thank you,” but many non-profits do not take advantage of all the opportunities to publicly thank all of their supporters.

Volunteer Appreciation – Press Releases and other Media

In addition to live events for recognizing volunteers, one of the important tools that non-profits should use are the Internet based media release sites. You have a compelling story to tell, (or else you wouldn’t exist), use the fact that because of the visibility of National Volunteer week, many media outlets are looking for stories to tell about non-profits in their community.

In addition to thanking the volunteers, and certainly if your organization has one or more “Volunteers of the Year” they will appreciate the coverage. Be sure to thank your fundraising volunteers … and the CFC campaign volunteers.

One of the important success tips in using Internet based press release services is to use accurate keywords for your organization, and you can end up being surprised by which media outlets are interested in your story.

In 2011, the Friends of Frying Pan Farm Park (a community park in Fairfax County, VA) thanked their supporters as part of National Volunteer Week, and mentioned some of their upcoming programs. A few days later a reporter from the Voice of America called.

No one would have predicted that result, and it shows how media has changed — use the right keywords for your organization, and the media will find you. You no longer have to find them.

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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
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Recently, during a meeting at our Church, I talked to Alice, our pastoral associate, about my wife Joyce and I offering to give a special major contribution for a program she heads.

Alice is in charge of a group who regularly review the cases of fellow parishioners in desperate need of money to pay overdue bills for household utilities, rent, mortgage, medical expenses, and other critical needs.

I have a long history of assessing and evaluating the financial “sustainability” of non-profit organizations and know it to be one of the key factors that grant-making organizations and donors use in deciding whether or not to contribute.

While most solicitations of donors are made without the presentation of spreadsheets and statements, we know that numbers usually do count, and that at the very least we better be ready to produce them when requested.

Thus, I found myself carrying forth those lessons learned from my non-profit evaluation experience when I began asking Alice questions at length about the designated recipients of our proposed donation.

I probed the “worthiness” of those in need of the generosity of our gift. I asked:
• What degree of research goes into the amounts requested?
• How sure is the church that the beneficiaries will use the money for the purpose for which
it is given?
• Will the recipients do their best to get on their feet so that further assistance isn’t needed?

In the middle of my questioning, I suddenly stopped and began to silently ask myself:
• Had I completely forgotten what philanthropy is?
• Where had my belief in charity gone?
• Had I lost my understanding of the humanitarian intent of my gift by encumbering it with
strings of implied “accountability?”
• Was I making units of measurement more important than an act of compassion?

As I struggled with those thoughts I realized that something even worse was in danger of happening. I was inadvertently dismissing and diminishing the good work that Alice and her committee were doing to address the very issues I was laboring over.

Shortly after arriving home from Church, a thought came, no doubt inspired from that sacred setting where I talked to Alice. I remembered what the apostle Paul wrote: “God loves a cheerful giver,” and that reconnected me to what our gift was really about.

I had been completely unaware that my searching, and to a degree intrusive, questioning of Alice was the reverse of the thoughts and actions of a cheerful giver.

My concerns were too much about my desire to know who was getting the money, how much they were getting, and whether they really deserve it. I had momentarily lost my understanding of the spirit of giving. I had become a “grim giver.”

I realize taking the “cheerful-giver” attitude too far can cause us to overlook the rational path we usually want our money to travel. But, there are times when we do not need to fret about our “return on investment.” There are times when we don’t need to wrap our giving in hard logic.

For me, this was one of those times. Temporarily, I had forgotten, that our parishioners’ desperate need to receive was the perfect balance for my need to give.
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If you have a question or comment for Tony, he can be reached at [email protected]. There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website: Raise-Funds.com

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If 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’re the only staff person devoted to grantsmanship at your organization, then you’re the one on first … and you’re also the manager! But, you have a great team, and each member plays an important role in helping to win the grant. As in baseball, each member of your team has specific responsibilities and a specific skill set that relates to the responsibilities of their position.

So, here’s the team roster:

• Manager: As the manager, you’re responsible for winning the grant. This means that you’re responsible for the four steps I have discussed earlier in this series: grant prospecting, grant cultivating, grant/proposal development, and grant management, including reporting and stewardship. As the manager, you also need to keep abreast of changing rules, techniques, technologies, and philosophies relevant to grantsmanship.

• First Baseman: In this position you need to receive information from all your other fielders.

• The Infield: The program staff members are your infielders, and they cover a lot of ground delivering services to your clients. When it comes to the programs you need to describe in grant proposals, they are the experts, and are invaluable members of your team. You must work closely with them to establish program goals, objectives, and metrics, and you need their help with monitoring outcomes and reporting results.

• The Pitcher: Your Executive Director and board members will, fairly often, make the pitch to a foundation trustee. The pitch can be in the form of a meeting to discuss the possibility of applying for grant funding, at a site visit that you have arranged, or even a phone call. Your board members’ connections in the community, and their ability to cultivate these relationships, are the specific skills that make them excellent pitchers for your organization. And in this capacity, they often function as talent scouts, helping you prospect for other sources of grant funding.

• The Catcher: Foundation trustees, program officers and/or the foundation manager are on the receiving end of your grant pitch. And, although not members of your nonprofit organization, they are very important members of your grant team. They can provide valuable information about the funding priorities of their foundation, and specifics on proposal format and due date. Most important, if they have caught a good pitch, they can be advocates for your proposal with the other trustees at their foundation.

• The Outfield: Other members of the development staff and the finance staff at your nonprofit round out your fielding positions. Other development staffers can assist with proposal review, and finance staff will provide budget information for proposals, and budget “actuals” for reports.

• The Competition: Just as Tony La Russa kept an eye on the Texas Rangers during the 2011 World Series, you also need to keep an eye on your competition. Review the annual reports of other organizations that provide the same or similar services as your organization, and identify the foundations listed as their funders. Foundations that fund these organizations are likely to be good prospects for you.

• Coaching Staff: As in baseball, coaches can assist in the smooth functioning of your team. Attend professional development seminars, network with other grant professionals, and seek out a mentor if you are new to the profession.

If you manage your team well, by understanding the importance of all your players and communicating with them about the roles they play in your organization’s grant program, then you may end up rivaling Tony La Russa’s winning record… and yes, I am from St. Louis!

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grant programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie..

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If 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.

A reader wrote:
We are a new non-profit, with a mission to promote health and wellness. We will likely be able to obtain a BCBS grant, but we’re now hearing that we must get board approval prior to its writing so that the board can approve the budget. Is this common practice?

Our response:
The board has authority/responsibility for all fiscal matters, and must approve the organizational budget.

Since it is a fiscal and policy matter, the board must agree to the submission of all grant proposals. They can examine/decide on every proposal, give blanket approval for categories of proposals, or they can be somewhere in between.

Most foundations require/expect/assume that the NPO’s board agrees to what is being committed to by the organization. The assumption is also that the board will accept responsibility for the proper use of the funds and the follow up reporting.

A board, in making policy, must decide whether it will oversee the implementation of all aspects of the program/activity to be financed by a grant (very unusual), or if they will leave that oversight to the executive director (usual). In any case, the board should require that the executive director provide periodic fiscal reports.

A follow up question from the reader:
We’re currently working on writing the BC/BS grant proposal, but we did submit five others previously. Main issues are that there is no policy in place or listed in the by-laws, each board member is trying to state what we should do, and the grant application is due this Friday.

We responded
Individual Board Members, unless specifically given the authority by the board (as noted in the board minutes), have no say about the structure/elements of a grant proposal. Only the Board has grant approval authority … and the board minutes must reflect their approval.

Without that, staff members would be taking “unauthorized” action and would become legally responsible for any claims the grantor might make !!

I can’t conceive of any grantor, especially one the size of BC/BS, accepting a proposal that wasn’t approved by the board of an organization requesting funding.

Be Careful !!

The reader’s final comments:
As said, it’s a green board and they need money, but there are some internal struggles. They’ve just hired a CEO, who wouldn’t be the program coordinator, as she doesn’t have the skill set. There is so much bickering, and the grant is still in proposal-writing mode. Now I understand why so many nonprofit employees just go to work, then go home, and “don’t want to get involved.”

My wording was intended to indicate that the CEO could oversee the financial aspects of a grant-funded program and/or the implementation of such a program. That, too, is up to the board.

What you’ve described sounds very much like so many other new NPOs.

And, a final observation: There may be many employees of (disorganized/unorganized) nonprofits who “don’t want to get involved,” but the majority of NPO staff members have a connection, a commitment, to their organization’s mission and the people being served.

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at [email protected]

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If 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.

Until recently, most government grant proposals were developed in a defined physical space. The proposal team worked near each other, had frequent face-to-face contact, and used conference rooms in its work.

The New Virtual World of Grant Proposal Construction

Today, however, this traditional model of proposal development is rapidly changing. An increasing number of government grant proposals are virtual efforts – they involve a geographically dispersed proposal team that works and communicates (for the most part) electronically, rather than on a face-to-face basis.

Virtual proposal managers must ask themselves (and answer) four basic questions:
 1.  How can I provide support to a geographically dispersed team?
 2.  How can I distribute information, documents, and tools?
 3.  How can I provide training and support to people whom I have not met?
 4.  How do I produce and submit the proposal?

How can I provide support to a geographically dispersed team?
Besides plenty of e-mails, telephone calls, and conference calls, a proposal manager should establish an electronic site where proposal team members can upload, download, and review proposal documents. Many organizations have SharePoint already in place, which is easy to use, access, and administer. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It also provides the security you need to work remotely.

How can I distribute information, documents, and tools?
As the proposal manager, you can use SharePoint to post documents such as resumes, past performance write-ups, drafts, and templates to team members.

How can I provide training and support to people whom I have not met?
Using SharePoint, you can post training videos, instructional materials, your organization’s style manual, and other documents.

How do I produce and submit the proposal?
Nowadays, most government grant proposals are submitted electronically. At the very beginning of the proposal effort, you should arrange to produce and upload your final proposal. If you wait until the last minute, you risk torpedoing the entire proposal because there are often problems uploading proposals, especially to government agencies using their own Web sites.

Answer these four questions before the proposal effort begins, and you will avoid a great deal of unproductive, low-level administrative and repetitive work in the expanding world of virtual 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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If 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.

A couple of thoughts to start the new year:

The Fundraising Appeal

Donors tend to be (highly) selective in deciding whose name goes on the payee line of their checks. Non-Profit Organizations, therefore, must do all they can to get donors to want to give to them.

At most times, especially in a “less than terrific” economy, donors want to be sure that their gifts are going to support/help people in need. NPOs must be sure, therefore, that their marketing, their literature and their solicitations all focus on the people in need … not on the needs of the NPO.

And, in addition to talking about people and their needs, the best wording should also talk about how the NPO is helping those people, how cost-effective it is in its operations, how a donor’s gift to the NPO can/will help so many people, and how the donor will derive a great deal of satisfaction by making the gift.

Introduction To Major Gifts

A comment made by the executive director of an NPO on the brink of closing its doors suggested to me that many people think of major gifts as those you pursue after you’ve done all of the other fundraising.

The language that the E.D. used was to the effect that, “We have to be sure we can stay in business before we can think about going after major gifts.”

I would hope that I never said anything to any client, or in any of my classes or postings, that would suggest that !! I’ve often mentioned that many (start-up and ongoing) NPOs can (and do) create major gifts programs from scratch, and can (and do) operate quite nicely on that income.

Certainly, in tough economic times, NPOs should be making every effort to raise funds by whatever (legal/ethical) means possible … keeping in mind that one major gift can (and often does) exceed what is raised via other methods.

Any NPO not actively/vigorously working on obtaining major gifts is doing a disservice to the people it serves … or could serve.

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at [email protected]

One of the advantages of online fundraising and marketing is that the data entry is outsourced to the donor. It’s also one of the disadvantages!

When a donor writes a check and mails it to you, you have to pay someone (at your organization, or at a service bureau) to open the envelope, deposit the check, and enter the donor’s name and address into your database. When the donor makes a gift online, they do the work.

Now you might guess that a typical professional data entry person can enter a name and address with higher accuracy than the typical donor would. What you may not realize is that the professional data entry person can enter the donor’s name and address with higher quality than the typical donor can enter their own name and address! Data entry by donors is appalling, and it costs you money.

According to the Direct Marketing Association’s “The Power of Direct Marketing” 2011-2012 edition, email marketing (across all direct marketing segments, not just fundraising) yields a return on investment (ROI) of $40.56 per dollar invested. It would be higher, of course, if more email messages were actually delivered.

You need to have the option on every web page to subscribe to your email newsletter, or take some other action which will have the same result – you get an email address and permission to send further email messages. If that email address isn’t valid, you’ll never reach that potential donor again.

Worse, it will look like your fault (since donors don’t assume they made the mistake). They’ll think you never sent them anything by email. So you should employ some techniques in your form to check and report on mistakes right away, preferably while the donor can still correct them. Some tips include:

• You can add some basic error checking software routines into your
   web page code. Some easy-to-check items include:
     o One and only one @ sign in an email address
     o At least one period after the @ sign
• Print a list of your bounced email addresses regularly. Sort it by
   domain (e.g. aol.com) and scan for obvious errors, like “aol.cmo” or
   “gmial.com”. Correct them or re-enter them correctly into your database.
• Employ more sophisticated instant error checking tools – software linked
   to your website that attempts to validate every email address as it is entered.

Now, you’ll find that your efforts to capture email addresses are yielding even higher returns!

More questions about email fundraising? Send me an email … but type my address carefully ☺

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Rick Christ has been helping nonprofit organizations use the internet for fundraising, communications and advocacy since 2009, and has been a frequent writer on the subject. He delights in your questions and arguments. Please contact him at: [email protected] or at his LinkedIn Page
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If 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.

To stand, to be effective over the long term, a major gifts program needs all three legs: Leaders, Prospects and Involvement of both in the life of your organization.

Leadership includes the organization’s CEO, Trustees and (often) key volunteers. It’s their role to define the funding need, take their case to the public, and identify, cultivate and evaluate those most likely to make a major gift. It is, of course, also the job of the leadership to set the example and ask others to follow that example.

The most likely Major Gift Prospects are those individuals with the means to make a gift of the appropriate size, who know your organization, believe in its mission and that it is being run effectively, are accessible to your leadership, and have been substantively involved with your organization.

An effective major gifts program requires the active participation of your leadership in getting your prospects actively involved in the life of your organization. Please note, active involvement of prospects does not necessarily refer to attendance at special events.

In the identification and initial evaluation process, involvement by leadership is absolutely essential. It is they who must have access to the wealthy, before the wealthy can be considered prospects. Your leaders must know your prospects and their interests well enough to identify the best means for involving them with your organization.

Involvement is an ongoing process that ranges from asking the prospect for advice, in one-or-more areas, to having that person serve on specific committees — for an event, to help identify/evaluate prospects, to add expertise on a project, etc..

Involvement can also mean working with you to help provide the service that is the mission of your organization. It can also be speaking for you, to community groups, corporations, the press, etc.

There is no time limit for involvement, it depends on the prospect. By definition, you ask for the major gift at the point where the prospect is likely to respond, “Of course. What took you so long to ask?” That’s why, since it’s not always easy to identify that point, the people doing the cultivating/involving must know the prospect well enough to make that determination.

To complete the “three-legged stool” analogy, you must also have someone to hold the legs together, and make all concerned do what’s needed, when needed. That’s your Director of Development … the person who directs your development program.
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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at [email protected]
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If 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.

It’s almost spring, and now’s the time to start planning your non-profit’s CFC campaign for the 2012 campaign season.

The best-selling author, Jim Collins, who wrote Good to Great, has five key principles for organizational success; and, in his own words, the single most important principle is to “Get the right people on the bus.”

That means that selecting the right people for your organization or project team is one of the most important tasks of a leader. This, most certainly, applies to your CFC action team, whether they are all paid staff or some combination of paid staff and volunteers.

There are several factors to consider when forming your CFC action team, and in particular deciding who is going to become the project leader. One key question I have my consulting clients’ executive directors ask themselves, as they consider who should be the CFC Team Leader, is:
    “If I need to send one person to a CFC charity fair, who do I
    want representing our non-profit and its mission to the public?”

In addition to deciding upon a team leader for your non-profit’s CFC program, plan on having at least two others involved on a regular basis (and more if warranted):

• A second person that can also staff the CFC special events including campaign kick-offs and charity fairs.
• Someone who can answer basic questions about your non-profit’s participation in the CFC, while others are away from the office.
• Depending up on the nature of your non-profit, it can be very valuable to have someone is part of the program staff as one of the key members of the CFC action team.

While it’s important to have at least one person who is in the office on a regular basis as the lead on your CFC action team, it’s often quite successful to have volunteers who are able to staff the charity fairs as well.

A few years ago the Chesapeake Bay Foundation had one volunteer whose sole activity was to staff charity fairs. As she once quipped to me, “I love helping the environment, but I don’t like getting muddy!”

Planning & Organizing

The team leader will be responsible for the overall planning for the non-profit’s CFC campaign, including deciding what campaign giveaways should be ordered (described in the previous post), as well as planning the communication and awareness generation strategies for the entire year, not just during the solicitation period.

The planning process include both deciding what tasks need to be accomplished, by what date, as well as a review of what worked well in the 2011 campaign (for non-profits already in the CFC), and what areas need improvement or updating for the 2012 campaign.

One item that needs to be periodically updated is your non-profit’s display board that has highlights about what your organization accomplishes. If the pictures haven’t been updated in several years, it’s time!

Annual Reports

Of the 7 Keys to CFC Success, the most important one is Number Seven, “Say Thank You Early and Often!” And, one of the places where you should say thank you is in your printed materials, including annual reports and newsletters.

Since many non-profits are now working on the content of their 2011 annual report, make sure that you include at least a simple thank you to both your CFC donors and to the CFC volunteers who helped raise funds for all of the CFC charities.

In the next post, we’ll take a look at one specific action that you can take in April to increase the awareness of your non-profit in your community.

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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
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If 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.