Fundraising Axioms

1. Connect to hearts and minds before you connect to wallets.

2. Donors expect and deserve a good return on their charitable gifts/investments

3. You can never thank a donor, volunteer or staff member too often. They are your keys to success.

4. Start now. There’s never a “better” time to start the process, whether cultivation or solicitation.

5. Identify prospects based on both financial ability and inclination to support your organization specifically.

6. Your best prospects are current donors.

7. Keep in mind that people give to people, not to causes. Peer solicitation is most effective, and a “team” approach of staff/volunteer can be powerful.

8. Before you ask others, you must give yourself. You will not be successful if you cannot convey your own passion for the cause.

9. Keep it simple. The best way to raise money is to ask, and the best way to ask is face to face.

10. Your Axiom!  Please share…

From Prospect to Partner

Turning prospects into donors is the end goal for any fundraising campaign. This all starts with proper solicitation of these individuals.

In his book “Tested Ways to Successful Fundraising,” George A. Brakeley, Jr. wrote that solicitation of prospects must be done in an orderly fashion with proven techniques. Your solicitation should go flawlessly, assuming the preliminary planning, scheduling, and research have been well executed well.

Brakeley, Jr. recommended these eight rules of thumb to get your efforts on the right track:

• An institution that seeks funds from all sources — individuals, commerce and industry, foundations, and government — has the best chance of success.
• The individuals most likely to obtain the largest possible gift from a given prospect should be assigned to solicit that prospect.
• The solicitor’s “status” should be equal, or superior, to that of the prospect. (Consideration should be given to the use of solicitation “teams.”)
• All prospects should be familiar with the organization’s case and needs before being asked to participate.
• Campaign workers must know each prospect’s giving potential.
• Most donors will give more if they know they may spread their gift over a period of years.
• Presentations should be tailored to the prospect’s known or supposed interests.
• Intimate, personal functions, arranged for small groups of potentially large donors, are far more effective than larger “special events.”

Keeping Board Members Engaged and Inspired

Needed:  Ideas for Engaging and Inspiring Board Members

The #1 challenge heard repeatedly about nonprofit board members: How do we keep our board members inspired and engaged?

Is it any wonder this is a challenge? The average nonprofit has something like nineteen board members, eight board meetings a year, lasting two hours each, 67% attendance, six-year term limits, people rotating on and off every year, each board member serving on another board or two, etc. Yet somehow, in spite of those facts, boards are expected to remain inspired and govern a nonprofit organization brilliantly, even in these challenging economic times.

Is there a predictable pathway to igniting and engaging board members?  Is there a way to involve board members in designing and implementing a plan to attain long-term financial sustainability for the organization?

What greater challenge and what greater contribution for a board member to make!?    Please weigh in on how to achieve this substantial and critical goal…

Talking Points with Donors

Here are a few thoughts on the progression of your conversation:

1.  We appreciate your faithful support of our ministry over the years. Can you tell me how you first got connected with us?

-This question is so very important because it establishes the starting point for relationship with your ministry. This is where and how the journey began that brought them to the point of sitting face-to-face with you! It often reveals the most effective development paths that originally introduced you to this donor, but more importantly will reveal something about their heart and circumstances which made them choose YOU.

2.  Why is this ministry important to you?

-Donors have many choices when it comes to supporting ministries. This question helps you to better understand their heart, their values, and priorities, while also enhancing your understanding about why your organization stands out. (Needless to say, I once worked with a donor who supported some 65 different ministries each month. Let’s hope yours is in the top 5!).

3.  Do you support other ministries similar to ours? (Which ones?)

-If you’ve ever spent time chatting with your Development Director about how new donors are acquired, he or she may discuss how the donors to your organization have similar patterns, interests, habits…in short, similar demographics. It’s quite probable that your donors support a handful of similar organizations, and it’s important to know who they are. There may be opportunities for joint projects or alliances that would be a “win-win-win” for everyone.

4.  In all the ministries you support, what would you say is the common theme?

-Here again, you want to give your donor an opportunity to express what’s important to them, while growing in your own understanding of why people give to you. When it is time for you to chirp in and talk about your ministry, all parties will be best served if your conversation focuses on topics of mutual interest, rather than less relevant program statistics.

5.  Have you seen our facilities? (If yes…) How well do you think our facilities convey the message of hope that is so central to our mission? (or whatever your message happens to be)

-Most major donors care about your ministry, and thus, have an opinion about how you do what you do. This question is an invitation to take one step closer to your ministry by coming down to see the operation first-hand. (Consider the small percentage of your total donor base that has actually done this!). If they’ve had the tour, do get an outsiders’ perspective on how consistently you “walk the talk.” Does your message of hope come through in all that you do or only what you say?

6.  Of all the things we do, which do you like best?

-It doesn’t hurt to survey now and then.

7.  (Looking at pictures on the table or desk….) Is that your (grand)children? What kind of things do you like to do together? Do they share you interest in ministry?

-This question is particularly helpful in understanding if the support of your ministry is a private matter or something shared by the family at-large. This becomes particularly relevant when structuring planned gifts that may impact the family estate.

8.  Do you share any other common interests or family traditions? Do you have a personal or family legacy that you want your (grand)children to carry on?

-Many families are becoming increasingly focused and intentional about their giving. With more understanding about the biblical benefits of giving, parents are beginning to see the value in raising their children to become givers, and embrace Christian philanthropy. Family foundations, Donor Advised Funds, and other vehicles are providing mechanisms for families to live out their faith in the context of finances. If their family values include involvement in ministries like yours, take note!

That’s interesting. We have a type of legacy, focus, or contribution we want to make as well. Fundamentally, we want to be known and remembered as the ministry that…….

-You better know how to finish this sentence. If your ministry values and purposes align with that of the donor, you’re on your way to a partnership of ministry and philanthropy that will be extremely fulfilling to all parties!

10.  Some of the ways in which we want to do that include….

-Here’s an opportunity for YOU to do some talking and share the specific vision and needs of your ministry that – you now know – align with the giving preferences of your donor-friend.

11.  Which of those do you think are the most important or will be the most effective in fulfilling our mission or defining our legacy?

-You’d best have a position on this yourself, but engaging your donor in some thinking about those aspects of your strategic plan they are most likely to support would be helpful dialog.

12.  As we (continue to) develop this/these, would you like an occasional update on our progress?

-By now you should have a pretty good idea of the level of interest your donor has in the future of your ministry. Obtaining permission to re-engage in dialog and send them information ensures and open door for fruitful ministry and philanthropy.

Marketing Advice

 

1. Consider Your Audience First, Then Manage Your Brand’s Place Within.  This is from Scott Monty, global digital & multimedia communications manager for Ford Motor Company.  As you’d expect, I’m a big fan of this advice.  Says Monty: “If you wish to persuade me, you must think my thoughts, feel my feelings and speak my words… Even though tools and technology and the medium may change very quickly, fundamentally, human nature stays the same.”

2. Do Your Own Thing, Then Do It Simply and Really Well. That concept comes from Andrew Kordek, co-founder and chief strategist for Trendline Interactive.  He warns against “digital ADD,” saying, “When you think you have to do everything everyone else is doing, you complicate things, rush things and don’t do them correctly or with any thought process behind it.”  Good advice.

3. The Zany Bird Gets the Worm, but It Must Work Hard to Earn its Audience. This is the advice of Peter Shankman, marketing consultant, author and founder of Help A Reporter Out.  He says not to worry about what people might think when you have a crazy idea.  “If they don’t like it, they’ll say so and you’ll start over, but more times than not, they’ll be intrigued and willing to run with it, and it will work.”  But, that said, don’t forget restraint and even decorum.  “Having an audience is a privilege and not a right. It’s like wearing Spandex,” he says.

4. Get to It Already, but Put the Brakes on the Hard Sell, says M.H. (Mac) McIntosh, founding partner at Acquire B2B and CEO of marketing and consulting firm Mac McIntosh Inc. Get to the point in your outreach with the what, who and why.  At the same time, stop selling and instead, help your customers buy.  Or in our world, help donors give.

5. When It Comes to Your Site, It’s About Usability, Usability, Usability.  That’s from Bert DuMars, vice president of digital marketing and e-commerce at Newell Rubbermaid.  “Pretty is as pretty does” he notes. It doesn’t matter how attractive, slick or sophisticated a site is if it isn’t user-friendly and functional.  Amen to that.  I’ve seen fantastic nonprofit websites that aren’t slick but are wholly effective.

What’s the best piece of marketing advice you ever got?

Facing the Giant of Fear

This week, I will face my fear.

It may seem like it’s too late for God to solve your problem. But Jesus insists that he can!

I want a microwave Savior. A God who solves my problems instantly.

But that’s not the only way Jesus works.

In Luke 8, two people came to him at just about the same moment: a religious official named Jairus, and an anonymous woman who had been hemorrhaging for years. The woman got instant satisfaction: “immediately her bleeding stopped” — even though she came to Jesus timidly. But Jairus — who trashed his pride, risked his entire career, and threw himself on Jesus’ mercy — got the most horrible possible news: his little girl had died.

But how did Jesus follow up? By addressing the most debilitating emotion we can experience … the weapon that Satan most loves to use to keep us from accomplishing what God has called us to accomplish, and to keep us from becoming what God has called us to become: fear.

“Don’t be afraid,” Jesus said to Jairus. When I take my need to God, if he doesn’t see fit to answer my prayer immediately, or answer it the way I expect him to answer it … if God has a purpose for delaying the answer to my prayer … my most natural response is to be afraid. I’m afraid he doesn’t hear me. I’m afraid he doesn’t love me. I’m afraid I’m not good enough to have my prayer answered. Or I’m afraid of what’s going to happen if I don’t get what I asked for. I’m afraid of what alternative God might have planned for me. I’m afraid of what God might consider to be best for me, compared to what “I” consider to be best for me! I’m afraid, I’m afraid, I’m afraid!

And Satan loves this. When I’m afraid, I’m functioning perfectly according to Satan’s plan. I’m contributing beautifully to his purposes. I’ve played totally into his hand. I am now of limited use to God … I am now growing spiritually in only a very limited way, if at all. Fear has done a number on me. Satan wins.

But Jesus says, Don’t fear! Between the two of them, Jairus and the sick woman demonstrate that Jesus can meet my need even after it looks like it’s too late. How many marriages have demonstrated the fact that Jesus can work a miracle even after it looks like it’s too late? How many parents of teenagers can tell you, It looked like it was too late for my kid, but Jesus worked a miracle. Jesus says, “It looks like it’s too late, but don’t be afraid.” He is still working. He still has a plan for your situation. He still has a way to grow you. He still has a way to provide for your ministry. He still holds the future.

If I truly trust God’s love … my trust can displace my fear!

My Prayer for the Next Seven Days… Lord, help me patiently trust your love – even when it seems like there’s no way you can meet the need I’m facing. Help me hang on to you! Amen 

Psalm 56: 3-4
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?

Moving Up At Work

Are you hoping to rise in the ranks at your place of employment? Do you have ambitions for more? Showing your bosses you are capable is only half the battle to fulfilling your dreams.
In their book “Great Leaders GROW,” Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller wrote about the steps professionals need to take to become great leaders. One of those steps is to open your world at work. They came up with 16 ways to accomplish this:

• Shadow someone from another department or team.
• Work at a client’s facility for a day or longer.
• Listen in on donor calls.
• Travel with senior leaders from the organization.
• Serve on a cross-functional team.
• Begin collecting best practices from top performers.
• Interview recent retirees and seek their counsel on current issues.
• Attend the premier of a new program or the grand opening of a new office.
• Go back in the archives and watch presentations from the past decade.
• Meet with leaders from other departments to understand their issues.
• Have lunch with someone different every day until you run out of people, and then start over again.
• Travel to visit your must successful chapters.
• Find a mentor from another department.
• Ask others who best embody the nonprofit’s core values and spend most of your time with them.
• Attend open enrollment training events that will broaden your perspective.
• Lead anything you can, be it a project team, ad hoc group, work group, fundraising campaign, or any other event. Chances are good you’ll learn more by leading than anything else.