Year End Activities

Year end for fundraisers is a time for focused, thoughtful activity. It's a time to let our donors know what we did with the money they donated; a time for meaningful asks; and a time to let them know how much they are appreciated.

What did they accomplish by giving to your organization (instead of some other)? Continually let them know.

Just Work

Many times we make excuses. You hear about the economy, the prospective donors won't return my calls, or about internal meetings - all designed to show why it is impossible for you to do your job.

I want to call us back to basics. Take time every day (at least a few times a week) to look at your donor database, find people that could benefit your organization and make some calls to ask for appointments. Once you get a few appointments - you have justified your travel expense. Why not use Google to find a few corporations and foundations in the area to which you are going? We did that recently with a great outcome!

You don't raise money sitting behind your desk (unless you are a grant writer - and even then a personal visit to the grant making organization could be beneficial to you).

So just pick up the phone and call. This will be an exciting day!

Details

I believe strongly that we show how much we care and value our donor relationships by how much attention we pay to the details. Here are a few ways that it is evidenced:

1. Our correspondence to them is perfect (or at least close!).
2. We spell correctly.
3. Their name is correctly spelled and in the form they have requested.
4. We know business etiquette and we use it.
5. When with them, we talk about them not about us and our projects.
6. We anticipate what they may need when we are with them or they attend our events and we make sure they are comfortable and at ease.
7. Preferred methods of communication are utilized (IE. cell phone, business, home, or e-mail - we know what they like and use it).

Knowing details about our donors show that we pay attention and that we care.

Kindness and Respect

This may be a different angle to the subject of donor stewardship, however I believe that this is important in the interaction between the office of philanthropy and its supporters. Being "acknowledged" is a basic human need. How might we do that with our donors?

The Power of Seven
Try to truly, honestly, humbly thank each donor to your non-profit at least seven times. Think about how you can do that - phone calls from you, your board; letters, emails, and for your larger donors, public demonstrations of your appreciation such as dinners and donor walls.

Be thoughtful. If you can be thoughtful, it will be recognized as such.

The Annual Fund

The annual fund, defined, is the process of seeking financial support on an annual basis from the same and broadening constituencies. The annual fund should be used to help foster and establish a culture of philanthropy that is donor and relationship-centered.

The purpose of the annual fund is to:

• raise funds to support the greatest areas of need;
• increase awareness of the University within the local and broader communities;
• identify major gift prospects; and
• cultivate future leadership.
  

Best ways to raise money through annual fund would be:

• Direct Mail or Email – Segmentation is key. Segment by class, by college, by activity, and by giving level.
• Phone Campaign – This provides the donor with an update on the university and allows them to connect with a student volunteer.
• Special Events or Reunions – This allows the donor to gather with friends and be in a more comfortable environment. It also allows you to share the exciting events and needs of your university to a large audience.
• Faculty/Staff Campaign - This allows staff members to support their own department or college by having a donation deducted from each paycheck.

Making the Appointment

Keys to Appointment Success:
1. Call a lot! (schedule time in your day just for calls for appointments)
2. Make a routine for your day/week.
3. Think about what to say in order to be most appealing and compelling.
4. Use letters to predispose prospects to say yes for appointment
5. Use natural partners
6. Don’t jibber jabber! (as the Judge says on Boston Legal)
7. Build relationships – Fundraising is about relationships not just about the money.
8. Listen and pay attention for important phrases. Write them down and don’t forget them.
9. Simple measurement – How many times have you personally sat down one on one and asked for at least $1,000?

More to come about appointments...

Asking - It Must Be Done Well

The topic of asking people for money incites emotion. Many fear it. Some like it and find it exciting. All charitable organizations have plenty of donors and probable donors. What they don't have are enough askers. What steps should be taken to make sure the task is done well?

1. Training - the volunteers should be trained thoroughly in how to make a major gift ask
2. Develop Worker kits - these are the materials that the volunteer takes with them to use on the call.
3. Leadership - get influential ones who LOVE what you are doing
4. Personal commitment to the organization. This may be the most important. The volunteer must make their own gift first! The value of the gift is not in its amount but in the fact that it has been given!

There are a lot of ways to use the method of volunteer solicitation. You can group them into a committee of askers, use the entire board (providing you recruited them properly), or use basic methods such as phone campaigns, personal web page campaigns and personal visits to manage the process of volunteer solicitation.

Fundraising Basics

This is my first attempt at blogging. This blog will be my thoughts on the profession of fund raising for non-profits. I hope you will enjoy this and that you will feel free to communicate with me as to your issues and advice.

Let's get started...

Fundraising - the basics
The most effective way to raise money for your organization is to

1. Determine why someone should support your organization with their time, influence and charitable contributions. This is called "the case for support" (more on this later).
2. Figure out who your constituents are. Who benefits from your mission and who are those people that support your cause financially? List them.
   
3. Write your "case" with the aforementioned people in mind.
4. Have a formal meeting with those individuals, corporations and foundations that know and like your work, your people and/or your general cause and who have financial means in which to give. These concepts are called "affinity" and "capacity".
   
5. Build solicitation materials
6. Build a complete file on your probable donors based upon moves management.

Am I making sense? If these terms are unfamiliar then hire a consultant! :-) My email address is horne.ja@gmail.com. I would love the opportunity to visit with you about your specific questions.