Posts Tagged ‘Fundraising’
Posted by Jon Howard on January 31, 2012 in Effectiveness, Fundraising, Research
A collaborative capital campaign created an entire new arts and business district in Cleveland. Photo: Gordon Square Arts District
Collaborative fundraising takes time and trust. That’s what we heard over and again in our interviews with seven nonprofit executives in Rhode Island, Boston, Cleveland and Spokane, each of them successful collaborative fundraisers.
We looked into the topic at the prompting of our friends at New Roots Providence and presented our early findings at a New Roots workshop on January 19.
The short version of what we learned from our informants:
- Successful collaborations flow from a deep process of trust-building among the partners. The right partners may take years to self-select, discover their shared goals and commit to combined action.
- Detailed legal agreements help establish trust and smooth functioning by exploring and resolving the partners’ deepest worries in advance. (These also take time)
- At the same time, good partners must be ready to make commonsense adjustments to agreements when they create unfair or unproductive results for some partners.
- Long-term and permanent collaborations need to form an independent organization to fundraise and distribute revenues. (Another time-consuming process.)
- The collaborative case must promise more than the sum of its partners: new funders respond to a transformative vision.
- Truly successful collaborations can reach more and larger funders and generate more income at lower cost than the two partners could achieve separately.
Our cases covered five forms of joint fundraising: grants, workplace campaigns, events, capital campaigns, and, finally, our elusive ideal of truly integrated annual fundraising. We’ll tell you more about three very interesting cases in future posts:
- The YWCA and YMCA in Spokane, Washington created a fully integrated capital campaign to build new shared buildings in two locations.
- The Gordon Square Arts District in Cleveland, Ohio brought two theater companies together with a community development organization to build not just theaters, but a whole theater-oriented arts district with major economic benefits for the city.
- The Central Square Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts began by building new shared performance space for the the Nora Theater Company and the Underground Railway Theater. The partnership then went on to take on all fundraising, business and back office operations, leaving both groups free to focus on their artistic missions alone.
If you have had a good – or bad – experience with collaborative fundraising that you think could help others, please send me an email. We’d love to hear from you.
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on January 23, 2012 in Fundraising
Did you know that the typical major gifts officer for a large institution has a portfolio of somewhere between 75-150 donors?
Did you know that the typical major gifts officer meets with 7-10 donors a month?
I’m just wondering how many donors or prospective donors your organization – whether that was your Executive Director, your fund development staff, or your leadership volunteers - visited last month?
For many small organizations I know, they’d be lucky to visit that many donors in a year!!
No wonder most of us aren’t raising the money we’d like to raise.
Want to see the metrics that universities use? Take a look at this slide deck presented by Eduventures at a 2011 CASE Conference in Vancouver.
We can create giving pyramids all day. We know that we need 4 or 5 qualified prospects to realize one gift. What those gift pyramids keep telling us is that we have to find, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a heck of a lot of people to reach our fundraising goals.
It’s really hard to do that from your office chair. Or during a committee meeting.
So, let’s finish up the plans, polish up the case, and then get down to the really important work — those one-on-one conversations that are essential to our fundraising success.
Wondering where to start? Start with the people who already love you… your donors, your volunteers and your board members. I’ll bet that list will keep you busy for a while.
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on December 20, 2011 in Fundraising
Now that you’ve mailed out your annual year end appeal, I’m hoping you are getting ready to mail many of your donors again in a few weeks.
Too soon, you say. Mustn’t bother our donors but once a year, you protest.
I’m with you that it might be too soon for those donors who always send you a generous gift at the end of the year. (Though many direct marketers would dispute that).
But what about the donors who haven’t responded to your annual appeal?
In our work, we often encounter small nonprofits or new fundraisers who believe that the “annual” appeal is just that, a once-a-year request for a donation.
These small organizations often don’t analyze the giving patterns of their donors. They may have no useful donor database, or haven’t thought about what just how much work it might take to get donors to give again.
If an “annual” appeal raises the same amount of money or even just a bit more than it did the year before, it’s considered a success. But what isn’t known Read More >>
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on November 16, 2011 in Communicating, Fundraising
I’ll never forget this story.
A while back I was facilitating a workshop on donor and member renewals. To get started, I asked the room — board members and staff of environmental organizations — to explore their own personal giving by sharing their own experiences as donors or members. I asked them to think about experiences that really stood out, good or bad.
Bob’s* wife, an artist, was interviewed by the local newspaper. In the article, she shared her fondness for a particular repertory theatre which she said was one of the things she loved best about her State.
Not too much later, the couple attended a play at the named theatre. As they arrived, they noticed an envelope on their seat. Inside the envelope was a note to his wife from the theatre, thanking her for mentioning her love of this theatre in the newspaper article.
Also inside was a gift certificate for coffee and dessert after the show at a nearby restaurant.
WOW!
An unexpected and lovely thank you. A real show of gratitude. Needless to say, this particular act made a lasting impression… and really cemented the love of a fan.
I just finished reading the recently released report Growing Philanthropy in the United States. The report summarizes two think sessions held with top leaders in the nonprofit world this past year.
While I’ll have more to say about this report in coming posts, it’s worth underlining the major problem the report seeks to address:
While overall, the dollars given to charity have increased, individual charitable giving in the USA as a percentage of after tax income (2%) has remained stagnant for the last 40 years.
The report noted low retention rates, especially for donors new to a cause. It recommended that charities need to do much, much more to understand the individual behind the giving and build relationships that matter.
So what does this all have to do with saying thanks?
Past studies have shown that a top reason that donors say they stop giving is indifference by the charity they give to – a feeling that they and their giving don’t really matter.
In her book, Effective Donor Relations, my friend Janet Hedrick CFRE, eastern region development manager for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, strongly pushes the attitude of gratitude as an essential factor in building donor loyalty.
What is gratitude? It’s meaningful, thoughtful, heartfelt and individualized appreciation.
And when that appreciation is unexpected, it packs a powerful punch.
What thank you has taken your breath away lately? I’d love to hear.
**************************************************************************
*Not his real name. But definitely a real person.
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on July 26, 2011 in Fundraising, Little ideas, Tidbits
I was just thinking about these, and thought I’d share. What would you add to the list?
1. A gift pyramid is really helpful to determine the level of effort you need to raise money. It’s not just for big campaigns. You can use it to plan for special events and even annual giving programs. See how one works online at blackbaud.
2. If their website doesn’t list them, you can discover what grants foundations made in what amounts to what organizations by looking at their 990-PFs. You can find those on Guidestar or The Foundation Center’s 990 finder.
3. The Center for What Works has free sample logic models for 14 types of nonprofits.
4. You can find a lot of really helpful data through the Census Bureau, e.g. how many wealthy households are in your community. Get acquainted with their American Factfinder.
5. You can get low cost technology products (and free advice) at TechSoup.org
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on June 13, 2011 in Effectiveness, Fundraising, Tidbits
About two months ago our hot water heater broke and we had it replaced. (Reminder: check the age of your hot water heater). I still haven’t gotten the bill from the plumber.
As a small business person myself, I had to wonder how my plumber could stay in business with such delays in invoicing. I guess cash isn’t a problem for them.
What’s this got to do with your nonprofit? It made me think about delays around money.
As a donor, it makes me crazy when I mail a check for a contribution to an organization I care about and the check doesn’t get cashed right away. Let me say that my definition of “right away” stretches to a few days (I’m willing to give small organizations some leeway, though they tend to really need the money the most).
But after that, the failure to cash my check raises a series of doubts in my mind:
- First, did my check arrive at all?
- Second, did they really need my gift so much if they don’t feel a need to deposit it in their bank account.
- Third, should I have other worries about their internal cash controls if checks are undeposited for more than a day or two?
If this describes you, it’s time to tighten up your internal controls. Here’s a helpful toolkit from the Center for Nonprofit Excellence at the United Way of Central New Mexico to get you started.
Please don’t make your donors ask “did you get my check?” It doesn’t inspire confidence or the next gift.
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on May 24, 2011 in Fundraising
This week’s blog is a reminder to check state requirements to see if your organization is required to register before launching any charitable solicitations. Or, if you are assisting a nonprofit with fundraising for pay, to see if you are required to register as fundraising counsel or professional fundraiser.
The website of the National Association of State Charity Officials has a list of all of the state contacts and links to the state agency websites (though check them as not all are still current). In some cases, they also have links to the state statutes so you can read the rules yourself.
Registration Requirements for Charities Soliciting Funds
In general, if your organization is soliciting for funds in a state, you are likely to be required to register for charitable solicitation in that state. Each state sets its own rules and there may be various exemptions depending on the budget size and type of the organization. (See below for a discussion of internet fundraising)
The registration process generally includes completing a form that tends to ask for much of the same information that could be gained from the Form 990 that nonprofits are required to file with the IRS. Many states ask for additional information about your fundraising programs, including whether or not you have used fundraising counsel or professional solicitors in the last year. There is usually a fee for filing and for completing your yearly renewal. And each state has guidelines for whether you meet the income threshold to require an annual audit.
Take a look at the article by Joanne Fritz that appeared on About.com — she has some very specific recommendations for you.
Registration Requirements for Professional Fundraisers
Most states also require those of us in the business of assisting nonprofits with their fundraising – aka professional fundraisers — to also register in the state. Usually a distinction is made between fundraising counsel and fundraising solicitors.
Fundraisers solicitors are engaged in either actively soliciting for funds and/or may have access to donations directly whereas fundraising counsel (like Cause & Effect Inc.) may plan, manage, advise or assist charities in their fundraising but don’t have access to donations or solicit directly. Usually employees, directors and volunteers of a charity are excluded from this registration requirement. Read More >>
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on May 2, 2011 in Fundraising
I’m just checking my email after a busy weekend. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful spring day so I’m chuckling rather than ranting at the email notice I received:
You may remember that I wrote in October about my attempt a few months before to get this gift of a microloan shifted directly into a donation to KIVA’s general fund. KIVA was simply unwilling to do that, preferring instead to let this money remain unused for ONE FULL YEAR until their arbitrary deadline expired, despite my attempts to have them do otherwise.
You can read the story here: Do your fundraising rules bedevil your donors?
I guess their customer service department also forgot to annotate my account noting the correspondence we had previously. By failing to pay any attention to my past history with them, KIVA has now given me a new reason to remember the frustration I had almost forgotten.
Luckily May 8th will soon be upon us and the KIVA tale will end.
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Posted by Jon Howard on April 20, 2011 in Fundraising, Nonprofit Highlights, Public engagement
Captain Ahab set out from New Bedford, Massachusetts, with just one idea: putting his harpoon in the ultimate big fish, Moby Dick. His all or nothing approach didn’t work out so well for anyone but the whale.
The Coalition for Buzzards Bay got much better results by spreading nets in many different waters when they set out on their own New Bedford-based quest: to grow membership by more than 50 percent over two years. The Coalition started in 2009 with 5,200 members. A generous donor offered them $500,000 if they could add 3,000 new members before December 31, 2010.
“He wasn’t kidding,” said Mark Rasmussen, the Coalition’s Executive Director of his anonymous donor. “He made it clear: if we missed the target, we wouldn’t get the money.” Last week, my colleague Anne Garnett and I sat down with Mark just a few blocks away from the Seaman’s Bethel and other opening scenes of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick to find out how the Coalition met the challenge, won the prize and set a new direction for its future. Here are some lessons:
- Share the drama. “It’s wonderful – and frankly a bit scary – to have a challenge like this,” said Mark in his 2009 announcement. The compelling $500,000 challenge and the possibility of failure helped excite and engage the Coalition family and the general public.
- All hands on deck. Volunteers moved mountainst to get targeted mailings out the door, saving thousands of dollars. Board members stepped up, ransacking their Rolodexes and buying gift memberships. That commitment brought other friends and members in on the project.
- Know what you are counting. The goal was member numbers, not member dollars. The Coalition already had clear criteria for counting individual members (family memberships count as two members) so everyone, including the challenge donor, knew the score.
- Make it easy. Any donor of $10 or more ($30 for families) who opts to be a member is a member. That low price point made it easy to say “yes.”
- Try everything. Mark handed us a pie chart with 12 slices breaking out where the members came from. Their traditional Bay swim and newer Bay bike ride accounted for 42 percent of the new members. The rest were spread over 11 separate member recruitment projects.
- Recruit the friends of your friends. As noted, the Coalition got the biggest boost just by offering a member option to riders, swimmers and their sponsors. Mark has been pleasantly surprised to find event sponsors responding well to direct renewal requests this year.
- Go grassroots. Who loves the Bay? Boaters and shellfishers for sure. Volunteers moved mountains to merge and purge records from 18 coastal communities. Personalized mailings to these two groups of public permit-holders snagged 13 percent of the total new member catch.
- Let people help. The owner of Not Your Average Joe’s restaurant created an entire promotional effort on his own, including hats, table cards and personal appeals from servers as well as mini-matching gifts of $5, to encourage diners to add membership dues to their dinner check. That brought in an astounding 550 members in just five weeks.
The Not Your Average Joe’s campaign added to a late surge that put the campaign way over the top in the later months of 2010. The Coalition wound up adding about 3,600 new members by the deadline, blowing the doors off their goal. Read More >>
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Posted by Gayle Gifford on March 30, 2011 in Fundraising
I met two fab board members at the Essex County Institute for Trustees last Saturday. Judy is the board chair and Al the chair-to-be of Opportunity Works, based in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Opportunity Works provides a multitude of services to individuals with disabilities and their families in the Merrimack Valley.
Based on our conversation, I could immediately tell that Judy and Al are big cheerleaders for their organization – what all of us hope for in our board members. They were pitching me on the good work of Opportunity Works from the moment I asked what organization they were with.
And the frosting on this board member cake was that they are both actively involved in making friends and raising money for Opportunity Works.
I was intrigued by their annual fundraising event, the Lend-A-Hand auction, not being an auction expert myself. They told me that the event, which has become a much anticipated tradition in their community, grossed $75,000 last year, its top year ever! Kudos to them for the increase. I know many an organization whose big events even with auctions don’t raise this much.
The auction, entering its 27th year, takes place on cable television. This is the second year it was streamed over the Internet. It was broadcast live in nine Greater Newburyport communities and for the first time in Haverhill.
They use the local middle school during school vacation week to stage the auction. Set up takes place during the week, the telecast and bidding is on Saturday from noon to 9 pm. and pickup is the next day, Sunday, all before school opens again on Monday.
As Judy, described it, “there is something for everyone” with 600 donated items ranging from dog grooming to decorating to the big ticket, an African Safari. You can see the list for yourself here.
Al told me that the community values the work Opportunity Works does so they are very supportive. Sponsors get to auction off the tables the night of the auction and businesses and other community groups send volunteers who answer the phones and take the bids. Both Judy and Al are extremely active in the auction.
I was impressed by the enthusiasm and hard work of these board members and wanted to share it with you.
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