July 2016

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Review of Australian volunteer organisation, Help me with it

The nonprofit organisation Help me with it connects people who need help with people who want to volunteer to help out. Help me with it is not a volunteering clearing house with a purpose of connecting volunteers to community organisations. Instead, Help me with it labels themselves as “digital disrupters in the social service and volunteering sectors”.

How does it work? Help me with it connects individuals who need help to do one-off tasks with individuals who can volunteer their time to fix, clean, care, shop, transport, garden, sort, teach and more.  The site is all about individuals helping individuals. Community organisations may refer their clients to volunteer and corporations may refer their employees to do the same.

The interesting aspect of this organisation is the fact they do not model themselves as a volunteer clearing house and, in fact, do not assign volunteers to community organisations. Instead, Help me with it is a people to people model. Think Airtasker.

The organisation piloted in Brisbane in May 2016 and has plans to explain nationally in 2017.

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Don’t change your strategy because of a few

Stats Key Showing Statistics Report Or Analysis

How many times has someone, usually on your staff, suggested you change strategy because of a few complaints from donors?

I once had a CEO walk into my office, throw three letters on my desk, and tell me I was going to “screw up” the direct marketing program because I had implemented a strategy out of the “norm” for this organisation and three people had taken the time to complain. I remember telling him to calm down and we would reassess the program after 6+ weeks of results. I produced a calculator and I punched in some figures. I reminded this CEO we had sent more than 200,000 pieces and three complaints hardly warranted a change in strategy.

Airline pilots do not change altitude after the first few “bumps” or moderate turbulence, so why are we, as fundraisers, told to change course based on a few complaints from a few donors? Airline pilots change altitude based on solid data including weather, reports from other aircraft, and conditions at the current altitude. The same should be true whenever we are faced with complaints or uneasiness with the direction or strategy we are implementing.

Give it time. Report and analyse. Weigh the results and then consider whether a change in direction is required.

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Non-profits should get on with it – make the ask

Replay mail

Which charities acquire the most donors, the most gifts, and the largest donations? The ones who make an ask.

I’m not talking about asking for gifts of $100,000+. You and I know it takes a while to make a major ask. You and your organisation must have a solid relationship with the prospective donor and the timing has to be right for the donor. After all, this is the donor’s schedule and not yours or your organsiation’s schedule. This can take 18+ months.

I am speaking about asks which typically happen via direct mail, telemarketing, and online channels.

It puzzles me the number of charity pieces which are sent to donors and prospective donors and where the ask is either buried in the piece or there is no ask at all. Why bother to produce the piece? Even worse are the pieces which are sent containing a response envelope with no call to action.

A few simple steps will boost your charity’s bottom line:

  • Ensure there is an ask in every marketing piece.
  • Don’t make it a mystery for donors to figure out how to make a gift.
  • Make the ask prominent.
  • Make the ask multiple times throughout the marketing piece.
  • Offer the prospective donor multiple channels to make their gift.
  • Don’t make it difficult for the donor to make their gift by requiring them to cut panels out of newsletters and to complete other art projects.

I often times say Australian charities do not ask for donations enough throughout the course of a financial year. It’s true. I back it up by saying I am a “pushy American” making that statement. But, push the envelope. Donors will tell you when they have had enough and inform you of their communication preferences accordingly.

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Model Charity End of Year Receipt Pack

MS QueenslandEnd of year receipts will be sent by many non-profit organisations over the next few weeks. Most charities have either sent their end of year receipts or are in the process of creating their packs to send in the next two weeks.

I received an end of year pack from MS Queensland this last week and I judged it to be a model pack. The pack contains a warm letter; a detailed end of year receipt showing each transaction including a receipt number, the date of the transaction, the amount donated, and the total donated for the year; and, a supplemental piece about a woman named Britt who was diagnosed with MS in early 2014 at 21 years old. The supplemental piece is referred to in the thank you letter and ends with a tie back to the impact of donor support and a final “thank you so much”.

The MS Queensland piece contains everything a donor care piece should. It oozes with solid stewardship.

Have you sent your end of year receipt packs yet? What is contained in your pack and how similar is it to the MS Queensland package?

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Fundraising organisations lack policies and procedures

Snip20160714_37Does your nonprofit organisation lack a comprehensive policies and procedures manual? No? Join the thousands of other NFPs who, likewise, lack a policies and procedures manual. It is an epidemic.

Why do organisations lack a dedicated policies and procedures manual?

Perhaps the following are reasons:

  • Lack of time to create the manual.
  • Lack of a person responsible for the creation of the manual.
  • The manuals are viewed as a less than fun (often viewed as boring) activity to create.

A policies and procedures is an essential component of any fundraising operation. The manual will be a reference point and will guide staff toward best practice operations across the department.

A solid policies and procedures manual takes time (usually about 2-3 months to create) and dedication to create. In the end, it can be fun and rewarding to have in place.

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Power of LinkedIn for nonprofit professional

Snip20160712_27Since starting FundraisingForce, I have become increasingly aware of the power of LinkedIn. I certainly viewed LinkedIn as terrific tool prior to the February 2014 opening of FundraisingForce; but, it has become one of the single most important sources of business for my company.

The percentage of main business referrals for FundraisingForce are, as follows:

  • Word of mouth – 40% (the most important!).
  • LinkedIn: 35%
  • FundraisingForce web leads: 25%

LinkedIn not only allows potential customers to research my professional background. LinkedIn often times serves as a referral to my Website.

Don’t underestimate the power of a solid LinkedIn profile. Additionally, maintaining the LinkedIn profile on a weekly basis is critical whether you are a small business or a fundraising practitioner in the market. Doing things such as: Adding references to articles, including your own published articles; “linking other posts”; and updating your own details will increase the likelihood of your LinkedIn profile being noticed by others.

 

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Superb McGrath Foundation Donor Care Video

Snip20160707_11McGrath Foundation sent a superb donor care video to all their regular givers yesterday.

In the video message, Glenn McGrath repeatedly uses words such as “you” and “your” as he expresses heartfelt thanks. It is 50 seconds of gratitude, wrapped up in a low cost film, and blasted out to every regular donor via Email.

Looking for a best practice donor care piece? McGrath Foundation set an example for all charities to follow in the new financial year.

 

 

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Proud of new Australian CFREs

Snip20160708_16As a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) myself, I am pleased to see so many new people in Australia successfully taking the CFRE exam and being granted the credential as a result of their professional experience. CFRE International announced this week another successful lot of Australians earned their CFRE credential.

Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) conducts a CFRE Study Group to assist CFRE candidates to earn their CFRE and I am pleased to have to started this group and to have chaired it the past four years. Together, FIA and CFRE International are working hard to ensure individuals granted the CFRE credential have met a series of standards set by CFRE International which include tenure in the profession, education, and demonstrated fundraising achievement for not-for-profit organizations. They have also passed a rigorous written examination testing the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a fundraising executive, and have agreed to uphold Accountability Standards and the Donor Bill of Rights.

Congratulations to the newest certified fundraising executives!