Blog

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thank you – an easy thing to say

Thank yiouIt is the easiest task to do, yet it is often times overlooked in our day-to-day responsibilities. In the rush to get stuff done, including finding new donors, asking for that next big gift, we are overlooking the most important task. I am talking about saying thank you to donors, volunteers, and staff.

We all need to take the pledge – one thank you call, email, or handwritten note a week.

We have more tools to actually say thank you today than ever before. It is often times the “old fashioned” way to do it – the handwritten note – that stands out in donors, volunteers, and staff minds.

We receive most of our communications today via electronic format. Communications flow in via email, voice mail, SMS, or via social media channels like Facebook, Facebook messenger, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Yet, what do we actually receive that is highly personalised and handwritten besides a birthday card or an occasional invite to a formal event like a wedding? Even those communications are moving more and more electronic.

This leaves me to argue, as fundraisers, we need to communicate more in handwriting. Thank you notes are a perfect place to start.

Reasons to send a handwritten thank you

There are a variety of reasons and ways to thank individuals for the fantastic support they offer your non-profit organisation. Reasons for handwritten communications may include:

  • A birthday.
  • An anniversary.
  • Honouring someone for achievements in your community.
  • A significant donation.
  • A donor’s giving milestone
    • A ten-year giving anniversary.
  • Volunteer service milestones.
  • A note to recognise a staff person who has gone above and beyond.

Think about who you will write a personal thank you to this week. Think about who you will call to thank. Try to say thank you via the most personal channel as possible.

 

, , , , , , , ,

A CRM is is a relational solution, not a transactional database

CRMThink about your non-profit organisation’s Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) solution for a moment. Is it configured and designed so you are you able to fully record a constituent and their contact details? Tick. Are you able to record a donation and associated details? Tick. Does it end there? Issue. A CRM needs to be relational in focus because a CRM is not simply a transactional database.

If you are not maximising your CRM to fully manage constituents, their internal and external relationships, and if you are unable to manage business processes, workflows, and pipelines, it is time to think about transforming the CRM to be relational in focus rather than simply focused on transactions.

Relational CRM

A relational CRM, simply put, connects the data elements stored to relate constituents with their opportunities, donations, activities, interactions, engagement, and most importantly, with other constituents. Most of this happens “out of the box”. But, it is the design of the CRM that actually really matters. Maximising the CRM data to be able to track critical workflows and processes and to be able to manage pipelines, moves management, and other critical activities make the relational CRM pay dividends. It is, after all, called a Constituent Relationship Management solution.

Workflows

Ensuring your CRM allows for workflows means you will save the staff of your non-profit organisation time, allowing them to focus on critical tasks.  The CRM should be able to deliver automated processes resulting in efficiency gains. Workflows can help you to maximise levels of engagement with your constituents, alumni and members.

The “buttonology” or functionality in a CRM is half the battle. It is typically how you configure that functionality and the user experience you offer which really matters. Staff should enjoy utilising the CRM and see it as a time saver rather than an administrative burden.

, , , , ,

Do we really need a new CRM?

ChangeSearching for a new CRM is a complicated process. But, when done right, landing the perfect CRM is a great feeling and a wonderful accomplishment. Change is nice. But, remember the new car smell only lasts so long. Ask your organisation, do we really need a new CRM?

It is typical for organisation leaders to be convinced a new CRM is essential.  “If we only had Salesforce, The Raiser’s Edge, Microsoft Dynamics, Blackbaud CRM, or product X, we could…”. Staff leap to this conclusion without first analysing the current CRM and their functional requirements in order to first determine the existing CRM is incapable of meeting business requirements.

Why

FundraisingForce receives one new lead for a CRM search every 7 business days. Step one for FundraisingForce is to explore with the non-profit organisation the why. Why is there a need to change? Are you seeking to use your CRM organisation-wide and your organisation adopted a fundraising CRM years ago? Have your fundraising requirements outgrown the existing CRM? Can you demonstrate the investment in a change will return dramatic financial results through increased revenue and improved efficiencies/time savings?

Perhaps staff require leadership to invest in training on the existing CRM. Maybe there are add on features your organisation needs to acquire in order to meet new business requirements which did not exist when you adopted the existing CRM 7-10 years ago.

Investment

Searching for and implementing a new CRM is an investment. The investment is not simply what you will pay in licensing and implementation/services costs to a supplier(s), but also the cost to engage your staff in the implementation. Additionally, there will be some loss of productivity as you ramp up the use of the new CRM and staff become used to new processes. The cost is never the cost presented when you sign the agreement to purchase. Study the true cost of ownership, which includes staffing resources and other costs.

The new car smell is gone in a month or two. Ensure the decision to leap to a CRM search is the right decision before you leap to a CRM search. Make sure you have done the analysis so you do not have buyers remorse after driving the car off the lot.

 

, , , , , , , , ,

Face to Face Fundraisers – do not need to be out of site out of mind

Do you often worry what your face to face fundraisers may be doing to capture the attention of prospective donors on the streets in the capital cities of Australia? Are they stopping prospects in their tracks? Reaching out to shake the prospect’s hands? What are they saying to the prospect to get them to surrender a credit card for their regular gift?  Are they only stopping prospective donors their age or are they, indeed, diverse in those they approach?

Face to face fundraisers do not need to be out of site out of mind.

Mystery Shopping Defined

Mystery shopping allows a shopper to mask as a prospective donor or fundraiser on behalf of a non-profit organisation and to perform a scenario specifically designed for the organisation. The shopper will employ their skills to seek answers to questions an organisation seeks to understand. Whether your organisation is seeking to understand an experience of a prospective donor or fundraiser or whether certain quality measures or targets are achieved, mystery shoppers will help you to measure the situation at hand.

FundraisingForce has over a dozen years shopping face to face fundraising, lotteries, community fundraising, major gifts, bequests, and other fundraising scenarios for charitable organisation across Asia Pacific and throughout Europe. We know, first-hand the scenarios organisations are after and the type of reporting desired.

Benefits of Face to Face Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping will allow your non-profit organisation to understand the following:

  • Demographics of individuals engaged.
  • Number of individuals attempted each 15 minutes.
  • Manner in which prospective donors are greeted.
  • Dress and grooming of your fundraisers.
  • Length of discussions.
  • Highlights of discussions.
  • Distractions causing fundraisers to not approach prospects.
  • Additional training needed.

Steps for Mystery Shopping

Mystery shopping must not be conducted in a cookie cutter approach. Shops should be tailored and customised to meet your organsiation’s requirements. The following steps are conducted for each mystery shopping customers:

  1. Defining and understanding the non-profit client’s requirements.
  2. Developing scenarios and surveys to fit the client’s requirements.
  3. Approval of the scenarios and scenario by the client.
  4. Hiring of shoppers to meet the demographics required.
  5. Training of the shoppers.
  6. Shopping the scenarios for a defined timeframe.
  7. Reporting to the non-profit client.

Experience

Experience in mystery shopping is critical. Hire a professional mystery shopping firm with expertise in non-profit mystery shopping. Mystery shopping our sector is specialised and no one should assume all mystery shopping – whether for a commercial organisation or charitable organisation – is the same.

For more information on non-profit mystery shopping, contact FundraisingForce today.

, , , , , , ,

Is our non-profit organisation ready for a new CRM?

Searching for a new constituent relationship management (CRM) solution is no easy task. The process, as I outlined in a recent Fundraising & Philanthropy Magazine article, requires 10 steps to do it right. There is an important process prior to those 10 steps and that process involves asking the question is our non-profit organisation ready for a new CRM?

Ensuring organisation readiness for a CRM is an important step, which involves people at multiple layers of your organisation. Unless your organisation determines readiness, there is no point to move to a CRM search. In fact, your organisation should not commence a CRM search until leadership has signed off on the organsiation’s readiness to adopt a new CRM.

Who to involve in a CRM readiness assessment

Individuals from various teams at various levels across the organisation ought to participate to determine and sign off on readiness. Those parties include:

  1. Business owners – those end users who will adopt the new CRM.
  2. Information Services – those who will need to support the infrastructure.
  3. Senior Management Team – those who are ultimately responsible for sponsoring the project, including approving budget for the project.

What determines readiness?

There are just two key steps in the process to determine CRM adoption readiness. Those steps involve critical information gathering and assessment and analysis of that information. A gut feel is not good enough. Your organisation needs to determine CRM adoption readiness through objective information and analysis.

Information Gathering

The types of information you ought to gather and assess, includes the following:

  • Data integrity – review the data in your existing CRM and determine if it is in the condition you would want to see it in your new CRM. Think of this as similar to moving houses. Would you want to open the door of the new house and find the new house in the same condition as your present home?
    • Additionally, remember the condition may get messier through a data migration.
      • There will always be data clean-up which needs to occur during Go Live of the new CRM.
    • Document the last time your organisation conducted any sort of data hygiene exercise.
  • Resourcing – the work during a CRM adoption falls to your team as much as it does to the supplier you engage. Do not expect the CRM supplier to do more than 50% of the work. A CRM adoption is a team effort. Document who you have available for the design of the CRM, as well as user acceptance testing and go live activity.
    • Think about whether staff can dedicate 100% of their time during peak periods of the project.
    • Document holiday periods and other key projects, which will compete for your team’s attention.
      • Remember to document public holidays in addition to paid time off.
  • Senior management engagement – determine the level of engagement of your senior management team. Change starts at the top and your project must have the endorsement and the engagement of CEO and his/her management colleagues.
  • Strategic alignment with the organisation – does the CRM transformation support strategic goals of the organisation?
    • Will the CRM assist you to raise more money and to engage more constituents?
  • Budget – indicative pricing for a project needs to be planned for and tentatively approved. There is no point in gathering requirements and going “shopping” for a new CRM if your organisation cannot afford the CRM and implementation services at the outset.
    • Create a contingency budget for those items which are not planned for, but which are common during a project.
    • Budget for a project manager to guide you through the project.
      • A project manager does not have to be a full-time position.
    • Training and ongoing support of CRM – will your organisation train the staff who will use the CRM and will your organisation make ongoing investments in the CRM once the solution is live?

Information Analysis

Create a scoring tool and score the information gathered in order to objectively determine your level of readiness. If your score is not 75% of the possible perfect score, your organisation is not ready for a CRM transition. If you do not achieve a 75% readiness score, spend time to correct the matters. Re-evaluate in 6 months and see if your score improves.

Too many organisations jump to a CRM search and move into a CRM implementation without first asking is our non-profit organisation ready for a new CRM? Spend a month pre-CRM search to evaluate your non-profit organisation’s readiness. You will not regret taking this time to determine readiness. Your CRM adoption project will be more successful as a result.

 

 

 

, , , ,

Tap to donate – as productive as a gold coin donation?

Tap to donate
Tap to donate devices are popping up in many locations. I have recently seen tap to donate devices in the Virgin Australia Lounges, the Qantas Lounges, and other high-end venues. The devices are asking for a $5 or $10 donation for charities like Cure Cancer Australia and Starlight Foundation.

Is tap to donate – as “productive” as a gold coin donation?

As a fundraiser myself, I am never against a non-profit raising money. And, offering donors a menu of convenient options to give is certainly top of any charity’s list. But, I have always criticised gold coin donations because, while they offer a quick way to raise money and awareness, they do not allow the charitable organisation to collect contact details to engage the donor further. Likewise, known tap to donate devices, do not allow non-profits to collect contact details of donors.

The tap to donate machines are placed in convenient locations. In the Qantas Business Lounge, the device is placed on the bar and near the barista. While waiting in line, it is very easy for passengers to tap their debit or credit card and to donate to a charity they may otherwise have overlooked. I have also seen these devices placed in high traffic areas, such as pedestrian walkways. Donors walking by simply walk up and tap to donate.

Your thoughts

So, what do you think?

Is your non-profit organisation looking to adopt tap to donate technology in 2019?

Are you able to locate a supplier which shares the contact details of the debit or credit card holder so your organisation may cultivate an enhanced relationship with the new donor? Does such a supplier arrangement exist?

Are you bothered by the fact you cannot even send a receipt to the donor unless he or she contacts you to request one? Do you see the benefits outweighing the negative points I have included above?

Let me hear your thoughts by voicing them below.

 

 

 

, , , , , , , ,

Data cleansing – it’s now or never for your Tax Appeal

Data cleansingYou have just finished the Christmas Appeal and you are already thinking tax-time, right? There is no rest time for today’s active fundraising program. Preparations for the Tax Appeal mean more than just writing copy, designing creative, and thinking about data segmentation. You also need to be thinking about data cleansing – it’s now or never.

Data cleansing activities

An overwhelming majority of charities in Australia do not regularly perform national change of address on their data file prior to a major mail out such as the Christmas or Tax Appeal. In fact, some data administrators would rather have a root canal than think about data cleansing. Let’s take the pain out of data cleansing and list the tasks which out to be done:

National Change of Address (NCOA)

Taking your file and matching it against the Australia Post PAF file is easy. Extracting the data from your CRM and matching to the PAF file is, in fact, the easy part. It does require a relationship with a supplier who may access the PAF file. Gaining new contact details for donors and prospects who have moved is a key benefit of NCOA. Further, gaining a flag for anyone who has moved and who has not made their new contact details available in the commercial space is a further benefit. New addresses mean you are able to get the Tax Appeal delivered to those you’ve lost contact with and not mailing those who you’ve lost contact with and cannot gain their new details means you will not waste postage and materials.

Data Enhancement

While you are working with a supplier to perform NCOA, take the time to enhance your data. Think about additional data elements available in the market and action the following:

  • New telephone phone numbers.
  • Validation of email addresses.
  • Acquisition of deceased, do not mail, and do not call flags.
  • Addition of presence of children and grandchildren flags.
  • Enhancement of constituent records with wealth indicators, such as property values and other holdings available.

Acquiring these enhancements will help not just with Tax Appeal, but with other campaigns in the future.

Do not delay. Action data cleansing and data enhancement now before you commence preparation of the data file for the Tax Appeal. Data cleansing and data enhancement takes time and these activities deserve the same attention as preparation of the mail pack. The results of your Tax Appeal depend on good data.

 

 

, , , , , ,

BPay – is it a lucrative option for Australian charities to offer?

BpayThere are hundreds of charitable organisations sending me appeals throughout the course of the year. Animal welfare, health, education, international aid organisations, and others send me appeals for one off and regular gifts. It is rare a non-profit organisation offers the opportunity to make the gift via BPAY. Is BPAY a lucrative option for Australian charities to offer?

CareFlight sent an appeal this week offering BPAY as a convenient way to make a donation. Prominently displayed on the response device, CareFlight informs me the biller code and my reference number. CareFlight use The Raiser’s Edge as their CRM. Most CRMs are capable of producing a BPAY and PostPay number for your supporters using the configuration required by your financial institution. The BPAY number is created upon creation of a record in your CRM.

Given the average age of most non-profit organisations donor base, why wouldn’t Australian charities offer BPAY and PostPay as an easy option for people to give. Young people likely find credit card easier. Older people may prefer to give via cheque or direct debit. But, BPAY and PostPay may be attractive to a subset of the older population.

 

, , , , , , , ,

Does age define who gets solicited by nonprofit street canvassers?

On any given day, Australian non-profits blanket the streets and parks of capital cities to solicit regular gifts from passersby. I never get stopped by those soliciting for health, environmental, international aid, and other types of charities. Does age define who gets solicited by nonprofit street canvassers or face to face fundraisers?

Street canvassers are typically very young adults, approximately 18-25 years old. Dressed in t-shirts branded with the charity name, they often struggle to get people to stop to have a conversation with them. Some people do anything they can to not engage with the canvassers. I try to have eye contact with the canvassers and do everything possible to see if they will engage with me. Instead, the canvassers look down and wait for their next prospect!

Is it my age? At 55 years old, have I “aged out” of the target audience for canvassers’ interest?

People aged from 40-65 years old likely have stable income to offer Australian non-profit organisations. Yet, I see the street canvassers stop people in their own age bracket and let those 40-65 pass them. I suspect those in their own age bracket have far less disposable income and, perhaps, less capability and likelihood to give a donation on a credit card on a monthly basis. If the young passersby are likely to stop, have a conversation with their peer, and agree to a monthly donation, they may have buyer’s remorse and cancel the donation at a higher rate than older adults with a more stable financial background.

Are street canvassers more comfortable talking to people there own age? Do they have a higher success rate signing on people their own age than someone older? Is the retention rate the same for both age groups?

Have any fundraising firms or nonprofit organisations studied this matter? Do you have thoughts about target audiences for street canvassing?

«< 23 24 25 26 27 >»