Charity

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Prepare for your tax appeal segmentation – now!

segmentation-feature-dBelieve it or not, we are talking Tax Appeals already. In fact, we are…a little late.

It’s surprising the organisations that send the same package with the same copy to everyone on their data set simply because it’s “too hard” to segment the data set and to craft messages for each segment. Other organisations rely on suppliers to segment the data when, in fact, these organisations could segment their own data with just a bit of help.

Organisations using The Raiser’s Edge, or other marquis CRM products, have the tools to create segmentation in house if they simply had the knowledge.

Any organisation lucky enough to have a CRM as powerful as The Raiser’s Edge, or the others in the market, should gain knowledge from an expert to create segmentation in house. It is not enough to bring in an outside expert to simply create your segmentation for the upcoming Tax Appeal. The knowledge should be transferred to your staff so segmentation may be created for future appeals as well.

Sending an appeal to everyone on the database simply because the supporter exists on the database is not good enough. Invest some time to create the segmentation on paper and then work with a FundraisingForce Consultant to build the segmentations strategy in your database. Ensure the strategy is future proof and may be used for the Christmas Appeal and beyond.

1 July will be here before we know it. Your appeal should be dropping in May. It’s nearly mid-March. Let’s work together to ensure a successful Tax Appeal for your organisation.

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Stop. Do not train your staff. They will leave your organisation anyway.

TrainingWe have all heard supervisors tell us why we cannot attend a training course or a conference.

Training costs too much.

My staff does not have time for training.

There is no money in the budget.

We will send you on a training course in the future.

Why bother to train my staff? They are going to leave anyway.

“What’s worse than training your workers and losing them? Not training them and keeping them.”

– Zig Zigler, Motivational Speaker

Studies about workplace learning show that investment in employees improves the organisation’s bottom line.

According to a post written by Dale Dirkes on LinkedIn, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) concluded a national study of workplace learning practices and outcomes in 540 U.S. corporations. By creating two sub-samples in the study (one sample invested an average of $900 per employee per year and the other invested an average of $275 per employee per year) researchers found the top group outpaced the bottom by:

  • 57% higher sales per employee.
  • 37% higher gross profit per employee.

The study also offers organisations — some for the first time — reliable ways to measure tangible results from a training investment.

In a second phase of the study, ASTD identified leading edge companies for “Best Practices” ideas.

Here’s what they learned from the best of the best. They:

  • Invest up to 6% of payroll on overall workplace learning.
  • train 86% of employees on average.
  • utilise high-end technology (Internet, Webinar, computer-based training) to complement classroom sessions.

A graduate-level research project completed by Robert Klein, sales education manager for Nabisco, and aided by professor Dan Tanomery of Fairleigh Dickinson University, centered around what some U.S. companies are doing to train sales professionals.

The findings show there was a direct correlation between sales training and seven key business results:

  • sales increase.
  • market share increases.
  • there is a tendency for more new product rollouts.
  • productivity increases.
  • higher employee morale (and better retention).
  • customer satisfaction increases.
  • net Profits Increase.

Findings also show:

  • training improves employee performance.
  • training enhances the bottom line.
  • training saves labour.
  • training saves money.
  • training improves an organisation’s competitive edge.
  • training increases worker productivity.
  • training saves supervisory and administrative time and costs.
  • training improves supporter satisfaction.
  • training improves employee satisfaction and retention.
  • investment in professional development training is a win-win for a non-profit organisation and the employee alike.

Each of us has a responsibility to our organisations and to our staff to ensure our teams are fully trained and have the capability to do the job we have hired them to do.

Our peak body, Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA), offers a terrific range of courses for our sector and these courses cover a variety of skill levels and topics. Courses include:

  • Fundraising Essentials
  • FIA Certificate in Fundraising
  • FIA Diploma in Fundraising
  • Copywriting for Fundraisers
  • Creative for Fundraisers
  • Data Analytics for Fundraisers
  • Creating Transformational Mass Participation Events
  • Feel Good Major Gifts
  • Join the Bequests Revolution

FIA is offering courses in the classroom and also online to meet your training needs. Visit the FIA website for more details.

Semester I of the 2015 FIA training calendar launches this month. Signup for a course today and/or encourage your staff to attend a series of courses this year.

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FundraisingForce offers training on various fundraising database systems, including The Raiser’s Edge. We also offer training on Blackbaud NetCommunity. Contact us for more information and to tailor a programme to meet your organisation’s requirements.

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Nuggets of information from Fundraising Institute Australia 2015 Conference

Snip20150222_2The Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) Conference is the largest gathering of fundraisers in Asia-Pacific. The Fundraising Institute Australia 2015 conference occurred last week on 18-20 February 2015.

If you could not attend, you missed a lot! And, because you missed a lot, I decided to create a blog post containing some of the nuggets of information learned from a few of the sessions I attended, including: a master class, plenary sessions, and various breakouts.

Wednesday, 18 February

9:00AM – 4:00PM

Building Your Personal Brand Master Class

The three days kicked off with some spectacular master classes, including one I attended called Building Your Personal Brand. This class contained a panel of four remarkable women from Brisbane, Sydney and Washington DC talking about the importance of building and maintaining a personal brand.

Presenters included:

  • Julie Lamberg-Burnet, Sydney School of Protocol.
  • Mary Macuga, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane
  • Korrin Barrett, Living Possibility.
  • Eva Aldrich, CFRE International.

The panellists combined to deliver a message, which included:

  • The importance of the first impression.
  • How to properly carry yourself in a social setting or interview.
  • Personality traits and work styles we each bring to the workplace.
  • How supervisors and co-workers learn to deal with our personality traits and work styles (and we deal with theirs) is key to successful offices.
  • How those same traits apply to successful donor interactions, Board relations, and donor solicitations.
  • How to rebuild your personal brand after a catastrophic situation.
  • How professional credentialing adds value to your personal brand.
  • How you can achieve goals and build your personal brand while also meeting the requirements to achieve the CFRE credential.

The day was packed with information and rich content from the presenters while, at the same time, insight from audience participants.

5:00PM – 7:00PM

Opening Reception

Often one of the favourite events of the FIA Conference, the opening reception was a chance for attendees to visit with suppliers in a sold-out exhibit hall, to make new acquaintances and to renew old friendships. The conference exhibit hall was packed and many of us found it the place to be to network and to gain insightful information from fellow conference participants.

Many conference participants coordinated one on one or group dinners to take advantage of the opportunity to network further and to kick the conference off right.

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Plenary I – Simone Joyaux, ACFRE (Joyaux Associates)

Simone Joyaux kicked off the conference with a direct and powerful message to the audience. She said fundraising is “not about the money”. Rather, its “about the donor’s own aspirations”. Simone has a unique style of presenting and the audience was captivated by her message.

Plenary II – Tom Latchford (Raising IT)

Young Tom Latchford offered a motivating talk about getting the NFP sector ahead of the commercial sector. His humour, coupled with his vast international knowledge, caused his message to resonate with the audience.

11:00 – 12:30PM – Breakout

Panel Discussion – Management and Leadership Issues in Fundraising

Dr Wendy Scaife, EMFIA (Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies – QUT)

Margaret Scott, FFIA CFRE (Margaret Scott & Associates)

Dr Daniel McDiarmid, FFIA CFRE (Global Philanthropic)

Simone Joyaux ACFRE (Joyaux Associates)

Nigel Harris, CFRE (Mater Foundation) led an expert panel discussion where the panellists focused on problems, challenges, opportunities and responses identified through research. The packed room gained insight from these seasoned professionals.

2:25PM – 3:10PM – Breakout

Mining Your Data – Getting the Gold

Dan Bernstein, MFIA (FundraisingForce)

Dan Bernstein, FundraisingForce, presented a 45-minute session full of tips and tricks to find the gold in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. As an experienced fundraiser and consultant, Dan knows how to get to the gold and his energetic presentation style and the information he presented captivated the audience. The audience was seen taking copious notes and some said they were creating a plan to implement right after the conference.

3:10PM – 3:40PM – Marketplace

How to Become a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) Next Quarter

Stephen Mally, CFRE (FundraisingForce)

I was able to take a dozen interested fundraisers through the CFRE process and to try to take the mystery out of CFRE. During the session I shared information about the application and examination process. I also invited participants to join the FIA NSW CFRE Study Group – whether these participants live in NSW or elsewhere. Videoconference is available for all.

4:35PM – 5:20PM – Breakout

Practical Ways to Use Your Data to Drive Up Results

Fiona McPhee (Pareto Fundraising)

Fiona McPhee’s sessions are always about sharing and Fiona did not hold back in this instance. She offered a lot of insight into RFM segmentation and how charities are winning the data battle in Asia-Pacific.

7:00PM – 11:00PM – Gala Awards Dinner

Friday, 20 February 2015

10:30AM – 11:25AM – Breakout

Deeper, Smarter Engagement of Donors

Derek Bell (MarketingCube) and Claire Wytcherley (Diabetes Australia VIC)

Marketing automation may be a foreign term to many in the NFP sector, but Derek and Claire offered definition and clarity into exactly what marketing automation is and how it applies to the NFP organisations. The two walked us through the process to change our marketing from “batch and send” processes to marketing automation processes. Derek and Claire discussed a need to understand our audiences and our supporter’s preferred methods of communication. Derek reminded us to be aware of the donor’s online and offline behaviour.

Diabetes Australia VIC is one such organisation seeing success through marketing automation. Cost reduction and deeper file penetration were both winds for Diabetes Australia VIC.

MarketingCube suggests the five p’s:  Plan, produce, publish, promote, and prove.

11:35AM – 12:30PM – Breakout

DIY Fundraising – 365 Days of Opportunity

Adrian Coupe and Henry Gresson (GoFundraise)

As the title says, do it yourself fundraising is available 365 days a year! Adrian and Henry offered insights into how charities throughout Australia are maximising the opportunity to captivate the attention of supporters to gain the most form every event. The two talked about the changing fundraising landscape: Fundraising landscape – 40% – signature event (owned by charity), 30% – 3rd party (owned by specialist event org), and 30% DIY. DIY is the fastest growing pillar in the fundraising landscape according to GoFundraise.

2:40PM – 3:25PM

Four Successes and a Failure: Sharing the behind the Scenes Secrets of Non-Profit Website and Social Media Successes to learn That Works and What Just Doesn’t

Tom Latchford (Raising IT)

Tom’s sense of humour and knowledge of best practice around the world came out in this session. Despite the fact we were in the midst of a cyclone, the room was packed and everyone benefited from Tom’s knowledge on leveraging best practices in websites and social media.

Closing Plenary

Following the Path to Donor Nirvana: The 6 Realisations Approach

Tom Ahern (Ahern Communications)

Tom Ahern offered several examples of US charity materials and showed best practice and opportunities for improvement. Tom told us if everyone tells you they love your newsletter you should “be suspicious”! He reminded us that we, as fundraisers, care more about the ask and the donor cares more about the thank you.

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Don’t judge your donors by the way they dress

Snip20150207_52The US morning show, NBC’s Today Show, reported this week about a gentleman who lived very modestly in the US state of Vermont. In fact, he lived so modestly no one had any idea he was worth about $8 million…until he passed away and left it all to charity.

According to the story, Ron Read, a janitor surprised everyone when he left $4.8 million to the local hospital – Brattleboro Memorial Hospital – and the remaining $1.2 million to the local library – Brooks Memorial Library.

His estate attorney says Read told her he had money. And, the estate attorney did not believe him because of “the way he dressed”. She said he typically dressed in a worn coat, flannel shirt and baseball cap. The attorney adds “never judge someone across the table for what they look like”.

Two institutions that impacted Read’s life while he was alive are now being impacted by Read after his death. In fact, both organisations say the gift Read left is the largest they have received. Simply put, Read has left the community stunned.

Think of the time and attention we pay to people, in and outside of the fundraising world, based on the way they look. Think of the time we spend in this business on high value donors simply based on what they give out of pocket today. Read likely did not give money while he was alive. Some reported they tried to buy him a meal in the hospital cafeteria based on the fact he looked like he was in need.

I love this story because it indicates to me that someone at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and someone at Brooks Memorial Hospital thought he enough to care for Mr Read no matter how others may judge him. And, in the end, he recognised the caring received and the services provided by the hospital and the library.

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How was your day? Your #GivingTuesday, that is.

Snip20141108_1Just one week ago today, our sector experienced #GivingTuesday. It appeared some Australian charities took advantage of this vast worldwide marketing campaign while others are still unaware of the campaign or have not yet jumped in.

Organisations like Blackbaud report worldwide giving on this #GivingTuesday was up 36% compared to #GivingTuesday 2013. Here are some other statistics reported:

  • Since the inaugural #GivingTuesday in 2012, overall online giving is up 159%.
  • Blackbaud processed more than $26.1 million in online donations on #GivingTuesday 2014, up from the $19.2 million processed on #GivingTuesday in 2013.
  • Online transaction volume grew 50% compared to 2013.
  • The average online donation on #GivingTuesday 2014 was $128.30, slightly down on last year.
  • 17% of online donation form views came from a mobile device.

RIDBC---TattoosRoyal Institute of Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) is the only Australian charity to have solicited me directly and mentioned #GivingTuesday in the solicitation. In fact, RIDBC sent me an SMS and asked me to give by responding with the word “Joy”. I complied and I was sent to a giving page where I was offered the chance to make a gift. After I made the donation, I received a thank you via SMS and I was offered the chance to give again. I gave it a “test” and retyped the word “Joy”, which automatically converted to an additional $5 contribution because my credit details had been tokenised when I made the original contribution.

GiveeasyAfter tweeting about this terrific experience, I learned RIDBC is using GiveEasy SMS as a new channel to offer supporters a fast, innovative, and effective way to give a donation.

If your charity did not participate in #GivingTuesday this year, why not start planning for next year’s #GivingTuesday and determine a means to wrap it in your organisation’s Christmas Appeal? Also, I suggest organisations give GiveEasy a review and see if SMS giving should be in your future. Perhaps you might implement SMS giving in the New Year!

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On #GivingTuesday Teach Your Children to Give

HandsHoldingGiftToday, December 2, 2014 is #GivingTuesday, which is “a movement to celebrate and provide incentives to give.” According to the GivingTuesday Australia website, “This effort harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners – charities, families, businesses and individuals – to transform how people think about, talk about and participate in the giving season.”

I would like to take a moment to concentrate on one word mentioned in their purpose statement – families. Especially how they talk about and participate in the giving season.

Here, in Australia, families and individuals are very charitable, especially when it comes to “emergency” situations like natural disasters. Individuals have historically given more than governments when it comes to philanthropy.

As citizens of the world, we embrace the idea that helping others helps our community and ourselves. As people, we enjoy raising money to help support the mission and goals of an organization. We feel we can “end this disease”; provide education or clean water; and save animals. It’s the idea we can work together for the betterment of all.

Those who participate in giving of their ‘treasure’ understand the importance of living in a safe, secure and strong society. One where we feel an obligation to give back to society in order to provide the ‘essentials’ of a community – A Home, Food/Water, Healthcare, Education and Economic Opportunity.

During this giving season it is very important for parents to pass this message to their children.

HandsHoldingCoinsA good lesson would be to speak with our children about SMALL DONORS making a difference.  Discuss participating in a ‘gold coin donation’ program and use one of the following examples to illustrate small donations can make a great impact.

In 1938, Polio victim US President Franklin D. Roosevelt started the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP). The newly formed organisation turned to media stars to give the message about how a donation of a single dime (10 cents) could add up to an amount that would be big enough to fund research to find a vaccine for polio. The idea that One dime could help in the fight to end polio led to a well chosen campaign name – The March of Dimes. In the first year over US$238,000 arrived at the White House – all in dimes! By 1959, a total of $622 million had been raised. By 1979, polio was eradicated in the United States.

It’s likely your children have never even heard of Polio because of these efforts from small donors. Ask them to imagine speaking to their children about diseases that no longer exist because of their future efforts. Or maybe speak with them about the Tsunami Relief efforts in 2005 or the Bushfire efforts in 2009.

Or talk about causes that affect your family or friends. Here is a list of causes to consider:

  • AIDS Education/Awareness
  • Animal Protection
  • Environment and Conservation
  • Health
  • Hunger and Homelessness
  • Human Rights
  • Literacy and Education

The goal in these discussions is to have your children think about what their lives would be like without access to basic needs. And once you have talked about the idea of “giving back” and (I’m hopeful) chosen a cause to support with your children, put those gold coins into action.

HandsHoldingHeartFrom today, December 2, 2014 through to Christmas, have everyone in the family take their coins or money they would have spent on “treats” and collect it all in a jar. Place it where everyone can watch the pile get higher. Before the end of the year, donate the money to your charity of choice. You and your children will have participated in the giving season.

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Charities leaving money on the table

leavingmoneyontable-2I received a newsletter in the mail from a Melbourne charity this last week. The newsletter is a beautiful full colour piece; full of images and stories about the good work the charity is doing around the world. The stories are motivating and might even influence someone to get involved. The charity included a blank envelope in the mail piece. There is no call to action. The blank envelope does not offer recipients a clue about the course of action the charity wants the recipient to take. Is the assumption the recipient will send a cheque in the mail? In fact, the blank envelope only confuses the recipient.

Make an ask in every treatment you mail or email your supporters. You do not have to make a hard ask in the piece. The Melbourne charity should have, at the least, included a giving envelope in the piece I received.

I might suggest this charity create a test – test a letter with a direct ask against a giving envelope to see which performs best. The letter/direct ask might contain an ask ladder tailored to the segment.

I am putting my money on the fact both of the approaches in the test will outperform a blank envelope hands down!

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Giving Tuesday – 2 December – a day for FundraisingForce to give back

Snip20141108_1Giving Tuesday – a single day where each of us in Australia come together, along with the rest of the world, to give back to charities deserving of our support.

This year, on 2 December, Australian businesses, not-for-profits, charities, community groups, families and individuals are being encouraged to join a global movement and celebrate a day of giving to kick off the giving season. It’s called #GivingTuesday.

#GivingTuesday was started in 2012 by New York’s 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation. The concept was, and still is, simple. The US has a day for giving thanks – it is the fourth Thursday of every November and one of the biggest public holidays of the year – Thanksgiving Day. The following day (and often times late night on Thanksgiving evening, is the largest retails tore shopping day of the year – called Black Friday. The following Monday is the largest shopping day of the year on the internet – Cyber Monday. So, the concept was born to create Giving Tuesday as a means to drive giving back to charity!  Together, different sectors were rallied together to ‘give back’ and support local not-for-profits, causes and communities. The inaugural #GivingTuesday saw over 2500 not-for-profit and business partners participate in different ways that not only resulted in awareness being raised of key issues but also a significant increase in giving on that day.

How can you get involved? #Giving Tuesday already offers you the basis for a marketing campaign and encourages your organisation (charity or supplier) to do the following:

Activate your community of supporters for #GivingTuesday and give them a fresh way to give. Or maybe you’d like to give back to them and find a way to say thanks or highlight the work that your volunteers do.

To get involved:

  • Sign up as a #GivingTuesday Australia partner
  • Register your initiative
  • Spread the word and get your community involved
  • If you’re partnering with a corporate partner, ask them to register as well!

FundraisingForce is a #Giving Tuesday partner. How is our company involved? We have been promoting #Giving Tuesday throughout the year on Twitter, Facebook and our blog and we will continue to promote #Giving Tuesday up to and including the day of this important event. Additionally, on #Giving Tuesday we will give a donation to each and every customer we have worked with this year since our company launched. It’s our way of saying “thanks” this holiday season and our way of ensuring we give back to organisations who have entrusted us as a leading fundraising consulting firm in Australia.

Whether you represent a charity, community organisation, or a supplier to the NFP sector, get involved in #Giving Tuesday now!

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Why do you care about your personal brand?

Personal+brandingSome of us spend a considerable amount of time each day focused on building our personal brand. Others go about it quite naturally and do not seem to realise the things they are doing are dramatically impacting their personal brand. And, there may be others who may not care about their personal brand.

Personal brand is the most important thing you own. If you are not branding yourself, others may be branding you!

What is a personal brand?

Simply put, personal brand is investing in yourself and your career to create a brand. People who believe in personal branding believe in creating a self-package. Personal branding is “owning” the space you exist in, controlling your career development, and how you are perceived. Personal branding gives you the power to create your unique value in the marketplace.

Why do we care?

Personal brand expert, Julie Lamberg-Burnet, tells audiences they have three to five seconds to make a first impression. Three to five seconds? I’ve barely said hello. The fact of the matter is, Julie tells us we do not even need to say hello to make the first impression. People walk into a networking event, immediately “size” one another up, and make decisions about one’s value without even greeting the person. Others arrive at a meeting and sit nearest to the person with whom they want to associate or emulate.

Everyone should care about his or her personal brand!

Take back the control. Learn more about your personal brand at a one-day masterclass at the Fundraising Institute Australia Conference on 18 February 2015. This masterclass offers a unique panel of marquis speakers, including:

  • Julie Lamberg-Burnet, Brand Service Consulting, Modern Etiquette and International Protocol – Sydney School of Protocol
  • Korrin Barrett, Motivational Speaker – Life Unlimbited
  • Mary Macuga, Director of Resource Development – Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane
  • Eva E. Aldrich CFRE, Chief Executive Officer – CFRE International

To give you a sampling of what you will experience the day of the masterclass, consider Korrin Barret’s story. Learn more about Korrin here.

Investing 8 hours in this masterclass may simply change your value in the marketplace or workplace. Sign up for the masterclass today!

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It’s Christmastime – at least for QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (QIMR)

QIMR Christmas AppealThe stores are already filled with Christmas items. I walked by a large office building in Melbourne last week and it was decked out for the holiday season complete with very large Christmas trees, lights, and the works. Each year I wonder which charity will be first to send their Christmas appeal. It is highly probable the charity to win this “contest”, to be first in my letterbox, will be The Salvation Army (the winner the last several years). But, hold on. Not this year. This year’s winner is QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (QIMR).

The pack, which was received on 30 October 2014, contains a message on the carrier to ensure everyone knows this is their Christmas appeal. The packet also contains: A two-page letter, a note from a woman named Stacey Edwards about her mother’s journey with breast cancer, a fact sheet about breast cancer, and a terrific response device. The response asks me to update my contact details and offers me a host of ways to give a gift including BPay, phone, URL, and FAX. Note the photo of Stacey and her children with Santa on the response device.QIMR Christmas Appeal Response

Congratulations to QIMR. The winner of this year’s first of the lot!

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