Fundraising

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Two days before the end of the financial year

Snip20160625_1It is just two days before the end of the financial year. Is there a sense of celebration or a sense of panic in your workplace? I hope it is a celebratory moment and not a tense one.

All of us scurry to bring in final revenue before the clock ticks midnight on 30 June. But, shouldn’t we really spend the two days catching our breath and implementing solid plans for the new year? Shouldn’t we turn our focus on analysis of what went well and a focus on what we need to alter from July forward?

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A thank you call per day

Snip20160619_2Stewardship calls are the easiest calls to make. Often times thank you calls are the most surprising for a donor to receive because donors do not expect them. It’s true. Donors expect calls asking for money, requests to purchase lottery tickets, and other asks. It’s rare a call from a nonprofit organisation has the simple purpose of saying “thank you”.

Make one thank you call today. Call a donor who has given for the first time. Call a donor who has given for the past three consecutive years. Call a donor who has increased their level of giving year on year.

Make a thank you call every day or at least one time per week. Document the call in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. Measure and monitor the results of the calls. I bet you will see further engagement by those you call.

There are many reasons to call donors. Calling to make an ask does not have to be tbe only reason.

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Major donors should receive direct mail pieces

Snip20160516_13We have all worked for organisations where members of the major gifts team did not wish for “their donors” to be contacted via the organisation’s direct mail.

This is insanity. Here’s why:

  • With an average portfolio of about 150 people, it is unlikely, although not impossible, the major gifts staff person takes the time to have personal contact with the each person in his or her portfolio.
  • The only means the donor may hear from the charitable organisation is through direct mail.
  • The donor likely learns a good amount of information about the nonprofit organisation through the appeals.
  • The donors or prospects in the pool have not made this opt out request. Instead, the organisation staff person has made the choice for the donor.
  • Due to the lack of communication, it is likely the donor will feel “forgotten” or lose touch with the charity. If the charity is not in contact with them via direct mail, you can be sure another charity where they give a major gift is reaching out through the letterbox.
  • Opting to not send direct mail to people in one’s portfolio suggests the major gifts officer is not a team player and, in fact, suggests he or she considers direct marketing to be “dirty” or “junk mail”.
  • The donors and prospects in a major gifts officer’s portfolio are not their donors. These donors and prospects belong to the organisation.

I am not suggesting everyone in a major gifts portfolio should receive direct mail pieces. In fact, there will be donors or prospects who opt themselves out from receiving certain pieces of mail. We must abide by such requests. Your database will be able to handle opt outs and communications preferences in a sophisticated manner.

Staff creating blanket rules for donors is not smart. Instead, take the time to create a high dollar package. Work in concert with the direct marketing person on your fundraising team to customise the experience for the donor and be part of the appeal effort rather than work against.

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Abundant professional development opportunities – with Fundraising Institute Australia

Snip20160504_29If you are an Australian fundraiser, there are ample professional development opportunities to satisfy your appetite and to ensure you are on top of current trends. In fact, the choice can be overwhelming.

While there are a variety of opportunities for you to choose from, FundraisingForce suggests you choose Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) as a one-stop shop for professional development. At FIA you may elect to participate in events coordinated locally or participate in courses produced by FIA on a national scale. FIA offers local events, as well as courses in the classroom or online. All angles, styles of learning, and topics are covered with FIA.

Becoming a member of the peak fundraising body also ensures discounted rates to attend all FIA events.

FundraisingForce are pleased to sponsor FIA NSW and a plethora of activity occurring in 2016.

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Give, Get or Get Off? What does that mean?

Snip20160424_53In the United States, fundraisers and nonprofit managers are conditioned to believe board members should “give, get or get off”. What does this mean?

American fundraisers and nonprofit executives believe nonprofit boards should:

  1. Give – our board members should give to our nonprofit organisation.
    • Some argue the board is already giving of their time. I would agree. But, time is not enough. Board members need to put their money where their heart is and invest in the nonprofit organisation. As fundraisers, we should expect 100% of our board to give within their means.
  2. Get –  our board members should help us to raise money.
    • In addition to giving themselves, board members should ask their peers to give to our organisation. Board members should work with CEOs and other paid staff to solicit individuals, foundations, and corporations.
  3. Get Off – if our board members do not perform in terms of steps one and two, those under performers should leave our board.
    • Board must do steps one and two. Nonprofit leadership should set KPIs for board members in the same we would set for paid staff.
    • Setting clear expectations when one steps on the board makes it easier to manage those expectations.

Nonprofit boards are critical to our success. The American example of give AND get or get off may be a crass and candid way to ensure you get the performance you require. Nonetheless, the model is one we should follow worldwide. I am not sure there are exceptions to this rule? How do you feel about the model?

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Make an ask in every communication piece

Snip20160416_30It’s fundraising 101. If you do not ask, you do not receive.

Late last week, I received a newsletter from a Sydney-based hospital. I shouted when I opened it because the hospital foundation failed to make an ask for a donation in the piece. In fact, there was no response device, no letter, and simply a newsletter with a self-addressed response envelope.

Why didn’t this hospital take the time to ask me (and the others who received the newsletter) for a donation? Further, why would the charity include a self-addressed envelope if they were not going to take the time to include a response device to drive donations to your charity?

If it is worth producing the communications piece, it is worth taking the time to ask people for a donation.

Consider the following:

  • Wrapping a letter around the newsletter offers you a chance to recognise the donor’s past support and to draw their attention to key articles in the newsletter.
  • Including a response device, pre-populated with the donor’s details, will short cut the guessing game and drive contributions to your nonprofit organisation.
    • It will not cost any more postage to mail a response device with a newsletter and a return envelope.
  • Sending a self-addressed envelope, without a response device, will likely yield far less returns than a charity would receive if a response device was included in the package.

Don’t believe the statements in this blog post? If your organisation currently sends newsletters with no letter and no response device, create a three part test.

  • Pack one
    • Newsletter and reply envelope
  • Pack two
    • Letter, newsletter, reply slip, reply envelope
  • Pack three
    • Newsletter, reply slip, reply envelope

See for yourself which of the three packs wins. You might be pleased you took the time to make an ask for a donation.

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Creative non profit event idea

 

Snip20160411_21It seems most non profit organisations conduct events as part of their fundraising plan. Most organisations conduct the same types of events. Frankly, it’s a bit difficult to come up with a “unique” event and not a “copy” of other non profit organisations.

Boston Children’s Hospital sent me a unique fundraising and education event proposition just last week.  It caught my attention. Why?

Boston Children’s Hospital suggested many of us spend too much time using our smart devices. The Email asked me to take a pledge to spend a day off technology and to spend this time with my loved ones. It seems Boston Children’s Hospital have a “mediatrician” who will provide me with tips to cut back on technology use once I sign the pledge. And, there is a fundraising angle to the pledge!

The program helps me, helps my relationships and helps Boston Children’s Hospital!

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How do nonprofits show appreciation for volunteers?

Snip20160403_27Have you ever volunteered for an organisation and you were treated like you had received 50 years hard labour? Or, have you volunteered for an organisation which seems to express appreciation to you repeatedly?

The fact is charitable organisations can’t thank volunteers enough. Some do it really well and others quite poorly or not at all.

The fact is volunteers are offering a gift of high value – their time. A volunteer’s time is worth the same or more than a major gift. Nonprofit organisations should create a volunteer appreciation matrix, which identifies the appreciation touchpoints in the same way an organisation would have a stewardship matrix for high-level donors.

Organisations should, at a minimum:

  • Send a birthday card to you on your special day.
  • Send Christmas or other year-end cards.
  • Send thank you letters or other acknowledgements after each volunteer job is completed.
  • Send volunteer surveys to ask about and measure your volunteer experience.
  • Hold volunteer recognition events to recongise volunteers of superior service honouring volunteers of the year and others.
  • List volunteers and thank them in annual reports.

Do you have examples where a charity has gone above and beyond to recognise your volunteer service? How about the opposite – where an organisation has not given you the time of day in return for your service? Let me hear from you.

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How to increase use of your CRM within your non-profit

Business Customer CRM Management Analysis Service Concept

Imagine you spend a year building out your CRM and taking the solution live. Doing so costs staff time (money), consulting fees (money), energy (money) and morale (money). Now imagine there is little usage of the CRM after Go live. That’s a lot of money spent for little return. As managers, we have a responsibility to provide the best tools and we also have a responsibility to ensure those tools are well utilised. You can buy someone a Mercedes Benz, but if they do not know how to drive it, do not drive it, and do not like to drive it you have wasted your money and effort.

So, what do you do now?

There are four things you must do to turn this around:

  1. Conduct an analysis of use. Use your CRMs internal audit systems to see who is logging in, when they are logging in, how often and for how long. Most CRMs in the market allow administrators to view usage in these terms. Measure and monitor weekly.
  2. Conduct a survey of use. Understand what the users like, what they find clunky, and what they need now. Perhaps you did not consult with the end users when you designed the system? (That was a mistake). Perhaps you have a new team and their requirements and ideas are different than the previous team? (That’s natural). Perhaps your business requirements have grown and your system has not grown with the business? (That’s a good thing).
  3. Create a policy, which states only activities recorded in your CRM count towards performance evaluations. If activity is not recorded in the CRM and, instead, on an Excel sheet or in diaries, the activity did not happen. Your major gifts offices might conduct 10 donor visits in a month. If only one is recorded in the CRM, the major gift officer only conducted one visit.
  4. Implement the “phase II” items you never got to as part of the CRM implementation project. Every project has items that are not a priority at the time, but are placed on a “phase II” bucket list. Well, it is now phase II. It is sort of like the three cardboard boxes you moved house with, did not unpack the week you moved, and are still in your spare bedroom or garage. Unpack them!

All of the above might be prevented through the original implementation of a CRM. Maybe or maybe not? Nonetheless, when the issue of lack of CRM use surfaces, you must get on top of it. Like any issue unattended, the issue only gets worse. It is at that point you become the issue.

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