Fundraising

, , , , , , , ,

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.

, , , , , , , , ,

“CEE “ every record

data-hygieneIf any of you have heard me present at conferences or you have hired me as a consultant, you will have heard me preach “CEE” every record. No, that is not a typo. I do not mean to “SEE” every record. I truly do mean you should CEE each and every record.

What does this mean?

CEE is a term I coined and it stands for Confirm, Edit, and Enhance:

  • Confirm contact details each and every opportunity you have for contact with a supporter – whether on the telephone, via Email or in person. Take the extra step and ask the supporter whether they still live at the address contained in your supporter relationship management (SRM) database. Chances are, if they are like millions of other Australians, they moved in the last 12 – 18 months.
  • Edit the contact details, which are erroneous in your database. Be sure to maintain a record of the old contact details with an end date. And, add the new contact details with a start date.
  • Enhance details missing. Take a moment and ask the supporter for things like an Email address, mobile phone number, or date of birth.

Sound easier than said? We share a responsibility to create a culture where every staff member (from the top down) realises the supporter record is the heartbeat of everything we do. This is done by:

  • Educating staff.
    • Educate staff so they understand data cleanliness and accuracy is not someone else’s job.
    • Staff often believes someone else takes care of record cleanliness and this thinking, in my opinion is insane. I ask – how can someone else be in charge of records?; when do you believe that someone else is going to take the time to clean the record?; and, how is that information getting passed along?
  • Creating a sense of urgency.
    • Staff needs to learn there is no time like the present and, in fact, while they have possession of the record, they are responsible for the record.
    • Waiting to change a record often means staff forget all the things learned about the donor. Do it now.
  • Training staff how to perform these tasks, correctly.
    • Staff often times fear doing something wrong, so they would rather send a note to someone else to make the changes required. The buck stops with you. Train everyone how to create new records and to edit and enhance existing records.
  • Distributing written procedures.
    • Distribute written procedures to ensure people have reference materials after the training.
    • Monitor your team to ensure procedures are followed.
    • Coach those who miss steps, perform tasks incorrectly, or do not follow the procedures.
    • Offer rewards to team members who perform the tasks with 100% accuracy.
  • Leading by example.
    • When the next call comes in, be sure to CEE the supporter’s record. And, let others hear you. Staff likes to follow a manager’s lead. Set an example for the staff to follow.

When staff CEE various records throughout a day, staff perform the first step in good data hygiene. Watch this blog for other important components of data hygiene as well as tips and tricks about good database maintenance.

, , , , , ,

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.

, , , , , , , , ,

New Year – time to cleanse your data

Data-Analytics-and-Dirty-DataAs someone who has mystery shopped hundreds of charities over the past five years, I find it frustrating (and inexcusable) that few charities in Asia Pacific appear to cleanse their data in any meaningful aspect.

In fact, none of the charities in my mystery shopping study appear to have performed national change of address (NCOA) on their data set over the last year since I moved from Sydney to Brisbane in April 2014. If it was not for the mail redirection service from the Australia Post (including a renewal of the service), I would not be receiving any of this charity mail. Instead. Australia Post includes the forwarding of charity mail in the mail redirection service. Nonetheless, charities cannot depend on mail redirection for people like me to receive their mail.

When I have mentioned this situation to many charities (including those in the mystery shopping study), staff ask “why don’t you tell each charity”? My response: It is up to the charity to find me and, especially, those in the study!

It’s the new year and it is time to get your data house in order and to prepare for upcoming appeals. What is stopping your organisation from performing NCOA and other data hygiene services on your data set? Often times I hear the following reasons (and I give the following responses!):

  • No budget/What’s the return on investment
    • Your organisation invests tens of thousands (or more) in donor acquisition. Why would you want to throw that money away by not keeping track of your donors when they move. The cost to acquire a new donor is expensive. Losing contact with that new donor after, or during, the first year is even more expensive than it costs to cleans the data and to acquire a new address for the donor.
  • I’m not sure it will have a big impact on our organisation.
    • Most services, including one FundraisingForce will provide to your organisation, offer a report to educate you about the health of your data file prior to launching into any actual changes. This allows you to learn, first-hand, the healthiness fo the data, learn about changes that should be made, and determine which changes to then engage the firm in the actual changes.
  • I do not understand how this works.
    • Most staff do not understand the process let alone the simplicity of how it works. That’s why you engage an outside professional to take you through the process and someone who has performed the process thousands of times.
  • No one in my organisation is responsible for data hygiene.
    • Why not let the owner be you? You have the opportunity to be a hero in your organisation by taking ownership of the data and helping those responsible for donor retention to increase their percentage.
  • We do not have the time to even take care of the Return to Sender (RTS) mail in-house.
    • Let’s perform data hygiene on your entire file and then the RTS mail will become far less.

It pains me when I see stacks (or bins) of RTS mail in an organisation. To visualise this, replace the stack of mail with stacks of money. Wasted material, postage and staff time = stacks of money. Invest a little of that money into some internal processes when RTS mail arrives and then in data hygiene at least one time per year to see this trend reverse for your next appeal. You will not look back in regret. It’s nearly the end of January. What are you waiting for? Someone else to do it?

, , ,

New Year’s resolution – get your CFRE in 2015

CFREJanuary is all about New Year’s resolutions. Some New Year’s resolutions we make right away and others we delay deciding. Some we keep and others we break. Some come to mind easily, while others need to be suggested to us.

One New Year’s resolution FundraisingForce wants to suggest to you, even if only to serve as a reminder, is to become a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) in 2015.

CFRE International certifies experienced fundraising professionals aspiring to the highest standards of ethics, competence and service to the philanthropic sector.

CFRE International has seen a substantial growth of CFREs in 2014 and 2015 is expected to be a boom year as well. Why not include yourself amongst those who obtain their CFRE credential in this year?

Most experienced fundraisers do not take the exam because they do not take the time to complete the application or they fear not passing the exam on the first try. To resolve these issues for its members and prospective members, the Fundraising Institute in NSW spent a considerable amount of time in 2014 educating people about CFRE. FIA NSW created a CFRE study group to meet the needs of those who want to apply for and take the CFRE exam. The study group runs each quarter, in a “book club format”, and has proven to be quite a success with 100% of the participants passing the CFRE exam on the first pass. Participants not only study together once per month in person, but they also do readings in between the meetings. In the end, the participants take the exam together. The CFRE Study Group has taken the mystery out of the CFRE exam process and offered participants the opportunity to experience the exam process together. Study group participants find this group format to be a very supportive and collegial environment.

To learn more about CFRE and how to become involved, please contact FundraisingForce.

, , , , , ,

Airline Points – Not just for flying

genericplaneAs the calendar year comes to an end, many of us are about to leave for a Christmas or New Year’s Holiday. For some, like me, it means heading off to the airport for a flight.

Although many of us can think of some downsides of air travel like security lines and uncomfortable seats; there are upsides, too. One is the ability to accumulate frequent flyer points and miles.

Most of us acquire points when we fly for business or pleasure, but many of us do not redeem those points for awards. Sometimes they accumulate for years just sitting in our account, waiting to be used. Or maybe you have accrued some points, but not quite enough for a free ticket? Or your points are about to expire due to lack of account use?

Did you know some frequent flyer programs allow you to make gifts to deserving charities by converting your earned miles and points into cash donations? What a great way to use small amounts of miles!

Looking at the two largest airlines in Australia, each offers multiple opportunities to give:

qantasplane2Qantas lets you choose from six (6) non-profit organisations, including The Clontarf Foundation, UNICEF, and Make-A-wish Australia. For each organisation, you can choose as few as 2,900 points minimum donation with increasing amounts for larger gifts.

virginplaneVirgin Australia allows you to choose among eighteen (18) non-profits to make your donation, including AIME, Black Dog Institute, Camp Quality, Kids Helpline, Oaktree Foundation, and Youth Off the Streets. There are two gift levels offered for each charity, with minimum amounts starting at 4,500 points.

I applaud these two airlines for giving their customers an option to use their points in a charitable way – especially if these points were never going to be used for other purposes.

Even if you only fly a few times a year, join the airline program of your choice and donate the all the points you earn to help a worthy cause. If you are a business traveller, it is likely you have a few extra points to donate as you finish up for the year.

So as we take off for our holidays, lets consider ‘cashing in’ those points for a donation. We can then sit back, relax and know we have made a difference.

, , ,

It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas for #GivingTuesday Participants

According to the latest news, charities really benefited from #GivingTuesday. The latest total being reported is close to $50 million raised on this important day for philanthropy worldwide.

MountainNon-Profit Times reports close to $47 million as of last Tuesday, this is up from $32 million Non-Profit Times reported one year ago. This number is a tally from various companies including Blackbaud, DonorPerfect, Network for Good, Razoo, and Click & Pledge. Imagine the total if every supplier accepting online donations participated and numbers were reported for all suppliers worldwide! The report suggests the number also does not include any number from PayPal, which reported some $4 million last year on #GivingTuesday.

Why is this important to those of us in Australia? While there are no totals reported for #GivingTuesday Australia, it proves collective movements work. When we work together we all gain. Some people suggest there is a lot of competition for the charitable dollar. While I do not doubt that fact, there also is much to be learned about movements like #GivingTuesday, which show when we approach philanthropic giving through a mass marketing effort and encourage people to give everyone wins.

Learn how you can become involved through the Australian GivingTuesday website. Sign up today and start to plan for 2015.

, , , , ,

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!

, , , ,

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.

«< 21 22 23 24 25 >