Non-profit

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Making a difference – one tree at a time

Gamification. What is it and what’s it got to do with philanthropy?

Snip20150914_5Bob Jacobsen can tell us. Jacobsen works for T-Mobile, a global telecommunications company, as their Senior Manager of Travel. In this role, Jacobsen is charged with incentivising T-Mobile employees to book travel smarter and, ultimately, to save the company money. He realised his audience is diverse in age and, as a result, their approach to the topic is different from one another. Enter gamification.

Jacobsen worked with his travel agency who had a gamification platform, which had not picked up steam, and brought it new life. He combined the best of this platform with a sustainability initiative by partnering with The Eden Projects, an initiative dealing with the catastrophic deforestation in Haiti. Jacobsen told Business Traveler News, “The Eden Projects employs entire villages to plant trees, which in turn gives the farmers and the planters money to send their kids to school.” Each tree costs only 10 US cents to plant, increasing the T-Mobile program’s impact. “If the traveler does everything right, they get 1,000 points. That plants 10 trees in Haiti.”Lush Tropical Jungle Rainforest Background

Just for one second, measure this impact. A T-Mobile employee books smart travel and earns points. Those points pay for trees to be planted in a devastated and impoverished nation. Those planted trees earn farmers and planters money to send their kids to school. T-Mobile delivers on its sustainability goals. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Each of us in the non-profit sector seeks to make a difference day in and day out. Bob Jacobsen and the people of T-Mobile have made a big difference. The staff created a model for others to follow. Isn’t this what philanthropy is all about?

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It’s Include a Charity Week

Snip20150827_10It’s Include a Charity Week in Australia. Charities nationwide are pushing the message to donors to include their charity in their wills. If you work for a charity and are not aware of what the Include a Charity campaign is about – the Include a Charity campaign is made up of over 100 of Australia’s charities, all working together to encourage more people to include gifts in their wills to their favourite charities. Now part of Fundraising Institute Australia, Include a Charity works hard day in and day out to increase awareness of bequests programs in non-profit organisations.

Include a Charity Week promotes their good work and gives charities a way to work together to increase awareness and visibility of bequests.

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Finding the perfect CRM for your non-profit

Snip20150827_7Fundraising Institute Australia conducts webinars as a member benefit.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to present this month’s webinar. My presentation, titled Finding the Perfect CRM for your Non-Profit, highlighted there is no perfect CRM for non-profits and offered participants the FundraisingForce Ten Point CRM Search Process:

  1. Requirements gathering – Most organisations cannot fully describe their requirements. In order to be able to articulate your requirements to suppliers, you must first define them in-house and document those requirements. Part of requirements gathering is to also take a full inventory of your data, which is to be converted to the new CRM.
  2. Market research – Understand the market and the various products available to you. Prepare a list of those suppliers you may want to invite to your process, including the products those suppliers represent or hold. After conducting market research, you will match your requirements with suppliers and products in the market. Not every supplier will receive an invite to your process based on the matchback you will do.
  3. Request for Proposals – Create a well-written and though request for proposals (RFP). In the RFP be sure to identify the various aspects you would like the supplier to elaborate on, including things like: financial stability of the supplier, bench strength of the supplier, support and customer service models, and how the supplier proposes to meet the most important of your requirements.
  4. Invitations – Send invitations to the suppliers. In the invitation, be clear about your process, deadlines and any boundaries you have set for suppliers.
  5. Response meetings – Be open to conducting response meetings with suppliers. In these meetings, answer questions suppliers may have about your requirements.
  6. Proposals – Receive proposals by the stated deadlines. Adhere to the deadlines. If you extend a deadline for one supplier, extend it for all. Compare proposals against one another using a ratings system.
  7. Demonstrations – Conduct demonstrations with a team of individuals from your organisation who are key decision makers. Develop a rating chart for your team to use to evaluate the systems seen.
  8. Negotiations – Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. Remember the list price is not the best price.
  9. Selection – Select the best of the lot based on the strength of the proposals, the demonstrations, and negotiations.
  10. Business plan – Write a business plan which you will deliver to senior leadership and to the board. Be sure to describe the process you have followed, your due diligence, and highlight your selection, reasons for your selection, as well as the true costs of ownership. In the business plan you also want to state the return on investment (ROI).

This ten point CRM search process may seem overwhelming, even daunting. The market can be confusing. You do not have to go at it alone. FundraisingForce and other consultancies offer assistance to charities seeking to run a thorough CRM selection process.

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Allow staff to resolve issues

 

Call center operator at workDo your staff have the authority to resolve issues presented by donors or prospective donors? Or, do they have to escalate most issues to you to resolve?

I recently called a US company to get an issue resolved and my call was transferred from person to person. After the third transfer, and more than 45 minutes on an international call, the “supervisor on duty” could not resolve the issue. I was placed on hold multiple times throughout the call. It was as though the issue I was presenting had never been dealt with before. The most frustrating part of the call came when the employee of this company disconnected me (this is a polite way to say she hung up on me).

My next course of action was to tweet about the matter. I simply could not understand why something so simple had taken so long and was still not resolved. The interaction on Twitter continued over the course of a weekend. It was not until Monday morning when the issue was finally resolved by someone on the corporate’s social media team who told me the matter could have been and should have been resolved by the first person I spoke with the week prior. Instead, the matter went through three people on the telephone and was blasted on social media to millions of others.

It must be frustrating to staff to not be able to resolve issues. I can tell you it is frustrating to consumers when staff of companies or organisations do not deal with issues direct. Perhaps they cannot resolve even the simplest of matters. Put the power in the hands of your staff and let them easily resolve matters before they bubble up. Escalate only the matters which cannot be easily resolved by front line staff. This will empower your staff and donors alike.

What procedures do your organisation have in place to deal with complaints or issues? How many people do your donors have to deal with before getting their issue resolved?

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If you don’t ask, you do not receive

business, people and paperwork concept - close up of businessman hands writing to clipboard at office

What is the number one reason charity do not receive donations? It’s not because they lack solid programs. It is not because they do not have strong leadership and vision. The number one reason charities do not receive donations is because they did not ask. Kind of simple, isn’t it?

FundraisingForce conducts a comprehensive mystery shopping study, as well as a mystery shopping product called NP Mystery Shop. The study shows that over 10% of the charities in the study never make an ask in their direct marketing appeals – whether in the letter or on the response device.

What’s even more disturbing is some charities take the time to include a response envelope, but never tell the appeal recipient what to do with the envelope. The piece lacks a response device altogether. Response devices exist for a reason – to drive donor behaviour to giving. We have conditioned our donors over the years and years of direct marketing fundraising to expect a response device in the appeal, which is personalised and offers prompts for giving.

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Australian university performs data cleansing calls

Computer aufrumenI received a call from an Australian university last week. The caller said she and her teammates were contacting alumni of university X to update their contact details. I told her I was not a member of the alumni community of university X. This response puzzled her. After a major pause, she said “you aren’t?”. When I responded that indeed I had not attended their university. She said, with a quick recovery, “oh, well do you still live at…”.

You know I applaud calls like this one from occurring in the first place. I have written about the need to confirm, edit, and enhance (CEE) a record. Kudos to this university for taking the time to contact donors (including non alumni!) to confirm their details and to update them when they are incorrect. Data cleansing calls are always welcome. Perhaps my record was coded as “alumni”. Perhaps not. Yet, an opening script, which is inclusive of alumni and non- alumni, donors and non donors, would have saved this particular caller that moment of embarrassment.

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Stephen Mally/FundraisingForce to present two Webinars

A bullhorn or megaphone with the word Webinar to spread the word of a new webcast, online seminar or internet training education session for you to register for and attend to learn new information

Stephen Mally CFRE, Director of FundraisingForce, will be presenting two upcoming Webinars – the first focused on mystery shopping in the NFP sector and the second on finding the “perfect” CRM for your non-profit organisation.

19 August 2015, 12:00PM – 1:00PM: Secrets to NFP Mystery Shopper

In this Webinar, Mally will discuss the background of the study and convince you mystery shopping is critical to the Asia-Pacific NFP sector. Mally will also share the latest findings and offer you tips to:

  • Apply the latest findings.
  • Develop key performance metrics for your organisation.
  • Enhance customer service across your organisation.
  • Work toward a more donor-centric organisation.
  • Get involved in mystery shopping.

This self-funded study is a terrific service to the sector. Mally offers rich information for every organisation to put to good use.

Click this link to register.

26 August 2015, 12:00PM – 1:00PM: Finding the Perfect CRM for your non-profit

Does the perfect non-profit Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) or Supporter Relationship Management (SRM) system really exist?

The answer is not a yes. But, it is also not a no. The answer to that question depends on whether your organisation runs a thorough process to search for the CRM/SRM, which is the best fit for your organisation based on the following:

  • Size of your organisation.
  • Business requirements identified for your organisation.
  • Future growth plans and strategies.

Stephen has conducted numerous CRM/SRM searches for Australian organisations. Stephen will focus on a 10-point process organisations should follow when conducting a search for a new CRM.

Selecting a CRM/SRM may well be the biggest decision and the largest investment your organisation makes. Investing in the process and ensuring your organisation makes the right decision is critical.

Click this link to register.

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UW warms this aggressive American fundraiser

Snip20150810_2I received an enewsletter from my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, last week. The newsletter header captivated my attention:

Have you reached your philanthropic goals for 2015?

The opening paragraphs kept my attention:

“The end of the year is approaching, but there is still time to take advantage of giving opportunities that will provide needed financial support for the UW as well as possible tax benefits for you.

The articles below provide options for your consideration: contact the Office of Gift Planning at the UW Foundation for more information and to get started on reaching these goals!”

The University of Wisconsin enewsletter is all about supporting the University. At the same time, the enewsletter is also about helping me to find ways I can save on my US taxes – gift planning. The University does this by making points, such as: “For example, there is no easier way to garner a charitable deduction for 2015 – and support the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the same time – than by simply writing a check! If you itemize, outright gifts are fully deductible for federal income-tax purposes (up to 50 percent of your adjusted gross income). If your total gifts should exceed this limitation, the excess may be carried forward for tax purposes for up to five additional years”.

Tax savings illustrations are plentiful, such as: Example: If you are now in the 33 percent income-tax bracket and you itemize your deductions, a $1,000 gift to UW-Madison by December 31 will save you $330 in 2015 taxes.

Does this seem too aggressive of an approach for your organisation? American fundraisers are used to this straightforward approach. I wonder how it would fly in your charity?

I love my university. And, I love this approach.

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Treat complaint calls like a gift

COMPLAINTS_DEPARTMENTNone of us like to get complaint calls or negative feedback. In fact, we hate it when someone complains about our non-profit organisation. People might complain about the mission of our organisation, the services we provide, or some other matter.

Each of us needs to treat complaint calls like a gift. Complaints calls are an opportunity to reconnect with the person making the complaint and to address issues within our organisation.

Some pointers when receiving complaints:

  • Respond the same day the complaint is received.
    • Even if your first response only tells the person you are investigating the matter and sets an expectation as to when the person may expect a full response.
  • Show gratitude when the complaint is received.
    • Let the person lodging the complaint know you appreciate their feedback.
  • Fully investigate the complaint.
    • Gather all the facts in order to respond intelligently.
  • The customer is always right may not always be right.
    • It is OK to point out the facts to the customer without shifting blame to the customer or making the customer out to be the issue.
  • Respond in the most personal manner possible.
    • If the person lodged the complaint on Twitter, send a direct message to ask them for contact details in order to call them. If the person wrote via email, try to send them a personal note via Post or, again, call them. Often times the personal touch will diffuse situations.
  • It is OK to escalate, but empower staff of all levels.
    • It is acceptable to escalate the response to those at the top of the hierarchy, but you also must empower staff of all levels to resolve issues.
  • Exam internal systems and protocols.
    • Improve performance, so another individual does not repeat the complaint in the future.
  • Track complaints in your CRM.
    • Tracking in your CRM will allow you to measure and monitor patterns.

In the age of Twitter, TripAdvisor and other forums, complaints are prevalent. Using them as an opportunity to re-engage with the person and also as an opportunity to “fix” issues within make the complaint well worthwhile.

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Stephen Mally presents upcoming Webinars

Stephen Mally CFRE, Director of FundraisingForce, will be presenting two upcoming Webinars – the first focused on mystery shopping in the NFP sector and the second on finding the “perfect” CRM for your non-profit organisation.

19 August 2015, 12:00PM – 1:00PM: Secrets to NFP Mystery Shopper

In this Webinar, Mally will discuss the background of the study and convince you mystery shopping is critical to the Asia-Pacific NFP sector. Mally will also share the latest findings and offer you tips to:

  • Apply the latest findings.
  • Develop key performance metrics for your organisation.
  • Enhance customer service across your organisation.
  • Work toward a more donor-centric organisation.
  • Get involved in mystery shopping.

This self-funded study is a terrific service to the sector. Mally offers rich information for every organisation to put to good use.

Click this link to register.

26 August 2015, 12:00PM – 1:00PM: Finding the Perfect CRM for your non-profit

Does the perfect non-profit Constituent Relationship Management (CRM) or Supporter Relationship Management (SRM)  system really exist?

The answer is not a yes. But, it is also not a no. The answer to that question depends on whether your organisation runs a thorough process to search for the CRM/SRM, which is the best fit for your organisation based on the following:

  • Size of your organisation.
  • Business requirements identified for your organisation.
  • Future growth plans and strategies.

Stephen has conducted numerous CRM/SRM searches for Australian organisations. Stephen will focus on a 10-point process organisations should follow when conducting a search for a new CRM.

Selecting a CRM/SRM may well be the biggest decision and the largest investment your organisation makes. Investing in the process and ensuring your organisation makes the right decision is critical.

Click this link to register.

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