Category: Fundraising

August 8, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

From the mouths of donors: Part 1

Again … the survey was anonymous because I wanted the truth, the whole truth and nothing up the truth. Here is what the today’s highlighted survey respondent said:

Question: Using the comment box below, please write a paragraph or two answering some of the following questions. Of the charities to whom you currently donate money, which one is your favorite? How did you first learn about this charity? Why did you make that first contribution? Why are you still contributing? How do you know that your contribution is making a difference? What does the charity do to demonstrate it is having an impact?

Answer: I really don’t have a favorite. I learned about most of mine by working at them either by a job or volunteering at them. I made my first contribution by being asked. Yes, I still contribute to most of the places I’ve worked at or volunteered.

Question: Understanding that these are tough economic times and no donor’s contribution ever should be taken for granted, what does your favorite charity need to do (or show you) in order to renew your support and/or increase the size of your contribution?

Answer: I think most of the charities I give to do a good job thanking me for my donation. The size really wouldn’t change too much since I’m not too rich.

Hmmm … what a humble donor, but aren’t most of them? Here is what struck me about this person’s responses:

They reaffirm something that I once learned from a co-worker, which is that volunteers make great donor prospects. If you want to grow your annual campaign or special event, look no further than the volunteers working throughout your organization. If they think highly enough of you to volunteer their time, then they most likely think highly enough of you to make a contribution. What is the harm in asking? In the end, it is their decision. Click here to read what “The Chronicle of Philanthropy” has to say about “Turning Your Volunteers into Donors”.
In this donor’s second response, they seem to be satisfied when their charities of choice do a good job of thanking them for their contribution. Now, you’re probably thinking this practice is common place, but Penelope Burk found in her donor research that only 39% of respondents ALWAYS receive a thank you letter. This means that 61% only received a recognition letter MOST OF THE TIME or SOMETIMES (Source: Donor Centered Fundraising, pg 38)

If you don’t have an organized, well-run volunteer management program, it sounds like you might be missing out on something.

How does your organization reach out to volunteers? What lessons and best practices can you share? Have some of your volunteers become donors? What has been your experiences? Please use the comment box below to share because we can learn from each other.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 5, 2011 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising, Fundraising

Friends With Benefits?

Have you ever read a blog post that bothered you so much that you saved it in your email inbox? It happens periodically for me, and this phenomenon occurred two weeks ago with a blog post from Jeff Brooks who writes Fundraising Future Now.

So, there I was drinking my morning coffee and clicking through emails on July 27th, when I came across Jeff’s blog titled “Not all donors are seeking a deeper connection“. Since I consider myself a “disciple” of Penelope Burk (thought leader behind donor-centered fundraising ^TMand author of Donor Centered Fundraising), my first response to the blog’s headline was “WTF?” Then I clicked open the email and read this:

“We should be prepared to admit that not all donors are as absorbed in our causes as we are. Some of them — maybe most of them — just want to give and be done with it.”

Looking back on the moment, I have to laugh at myself because I was genuinely disturbed and almost had the same reaction as the person in this YouTube video. However, I composed myself and hit the button titled “Mark as Unread” and stewed about it for this long.

I’ve come to this conclusion: Sometimes the human experience allows us to get swept up into an idea so much that it becomes a truism to us (much like Penelope Burk’s idea of donor-centered fundraising ^TMhas become for many fundraising professions).

Even though I’ve come to this conclusion, I still love Penelope Burk and all of the donor research she conducts and shares. I think I’ll even remain in her camp for a little while longer. However, I think I’m going to rent the DVD of Justin Timberlake’s movie “Friends with Benefits” and do some research over the course of the next year. I am open-minded to Jeff Brooks’ hypothesis about some (possibly many) donors only loving your non-profit mission enough to toss you a contribution from time-to-time.

Until I sort through this philosophical fundraising mess, I guess I am going back to the only truism that hasn’t steered me wrong, which is:

“KNOW THY DONOR”

Are you a Penelope Burk disciple? What is your reaction to Jeff Brooks’ blog post? If you run a non-profit organization or interact with donors on a daily basis, what are your thoughts? How do you walk the fine line between donors who want to get married and those who only want to be friends with benefits?

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 4, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

Colbert SuperPac: Not a fundraiser’s alterative universe

On June 30th, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) voted to approve Stephen Colbert’s (a comedian and host of the Comedy Central Colbert Report) application to form what is called a “SuperPac”. According to NPR and other various report, Colbert left the hearing room, went outside to a throng of supporters, and started accepting people’s credit cards. He used a credit card swipe machine attached to an iPad to process contributions from enthusiastic supporters.

In the wake of the ruling, Colbert launched his Colbert SuperPac website, started taking online contributions, and now scrolls the names of his donors along the bottom of the television screen during his shows.

Over the last month, I’ve watched this fundraising drama unfold and found myself wondering: “Is this some kind of bizarro, alternative fundraising universe?”

What I thought I was seeing was average people pulling out their wallets and throwing money at an organization that didn’t have a mission, vision, or case for support. Go to the Colbert SuperPac website, click around and try to find any of that information. It doesn’t really exist. What does this organization stand for? What will this organization support? How will it support those things it believes in?

You will find no answers. As a matter of fact, Colbert interviewed political analyst Matthew Dowd on his show about this very subject, and in the end he concluded that he would ask his donors what his SuperPac should symbolize and support. As a non-profit fundraising professional, it took me a long time to wrap my mind around the idea of going to a donor, asking for a contribution, and then asking the donor what they think your mission, vision, case for support, and programming should be.

My Dad has said I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer; however, after many walks and conversations with my dog, I have come to the conclusion that this is NOT a bizarro, alternative universe for fundraising professions.

There is a very witty and satirical case for support that Colbert’s super-smart audience understands. It isn’t written in a case for support document or a glossy solicitation brochure. The SuperPac’s case for support is embodied in a series of “comedy bits” that Colbert has been airing ever since the Supreme Court’s controversial “Citizens United” decision in 2010.

In a nutshell, the Colbert SuperPac’s case goes something like this: “Making a contribution to this undefined political action committee will allow us to demonstrate to the FEC, policymakers, and the Supreme Court that there are dangers and unforeseen consequences of such a decision. Your contribution also helps test a hypothesis that unlimited ‘free speech’ can have adverse consequences on democratic institutions. In the end, your contribution might even save our American democracy.”

Now THAT is an amazing case for support, which must be why so many people are lining up to give Colbert SuperPac their money.

OK … now that I’ve convinced myself that the fundraising universe hasn’t been turned upside down, I see all sorts of fundraising lessons for non-profit organizations and fundraising professions such as:

Your organization’s case for support needs to be POWERFUL if you want to be serious about raising money.
Your fundraising efforts will benefit greatly if you find the right voice to talk about your case for support.
People will contribute only if you ask them. So, stop beating around the bush and dropping hints.
Allowing donors to swipe their credit card will help inspire spontaneous giving.
Taking contributions online via your website needs to be supported by multi-channel cultivation, solicitation and stewardship activities.

Well, you’ve been watching the same things I’ve been watching . . . what are your observations? What fundraising best practices are you seeing? Is there a moral to the story for fundraising professionals? Please use the comment box to share your thoughts because we can all learn from each other!

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 3, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising, resource development

Happy Birthday to the Fundraiser-in-Chief

A few months ago I wrote a blog post wondering if President Obama is our nation’s “Fundraiser-in-Chief“. I concluded that post by saying the 2012 campaign fundraising results will tell the tale. Well, second quarter fundraising numbers came in a few weeks ago, and Team Obama reported raising $85 million, which exceeded the campaign’s $60 million public goal for his campaign and the Democratic National Committee combined. Click here to read and see more about this story from the Huffington Post.

Regardless of whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, I think there are countless things we can all learn about fundraising from Team Obama.

For example, Team Obama is in Chicago tonight at the famed Aragon Ballroom to celebrate his 50th birthday. While this could’ve been just a plain-Jane birthday party, it has been turned into a HUGE fundraising opportunity. ABC News estimates that approximately 1,000 donors will pay between $50 and $35,800 to attend.

Team Obama reminds me that almost anything can and should be used by non-profit organizations as a solicitation opportunity or even cultivation or recognition/stewardship opportunities. Here are just a few ideas:

Hiring a new Executive Director or senior staff person
Electing a new board president
An organizational anniversary or a facility’s birthday
Celebrating your clients’ successes (e.g. an Eagle Scout banquet or announcing the winner of a Boys & Girls Club’s Youth of Year competition)
Hosting a reception to introduce a new community leader whose business /organization aligns with your mission (e.g. a literacy non-profit hosting a welcome reception for the town’s new head librarian)
Celebrating an accomplishment (e.g. releasing your organization’s program outcomes data in conjunction with a town hall meeting related to the subject matter).

Another interesting observation — even though it is a common practice by many non-profits — is how Team Obama turned their event into a series of events and opportunities kind of like a “Russian Nesting Doll”. It isn’t just a birthday party celebration. It is also a pre-party reception and a post-party VIP gathering. I am sure all of these things either came with additional price tags or were premium value-added upgrades for larger, significant donors.

The sky is the limit, and all that is required is a little bit of imagination on your part. If you are lacking creativity, then I suggest watching Team Obama and other successful non-profits in your community. We can all learn from each other! And there is more than just event planning and management that you can learn from Team Obama. Watch them carefully and you’ll find lessons in: goal setting, challenge gift strategies, ePhilanthropy & social media, multi-channel fundraising, direct mail, donor stewardship … and the list goes on and on. Again, it doesn’t matter if you’re Democrat, Republican or apolitical.

What fun and interesting opportunities have you used to cultivate, solicit and/or steward prospects and donors? Please use the comment box below to share.

Here is to your health! And, oh yeah, Happy Birthyday Mr. President … here is a YouTube video to help you celebrate.

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC