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Today marked a new day in my life. Friday was my last day at Boys & Girls Clubs of America and today was my first day as the owner of “The Healthy Non-Profit LLC”.  My new small consulting practice will focus on non-profit management and resource development with a mission of helping non-profit organizations get healthy because “those we serve deserve sustainability”.

I decided to strike out on this adventurous path because the last five years “on the road” helping local Boys & Girls Club affiliates build organizational capacity has been very “unhealthy” for me personally.  So much so, that I now have 50 pounds to lose while trying to build my consulting practice. As I struggled with naming my company, I came to realize that my new life goals aligned very well with my life’s work of helping  non-profit organizations find a healthy place to live.

So, today I “hit the reset button” in life.

While on one of my two healthy neighborhood walks today, I started thinking about lapsed donors and how non-profit organizations might be able to “hit the reset button” on those expiring donor relationships. Once back in the house, I dug up an old email from an “Ask the Expert” email I once received pertaining to an organization I was working with on re-engaging lapsed donors.  Here was the advice that provided:

Regarding lapsed donors and “purging” your database, we have seen studies that show a 5-10% reactivation rate of donors 1-5 years lapsed.  That said, we think that any donors 5 or less years lapsed, especially those who have several years of prior giving history, would be worthwhile prospects for solicitation. 

You might consider sending an individualized mailing specifically targeting lapsed donors and emphasize why funds are needed now more than ever.  To make a determination on how to reach out to your lapsed donors, we recommend taking a look at the source of the name (how was it acquired).  For example, if the past gift was the result of an acquisition mailing, and the donor hasn’t given since, you may want to treat this person as a new donor and send them an acquisition mail piece.  If however, a lapsed donor’s name originally came from a board member, made several gifts, but has not given in a couple of years, you may want to make a face to face visit or place a phone call.  If calling, you may say something along the lines of “we have not heard from you in a while, would like the opportunity to tell you what we have been doing, when would be a good time to talk?”

I thought the advice to be a solid “hit the reset button” strategy, which is why I decided to share it with you today. However, I am curious if anyone has used other strategies and if so how effective they were.

Please share your thoughts and expert advice because we all need to hit the reset button from time-to-time and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Right?

Here is to your health ~ Erik

I was sitting in an annual campaign committee meeting a few weeks ago facilitating a discussion about the importance of donor stewardship. I shared some data that demonstrates 1) the typical non-profit organization (esp those entrenched in direct mail) turns over approximately 25% of its donor base every year and 2) the average donor stops giving after their fifth contribution. (Thank you to Penelope Burk of Cygnus Applied Research!)

So, imagine how dumbstruck I was when there was resistance to doing personal stewardship (e.g. calling donors, sitting down with donors, etc). Everyone was all aboard with newsletters, letters and emails, but no one wanted to talk to or interact directly with donors. It was almost as if doing so was a frightful thought.

Then the answer came to me. Sitting in front of me was my Starbucks cup of coffee. Printed on the outside of the cup sleeve was this simple piece of wisdom: “Stories are Gifts. SHARE”.

My holiday gift to the resource development and fundraising universe is this. Take a tip from our friends at Starbucks. Go talk to your donors … you are just sharing a “story” which is your gift to them this holiday season.

There has been lots of discussion in the last few news cycles about deficit reduction proposals primarily because the bipartisan task force has issued their draft document. So, I’ve been doing a little reading on the subject and discovered that the tax deduction for charitable contributions is one of the things on the “chopping block”.

I started off very opposed to the idea of eliminating the charitable tax deduction. However, I slowly moved from this position because deficit and debt elimination will require sacrifices from everyone in America and not just a few of us. So, I started reading more and keeping an open mind. Needless to say, I’m not quite sure where I am at, but I do know: 1) that donors don’t give because of a tax deduction and 2) wealthier donors benefit more than middle class and working class donors from this tax break. For the average donor, the tax deduction is a nice benefit but definitely not the driving motivation.

Check out this article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy (http://tiny.cc/4arpy) and weigh-in with your thoughts. I know I am interested in hearing what others have to say.

I’ve been helping facilitate many annual campaign kickoff meetings in the last few months. As I make my rounds throughout Indiana, I’ve had the honor of meeting many volunteers who come to these kickoff meetings in hopes of making this thing they call “fundraising” a little less painful by sitting through some of my trainings.

One of the mini-trainings I’ve been facilitating this year involves getting better acquainted with their organization’s “case for support” and blending their personal stories with the case statement. So, I’ve been witness to lots of donor stories in the last few months.

Last week I attended  a kickoff meeting in Central Indiana where I witnessed the “power of alumni” at work. As I helped these campaign volunteers through a storytelling exercise, one of them pulled out their iPhone and started showing people around him pictures of when he was a kid at the Boys & Girls Club. He specifically focused on pictures from the Club’s basketball team and the year they “won it all!”

It was in that moment I realized how important it is for some people to feel like they are “giving back” to a charity that helped them gain so much. I suspect this is why so many university alumni foundations are so successful.

The look on that volunteer’s face was worth a thousand words. I suspect if he weaves his personal stories into his solicitation meetings while “making the case for support” for the annual campaign that prospective donors won’t be able to help making a contribution.

I had the privilege of speaking to the widow of a prominent philanthropist today. Her husband passed away less than 6 months ago. He was the founding board member of the non-profit organization of which I wanted to speak with her about.

Heading into the call, I was a little nervous. I guess I assumed that talking about something so important to her and her husband might be a painful discussion; however I couldn’t have been more wrong. Listening to her talk about the non-profit organization was like listening to a mother or father talk about their child. It didn’t take long for me to realize that this was her husband’s legacy, and while he is no longer with us the charity lives on in our hearts and minds as testament to his vision and greatness.

I guess I walk away from this conversation reminded that some donors try to leave this world a little better than how they came into it. Legacy is a powerful idea!