Tag: donor

August 25, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

It’s baaaack: Double dip recession

My neighbor is the owner of Larry’s Home Maintenance, a small handyman business. He has been in business for approximately five years after getting laid-off from his IT job at Motorola. While Larry (pictured on the right) is our friend and handyman (yes, his work is awesome), he is also my “canary in the coal mine”.

When Larry’s phone stops ringing (like it did in 2008), I know the economy is in bad shape and a recession is either around the corner or it is already here. For most of 2011, Larry’s phone has been ringing off the hook. This isn’t surprising because when the housing market is in the toilet people tend to start pouring money into home improvement projects. On average, he has been receiving 20 phone calls per day.

In the beginning of August, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States’ credit rating and the European Union entered into another round of debt crisis discussions involving Greece, Spain and Italy. The future of the eurozone was called into question. When this happened a few weeks ago, Larry’s call volume dropped from 20 calls per day to approximately five. When I saw Larry yesterday, he said that his phone has “stopped ringing”. And he means that literally . . . potential customers have stopped calling.

Larry’s call volume is a lagging economic indicator. It accurately forecasted 2008 and I suspect it is doing the same thing now.

Every non-profit organization has relationships with a “canary in the coal mine” like Larry. They are called “DONORS,” and staying in regular contact with them will help you kinda/sorta predict the immediate future and allow you to take corrective action that might permit you to glance off of the iceberg rather than hit it head-on.

So, if you think Larry is “off his rocker,” you might want to read this blog post from yesterday’s The Chronicle of Philanthropy titled “Two-Thirds of Donors Plan to Cut Back on Giving This Fall“.

If you already clicked the link, read the article and returned to finish this blog post, then you know that 68-percent of survey respondents recently said they plan on cutting back their charitable giving for the remainder of 2011. While I am usually suspicious of “survey data,” the combination of Larry’s situation and The Chronicle’s story has me saying “Uh-Oh”.

Of course, there isn’t anything a non-profit organization can do to change this situation. So, the better question we should all be asking is: “What should we be doing TODAY to position ourselves for a double dip recession that minimizes the impact on our clients?”

I will use tomorrow’s blog post to look at a few options you might want to consider implementing. In the meantime, please use the comment box below and share what you are thinking and possibly planning to do. What are your donors telling you? Share your canary in the coal mine stories. We can all learn from each other!

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 24, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

The Brady Bunch and eliminating government funding dependency

Before I left on vacation, I sent approximately 75 of my closest non-profit friends an online survey that would give me necessary insights on services and pricing I should offer as part of my new consulting business. It was an anonymous survey so I don’t know who responded, but I wish to thank the 56 people who took time out of their busy schedules to help me out. The information they provided have helped me greatly with my business plan.

Some people also dropped me an email when they completed the survey because they were compelled to share additional comments. I very much appreciated those emails because the advice provided in each instance was “pure gold.” However, one response caught my attention and has had my mind spinning for a few days. Here is part of what she said:

“This is probably just me, but I am so frustrated with the concept and the reality of ‘strategic planning’. These past two years have shown that in order to be strategic an organization needs information…at least somewhat reliable information. The only strategic goal that makes sense would be to eliminate government funding. I am hoping that someone will come up with a way to address plans for the future based on the way not-for-profits really live.”

It is funny how my brain works sometimes. As I’ve stewed on this input, I couldn’t get The Brady Bunch’s song “Time to Change” out of my head. Click the YouTube link if you want to enjoy a blast from the past. LOL

So, I googled the lyrics to the song and found this great advice:

“When it’s time to change, then its time to change
Don’t fight the tide, come along for the ride, don’t you see
When it’s time to change, you’ve got to rearrange
who you are into what you’re gonna be.”

I think this is great advice for non-profit organizations regarding how to approach what is likely to be a government funding crisis for many non-profit organizations. Essentially, the song suggests that fighting change is the wrong course of action. Those who will survive will figure out how to adapt and ride the tide.

So, many of you are probably saying (just like my friend did in her email), “That’s great Erik, but where do I start? Strategic planning hasn’t worked for me in the past.” Here are just a few random thoughts I hope you will chew on and consider as you start preparing for 2012:

Engage board volunteers to help with a benchmarking project (identify nonprofit agencies that look like yours and have a different funding model then study their best practices … figure out what they are doing and how to measure it at your organization).
Conduct a resource development audit or a resource development review. This might help you identify new opportunities and paths forward.
Engage key stakeholders (e.g. staff, board, donors, etc) in creating a written resource development plan that doesn’t rely on government funding. Use the process to “engage” people … which means asking at each turn “who wants to help with this part of the plan?” And when no one wants to implement the suggestions they just provided, then axe it from the plan and ask them what else should be done? Realistic plans work; whereas, unsupported, pie-in-the-sky plans never work!

If this all seems like too much work and you are exhausted from the daily grind, then how about just starting with this one simple idea:

Call your top 5 donors
Ask them to join you for lunch or after-work cocktails
Tell them your story and the future forecast of government funding
Ask them what they think your agency should do
Then just shut-up, listen, take notes and ask for their help in taking the next small step

Donors can be MORE THAN just a source of funding for your agency … they can be the voices of change much like Peter Brady was for the Brady Bunch.

What are you and your agency doing to prepare for a future with scarce government resources? How do you plan on strategically repositioning your organization? What tools and strategies will you use? Who will you engage? 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 22, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

Confessions of a blogger

I have a confession to make . . . I have been out of the country for the last two weeks on a cruise touring the Baltic Sea with stops in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia and Norway (we also spent a few days in London .. and yes, parts of it were on fire and rioting). I pre-wrote two weeks of blogs and asked my friend Marissa (who is a fellow blogger at One World One Plate) to publish my posts every day. If you like food, I encourage you to check into Marissa’s blog. As for my blog, I hope you enjoyed the voices of real donors and real volunteer solicitors over the last two weeks. I need to jump back into the saddle and thought I’d briefly share a few observations on charitable giving from my trip.

As I hopped all over northern Europe, I kept my eyes and ears open for signs of philanthropy. I witnessed American Airlines flight attendants making a group solicitation on behalf of UNICEF. A “voluntary donation” was included (?!?!) in the price of admission to the Tower of London by the British government to help underwrite renovations. I saw Boy Scouts in Stockholm, Sweden and dined with a Rotarian from Toronto, Canada on the cruise ship.

The more I saw, the more I became convinced that philanthropy unites people from different backgrounds. However, I find myself wondering why there are substantial differences between countries charitable giving data. Did you know:

The USA leads the world in charitable giving as a percentage of GDP, giving almost 2-percent of our GDP to charities. Canada and Great Britain are traditionally in second place and donate less than half of that.
When looking at charitable giving, volunteerism, and general “kindness to humankind,” the USA falls to #6 on the list of “Worldwide Giving Index” scores. (Source: The Guardian)
The USA falls to #18 on the list when you look at what percentage of the population makes charitable contributions. (Source: The Guardian)
Finally, the USA ranks #10 on the list of percentage of population who has volunteered time to an organization in the last month. (Source: The Guardian)

I am left thinking that the explanation for these discrepancies is more than just wealth and the size of our economies. All you need to consider is that Turkmenistan is at the top of the volunteerism list and Thailand and Morocco are ahead of the USA in percentage of the population making a charitable contribution.

Do you believe that government policies affect how many people make charitable contributions? Who contributes? Who volunteers? How kind and generous we are to each other? Or is it cultural? In your experiences, does philanthropy unite us? If so, how have you seen it happen?

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 19, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising, Uncategorized

Fundraising volunteers speak out: Wrap-up

For the last four days, we’ve heard unfiltered responses from real, live fundraising volunteers with regard to what they see as past successes and what it will take to keep them involved next year. So, the question now shifts to: “What are you going to do about it?”

I’ve had an opportunity to soak-up this week’s blog series, and here are a few ideas if you want to make this input/feedback actionable:

Organize a focus group of fundraising volunteers and ask their opinions on what needs to change in order for your resource development program to take the next step.
Identify former fundraising volunteers who used to help your organization but have since stopped. Call them, invite them out for coffee, and just listen (don’t ask for a thing).
Develop volunteer job descriptions for all of your fundraising volunteer positions and use them in 2012 . . . no more “soft selling” people . . . set realistic expectations from the beginning.
Commit yourself to sending out agendas and meeting materials to all fundraising volunteers at least 7 days before every meeting.
Figure out how to infuse a sense of “mission-focus” into every single meeting where fundraising volunteers are present.
Revisit your organizations “prospect assignment” practices and ask volunteers to weigh-in with suggestions on how to improve it . . . ensuring that volunteers are matched with prospects they feel confident soliciting.

OK … I’ve got the ball rolling with a few simple ideas. Now it is your turn! What are you planning to do to make this week’s blog series actionable so that your organization can become more donor-centered? Please use the comment box below to share your ideas because we can all learn from each other.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 18, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

Fundraising volunteers speak out: Part 4

After last week’s focus on donors and what they have to say about their charitable contributions, I’ve decided to change the focus and ask volunteer solicitors to talk about their most rewarding solicitation experience and what needs to happen to keep them involved next year. Similar to last week, this week’s respondents answered an anonymous online survey that they learned about on various social media channels and from blast emails. I’ve picked four really awesome responses to share with you this week that I think provide excellent lessons for non-profit and fundraising professionals. Enjoy!!!

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 about your most rewarding solicitation experience (e.g. when you sat down eyeball-to-eyeball with someone else and asked them to consider making a charitable contribution). Why was it so rewarding for you? How did you feel going into the meeting? And what made you feel comfortable enough with doing such a solicitation?

Answer: I asked the Frye Foundation for money to create a four state event around domestic violence and homeless families. It was rewarding because they became a very interested, active participant in the process and the outcome.

Question: Understanding you are probably a very busy person, what does the charity that you’ve made some solicitation calls for need to do (or show you) in order to renew your commitment as a volunteer solicitor in the next fundraising campaign?

Answer: It needs to call to my ethics . . . it needs to be well run and respected . . . and it needs to show results.

OK … unlike last week when I couldn’t resist weighing in with my thoughts, I’m going to take a risk and ask YOU to weigh-in and share what you think the moral to the story is. And the risk I’m referring to is . . . no one is going to comment and all anyone will hear is the sound of crickets. Please use the comment box below and remember that we can all learn from each other. I also encourage you to share links to resources that you’ve found on the internet.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 17, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

Fundraising volunteers speak out: Part 3

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 about your most rewarding solicitation experience (e.g. when you sat down eyeball-to-eyeball with someone else and asked them to consider making a charitable contribution). Why was it so rewarding for you? How did you feel going into the meeting? And what made you feel comfortable enough with doing such a solicitation?

Answer: I was asked by one of my favorite non-profit organizations to contact someone who I really didn’t consider a friend but knew casually through mutual friends. It took more than a month and many phone calls before she responded and I was able to get the meeting. While I was not expecting much, I did get a generous pledge from her. I’m not sure if it was the most “rewarding” solicitation I’ve ever done, but it is the hardest I ever had to work to secure a contribution. In hindsight, I can’t honestly say that I ever felt “comfortable” making that ask or being put in that situation.

Question: Understanding you are probably a very busy person, what does the charity that you’ve made some solicitation calls for need to do (or show you) in order to renew your commitment as a volunteer solicitor in the next fundraising campaign?

Answer: I don’t want to go out and bust my butt if the non-profit who has recruited me is seen as being in “poor standing” in the community. I am attaching my good name to this agency, and choosing to help a non-profit with a poor public opinion and bad management reflects poorly on me. I look for quality organizations that are dedicated to sustainable business practices.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 16, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

Fundraising volunteers speak out: Part 2

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 about your most rewarding solicitation experience (e.g. when you sat down eyeball-to-eyeball with someone else and asked them to consider making a charitable contribution). Why was it so rewarding for you? How did you feel going into the meeting? And what made you feel comfortable enough with doing such a solicitation?

Answer: I don’t know if I have ever felt that making the actual ask was rewarding. Getting a check in hand feels rewarding. On the other hand, having someone not give you money is just as deflating. I think the feeling you get from having a face-to-face solicitation is not immediately rewarding. I believe it is when you “put it [the ask] in perspective” that you can feel rewarded. You went out there and stood up for something you believed in. If you can capture that feeling I think that is reward enough. As far as what makes you feel comfortable. It is the relationship with the person you are soliciting. The better the relationship, the easier it is to solicit.

Question: Understanding you are probably a very busy person, what does the charity that you’ve made some solicitation calls for need to do (or show you) in order to renew your commitment as a volunteer solicitor in the next fundraising campaign?

Answer: I think that the organization just needs to understand the challenge of asking people for money. I think it needs to be careful not too lean on people too heavily. Think of each volunteer differently, account for what might make certain asks hard. I think ultimately you want someone to appreciate you and the fact that you are really putting yourself out there.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

August 15, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

Fundraising volunteers speak out: 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 about your most rewarding solicitation experience (e.g. when you sat down eyeball-to-eyeball with someone else and asked them to consider making a charitable contribution). Why was it so rewarding for you? How did you feel going into the meeting? And what made you feel comfortable enough with doing such a solicitation?

Answer: A CEO of a local company reached out to me to learn more about our cause and how their involvement could benefit us. My initial meeting was a fact-finding session with their senior leadership team and was followed up by a personalized tour of our facility outlining all of the items we discussed in the initial meeting. The visit culminated with a comprehensive proposal that addressed their areas of interest. The outcome – score! They are now funding several different initiatives and we have developed a mutually beneficial long-term relationship.

Question: Understanding you are probably a very busy person, what does the charity that you’ve made some solicitation calls for need to do (or show you) in order to renew your commitment as a volunteer solicitor in the next fundraising campaign?

Answer: Provide me with the facts and outcomes of our program so that I am armed with answers to potential questions the funder will ask. And follow-through with the donor as requested after the solicitation . . . providing great stewardship.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC