Tag: fundraising

You need more women in your non-profit boardroom!

Board development, Board governance, organizational development, volunteers

rosie the riviterLast week I was out to lunch with two male non-profit friends in downtown Chicago when the topic of women board volunteers came up. This happens from time-to-time, and when it does I always bite my tongue because I tend to have strong opinions on this subject. So, I took a deep breath and prepared for what I assumed was going to be one of those “difficult and uncomfortable conversations“. Boy oh boy . . .was I wrong (and pleasantly surprised).
Let me start by explaining what I mean by “I have strong opinions . . .” The fact of the matter is that my opinions are sexist (at least I think they are). When I am engaged in conversations about non-profit board development and I’m feeling bold, I like to say, “If you want lots of discussion in the boardroom about what ‘should’ happen, then recruit a lot of men to serve on your board because they will talk a subject to death. If you want something done, recruit some women because they are the ‘do-ers’ of our society.”
A good friend of mine would respond to this by saying, “All generalizations, including this one, are incorrect.”
So, I usually shy away from sharing this opinion because:

  1. It feels like a sexist thought
  2. It has gotten me in trouble in the past and sparked heated discussions
  3. The “all generalizations” comment is usually right on target

Let’s fast forward to my lunch conversation in downtown Chicago last week as I prepared for a lunch discussion that I assumed was going down the wrong road.
The first words out of one guy’s mouth were positive and progressive. He shared a story about the women on his board being extraordinarily active and engaged. The other guy talked about wanting to develop what used to be called in the old days a “women’s auxiliary” (and he was calling a Women’s Board). As I shook my head in amazement at the surprising turn this conversation quickly took, the most amazing thing happened. One of the guys validated what I keep referring to as “my sexist opinion” by pointing to research data that he just read about in the OpEd pages of the New York Times on October 23, 2013.
I couldn’t believe my ears, and I asked my lunch partners to please forward me that editorial column.
It arrived the next day in my email inbox. It almost looked like that one special Christmas present that you most prized and treasured as a child (and in the spirit of A Christmas Story read this as me saying that email was the equivalent of an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle).
The editorial was titled “Twitter, Women and Power,” and it was about the all male boardroom at Twitter, which was just a few weeks from launching its IPO on Wall Street.
I strongly encourage everyone who has any role in your non-profit organization’s board development to read this article. It is definitely worth the click! However, for those of you working with very little time today, here are a few of the major points from the article:

  • Domestic companies that have women board members earn a higher rate of return on invested capital
  • International companies with women on their boards earn a surprisingly higher amount of operating capital
  • During the recent government shutdown, it was our nation’s female legislators who were at the forefront of brokering a deal

After reading this New York Times editorial piece by Nicholas Kristof, I now feel empowered enough to admit that I think women are better fundraising volunteers than their male counterparts. (Uh-oh . . . that little voice inside my head is telling me to shut-up again.)
Does your agency have enough women in the boardroom? How does your board development committee ensure gender balance? What has been your experience on this issue? Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts and opinions.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Hip Hip Hooray for Philanthropy Day

Fundraising

philanthropy day 2013Sorry about not being able to post yesterday, but it was a crazy busy day because I was one of the co-chairs for Fox West Philanthropic Network’s first ever Philanthropy Day celebration. There was lots to do and I was up early and running around.
Huh? What? You’re not sure what Philanthropy Day is all about? Well, let me tell you . . .
History of Philanthropy Day
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed November 15th to be National Philanthropy Day. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has championed this annual celebration and countless local AFP chapters do a variety of things to celebrate this holiday. Here is how AFP describes National Philanthropy Day on their website:

In 2013, more than 100 communities and 50,000 people around the world will participate in NPD events and celebrations. These events include award ceremonies, galas, luncheons, seminars and other special events. Outstanding donors, volunteers, corporations, foundations, small businesses, youth in philanthropy and others will be honored on NPD in recognition of their work in improving their communities and their world every day.

If you want a more comprehensive history of National Philathropy Day, you definitely want to check out a 2010 online video interview of Lynn Schrader, who is a CFRE and owner of The Schrader Group LLC. The interview was produced by our friends at 501Videos.com and creators of Monday Movies for Fundraising Professionals.
It really is a great little five-minute video that I hope you find time to watch.
inspired boardPositioning Your Board for More Effective Fundraising
Dani Robbins, who is the strategist, founder and principal of Non Profit Evolution in Columbus, Ohio and the non-profit expert at answers.com, was the trainer and lunch keynote speaker for Fox West Philanthropic Network’s (FWPN) first ever Philanthropy Day celebration.
The morning training was titled “Positioning Your Board for More Effective Fundraising“.
Dani’s teachable point of view can best be summed up as:

  • It all starts with your board
  • Board volunteers are some of your best donors
  • How you identify and recruit board members is the key to your success

The following are steps that every good board development process should include:

  1. Identify
  2. Cultivate
  3. Recruit
  4. Orient
  5. Involve
  6. Educate
  7. Evaluate
  8. Rotate

Later in her presentation, Dani talked about the importance of engagement. She shared the following nine volunteer engagement principles:

  1. Mission Focus
  2. Planning
  3. Setting Expectations
  4. Training & Education
  5. Organization
  6. Well run & important meetings
  7. Accountability
  8. Urgency
  9. Celebration & recognition

James-Biggins-208x300Lunch: Celebrating 100 years of philanthropy
FWPN honored the Biggins family and American City Bureau for their work in the non-profit sector over the last 100 years. In addition to their work, John and his sister Leslie have volunteered for countless charities, and John was and still is instrumental in the success of FWPN.
Just this last summer Michael Chatman, social media and radio host of #WHYiGIVE, released a list of “America’s Top 40 Most Effective Fundraising Consultants” and ranked Leslie Biggins-Mollsen as number three on that list.
Philanthropy in America has been and is being shaped by the Biggins Family. There can be no question about it.
If you want to read more about John and Leslie’s father — James Biggins — then click here and read about a man who wove philanthropy into his family’s DNA and built our country’s oldest fundraising consulting firm.
Keynote: Not Fundraising? Not Engaged!
Dani Robbins, who is also the co-author of Innovative Leadership Workbook for Nonprofit Executives, delivered FWPN’s lunch keynote titled “Not Fundraising? Not Engaged!”
Dani’s teachable point of view can best be summed up as:

  • If your board isn’t fundraising, then you likely have a board development or engagement problem
  • Non-profits spend too much time in board meetings talking about finances, fundraising, and day-to-day challenges
  • If you want a more engaged board, then facilitate more strategic and generative discussions in the boardroom

chait modes of governanceDani is a big fan of Richard Chait and talked a lot about his three modes of governance — fiduciary, strategic and generative. She shared examples of each style of governance. She also shared the following eight techniques that can be used to get a board into the generative mode:

  1. Silent starts
  2. One minute memos
  3. Future perfect history
  4. Counter points
  5. Role play
  6. Breakouts
  7. Simulations
  8. Surveys

Click here to learn a little more about these techniques or invest a few bucks on Amazon.com and buy one of  Chait’s books.  😉
Not speed dating . . . speed training
After lunch, the following five trainers facilitated short roundtable discussions and participants were allowed to rotate between table topics every 20-minutes:

Your National Philanthropy Day celebration?
So, I’ve just highlighted how FWPN celebrated National Philanthropy Day in 2013. It was a mixture of:

  • networking
  • training / professional development
  • recognition

However, you don’t need to do it that way.
There are countless ways for you to celebrate this special day. Click here to check out the AFP website which has lots of resources and ideas. Click here to visit the official National Philanthropy Day website.
Our country is one of the most philanthropic nations on the planet. How will your agency, service club, or professional development network celebrate this phenomenon this year? Or how are you planning to get your first ever Philanthropy Day celebration off the ground next year? Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts, experiences, plans and ideas. We can inspire each other to greatness!
Here’s to your health! (And Happy Philanthropy Day)
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Is your non-profit ready for the homestretch of 2013?

Fundraising

yearend5Don’t look now, but we are seven weeks away from drinking champagne and celebrating the end of 2013 and the start of a Happy New Year 2014. It is this time of the year when non-profit organizations are super busy. Many of you are closing out your fiscal year, and almost every non-profit with a pulse is executing its year-end giving strategy.
According to a survey by Charity Navigator, respondents reported that they expect to raise 40% of their annual revenue budget between Thanksgiving and New Years.
Holy Cow! Year-end giving is a big deal for many non-profit organizations, which is why I’m dedicating today’s post to just a few giving strategies I see being employed or talked about by my friends.
Traditional year-end appeals letter
There are many different “schools of thought” on how to craft the perfect year-end appeals letter. I’ve seen all of my favorite bloggers weigh-in on this subject. The funny thing is that each and every one of them have a slightly different take on the same subject.

  • Long letter vs. short letter
  • The importance of cross-channel promotion or not
  • Send the letter early or closer to Thanksgiving

mailboxesI just finished helping a client with their year-end mail appeal. The executive director called on Friday to report the letters were delivered to the post office and we both did a little happy dance. The next thing on his year-end fundraising task list is preparing for the phone-a-thon follow-up the week of Thanksgiving.
If you are like most non-profit organizations, you are doing something traditional like sending a letter. Hopefully, you’ve already sent it or are very close to doing so, but here are just a few thoughts of my own on this very popular subject:

  • The letter must be emotional and pull at heart-strings
  • The letter must tell a story about impact and not focus on your agency’s needs
  • A matching gift is a tremendous incentive that sets you apart from lots and lots of other appeals
  • Go light on the stats and data . . . let the story be the feature and sprinkle outcomes data into your story sparingly
  • Don’t be overly fixated on restricting your letter to one page . . . tell your story
  • Use lots of white space, pictures and graphics
  • Keep in mind how readers read . . . write your letter accordingly (e.g. personalized salutation, ask for a specific contribution in the first paragraph, influential signature, catchy post script)
  • You need to design a great outer envelope . . . entice people to open the envelope and read your request or your awesome letter is worthless (e.g. handwritten names and addresses on the outside envelope)
  • Follow-up . . . organize your board members in a phone-a-thon and send a follow-up postcard or another appeal before New Years Eve

If you don’t like my suggestions or are looking for more advice, here are a few additional links to bloggers who are amazing:

Amazon-Smile-300x300Holiday shopping appeals
Perhaps you didn’t notice, but there are lots and lots of people spending lots and lots of money on gifts for family and friends. Something about “’tis the season“.
With this is mind, there is a big year-end giving trend that has materialized over the last decade or so where non-profit organizations try to tie their year-end appeal to those shopping habits. It is typically rooted in cause-related marketing efforts as retails try to differentiate themselves from their competitors, seize the halo effect and drive foot traffic through their doors using charitable goodwill.
I can almost hear those cashiers asking, “Would you like to donate a dollar to . . .”
A good friend of mind and fellow blogger — Dani Robbins — just informed me via Google+ that Amazon.com has a new charitable giving program called AmazonSmile. In a nutshell, Amazon shoppers will be able to donate 0.5% of their purchase to a charity of their choosing (as long as that charity can be found on Guidestar AND is registered with Amazon).
Is your agency participating in AmazonSmile? Click here is you want to learn more.
giving tuesday#GivingTuesday
What?!? You haven’t heard of #GivingTuesday?
I guess you get a pass because last year was the first time the non-profit sector attempted to get this “national day of giving” off of the ground.
In a nutshell, there were 2,500 giving partners located in all 50 states. More than 50 million people worldwide helped promote this day by posting, tweeting and generally talking about it on social media. Both Blackbaud and DonorPerfect reported an increase in giving resulting from these efforts.
Will your non-profit organization participate in the second annual #GivingTuesday this year? If so, then . . .

  • Mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 3, 2013
  • Start developing your online giving strategies to promote this opportunity to your donors
  • Get registered as an official partner

For more info, click here to read the #GivingTuesday FAQ page.
You might also want to do a little research on #GivingTuesday best practices. Hubspot published a great post titled “12 Ways to Amplify Your Giving Tuesday Campaign” that you may want to check out.
What does the homestretch look like for your non-profit organization’s fundraising efforts? Please use the comment box below to share. Why? Because we can all learn from each other, and it is the season of giving, of course!  😉
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Handwritten letters … Simple yet powerful

Fundraising

thank you noteI am a member of Gen-X, and I behave like a typical person of that generation especially when it comes to my mailbox. I hate going to the mailbox. I hate opening mail because 99.9% of it is junk. Anything important comes to me via email, and all of my bills and charitable giving is set-up using automatic bill pay. So, imagine my surprise the other day when I was opening a three-week stack of mail, and I came across a handwritten envelope from one of my favorite local charities.
Inside of the hand addressed envelope was a simple thank you card with a handwritten message that said (and yes I am changing some of the wording to protect the innocent):

Erik-
Thank you for your support of XYZ Agency in recent years. With your help, we continue to expand our reach and now serve more than 350 kids on a typical school day.
Sincerely,
Jane Doe
Board Member

Two simple sentences, but they pack a powerful punch. This simple handwritten note was not in response to a recent contribution. It was out of the blue and unexpected. The reason this simple acknowledgement is so powerful is because:

  • it acknowledged my lifetime giving
  • it sent a clear message this agency appreciates my consistent and loyal support (because this was about my overall giving and not a specific gift)
  • they tied my giving to their success
  • they shared a data point that implies they are doing good things

Handwritten notes from non-profit organizations are rare.
According to Penelope Burk, who is the President at Cynus Applied Research and author of Donor Centered Fundraising, non-profit organizations use handwritten notes when they want to “maintain close ties with a donor“. On page 47 of her book, Penelope shares with her readers that her research indicates non-profits use handwritten than you letters when:

  • the donor is well-known to the writer (70% of respondents)
  • the gift is of exceptional value (68%)
  • the donor is also a leadership volunteer (42%)
  • the donor has been giving for a long time (39%)
  • the donor is prominent in the community (30%)

It is a funny thing because I recently started thinking that I should re-evaluate my charitable giving to this organization. The reason is because:

  1. I like to see and hear about what my charitable giving is doing.
  2. I like to see and hear about the outcomes and impact my charitable giving is helping accomplish.

The truth of the matter is that these needs haven’t been met recently (by this I mean in the last 12 to 18 months), but I have to admit a simple handwritten note has put all of that on hold.
Why?
Simply put, a note like this communicates a special relationship. When I look at my charitable giving portfolio, this letter reminds me that this agency is one of my top three “charities of choice“. A decision to change my giving pattern, especially when it comes to them, isn’t a decision that can be or should be made rashly or overnight.
Wow! Who knew that a handwritten note — two simple sentences — could be so impactful and do so much good?
How does your non-profit organization use handwritten notes? Is it a strategy that is part of a bigger stewardship plan? Do you have any success stories that you’d like to share that involve the power of a handwritten note? By the way, Penelope Burk has a whale of a success story that she shares on page 47 of her book. If you don’t have a copy of this book yet, you really need to go to Amazon.com and purchase one.
Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts and experiences. We can all learn from each other.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Meet Ernie Gamino: The best fundraising pro who isn't a fundraising pro

Donor-centered fundraising, Fundraising, Planning

ernie gaminoIt happens every year. My partner and I get a phone call from Cindy, who is Ernie Gamino’s assistant, and she asks us to please schedule a year-end sit down meeting. Ernie is our Edward Jones financial advisor, and getting time in both of our calendars is a challenge. However, we found some time this past Saturday. I’m glad we did because I discovered that Ernie is a really good fundraising professional, who has never been trained as one or worked at a non-profit organization. We can all learn a lot from Ernie and his colleagues.
Let me set the stage for you. It was Saturday morning. I was cranky after spending too much money on a Friday night. I really just wanted to hang around the house. The last thing I wanted to be doing was talking to my investment advisor about retirement, which seems like a far away fantasy world to this 43-year-old.
The meeting
ernie2I started the meeting off by growling at poor Ernie. I wanted to know why this annual meeting is necessary? Can’t he just go about doing his job and call me when he needs to get permission to do something with my investment portfolio.
Since the customer is always right, Ernie responded perfectly and with a smile. He simply said that he can do anything I ask of him, but he didn’t stop there. He continued quickly to share the following:

  • He has it set in his calendar to call me every two months.
  • His bi-monthly calls prompt him to review my portfolio and look critically at whether or not anything really needs to be done.
  • His annual year-end sit down meeting is a best practice. It allows him to educate me on where the market has been and where it is going. It also allows him to tell me what I should be doing differently.

Sigh! He made his point. He is right. I am wrong. So, I shut up and let him continue with the meeting. Here is what we talked about over the course of approximately 60 minutes:

  • ernie3We talked about his Northern Illinois University (NIU) football team and the state of the BCS football system.
  • We re-visited the reasons my partner and I chose Edward Jones over the countless other financial management firms out there. We like the old fashion Edward Jones approach to business development and asset management. It was nice to talk for a few minutes about that decision. It was re-affirming and rewarding.
  • We talked about our personal information. We reviewed email addresses, phone numbers, accounts, etc. While I  thought this was mundane, it turns out that we did have some information change in the last 12 months. It was a good thing he asked so our records could be updated.
  • We talked about a recent seminar Ernie facilitated for his clients about the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). While we didn’t attend, it was a subtle reminder that he offers those free services and we should be participating. Hmmm? Maybe some day. Besides, what a nice value added service.
  • We looked at our investments as well as the market. It was a good thing we did because my partner’s portfolio was unbalanced because of how the market has evolved recently.
  • Ernie showed us projections of how our assets might grow or shrink based upon decisions we are making today. He made a few suggestions about increasing our savings, reducing our expenses, and doing some estate planning. He even got us talking about whether it was smarter for me to close my consulting practice and go back to work for a non-profit agency who could match my retirement account contributions. I dunno . . . but these were good things to be thinking and talking about.

The truth of the matter is that I like to see how my money is invested. I like to feel involved in the decision-making process even though at the end of the day I always tell Ernie to do whatever he thinks makes the most sense. He is after all the expert.
Regardless, it is nice to feel informed and involved.
At the end of our meeting, Ernie walked us next door in the strip mall and introduced him to a fellow merchant, who just so happens to be a client. He made a connection.
Lessons learned
As I walked away from this encounter with Ernie Gamino, I realized how wise this young man is and how much fundraising professionals could learn from him.
Here are just a few of the takeaways:

  • Communicate regularly with your donors. They want to feel involved.
  • When a donor pushes back, listen to them. Offer to adjust your communications plan with them, but educate them about why you’re doing what you’re doing. You may be surprised at how they respond.
  • Personal information changes regularly. You need to review it and change it or your donor database will become garbage. Routine phone calls and sit down meetings are the perfect opportunity to do this kind of work.
  • Talk about things (e.g. football, tattoos, etc) with donors. While it might not have anything to do with your mission, you’re deepening a relationship, which is the most valuable thing you can ever do when it comes to donor communications.
  • Share information with the donor about what their contribution is helping support and the results coming from those programs. People like to feel involved. When this happens, then you get a deeper sense of engagement and donors don’t walk away from your mission.
  • Share other opportunities with donors about how they can do more. You never know where that conversation goes, and it can be done in a donor-centered way that doesn’t feel like you’re pushing.

Ernie doesn’t sit down and call all of his clients. He said that some people are really passive with their investments. So, he just periodically checks in on them to see if their circumstances have changed and to update their records. In other words, you should segment your donor database and decide who needs to hear from you and how often.
Does your agency have a formal donor communications plan and strategy. If so, what is it? What does it look like? If not, then why not and what are you planning to do about it? Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts and experiences. We can all learn from each other.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

BOO: Halloween is a non-profit holiday

Fundraising, resource development

Happy Halloween everyone! In the spirit of today, I decided to reach back into the DonorDreams archives and re-post an article from two years ago. Are your children collecting donations for UNICEF? is your non-profit agency using Halloween to steward donors? We’re re-hashing these issues today. Enjoy!

BOO: Halloween is a non-profit holiday

By Erik Anderson
reposted from October 31, 2011
unicefI just love this time of the year. The temperature outside is lovely. Trees are turning colors and putting on a show. Charity is coming into focus for millions of Americans. Last year approximately 174 million Americans donated approximately $50 billion to charities during the holiday season. While most resource development people will tell you this all starts with Thanksgiving, I contend that Halloween is when the starters gun goes off in my head.
I was reminded this past Saturday afternoon when two kids came to my door holding a small orange box and asked if I’d consider donating some pocket change to UNICEF. Not only do I have fond memories of doing the same thing as a child, but I realized that it might have been the very first time I ever solicited anyone for anything on behalf of a child.
My passion for charity and professional career path might have started all because of a UNICEF box more than 35 years ago.
This realization got me thinking . . . perhaps the year-end charitable giving season starts with Halloween and not Thanksgiving.
Let’s put solicitation to the side. Halloween can be a stewardship opportunity. In fact, non-profit organizations can turn most holidays into stewardship opportunities for their donors as I wrote in my post titled “Stewardship opportunity on Labor Day” which is one of my better read posts of all time. Go figure!
Here are just a few thoughts I have for how your agency can use Halloween to frame your case for support heading into the holiday season:

  • Host a Halloween costume party for your top 100 donors. Don’t solicit them. Just invite them to come to a free event, have some fun, and hear a few short testimonials about how your agency is using their investment from earlier this year to do good things. End everything by saying you hope they will consider reinvesting with a contribution to your year-end holiday mail appeal that is sure to appear in their mailbox in a few weeks.
  • Organize a phone-a-thon where volunteers call donors to whom you plan on mailing your holiday mail appeal. Use a “trick-or-treat” script that talks about how your non-profit doesn’t believe in “tricks” which is why you are calling with a Halloween “treat,” and then read a small snippet of outcomes measurement data that you’ve recently been collected. Thank the donor for helping your agency achieve that specific accomplishment and then end by saying you hope they will consider re-investing when your year-end holiday mail appeal arrives in their mailbox in a few weeks.
  • Simply organize a Halloween theme inspired stewardship mailing (e.g. a ghoulish looking impact report). Don’t ask for any money. Just communicate some return on investment information and thank them for their previous charitable contribution. This can softly frame your case for support in donors minds just a few weeks before you send a solicitation mailing.

As I said in my Labor Day blog post . . .

Many non-profit organizations struggle with stewarding their donors and instead become solicitation machines (which ironically burns out donors and creates a cycle of turnover). When I’ve talked to my non-profit friends and asked WHY, the most common answer I’ve heard is that time is a limited resource.

So, take a look at your stewardship calendar and ask yourself how you can do a better job of aligning these activities with holidays.
Does your non-profit organization have any fun and effective stewardship activities and best practices wrapped around holidays? If so, please use the comment box to share because we can all learn from each other.
Here is to your health! And oh yeah . . . BOO . . . Happy Halloween!!!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847|
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Does your non-profit organization have a culture of philanthropy?

Fundraising

org cultureI love Monday mornings! I wake up, feed the dog and cat, grab a cup of coffee, sit down at my computer and open my email, and most Monday mornings involves watching “Movie Mondays for Fundraising Professionals“. This morning’s video was an interview with Andrea McManus who is the President of The Development Group, a Canadian resource development consulting firm. Within the first 15 seconds of the interview Andrea poses a great question about whether your organization has a “philanthropic culture” or “fundraising culture“.

When I’m conducting a resource development assessment for a client who doesn’t have a strong fundraising program in place, it isn’t uncommon for me to make an observation about the agency lacking a “culture of philanthropy“. When I watched Andrea’s interview this morning, it dawned on me that some of those clients might not have understood what I was driving at.

I love the distinction that Andrea draws in the video. I love even more that she takes the time to share with viewers the nine signs of a strong philanthropic culture.

Do you know what those nine signs are? Does your organization exhibit those nine signs?

OK, I have a confession to make. When I look for philanthropic culture, I use the less formal “smell test,” which is akin to sniffing what is in a Tupperware container in the refrigerator to determine whether or not it is still safe to eat leftovers. Essentially, I knew it when I saw it and experienced it. So, when Andrea said she was going to share her nine signs of a philanthropic culture with viewers this morning, I settled in and prepared to watch the entire 15 minute video.

I highly recommend that you take a moment to watch “9 Signs of a Strong Philanthropic Culture“.

To help whet your appetite, here are three of Andrea’s nine signs:

  1. Your board and agency leadership know how to spell “philanthropy” (While her tongue is planted firmly in her cheek, she makes a great point when talking about this sign.)
  2. Organizational leadership (both board and staff) understand the difference between philanthropy, development, and fundraising.
  3. When a donor calls the main phone line, the person answering the phone knows exactly what to do with that call. They know where to send those calls. They also recognize the importance of that person and treats them as such.

There are six other even more amazing signs. Aren’t you even a little curious? Click here to check-out Andrea’s interview and discover those six other signs.

I’m going to end today’s blog with the same question Andrea poses at the end of her video. What other things (aka signs) do you look for when assessing whether or not a non-profit agency possesses a philanthropic culture? Even more important, how are you trying to instill these things into your organizational culture? Please share one or two of those things in the comment box below.

Here’s to your health!

Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Does your non-profit practice data sharing?

Fundraising

data1Last week I was in Reno, Nevada at Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s (BGCA) Pacific Leadership Conference. This week I am in Mashantucket, Connecticut at BGCA’s Northeast Leadership Conference. The common denominator is that I am helping organize and facilitate a training track for executive directors and school superintendents. One of the sessions in the training track addresses the issue of data sharing, and I thought it would be a good topic to discuss today with DonorDreams readers.

Why include this topic in a training track focused on collaboration? Because data sharing is an important part of developing any successful partnership.

In the Boys & Girls Club universe, schools and Clubs share data with each other for a number if reasons including:

  • It is a way to measure success.
  • It is a way to improve programs.
  • It is a way to demonstrate ROI to donors.

Of course, if sharing data was easy, everyone would be doing it. Here are a few obstacles participants identified:

  • Time
  • Limited staff
  • Untrained staff
  • Lack of reasons for needing specific data
  • Client privacy
  • Trust

data2The following are just a few key strategies identified by participants that will help any non-profit organization sustain data sharing agreements with its partners:

  • Develop a memorandum of understanding (MOU) clearly spelling out roles and responsibilities.
  • Seek to understand your partner first before seeking to be understood.
  • Have a reason for needing the data for which you are asking.
  • Be mission-driven and focused when it comes to your partnerships and data needs.
  • Regularly scheduled meetings are communication opportunities.
  • Make data sharing part of your non-profit culture.
  • Use the data for which you’re asking and share the aggregated results with your partners.
  • Use the data for which you’re asking to make important decisions thus demonstrating the importance of it to all stakeholders both internal and external.
  • Have your data analysis plan written and in place before you collect the data because collecting data for the sake of collecting data is frustrating and stupid.

The following are a few great online resources pertaining to data collection, sharing and usage:

I walked away from the three different symposiums that I helped organize and facilitate this month with the following big take away:

If you want to measure the depth and strength of your collaboration, then look at your data sharing efforts.

What does your data sharing efforts with other partners look like? What best practices and key strategies can you share with others? If you don’t share data with your collaborative partners, would you be willing to share with us why not?

Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts and experiences. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

A recipe for securing major gifts

Fundraising

recipeWhen I was an internal consultant working for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), my team was charged with helping local affiliates build their organizational capacity around resource development. In the beginning, there were two sides of our team — annual campaign support and planned giving support. As time passed, our team focused on creating a third vehicle of service — major gifts.

Over the last few years, there have been a number of consultants hired to help develop the pilot project and then ultimately the help with the roll out. Lots of thought went into developing BGCA’s major gifts initiative.

As you can imagine, there is great diversity among local affiliates. Some Clubs are very large and capable, and many others are small and still developing. With this in mind, my former team preferred to develop programs that involved taking simple steps. This approach was the easiest way to ensure all local affiliates regardless of their size and capacity were able to implement any fundraising program.

The following are the 10 steps my team advocated for when teaching others how to secure a major gift:

  1. Develop your internal case for support and menu of gift opportunities
  2. Identify top ‘ready to give’ major gift prospects
  3. Assemble your cultivation team
  4. Develop confidential personal strategy plan(s)
  5. Implement specific personal strategy(ies)
  6. Monitor progress and modify plan(s) as needed
  7. Ask prospect for permission to develop specific proposal(s)
  8. Present proposal in person; modify proposal if needed
  9. Finalize gift when donor is ready
  10. Thank and recognize donor as appropriate

For those of you who think I’ve given away major trade secrets or violated copyright laws, I assure you that I have not.

Of course, I checked the manual for copyright warnings and there were none. The reason being is that these 10 steps are part of the public domain and are common knowledge. Spend a few minutes on Google and you’ll find any number of bloggers and traditional authors who’ve published similar lists.

When I look at this list, I think of any number of recipes that I might find online or in my mom’s old cookbooks. These 10 items are akin to simple ingredients on a recipe card for a yummy dish.

ina gartenOf course, there will likely be a HUGE difference between me making a recipe and the Barefoot Contessa (aka Ina Garten) making the same dish. I suspect there will be huge differences in results between small and large non-profit organizations. In my opinion, here are just a few things that will make a difference:

  • how well your donors are being stewarded and depth of relationships
  • experience of fundraising staff
  • experience and relationships of fundraising volunteers
  • resource development systems (e.g. donor database or CRM, Moves Management program, etc)

When Claire published her call for submissions for October’s Nonprofit Blog Carival, she asked her fellow bloggers with tongue firmly planted in the side of her Halloween cheek to consider:

“Do you HAUNT prospects through a series of managed ‘moves’?  Do you fly in on a BROOMSTICK and just drop in spontaneously? How do you put them under your SPELL?”

I love these questions. Those of you who regularly tune into the DonorDreams blog know how much I talk about stewardship. I honestly think it is the key to developing relationships and cultivating major gift donors down the road. The following are just a few of my favorite stewardship focused posts over the years:

Does your organization use a similar major gifts “recipe” as the one I shared from my former employer? If so, what steps do you think are the most important? Do you find particular cultivation and stewardship strategies more effective than others? Please scroll down and share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below. We can all learn from each other.

Here’s to your health!

Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Have you discovered non-profit radio yet?

technology

radioI don’t know about you, but radio plays an important role in my life. I used to live in my car traveling from client-to-client throughout the Midwest when I was an internal consultant. After opening my own consulting practice, I now travel much shorter distances, but I still spend a decent amount of time in my car. So, the radio is where I turn for a decent amount of news and entertainment, especially when I’m on the road. However, when I’m at home I don’t listen as much because I don’t get very good reception in the house, which is why I was so elated the other day when I discovered the Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio online.

On Fridays from 1:00 to 2:00 pm (eastern time), Tony broadcasts his show online and focuses on non-profit topics that will excite many non-profit professionals and board volunteers who read this blog. Here are just a few topics from the last month:

Click here if you want to check out the last 100 radio shows by Tony in the iTunes store. They are free to download.

You’re probably asking yourself, “Who is this Martignetti guy?”

In a nutshell, Tony started his work with non-profit organizations 16-years ago in 1997 as a planned giving officer. He created the planned giving programs for Iona College and St. John’s University. Along the way, he obviously spun off and created his own consulting practice. For more about Tony, you can click here to view his extensive profile.

I suspect that I will start tuning in on Fridays when I’m sitting at my desk and not on the road working with a client. 

I need your help

This online radio show is one of many different sources for non-profit news, information and best practices. Here is where I get much of my information on a variety of non-profit subjects:

  • Blogs
  • LinkedIn
  • Google
  • eNewsletters from other consultants and thought-leaders
  • Old manuals and books
  • Conferences and in-person training events
  • Webinars

What about you? Where are you getting most of your information on non-profit best practices?

I am trying to update the DonorDreams blogroll, and I am taking suggestions from readers on what to add to this section of the blog. Please scroll down and share your thoughts and ideas. Please remember to also share the web address so I can include a link to it.

Here’s to your health!

Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com 
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847