fundraising – Page 3 – The Healthy Non-Profit

Illinois budget crisis impacting non-profit organizations — Part 3

March 24, 2016 erik Board governance, Fundraising, leadership, organizational development, philanthropy

illinois budget Earlier this week and last week, I started writing about the State of Illinois’ budget crisis and how it is impacting non-profit organizations. In Part 1 of this series, I shared survey results provided by United Way of Illinois along with other insights and perspectives . In Part 2, I talked to a non-profit executive director whose organization lost significant funding as a result of Illinois’ budget impasse and shared some surprising developments. Today, I have a suggestion for Illinois non-profit leaders to mull over as the crisis deepens (and there is lots here for non-profit leaders from other states to chew on, too).
Frog in boiling water
We’ve all heard the story about frogs and boiling pots of water. Right?
Assuming that some of you haven’t any clue of what I’m talking about, here is a nice summary from Wikipedia:

“The boiling frog is an anecdote describing a frog slowly being boiled alive. The premise is that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of threats that occur gradually.”

I have no clue what the origins of this old story are, but I do know this . . .

IT IS A MYTH!

boiling frog1 Don’t want to take my word for it because you might have heard it from your grandfather or another beloved family member. No problem … I completely understand. Let me provide you with scientific proof. Simply click here, click here for more, and click here if you are in deep denial. If you clicked all three links, I’m guessing you probably also believe a number of other grossly inaccurate things about other animals and suggest you the Snopes.com article titled “Critter Country: Wild Inaccuracies”
So, what does any of this silliness have to do with non-profits and the Illinois budget impasse?

Your organization is like a frog!

In other words, your non-profit should (and likely will) jump out of the boiling waters of government funding if things get too hot. It is a simple matter of survival.
Question #1: When?
I’ve lamented too often — right here on this blog — that too many non-profit boards operate poorly. They don’t understand (and sometimes reject) their legally defined fiduciary responsibilities, focus their meetings obsessively on monitoring rather than governance, micromanage the organization and its staff, rubber stamp things (oftentimes very important things) that staff put in front of them, and my list can go on and on.
If anything in the last paragraph describes your organization’s board of directors, please hear me clearly . . .

You’re at risk!

In other words, you might just be on the road to proving all of the scientists, who said in the last section that “the boiling frog story is an urban legend,” are liars.
boiling frog2 Your board is likely made up of smart people. If they aren’t being used (at a minimum) as a “sounding board” on the issue of government funding and what to do about it, then my suggestions are:

Stop business as usual in your boardroom
Start adding a 45 minute “generative discussion” agenda item to every one of your monthly meetings for the foreseeable future
Focus your discussions around various aspects of your government funding situation
Bring in guest speakers who know more than you do about state funding and your grants
Pose open ended questions and facilitate an engaging dialog where everyone is encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings
Don’t just have theoretical conversations … also pose action oriented questions (e.g. what are our options? what should we be doing?)

If you and your board can make this adjustment in non-profit governance, I guarantee you that . . .

It will be clear when it is time to jump out of the boiling pot!

Question #2: What?
boiling frog3 Of course, the more difficult question for most non-profit organizations is “What to do about it?”
If your organization isn’t reliant on government funding, the answer is easy . . . carry on and try not to gloat too much around your non-profit friends. For those of you who rely on modest (or perhaps significant) government money, then you want to keep reading.
If you and your board have decided the water is getting a little too hot, then here are a few suggestions:

Re-exam your non-profit revenue model
Explore other models (refer to previous section about generative discussions in the boardroom)
Make a group decision about which model (or hybrid model) is best for your organization at this time
Don’t try to turn the battleship all at once … choose one (or a few) things to “try on for size” and experiment with small aspects of your new revenue model (e.g. write a private sector foundation grant, engage a corporate partner, identify prospective individual donors and start a conversation with them; write a business plan for a potential social enterprise, etc)
Invest time, energy and effort in evaluation of every new thing you undertake and commit to nurturing a culture of improvement and excellence
Celebrate every success from top-to-bottom and side-to-side of your organization (no matter how big or small it may be)

If you got this far and still find yourself scratching your head over the idea of different non-profit revenue models, then you need to click-through and read a Bridgespan white paper titled “Ten Nonprofit Funding Models“. I also highly suggest clicking on and reading every hyperlink embedded in the white paper.
If you don’t believe your organization can do this without help, then I have some good news. There are countless non-profit consultants (myself included) who are available for hire.
Stop listening to stupid people
I’ve heard state funders (e.g. foundations, United Ways, etc) say loudly and clearly, “The state cannot expect funders to fill the gap created by the State“.
I do NOT believe foundation leaders and United Way professionals are “stupid people“. However . . .
I have heard some people (in fact some are even dear friends of mine), amplify the cautionary words of foundations and United Ways and then twist them by concluding “private sector philanthropy” cannot fill the gap. It is these folks to whom I urge you to please stop listening.
The reality is that foundations, corporations and United Ways only account for 20% of the $358 billion of charitable giving. The remainder of the pie (a huge whopping 80%) comes from individuals either directly or through bequests.
Moreover, charitable giving is only 2% of our country’s GDP.
The pie can be increased. There is room to expand and grow. Foundation leaders and United Way professionals never said private sector philanthropy couldn’t be the solution (or at least a big part of the solution). They were simply say that politicians need to stop telling voters their organizations will fill the gap.
Are you a doubting Thomas? If so, then I have a proposition for you . . .
Add this topic to your board agenda. I think it makes for an awesome generative discussion. If you’re an Illinois non-profit organization and you’re looking for someone to speak in your boardroom on this subject and facilitate a generative discussion, then please contact me because I would be willing to consider it.
Next up in this blog series?
I’ve sent emails to a handful of politicians and policymakers who I trust and respect. I’ve invited them to share their thoughts on this subject. If any of them respond, then I’ll publish those next week.
In the meantime, please use the comment box to share your thoughts and experiences on the Illinois budget impasse, the impact you’re seeing on the non-profit sector, your thoughts on what organizations should be doing about it, or anything else that is top of mind regarding the state of government funding (federal, state or local) and those trends. 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

Illinois budget crisis impacting non-profit organizations — Part 2

March 22, 2016 erik Fundraising

I ended last week with a post about the Illinois budget impasse and how it is impacting non-profit organizations. I promised to continue posting on this subject this week from a few different perspectives. Today’s post comes from a real non-profit organization who is challenged by the events in Springfield. However, I warn you upfront this story might not necessarily end the way you think it would. (Note: I’ve also withheld the names to protect the innocent)
After publishing the first post in this series, I decided to hit the road to get a better feel for the crisis. I got in my car and drove a few hours away to sit down for lunch with a non-profit CEO to get their perspective. This organization’s annual budget is slightly more than $1 million with multiple locations in their community and a fairly big staff.
Here is what I expected to (and indeed did) hear:

The state budget crisis has resulted in a drop of approximately $200,000
The shortfall in funding is large enough to be felt and hurt
There was a staff reduction
The initial cuts focused on administrative staff and systems, and the remaining cuts had to come from program staff and front line operations

starvation2 Here is what I didn’t expect to hear:

Program staff re-invented how they work together (obviously out of necessity), and there is more cross-training and shared responsibilities & job functions in this organization’s workforce
Board members rallied and contributions from these individuals increased
Board members did more than just write a bigger check, some of them got more involved in the organization’s fundraising events and campaigns
The organization is raising more money from its fundraising events and campaigns today than it was prior to the state budget impasse
The impact on this organization’s clients doesn’t seem to have been as big as they feared with many of them still showing up and getting served
Without state mandated grant reporting requirements hanging over the organization, there is less outcomes measurement occurring (obviously this is one place staff had to look at reallocating hours to absorb the cuts)

Before I continue, let me clearly say this is simply one example. It may or may not be representative of the larger Illinois non-profit sector. I also recognize that organizations of different sizes are likely being impacts and responding differently and in proportion to their abilities/capacities. The reality is that we won’t have a handle on the bigger picture for many years when it is too late to make any adjustments.
As I contemplated my lunch conversation, I came to a number of conclusions (some of which are likely premature) including:

the non-profit sector is resilient
many non-profits are flexible enough to evolve-change-adapt in a very short period of time
non-profit professionals are incredibly talented (more so than what many people give them credit for)
while many people like to complain about their board’s lack of engagement, the reality is that the right people sitting around the boardroom table make a difference every time regardless of good times or bad times
there isn’t just one revenue model that works for all non-profit organizations, and those who are committed to evolving their business plan / revenue model can do so if they put their mind to it

Before you accuse me of putting too much lipstick on this pig, let me say I’m very worried about organizations like the one I’m writing about today. While they may have survived the initial earthquake, they are worse off today to survive the after-shocks.
Why?
Because many of their initial cuts came at the expense of organizational capacity (aka org muscle). For example, even though the board initially surged to partially fill the funding gap, the organization is less capable of supporting these efforts on an ongoing basis as a result of their budget cuts.
starvation1 Believe it or not, this phenomenon has a name. It is called the non-profit starvation cycle. If you have a little time today, I encourage you to click-through to read the scholarly article on this subject from the Stanford Social Innovation Review and do a little Googling around yourself. You will be surprised with what you find.
It is very possible this organization and countless others like this one in Illinois could be on a very long road that leads to outcomes such as:

increased collaboration
more strategic alliances (e.g. back office operations)
mergers
bankruptcy

Of course, only time will tell. In the meantime, please use the comment box to share your thoughts and experiences. Do you have other stories from the front line that might help us focus the picture and give all of us a better forecast picture? We can all learn from each other.
In my next post, I will focus more on revenue models and private sector fundraising as a response for Illinois’ non-profit sector.
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

Dealing with your non-profit organization's cash flow crisis

March 10, 2016 erik Board governance, Fundraising

A few times every year I get a phone call from a non-profit friend who is experiencing a cash flow issue. The conversation always starts off with a tinge of embarrassment and then quickly morphs into finger pointing and finally ends with a sense of resignation and desperation. I received another one of these phone calls the other day, which reminded me that I’ve been meaning to blog about this subject for quiet some time. The following are a few quick tips on how to handle your non-profit organization’s cash flow crisis.
Remain calm and confident
One of my favorite movie scenes is at the end of Animal House when Kevin Bacon’s character is trying to keep the peace in the middle of the parade-turned-riot when he is shouting, “Remain calm! All is well.”
During a cash flow crunch, it is important for you to remain calm and encourage everyone else in the organization (e.g. board volunteers, staff, donors, etc) to do the same.
Why? Simply because . . .

People don’t follow leaders who aren’t confident and composed
Panic and fear spread quicker than the flu
People don’t typically make good decisions when they are panicked and fearful

Develop a 90 day plan
planning You have lots of short-term options that will help bridge your organization through a cash flow crisis. The following is a short list of some of those options:

Secure a loan (this can be a traditional short-term loan from the bank or a promissory note from a donor)
Search your donor database for LYBUNTs (e.g. lapsed, former donors) and ask them to renew their support
Meet with your largest donors and ask them to make another contribution
Look at your accounts receivable list and ask those donors if they would consider making a pledge payment sooner than they had indicated on their pledge card
Ask board members to make another contribution
Prioritize which outstanding invoices need to be paid now and which ones can wait
Work with your Finance Committee (or key board volunteers) to develop a new budget plan for your new realities (or develop multiple budgets for a variety of revenue scenarios)
Use unpaid furlough days with some staff to temporarily reduce payroll expenses (be cognizant of what this will do to morale and possible employee turnover)

I wrote a blog post titled “So, your non-profit cannot make its payroll obligation” a few years ago about some of these options. You might want to click-through to read more.
Understand what caused the problem
assessment If I’ve seen it once, I’ve seen it a number of times . . . board volunteers want to hold someone accountable after the crisis passes. In my opinion, the best way to survive this dynamic is to be able to point to:

Your calm leadership during the crisis
Your role in developing the short-term plan
Your understanding of what caused the problem
Your commitment to fixing the things that cause the problem

There is a fine line between assessment and finger pointing in these situations. Whatever you do, avoid finger pointing because your board of directors will interpret it as “not taking responsibility“.
There isn’t a right or wrong way to undertake an assessment, but my suggestion is that you do it with many people sitting around the table. The more eyes you have looking at this situation, the more likely you will be to see all sides of the problem. Consider involving staff who play some role in financial management, board volunteers with a background in finance, and possibly even an external consultant who can come at this with fresh eyes.
Develop a long-term plan
planning Now that you’ve made it through the crisis and have a firm understanding of what caused it, it is important have a new long-term plan that keeps you from ending up back from where you just came.
As with the last section, I strongly suggest you don’t do this alone. Your plan will have more credibility if many participated in its creation. Remember, the board will look skeptically at any plan that is developed by the same people who they perceive as having played a role in creating the original crisis. Involving fresh faces with lots of credibility helps address this dynamic.
Your plan will be unique to your organization and your situation; however, the following are just a few “fixes” I’ve personally seen embraced more often than not:

Making revisions to the resource development plan (e.g. adding more to the fundraising plan)
Making process changes to the budget construction process
Making process changes to billing/invoicing donors and grant providers
Changing how the board monitors/oversees the finances
Undertaking a re-organization of the company focused on staff/payroll reduction

Well, good luck with your cash flow crisis. Hopefully, these big picture suggestions are helpful and get you pointed in the right direction. If you have any ideas or experiences that you wish to share, please do so 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

Hangin’ with Henry and talking about your first visit with a donor prospect

March 3, 2016 erik Fundraising, Hangin' with Henry

As most of you know, DonorDreams blog has dedicated the first Thursday of every month for almost the last year to featuring a short video from Henry Freeman, who is an accomplished non-profit and fundraising professional. We affectionately call this monthly series “Hangin’ With Henry” because of the conversational format around which he has framed his online videos. This month we’re talking about Making People Comfortable During a First Visit. I thought this video would be a night follow-up for my blog post published two weeks ago titled “Can we all please agree that ambushing donors needs to stop?” where I shared tips on how to set-up a meeting with a prospect/donor without ambushing them.
For those of you who subscribe to DonorDreams blog and get notices by email, you will want to click this link to view this month’s featured YouTube video. If you got here via your web browser, then you can click on the video graphic below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX3xssaPBrE
OK, I understand that Henry is talking about “the first visit” within a major gifts initiative context. However, doesn’t everything he said still apply to other resource development work, especially when sitting down with a new prospect during a cultivation visit?
I think one of the things that I loved the most from Henry’s video is how he talks about leaving your fundraising agenda at the door during your first visit.
So, let’s stop here and focus on leaving your agenda at the door. How have you successfully done this? What have you focused on instead? What clues in the conversation where you able to pick-up on that gave you permission to go back and open the door on your fundraising agenda?
We can all learn from each other. Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts and experiences.
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

Suggestions on how to improve your fundraising appeals and plan

February 25, 2016 erik Fundraising

Let’s face it. Times change, and those things that don’t evolve and keep up with the times get old and stale. And this applies to everything in life including your fundraising plan (which includes your goals, strategies, tactics and sometimes even best practices). I’ve asked Abby Jarvis from Qgiv to weigh-in with her suggestions on how your organization might evolve its approach to soliciting donors and polishing up its fundraising plan. I think you will like her five suggestions. Here’s to your health! ~Erik

5 Ways to Make Better Fundraising Asks

By Abby Jarvis
Blogger, marketer & communications coordinator for Qgiv
improvement Your nonprofit is constantly trying to improve. Whether you’re developing an efficiency hack for your staff members or trying new fundraising events, openness to change is what allows your organization to grow, acquire more donors, and raise more money for your cause.
One area that nonprofits can constantly improve in is their donation appeal strategies. There is always room for improvement, whether you ask for donations over the phone, in person, with direct mail, or through any other method.

Check out these five ways to improve your fundraising appeals!

1. Update your website

Donors who find themselves on your nonprofit’s website don’t want to see pages that haven’t been updated since 2007.
Part of improving your fundraising efforts should involve sprucing up your nonprofit’s website and donation page.
Online donations are steadily rising and becoming the preferred giving method for younger generations who have grown up surrounded by technology. Make sure that you aren’t losing these donors’ interests by having an outdated donation page and website.
Check out these great examples of donation forms for a little inspiration.

2. Start personalizing your direct mail

You wouldn’t send a letter to your Aunt Margaret that started off with “Dear Relative.”
You shouldn’t be doing that in your direct mail appeals either.
One characteristic that unites all nonprofits with successful direct mail solicitation is the personalization of their letters.
Personalization doesn’t just mean using the donor’s name in the greeting, though. It also means:

Referencing past involvement or contributions.
Offering new ways to interact with your nonprofit.
Suggesting giving levels based on past contributions.
A personal signature from an organization member.
And more!

Make sure that you’re personalizing your direct mail appeals to bring in more donations for your nonprofit!

3. Ramp up your email campaigns

More and more nonprofits are looking to improve their email marketing techniques. Is your organization ready to join them?
Ramping up your email campaigns means taking a look at the successful emails you’ve sent in the past and improving the ones that weren’t as effective.
Don’t just send out donation appeals in your emails, though. Give donors regular updates about your organization with:

Success stories.
Info on current projects.
Volunteering opportunities.
Invitations to events.
And more!

Sending out emails to your donors is a cost-effective and efficient way to keep them in the loop and to ask for donations.

4. Host really great fundraising events

Even though event fundraisers come with a cost, they can be fantastic opportunities for your supporters to interact with one another and your nonprofit.
They can be a valuable be a great way for your organization to ask for donations!
Let’s say you’re hosting a family fun day for your church’s mission trip. During the opening or closing ceremony, let attendees know why their donations are so important and what they will help fund. Then, give them ways to donate either through physical, on-site donations, or digital methods like text-to-give or mobile donation forms.
Hosting a fundraising event takes a lot of planning and coordination, but with the right tools, your nonprofit can make better fundraising asks at the events you host for donors!

5. Take a look at your major gift strategy

Asking for donations from major gift prospects can be tricky. Not only do you have to convince someone that your organization is worth supporting, but you have to ask that person for a significant amount of money.
The best way for your nonprofit to succeed when it comes to major gifts is to develop a strategy for going after those donations. This strategy should include:

Appointing a major gift officer.
Developing comprehensive cultivation techniques.
Forming solid relationships with your prospects.
Using prospect research to help determine the right ask amount.
Creating solid stewardship practices for after the donation has been made.

Major gifts are often some of the biggest donations that a nonprofit can receive. In fact, an individual who has made a gift between $50,000 and $100,000 is 25 times more likely to donate than an average person is. Make sure you aren’t missing out on these large contributions because your major gift strategy has been found lacking.
Your nonprofit should have several goals for improvement, but one of them should definitely be to make better fundraising asks! With these five tips, you’ll be set for success. Happy asking!

Abby Jarvis is a blogger, marketer, and communications coordinator for Qgiv, an online fundraising service provider. Qgiv offers industry-leading online giving and peer to peer fundraising tools for nonprofit, faith-based, and political organizations of all sizes. When she’s not working at Qgiv, Abby can usually be found writing for local magazines, catching up on her favorite blogs, or binge-watching sci-fi shows on Netflix.

Can we all please agree that ambushing donors needs to stop?

February 23, 2016 erik Fundraising

ambush Well, it happened to me and my husband again just the other day. We were asked to dinner by a non-profit friend. It was a simple dinner invitation, and one that we’ve been working on setting up for more than a year. We weren’t in the restaurant for more than 15 minutes and the pre-meal cocktails had just arrived, when our friend was asking us to give some consideration to making a contribution to their organization’s endowment fund.
There isn’t any other way to characterize a situation like this other than it was an old fashion…

AMBUSH!

The inexplicable thing I still cannot wrap my head around is that we would’ve happily accepted this dinner invitation if we knew there was a solicitation attached to it.
Some of you might be wondering what the big deal is all about.
sneak attack Simply, I believe soliciting unsuspecting prospects and donors is detrimental to your organization (and to everyone else in non-profit sector) for the following reasons:

It puts the person on the spot (and when has that ever felt good?)
It erodes trust (what will they think the next time you ask them to join you for a meal?)
It validates the erroneous belief by some people that fundraising is a sneaky and shameful activity focused on making people do something they otherwise wouldn’t want to do
It feels wrong when friends do this to their friends and colleagues, which contributes to people saying NO when asked to volunteer for a non-profit fundraising campaign

Yes, I understand most people don’t do this purposefully. They simply weren’t trained appropriately or they harbor anxiety about rejection (or any number of other fears) when it comes to setting up the fundraising meeting.
Some of you are probably now wondering what the solution is.
Almost 10 years ago, I ran into a very smart board volunteer who understood the importance of training. So much so, his company developed a video he used with his fellow board members to help them feel more comfortable with every aspect of the solicitation progress. I was lucky enough that he agreed to share his homemade training video with me.
Embedded within more than an hour of video was a seven minute clip explaining (and role playing) the appropriate way to pick-up the phone and successfully secure a fundraising meeting with a prospect/donor. This is simply one of the best pieces of video that I’ve ever seen on this topic.
sneak attack2 In an effort to do may part to help eradicate the “ambush” tactic from our non-profit toolbox, I will share with you some of the tips from this video.

Before picking up the phone, write down three reasons why you need to sit down with your prospect/donor and keep that piece of paper nearby when you place the call (and look at this piece of paper when you feel yourself getting nervous)
When the prospect/donor answers the phone, ask them for time to meet in-person (after preliminary greetings and chit-chat, of course) and share the three reasons for the meeting
Some of the reasons to meet in-person might include: a) asking for advice, b) securing their involvement, c) thanking them for their support, d) accessing their expertise; BUT one of the reasons must include discussing their potential support of the campaign, event or fundraising activity in question
Making up reasons to meet can feel insincere and manipulative . . . so don’t use silly reasons. Come up with real reasons that will benefit the organization or are plausible based upon your personal relationship
Don’t ask if they can meet . . . ask them when they can meet.

If this sounds simple, it’s because it is. If you still don’t believe this approach works, then think of it this way . . .
We are all very busy with our lives. So, when a friend calls asking for some of your time and only gives one reason for the meeting, it doesn’t feel weighty enough to want an in-person meeting. Surely one discussion item can quickly be resolved on the telephone. Right??? However, listing off a number of things you wish to discuss begins to feel lengthy and not well suited for a quick telephone conversation.
Still don’t believe me? Well then, I guess there is only one way to resolve this dispute . . . try this strategy on for size next time you need to schedule an in-person meeting with a prospect/donor. I’m betting that you’re successful. 😉
Do you have additional tips to share with the non-profit sector about how to set-up an in-person meeting with a prospect/donor without resorting to ambush tactics? If so, please scroll down and share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box. 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

What can your non-profit learn from Gloria Steinem?

February 16, 2016 erik Donor-centered fundraising, Fundraising

steinem It was a bleary-eyed late night dash in a rental car to position myself for a morning meeting, and I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) in an effort to stay awake. At one point, someone was interviewing iconic feminist leader Gloria Steinem. While I cannot remember the big reason for the interview (e.g. new book, rally, election analysis, court ruling, etc), there was one thing that stuck with me, and I just had to share with you because I think it is a great allegory for how your non-profit should interact with donors.
After listening to the NPR interview, I went online and Googled around for the text of what Steinem calls her “Always Ask The Turtle” story in her own words. Luckily, I found it in a number of different places so I feel OK with sharing it with you here:

I took geology because I thought it was the least scientific of the sciences.
On a field trip, while everyone else was off looking at the meandering Connecticut River, I was paying no attention whatsoever. Instead, I had a found a giant, GIANT turtle that had climbed out of the river, crawled up a dirt road, and was in the mud on the embankment of another road, seemingly about to crawl up on it and get squashed by a car.
So, being a good codependent with the world, I tugged and pushed and pulled until I managed to carry this huge, heavy, angry snapping turtle off the embankment and down the road.
I was just putting it back into the river when my geology professor arrived and said, ‘You know, that turtle probably spent a month crawling up that dirt road to lay its eggs in the mud by the side of the road, and you just put it back in the river.’
Well, I felt terrible. But in later years, I realized that this was the most important political lesson I learned, one that cautioned me about the authoritarian impulse of both left and right.
Always ask the turtle.

After hearing Steinem share this story, the first person I thought of was Penelope Burk, who is the famous CEO of Cygnus Applied Research and author of Donor Centered Fundraising. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced non-profit organizations should adopt Steinem’s turtle story as a moral compass for how to work with donors.
Here are just a few comparisons I came up:

Like the turtle, donors spend lots of time struggling to crawl up a dirt path called a career path
Like the turtle, donors build a nest egg of money (e.g. net worth)
Like the turtle, donors behave in certain ways for certain reasons (e.g. they didn’t just crawl up the path for no reason at all ... they saved their money for a reason … they donate to certain charities for a reason)

OK, I’ll stop beating this dead horse.
The point I’m obviously driving at is simple, but one I think every fundraising professional should live by.
Don’t assume the following:

Don’t assume you know why individual donors support your mission
Don’t assume you know what a donor’s capacity to give or willingness to give
Don’t assume you know which programs/activities a donor is passionate about
Don’t assume you know the best way (e.g. via event, pledge drive, major gift agreement, planned gift, etc) for a donor to give to your organization

The bottom line is DON’T ASSUME . . . “Always ask the donor”.
Thanks to Gloria Steinem for inspiring this morning’s blog post and sharing her amazing story with the world.
How does your organization engage its donors? What activities do you consider “donor-centered“? Do you have a fun story to share where engaging with a donor resulted in an ah-ha moment and something beautiful for both your organization and the donor? Please 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
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What can your non-profit learn from the U.S. presidential primary elections?

February 11, 2016 erik Fundraising, organizational development

For me, sometimes people speak the truth and it hits me in such a way that I have a hard time getting it out of my head. It rolls around like a pinball in my brain, and the only way for me to stop the experience is to write about it. Well, this happened again on January 28, 2016 at approximately 10:15 pm while I was watching a Special Edition of Hardball with Chris Matthews. It occurred during an interview with Mike Huckabee, when the former presidential candidate said something close to the following (and if memory serves me correctly, I think it was in response to a question about the primary election system):

“Nothing changes. The train is being driven by the donors.”

(Disclaimer: I scribbled this down within 30 seconds of hearing it. I might have the quotation slightly wrong, but I’m really darn close. I went looking for the transcripts of the show, but couldn’t find anything online.)
(Another disclaimer: I plan on exercising tremendous restraint today. I won’t share political thoughts on topics such as campaign finance reform, Citizens United, Super PACs, etc. So, please feel free to continue reading if you are interested in how this ends up being a (hopefully) thought-provoking blog post on non-profits.)
The first thought that ran through my brain after hearing Huckabee’s commentary about the influence of donors was . . . “Wow! I can’t believe he just said that. How incredibly honest of him.”
The second thought that ran through my brain was . . . “Ugh! Shouldn’t it be voters and not donors who are driving this train?”
My next thought surprised me . . . “I wonder how many non-profit organizations are being driven by donors?”
I know how easy this question is to dismiss. If I’ve heard a non-profit soapbox speech once, I’ve heard it hundred of times about how someone’s organization is sooooooo mission-focused or veeeeeeeery cleint-focused. While I am not casting doubt on these claims, Huckabee’s utterance got me thinking.
Have I seen individual donors come to the table with their checkbook and an idea they want funded? Yes, I sure have.
Have I seen individual donors place strange restrictions on their charitable giving in an effort to drive an agenda (sometimes a political or religious agenda that has little to do with the actual organization they are giving money to)? Yes, I sure have.
What about private and corporate foundations and their published “giving guidelines“? Is this sometimes an exercise in control? Agenda setting? Managing corporate liability? I think it could be viewed that way by some people.
What about the United Way’s Community Impact model? While I see it as generally positive, isn’t the desired effect to align charitable giving around a community’s top socials needs and gaps in order to solve those problems? That’s the way this United Way donor views it.
Before any of you overreact, let me say the following:

I am not suggesting donors are evil people with bad intentions
I am not saying foundations shouldn’t have giving guidelines
I am definitely NOT attacking the United Way

However . . .
I do see some non-profit organizations starved for money and engaged in what I would characterize as “chasing dollars“. I’ve even seen some organizations go so far as changing their mission statement, broadening it to a point of being all encompassing, and resigned to asking and applying for funding they have no business doing. I’ve also seen “scope creep” bankrupt an organization and drive it out-of-business.
I’m going to end this blog post here because my intention wasn’t to get on a soapbox today. My intent was to give you a mental poke and get you thinking about some of the following questions:

As Mike Huckabee framed the question, “Who is driving your organizational train?” And how confident are you in your answer?
What percentage of your revenue streams come from government funding? If it is greater than 50%, then can you honestly say your funder(s) don’t have a significant impact on the direction of your organization along with countless other things? (e.g. staffing ratios, program offering, outcomes measurement, etc)
Are you client-driven? Community impact focused? Mission-focused? What facts can you point to that affirm this belief? If I asked your board the same question what answer would they give? And would it match your answer?
What processes or organizational structures do you have in place to assure you aren’t simply “chasing dollars“?
Can you think of the last time you were faced with making a decision about a contribution being driven by a donor’s agenda rather than your agenda? If so, what happened? How did you handle it? Who did you consult?
Generally speaking, how much INFLUENCE do your donors have with you, your board, and your overall organization? Regardless of your answer, how do you feel about your answer?

As I always say, we can all learn from each other. Please scroll down and share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box.
Here’s to your health!
Erik Anderson
Founder & President, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC
www.thehealthynonprofit.com
erik@thehealthynonprofit.com
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
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http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Hangin’ with Henry and talking about Heart vs. Head Fundraising

February 4, 2016 erik Fundraising, Hangin' with Henry

I was reminded that donors are like snowflakes and each one is very different (which is the essence of donor-centered fundraising, right?).
Good fundraising professionals can recognize this truism and adapt their approach when it comes to cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
Just like how different donors are motivated by different head vs. heart messages, there are different types of fundraising professionals who are better at one or the other approaches.

When I worked for Boys & Girls Clubs of America as an internal consultant, my toolbox contained a PowerPoint training they called “Closing the Gift“. It was contained the organization’s teachable point of view for how staff and volunteers at local affiliates should go about soliciting donors. This process included 12 steps that volunteers were encouraged to follow. Doing so would minimize the fears associated with asking for money and maximize the effectiveness of the solicitation.
Here are those 12 steps:

Make your gift first
Think about the kids (in order words, stop obsessing and thinking about the money and start thinking about why you are doing this)
Choose good prospects to solicit (aka no cold calls)
Pick-up the phone and schedule the in-person meeting
Prepare for the meeting
Talk about the kids (aka discuss the case for support)
Share your commitment
Ask the donor to “consider” a specific gift amount
After making the ask, BE QUIET
Answer questions
Schedule date/time to “follow-up” if they needed time to think about it (aka don’t leave the pledge card behind and schedule time to circle back to complete paperwork)
Express gratitude for their time and consideration

Over the last 10 years, I’ve made a lot of money working with clients on this 12-step program. LOL It might look easy, but as people always say . . . “The devil is in the details“. 😉
However, while “Hangin’ with Henry” this morning and listening to his thoughts about heart vs. head fundraising, I was reminded of something new to which I’ve recently been exposed with regards to making the ask.
Last month, I was onsite with a capital campaign client and I needed to train a group of volunteers on how to make an effective, “by the book” solicitation. Rather than reach in my toolbox for my standard training curriculum, I was allowed access to another fundraising professional’s toolbox.
While much of the process was the same, this new training incorporated some of the ideas put forth in the book “The Seven Faces of Philanthropy: A New Approach to Cultivating Major Donors” written by Russ Alan Price and Karen Maru File. In a nutshell, the book identifies and profiles seven types of major donors and offers detailed strategies on how to approach them.
The following are the seven different “types of donors” identified and profiled:

The Communitarian
Devout
Investor
Socialite
Altruist
Repayer
Dynast

I won’t give away anymore of what characterizes these seven groups or the strategies they suggest you use to approach each type of donor because I suspect the authors would like you to buy their book. 🙂 If you are in the market for good professional reading, I highly recommend this book.
So, as I listened to Henry and Joan chatter about heart vs. head fundraising this morning, I found my thoughts drifting back to the training session I facilitated last month.
Some of the volunteers around the table LOVED the “seven types of donors” wrinkle and other volunteers absolutely HATED the idea and preferred the simpler 12-step approach.
This got me thinking.
Henry said in the video that there are “heart donors” and “head donors“. He also said there are fundraising professionals who are more adept with each approach. After my experience last month, I would apply this thinking to fundraising volunteers, too.
As I get to the bottom of my cup of coffee this morning, I am left with the following questions:

Are you a heart fundraiser or head fundraiser?
After identifying which type of donor you’re dealing with, are you capturing it in your donor database or CRM?
When recruiting fundraising volunteers, are you using this “heart vs. head” lens to develop a diverse prospect list? Are you also using this lens as part of your prospect assignment exercise?

As I always say, we can all learn from each other. Please scroll down and share your thoughts and experiences (or take a crack at answering any of the aforementioned questions) in the comment box.
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

Non-profit organizes camel race to raise money for its mission

January 26, 2016 erik Fundraising

20160121_131831[1] Recently, I’ve been working with Boys & Girls Club of Watertown on a project, and a few months ago staff asked me if I wanted to schedule my January return trip around their Camel Race fundraising event. Of course my answer was “Heck yeah!” I’ve been doing resource development and non-profit work for almost two decades, and I have never seen a camel race to raise money for charity. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. So, today’s post is all about my experience, and it is an opportunity to share picture.
Spoiler alert . . . my camel won (I named her Carmen, after the somba singer dancer of Chiquita Banana fame, and you can see her pictured to the right)! 🙂
What is a camel race?
20160122_205458[1] In a nutshell, a camel race is a game of chance. It involves betting, dice rolling and moving decorated camels through a race course. Here are a few details:

Event sponsorships are sold to area businesses
While different sponsor levels come with different benefits, every sponsor is asked to decorate a camel shaped piece of plywood
Participants purchase tickets to attend the event (in addition to the camel races dinner is provided)
Before dinner, there is a social hour where attendees are asked to vote for the best decorated camel (of course people vote by placing dollars in ballot boxes in front of each camel)
There are also opportunities to purchase raffle tickets before dinner
Camels are segmented into different races (there weren’t more than six camels per race because there aren’t more than six sides to a dice) and each camel is assigned a number between one and six
Two very large fuzzy dice are rolled and the numbers rolled move the camel with the corresponding number one space forward on the race course (e.g. if a two and six are rolled then camel #2 and camel #6 each move one space)
The winner of each race competes in a championship race at the end of the evening
Event attendees place bets on which camel will win each race
There is software that determines the odds and payout ratios based upon what people bet

If you are still scratching your head and unsure of how this event works, then here is how the organization describes the event in their FAQ document:

“How does the race work? Camels will move a space along the racetrack when their assigned number is called out as a result of a throw of two really large dice. Every time your Camels number is called out, they get to move a space. First Camel to move 10 spaces wins the Race. Attendees are allowed to bet on each heat using their camel bucks.”

While this event was unique, I walked away thinking it was kind of like a cross between a casino night and Duck Race fundraising event.
For the record, I LOVED this fundraising event. I give it a big gold star for fun and creativity. 🙂
What did the camels look like?
I love how excited and creative event sponsors got with their camels. The following are a few thumbnail snapshots I took with my cell phone (there were at least 30 camels and I just don’t have the space to share all of them . . . my apologies).
20160122_171636[1] 20160122_171639[1] 20160122_171644[1]
20160122_171648[1] 20160122_171652[1] 20160122_171655[1]
20160122_171700[1] 20160122_171705[1] 20160122_171707[1]
20160122_171711[1] 20160122_171717[1] 20160122_171727[1]
20160122_171732[1] 20160122_171749[1] 20160122_171814[1]
Is a camel race the answer to ALL of your fundraising challenges?
The short answer is . . . NO.
20160122_205535[1] Special event fundraising is:

time consuming
volunteer intense
costly (e.g. it will cost your organization between 50 cents and $1.30 to raise $1.00 when you consider both direct and indirect costs)

This doesn’t mean your organization shouldn’t host a handful of (read this as one, two or possibly three) well planned and executed special events through the year. Because you should! However, it needs to be done in conjunction with a diversified resource development plan that also includes an annual campaign, private foundation grants, government funding, corporate giving, family foundation support, major gift strategy as well as periodic efforts focused on capital, endowment and special project initiatives.
For more information about developing your organization’s annual resource develop plan, here are a few links you should check out:

In addition to folding your special events into a well thought out RD Plan, your organization should always be looking at the “return on investment” (ROI) associated with your special events. Keep in mind the Association of Fundraising Professionals advocates that you keep your cost per dollar raised to under 50 cents.
Click here to access an awesome ROI measurement tool developed by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) for its local affiliates.
What is the most unique special event fundraiser you’ve ever seen? How does your organization integrate special event fundraising into its fundraising program? How reliant are you on funding that comes from your events? How do you assess ROI? Please use the comment box to share your thoughts and experiences?
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