Tag: nonprofit

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for people like Bob

volunteers

IMG_20151124_165228090[1]First, let me start by wishing you and your non-profit organizations a very Happy Thanksgiving! My plane landed at a crazy, busy O’Hare airport yesterday and now I have the luxury of three straight days at home with family and friends (and let’s not forget the turkey and trimmings . . . Mmmmmm!) Since it is Thanksgiving Day, I was going to simply re-post an old blog such as:

But after giving it a little thought over my first cup of coffee this morning, I decided to share a quick story about what happened to me on Tuesday.
I was on the road visiting clients and decided my spirits might be lifted if I did a little volunteer work. So, I rolled up my sleeves and helped serve a few hundred plates of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, and corn to children participating in an after-school program. It did my soul good and reminded me that I work with non-profit organizations for a reason.
My fellow food server was a board volunteer whose name was Bob. As we scooped the stuffing and potatoes and plated the turkey, Bob regaled me with countless stories about his volunteerism.  The following is a quick synopsis of a few noteworthy stories:

  • Bob has served on the board for . . . ummmm . . . let’s just say he has served for many decades
  • He has raised countless dollars for the organization (via special events, talking with elected officials, and simply soliciting friends in his circle of influence)
  • He has served the organization in many volunteer capacities both internally and externally (via national organization committees)
  • He helped get this organization’s first Thanksgiving dinner for its kids/members off the ground
  • He encouraged his son to volunteer for an organization with the same mission in a different state
  • He shared pearls of wisdom with me such as “Boards either have vision or they don’t” and “It doesn’t matter what type of fundraising campaign or event you choose to run because your success will be determined by who you have sitting around the table.”

Bob has cultivated a legacy of volunteerism that all of us should celebrate!
As I think back to my time on the front line as a middle manager and ultimately an executive director, I sometimes fell into the trap of lamenting things that volunteers didn’t do such as:

  • miss a committee or board meeting
  • drag their feet on soliciting prospects/donors and turning in their completed pledge cards
  • fail to do something they committed to doing

IMG_20151124_165234801[1]Bob’s gift to me this Thanksgiving (and he didn’t even know he was giving me this gift) is a reminder about how special and important volunteers are to all of our organizations in spite of our human imperfections.
Seriously, without board members or fundraising volunteers, where would we be? How could we afford to operate our business models?
As the Thanksgiving meal started winding down, the organization’s staff invited a few kids to step up to the microphone and share with a packed gymnasium full of people an answer to the following question: “What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving season?”
One child stepped up the microphone and said he was thankful for his “Xbox“. That response got lots of little kid giggles. A second child, who must have been 7-years-old, confidently stepped to the microphone and boldly said “I am thankful for my mom, my dad and my brother.” That response got a big ‘ol “Awwwww” from the crowd.
If the microphone would’ve been passed in my direction, I think I would’ve said, “I am thankful for people like Bob, who understand non-profits and get what volunteerism is all about.”
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Enjoy the food, but more importantly enjoy the fellowship. And thank you to all of the board members and volunteers for all that you do for our clients and organizations.
If this blog post has you thinking that you should invest a little more time, energy and effort in “volunteer appreciation,” then I suggest you click over to what Wild Apricot blog’s “Volunteer Appreciation Guide” and check it out. I promise that you’ll find lots of good stuff to compliment your turkey, potatoes and stuffing.   🙂
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

Get more from your prospect research and screening efforts: Part Two

Fundraising, technology

Good morning, DonorDreams readers! Tis the season, and like you I am slammed. I apologize for missing Tuesday’s post, but the day just slipped away from me. I’m very sorry. However, today’s post is the second part of the prospect/donor research and screening article from DonorSearch’s Sarah Tedesco. And it is VERY GOOD!!! Last week she wrote about screening and how it can help improve your special events. Today, she focuses in on how it can help you identify hidden planned giving prospects in your database. I hope you enjoy this morning’s post.  Here’s to your health!  ~Erik

5 Factors That Can Help You Identify a Planned Giving Prospect

When nonprofits talk about identifying a prospect’s giving capability, there is usually some variation on three points.
Capability can be evaluated based on a person’s philanthropic inclination, level of wealth, and connection to your organization.
That donor identification formula is used regularly for prospect research, and it works. Most often, organizations turn to this research when seeking out major giving candidates. But, there’s another type of donor that also deserves that level of investigation: planned giving donors.
If a nonprofit knows what to look for, it should have no problem locating planned giving prospects.

The following five factors are all identifying traits of planned giving donors.

These indicators are rooted in the above points (philanthropic interests, wealth, and tie to your organization), but have been tweaked to specifically help identify planned giving donors.

Factor One — Loyalty

loyaltyIn terms of traditional types of giving, past donations are strong indicators of future giving. That trend logically carries over to planned giving.
Leaving a planned gift is a way of securing a legacy, and those who donate such gifts are likely to want to have a legacy with an organization that they’ve had a strong connection to.
The correlation is clearly evidenced by the fact that during their lifetimes, 78% of planned giving donors contributed over 15 gifts to the organizations they allocated funds to in their wills.

Factor Two — Recipient of Your Nonprofit’s Service

clientsThis factor is in reference to those whom your organization positively affected. The range is fairly broad here. A planned gift might be left to a university by a dedicated alumnus. Similarly, a hospital might receive a planned gift from a grateful patient.
Cross reference your list of those who have benefited from your service and have also donated, and that can be the start to your search. Throw in some of the next few traits and you’re on your way to finding the perfect planned giving prospects for your organization.

Factor Three — Traditional Wealth Markers

wealthLet me start by stating in no uncertain terms that planned giving prospects do not have to be wealthy.
I repeat — planned giving prospects do not have to be wealthy.
We’ll get to that point in a moment for factor four, but for the time being, we should acknowledge that many planned giving donors are wealthy.
How do you check for these signs of wealth? Perform a wealth screening. You’ll be looking for real estate ownership, extensive political giving, stock ownership, and other similar indicators.

Factor Four — Has the Desire to Leave a Bigger Gift Than is Presently Possible

large giftFactor four encompasses the large gift loophole for planned giving donors. Although they are often comparable in size, unlike major gifts, planned gifts do not inherently require wealth.
Just because someone does not have the current expendable income that allows for large charitable gifts does not mean that the person is disinterested in giving those gifts.
Those who want a workaround for that obstacle can allocate a planned gift in their wills (also known as a bequest). That way, the funds go to the nonprofit when the donor no longer needs them.
If you want to build the kind of relationships that result in planned gifts in situations like these, your organization absolutely must have excellent stewardship. Nonprofits with successful planned giving programs follow top-notch donor retention practices.

Factor Five — Has Been an Ongoing Supporter of Your Organization

loyalty2You’ve probably noticed a theme among three of the traits listed above:
Candidates for planned giving are dedicated supporters.
Planned gifts are not left on a whim. The word planned is in the term! They come from people who have developed a bond to your cause, so you need to keep them in mind when considering prospects. Think beyond those who have made monetary gifts.
Look to:

Support of your nonprofit comes in many forms. Don’t forget that when you’re finding planned giving donors.
* * * *
Remember, when searching for planned giving prospects, it is not one, but all of these factors combined that will help you identify the best candidates. A planned giving prospect has more than one defining trait. They’re multi-dimensional donors, influenced to give because of a confluence of circumstances.
8% of individual giving comes from bequests. Ensure that your organization is receiving a part of that 8%. Now that you know the prospects you’re looking for, start seeking planned gifts.

sarahSarah Tedesco is the Executive Vice President of DonorSearch, a prospect research and wealth screening company that focuses on proven philanthropy. Sarah is responsible for managing the production and customer support department concerning client contract fulfillment, increasing retention rate and customer satisfaction. She collaborates with other team members on a variety of issues including sales, marketing and product development ideas.

Get more from your prospect research and screening efforts: Part One

Fundraising, technology

Good morning, DonorDreams readers! As many of you know, my work schedule has become challenging in recent months, and I’ve asked a number of “virtual online friends” to help me out with guest blog posts. Today’s post is from Sarah Tedesco, who is the Executive Vice President at DonorSearch. She talks about the role that donor and prospect screening can play in helping your special events raise more money. I hope you enjoy this morning’s post.  Here’s to your health!  ~Erik

 

3 Ways Prospect Research Can Help You Raise More Money from Events

Most nonprofits host at least one event annually. Even smaller nonprofits will typically make the push for one.
Cost per dollar raised (CPDR) is often the biggest factor in deciding on an event type. Smaller nonprofits with tighter budgets cannot afford to make the upfront investment for something like, say, a concert. Instead, they can opt for an event like a walk-a-thon. Each event has its merits. It comes down to individual circumstances.
Given the heavy emphasis on CPDR, nonprofits absolutely have to maximize fundraising in every aspect of the event. Prospect research is a valuable asset for such maximization.

See what a screening can do for your next event in the three benefits listed below.  

1. Teach You Valuable Information About Your Guest List

guest listSo you have your RSVP list. You know who is coming. What do you do with that information?
Hopefully, you use it! And by use it, I mean doing more than making sure you have everyone’s t-shirt size or dinner order. Both pieces of information are important for the flow and preparation of your event, but they’re not incredibly relevant to the task at hand — fundraising.
Twiddling your thumbs with a guest list in front of you is a missed opportunity. Research the attendees and learn about them before you see them.
Prospect screening can reveal so much about donors, like their:

  • Giving histories
  • Financial situations
  • Philanthropic interests
  • Business affiliations

Developing prospect profiles on all of your guests prior to the event will supercharge your staff’s ability to mix and mingle when the big night rolls around.
You might know some of the high-quality donors in attendance, but prospect research will help you round out the list. Once you know who is coming, create your VIP, very important prospect, list.
Your staff can study those individuals and make sure that they dedicate some time to stop by and check in with each VIP.

2. Point Out the Donors That Warrant Extra Post-Event Attention

follow upMuch like you can create a pre-event V.I.P. list, you can do the same after the event.
The post-event research can accomplish two tasks:

  1. Making up for the pre-event process if you didn’t perform an advance attendee screening.
  2. Finding the VIPs who weren’t on your initial list.

Your organization’s handling of event acknowledgments and follow-ups is crucial. You know this, so any information you can gather to improve the process should be welcomed with open arms. Well, open your arms to prospect research.
A high-attendance event, like a 5K, is going to have far too many participants for your staff to reach out to one-on-one afterwards. But, certain donors warrant that type of follow-up.
Consider an example scenario with a donor named Ron who attended your fundraising dinner and auction as a plus one. At the event, he ended up bidding on and winning one of your middle-of-the-pack auction items. You learned his name and various personal details through his auction win, and screened him after the fact.
Your post-event screening revealed that he’s a perfect candidate for planned giving. You now have a direction to go in after sending your acknowledgements.
Knowing what to send immediately after a contribution is easy…it’s a thank you. The next stages of building a communication stream require much more nuance and perspective. That’s when prospect research is so necessary.

3. Help You Adjust Your Event Strategies

strategic planning implementationAlbert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Insanity is a strong word, but you have to switch things up if your fundraising events aren’t bringing in enough money. That can mean adjusting the event itself or hosting an all new event. Choosing the latter option will take some effort, but there is no shortage of fundraising event ideas out there to get your mind going.
Rather than just guessing the solution to your issue, let prospect research lead you in the right direction. Have the data inform your plans.
Screen those you invited, those who RSVP’d, and those who attended. There’s going to be some overlap among those categories, but it won’t be all overlap.
Look for trends in your fundraising performance and commonalities among the various prospects you screen. To isolate the trends, you’ll need to analyze multiple years’ worth of participation.
For instance, your research could show that despite the fact that one of your events is largely populated by millennials, they’re collectively donating less than any other age group in attendance.
That could direct you to assess how you’re collecting donations. Maybe the event needs an online giving component. Maybe you need to optimize the process for mobile donating.
In another scenario, you may notice that an event you’ve hosted for five years draws a disproportionate percentage of small and mid-level gift donors as compared to major gift donors. If that event isn’t yielding enough funds, find ways to attract those missing major gift donors.
Whatever the solution you’re searching for, it starts with the data.
Attending industry conferences can also be another great source of insight into fundraising event best practices. For more information, here is a great list put together by IMPACTism of the upcoming conferences in 2016.
——
As you can see, there’s a place for prospect research in any and all phases of an event. Incorporate the screenings into your other betterment techniques and see even greater results.

sarahSarah Tedesco is the Executive Vice President of DonorSearch, a prospect research and wealth screening company that focuses on proven philanthropy. Sarah is responsible for managing the production and customer support department concerning client contract fulfillment, increasing retention rate and customer satisfaction. She collaborates with other team members on a variety of issues including sales, marketing and product development ideas.

Hangin' with Henry and talking about organizing your resource development efforts

Fundraising, Hangin' with Henry, Planning

As most of you know, the first Thursday of every month has been dedicated to featuring a short video from Henry Freeman, who is an accomplished non-profit and fundraising professional. Last month, we didn’t share one of Henry’s information videos and instead opted to highlight his recently published book–  Unlacing the Heart. (To re-visit last month’s book review, check out the post titled “A book every fundraising professional MUST read!“)
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 The Top Down Principle The Key to Organizing Your Office, Your Time, and Your Work.
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=3uW0aq2KxzE
I chose this month’s video because the last five DonorDreams blog posts all focused on how to develop a written resource development plan for your organization. Henry does a nice job of making the case for being:

  • thoughtful / mindful
  • strategic
  • tactical

I believe that today’s video puts the last few weeks of posts in context. What do you think? Please use the comment box section 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

Writing your resource development plan in steps: Final Words

Planning

planning flow chartWelcome to the fifth and final part of this ongoing series of posts on how to write your non-profit organization’s annual resource development plan. As I’ve previously mentioned, this series was inspired by how many DonorDreams blog readers were clicking on the “Time to start writing your 2015 resource development plan” post, which I wrote a year ago.
Let’s quickly recap where we’ve been in the last few weeks with this series:

Today’s post is all about tying up a few loose ends with regards to process. Enjoy!

Let’s bring this entire series of posts full circle by going back to something I said in both the first and fourth posts, which was:

“S/he who writes the plan, owns the plan. And s/he who owns the plan is the only person who will care enough to implement the plan.”

The Board of Directors
engagementPlease keep in mind that “planning” is a key role/responsibility of your non-profit board. With this in mind, the task force / committee I suggested you recruit in the first blog post does not have the authority to make your written resource development plan “the law of your non-profit kingdom”. Only the board can do so, which means they better have a seat at the planning table and participate.
Of course, the reality of the situation is that asking ALL of your board volunteers to sit down and develop a comprehensive fundraising plan is not likely going to happen. However, it might not need to if your planning process is designed appropriately.
Consider these two scenarios:

Scenario #1: The committee develops the draft resource development plan, and the board uses a planning retreat to become familiar with, discuss implementation, and take ownership of the plan

Scenario #2: As the committee completes various draft sections of the plan, those pieces are included on board meeting agendas where generative discussions are facilitated and board feedback is looped back into the committee’s revision process

Personally, I’ve seen both of these approaches work, and I suspect there are many other ways to engage board volunteers in taking ownership. If you’ve had success with another process, please scroll down and share your experiences in the comment box section of this blog.
The Strategic Plan
auto realignmentWhile most resource development plans are aligned exclusively with the organization’s annual budget, it is important not to forget about the strategic plan.
As with everything in life, ideas need money and the same is true for your strategic plan. Make sure that the strategies and tactics in your strategic plan find a place in your annual budget. This way when your annual resource development plan is aligned with revenue side of your annual budget, then everything will exist in harmony.
Another alignment consideration is to make sure the planning committee is knowledgeable of all resource development related strategies and tactics in the strategic plan. This will increase the likelihood that those items will get integrated into this planning document and take a form with more depth and detail.
Alignment isn’t just for cars. It is equally important for organizations, too.
Annual Performance Plans
performance1Just a few quick words on this subject.
As I mentioned in the previous section about strategic plan alignment, your resource development plan should also align with both your executive director fundraising professional’s annual performance plans.
If you want to increase the likelihood that your plan gets implemented, then hold someone accountable for it.
Kinda simple, don’t you think?
The only word of caution here is that the board of directors needs to understand that alignment at this level doesn’t absolve the board of their role in implementing the plan.
Think of it this way . . . staff support the board who in turn make the plan come to life.
Monitoring & Evaluation
measure1How many times have your developed a plan, adopted it, put it on your organizational bookshelf, and watched it collect dust? Unfortunately, this is all too often a common occurrence.
There are many ways to keep a plan alive and on track including:

  • reports
  • dashboards
  • scorecards
  • post-event / post-campaign critique meetings and evaluation

Before developing any of these tools, it is important to sit down and decided what are the most important things to measure.
When it comes to campaigns or events, the following are a few metrics many organizations appear to track:

  • Board solicitation phase – actual vs. goal
  • Community face-to-face solicitation phase – actual vs. goal
  • Targeted mail solicitation phase – actual vs. goal
  • New donor acquisition – actual vs. goal
  • Donor renewal – actual vs. goal
  • LYBUNT renewal – actual vs. goal
  • Individual volunteer solicitor progress – number of pledge cards assigned vs. number of worked & returned cards

With regard to your overall resource development program, the following are a few metrics I’ve seen some organizations track:

  • # of donor solicitations
  • # of cultivation calls
  • # of stewardship contacts
  • donor retention / donor turnover (e.g. LYBUNT, SYBUNT, etc)
  • goal vs actual on various revenue streams (e.g. grants, major gifts, annual campaign, special events, etc)

Phew . . . this five part blog series has come to a merciful end. Hopefully, your organization is well underway with its resource development planning efforts. 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
http://twitter.com/#!/eanderson847
http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847
http://www.linkedin.com/in/erikanderson847

Writing your resource development plan in steps: Step Four

Planning

planningWelcome to the fourth part of this ongoing series of posts on how to write your non-profit organization’s annual resource development plan. As I’ve previously mentioned, this series was inspired by how many DonorDreams blog readers were clicking on the “Time to start writing your 2015 resource development plan” post, which I wrote a year ago.
The first post in this series was titled “Writing your resource development plan in steps: Step One,” and it focused exclusively on the importance of putting the right people at the table. The second post was “Writing your resource development plan in steps: Step Two,” and addressed pre-planning activities such as evaluation and assessment. The last post — “Writing your resource development plan in steps: Step Three” — walked readers through writing a statement of fundraising purpose as well as developing both financial and non-financial goals.
Today’s post is all about the next step, which of course is about developing strategies and tactics. Enjoy!

In the previous post in this series, we talked about two different types of goals — financial goals and process goals. We will mirror that approach in today’s post in order to keep things clear.
Strategies for financial goals
checklistIdentify all of the fundraising campaigns, events, and activities you plan on doing in the upcoming year. Here are a few examples: golf outing, gala dinner & auction, direct mail, major gifts initiative, annual campaign, grant writing, etc.
For each of your events, campaigns and activities, create a worksheet that includes the following:

  • Annual goal
  • Description of leadership needs
  • Preliminary prospect list of volunteers
  • Number of donor prospects needed
  • Rough draft expense budget (if applicable)
  • Objectives that are essential to reaching the financial goal (e.g. securing five new sponsors, securing 20 new pledges, selling three new tables, securing $XXXX from the fund-a-need auction strategy, etc)
  • List of critical tasks and deadlines (e.g. first planning meeting date, signing golf course contract, recruiting key volunteer leaders, starting board campaign solicitations, completing sponsorship solicitations, taking the program book to the printer, etc)
  • Calculations at the bottom of each worksheet for total net revenue and expenses as a percentage of projected revenue (include the estimated cost of staff time)

I also suggested you include individualized range of gifts charts (ROG chart) for each of your events and campaigns (of course you wouldn’t do this for your grant writing worksheets). Our friends at Blackbaud have a nice online ROG chart calculator; however, it is sometimes better to work it out on paper in which case there is a very nice set of written instructions on how to do this over at about.com.
From a process perspective, it is important to enlist help from your committee volunteers (and possibly other volunteers who are more involved in your events and campaigns) in completing these worksheets.
Remember what we talked about in the first post of this blog series . . . “S/he who writes the plan, owns the plan. And s/he who owns the plan is the only person who will care enough to implement the plan.”
When everyone is done with their respective worksheets, ask the entire committee to review and discuss. Depending on the level of feedback, there may be additional changes to be made.
The information from each of these worksheets is copy/paste into the written resource development plan on the pages set aside for each respective event, campaign or activity.
When the time comes to start planning for an event or campaign, it makes sense to share the appropriate section of the resource development plan with the event/campaign planning committee. It will give them a starting point. In fact, you may want to share this information with volunteer prospects during recruitment meetings to help frame expectations and provide clarity around what you’re asking them to help you undertake.
After this exercise, you may need to revisit the trends/goals chart you created as part of the previous blog post and make revisions.
Strategies for non-financial goals
strategic planning implementationAs you recall from the previous post, there is a section of the resource development plan that includes process goals. These non-financial goals could focus on: new prospect acquisition; cultivation activities; donor retention & stewardship; marketing and donor communication; board member engagement; and evaluation and monitoring.
I’ve seen these sections get large and complicated. I suggest keeping it simple.
After working with your volunteers on identifying three to five process goals, staff should roll up their sleeves and re-write each goal using SMART goal verbiage. After this is accomplished, simply re-engage your volunteers in answering these simple questions for each goal:

  • What do we need to do to accomplish this goal?
  • Who needs to be involved?
  • When does each task need to be accomplished?

Take the answers to these questions, re-word them into succinct bullet points and include them under each goal.
Develop a comprehensive resource development calendar
Your organization has limited resources, which is why it’s important to create a comprehensive resource development calendar. The following is a simple example to help get you started:
RD calendar
I suggest doing this activity as a group. Make sure to include pre-activity planning time and post-activity evaluation/assessment time in your calendar.
If you end up with too many things happening in one month, then you might want to tweak your plans to avoid headaches and problems.
Well, congratulations! If you’ve done everything in all four of the blog posts in this series and massaged it together in one document, then you have a draft plan in hand. Not only was it fairly simple, but it engaged volunteers in the process, which hopefully means you’re not in this thing alone.  🙂
There are a few odds and ends that I’d like to speak to with regard to this process, and I plan on doing so in the final blog post in this series next week. Stay tuned!
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

Writing your resource development plan in steps: Step Two

Planning

As I explained at the beginning of this series of posts, one of the most often clicked blog posts in 2015 is something I wrote at the end of 2014 titled “Time to start writing your 2015 resource development plan“. With this in mind, I decided to take a deeper dive on this subject by writing a series of posts on how to go about writing your organization’s annual resource development plan.
The first post in this series was titled “Writing your resource development plan in steps: Step One,” and it focused exclusively on the importance of putting the right people at the table. Today’s post is all about the next step, which of course is about evaluation and assessment. Enjoy!

evaluation1Now that you have all of the right people sitting around the table, the next thing you want to do is engage the group in assessment activities.
Why assessment? Here are just a few good reasons:

  • You can’t decided where you’re going unless you know where you’re at
  • Your volunteers need to get a pulse on the your resource development program (think of it as orientation)
  • Identifying gaps and inefficiencies makes direction setting easier

As I mentioned in the first post of this series, my former employer — Boys & Girls Clubs of America — had developed an online software wizard (which has since been shutdown) to assist its local affiliates with writing an annual written resource development plan. This software was workbook driven and designed to help staff facilitate committee discussions and develop content to enter into the software. As you can imagine, the first two workbooks both dealt with assessment.
Workbook #1 contained 23 statements that describe various activities necessary to operate an effective resource development program. Each statement was accompanied by measurable standards, which were designed to help volunteers determine the best response rating for each quality statement. It would take too much space to copy/paste the entire workbook into this blog post; however, I will share the 23 quality statements. Hopefully, this will get you pointed in the right direction with regards to developing a self assessment tool that works for your organization and group of volunteers.
evaluation2Resource Development Quality statements

  1. Our funding is diversified and we are not overly dependent on one source of revenue.
  2. Our board has approved a written multi-year strategic plan for our organization
  3. We are ensuring our organization’s sustainability through a current and active planned giving program
  4. We conduct well-planned special events that maximize return on investment.
  5. Our board members annually donate unrestricted philanthropic gifts to the organization.
  6. Our board members are involved in face-to-face solicitations.
  7. Our board members are engaged in stewardship activities for the organization.
  8. Our board members understand their resource development roles and responsibilities
  9. The leadership for each fundraising activity (i.e., annual campaign, special event, etc.) is carefully considered to ensure the right person is selected.
  10. We have adequate staff to support all of our resource development efforts.
  11. We effectively plan for and utilize volunteers in various components of our resource development plan.
  12. We use the most cost-effective and efficient methods to raise money for the organization.
  13. We have a Resource Development Committee that coordinates a written resource development plan that is consistent with the organization’s written strategic plan.
  14. We have a compelling case statement that demonstrates the needs of clients in our community and inspires charitable giving to the organization.
  15. We have a donor database that easily generates reports and enables us to effectively manage donor relations.
  16. We have procedures (a management system) to ensure that the organization uses donations as intended by the donor.
  17. We have an ongoing, written plan to recognize donors and engage them in organizational activities.
  18. In order to preserve and enhance confidence in the organization, we provide constituencies with reports regarding the sources, uses and management of donated funds (provide stewardship).
  19. We have written gift acceptance policies and procedures to acknowledge gifts in a timely manner based on the source of gift.
  20. Our CEO and board members serve on various community boards and civic organizations to influence decisions, create awareness and advocate for the organization and issues associated with our mission.
  21. We have an up-to-date written marketing plan that clearly identifies our key message and targeted audiences.
  22. We have an adequate system for providing reports to the Resource Development Committee and the board so that they can monitor progress of the resource development plan.
  23. We regularly review our funding and donor trends.

questions2Other Questions Your Volunteers Will Want Answers To
After developing an assessment tool that addresses some or all of the aforementioned 23 quality statements, you will want to pull together data for your committee to digest. The following are just a few questions your volunteers will want to see answers to (as you have probably guessed, these questions all came from workbook two of BGCA’s software tool):

  • Is there an increase in total funding from year to year? Why?
  • Which funding stream is a strength for your organization? Why?
  • Which funding stream is a weakness for your organization? Why?
  • Which funding stream has the greatest opportunity for growth in the next 1, 2 or 3 years?
  • Does your 3-year trend for revenue streams from individuals show an increase, decline or consistent level of funding? What is the reason for the change or lack of change in this funding source?
  • Do you have a strong base of donors who give to your annual campaign?
  • Do you have an endowment program? If not, what steps would need to be taken to establish an endowment program? If so, then what steps need to be taken to actively recruit funds for your endowment?
  • Does your 3-year trend for revenue streams from corporate giving show an increase, decline or consistent level of funding? What is the reason for the change or lack of change in this funding source?
  • Does your 3-year trend for special events show an increase, decline or consistent level of funding? What is the reason for the change or lack of change in this funding source?
  • Do you collect contact information from everyone who participates in a special event? Why or why not?
  • Do you have a plan to cultivate special event attendees? Why or why not?
  • Can you reduce the number of special events you conduct and increase revenue in another funding stream that has a higher return on investment? What steps would your organization need to take in order to make this change?
  • Does your 3-year trend for private grants and foundations show an increase, decline or consistent level of funding? What is the reason for the change or lack of change in this funding source?
  • Are you receiving government funding at the city, state and federal level? If not, what strategies can you implement to gain funding?

As you can imagine, this is a lot of work. It is the staff’s job to develop the assessment tool and pull together the data to help volunteers answer these questions. It is your volunteers’ job to talk it through and do the actual assessment while sitting around the committee room table.
Cutting this corner means you will be putting your annual written resource development plan together in the dark. Remember, the old planning expression: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” In other words, assessment activities and discussions are akin to developing the map you need in order to have fruitful planning discussions down the road (e.g. visioning, goal setting, strategy development, action plan writing, etc).
A special thanks to BGCA’s Paula Mackelburg who did much of the heavy lifting on creating this awesome (albeit now defunct) planning tool. Her wisdom and vision in this area is amazing.
Next week, we will continue this discussion and talk about visioning and goal setting. Stay tuned.
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

Writing your resource development plan in steps: Step One

Planning

plan2A number of years ago, I served on an amazing team of resource development professionals at Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). Our team’s mission was to provide consulting services and tools to local affiliates to help them increase their individual giving. One of the tools the team created was an online software wizard to assist Clubs with writing their annual resource development plans. While it was an awesome tool, it wasn’t embraced or used by those on the front line.
My suspicion is that the process and online tool made this important annual planning process feel contrived and the writing was stilted. As a result, it never gained traction. Just a guess on my part, but I think I’m close to the truth. Nevertheless, it was a great idea!
I share this short story from my past because one of the most popular DonorDreams blog posts in 2015 was one I wrote at the end of last year titled “Time to start writing your 2015 resource development plan“.
With this data point in mind, my plan over the next few weeks is to break the planning process into steps to help readers of this blog with developing their organization’s 2016 written resource development plan.
And since BGCA already buried their online software wizard (and none of it was copyrighted), I plan on sharing small pieces of those workbooks throughout this series online articles. After all,  I end many of my posts with the mantra that “We can all learn from each other!” Right?

Step 1: Recruit the right people to sit around the table

volunteers2You’re busy. I get it! But it will be one of the biggest mistakes of your life if you lock yourself in your office and bang out your organization’s annual resource development plan.
Why?
Simply put . . . “S/he who writes the plan, owns the plan. And s/he who owns the plan is the only person who will care enough to implement the plan.”
Some organizations are fortunate enough to have a solid group of fundraising volunteers that constitute a resource development committee. This planning project is exactly what that committee should work on developing and getting the entire board of directors to own.
However, other organizations aren’t this fortunate and they need to assemble a task force of staff, board members, fundraising volunteers (and even donors in some instances) to assist with this project.
So, what types of people should be sitting around this table?

  • People who are passionate about your mission and your organization
  • People who are resource development minded
  • People who embrace the idea of planning (they typically don’t have attention deficit disorder)
  • People who have time to attend meetings and even do a little homework in between meetings
  • People who are collaborative and have a track record with “engaging” other people in their work
  • People who have experience with at least some part of your resource development efforts (e.g. special events, annual giving campaign, grant writing, year-end fundraising appeals, prospect cultivation, donor stewardship, planned giving, endowment, major gifts strategy, etc)

Identify these individuals. Write them down on a piece of paper (e.g. volunteer prospect list). Go recruit these people.
When recruiting these volunteers, do it the right way. Bring a written job description or committee charter with you. Why? Because when you don’t set expectations from the beginning, volunteers tend to disengage from the project relatively quickly.
One of the first questions you will be asked when recruiting these volunteers is: “How much time will this planning project take? How many meetings am I committing to? What am I committing to?”
Tackle these questions head on! Don’t waffle. Tell them the following:

  • There will be approximately four to eight meetings
  • Sometimes there will be a little work in between meetings
  • This process is staff-supported and none of it is impossible or “rocket science”
  • We will be respectful of your time
  • This project has a defined beginning and end (it isn’t an open ended commitment)
  • This plan is very important to the success of the organization, which is why we’re asking for your help

Once you assemble your team, you’ll be ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
The next blog post will focus on assessment. Stay tuned!
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
 

Culture trumps strategy? Maybe it is more of an alignment issue

Fundraising

culture1It is a basic truism for some organizational development professionals that “Culture trumps strategy“. In the last few months, this expression has been front and center in my mind. I guess the reason it bothers me is because of its implications, which is none of what I bring to the table as a non-profit and fundraising consultant matters unless the organization’s culture is ready to receive it and act upon it.
If the organization’s culture isn’t open to the change they wish to make, then the first order of business needs to be how to evolve culture in such a way that helps people embrace the impending strategies that will emanate from the desired initiative or plan.
So, does culture really trump strategy or that just a bunch of hooey? When I struggle with things, I usually Google it. So It did. And this is what I found:

Confusing? I know. But I really liked what Mike Myatt said on May 29, 2012 in his article appearing in Forbes titled “Culture vs. Strategy – What’s More Important?”

“Put simply, a corporation’s strategy that ignores, or only pays lip service to culture, will be the beneficiary of the toxic environment they deserve.”

I also liked what what I read in the Switch & Shift article when it comes to synergy between many organizational forces:

“Culture, strategy, leadership, branding, innovation, customer orientation and employee centricity must co-exist.”

I think I like this last quotation because it provides me with an idea of how organizational culture can be changed. In other words, you need to work intentionally with all of these organizational threads to weave your organization’s tapestry we call “organizational culture“. I think this idea is best fleshed out in Steve Denning’s Forbes article titled “How Do You Change An Organizational Culture“.
culture2I’ll stop Googling now. Because I think I get it now.
If your non-profit organization wants to raise money by implementing private sector philanthropy strategies, then you better have a “Culture of Philanthropy” in place first. If you don’t, then there will be a ton of resistance from every corner of your organization.
Sorry for such an egg-headed post today. I’m obviously struggling with something in my professional life and it spilled out into the blog this morning.
Do you have a good handle on your non-profit organization’s:

  • culture
  • leadership
  • strategies
  • employees
  • donors
  • clients
  • brand

If so, how do you know that you do? And more importantly, how are you aligning all of these things as your organization’s leader?
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 book every fundraising professional MUST read!

Fundraising, Hangin' with Henry

henry freeman bookI do a lot of reading as a non-profit consultant and blogger. I subscribe to other people’s blogs (e.g. Marc Pitman, Jeff Brooks, Seth Godin, etc). I subscribe to e-newsletters (e.g. Tom Ahern, Pamela Grow, etc). I allow companies like Blackbaud, DonorPath, Network for Good and Convio to send me awesome whitepapers, eBooks, etc.
I love to read. I believe you cannot thrive (let alone survive) in our industry unless you’re a lifelong learner and committed to continuous improvement and evolution. There are lots of ways to achieve this goal. I prefer to read.
So, when my friend — Henry Freeman — told me that he just published a book and wanted to sit down and talk about it, I couldn’t resist an invitation like THAT.
I won’t go into the details, but I walked away from that meeting with a suspicion that my life was about to change (or at the very least, my life was about to become clearer). After consuming Henry’s book in two short airplane rides, I am now totally convinced my life has been touched and I am different.
Here is a short excerpt from Henry’s book — Unlacing the Heart — from page 2:

“One of the most visible hats I wear is that of a fundraising consultant. As is true of most professions, a rather generic title like “fundraiser” tells you very little about who I am and what I actually do. When someone learns that I am a fundraiser, the conversation usually drifts off into a discussion of his or her work and occupation. Yet I do no see myself as a person who simply helps organizations raise money. I am a person blessed with the desire and capacity to hear people’s stories and help them build their dreams.”

I felt the same way after reading Penelope Burk’s book, Donor Centered Fundraising. However, Henry’s book added to that experience.
When I read Penelope’s book, which was full of data-facts-figures, I understood more deeply why I loved resource development and fundraising. The idea of “donor-centered fundraising” resonated with me because I never saw myself as a “solicitor of funds“. I loved the relationship building aspect of resource development and felt a sense of fulfillment when talking to people about their philanthropic passions and working with them on finding ways to make their vision a reality.
When I read Henry’s book, my epiphany was that “philanthropy” is spiritual in nature. Relationship building requires finding a sacred and vulnerable space for both the the fundraising professional and the donor. AND this isn’t a fundraising tactic. It is a human trait that good professionals who love their jobs just so happen to possess (or ultimately find inside themselves).
Here is a short excerpt from Henry’s book — Unlacing the Heart — from page 98:

“For fundraisers and members of most professions, the “hat we wear” clearly states that our presence in the room with another human being is primarily grounded in what we do to pay the bills. Indeed, few people will trust you (nor should they) if at any point you try to disown the professional role that brings you to their door and into their lives. There are, however, many opportunities to move relationships to a deeper level while still working within the boundaries framed by the professional roles we play.”

If you are someone who loves the spirituality aspects of philanthropy, then you’re going to love this book!
If you are someone who loves the relationship building aspects of resource development, then you’re going to love this book!
If you are someone who loves the storytelling nature of fundraising, then you’re going to love this book!
Philanthropy is so much more than asking people for money in an effort to sustain our non-profit institutions. Henry demonstrates that so clearly through a series of stories about:

  • his journey to El Salvador
  • his mentor relationships with Henri Nouwen and Herb Cahoon
  • his professional relationship with Margaret
  • his personal relationship with Alfredo

As I read this book, I found myself moved to tears, which is how I know Henry was unlacing my heart and helping me tap into what I love most about philanthropy and my job. I am confident that he will do the same for you.
This book is a “MUST READ” for anyone who works in our field and aspires to find meaning and fulfillment in this work.
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