Tag: Penelope Burk

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August 5, 2011 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising, Fundraising

Friends With Benefits?

Have you ever read a blog post that bothered you so much that you saved it in your email inbox? It happens periodically for me, and this phenomenon occurred two weeks ago with a blog post from Jeff Brooks who writes Fundraising Future Now.

So, there I was drinking my morning coffee and clicking through emails on July 27th, when I came across Jeff’s blog titled “Not all donors are seeking a deeper connection“. Since I consider myself a “disciple” of Penelope Burk (thought leader behind donor-centered fundraising ^TMand author of Donor Centered Fundraising), my first response to the blog’s headline was “WTF?” Then I clicked open the email and read this:

“We should be prepared to admit that not all donors are as absorbed in our causes as we are. Some of them — maybe most of them — just want to give and be done with it.”

Looking back on the moment, I have to laugh at myself because I was genuinely disturbed and almost had the same reaction as the person in this YouTube video. However, I composed myself and hit the button titled “Mark as Unread” and stewed about it for this long.

I’ve come to this conclusion: Sometimes the human experience allows us to get swept up into an idea so much that it becomes a truism to us (much like Penelope Burk’s idea of donor-centered fundraising ^TMhas become for many fundraising professions).

Even though I’ve come to this conclusion, I still love Penelope Burk and all of the donor research she conducts and shares. I think I’ll even remain in her camp for a little while longer. However, I think I’m going to rent the DVD of Justin Timberlake’s movie “Friends with Benefits” and do some research over the course of the next year. I am open-minded to Jeff Brooks’ hypothesis about some (possibly many) donors only loving your non-profit mission enough to toss you a contribution from time-to-time.

Until I sort through this philosophical fundraising mess, I guess I am going back to the only truism that hasn’t steered me wrong, which is:

“KNOW THY DONOR”

Are you a Penelope Burk disciple? What is your reaction to Jeff Brooks’ blog post? If you run a non-profit organization or interact with donors on a daily basis, what are your thoughts? How do you walk the fine line between donors who want to get married and those who only want to be friends with benefits?

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847

August 1, 2011 DonorDreams Uncategorized

Email is tricky. Period!

Sorry about the earlier accidental blog post. What can I say about my fat fingers and mis-clicks? LOL

Last week, I dedicated the entire week’s worth of blog posts to exploring ePhilanthropy related topics. Needless to say, I still have a few thoughts I couldn’t squeeze into last week. Today, I turn my attention to email and tomorrow I will try to wrap everything up into a nice package before moving onto new topics.

So, how do you use email and what are some challenges you’re experiencing?

For those of you who know me, you know that I tend to misuse email and sometimes send something that looks more like a novel or manafesto. The reality is that many organizations make the same mistake with their e-newsletters. I’ve seen too many e-newsletters that simply look like an electronic version of their snail-mail cousin.

What I recently learned as part of an ePhilanthropy pilot project was that your e-newsletter will be most effective if the following occurs:

Use more white space and pictures than you do words.
Design your e-newsletter so that the reader doesn’t need to use the scroll bars (at least not much).
Keep the e-newletter to two or three major stories. Make sure your donor-focused e-newsletters has stories that demonstrate your program effectiveness and community impact. Try to have a story that serves as a “call-to-action” for volunteers and donors.
Keep each story to two or three short sentences with hyperlinks that jumps them to a page on your website to read about the details.
Use an email service provider to avoid getting blacklisted by your donors’ Internet Service Providers (ISP) as a spammer. Check-out Emma or Constant Contact.

Non-profits are using email for EVERYTHING such as: prospect cultivation, donor solicitation, donor stewardship, board communications, marketing, and much more. The challenge is that the email channel’s effectiveness is degrading quicker than the snail-mail channel did. Don’t believe me? Think about the last time you opened your email inbox … was there a lot of “click, click, click … delete, delete, delete” going on? Or did you have problems downloading an html email? And what about the newest trend where we’re all reading our email on our smart phones? UGH!

And another problem non-profit organizations seem to wrestle with is the process of collecting email addresses. Penelope Burk reported in her book “Donor-Centered Fundraising” that “47-percent of non-profit do not communicate with their donors via email.” She shared that the biggest reason was not having donors’ email addresses. Click here for some great suggestions on getting better at collecting email addresses.

We all need to get better at using best practices if our organizations are going to succeed in this new ePhilanthropy environment. The trick is staying up-to-date on the ever changing best practices environment . As I said on Friday, I suggest frequently visiting Network for Good’s online learning center website. Click here to see all sorts of resources pertaining to email.

OMG … I can write an entire week about email, but I will stop here. Please jump into the discussion and share some of the best practices you find most valuable. How do you know when your organization is over-using email and what have you done about it? Are you integrating email into your marketing and fundraising efforts? If so, how? Are you using email analytics to track your open-rate and click-through rates? What are you finding? We can learn from each other!

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/eanderson847

July 13, 2011 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising

The big stewardship mistake

Oftentimes, I’ve been told by non-profit organizations that they have limited resources and cannot implement a donor-centered communication program to steward their donors. After trying hard not to roll my eyes, I find myself forcing a smile and encouraging them to segment their range of gifts (ROG) chart and get as personal as possible (e.g. handwritten notes, periodic phone calls, and a face-to-face visit or two) with their largest donors. This seems to work and it moves them in the right direction, however …

It was not the BEST advice I could have given them!

Penelope Burk says it best on page 111 of her book “Donor Centered Fundraising“:

“Which donors need the most diligent investment from you? The answer is the ones whose loyalty is not yet secure, the ones whose current affiliation with your not-for-profit may still be tenuous. And who are they? They are your first time donors, those new contributors who demonstrate the highest rate of attrition between the first gift and the next ask.”

So, if I could go back in time or hit the “do over” button, I would tell those non-profit and resource development professionals to get really personal with the top 10% or so of their ROG chart. The after taking a cleansing breath, I would double down and tell them to put together a special stewardship program for first time donors. And by special, I mean more than just the typical gift acknowledgement letter and flurry of newsletters. Here are just a few crazy ideas I’ve had:

Create a special Donor Recognition Society for first time donors with a bunch of special “courtesies”.
Host a special town hall meeting (b/c I just hate “open houses”) for first time donors to hear first hand, witness and participate in mission-oriented messages and activities. This should help them see exactly what they have invested in.
Develop a donor communications series aimed only at first time donors with testimonials from larger, very influential donors talking about their excitement about various ROI success stories and their sense of fulfillment as a donor.
Institute a policy that all first time donors get a phone call from a board volunteer somewhere between three and six months after a donor’s first contribution. This phone call should include ROI-based information as well as the offer to answer any questions the donor may have. It would also be a nice touch to ask the donor if there is any feedback they might have for the non-profit and if there is anything they might want to get involved in.
Host a quarterly focus group session with first time donors and report the results and findings back to all first time donors.

And the ideas can go on and on … what do you do to help retain first time donors? How successful have you been at retaining first time donors? Please feel free to add onto the list of ideas that I just started by using the comment section of this blog. We can all learn from each other.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1021153653

July 12, 2011 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising

Beyond newsletters

My last two blog posts have been about transitioning your boring, ineffective newsletter into something more “donor-friendly” and effective. Today, I will attempt to put a cherry on top of this “donor-centered” sundae, but talking about those things that non-profit organizations need to do IN ADDITION TO just mailing a newsletter. Again … I want to give credit where credit is due. Penelope Burk is the author of “Donor-Centered Fundraising” and she does a much more eloquent job of discussing all of this in her book.

So, after Penelope goes in-depth on her ideas on how to transform your newsletter into a donor-centered communication tool, she gently reminds us that our work is just now beginning. Briefly, here are some of her other thoughts (pages 104-108):

Use email to communicate with those donors who give you permission to do so. Talk about the IMPACT a donor’s contribution is making.
Use your website to post important information for your donors and demonstrate to the world how to be transparent and accountable. (See page 106-07 for Penelope’s website content ideas)
Visit your donors in-person and invite them to visit you and the programming in which they are investing.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been told by resource development and non-profit professionals that they are hesitant to bother their donors because they are too busy. The next time you hear this from anyone, I encourage you to share this data quote from page 107 of Penelope’s book:

“72% of study donors have been invited on-site to one or more not-for-profits they support to see their work first hand. 77% of this group said that this is appealing and that the invitation is appreciated even when they are unable to go.”

It is true that we need to be respectful of our donors’ time, but we need to balance that with being respectful of their investment.

I will end today’s blog with a “tease” … tomorrow we will talk about which donors we should focus more of our energy on? In the meantime, please use the comment box below and weigh-in with your thoughts on the following questions:

What does your non-profit organization do in addition to a newsletter to inspire donor loyalty?
What did your last donor stewardship visit look like? Were there any surprising revelations or actions that came out of the visit?
When a donor has told you that they’re too busy to meet with you or visit your program, how have you handled it and made lemonade out of lemons?

We can learn from each other … please jump into the conversation.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1021153653

July 11, 2011 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising

Donor centered newsletters Part two

On Friday, I used my blog post to start addressing a question posed by Susan Rudd from the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington in Indiana about donor-centered newsletters. Both Friday and today’s posts are based completely on the work of Penelope Burk’s book “Donor Centered Fundraising“. While I spent Friday sharing Penelope’s survey data in an effort to “make the case for change”, today I will share some thoughts (specifically from Penelope’s work) on what donor-centered newsletters look like.

On pages 99 through 103, Penelope Burk does a tremendous job of laying out her vision:

Turn the multi-page length newsletters into one-page bulletins complemented by a lengthier year-end annual report.
Sharply focus content on programmatic impact while taking great care not to turn it into a parade of yawn-inspired statistics (e.g. use success stories, client and/or donor testimonials, sporadic stats, etc. that has a “features news story feel to it”). Avoid fundraising news because donors see through it as blatant advertising. They want to know how their last contribution is making a difference not how they can make another contribution. The key here is always focus content on your organization’s “IMPACT AGENDA”.
The format of a one-page bulletin will mean there is very limited space after the masthead, a photo with cutline, list of board members, and contact info is included. So, content needs to be professional, crisp, compact and impactful.
The publication frequency can be driven by a well laid out schedule, but Penelope encourages us to be more organic and publish a one-page bulletin every time something newsworthy occurs. So, a bulletin could go out a number of months in a row and then go silent until something else of significance happens.

OK … so this might sound a little radical to some of you. It also might sound intimidating because this approach requires time, tender loving care, and professional writing skills (which many non-profits don’t have a lot of). It is for this reason, Penelope encourages those wishing to move in this direction to do the following (page 102):

“Newsletters, like all communication pieces produced by not-for-profit organizations, need to look sharp and professional but not expensive. In-house publishing software makes this entirely achievable today. The savings you can accrue through shorter production time, lower printing costs, cheaper postage, etc. can be turned back into programs and services or devoted to other communication enhancements. My choice would be to put that savings into contract writers.”

As a former writer and editor for a weekly newspaper and currently a non-profit / fundraising consultant and coach, I find it hard to argue with Penelope probably because it is in my best interest to agree with her. LOL.

With that disclosure, let me say this … I am happy to provide a free consultation to anyone investigating how to shift from boring ineffective newsletters to something more donor-centered. Who knows … you might even be able to engage my services, produce and mail your new donor-centered news bulletins for what is currently in your budget. Please contact me if you wish to talk.

So, what do you think? Does this new approach sound too radical? What are your barriers to change? Please use the comment box below and share your thoughts.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1021153653

July 8, 2011 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising

Donor centered newsletters Part One

A few days ago, Susan Rudd from the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington in Indiana emailed me and asked: “Do you have any suggestions on how to make our newsletter more donor-centered?” I promised her that I’d think about it and blog about it this week. So, I immediately cracked open my copy of Penelope Burk’s book “Donor Centered Fundraising” and started researching. As you can imagine, there are lots and lots of data points (based on Penelope’s survey data), and I’ve decided to break my response into two separate blog posts.

Today’s blog post focuses on the case for changing your non-profit’s newsletter. Monday’s post will look at specific ideas on how to change this critically important donor communication tool. I again want to thank Penelope Burk for her groundbreaking research and reiterate that none of what I am about to share with you are my original thoughts or work. Please go out and purchase a copy of “Donor Centered Fundraising” … it will change your life!

The following is a quick summary of survey data on the current state of affairs regarding non-profit newsletters (please note that these results are based upon “survey respondents” and hopefully I don’t need to go into any detail with you about the limitations of survey research):

66% of donors reported that “they don’t have time to read newsletters thoroughly”.
58% of donors said they believe non-profit newsletters are “too long”.
The average newsletter dedicates 52% of space to programs/services and 24% of space to fundraising.
99% of non-profits participating in the study produced printed newsletters and 22% also produced an e-newsletter.
Only 19% of donors reported that they were “satisfied” with the current length of the newsletters they receive.
Only one-third of donors said newsletter content is “exciting and compelling” with approximately the same number of respondents reporting that there is “too much fundraising content”.
54% of donors feel that newsletters can be improved if “more targeted information on how donations are being used” was included.
53% of donors said they are “concerned about the cost of newsletters”.

There can be no doubt after reviewing this research that there is but one conclusion — something must change if non-profits want to make the transition to a new donor-centered paradigm of resource development.

So, this is where I will leave the “cliff hanger” and ask that you take time this weekend to ponder the case for change. While digesting the facts, please ask yourself the following questions … How do my donors feel about our newsletter? Have I asked donors how they’d improve it? What have I heard? If I haven’t asked, what is stopping me from doing so? How much of our content is focused on programmatic ROI versus fundraising? How “stale” is the newsletter content by the time donors receive it in their mailbox? If you get a chance, please share some of your observations in the comment box of this blog.

Stay tuned for part two of this series when I share some possible solutions with you on Monday.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1021153653

July 5, 2011 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising

The magic of engagement

Here I was last night watching fireworks when found myself engaged in a conversation with a gentleman by the name of “Dan”. In no time, our conversation turned to non-profit organizations and philanthropy. As he ticked through a number of different organizations he has supported over the years, he ended each of those thoughts with a negative memory attached to a fundraising issue or event. Here is a list of terms he used repeatedly used:

Dreaded special events
Rubber chicken dinners
Money grubbers
Beggars

If you personally know me, then you know how enthusiastic I am about philanthropy. So, this conversation was painful to sit through. However, five minutes into our chat Dan’s tone changed completely when he started talking about a new charity in which he has recently gotten involved. The name of this non-profit organization is Year Up.

I was desperate to change the path we had been on, so I started asking questions about this particular non-profit organization. What I discovered just confirms everything I’ve learned about philanthropy over the last 15 years. In a nutshell, Dan glowed on and on about a recent “rubber chicken fundraising dinner” where participants weren’t just asked to give money, but the entire program was geared towards promoting involvement.

Creating internship opportunities for clients
Helping clients with resumes, cover letters, and their job search
Mentoring clients

While these words didn’t exactly come out of Dan’s mouth, he essentially said, “Ah ha! Finally a non-profit organization that isn’t just after my money. I am more than just a meal ticket. I am seen as a partner who is willing to roll up his sleeves and help advance the mission.” Most importantly, he had a twinkle in his eye and was obviously excited.

In my opinion, this is exactly what Penelope Burk is talking about when she writes about “donor centered fundraising”.

Isn’t it funny how many fundraising and non-profit professionals are afraid to ask donors to get involved? All I can figure is that we practice this avoidance behavior because we’re afraid donors will see us as “asking for too much” and withdraw their support completely. So, instead of letting donors make decisions about their own time and level of engagement, we oftentimes make that decision for them.

I can imagine that there are donors who might stop supporting a non-profit organization if they feel harassed. With that being said, I’m not advocating harassment tactics. So, here is my challenge to you … identify 10 current donors and schedule face-to-face visits with them sometime in the next 30 days. During your sitdown meeting, talk to them about the impact their most recent financial contribution has made and then ask each donor this simple question: “in addition to your generous financial support, is there anything else you would like to do to support the mission?” Don’t offer up your ideas and thoughts. Just like when you are soliciting a contribution, be very quiet and still after asking the question.

You might just be surprised with where the conversation leads you. You might also like what kind of fundraising and non-profit professional or volunteer you become. I bet you will find an army of people just like Dan who will roll up their sleeves and end up becoming some of your most loyal donors. And those donors who are happy remaining financial supporters and cheerleaders will likely be thrilled that you asked.

Do you know anyone like Dan? What words have they used to describe fundraising and non-profit organizations? Have they fallen in love with a particular charity? If so, what do you attribute to their change of heart? Please use the comment section of this blog to share because these stories can be so transformative for so many of us.

Sorry for today’s super long post, but I always get excited when I can relay a real life donor story to those of you who care so much about philanthropy.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1021153653

July 1, 2011 DonorDreams Donor-centered fundraising

Fundraisers are seagulls

One of my favorite books in the whole world is my autographed copy of “Donor Centered Fundraising” by Penelope Burk. As many of you know, Penelope Burk is the CEO of Cygnus Applied Research. Their survey research is some of the only work of its kind when it comes to donor retention and communications. It isn’t uncommon for me to just pull her book from my bookshelf at home and curl up and read a few chapters, which is exactly what I did yesterday.

More oftentimes than not, I find myself closing the book, shaking my head, and wondering what is wrong with us? (and by “us” I mean non-profit and resource development professionals) For example, yesterday I closed the book and started wondering “what would Emily Post — America’s foremost authority (even from the grave) on all things dealing with etiquette — think of my profession?”

If you think this is a harsh and an unfair question, please consider the following findings from Penelope Burk’s research:

71% of non-profits reported that they “communicate” with their donors by inviting them to a special event (Donor Centered Fundraising, page 52). I suspect most of these special events are fundraising events, which I believe is just more solicitation. “Thank you for your last contribution Mr. & Mrs. Smith! May we please have some more?”
94% of donors who responded to the survey said that the non-profits they support either never or hardly ever call them on the phone without asking for another contribution (Donor Centered Fundraising, page 55). “Thank you for your last contribution Mr. & Mrs. Smith! May we please have some more?”
98% of donors who responded said they either never or hardly ever personally see someone from their favorite charities without getting asked for another contribution (Donor Centered Fundraising, page 55). “Thank you for your last contribution Mr. & Mrs. Smith! May we please have some more?”

Friends, family, and countrymen … what have we become? At the risk of being over-the-top, I suggest that many non-profit and resource development folks have turned into those self-absorbed seagulls from the movie “Finding Nemo“. Check out this YouTube video clip to refresh your memory, and for this analogy think of the seagulls as fundraising professionals and Nemo as a donor.

Oh, you don’t believe me? Then please consider this … on pages 52-56, Penelope Burk rattles off the top 10 typical reasons that fundraisers provide for not doing a better job with personal stewardship-oriented communications. One of the reasons listed is: “We are overwhelmed by the numbers and feel that if we make personal contact with one donor, we will be obligated to do the same with every donor within the same period, something that might be logistically impossible.” Hmmmm, that certainly sounds like it is all about us … “MINE! MINE! MINE!” And many of the other 10 reasons on Penelope’s list sound very similar to “ME! ME! ME!”

I beg you … let’s start behaving like human beings and take a page out of Emily Post’s Book of Etiquette. I suspect that doing so will get all of us a little closer to what Penelope describes as “being donor-centered”.

Are you a seagull? Have you seen other fundraising professionals behave like seagulls? What written policies does your organization have that keeps you from behaving like a seagull? Please use the comment box to share any stories or best practices or random thoughts on this subject. We can all learn from each other!

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1021153653

June 13, 2011 DonorDreams Uncategorized

Searching for a donor-centered fundraiser

As I said on Friday, I am currently reading the book Co-Active Coaching as part of a business coaching certificate program. While digesting this text, it caused me to reflect back on Penelope Burk’s book, Donor Centered Fundraising. I think this is happening in part because when I read Penelope Burk’s book, I kept asking myself questions like “what would that look like in practice?” and “what skill sets would a donor-centered resource development professional need to possess?”.

I think some of the coaching material I’m currently reading fills in some of those blanks in my head, and I want to share those thoughts with you here today.

Chapter 5 in Co-Active Coaching talks about how one quality of a successful coach is “curiosity” and one skill set required to be curious is being able to ask powerful questions and dumb questions (which can also be quite powerful). On page 79, the authors list a few example questions:

What does what you want look (or feel) like?
What about that is important to you?
What else?
What will you do and when will you do it?

I now see the importance of limiting the number of “Yes-No” and “Why” questions because these questions can be intimidating and limit discussion. Likewise, I found myself thinking that open ended and naturally curious questions help deepen understandings and in turn deepen relationships.

If I was an executive director again and looking to hire a development professional with donor-centered fundraising skills sets, I suspect I would build a search process around finding someone with the following qualities:

listening skills
curiosity & engagement
action-oriented
life-long learner
authenticity
the ability to create accountability
connectivity & relationship building

Have you ever hired a donor-centered fundraising professional? If so, what qualities, characteristics, competencies and skill sets did they possess? What were some of the questions you used to tease these qualities out of your candidate pool? Please jump in and share.

Here is to your health!

Erik Anderson

Owner, The Healthy Non-Profit LLC

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=1021153653