special event – Page 3 – The Healthy Non-Profit

Is your non-profit organization on the road to Abilene?

March 16, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, leadership, organizational development

Welcome to O.D. Fridays at DonorDreams blog. Every Friday for the foreseeable future we will be looking more closely at a recent post from John Greco’s blog called “johnponders ~ about life at work, mostly” and applying his organizational development messages to the non-profit community.

Today we’re focusing on a post that John titled “Jerry’s Trip to Abilene“. In this post, he uses Jerry Harvey’s story about one family’s ill-advised trip to Abilene, Texas to talk about a concept many people might refer to as “Groupthink“.

In John’s blog and Jerry’s story, none of the four family members really wanted to take a trip Abilene on that hot summer day in Texas. So, how did it happen? The answer is amazingly simple . . . take a self-sacrificing suggestion from one person and add it to three other people’s desire to accommodate the group and THAT is how it happens.

Ohhhhh, come on now! This happens at your non-profit agency all the time. Let me refresh your memory with this fictitious example:

The executive director explains to board members that something must be done. There isn’t enough private sector fundraising revenue being generated. If more donations aren’t secured soon, then the agency will run a budget deficit at the end of the year.

Someone speaks up and suggests the agency run a unique, new special event fundraiser that they just saw another organization run in a different community. Another person jumps on the bandwagon with a suggestion pertaining to venue, and another person jumps in with a suggestion pertaining to who should be recruited to chair the event. The last person shrugs their shoulders and makes a neutral comment about how this is the most excited they’ve seen everyone get about a fundraising idea in the last decade.

(Side note: the resource development professional has their head buried in their hands trying to choke back their tears.)

So, the event is held, the bills are paid, and it is discovered that a little bit of money was generated but not nearly enough to avoid a year-end deficit. During the post-event critique meeting, everyone seems to pile on negative comments, shake their heads and tell the group that they knew it wouldn’t work.

(Side note: the resource development professional still has their head buried in their hands trying to choke back their tears.)

What went wrong? Well, it is the same thing John Greco said in his blog, and the same thing Jerry Harvey said in his original Abilene story. (By the way, please circle back and read those links.)

So, what should you do to make sure this doesn’t happen to your non-profit organization?

Invest in diversity!

When recruiting boards and committees, make sure that you have a diversity of different kinds of people around the table. Too many non-profit organizations chase critical thinkers (aka contrarians) away because they can be “pains in the butt”. They are the people who like playing devil’s advocate, and they can be difficult especially when you’re desperately needing to build consensus. However, they certainly come in handy in situations when you can’t afford to take a trip to Abilene.

So, non-profit professionals need to be skilled at asking the right volunteers to get involved in the right conversations. Or perhaps we need to get better at facilitating constructive conflict. Or better yet non-profit professionals need to get better at leadership and applying a strong teachable point of view.

Did the fictional story about adding one more special event in an attempt to desperately raise some cash resonate? Do you have a story to share about a personal “trip to Abilene” that you or your agency might have taken? Do you have additional suggestions on how to avoid that long and hot road to Abilene? Please use the comment box below to weigh-in with your thoughts. Remember to also check out other blog posts on organizational development by John Greco at his blog johnponders ~ about life at work, mostly.

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

How to Use Social Media to Plan and Promote Special Events

February 27, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Mondays with Marissa

This past week, Erik dedicated his posts to discussing unique special events. In this, “Mondays with Marissa” post, I thought I’d continue the subject to explore some social media tools that you can use when planning and executing your upcoming event.

Google Docs

Collaborating with co-workers and volunteers is a huge part of planning an event. Google Docs makes collaboration easier. By using Google’s free suite of products teams can collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and forms. An entire team of people can be working on the same document at the same time.

Facebook

You can’t deny it, Facebook is what most people think of when they hear the words “social media”. So, how can you use it to your advantage when it comes to event planning?

Invite people – Create a public event and invite everyone that has “liked” your page. Not only will this give people the logistics of when and where the event will be held, but this Facebook function includes a “wall” where people can post updates. This allows you to create a dialog and converse with donors. It also empowers supporters to invite other people to attend the event with them.

Share photos – In the days preceding the event, post photos of decorations, raffle prizes or any other items you think would entice people to join you at the event. Furthermore, you can also encourage attendees to take photos during the event and tag your agency in the post.

Update your status – This seems like simple advice, but Facebook is only a powerful social networking tool if you use it. Don’t forget to let people know what’s going on and consistently update the status on your page.

Twitter

Twitter is a great way to get the news out quickly. Here’s a simple tip to make twitter a tool for your event:

Create a hashtag – A hashtag is found at the end of a tweet and is a phrase with a pound sign at the front of it. Why is this important? Hashtags make searching Twitter easier. (Maybe you’ve seen Jimmy Fallon play the hashtag game?) Creating a hashtag is as simple as typing, nothing special needs to happen. Twitter will just highlight the hashtag and link all tweets that contain it. By creating a hashtag for your event, you can easily see what people are saying about it. Also, if you get enough people to tweet with your hashtag, it may become a “trending topic” and show up on the twitter homepage.

Here is a thought . . . post different mission-focused factoids around the room and ask participants to “tweet” the fact (using the hastag, of course) every time they find one. The person who ends up tweeting the most number of agency facts receives a special recognition at the end of your event program.

Foursquare

Foursquare is a “check-in” based social network where users can earn points and badges by checking-in to different places. Here are some tips on how to use Foursquare for your event.

Create your own venue – create a venue within Foursquare for the site of the event. This will allow Foursquare users to check-in. Make sure you also claim ownership of the venue as well.

Leave a tip – Part of the fun of Foursquare is finding out what people are saying about places. You can leave tips for attendees such as “Check-out the wine tasting package in the silent auction . . . such a value!”

Create a badge – Foursquare users LOVE badges. You can create you own badge that people can earn just by checking in. The badge can even have your logo on it and be tailored to the event.

Specials – Business owners are allowed to create specials that give Foursquare users extra perks while checked in. Here are two ideas that could become another revenue stream for your event:

secure a sponsor that will make a donation every time a donor “checks in”.
give your supporters another entry into your raffle when they check-in on Foursquare from your event.

Whichever social media tool you choose, there a few key points to keep in mind:

Everything is public – encouraging donors to use social networking to benefit your special event increases the public knowledge of your event. This can be a great thing or a not-so-great thing. Just be prepared to monitor what people are saying and be involved in the conversation.

Learn about the event after it is over – the great thing about social media is that most of it stays out in the open for a while. Make sure you and your team look at the photos posted by attendees, read the tweets, accept new friend requests, read the foursquare tips and so on. Use all of this information when planning your next event. Post-event evaluation is a best practice, and using information secured via social media is just one more thread of data that needs to be reviewed.

Have you used social media to promote or plan your event in the past? What worked best for you? Let’s discuss in comments!

It’s a party! Non-profit special event tips and tricks

February 24, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

Welcome to non-profit special event season. At least that is the case where I live. Over the course of this last week, we’ve examined FOUR very special and unique special events. Today, we’ll end all of this “party talk” by discussing a few tips and tricks.

However, before we start, please read this quick disclaimer:

“If your agency is small (e.g. too few staff, too few board members, too few volunteers, too few donors, etc) and you need to raise some SERIOUS money, then STOP thinking about throwing a party to raise money! Remember, CharityNavigator.com studied the return on investment (ROI) question and found that the average non-profit will spend $1.33 (direct & indirect costs) to raise $1.00 using a special event vehicle.”

So, if this disclaimer describes your non-profit agency, then I urge you to round-up a small group of volunteers (e.g. those who REALLY believe in what you’re trying to do) and organize them into a group that asks their friends-neighbors-family for direct contributions. Yes, this approach is scary for a lot of people, but it is more effective and you’ll raise more money with less effort.

With that disclaimer out-of-the-way, the following are a few special event observations, tips and tricks for those of you who aren’t quite so desperate and might already have a comprehensive resource development program in place:

If you look around the table and see more staff than volunteers during the planning phase, then please STOP and go recruit more volunteers. This isn’t hard. There are so many people out there who love to plan and participate in a party (at least more so than there are people dying to work pledge cards).
Remember, special events that make crazy sums of money typically do so because of corporate sponsorship and not because a lot of people purchased tickets. Yes, you need people to attend, but make sure to focus your energy on selling sponsorships.
Speaking of sponsorships . . . make sure there is VALUE in those sponsorship packages. Remember . . . companies give you money for different reasons than individuals. So, sit down with your corporate prospects and figure out what they value. Once you figure that out, you’ll easily be able to sell them a sponsorship or craft one around their needs (e.g. marketing impressions, employee involvement, etc). The key here is talking to them in advance AND listening to them AND giving them what they want and need.
The first three letters in fundraising are F-U-N, and special events should personify this word. If you and your volunteers aren’t having a blast planning, organizing and running a special event, then you need to STOP and figure that out! There are so many ways to inject fun into your event: theme, contests, recognition, etc. However, it doesn’t happen accidentally. Non-profit and fundraising professionals set the stage with their demeanor, attitude, approach and ideas.
Infuse mission into your fundraising event. Your special event is a great opportunity to “cultivate” new prospects and “steward” existing donors. This is your moment to shine and educate. Sure, playing 18 holes of golf is fun, but if you can’t find fun and ways to talk about your mission and get people excited about what you do, then I suggest not doing the event.

I don’t have unlimited space to share an infinite number of ideas with you. So, the following links are just a few additional fundraising professionals and organizations I suggest you check-out and read as you strive for creating bigger and better special events: Joanne Fritz, Convio & Event 360, and Andrew Olsen.

If your “fundraising strategy” is predicated on using special events to bring money into your agency, then you’re heading down the wrong fundraising road. Special events don’t make you much money when it is all said and done. I’m not saying “don’t throw a party;” however, I am saying “throw a party for the right reasons.” Sure, you’ll bring some cash into your bank account (not accounting for indirect costs, of course). However, special events are very effective when there is another step (or two or three) in your resource development program that you can transition your event donors (e.g. annual campaign, mail campaign, etc).

Here’t to your health!

It’s a party! Unique non-profit special event fundraisers: Part 3

February 23, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Uncategorized

Welcome to non-profit special event season. At least that is the case where I live. So, my partner and I have been making the rounds, and I thought I’d share some of the more unique special event ideas I’ve seen throughout the week. Today, we’re talking about TWO very special and unique special events put on by the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands (Omaha, NE). Tomorrow we’ll wrap up all of this event mania with a post on how to replicate some of these unique ideas from the last few days back home at your agency.

A Chair Affair

For 10 years, the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester has built a unique special event fundraiser they call “A Chair Affair”. While I have never attended, I’ve heard lots and lots about it from staff and volunteers throughout the years. In a nut shell, local (and even not-so-local artists) decorate a wide variety of chairs, and the Club invites donors to bid on them in both silent and live auction formats. Click here to check out some of this year’s interesting selections.

As I have done the last few days with other special events, I’m going to offer my observations on what I see in a “just the facts ma’am” format:

I see a sold out event and hear lots of chatter and enthusiasm!
The Club uses technology to promote this fundraiser. It is on their agency website. The event has a stand alone website with lots and lots of information. They use Facebook to promote this as well.
There appears to be many revenue streams woven throughout this event including: sponsorship opportunities, tiered ticket sales for VIP vs general admission, and different auction formats including silent, almost-silent and live)
There appears to be a FUN theme, and this year’s theme revolves around a Masquerade Ball concept. There is unique event logo every year that matches the theme.

Please join me in congratulating this organization’s new Chief Professional Officer, Jodi Millerbernd, and her amazing event volunteers for a decade of creativity and a SELL OUT event set to go off without a hitch this Saturday!

Stock Market Challenge™

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands (Omaha, NE) runs a special event called the Stock Market Challenge™ . I will leave the explanation of this event to the Club:

“The Stock Market Challenge™ is an electric ride through the ticker tape of the stock-exchange floor! It is the most high-tech and chaotic event offered to non-profits, and is the only fundraiser that doubles as an educator for students, who will gain more insight and understanding regarding the fluctuations of the Market by participating.”

Again, here is what I see:

Not surprisingly, this Club uses technology to create a buzz and promote participation. It’s on their website. They produced a YouTube video to promote participation and give corporate sponsors marketing impressions. Knowing this Club, I’m sure they tweeted it, talked about it on Facebook, and were very innovative with their social media approach.
As with all of the events we’ve looked at this week, there appears to me multiple revenue streams tied into the event (e.g sponsorships, price of admission, etc).
There is a myriad of sponsorship levels with tiered benefits tied to marketing, room placement, and advantages in the stock market game.
The biggest and most refreshing thing I see with this event is that it is seamlessly woven into the fabric of this organization’s MISSION! Club kids are assigned to corporate teams. Kids learn about the stock market. Donors get to interact with the kids. Donors get to help teach kids a thing or two about investment.

It doesn’t get much more mission-focused that this. Congratulations to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands for amazing outside-the-box thinking on this unique special event!

So, this week I’m trying something different. Rather than spell out what I think the “lessons learned” and “best practices” (or not so best practices) are around special event fundraising, I thought I’d turn that opportunity over to you. What struck you as interesting? What takeaway lessons do you see? What best practices were used? Did anything about this event make you nervous? If you’re intimidated and don’t want to critique a fellow agency, please feel free to share best practices (or lessons learned) that your non-profit agency uses during the implementation of your events?

Please scroll down and use the comment box found below to answer any and all of the these questions.

Here’s to your health!

It’s a party! Unique non-profit special event fundraisers: Part 2

February 22, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

I must admit upfront that I’ve never seen a non-profit fundraiser quite like this one; however, a Google search reveals that this event is a little more common than you might think. Regardless, it is very hard for me to put it into words. For this reason, I thought it best to simply provide the language provided in the event program from that evening:

“The Sweetheart Auction includes a variety of activities, including a live auction for date packages. Each date package is represented by an eligible single. Bachelors and bachelorette are community volunteers who have agreed to appear in the event on behalf of The Larkin Center. Bidding is for the entire date package and can be bid on by any of our guests with a bidding paddle. Each package includes dining certificates and tickets to an entertainment venue. People appearing in the auction are representing the date package only and are not required to participate in the date package.”

On the ride back south, my partner and I talked about what we saw, and I thought you might want me to share (please note that this is just the facts ma’am):

We purchased our tickets online via the agency’s website and were redirected to PayPal. An email was sent after completing the transaction informing me that my credit card had been billed. I received my two tickets at the door upon check-in and was asked to provide whatever contact information I felt comfortable giving the agency at that time (e.g. address, phone, email).
As with most non-profit fundraising events, there were many different revenue streams associated with the event. There were sponsors with ads in the event book. There was a silent auction that complimented the actual “sweetheart (live) auction”. There was even a heads-or-tails raffle.
One free alcoholic drink was offered to those who showed up during the first hour that the doors were open.
I saw a number of paid staff in attendance and working the event (e.g. check-in, bouncer, accounts reconciliation, possibly even someone in the auction, etc)
There weren’t any pictures of kids or mission-focused factoids. However, the absence of kid pictures could probably be attributed to HIPPA laws. There might have also been a decision to downplay mission-moments due to the adult-nature of the evening.
There was a disc jockey (are they really still called that nowadays) and dancing after the auction.
There were 10 bachelorette who got up on stage and “encouraged” bidding on a variety of date packages. There were also six bachelors who did the same (albeit with more machismo and gyrating).

Those were just the facts, ma’am. So, I bet many of you are probably wondering if I did any bidding. Well, I cannot tell a lie. I did bid on two of the available Bachelors. I even won both of those bids. One beau is none other than the almost-famous Jason Pawlowski, who is the Promotions Coordinator for Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA) in Elgin, Illinois.

If you can keep a secret, I have already been in contact with Jason and plan on taking him and his boss Tonya Hudson out on a lunch date in mid-March. Shhhhh! Please don’t tell my partner and the love of my life. AS you might guess, John is the jealous type.

Ok, ok, ok . . . truth be told, I did buy Jason … errrr . . . I mean to say that I purchased the AWESOME Chicago Blackhawks game package that he represented, but the mid-March lunch date is simply my attempt to slip Jason and Tonya some of my new business materials. 😉

Please scroll down and use the comment box found below to answer any and all of the these questions.

Here’s to your health!

It’s a party! Unique non-profit special event fundraisers: Part 1

February 21, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising

This last Friday John and I climbed into our car for what we thought would be a “Thelma & Louise” moment. For those of you from outside of the Midwest, please understand that Illinois residents are not very welcome north of the border. It should go without saying that it was scary for two guys to cross that state line at night in search of a little wine and cheese. 😉

When it was all said and done, the Club ended up raising more than $100,000 that evening. We walked away slack-jawed, impressed, and with our Illinois tails between our legs. (Note: Cheeseheads call us FIBs . . . can you guess what the “F” stands for?)

I mean “come on” . . . how do you raise that much money with a little bit of wine and some cheese?

On the ride back south, John and I talked about what we saw, and I thought you might want me to share:

The event was held in a hotel in the shadow of the historic Wisconsin statehouse. I don’t know about you, but I love events staged in and around seats of power and influence. They always seem to set the stage for me.
We purchased our tickets online (just like you would for a music concert from Ticketmaster). We printed those tickets from our home computer, and the online ticketing system sent us reminder emails as we got closer to the day of event.
There were many opportunities to give your money over and over and over again. There was a special VIP reception ticket that could be purchased. There was a main event ticket. There were silent auction tables with fun little packages. There was a live auction with even bigger packages. The program book illustrated plenty of corporate sponsorship packages (of all sizes).
The media was there in force. Television cameras were filming and a local radio station provided emcee and auctioneer services. It felt like a place for important people.
Speaking of people . . . the room was packed! There might have been close to 500 people in a room that would’ve been better suited for 300 people. Before you wrinkle your nose and judge that as being bad, let me just say that the buzz and electricity that comes with being in an undersized room shouldn’t be under-estimated.
Miss Wisconsin was on site and anyone wanting their picture taken with the beauty queen was able to do so.
There were two different slide shows continuously cycling through pictures of kids and mission-focused factoids.
There was a live band in the background setting the mood and generating excitement.
The Wisconsin Attorney General showed up and briefly spoke about the importance of the Club and announced that he was giving all of the Clubs throughout the state a grant to help underwrite an internet safety program.
The U.S. Department of Education showed up and announced a huge multi-year federal grant to help underwrite educational programming and collaborations.
Various other donors periodically interrupted the wine and cheese tasting experience to share tidbits of good news and tell the packed room why they invest in the Club.

Wow! I never would’ve believed that a little wine and cheese could create so much magic. Congratulations to CEO Michael Johnson and his board on putting together such a great event!

Rather than spelling out for blog readers what I think the “lessons learned” and “best practices” are around special event fundraising, I thought I’d turn that opportunity over to you. What struck you as interesting? What takeaway lessons do you see? What best practices were used? Please also feel free to share best practices that your non-profit agency uses during the implementation of your events?

Where should you provide answers to these questions? Please scroll down and use the comment box found below.

Here’s to your health! Tomorrow, I talk about the “Sweetheart Auction” we attended on Saturday. (Oh yes I did) 😉

It’s Hip to Be Square: Accepting Donations From Your Phone

January 23, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Mondays with Marissa, resource development, technology

The other day, I received an email from the non-profit where my mom works about the auction items that would be available at their annual special event. Having worked behind the scenes at similar events in the past, one thing came to mind — payment processing. In my experience, the task requires a lot of attention to detail in order to make sure things run smoothly.

This reminded me about a podcast I listened to that mentioned how stores are now able to process payments right from their smart phones using a service called Square. Square provides a free card reader that can be attached to any IOS or Android device (through the headphone jack) to process payments from anywhere. Think about how this flexibility could revolutionize a special event or even the everyday business of a non-profit. Let’s take a look and if it’s the right fit for your organization.

The Pros:

Free Card Reader – I mean, free is good for anyone, even better if you work for a non-profit. Not only is the adapter free, but the app associated with it is free as well.
Familiar Format – Most people have a smart device of some sort and are used to using apps everyday. This prior knowledge can come in handy when it comes to training people to use Square. Furthermore, this familiarity can expand the pool of people who could use a Square card reader to accept donations.
Next Day Direct Deposit – It won’t take long to see those donations show up in the linked bank account. Money is only good, when it’s available, right? Most times after an event, it can take a few days of coordination to get credit card payments, checks and cash in order to take it to the bank. Using Square at least cuts out some of that process.
Secure – Square constantly monitors what is happening across it’s network to look for signs of fraud. Also, Square makes sure that all information in encrypted.
All Major Cards are Accepted – No need to limit payments only to Visa and Master Card. Amex and Discover are welcome here, too.
Data can be Exported – Accurate financial documents are important to the running of any business. Square allows you to have access to that data and you can run your own reports.
Allows for Multiple Users – Each device can be linked to one account so that there can be multiple people at an event. Also, if staff or volunteers have a Square reader and their phone with them out in the community while talking about your mission, a donation by a newly inspired donor can be taken right away without any waiting.
Receipts – can be emailed to donors or printed on site when using an iPad.
No signature needed for payments under $25 – In a day an age where people are donating (albeit in smaller amounts), this feature speeds up the donation process.

The Cons:

Not everyone has a smart device – sad, but true. Even in 2012.
2.75% Transaction Fee – if a $100 donation is collected, your organization will only receive $97.25 after Square collects it’s fee. Granted, you are still receiving most of the money. The fee is collected per transaction and is the same no matter which card is used to process the transaction.
Customer/Donor information is not saved – while this is for the privacy of the customer, most non-profits see this information as essential for their donor database records. One suggestion to overcome this is to give each person a unique number that is attached to their name and contact information. Each transaction made with Square can be edited before it is processed so that this number can be attached.
No Offline Payments – If your event is somewhere with no cell phone data coverage or wifi available, you will have move to your Plan B option because payments cannot be collected and uploaded later.
One Time Payments Only – if you had a donor that wanted to donate $10 a month, this could not be accomplished with Square.

I must admit . . . I am in favor of using Square for the collection of donations (besides, it’s hip to be square) . . . but in the interest of full disclosure, I should admit that I have never used the system myself nor do I have any affiliation with Square. Truth be told, I just wanted to share the system with you because I’ve seen other non-profits struggle with credit card processing (which is never a pretty sight especially at an event with donors rushing to checkout and get home) and I thought this might work for you.

Incorporating technology can make the donation experience easier and more streamlined for the donor. After all, if the donation process is easy and enjoyable, I suspect donors will be more likely will donate again! Right?

Is Square a solution you might be interested in? What has your organization done to streamline its onsite payment procedures? Please share your thoughts using the comment section below!

Strategic special events?

January 12, 2012 DonorDreams Fundraising, Planning

Back in October, I outted myself as a fundraising professional who isn’t very fond of special events when the purpose of the event is to raise money. I don’t know how many times I’ve shared the link to Charity Navigator’s 2007 Special Events Study with subscribers to this blog. I’m sure it has been too many times, but I’ve haven’t seen anything else that more convincingly makes the case that special events cost more money than they raise.

However, my position on special events does change when the objectives associated planning and hosting an event are more inclusive than: “let’s make some money.”

So, some of you might be asking: “What other objectives could there be?” Well, try some of these on for size:

Engaging new volunteers from a different social circle in your community.
Introducing yourself to a new set of prospective donors from a different social circle in your community, and cultivating new prospective donors for your individual giving annual campaign.
Stewarding existing donors by providing them an enchanted evening awash in mission-focus.
Marketing and getting your agency’s brand into the media marketplace.

I think it is great if your agency wants to run a few (e.g. one, two or three) special events as part of its annual resource development plan. However, I encourage you to ask the following questions before doing so:

How does this event support other aspects of your fundraising plan?
Who is the target audience for each of your special events? Does this event really do a good job of engaging that segment of the donor marketplace?
Are you just sending invitations out to those who attended last year? Are you just blasting invitations out to your entire donor database? Or are you thoughtfully engaging your event committee in identifying new prospective attendees who fit within the target audience parameters you’ve set?
How are you injecting “mission-focus” into each of your events so new prospective donors are getting cultivated and current donors are getting stewarded?

There is something very powerful about throwing a party focused around your agency’s mission. If it is done haphazardly and all in the name of “raising some money,” then you most likely didn’t raise the money you thought you did (read the Charity Navigator report and look at both direct and indirect costs) and you also missed an opportunity.

However, if you are strategic in your approach to special events, then I suspect you are seeing improvements in your overall fundraising program and starting to attract new donors.

Is your non-profit organization “strategic” in its approach to special events? If so, how? Please use the comment box below to answer these questions. The one or two minutes it takes for you to comment might make a huge difference in another fundraising professional’s life.

Here’s to your health!

Don’t put Dorothy on your board of directors

October 27, 2011 DonorDreams Board development, volunteers

September 15, 2008 . . . do you remember where you were and what you were doing? It was the day the world changed. It was what some people have called an “economic 9-11”. Regardless of how you characterize the day that Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and the stock market started its crash, it is hard to argue the following: 1) the economic paradigm we all used to live in shifted and 2) nothing will ever be the same again.

This week I have used characters from “The Wizard of Oz” to talk about current challenges facing the non-profit sector. Today, we will spend a moment talking about Dorothy.

Dorothy is an iconic character who has been described as a “level-headed, plucky, resourceful, determined, all-American, populist”. However, I’ve always seen her as a traditional “conservative”. Don’t believe me? Refresh your memory with this quick YouTube clip. Of course, I don’t mean this in any kind of political way, but more of the traditional meaning of “holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation”.

You cannot afford to have Dorothy on your board of directors during these tough and turbulent economic times!

Mentally take a look around your board room and see if you can identify how many Dorothy-like volunteers occupy chairs. They are kind folks (dare I say friends) who look and sound like the following:

They are frightened by the economic “tornado” whirling throughout the world. They talk about economic news constantly.
They wish for yesteryear and reminisce about times when your non-profit was facing a different set of circumstances. They fixate on making things better . . . just like they “used to be”. They’re focused on making that formerly kick-butt special event awesome again. They’re insistent that you can hold onto all of your government grants if you just tried a little harder. After all, there is no place like home.
They are visibly closed to new and innovative ideas that have not been tried. They believe ePhilanthropy is a passing fad. They won’t entertain ideas around merger, acquisition, or strategic alliances that share back office functions. After all, that is not the Kansas they so fondly remember.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting a “witch hunt” to root out these folks and fire them. Dorothy serves an important role on your board. She is that cautious voice that keeps you from getting into trouble. She will stop you from pulling the plug on your annual campaign and direct mail appeals and “going all in” on ePhilanthropy efforts. Valuable? YES! However, what happens when you have too many Dorothy-like board members? Or what if you have those well-intentioned people serving in the wrong roles (e.g. board president, annual campaign chair, strategic planning committee, etc)?

My best two pieces of advice for non-profit staff and board volunteers this morning are:

Be especially strategic and thoughtful about where you ask these people to serve in your organization. This means that you need to: a) identify who these folks are and b) have a clear understanding of which volunteer opportunities are acceptable for conservative personalities.
Focus your board development efforts over the next year on recruiting people in your community who don’t resemble Dorothy to serve on your board. This is not the time to pine for Kansas! This means your board development committee needs to double down on the “prospect identification” and “prospect evaluation” elements of the board recruitment process. Gone are the days when everyone sits around a table and tosses out names of good, kind and resourceful people. BE STRATEGIC!

I suggest that the type of people your board development committee should look for exhibit some of the following characteristics:

They don’t appear to be “personally” economically impacted by the Great Recession
Their business or line of work seems to be doing fine
They are naturally positive and have a decent outlook on the future
They seem to be open to new ideas (as evidenced in their personal and professional lives)
They are “outside-of-the-box thinkers (as evidenced in their personal and professional lives)

Remember, if you want to keep the flying monkeys away from your non-profit agency, STAY AWAY FROM DOROTHY.

OK — if you aren’t buying into my cheesy “Wizard of Oz” analogy, then please go to the library and borrow the book “Who Moved My Cheese“. You’ll thank me later.

How has your agency adapted to the new realities? Have you changed your resource development model or are you still trying to do things the old way? Do you see your board development efforts changing or focusing on different types of prospects? Please use the comment box below and weigh-in. Please remember that we can all learn from each other. In fact, it is probably the most effective way many of us learn.

Here is to your health!

If I only had a brain . . .

October 24, 2011 DonorDreams Fundraising

So, last week was an amazing week for my blog. It appears that I struck upon a topic of interest for the non-profit community when I focused on special events and how some agencies make poor decisions around return on investment (ROI) decisions and volunteer utilization. While I promised myself that I would end that discussion thread about zombies, I decided this morning over coffee to continue down “the yellow brick road” a little further by changing metaphors. It is Halloween season after all. LOL

Interestingly, approximately 97-percent of all the emails, comments and discussions last week were very supportive of the positions I staked out in the blog. However, in spite of the support I still periodically heard things like this:

Erik, I totally agree with you that non-profit leaders too often invest money and energy into special events that provide a poor ROI. We really need to do a better job. However, my agency runs this one event that has a bad ROI but we just LOVE IT. We just need to give it a little more time and it will be one of this community’s signature events. What do you think?
Erik, as a board member I am not an expert on non-profit operations and fundraising. I rely on our agency’s staff to make good decisions, and I do as I am told. I agree with everything you’ve written and would never run my business that way, but it just isn’t my call.
Erik, we knew this event wasn’t a good idea for non-profits, but what were we supposed to do? Non-profit agencies pushed us to include them in our event plans.

Again . . . let me attach this disclaimer before saying anything else. 1) Not all special events are bad. 2) Some special events can have a decent ROI. 3) There are non-monetary objectives and benefits to planning and running a special event (e.g. awareness, prospect cultivation, volunteer engagement, etc). 4) I believe all non-profit organizations should include one or two well-oiled special events in their annual written resource development plan.

With that being said, I found this iconic song from the Wizard of Oz’s Scarecrow running through my head after each of the aforementioned comments. I am not sure how you feel, but here were a few of my reactions and conclusions:

It is probably common for agency staff and board volunteers to “fall in love with” their own special event ideas. Finding perspective is not an easy thing to do with anything in life including evaluating events and resource development programs. With this in mind, I recommend that non-profits involve external people in their evaluation process. What is so wrong with recruiting local business people to volunteer for a critique meeting or evaluation session? Ask donors to participate. Heck . . . spend a few dollars and engage an external consultant to help.
The mysterious world of “non-profit” business models probably seems a bit strange to board volunteers who live in the for-profit world, but fiduciary responsibility is the same on both sides of the fence. I have a few thoughts here: 1) board volunteers must be engaged and cannot abdicate oversight and evaluation to staff, 2) while there are differences between for-profit and non-profit corporations, you should stop and think hard about something your agency is doing if you find yourself thinking “huh, I would never do that back at my shop,” 3) we don’t need zombies serving on our boards . . . we need leaders, and 4) non-profit staff really need to do a better job supporting their board development committees throughout the prospect identification, evaluation, recruitment, and orientation processes or they will get what they deserve which is a board room full of “yes men (and women)” who serve in an echo chamber.
Eeeeeek! You knew it was a “bad idea,” but you did it because they asked for it? This comment almost sent me into orbit. So, answer me this question please: would you hand an addict a crack pipe? Or even better . . . do you give your kids everything they ask for? Now, please don’t get upset. I don’t mean to say that non-profits are addicts or children, but I make these analogies to get your attention. The answer is OF COURSE NOT! If you love someone (or in this case that someone is a non-profit agency and its mission), then you don’t enable them to do harm to themselves.

I believe that donors are more than just ATMs. I believe donors are leaders and accountability agents for the non-profit organizations they support. However, non-profit CEOs and fundraising professionals need to play a major role in empowering donors and volunteers. In the movie, “the wizard” bestows a diploma upon the Scarecrow as proof that he has a brain. What can agency staff bestow upon volunteers, donors and board members that will help them suddenly realize that their thoughts and wisdom are so desperately needed as part of the process?

Non-profit staff — Do you engage donors and external volunteers in the evaluation process? What about engaging them in the planning process? Do you have any examples of where you stopped doing something or changed it because of feedback from donors?

Donors — What stops you from sharing your thoughts and opinions about questionable things you see your favorite non-profits doing? Have you ever just stopped contributing to a charity as a result of a poor business decision that you saw a non-profit undertaking?

Board members — What can agency staff do to better empower you to speak-up and engage?

Please use the comment box below to share your thoughts and opinions because we can all learn from each other.

Here is to your health!