Don't Forget to Ask for Money

This is very important: don't forget to ask for money.

Elisa Ortiz wrote a nice piece called "Forgetting what’s important"
(which was recently featured in a Nonprofit Blog Carnival).

Here is the meat:

"For a nonprofit, invariably the first thing to go is professional development and travel money followed closely by marketing/PR budgets...

"Here’s the deal: you may not have to try and attract more clients, but you sure as hell need to attract more donors and more people that can advocate for you to their friends and connections. How is a nonprofit supposed to do that when it has locked down and shut out marketing, outreach and PR efforts entirely?"

An excellent point.

This is obviously a difficult time for nonprofits. Spending a dollar on an advertising campaign is a dollar not being spent on feeding a hungry child, healing a diabetic mother, training an illiterate adult, or more.

But if you don't invest in the future of your organization, there may not be such a future. And the hungry kids, sick moms and illiterate masses depend on you to be there.

[where: 75223]

Why is Social Media Important to a Brand?

Anna Farmery wants to engage your brand...

Thus asks Anna Farmery, Speaker/Social Media Coach and author of The Engaging Brand Blog (which was recently featured in a Nonprofit Blog Carnival).

She offers 5 main reasons why social media should be part of your organization's brand strategy:

1. Social media can help bridge the gap inside a consumer's mindset of where they are now and where they want to be.
2. Social media empower consumers to be advocates for your brand.
3. Social media enable brands to communicate at all levels and to all emotions
4. Social media engage consumers in a conversation that can help brands evolve.
5. Social media -- particularly those with RSS (Really Simply Syndication) -- keep brands in their consumers lives.

Those are just summaries. Read her complete thoughts here:

http://theengagingbrand.typepad.com/the_engaging_brand_/2009/05/why-is-social-media-important-to-a-brand.html

[where: 75223]

Free online discussion tomorrow on Donor Retention

Per my Twitter feed, I will be co-leading an online chat on Donor Retention tomorrow through the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Join me!

http://tinyurl.com/cnvhx3

Retaining Your Best Donors

Tuesday, March 31, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time
As nonprofit groups grapple with the recession, many fund raisers are seeking out new supporters.

But what about those who already give? Many fund-raising experts say it is important for nonprofit groups to take extra steps to keep their best donors during difficult times.

What are some of the best ways to improve ties to donors? How much communication is too much? And what are some common pitfalls for fund raisers as they seek to strengthen bonds with supporters?

The Guests

Jeremy Gregg is vice president for development at the Center for Nonprofit Management, in Dallas. Previously he served as director of development at Central Dallas Ministries and at the Camp Fire U.S.A. Lone Star Council. He writes the Raiser's Razor, a blog for nonprofit fund raisers.

Stacy Caldwell is executive director for Dallas Social Venture Partners in Dallas. Previously, she was co-founder and communications director for the National Rural Funders Collaborative. Ms. Caldwell has also been a Texas delegate to the National Council of Nonprofits and a member of the Policy Working Group for the Texas Association for Nonprofit Organizations.

They will respond to questions and comments about these issues on Tuesday, March 31, at 12 noon, U.S. Eastern time. Readers are welcome to post questions and comments now.

[where: 75223]

Five Things You Must Do to Ensure a Second Gift : FundRaising Success

The ecstatic feeling of gift renewal!

I recently blogged about a request from Fundraising Success for your input on how to get a second gift from donors.

Here is an article that the same source recently published that offers some good answers to their own question:

Five Things You Must Do to Ensure a Second Gift

The article is quite good, so I won't post it here. As a teaser, here are the main points:

1. Prompt and thoughtful thank-you letters.
   
2. New-donor welcome kits.
   
3. Second gift appeal.
   
4. Offer your strongest renewal appeals first.
   
5. New-donor first-year anniversary campaign.
   

Read the full article here:
http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/story/story.bsp?sid=132470&var=story

[where: 75223]

Donor Cultivation Advice ... from Starbucks?!?

I love this campaign to engage customers... from Starbucks, of all companies:

http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideas/ideaList.apexp

Could you imagine if fundraisers were this proactive with soliciting the input of their donors? What would change if your donors began to feel the level of ownership over your organization's mission that the typical Starbucks junkie feels about their local coffee house?

[where: 75223]

The Seven Faces of Philanthropy

I recently heard about this book and was intrigued by the title: The Seven Faces of Philanthropy: A New Approach to Cultivating Major Donors (click for a nice review of it).

My friend Kimberly Humphries, Development Director for Irving Cares, forwarded these notes on the book to me (she credited Carole Rylander with connecting her to the book).

Let's take a look at these faces (the images are not from the book...just a few minutes on Google).

The Communitarian – Doing Good Makes Sense
If I’m going to help someone, it’s sure going to be my neighbors. We’ve got to stick together and make life for everyone here in the community just a little bit better.

The Devout – Doing Good is God’s Will
Thanks to the Almighty, I have the means to improve the lives of others. I believe God intends for me to help the deserving, those less fortunate than myself.



The Investor – Doing Good is Good Business
Giving only makes sense when everyone comes out winning. This way the positive relationships can continue to be positive and continue for a good long time. If I don’t consider the financial repercussions of giving, my charitable relationships will not be very strong for very long.


The Socialite – Doing Good is Fun
We all work together, my friends and I, to raise money for charity. When one of us decides to help a charity, that charity gets all of us. It’s a team effort.


The Repayer – Doing Good in Return
I was very successful, but I was never into giving to charity before. But after I found out someone in my family had received services from your organization, I became involved in funding organizations that help other people like my family was helped.


The Altruist – Doing Good Feels Right
For me to continue to grow as a compassionate person requires that I care. I have to care in a way that moves things forward. For me philanthropy is a process of personal development and a way to move things forward.



The Dynast – Doing Good is a Family Tradition
I never thought about it until I hit college. Charity was always what my family did. We just all grew up with discussions about it, with going to charity affairs, with people interested in issues.


Where do you see your donors faces?

[where: 75223]

Help D.C. Central Kitchen to Fight Rising Food Costs

I received this message about a matching grant to the D.C. Central Kitchen and could not resist making a donation. I encourage you to do so as well -- they have the most remarkable donor stewardship system in place, which allows you to automatically login and see how much you've given. They also making it very easy to give a gift in someone's honor.

Help Fight Rising Food Costs
Food prices are rising and thousands of low-income families are in crisis. Every day, the number of people needing a simple meal is rising, yet the organizations providing those meals are strained.

With your support we can secure an affordable supply of fresh produce from local farms, and use that product to serve nutritious meals to those in need.

Our goal of $20,000 will allow us to purchase produce for the difficult months of June and July.

Act now and help us provide meals that will nourish the community.

Double your impact!
Your gifts will be matched up to $10,000 by Clark Construction

Learn more here:
https://secure.my-websites.org/supporter/donatenow.do?n=gFRg&dfdbid=1066491

12 Easy Ways to Build Your Nonprofit’s Email List

The Nonprofit Marketing Guide recently posted 12 Easy Ways to Build Your Nonprofit’s Email List.

The details of the list are worth reading, but here is the list itself to tempt you to click:

1. Send a regular e-newsletter to your list.
   
2. Include a simple sign-up box on your website, ideally on every page, but on your homepage at a minimum.
   
3. Make changing an address very easy.
   
4. Encourage readers to forward your e-newsletter to friends
   
5. When people register for your events, tell them they will receive your e-newsletter too.
   
6. Bring a paper sign-up sheet to all of your face-to-face events and include one at your reception desk if you get a lot of in-office foot traffic.
   
7. Let supporters decide what they get.
   
8. Offer a special download.
   
9. Sponsor a contest or drawing.
   
10. Collect business cards at presentations.
    
11. Ask for email addresses on all of your forms.
    
12. Offer great content!

Read the full list here... plus a helpful nugget at the end about building trust:
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/

The Two Most Important Words in Fundraising

I have enjoyed corresponding lately with Hildy Gottlieb, founder of the Diaper Bank. She recently pointed me to one of her blogs, which I think you will enjoy:

The Sound a “Thank You” Makes

Read Hildy's blog here:
http://hildygottlieb.com/

Keep up the great work, Hildy! And keep saying "thank you"!

----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

The Gift Whisperer

Today, I had the wonderful privilege of hearing veteran fundraiser Jerold Panas deliver the keynote address at the AFP Greater Dallas Chapter's monthly luncheon. The speech followed his morning workshop session, which focused on "Making the Ask." All of this was prefaced with a powerful introduction speech by Mr. Panas during our breakfast, which began at 7:00 a.m.

Somehow, by 1:30, Dr. Panas was still smiling!

Dr. Panas has been raising funds for over forty years. He is Executive Partner of Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners as well as the founder & chairman of the board of the Institute for Charitable Giving.

Some of the key thoughts from the day:

• Language is important -- do not use the word "prospect" or "suspect" in reference to donors; use the words "probable donor" and "possible donor." Your whole perspective on them will change.
  
• Similarly, consider replacing the words "Development" and "Advancement" with "Philanthropy." Wouldn't you prefer to introduce yourself to a probable donor as the Director of Philanthropy than the Director of Development?
  
• When making calls on donors, travel in pairs (and try to bring a volunteer or client instead of another staff member).
  
• Thank your donors seven times: send a receipt from Finance, followed by a hand-written note from Development, followed by a hand-written note from program officer, followed by report from development on the impact of their gift, followed by thank you call from client, recognize them in an annual report, etc.
  
• Fundraising is more art than science. But there are some helpful formulas to determine gift range for a major gift ... such as 10-25 times their annual gift size. However, the best way to determine possible gift size is to find out what other gifts they have given.
  
• There are three basic things that motivate donors in relation to your organization: PIE -- Performance, Image and Exposure. Of these, more than 68% report that Exposure is the dominant influence... so be sure that you are getting in front of donors as often as possible. He recommended considering a one-page, front-and-back letter from CEO every 4 weeks that had a simple story in it that showed impact of your work.
  
• The day after you talk with a donor, they remember less than 1/3 of what you said but more than 2/3 of what they said. Your goal, therefore, is to get them talking.

This last point really resonated with me. One of the first things that I realized after joining the Church of Phil Cubeta was that I am not a marketer. I am not even a fundraiser. I am a liaison between a donor and an organization; I am a counselor; I am a coach; I am a pastor; I am, above all, an advocate for the donor's dreams.

I cannot talk someone into donating... at least, not into donating substantially and for a long time. I might be able to hoodwink a few fools into parting with small cash, but I cannot fake a person into a transformational gift.

This is something that only they can talk themselves into.

My job is to be there to hear them do so.

Thank you to AFP for organizing the event, and to Dr. Panas for illuminating the obvious with just the right balance of humor and passionate sincerity.

----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

The Donor-Centric Pledge

Thanks yto TexasNonProfits at TXNP.org for this article:

We, [fill in the name of your nonprofit organization here], believe…

1. That donors are essential to the success of our mission.

2. That gifts are not "cash transactions." Donors are not merely a bunch of interchangeable, easily replaceable credit cards, checkbooks and wallets.

3. That no one "owes" us a gift just because our mission is worthy.

4. That any person who chooses to become our donor has enormous potential to assist the mission.

5. That having a program for developing a relationship with that donor is how organizations tap that enormous potential.

6. That we waste that potential when donors are not promptly thanked.

7. That "lifetime value of a donor" is the best (though often overlooked) way to evaluate "return on investment" in fundraising.

8. That donors are more important than donations. Those who currently make small gifts are just as interesting to us as those who currently make large gifts.

9. That acquiring first-time donors is easy but keeping those donors is hard.

10. That many first-time gifts are no more than "impulse purchases" or "first dates."

11. That you'll have to work harder for the second gift than you did for the first.

12. That a prerequisite for above-average donor retention is a well-planned donor-centric communications program that begins with a welcome.

13. That donors want to have faith in us, and that it's our fault if they don't.

14. That donors want to make a difference in the world -- and that our mission is one of many means to that end.

15. That donors are investors. They invest in doing good. They expect their investment to prosper, or they'll invest somewhere else.

16. That we earn the donor's trust by reporting on our accomplishments and efficiency.

17. That individual donors respond to our appeals for personal reasons we can only guess at.

18. That asking a donor why she or he gave a first gift to us will likely lead to a amazingly revealing conversation.

19. That fundraising serves the donors' emotional needs as much as it serves the organization's financial needs.

20. That we are in the "feel good" business. Donors feel good when they help make the world a better place.

21. That a prime goal of fundraising communications is to satisfy basic human needs such as the donor's need to feel important and worthwhile.

22. That the donor's perspective defines what is a "major" gift.

23. That every first gift can open a door to an entirely new world for the donor, through participation in our cause.

Read the full article here:
http://www.txnp.org/articles/articles.asp?ArticleID=8754

On a related note, you can read the Donor Bill of Rights here:
http://www.afpnet.org/ka/ka-3.cfm?content_item_id=9988

----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

Green Giving

At Central Dallas Ministries, we just launched a "Green Giving Program" to promote Monthly Bank Drafts as a way to:

1. Save our donors' time;
   
2. Save us money;
   
3. Save the environment.

We launched this program after determining that monthly bank drafts were the most efficient method for donors to support us. Not only do donors switch bank accounts less often than credit cards (making it less likely for them not to fulfill their pledge), but this program also requires less overhead since our monthly credit card program includes processing charges.

In fact, the monthly bank draft program is even more cost-effective than donating by check, since that requires significantly more staff time.

Beyond that, we've also portrayed this program as an environmentally conscious effort to reduce waste: it does not require envelopes, stamps or paper (hence the "green" part of the name).

Compare the following:

One-time Check Donation by mail	One-time Credit Donation by mail	Monthly Credit Program	Monthly Bank Draft Program
Donor must fill out check every time they want to give Donor must use an envelope and stamp Receptionist has to open the envelope Accountant has to manually process check Development Officer has to manually process thank you letter Organization must pay to print and mail the receipt for each gift Executive Assistant has to drive to the bank to deposit the check	Donor must fill donation form every time they want to give Donor must use an envelope and stamp Receptionist has to open the envelope Accountant has to manually process credit charge Organization loses at least 3-5% of donation through processing charges Development Officer has to manually process thank you letter Organization must pay to print and mail the receipt for each gift	Donor only fills out donation form once No envelope or stamp necessary No staff involvement other than Development Officer processing all monthly cards in a single batch (i.e. one click) and exporting data for accounting software Organization loses at least 3-5% of donation through processing charges Only one thank you letter at the end of the year	Donor only fills out donation form once No envelope or stamp necessary No staff involvement other than Development Officer processing all monthly cards in a single batch (i.e. one click) and exporting data for accounting software No loss of funds to processing Only one thank you letter at the end of the year

Monthly donation programs -- whether through credit card or bank drafts -- are significantly more cost-effective than donating by check or by a single credit transaction. The monthly programs use significantly less paper, stamps, staff time and even fuel (i.e. driving to the bank).

Best of all, this form of "green giving" helps our organization to plan better by providing us with a more clear outline of projected revenues than a system based on praying that envelopes arrive with love offerings.

More about this program here:
http://www.centraldallasministries.org/green/index.htm

I would love to get your feedback, or to hear about how your organization is using recurring giving in its overall program.
----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

Survey question: Do you have a plan to secure 2nd gifts from new donors?

I encourage you to drop by FundRaising Success to answer this question:

Does your organization have a specific strategy in place to secure second gifts from new donors? What do you feel is its most important component?

Not in the mood to click?
To send responses/comments, e-mail: mbattistelli@napco.com. Responses should not exceed 100 words. Your ideas, insights and opinions could be published in an upcoming issue of FundRaising Success magazine.

----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

This Sunday is Mother's Day... here are 5 things NOT to buy

Moms are the ultimate donors: they gave us life.

Don't mess up your long-term donor cultivation with an inappropriate gift:

Five things you should never buy as a Mother's Day gift - Parenting on Shine
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/parenting/five-things-you-should-never-buy-as-a-mothers-day-gift-167260/


----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

I'm it, and now you are

Thanks to the Donor Power Blog for this tag:

1. Pick up the nearest book.


2. Open to page 123.


3. Find the fifth sentence.


4. Post the next three sentences.


5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

For me, the book was "The Elements of Persuasion: Use of Storytelling to Pitch Better, Sell Faster and Win More Business" by Richard Maxwell & Robert Dickman. The book has been sitting on my desk for months, having been sent to me by the publishers in the hopes that I would review it.

I still plan to do that. Honestly. I just have this problem with finishing books... I start them all. Even great ones remain unfinished. Indeed, I would say that I have started some of the greatest books in the world -- and when and if I ever finish them, I will be a better man for it. Besides, Ardath Albee already wrote a fine review here.

But back to the task at hand.

Page 123 lies within Chapter Six -- Sticky Stories: Memory, Emotions and Markets.

After skipping five full sentences, here is what I have for the next three sentences:

"We know we have, though our particular version adds the wrinkle of also not having any pants (we know, don't ask). If you have spent any time onstage -- and the stage doesn't have to be large; a seat in the corporate boardroom, or a room in which you are standing in front of a screen with a PowerPoint running behind you as you make a presentation to clients, or event an office where you are running through a well-rehearsed pitch to your boss for the raise you so richly deserve is more than large enough -- we can almost guarantee you've had some variation of it. As we mentioned in chapter 2, stage fright is a universal."

My God, that was a long three sentences...

Anyway, TAG! YOU'RE IT! Since I was not really tagged by Jeff Brooks, creative director at Merkle, for this exercise... I am just openly tagging all of you.

Come on, Phil Cubeta, I bet you're up for it.
----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

Donor Attention-Deficit Disorder? Phony Press Release Is Joke, Sort Of - New York Times

A mock press release elicits rueful laughter from the global health community, says the New York Times. I can certainly relate, having read enough of Phil Cubeta's charitably satirical blog over the past few years.

Donor Attention-Deficit Disorder? Phony Press Release Is Joke, Sort Of



----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

Welcome, CBI Attendees!

Welcome to everyone who attended my presentation at today's Community Board Institute session, "How to Build Relationships Using Electronic Communications."

If you would like a copy of the handout that I provided, click here .

If you want the actual PowerPoint that I used, either email me or ask for it in a comment below and I can send it to you via www.YouSendIt.com/

I would greatly appreciate your feedback on the session. Please comment below!

----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

10 Reasons Why Every Nonprofit Must Have a Blog

I thought that this was worth sharing:

Wild Apricot Blog : 10 Reasons Why Every Nonprofit Must Have a Blog

1. Search engine optimization


2. Expert in the Field


3. Credibility


4. Awareness


5. Negative Comments


6. Events


7. Annual Report


8. Information


• Allowing users to create


• Provide information to supporters


9. Fundraising


10. The “Heart” of the Organization

Intrigued? Read the details here.

You might also be interested in this article from the Donor Power Blog:
"How not to have a boring blog"


----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

"What's after email?"

I had the wonderful experience of hearing Matt Frazier, CEO of the Pursuant Group, give a presentation at yesterday's meeting of the Dallas Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Matt's company -- which he built as answer to the question "What's after email?" -- recently put together a video for CDM that you can watch here:

http://www.neighborstogethercdm.com/

He started his presentation by showing this amazing video, "Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us." I strongly encourage you to watch it here, or click play below.

I am definitely including this in my presentation at next week's Community Board Institute meeting. My presentation is going to be called "How to Build Relationships Using Electronic Communications." You can still register online here.



----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.

It's not about you (It's about the donor, Part III)

Let me begin this article by pointing back humorously to an exchange between me and the now-defamed Holden Karnofsky in the comments on this Give & Take blog, where Holden was ironically arguing that fundraisers should not focus so much on selling their organizations as much as they should focus on trying to help people.

(Ironic, of course, since Holden was caught astroturfing)

Anyway, this is now at least the third article that I've written on this vital idea for fundraisers to understand:

"It's not about you, it's about the donor."

I was reminded of this today when reading Katya Anderson, whose wonderful blog offers some strong advice on how you can improve your fundraising programs, particularly your communications aimed at donors:

Four Questions to Always Answer for Your Donors

1. Why me?


2. Why now?


3. What for?


4. Who says?

Cultivating Donors Online: Becoming Donor-Centric

• Use compelling human interest stories and attach them to donor experience.


• Appeal to values you know your donors have.


• Differentiate yourself and show what will happen if somebody takes action.


• You need to be good at telling your story, the story of those who you have helped and the story of those who have helped you.


• Use large and compelling imagery to connect emotionally with potential donors.


• People can't relate to gigantic numbers and impending global doom. Boil down your message to human faces and stories that people can relate to. Remember, a puppy can outperform a billion people in Africa.

----------------------------------
What do you think? Please click the COMMENTS button below.