"F" is for Fundraising

There is a lot of money out there.

Your charity has been struggling since the recession – or even before that.

Your major gift volunteers say that everyone’s “tapped out.”

Your corporate partners say it’s harder to get money from their Ontario headquarters.

But has the money really dried up? No way, my friend. Let’s peek at some gnarly numbers together…

$424 billion: The net personal wealth of people in BC. And that’s from an old CCPA study! We’re probably in the zillions by now.

$25 billion: Minister Falcon’s estimate of corporate profits in 2012.

$6 billion: Jim Pattison’s net worth last year. Canada’s third wealthiest citizen lives just up the hill, and he is one generous dude.

$9 billion: The net worth of BC’s other wealthiest peeps, all donors: the Chans, Gaglardis, Laljis, and good old Chip Wilson.

$750 million: The assets of Vancouver Foundation – one of thousands of grant-making organizations in Canada.

50%: The number of companies reporting an increase in charitable giving last year. (Okay, it was an American study, but we all know that these stats translate well north of the border!)

So how are you supposed to take advantage of all the money floating around out there? The biggest stumbling block I see to success in fundraising, especially in major gifts, is a lack of activity. Solution: Activity drives dollars, so get out there! Skip that next team meeting, pick up the phone, and start meeting with people.

–          Siobhan : )

P.S. Need some help getting that money to your charity? Please check out my consulting services on the “Sand Dollar” tab at the top of this page. And thank you for reading the blog (you are also following it, right? Right!).

Inspect your recognition levels with a critical eye!

There are two issues at play here. First, do donors really care about our recognition names/levels/circles/clubs? Does this recognition drive loyalty and gift size? And second, what can the charity actually offer for each level so that it isn’t just a made-up name with no substance?

Luckily, I’ve got some strong opinions on this!

Do donors care about the recognition level we assign them?

Yup! Although I’d say the vast majority of donors have no idea they have been grouped together in a specific way. Some organizations have even taken to using a single list, without sorting donors by giving level. This is meant to illustrate that every gift is of equal value, which of course isn’t true and I’ll bet your donors know it.

Personally, I am part of the crowd that’s proud to see how my gifts compare to others. This is basic human nature and can inspire increased giving among a community of peers. This works very well with major gifts and the corporate world in particular. At United Way for example, companies would sometimes base their gift level on where the competition appeared in the donor list.

But that’s the corporate scene. Individuals are a bit different. I believe they still like the recognition, but are trained by polite society to insist that they don’t. One exception I have seen are the six-figure philanthropists: there are some people in this group who are more likely to link giving to recognition. I think this has to do with the legacy-sized gifts they are giving. If you made a six-figure gift, you’d probably expect your name on a building, not a pen with the charity’s logo.

Unfortunately there’s no-one doing good research on this, because you’d have to test organizations with a control group of donors who get no recognition while their peers end up with their names in lights. Not cool. Otherwise, you’re just asking people to report what they’d prefer, and then you get the notorious conflict between what people say they’ll do and what they actually respond to.

What can/should the charity offer?

I had a great conversation about this over beer with a colleague recently. Her problem is common: she’s at a small charity with no naming opportunities, and one of her more generous donors is asking about recognition. Ack!

At this point, you could spend a year perfecting catchy names for your great giving level chart. (We will name them after candy! Precious metals! Famous philosophers!) Personally, I find this to be a giant time-waster if there is no concrete recognition tied to the levels in the first place. Start with what you have to offer, and play around with your charts and categories later!

Back to my colleague. Like most of us, she does not have a lot to work with. She’s got a small online community, a basic website with modest traffic, and a project-based program inappropriate for naming. What she does have is a spiffy event. So the question is: Can you recognize a donor in a way that has no link to where his funding went? For example, recognizing a project donor at an event he didn’t sponsor? And what if there are already event sponsors needing recognition space at the event? The short answer: Go for it!

Use whatever opportunities you have, whenever you have them, to recognize your highest donors. Don’t feel that the recognition perks need to match up with the gift designation. Recognition is not stewardship – it does not have to be linked to outcomes. Rather, it’s a public celebration of the donor’s generosity and a challenge to his peers and the community at large to step up.

Want to know more about what really drives our decisions? Check out this mind-blowing video, the Science of Persuasion.

–          Siobhan : )

PS. A big shout-out to Helen for working through this topic with me!

You can skip the botox.

It was in the middle of a hair-raising meeting at United Way – we were within reach of our campaign goal that year, but had hit a couple of snags and were deciding how to cope – when I glanced over at my colleague and noticed her wide eyes and expression of horror.

Our eyes met and we shook our heads to break the spell. Thus our version of Game Face was born!

Ever since, in every meeting I’m in, I try to think about the message I’m projecting with my body language and facial expression. It’s especially important for a major gifts fundraiser to keep a neutral and positive expression, even when you’re listening to a prospect say “no” to funding your project. Keeping your emotional cues smooth as butter is also key when tackling difficult issues in any meeting – with colleagues, donors, whoever.

Next time you’re in a meeting, check for the following non-verbal goofs and erase them from your own repertoire:

• The Grinch: Maybe you’re like me and inherited a botoxable furrow between the brows. Add a frown to that and you will basically look like a serial killer. I’m not saying you have to grin like a clown, but consider how negative an unsmiling face can appear.
• The Pretzel: Fingers wrapped up like you’re doing a puzzle. Shoulders stuck in your ears. Chin on the table. Relax and straighten up like your mom always said. You will look surprisingly confident!
• The Scream. You know the Munch painting, right? Watch out that your pie-hole is not dangling open while raptly listening to others. You will look like the village idiot. Mary Poppins famously said: “We are not a cod fish!”
• The Voice. No, we can’t all have David Bowie’s sexy speaking voice and divine accent, but you can clean things up a bit with one Do and one Don’t. Do keep the tone of your voice low – no shrieking eels please – and try doing phone calls standing up. For real, there’s tonnes of research on the benefits of that one! Don’t Upspeak. When you end every sentence with a questioning tone on the final word, you will sound like a five-year-old. Most people shake this off in their 20’s and never look back, but I still hear adults talking like this in the workplace. Yikes!

One added bonus of coming across more confidently is that you’ll put others at ease too. Think about that in your next donor meeting and good luck! And for more on this topic, check out this excellent article by Globe & Mail author Leah Eichler.

-Siobhan    : )

PS. Shout-outs to my Work Wife, the original Game Facer, and to Fundraiser Grrl for the great link!

Those first-timers can be tricky, especially when the point is to raise money! This topic request came from my BCIT students and includes a 9-minute videotronic option if you are too lazy to drag your eyes down this whole page.

Still with me? Good!

Uno:

Start small! For the love of all that is holy, do NOT start with a black-tie gala and $500 tickets. Unless you are George Clooney and the venue is your villa on Lake Como. (Ciao Giorgio caro!)

If want something fancy, start with a cocktail party instead of a gala. Do a walk across town instead of a walk across Canada. You can (and should) change your event scope as it matures. And don’t forget to document the event. Get testimonials, photos, demographics, and numbers. That’s how you’ll finally get sponsors interested in year two.

Due:

Use peer-to-peer fundraising if you have a system (like Artez or Convio) at your organization. This works best for sporty or challenge-y events where you can get pledges, and allows you to spread the event’s message beyond your immediate circle of people. No software in place? Then go crazy with social media and use early-bird pricing or other incentives to drive registration and ticket sales.

Tre:

Recruit some leadership volunteers. Decide on what the money maker is for your event – Sponsorship? Table sales? Auction items? – and put your best efforts into finding the right volunteer leader to head up that effort. Once found, treat that person like gold. E.g.: With the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, the most important people are the team captains who are responsible for driving team fundraising. They are revered.

Quattro:

Build a realistic budget. Do not succumb to the excited people at your planning table who optimistically squeal that “we could raise a million dollars!” There’s no way my friend. And it’s better to bring them back to earth now, than deal with crushing disappointment later. Plus, they’ll find a way to blame you for the event’s failure because you were being so negative in the first place!

Aim to break-even on your first-time fundraiser. Over-estimate expenses, build in a contingency line, and be conservative in revenues. And speaking of money, make sure you have third-party insurance and any required licences for your event (gaming, serving it right, etc.).

Cinque:

Do thorough follow-up after. SWOT your event with staff and key volunteers. Thank all attendees, volunteers and sponsors. For the latter, make sure to send a sponsorship report with photos, media statistics, demographics and numbers, along with information on when you’ll be in touch about the next opportunity. And don’t wait a year to talk to those sponsors again – call them up for their feedback right after you send the report. That is a class act.

Good luck!

–          Siobhan

Thanks 101fundraising.org!

A good major gifts fundraiser knows that an ask centers on the 5 R’s: the right person asking the right prospect for the right project, at the right time for the right amount. But many times the focus is completely on the organization, with the prospective donor becoming a kind of secondary consideration in the process. There’s a reason why.

I think of it as old-school versus new-school fundraising. In the social sector, it sometimes seems like our current best practices have been around forever. But the reality is that we used to set up solicitations in a very different way. Have a look at old versus new in this list to see if your fundraising team is practicing a modern, donor-centered approach.

The Right Solicitor

Old: Rank and superior status ruled the day. We would sometimes look for a person who was so influential and powerful that the prospect “couldn’t say no.”

New: Finding the warmest relationship is the most ethical way to go. This ensures that the donor and the solicitor understand each other well, and sets the stage for a less stressful meeting.

The Right Prospect:

Old: Linkage, ability and interest were all that mattered. Decisions on who to ask were based on this quick checklist – if the suspect hit all the criteria, he’d be added to the prospect pipeline.

New: Meet with the person and ask about his current interests. I see so many charities spending hours on researching people who would likely tell you everything you want to know if you simply took them out for a coffee. 

The Right Project:

Old: The right project was usually the one that most urgently needed funding. If the prospect was interested in a different project, or worse, one that was already funded, the solicitation would hit an impasse.

New: Quality relationship-building with the prospect should include ongoing conversations about what is important to him and to the organization. Give the prospect as many options as possible so that you don’t miss the giving opportunity that is most meaningful to him. 

The Right Time:

Old: We were prone to asking when it suited the organization most, not the donor. Has your team ever executed a “just-in-time” cultivation event right before a big campaign to line up some big asks? Have you ever been pushed by the boss to hurry up a solicitation right before the fiscal year end? It happens.

New: Ask the prospect when he wants to give. It shows incredible respect when you ask someone’s permission to solicit them in future. Do you remember when it was a best practice to book a solicitation without telling the person why you were coming? An ambush has no place in donor-centered fundraising.  

The Right Amount:

Old: Very often, the fundraising team would research the largest amount the person had given to charity and use that as their ask amount. After all, the prospect had proven his capacity and inclination to give at that level once, so wouldn’t anything less be low-balling your charity?

New: Plan the ask with the prospect in a series of meetings or other touch points. Once you have his permission to ask and have a project in mind, start working as partners to craft the proposal and the price. I have witnessed excellent examples of this where our team shared a project idea with a donor, well ahead of any solicitation, and talked to him about the range of donation needed for it. Doing this allows you to gauge the prospect’s reaction to a dollar amount and adjust accordingly. Why wait until the actual solicitation and hope for the best?

– Over and Out! Siobhan : )

Keep your report sharp!

I won’t mince words here. I lie awake at night wondering whether our corporate donors ever read a word of those boring, million-page reports we send on the impact of their gifts.

And yet there is a huge reluctance in our sector to modernize. Why can’t we do something short, sexy, and visual? Do we think it dumbs down the philanthropic intent? Are we matching the size of the report to the size of the gift?

Here’s how we could do it better.

1.  Start with a sassy executive summary. It’s a report right? And don’t use this space to re-state your mission for god’s sake! Do like this: “Thank you again for the $20,000 donation you made in May 2012. This report will illustrate how you improved the lives of 350 homeless people in Vancouver – an even bigger impact than we had originally expected.” Or something like this: “Thank you again… This report will ultimately show that the pilot project you funded did not get the results we were looking for. However, it has highlighted the need for improved research on shark cage strength and we look forward to sharing our new plan with you.”

2.  Put in some images. No iStock photos! There’s no excuse not to get your own as nearly every phone now takes decent snaps. Save the good ones in your database on the company’s account so you don’t have to search for them later. Use highlighted sidebars instead of long paragraphs. Go with colourful charts and graphs to represent numbers and statistics.

3.  Chop it. Remove your mission statement and history – they already got that info in the original proposal. Be concise and resist repeating the information in different ways throughout the report – that’s padding my friend, and it only belongs in your bike shorts.

4.  Don’t be so prosy. You’re not translating Atlas Shrugged. Use bullet points wherever you can – I heard that one straight from CSR people at both TELUS and Great-West Life. You’re welcome.

5.  Take it online. Stop printing those reports! Right away you’ve cut yourself off from being able to link to other information, from being able to embed a video, and from using sexy tools like Storify to tell your story.

Even though they’ll never have the time to tell you, your corporate funders will love this approach. This blog post is guaranteed.

–          Siobhan : )

PS. If you scroll back up to the top you can enter your email and follow the blog. Please go ahead – it’s not like I’m going to start selling Viagra on the site. And a big thank you to Karen, Nils, Henry and Jem for joining in!

Just read the blog!
(image by Enokson via compfight)

It’s that time again! Let’s look at some words that are like garlic to my fundraising vampire. Keep them out of your major gifts events, proposals and meetings and you will live forever.

1. Metrics

It’s not that I’m a big fan of words like “measurables,” but at least it sounds more straightforward than “metrics.” Metrics are the quantitative (usually) statistics that you use when asking for funding and reporting back on the impact of a donation. So why not just call them statistics? Or numbers? Or anything except “metrics?” So poncy, really.

2. Awareness-building

This phrase has long been the enemy of good fundraising, particularly with special events. You know the drill: when the event fails to raise the money it was supposed to, the fundraiser says “At least we built awareness.” Fire that fundraiser right now!

But seriously, instead of saying that your project will build awareness, describe how it will impact the problem at hand. For example, replace “Our event will build awareness about the children’s help line” with: “Our event will increase volunteer recruitment for the children’s help line.” See what happened there? Now you have something to measure.

3. Hope

Whoooooooaaaaaaaaa nelly! I hear you choking on your cappuccino right now. What’s wrong with a word like “hope?” Nothing. Unless you use it when asking for money or stating your goals. For example, instead of saying “We hope you’ll fund this critical issue,” say, “We look forward to working with you on this critical issue.” Don’t be a wuss! Come at your request with a bit of strength and confidence.

Another one: Instead of saying “We hope to cure cancer one day,” say, “With your help, we will cure cancer one day.” If you don’t believe your mission can succeed, who will?

Bingo out. See you soon!

–          Siobhan : )

PS. A shout-out to my colleagues Linda, Theresa and Alix, who NEVER use the word “metrics.”

Diagnosis? Delicious!
(image by clevercupcakes)

This one’s all about the love – donor love.

Remember my first stewardship piece covering the basics for personalized, impact-focused donor updates? Well, here’s the promised follow-up with some specific ideas you can try out back at the ranch. Our two-pronged approach is to inform and connect.

Inform them with bite-sized, sexy communications

You may need to write a full report on the gift at year’s end, but don’t wait for this boring, administrative milestone to roll around. Send some quick teasers throughout the year! I recommend a touch point every six to eight weeks.

• I have heard of donors receiving updates on coconuts (legal to mail in the continental U.S.), on Frisbees, through candy grams, etc. You get the idea: don’t be afraid to stand out. Be brief, interesting and memorable.
• Test email over mail, but don’t send out a mass update with Constant Contact or Mailchimp. Instead, sit down and type out a short (100-word) email to each individual. Reference something they told you the last time you met. Tell them ONE interesting piece of news about your cause. When I worked at the David Suzuki Foundation, I’d tell donors where David was that week and why. I’d share any direct quote I had heard from him recently – ideally, the ones that were “off the record.” Try sharing tidbits from your leaders or program staff.
• Offer exclusivity by sharing information that is not widely available – “the costumes for the new play came in yesterday and they are amazing!” – to let the donor know they are special enough to warrant insider information. Send them a link to hot news on a password-protected webpage for special donors only. Give them advance access to event tickets, announcements and new project launches.
• Use photos and videos whenever you can. A link to a YouTube video of your work in action requires no further explanation. Imagine working at the SPCA and sending your donor a video clip of a volunteer helping a batch of kittens that just arrived that day. Keep it easy and informal by using your iPhone. And don’t worry about editing it – just keep it under two minutes.
• Track all these touch points and use them as the outline for the formal stewardship report. I can tell you from personal experience that this will save you hours in preparation and writing time!

Connect them to the cause they love

You’re on your way with excellent information updates, but don’t forget the value of connecting donors directly to what you do.

This one may seem scary at first, but you can start with something easy, like asking your donor to review your case for support. Ask whether it sounds appealing. Find out what images your donor prefers. See if she understands the jargon you plan to use. That wasn’t so hard! Now think about inviting her to get involved in other ways. The more “hands-on” the better.

• Do you do advocacy? Get the donor to try out your new petition before it’s released and ask her to be the first to sign it.
• Into health? Why not invite the donor to take part in your next study on exercise habits, or to review your upcoming campaign materials around banning chemicals in beauty products?
• Are you a green charity? Put together a team of donors to pull invasive weeds in the local park or to conduct a shoreline clean-up with a picnic afterwards.
• Need help? Ask your donor to spread the word through her networks when you need volunteers for a new project.
• Need a marketing push? Get donors to provide personal testimonials for your work or to serve as guest bloggers on your website and social media channels.

As you can see, there’s something fun to suit every cause. If you’re still stumped, leave a comment below and we’ll come up with an idea together.

–        Siobhan : )

PS. Hope this floats your boat Steph!