Archive for the ‘Donor cultivation’ Category

One of my favorite blogs (For Impact) is talking today about making fundraising calls.

I hear so many times how excited my friends are when they manage to actually get the appointment.

In their excitement, they forget about planning the details of the visit.

I remember years ago when I was a beginning fundraiser at Duke University. I was walking down the street with the VP for Development at Duke.  He was going to accompany me on a fundraising visit.

I was pretty excited but also nervous because he was the head honcho. And I will never forget what he asked me:  “what are your goals for this visit?”

Well, I almost swallowed my tongue! I had never given it any thought! I managed to scramble and come up with some objectives to share with him, but boy – what a jolt!

Don’t let this happen to you.

Never make a fundraising call unless you determine what you want to get out of it.

If you are clear, you’ll actually be able to achieve what you want during the conversation. If you don’t know what you want to accomplish, you can pretty much be sure that you won’t accomplish it!

The For Impact blog today talked about a particular visit, and then suggested these as possible goals:

1. Qualify the prospect. (Financial capacity and interest).
2. Have her help to identify the correct players in the city to get on board.
3. Get her help in getting to some or all of those identified in number two.

A great start!

Wow is this idea a hit with board members!

Here’s the deal – what I find is that board members don’t, repeat, don’t know what to say about their cause. This may come as a surprise to smart staff members, BUT it’s TRUE!

(If you don’t believe me, then ask one of your board members what they say to people about your organization.)

I’ll bet that maybe only two or three of your board members have any sense of how they want to share the story of their favorite organization to their friends and the rest of the world.

The problem is this:

Board members think they need to be able to recite the mission statement. Or the 3 main marketing points. Or the five reasons somebody might be interested in their cause. They make it too complicated. And they make it WAAAAY to formal.

And they forget all that stuff. They can’t remember what to say when they have a chance.

And when you ask them to tell the “story,” what do they do? They stiffen up, that’s what they do.

They become all about themselves, and what they are trying to say – and not about the person they are talking to. And their energy plummets. It dries right up into a little hard ball.

Are they engaging and enthusiastic? NO – they are nervous and dry.

SO HERE’S WHAT I SAY TO BOARD MEMBERS: IT’S OK TO BLATHER -

as long as you are totally enthusiastic, engaging, passionate and speaking authentically from your heart.

If board members can just remember that their energy and passion for the cause are what will engage people, then they just might be on fire sharing their story wherever they go!

They just might be a bit incoherent because they are so excited and enthusiastic.

Sure, I prefer a board member with a smooth, well-rehearsed pitch that is exactly right. But until I have them trained well enough, in the meantime I am happy if they are sharing their excited, passionate story over and over with anyone who will listen. Even if they blather.

Because the person who hears them will understand their authenticity and their commitment.

Like the lady on “When Harry Met Sally” who overheads Meg Ryan mimicing sex at the dinner table, they’ll say “I’ll have what she’s having.”

We all know that energy is contagious. And what I want is my board members out there spreading the good news about our cause.

Happily and enthusiastially.

Even if they blather. : )

The Agitator Blog this morning has a thoughtful and poweful discussion of what “cultivation” really looks like. And they totally nail the key to developing a long term funding relationship with a foundation.

Andrew Kramer, of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program (PEP) in Houston, wrote in a long comment about his strategies for developing deep relationships with his donors.  He focuses a lot on foundations because he raises a large amount of his revenue from  these types of funders.

He says “I’ve learned that most foundations treat honesty and candid feedback about what happened as their primary form of involvement in our organization. They’ve never come to us and said that we should run our program a certain way, they just ask us to think about what happened and there is tremendous value in that since most individual donors never do that.

“Even with our foundations, the objective is never just to look at them as pools of cash for our benefit–the real value is in the fact that they require us to think about our programs and offerings, and then again that throughout the year they require us–sometimes in very thoughtful ways–to measure and assess what we’re doing.”

Now here’s a fundraiser who knows what he’s doing!

How refreshing to hear that the foundations are not being considered as just “pools of cash”  – but they also bring an added benefit to the orgaization.

How refreshing again to hear that he does not consider the reporting back to foundation funders as a drag – but instead as a benefit, because thinking deeply about outcomes, and measuring what they are doing is USEFUL!

How many organizaitons are prepared to offer frank  and candid feedback about what happened to their funders? Are you willing to be so transparent? Or do you sugarcoat things when you report back?

It’s really hard to be totally frank with a funder.

Funded projects almost always have breakdowns and challenges – that’s part of trying to change the world! And during a project, sometimes we have to change course because the landscape has changed on us.

But I have found over the years that if you go back with frank and candid feedback about the project, what you learned, what you’d do differently, what worked, what the challenges were – funders love this kind of honesty and realism.  And they will trust you when you come back to ask again.

I am such a fan of Kay Sprinkel Grace. She is one of the ultimate fundraising gurus who I have followed for a long time. The highlight of my summer was hearing her in person at the Bridge Conference in DC this summer.

So I wasted no time asking her to be a part of the 09 Year-End Fundraising Strategies Telesummit. And, as usual, she had some provocative and pithy ideas to share. (find out more. . . )

Here’s the deal: we have to know where our donors stand if we are going to successfully encourage them to contribute this year. So we need to drill down a bit into our donors’ minds and hearts and understand their attitudes so we can craft the right kind of fundraising appeal.

According to Kay ( and I do wholeheartedly agree), donors are feeling poor right now, whether they are multimillionares or not. So they are being more and more careful about their giving (and spending for that matter).

Kay thinks the economy is starting to pick up. And she is also seeing that philanthropy is picking up as well. : ) So If philanthropy is starting to pick up, then this year-end is a golden opportunity to re-gain the fundraising losses we have seen in the past year.

But we need to know how to talk to our donors.

Right now. Responding to their current attitudes for fall/winter 09.

Here’s the issue - donors are less likely to take risks now. They are becoming more conservative. Gone are the days when a person might issue 30 checks at year-end, just because they cared a lot and also because they had ample income.

Now, people are giving to fewer organizations – AND to trusted organizations.

SOOOOO how do speak to your donors NOW? Remember that credibility is essential for your fundraising now more than ever. How do you establish credibility?

Lots of ways:

• track record – here are our results
• transparency – how we are spending your money
• who is on our board (what community leaders are standing behind us and our cause?)
• 990 posted online
• professional looking web site and marketing materials
• good looking (ie, professional) fundraising appeal
• longevity – we’ve been in business all this time
• endorsements from well-known community leaders
• funding from well-known sources (publicize this because it adds credibility)

Be sure you hit all these points somewhere in your web site and in your appeal.  And you’ll be more successful if you do.

Could fundraising be as easy as picking flowers? Maybe!

I frequently tell my clients and audiences something rather revolutionary: that I’d rather have a “friend” of my organization than a donor. At first everyone is startled. Then they sit back and consider what it would mean to have “friends” rather than donors.

What will friends do for you? They will introduce new people to the cause and bring new friends on board. They will spread the word. They’ll help you in any way they can. And when the going gets tough, where are they? They are right there with you at your side.

And will your friends contribute money?

You bet they will!  They’ll even get other people to give money.

So, why don’t we just focus our fundraising on making friends?  And work towards bringing them closer and closer to our organization, so that they are as passionate about our cause as we are.

Because we know when our donors are as passionate and engaged as we are, raising money is as easy as collecting daisies in the field.

Why do I prefer friendraising?

• It’s all about passion for the cause.
• It emphasizes passion and energy; it does NOT emphasize money.
• It’s not about the money, it’s about the movement.
• It’s more natural than fundraising.
• It’s better manners:  We are treating people like real people rather than sources of money.
• It just may be much more effective than “fundraising.”
• It’s more fun!

In TOUGH times you want to make friends out of your donors.  And in GREAT times you want to  make friends out of your donors.

What would YOUR fundraising program look like if you focused on friendmaking rather than fundraising?

I had the pleasure of interviewing Simone Joyeaux, one of the great fundraising gurus of all time,  this morning for the Telesummit on Fall 09 Fundraising Strategies.

When I asked Simone to comment on the difficult giving environment for this fall, she said it was really a “wake-up call” to us. Fundraisers have been able to get away with poor fundraising practices in the past because of a booming economy and plenty of donors. But now, when donors are cutting back, our bad habits are coming home to roost.

Simone mentioned several bad habits and poor practices that are driving away donors. In fact, she noted that two out of three first-time donors DON’T make another gift!  And that we are in a “donor retention crisis” right now with so many of our current donors slipping away because of bad fundraising habits.

Did you know that it costs up to 10 times more to secure a NEW DONOR than it does to retain a CURRENT donor?  So where do you think we should be spending our time, energy and our focus?

Donors think we are treating them like “ATM machines,” says Simone. When we go to them for money, money, money, they resent it and reward us by dropping off.

Treat your donors like they are real people instead of wallets and you’ll be rewarded with donor loyalty and long term gifts.

Penelope Burk has done it again.  I am a true fan of Penelope and her Donor-Centered Fundraising - and enthusiastically quote her in just about every board retreat or presentation I make.  If you haven’t read her book yet, then you really need to get hold of it – and then get ready for a mind-blowing, revolutionary perspective that will change your fundraising forever.

In her latest blog post yesterday, she did it again! She shared  cutting edge, provocative information that transforms our perspective on an important donor segment – younger donors – who are of course our future.

In her latest research study, she noted that 69% of donors under the age of 35 are professionals, academics, owners, managers or entrepreneurs and 47% of them earn over $70k.  Now that’s a donor demographic to really pay attention to!

And she found that 62% of young donors plan to maintain or increase their giving in 2009 – more than any other age group in the study.  She discovered that “young donors are significantly more open to giving to a cause that they had never supported before, even in a severe recession.”

So read the rest of this important post, and let’s all take another look at younger donors who should be receiving much more attention from development professionals.

How long should I stay when I visit a donor? You need to be sure you don’t overstay your welcome.  Ask for only 30 or 40 minutes and GET OUT when you said you would.  It’s a great strategy because then they will be highly likely to see you again.  They will know that you will be mercifully brief.  They will know that you won’t drone on and on!

Never wait until the donor makes signs that they are finished with the visit.  Always be the first one to begin the process of ending the meeting.  You NEVER want to make someone feel like you are a drain on their time.

Use your internal radar when you are in front of a donor. Your goal is to make them feel important  and interesting.  And let me be clear – to you they are without a doubt very important and you are totally interested in what is on their mind.

When should I leave? When I am making a call or visit, my internal radar is going round and round. I am carefully watching my donor for signs of boredom or distraction.

If I sense that they are becoming tired of the visit, you better believe that I get out of there quickly. The last thing I want my donor to be is impatient or bored.  I want him to remember the visit as enjoyable and interesting.

If he remembers the visit experience as boring, then all is lost. I can’t imagine how he would ever be willing to see me again if that was his experience.

When I was Director of Development of the Kenan Flagler Business School, I called on many of our crackerjack alumni on Wall Street. Most of these guys had an attention span of about t13 ½ minutes. Of course they were wheeling and dealing in millions every minute, so their time was precious.

So  my strategy was:  Ask for 15 minutes and then get out.  And I followed that rule. Now and again I would stay longer if my donor was really enjoying herself. But I would watch her carefully for signs that she was ready to end the visit and then split quickly.

Sometimes I would deliberately leave even when someone clearly wanted to keep talking.  I figured that was insurance that they would be willing to see me again – they would know for sure that I would leave when I said I would – and that they had more to say to me so they would want to visit again.

How do I get donors to see me – sometimes they avoid scheduling an appointment. Here’s how to solve the eternal problem of prospects not being willing to see you: If they know you are an attractive, interesting, fun person who will let them do all the talking, then they will see you.

If they think you are afraid of donors, uncomfortable in social situations like this one, holding yourself small, seem scared or awkward, then they will not want to spend time with you. Would you want to spend time with you if you were like that?

I never know what really to talk about when I make these calls.  What should I do?

Development visits – the importance of having fun. Well the first thing you should remember is to make your visits pleasant and fun.  Your donors have many things to worry about these days.  Let your time with them be a nice break from business and the drudgery of life. 

Remember they are volunteers. They don’t have to be doing this – so since you are something extra to them – all the more reason for you to make sure they have a good time.

The more laughter and enjoyment on a fundraising visit, the better.  Here’s a story from the NC State Graduate School.  The Dean, Development Director and I had lunch with a major donor  who was a million dollar prospect.  It was an introductory visit and the first time I had met this person. 

Well, the donor and I got along famously.  We laughed and told stories and he had a great time.

Later I was debriefing with the Development Director.  I said to her, “this visit was fabulously successful, because he enjoyed himself so much.  Always try to be sure your prospect has as great a time as possible.  Then he will not only be willing to see you again, he will actually look forward to it.”

See if you can “get along famously” with your donors.