Since Duke has just won the national NCAA championship, it’s time to talk about the famous rivalry between UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke.

What can smart fundraisers learn from a famous college basketball rivalry?

I STARTED my fundraising career at Duke. BUT – I attended Carolina and have two degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill (Tar Heel Blue Heaven), just 15 miles down the road from Duke.

As a Duke fundraiser, I had a bit of a tough time during basketball season cheering for Duke – as a loyal Carolina graduate!   But I mustered up  my enthusiasm, even – as a loyal Tar Heel – if my heart wasn’t completely in it!

I learned much of what I know about fundraising at Duke.

Even back then, they were a sophisticated fundraising machine. I was a Major Gifts Officer; I had a goal and I knew what my job was.

And I was just amazed at the attitude of the fundraisers at Duke:

“We are SO GREAT that you are lucky to give us money! . . . We are just terrific! . . . We are where it’s happening! . . . . You need to be on board with Duke because we are the BEST and we are going places.

No kidding. There was this sort of “go go” attitude where nothing could stop them and they were all winners.

Wow.

Then I went over to Carolina after two years in this positive, upbeat, big-time atmosphere. I was recruited to head up the fundraising program at the Kenan Flagler Business School at Chapel Hill.

I was so surprised to see the attitude about fundraising at Carolina. It was  verrrry low key – “old South” gentility.  Not brash “new money.” It was an attitude I was very familiar with – having grown up in the South.

See here in the South, you don’t want anybody to know how smart you are.

You downplay everything.  You never brag. You are “nice.”

Think Gregory Peck in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The old rumpled searsucker suit. Or if you are old enough, thing Senator Sam Ervin (D-NC) at the historic Watergate hearings in 1970. They were both brilliant men but they cloaked their abilities in a slower, southern style that often misled people to think they were not so smart.

Anyway, which university do you think raised the most money? DUKE of course!

Here’s the lesson for smart fundraisers:  People want to give to a “go -go” organization. They want to be part of a wildly successful enterprise run by smart capable people!

You have to TELL people what a terrific job you are doing. You have to SHARE success stories.

Remember donors will never give to a sinking ship. But they will give to a ship that has its sails unfurled heading off to conquer new worlds.

(By the way, Carolina quickly wised up and changed its fundraising approach!)

I am reading my favorite blog today, the Agitator. The authors Roger Craver and Tom are “direct response” guru’s (remember it used to be called “direct mail?” Now it’s much more sophisticated direct response.)

They are citing an article by Denny Hatch about the best way to write “marketing copy.” That’s the technical term for the wording we use when we write appeals, brochures, email broadcasts and our fundraising materials.

Denny is apparently an old pro at marketing and copywriting. He says that we need to be sure to do the following things:

1. Set a deadline that will create urgency. By WHEN do we need to hear from you? Now we all know that you really have a terrible time raising money if you don’t have some sort of deadline.

You have to give people a reason for acting NOW. Write that check NOW. Put it in the mail NOW. Because we have to act quickly … (you know how to complete this sentence, right?)

2. But choose your deadline carefully. If you leave it out too long in the future, the  need to act now dissipates. But if it is too close, you are at the mercy of mailing schedules that might go wrong and ruin everything.

3. Use emotional hot buttons. If you appeal to these powerful, motivating emotions, you’ll have the most success. These hot buttons are called “key copy drivers” — because they are so powerful they can change behavior.

When you insert them into your effort, the more powerful your argument. Those copy drivers are: fear – greed – guilt – anger – exclusivity – salvation – flattery.

So how do you flatter your donors?

Tell them how smart and wonderful they are and how they’re so helpful, kind and caring.

I’ve seen lots of fundraising material that appealed to anger and guilt. Haven’t you?  Not so sure about using greed or fear here.

But don’t forget that it is POWERFUL emotions that will get attention and create action – and funds to help your cause.

Let us all be thankful at the outpouring of generosity from donors in response to Haiti’s crisis. The people of Haiti need and deserve our help.

From my standpoint also, I am looking carefully at the fundraising and donation techniques that are being used to raise (or collect) these funds.  What’s particularly amazing is the number and quantity of donations by text.

The Red Cross’s texting campaign is making history.

Apparently they now have over two million donors who have made $10 gifts to the Red Cross Haiti relief effort. Of course the real question is whether these donors will become repeat givers. And that depends on whether the Red Cross is able to establish real communication with them, and convey the ultimate impact their gifts made on the ground in Haiti.

And in a way, this is really “gift receiving” and not “fundraising” because it’s an outpouring of gifts that are not necessarily being solicited. BTW, the Agitator blog has a great entry today about the difference between “gift receiving” and “fundraising.”

Will there be followup?

The true test of all this gift collecting and/or fundraising is in the followup to donors.  Studies show that donors who give on line are less likely to renew their support than those who gave via check in the mail.

Will recipient organizations be able to convert one-time donors over to a longer-term relationship? How will they handle thank you’s?  How will they go forward communicating with donors?

I’ll be looking at renewal rates on these gifts to see what happens after that first gift.

Why do you need a tagline?

It is your best chance to zap someone with a strong, clear, concise comment about your impact in the world. (And remember, of course, we are always taking about our impact, not “what we do.”)

I love taglines. I always tell my clients and nonprofit friends that they need a really great tagline, if they don’t have one already.

There’s been lots of talk lately about Getting Attention blogger Nancy Schwartz, who announced the 2009 winners of her annual “Nonprofit Taglines Awards” competition in late October. She had more than 4,800 nonprofit professionals to vote on sixty finalists from 1,702 entries.

Says Nancy: “The awards program is designed to encourage nonprofits to effectively use taglines, a high-impact, low-cost marketing tactic often overlooked or under-emphasized by nonprofits. A nonprofit’s tagline is hands down the briefest, easiest and most effective way to communicate your organization’s identity.”

Here the 2009 winners – and I am quoting directly from her blog post on this – PLEASE check out her writings – she is incredible!

Arts & Culture: Big Sky. Big Land. Big History. — Montana Historical Society
The Montana Historical Society takes its state’s most elemental and distinctive characteristics (Big Sky, Big Land ) and deftly melds them with its mission in a way that generates excitement. The result is a tagline with punch and focus. And a big hit with voters.

Associations: Building community deep in the hearts of Texans —TexasNonprofits
TexasNonprofits’ tagline tweaks the title of an iconic American popular song from the 1940s and brilliantly connects it to the spirit, passion and mission of the state’s citizenry. A great example of how word play works in a tagline.

Civic Benefit: Holding Power Accountable — Common Cause
Common Cause’s tagline leaves no doubt about the organization’s mission, unique value and commitment. It’s definitive, with a powerful economy of words. An excellent example of the tagline clarifying the nonprofit’s focus, when the organization’s name alone doesn’t do so.

Education: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste® — UNCF -The United Negro College Fund
This 38-year-old tagline from UNCF still rings strong. It elegantly delivers its straight up, powerful message. When your tagline is the boiled-down essence of your argument for support, you’ve achieved tagline bliss. That’s why this one is a classic.

Environment & Animals: Because the earth needs a good lawyer — Earthjustice
Earthjustice capitalizes on what people do understand – that a lawyer protects rights – and uses that framework to dramatically position its role and impact in the environmental movement. And it does so with humor. If your tagline makes people smile or light up, without stepping on your message, then you’ve made an emotional connection…Bravo.

Grantmaking: If you want to be remembered, do something memorable. — The Cleveland Foundation
It’s a rare tagline that manages to recruit people to its cause both unabashedly and effectively. That’s exactly what The Cleveland Foundation pulls off here. Clear, concise, and…memorable! A model for any organization promoting philanthropy.

Health & Sciences: Finding a cure now…so our daughters won’t have to. © — PA Breast Cancer Coalition
The PA Breast Cancer Coalition’s tagline is both emphatic and poignant. It strikes a deep emotional chord, and conveys the focus and impact of its work without being overly sentimental. “Finding a cure,” a highly used phrase for health organizations, is bolstered here by the appeal to solve a problem now so future generations won’t suffer from it.

Human Services: Filling pantries. Filling lives. — Houston Food Bank
With simple but effective use of word repetition, the Houston Food Bank clarifies its work and impact. It delivers on two distinct levels—the literal act of putting food on people’s shelves and the emotional payoff to donors and volunteers. An excellent example of a mission-driven tagline.

International, Foreign Affairs & National Security: Send a Net. Save a Life. — Nothing But Nets
Short, punchy and laser-sharp, the Nothing But Nets tagline connects the action with the outcome. It’s inspirational in the simplicity of its message and its reason for existing. The kind of tagline nonprofits should model.

Jobs & Workforce Development: Nothing Stops A Bullet Like A Job — Homeboy Industries
Homeboy Industries’ tagline is a mini-masterpiece, telling a memorable story in just six words. It stops you in your tracks, makes you want to learn more and sticks with you afterwards. That’s the kind of potent nonprofit messaging every organization desires.

Media: Telling stories that make a difference — Barefoot Workshops
If your organization’s name is vague, it’s critical that your tagline be distinct. Barefoot Workshops’ tagline sums up the transformative power of stories to create change in people and their communities, so clarifying the organization’s focus. Saved by the tagline!

Religion & Spiritual Development: Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors. — The people of The United Methodist Church
The work of religious organizations often operates on several planes at once — a challenge for any organization and its messaging. Here, The United Methodist Church delivers a tagline trinity that supports its applied faith mission and is warm, enthusiastic and embracing.

Other: A head for business. A heart for the world. — SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise)
If an organization’s identity contains within in it a distinct contrast between its key characteristics, that’s often good tagline material. Here, SIFE surprises with its crystal-clear tagline that conveys not only what’s unique about it but also capitalizes on the contrast between profit and compassion.

We all talk about the need for a visual and emotional “hook” in our fundraising letters. But it’s really hard to pull off!

What you want to do is create a visual metaphor or a story that portrays your message. In the 09 Year-End Fundraising Strategies Telesummit, direct mail guru Mail Warwick calls this the “dynamite marketing concept.”

It’s something really compelling about the campaign that catches people’s attention and motivates them to learn more about it and eventually to responds.

Here’s what not to do!

Mal shared his perspective,”The problem is that nonprofit folks typically think what they need to do in their letters is to tell their donors all about the great work they are doing.

“They like to talk about the specifics of their work, the programs and projects they have in place, and then they think the donors will come running.”

But we really have to step back and get into the mind of the donor.

We have to determine which aspects of the work we’re doing would really appeal to the donor’s fundamental values and beliefs and what benefits that would provide.

This is very different from starting out an appeal letter “for 20 years the xxx organization has lovingly served xxxx group of people in our community.” (yawn)

Instead start your letter with a story. Just like the way lots of newspaper articles begin.

Perhaps it goes like this:  “Johnny Smith woke up Monday morning, hungry again.”

Wow, doesn’t that strike you in a completely different way?  It creates a visual narrative that draws the reader in. You want to keep reading don’t you?  Starting with a story is an amazing technique.

You could go on to say that Johnny lives right here in our community, and his single mother could not find work. You could talk about how many nights a week he goes to bed hungry. Or perhaps how he stuffs his empty backback with cafeteria food at school because he knows there is no food at home.

As you read this, you are forming pictures in your mind, aren’t you? It is generating an emotional feeling in your soft heart (I hope.)

THIS is the way to appeal to your donors’ hearts. And you’d be surprised at the result.