Donor appreciation in the small shop

When you work in a small fundraising office (or shop), you’ve got to be judicious with your time to get everything done.  I know.  I’ve been there.

I once worked in a nonprofit where one other person and I shared all the administrative and fundraising tasks, and some of the program tasks.  It wasn’t easy.  But it did teach me that I HAD to prioritize my “to do” list and focus on those things that would bring me the most bang for the buck.  What I figured out pretty quick was that spending most of my time on special events was not the best use of my time.  Making thank-you calls or taking major donors to lunch was a much better way to spend my time.

If you are the only person working on fundraising for your organization, you’ve got to work smarter, not harder.  Make sure that whatever you are doing is worth doing, and moves you toward reaching your fundraising goals.  You’ve got to move to being proactive instead of reactive.  In fact, when you don’t have a plan and you spend all your time putting out fires, there is no time to work on things you should be doing.

Once you prioritize your activities, look for ways to systematize your activities.  Using a donor-tracking software will help you streamline gift-entry processes and easily generate thank-you letters.  Anything you do more than once, you should be thinking about how you can do it more easily.

Thanking donors should alays be a priority, no matter how much time you have on your hands.  There’s no better use of your time as a fundraiser than thanking your donors.

An experiment in gratitude

My friend Kivi Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide recently shared the results of her annual giving experiment.  And it’s pretty bad.

She sent $20 donations to 10 national charities online and waited to see who would thank her and how they would do it.  These were national organizations and you would think they’d have their act together for thanking donors, no matter what level of gift was given.

As you can probably guess, not many responded. By Feb 18, she had heard from only 3 organizations.  Pitiful! 

Come on folks!  No matter what size organization you work for, you should ALWAYS have time to thank a donor.  If you have lots of donors to thank, then create a system to make it more efficient for you.  Not thanking donors is a good way to lose them.  And you can’t afford that.

Every donor deserves to be thanked for every gift.  Appreciation should be expressed promptly, warmly, and sincerely.  Don’t make the donor sit and wonder if you got their gift – get a thank-you letter out to them within a couple of days.

You can read Kivi’s summary of her experiment on her blog at http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2010/02/18/10-donations-3-thank-yous-7-failures-to-communicate/.

Resource Roundup

Here are some great blog posts from around the ‘net.

If you don’t read anything else, read Kivi’s post about her holiday donation experiment.  There are lots of lessons to be learned here! http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2010/02/18/10-donations-3-thank-yous-7-failures-to-communicate/

Jeff Brooks has a great article in Fundraising Success magazine called “When Goofus and Gallant Raise Funds”.  http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/article/two-paths-fundraising-failure-one-success-415674/1

My friend Kimberley Mackenzie has a great post on supporting Board members to participate in fundraising.  http://kimberleymackenzie.blogspot.com/2010/02/stop-complaining-about-your-board-of.html

Nancy Schwartz has a great piece on using Facebook to get the buzz going for your nonprofit.  http://www.gettingattention.org/my_weblog/2010/02/how-to-generate-buzz-via-social-media-real-life-dos-and-donts.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+gettingattention+%28Getting+Attention%29

Sandra Sims has a great post on internet strategies for nonprofits that provides links to many articles and resources. http://stepbystepfundraising.com/roundup-internet-strategies-for-nonprofits/

Got any resources you’d like to share?  We’d love to hear them.

4 keys to successful fundraising

In my experience, there’s no magic bullet for fundraising success.  Meeting your goals and raising big money are usually the result of doing a lot of little things consistenty.  Here are 4 key things you can do to ensure your success this year. 

1. Diversify your revenue streams. Your funding should come from lots of different sources and no one source makes up more than about 30% of your overall revenue.  I’m talking about fundraising here, not program fees or earned income.  If more than half of your revenue comes from one grant or event and that grant or event goes away, what then?  Don’t let that happen!  Diversified and balanced revenue streams will help you take the loss of a grant or donor in stride without too much trouble.
2. Focus long-term. A successful fundraising program builds long-term sustainability.  Don’t create a plan just to get money for this year.  Raise money for this year but also for next year and coming years.
3. Pick the lowest hanging fruit on the tree.  In other words, choose strategies and activities that will bring you the most ‘bang for the buck.’  Be as efficient and effective as you can with the limited resources you have to use.
4. Focus on relationships.  Successful donor relationships are critical to the success of your fundraising program.  In fact, without donors, you have NO fundraising!  Everything you do must build or strengthen relationships with your donors.

Is there anything you would add?  I’d love to hear it!  Click on the comment link and share!

3 baby steps to overcoming fear and asking for a gift

Asking for money can be a scary thing.  So many people are afraid to ask their friends for money and this seems to be a particular problem for folks who sit on nonprofit Boards and have the responsibility for fundraising for their organizations.

Just like conquering fear of heights or fear of most anything, your fear of fundraising can be overcome.  It takes a few simple steps, a positive attitude, a little support, and a good dose of courage.

Focus on the reason why you care about the organization.  Keep that in your mind as you go through this exercise and it will make things a bit easier.  When you’re ready, take these baby steps toward asking for a donation:  

1. Pick a friend that you can ask for a gift.  Make sure it’s someone you trust – this will help you feel safe.
2. Practice telling him/her about your organization. It’s okay if you stumble on your words.  You’re practicing on a friend after all.
3. Then ask for a $50 donation.  (This is a slightly larger amount than most people give and a good place for you to start.)

Pay attention to how the experience goes for you.  How does it feel while you are in the conversation?  Are you nervous?  Sweating?  How does it feel after you ask for the gift?  Are you relieved that it’s over?  Was it easier or harder than you thought?

Afterward, write a short description of your experience, positive or negative. (There’s great power in writing this experience down!)  

Hopefully, it was an exhilarating experience for you!  Once you get your fear under control, you may actually find it fun to talk with people about the organization you love.

Whether the experience was positive or negative, think for a moment if this is how you want fundraising to be for you.  Is there a different way you think it could or should be?  Would you like it to be easy and light, with the words rolling off your tongue? Would you rather it be full of energy, with your donor prospect catching your enthusiasm like a spreading wildfire?  Would you like to have donors thank you for giving them the opportunity to support your organization’s work? (It can happen!)

Remember, when you focus on the baby steps that need to be done, and just DO one, you stop being afraid or overwhelmed by the big stuff or the things that might happen if you fail.

Nonprofit Fundraising Resource Roundup

Some interesting nonprofit fundraising resources from around the web.

John Haydon has a great post on “How to get our nonprofit’s supporters to retweet content” http://johnhaydon.com/2010/02/nonprofits-supporters-retweet-content/

Katya Andreson has a great post showing a website makeover.  Check it out at http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com/site/extreme_website_makeover_from_ick_to_slick/

Nancy Schwartz has a great post on How to Communicate in the Shadow of a Disaster.  In other words, how do you keep telling your story when the world is focused on Haiti?  Read it at http://www.gettingattention.org/my_weblog/2010/02/how-to-communicate-in-the-shadow-of-disaster-nonprofit-marketing.html

Oneicity has a great list of things we should be thinking about in this new year. http://www.oneicity.com/blog/npo-leadership-think-this-not-that/

GrantsandFunding.net has a free grantseekers checklist that you can download.  Get it at  http://cdpublications.com/freeresources/freedown.php?ID=38

Got suggestions for additional resources?  I’d love to hear about them!  Hit the comment link and share.

A note about setting fundraising goals

Setting goals is a key part of creating a plan.  How you create your goals is equally important.

True story:  I’ve asked nonprofits to share their goals with me and they say “raise more money” or “raise a lot of money”.  Those are not good goals.  They’re too vague.  They set no direction.  Does “raise more money” mean you want to raise $1 more?  Or $100 more?

Be as specific as you can when setting goals and you’ll be much more likely to achieve them.  Setting a goal of “raising $10,000 by July 1″ is a better goal – provided that you have the capability to raise that amount of money in that timeframe. 

Once you set a goal, be sure that you know HOW you will achieve it.  Pulling numbers out of the air and then hoping you’ll reach them is no good.  Be sure you have specific work plans to back it up.  In the case of the $10,000, if you know you can add one more direct mail appeal to your schedule and raise that money, then that’s a good goal and one you’ll be likely to achieve.

Nonprofit Fundraising Resource Roundup

Here are several resources I thought you might be interested in.

The January edition of the Nonprofit Blog Carnival is up at IssueLab’s Footnotes.  You’ll find several posts on the topic of ‘online outreach on a budget.’  Check it out here: http://issuelabfootnotes.blogspot.com/2010/01/online-outreach-on-budget-january.html

There’s a great post on the “A Small Change” blog about making your fundraising efforts go viral. http://www.asmallchange.net/how-to-make-your-fundraising-efforts-go-viral

If you’re serious about blogging and social media, check out the results from John Haydon’s 31 day challenge.  There’s some very interesting stuff here.  http://johnhaydon.com/

Network for Good has a new, free ebook called the Fundraiser’s Checklist.  Grab your copy at http://web.networkforgood.org/201001ebook

Kivi Leroux Miller at the Nonprofit Communications Blog has a great post on integrating your website, email newsletter, and social media.  Read it here:  http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2010/01/26/integrating-your-website-email-newsletter-and-social-media-sites/

Nancy Schwartz at the Getting Attention Blog has a great post on how most nonprofits fail to connect with their audience.  Read it here: http://www.gettingattention.org/my_weblog/2010/01/nonprofit-marketing-crisis-survey-shows-messaging-fails-to-connect-with-key-audiences.html

One of my favorite authors and bloggers is Seth Godin.  Here’s a great post on his blog about spreading ideas.  http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/01/random-rules-for-ideas-worth-spreading.html

There’s a good article on the Step By Step Fundraising site written by Marc Pitman that talks about the 80/20 rule.  Interesting.  Check it out at http://stepbystepfundraising.com/the-pareto-principle-the-8020-rule-for-fundraising/

If you know of other really interesting resources I can share, hit the comment link and let me know.  Thanks!

Sandy

Fundraising Planning Simplified

There’s a scene in Alice in Wonderland where Alice meets the Cheshire cat.  Alice is lost and asks if he can tell her which way to go.  The cat says “where do you want to go?” and she says “I don’t know.”  “Then it doesn’t really matter which way you go” says the cat.

In fundraising, if you don’t know where you want to go, then it doesn’t much matter which way you head, either.  Any road will get you there.

The best fundraising plans start with a goal.  It might be the number of dollars you want to raise, the number of donors you want to renew or the number of new donors you want to attract.  Once you know what target you are shooting for, you can take aim.

Here are some tips for putting a fundraising plan in place.

1. Put it in writing. This will help make the plan real and your goals more achievable.
2. Set goals that are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.
3. Diversify your revenue streams. You never want more than half your money coming from one source.  If that source goes away, you’ve got HUGE problems!
4. Create a Summary Calendar to keep all your activities in one place. This will help you manage your work better and be proactive instead of reactive.
5. Put support in place to keep you on track. Get someone to hold you accountable and make sure you work your plan.  Otherwise, you may be tempted to let the plan slide.

When planning fails

Sometimes our plans don’t go well.  Check out this short video to see what happens when things don’t go according to plan.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vE9Zq7Gs-U

Big mistake to avoid in appeals

I got a couple more email appeals yesterday from local organizations.  One made a big mistake that I wanted to share with you so you can avoid it.

Overall, it was a good email appeal – photo, update on a couple of accomplishments for the year, reminder that year-end gifts are due this week, link to the website for the Donate Now button… then they also asked for me to participate in an event.

It’s a huge mistake to ask for multiple things in an appeal.  You run the risk of people being torn about which thing to respond to.  Ask for one thing and one thing only.  Make it very simple and very clear what action you want the donor to take.  Otherwise, you may be disappointed with the response you get.

5 characteristics of a winning email appeal

I’ve received a couple of email solicitations this week from nonprofits who are trying to urge me to make a last-minute gift.  And they’re very good.  Here’s what I like about them:

• They’re short and to the point. 
• They don’t drone on about how much the organization needs my help.
• They tell a story about someone they serve.
• They include a photo.
• There’s a link to the website where I can make my gift.

Kudos to Knox Area Rescue Ministries for the best one I’ve seen this season! (Good job Angie!)

Fundraising Ideas for the last week of 2009

It’s the last Monday and last week of the year.  What will you do to make them count?

You could

• Call a donor or two to say ‘thank you.’
• Visit with a donor to let them know how their support has made a difference this year.
• Email your volunteers to thank them and let them know how many hours they’ve spent with you this year.
• Pitch a story to your local news media (this is a slow news week).
• Email your list and let them know they still have time to make a last-minute gift via your website.

You might also spend a little time planning for 2010.  I’ll be bringing you more help on that later.  Right now, you need to get busy making the most of the last few days of 2009!

Join me for a unique new training that can change everything

I’ve been talking with lots of nonprofit leaders lately and I’m hearing the same things over and over:

• You are worn out by Boards that pull you in multiple directions and seem to create more work than they help accomplish.
• You’re struggling to be an effective leader for your staff: some days it seems more like herding cats than working with adults.
• You’re really tired of fundraising all the time and yet still not quite making budget.  The economy is not helping  and neither is your Board.
• Your job seems to be sucking the life right out of you and yet the reason you work there is because deep-down you believe in the cause and want to make a difference.

Any of this sound like you?

My colleague Peggy Jarrett and I have created a unique new training called Transformative Leadership and it’s designed to help you deal with these issues and more.

If you’d like to have more peace, better relationships with your Board, and more confidence in fundraising, I invite you to check out this training.  Learn more at www.getfullyfunded.com/transformative-leadership-training.

Plus, you can get a 20% discount off the tuition if you sign up before midnight on Dec 24!  It’s a savings of $300!  And there’s a payment plan option if that makes it easier for you.

So, scoot on over to www.getfullyfunded.com/transformative-leadership-training and sign up.

Sandy

Be warned – there are only 15 seats available for this life-changing training.  Grab your spot before they’re gone!

When the cat gets too big

I love days that I get to work in my office.  It gives me some quiet time to think and plan.  But today, my solitude ihas been interrupted.

Sadie is a rather large kitty and has decided that she wants to sit in my lap.  This is one of our older cats and she’s a big girl (16 pounds!).  Not only is she in my lap, but she’s purring to beat the band and insists on keeping her paw on top of my arm, making it difficult to type.  Why she isn’t upstairs pestering my daughter, I don’t know.

Now, you probably know I love my critters.  This one included.  I just don’t love her when she gets in my way. 

Which reminds me of a donor story I heard today.

My friend Lynn is an Executive Director of a good-sized organization and has a new facility manager she just hired.  He’s working out great and is followinfg her directions for keeping things clean and tidy.  There’s a long-time volunteer who also happens to be a major donor who has taken it upon himself to tell this young fellow everything he needs to know.  The only problem is that the volunteer/donor is giving the staff guy different instructions than what Lynn did.

So for Lynn, this volunteer/major donor is kind of like the cat in my lap – I love you, but don’t get in my way.  If the proverbial cat gets too big (if the volunteer/donor gets too caught up in being in charge) it can really cause problems.  Best to deal with it as soon as possible.

Lynn feels a bit caught between a rock and a hard spot. My suggestion is that she sit down with the volunteer/donor and go over the procedures for the facility and get his buy-in.  She should also let him know that she’s got the new guy well-oriented and is supporting him.  She should probably go one step further and ask the volunteer/donor to let her know if he sees things happening that he thinks needs to be addresed with the new guy.  And find a way to let the volunteer/donor know that it’s not his job to tell the new kid what to do.

This is a tough situation, trying to keep the volunteer/donor happy and engaged, but keep him out of staff business.

What would you do if it were you?  Click on the comment link and let me hear from you.

Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can convince Sadie to go find another lap!

Join me for a Free Call this Thursday

Join me for a free call this Thursday

December 10, 2009 at 4:00 pm eastern

How to Get Radical Results – Reach Your Goals Unconditionally

No matter what your goals are, we’ll teach you a great way to reach them no matter what might be standing in your way.  My colleague Peggy Jarrett will be joining me on the call to give us this tool.

sign up here      http://getfullyfunded.com/next-free-call

Sometimes you shouldn’t Ask for money

Words from the wise

In preparation for the onslaught of company at my house this week, I’ve cleaned off my dining room table.  It serves as a catch-all for the mail and other junk we bring in.  In the stack of mail is a newsletter from my horse vet.  He’s about 80-something years old and still makes farm calls.

In his newsletter he writes “Someone told me that if you get a job you ike, you don’t work a day in your life.”  He goes on to say he wouldn’t swap jobs with anyone and wants to keep practicing until he’s 100.  (Works for me – he’s a great vet!).

Can you talk about your job with that level of enthusiasm?  I know I can!  I love the work I do, because it changes peoples’ lives.  Sometimes directly and sometimes not.  But when I can show someone how to do a better job of fundraising, they can do more to fulfill their organization’s mission and change their part of the world.

Passion is a key element of successful fundraising.  If yours has faded, it might be time to find a way to fan your flames a bit.  I suggest you start by just acknowledging all the things you’re grateful for (it’s the season after all!).

So let’s hear it – what are you grateful for?

What you believe becomes your reality

I heard someone say recently that they want to participate in a training, but they can’t afford it.  Sigh.  Get ready, I’m getting on my soap box!

I understand that some of you live and breathe by your budget.  Most of the time that’s a great thing.  But it can be very limiting.  And it can hold you back.  (A budget is a guideline by the way, and not chiseled in stone.)

Take this to heart:  Whatever you believe becomes your reality.

If you believe you can’t afford something, it becomes real.  Your limited negative thinking will actually repel money.  You’ll become so focused on staying inside that budget that you will miss golden opportunities. You’ll start to believe that not only can’t you afford something, but you shouldn’t have it or don’t deserve it.  Your world will actually start to shrink from your limited thinking.

If you leave your options open, things can change and money can show up from an unexpected source.  It’s the power of positive thinking and the law of attraction.  It amazes me still, but I see it work in my life regularly.

About two weeks ago, I was in agony.  There was a 3-day business developing workshop that I really, really wanted to go to, but I kept putting registration off because of the money.  It was more money than I had ever spent on training for myself and I believed I couldn’t afford it.  Yet something kept telling me I really needed to be at this event!  After several days of going back and forth, I decided to go. So, I took a step of faith and went.  Had to borrow the money from my daughter (how funny is that??).  I went to the event.  Had a GREAT time.  Met lots of wonderful people.  And I got such big things out of this event, that I will easily earn 10 times what I spent on the event in the next 6 to 8 months! (translation:  I have BIG IMPACT services and products planned for you! stay tuned!)

Now I realize that business and nonprofit are different.  But are they really?  If you think small about the money you can raise, what results can you expect?  If you limit your thinking, what will you attract?  Do donors want to be involved with organizations that think small?

There’s also a cost involved when you limit your thinking.  It’s the opportunity that’s lost when you don’t take advantage of things.  In the situation of training, it’s the cost of continuing to do things the same way you always have because you aren’t learning a new way.  In my example above, the cost to me was clear:  if I had chosen not to go, I would have missed the chance to learn some new thinking and missed the chance to offer bigger and better products and services next year, plus the chance to earn more money.  That cost was simply too great.

When you pass on a training because you “can’t afford it”, you are hurting your organization, because you’re missing the chance to learn new ways of serving clients or raising money.  Sometimes all it takes is one good nugget from a workshop to make a big impact on the way you do things.  And you might have a Board member or a donor who would love to pay for you to attend.  When you immediately decide you can’t afford it, you aren’t giving that Board member or donor the chance to support you.

So, please, please, please be careful with your thoughts!!  Don’t limit yourself and your opportunities.  Leave your options open and see what life brings you.

Monday Motivation

Hope this perks you up the way it does me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne7fPpxAnuM

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