Need help with fundraising? Join the club!

Over the years, I’ve coached dozens of small nonprofit organizations in fundraising and Board development.  I’ve seen so many struggle with the exact same issues that I thought there has to be a better way to help them.

So I’ve created a Coaching Club just for people working in small nonprofits.  It’s called the Get Fully Funded Support Club and it’s based around the key principles of a new program of fundraising I’ve created called Get Fully Funded. 

The Get Fully Funded program addresses the most common issues faced by small nonprofits and doesn’t contain anything new or earth-shattering. It’s just a solid method of fundraising laid out in a step-by-step format that’s easy to implement. 

The Get Fully Funded Support Club provides members with the chance to learn these tried and true fundraising techniques in a cost-effective and support environment.  Features of the club include an online, members-only discussion board, 2 educational 1-hour phone calls each month, 1 hour of group Q&A with me each month, plus recommended resources, articles, tips, and more.

The cost to join starts at $28 per month.  I think it’s a lot of value for someone who is struggling with fundraising!

Want to learn more?  Click here.  Got questions?  Click on the comment link and post them.

Three great ideas to help you get the word out

Here’s a bit of info to help you get the word out about your organization from my fellow blogger Jason Dick from A Small Change.

 

Getting the message about your nonprofit out is one of the most important things you can do for your organization.  Here are a few things you can do to enhance what your nonprofit is doing.

Getting Started- Approach a local chamber of commerce and ask if you can present to them about your nonprofit.  Get to know the businesses in your community by co-hosting a networking event with the chamber at your building.  If you are a faith-based organization (or even if you’re not) talk to the pastor at a couple of local churches and ask if you can present to their congregation.

Growing the Relationship- Use the relationships you’ve built and keep track of them.  Ask new donors to come for a tour or a special event you are having.  Your volunteers are one of the best groups to advocate for your mission.  Ask your volunteers & board members to invite their friends to connect to your organization.

The Technological Advantage- There are countless ways to spread the message about your good work using the Internet.  Don’t try and do everything just do one or two things well.  Start a Facebook page or use the Causes application.  Go to Razoo.org and start a fundraising page.  Start a blog, this is a great way to regularly communicate and interact with those that want to remain close to your organization.

There are a lot of great causes.  Don’t be afraid to get creative be a little competitive. 

What stops fundraising success? Enter the contest and find out!

Contest this week!!

What keeps you from being successful in fundraising?

Lots of things can get in our way of reaching our goals and I want to know what stops you from raising the dollars you need.

• Don’t have enough donors? 
• Don’t have a plan? 
• Poor execution of plan? 
• Just get scared? 
• Something else?

Post a comment here and share with me what keeps you from being successful in fundraising.  I’ll be choosing the best answers and sending the winners a copy of my book Fundraising Buffet.

Be sure to post your comment this week.  Contest ends on Friday.

Fundraisers: Get Your Head in the Game!

I spoke to the Association of Fundraising Professionals in Hickory, NC last week about fundraising in tough times.  The thing that is most important, I told them, is to get your head in the game.

If you buy into the “doom and gloom” thinking that is so pervasive right now, your fundraising results will shrink.  Lots of people are scared right now.  And many are tightening up whether they really need to or not.  Don’t get scared too.  You’ve got to stay positive and focused on the mission of your organization.

Take this short test to see if you have your head in the game.  Answer each statement true or false if you have thought it in your head or if it has come out of your mouth.

1. Fundraising this year is going to be hard.

2. People aren’t going to give as much as last year.

3. We probably won’t reach our fundraising goals this year.

4. We should probably lower our fundraising goals this year.

5. Things are bad everywhere.

6. All nonprofits are struggling.

7. It’s just the economy and there’s nothing we can do about it.

 

Eye opening? It was for many who heard my presentation last week.  Hopefully you answered false to each statement.  Otherwise you may be suffering from some “stinkin’ thinkin’” that can ruin your focus and attitude.

Here’s the thing: we don’t know what people will or won’t do with their giving this year (unless you have a crystal ball that I don’t know about).  Our job is to continue to tell the stories of our work and give people opportunities to give.  Don’t stop.  Don’t let up.  Don’t get desperate.  Just keep moving forward.

Thanks to my new friends in Hickory for inviting me to speak to their AFP chapter!

3 Secrets to Newsletter Success

This is a reprint of a post I wrote last year.  The information is timely and still applicable.

How well does your newsletter perform for you?  If it’s not so hot, then maybe you need to make a few changes.  Here are 3 secrets to a successful newsletter.

The first secret to a successful newsletter is to be clear about the result you want.  What is your newsletter’s purpose?  Is it educational?  Is it supposed to be a fundraising tool?  Both?  This will help guide you in selecting content.

The second secret to a successful newsletter is to make it donor-focused.  Write the kinds of things that a donor wants to read, not what you want to include.  Donors want to read stories about clients and how they’ve been helped.  Donors aren’t usually interested in articles about new staff members, new Board members or lengthy “letters from the President.”

The third secret to a successful newsletter is to use good design.  Use lots of white space and keep it skimmable.  Donors read your newsletter like they read the newspaper.  They skim.  They read the headlines and if it looks interesting, they’ll read the article.  They look at photos and read the pull quotes.

If you want your newsletter to raise money, then you need to include an Ask somewhere.  The most common and usually most effective thing to do is to include a reply envelope inside its pages.

Grab a copy of your last newsletter and see how it compares.  Use these 3 secrets on your next issue and see how you can improve your results.

Ready to Get Fully Funded?

When I started my coaching business, I knew I wanted to do something big.  And the biggest thing I could think of was to help small nonprofit organizations raise all the money they needed to fulfill their missions.

For the past ten years, I’ve been learning everything I can about best practices in fundraising while working in the field.   I’ve been fortunate to experience some tremendous success in raising money for my causes, including homelessness, hunger, and needy children.

As a coach, I’ve learned that most small nonprofits struggle with the same issues when it comes to fundraising.  To help, I’ve developed a simple system that you can follow to raise money.  I call it Get Fully Funded.

In the current economic storm, I’m hopeful that the Get Fully Funded system will take some of the worry off you by giving you a step-by-step format to tell your organization’s story, cultivate your donors, and raise money.

In a few days, I’ll be launching a brand-new coaching club designed to give you the support you need to Get Fully Funded.  If you’d like to be among the first to hear about my new club and the Get Fully Funded system, sign up for the VIP preview list.

Come join me and be among the first to take advantage of this new system for fundraising success!

Let Michael Phelps help your nonprofit organization

What does Michael Phelps have to do with your nonprofit organization?  Not much at first glance. But there’s a good lesson you can learn from his recent publicity.

In case you missed it, Michael got in some trouble over a picture of him at a party, having perhaps too good of a time.  Whether he’s guilty or not, lots of people have formed opinions and it has certainly tarnished his image and credibility.

I’ve preached for years that a nonprofit has its reputation and not much else.  When you depend on donors from the community to support your good work, it only takes a little negative publicity to slow down the donations.  Who can afford that in today’s economy?

So take a lesson from Michael: keep your nose clean!  Make sure everything your organization does is above board and beyond reproach.  Be transparent: be willing to share any information with the public.  After all, you should have nothing to hide and lots of your organization’s information is public record anyway.

When you’re making a decision you aren’t sure about, use what I call the ‘Front Page Test.’  If the results of your decision were on the front page of the paper tomorrow, how would people react?  What would your donors think?  What would your Mother think? 

I remember a story several years ago about a food bank that had a rodent problem.  Word got out and the media picked it up.  It was not good for their reputation in the community!  They had to do a good bit of work to do to rebuild trust.  Seems like we hear stories regularly (unfortunately) of incidents at day care centers, and the way the media tends to focus on news like this there’s a good chance it will get picked up.

So, what would be the worst thing that could happen at your organization?  Is there something that can be put in place to prevent it from happening?  Have you thought through how to handle communications with the public in times of crisis?  It’s really worth the time and effort to think through these questions.

Post a comment and let me know what you think.

Fundraising Ideas for Tough Times

Fundraising can be difficult in the best of times.  But now, with a recession, it can be even more difficult.  Before you panic, here are a few things to remember.

First, DO NOT give into fear.  Lots of people are afraid right now.  If you get scared and back off from your fundraising activities, then you can forget it.  You must stay positive and stay focused.  Yes, unemployment is high, but 90% of the population is still employed.  The sky is not falling.  It’s going to be okay.

Go back to the basics of fundraising.  Craft a simple, clear message about the work your organization is doing, then share it!  Tell your stories.  Tell your donors how your nonprofit is changing people’s lives with their help.

Give donors the chance to give.  Don’t assume that they won’t give as much or as often as in previous years.  Keep giving them the chance to give through direct mail, newsletters, online, and personal requests.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals has a Survival Kit for Fundraising in a Bad Economy.  There are lots of articles with fundraising ideas for tough times.

And I’d like to ask you a question.  What’s your toughest fundraising challenge so far this year?  What have you bumped into already that’s harder or different than usual?  Click on the ‘comment’ link below and let me know what’s happening in your world.