Blueprint Fundraising

Nasty tricks being played on US fundraisers

Some people get their kicks in the strangest ways…

Since the summer, someone has been calling US development officers and posing as a dying, wealthy individual ready to make a major donation. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has been receiving letters to the editor from some of the institutions. The fraudster sometimes uses the last name Bolyer and his story is quickly debunked by an internet search for phone numbers, zip codes etc.

Here are a few of the groups he has contacted:

“…my guy promised to die within four months and leave my agency $154-million in liquid assets plus another $100-million to $200-million in his estate after the sale of his Hilton stock and his antique-car collection.” – Mississippi Children’s Home Services

“…he kept her on the line for an hour… he said his daughter (who he said had died three weeks earlier) had met one of our students on a plane and that had made her life a joy for the duration of it. In this case he was going to give us $40-million for a capital project and $5-million for an endowed scholarship in his daughter’s memory.” – North Park University

“…saying he was prepared to give the institution some $26-million. He even said he’d be flying from his Santa Barbara, Calif., home to Iowa on his private jet the following week to discuss his gift.” – Drake University

“In terms of savviness, he seemed as though he was someone who had made previous gifts to other organizations…” – Riley Children’s Foundation

My guess is that the fraudster is a very bitter development professional. Only they would understand the suffering and disappointment that these calls would cause!

Philanthropy TV

The makers of Wife Swap have a new show airing in Britain next month: Secret Millionaire.

Here’s the premise (from The Guardian Unlimited): The show will take five millionaire, would-be philanthropists and force them to live undercover for 10 days on the equivalent of state benefit or doing a menial job for the minimum wage in some of the most deprived areas of Britain. At the end of the period, during which they are expected to get out and about in the community under the guise of appearing in a TV show that swaps the rural poor for the city poor, they decide which individuals deserve their money.

At the end, the millionaire gives away ₤50,000 of their own money. There is something slightly offensive about the concept (poverty tourism, as the article suggests). But then again, those who watch are likely to gain an understanding of what it means to live in poverty and those who give away such a tidy sum are to be commended. You can certainly do worse in the reality TV genre!! I really really hope we can see this show in Canada.

Embrace RED – it’s the new pink

How sick are you of pink-tinged fundraising? I have to confess that I’ve had enough already! There seems to be no end to it (weekends, walks, clothing, every kind of food, appliances, and even Canadian currency). I don’t know how much it is really helping to prevent breast cancer. It is definitely selling a lot of products (see this blog posting about Campbell’s Soup seeing double sales for its pink ribbon soup cans).

Red is attempting to become pink for the next generation. (Product)RED offers red GAP clothes, iPods, Converse shoes, Motorola cell phones, Armani accessories and American Express credit cards, in support of the elimination of AIDS in Africa. Flipping through The New Yorker a few weeks ago I saw that (Product)RED purchased just about every ad space in the magazine. It’s a massive marketing campaign and I’m sure it will be wildly successful.

Here’s what they say about themselves:

(RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world’s most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT)^RED branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT)^RED product sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

What’s the meaning of the parentheses or brackets? Well, we call them “the embrace.” Each company that becomes (RED) places its logo in this embrace and is then elevated to the power of red. Thus the name — (PRODUCT)^RED.

You, the consumer, can take your purchase to the power of (RED) simply by upgrading your choice. Thus the proposition: (YOU)^RED. Be embraced, take your own fine self to the power of (RED). What better way to become a good-looking samaritan?!

A better way to sell sympathy

As if you need more evidence that focusing on the needs of your donor is more important than focusing on your own needs… Here’s a guy who enjoyed a rather advertising agency interesting internship experience.

Matthew Zimmerman, an undergrad at Cornell, spent his summer internship helping street beggars increase their daily revenue with creative new signs.

The concept behind the experiment: Marketing products through pricing or product features alone results in only one-time purchases. However, if a customer feels an emotional attachment to the product, there is a greater chance for repeat buying and loyalty.

…Speaking with a depth of knowledge he didn’t have before hitting the streets, Zimmerman explained that a typical panhandling sign describes the person’s situation or status—Vietnam vet, runaway, unemployed, unlucky one, or drug addict. After interviewing several New Yorkers, however, Zimmerman found that type of sign to be usually ineffective, because it fails to create an emotional tie with the potential giver or make the giver feel good about himself or herself for donating—key elements in getting people to dig into their pockets.

To strike a chord, Zimmerman created a simple poster out of a ripped box that read, “If you give once a month, please consider me next time.” He notes: “Part of the process was learning that it’s all about the consumers and how they benefit from the transaction. Instead of saying, ‘I’m homeless’ or ‘I need this,’ we basically said, ‘I know you feel good when you give, so can you give to me next time?’”

The results were dramatic: One individual he worked with earned her usual daily take of $30 in just three hours. You can read the whole story in Business Week Online.

Big names = big bucks?

The common wisdom is that if you want to raise big money, you need big names on your board of directors. You want people with their own personal wealth or connections to other wealthy and influential people. It may seem like a “duh” concept — of course a prestigious board will attract more money! But two researchers have tested that assumption.

Robert Herman and David Renz followed 44 US community-based human service organizations over a five-year period. Some of the organizations placed a priority on increasing the prestige of their board of directors; others did not. All were engaged in active fundraising and revenue-generating activities.

They found that as the organizations increased the prestige of their board, there was no corresponding increase in revenue. In fact, the opposite seemed to happen! The organizations without prestigious boards saw a greater increase in revenue.

At first I was surprised, but in thinking more about what I see with my clients, this makes sense to me. Many mid-sized nonprofits seek wealthy board members. The rationale is: we will find a wealthy person, they will lead our pathetic fundraising committee, invite all their friends to be part of our cause, and our fundraising woes will be over. Usually what happens is that the new board member doesn’t want to do the fundraising, is already fundraising for other causes, or doesn’t have the time. The organization would have been better off to develop some good staff-led fundraising programs.

Hospitals, universities, major arts organizations –- I think they really do benefit from prestigious boards and they have a board culture of philanthropy. But if you are a mid-sized or grassroots group, don’t assume that the same rules apply. Your fundraising plan should not be to find a board member to solve all your problems!

When we need your help we’ll let you know, ok?

I’ve been waiting for The Onion to write more on charity and philanthropy ever since this article (only for those with a truly dark sense of humour!).

Now this: Proud Cystic-Fibrosis Foundation Doesn’t Need Your Charity.

ATMs for Jesus

Churches have been leading the pack when it comes to fundraising for a long long time. Pastor Marty Baker is going to keep them there with these “ATMs for Jesus” — touchscreen giving kiosks where donors can donate to the church using their credit or debit cards. When the collection plate comes around, people just put their ATM receipts in the basket!