Blueprint Fundraising

10 strategies for recession fundraising

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has a great series up right now with 10 things to do now, to raise money during the downturn. You need a subscription to read the full articles but here’s their list. It is based on interviews with a variety of organizations. Some of these are back-to-basics ideas, which is what a lot of people are focusing on. Others are about being  frugal and innovative. All excellent ideas these days.

1. Don’t treat giving as a financial transaction. Tell donors how their giving is making the world a better place and don’t just focus on the perks they will receive (e.g. “you get a newsletter and four free tickets” — this is especially important for arts organizations).

2. Keep close ties to donors. Don’t make your only contact with donors be solicitations. Focus on thanking and showing impact. Find ways to let donors see the impact for themselves.

3. Offer matching grants. Ask a loyal donor or funder to provide the match.

4. Ask donors to give monthly. ‘Nuff said.

5. Look for ways to save money on fundraising. Trim special event expenses or eliminate programs that aren’t serving you well. Look for ways to move your communications online. Freeze salaries. Renegotiate with your vendors and consultants (don’t know about this one!).

6. Seek alternatives to soliciting private donations. Can you rent some of your space to another organization? Start a social enterprise? Develop a cause-marketing partnership with a corporation?

7. Collaborate to raise money. You can have greater impact and generate more attention by working with others. For example, ten grassroots organizations serving people with disabilities could put on one large event instead of each having their own. They would probably raise more, hold a better event and get more attention than doing it alone.

8. Scale back ambitious campaigns, but don’t give up on them. You may have to scale back on the goal or increase the length of your “quiet phase” where the lead gifts are solicited.

9. Avoid emergency solicitations. Asking donors to bail you out or save you from impending demise is not an appealing message — who wants to invest in an organization on the brink of collapse? Instead, tell people how the economy is hurting the people you serve and the issues you work on.

10. Shore up relations with grant makers. It is going to take some time before endowment-based funders can get back to decent levels of giving, but that doesn’t mean you should stop paying attention to them. Be on their list when giving resumes, by being in touch and continuing to show them you are making a difference.

A recess from excess

My fundraising colleague and blog pen-pal Lorna Visser sends this post, after having read my most recent. She makes great points about keeping things in perspective and remembering what really matters in our lives, for our causes and for the planet. — Andrea
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A different spin on the “financial markets meltdown” — a recess from excess?

As fund raisers, we are the front-line representatives of the causes we champion. We simply cannot let ourselves, personally, be dragged down with negativity. New year’s resolution: purify and redirect our thoughts in regard to all the dire economic messages spoon-fed to us by the mainstream media.

The other day the headline on the Vancouver Province was something like “Nation in Crisis.” When I flipped it open, it was just more vaguely ominous predictions that we might lose value in our pension funds or that the value of our homes might go down a bit. Gee, the last time I checked, “crisis” meant people starving to death, or being bombed into oblivion as is happening in Gaza, or, as is happening in Africa, dying of AIDS daily at a rate that exceeds the number of people who died in the World Trade Centre attack.

As fund raisers, the first thing we need to do is give our heads a shake. Consider the source of all these fear and scarcity messages: the mega-industrial conglomerates that own the mainstream media, the very ones who are rightly suffering  economic setbacks right now. But let’s take a look at this, as individuals and as fund raisers, from a different perspective.

If you choose to see the world as a fear-filled place, full of need and want and scarcity, that is all you will see. But if you think of the world as a place of abundance and sufficiency, then this so-called “economic crisis” becomes simply the readjustment of some of the dials that run the financial economy. What was going on before was grossly unsustainable, and this is a necessary correction — society moving toward some sort of sanity. People with no jobs and no money to repay their mortgages will no longer be loaned money to buy houses. Bankers will stop concocting devil’s brews based on bad loans, investment mixes so complicated that no one can understand them. Banks will no longer assume that property values will go up indefinitely.  And while we’re at it, we can all stop assuming this earth’s natural resources are limitless, that we can cut down and mine and pollute and extract indefinitely. I’m thinking of this as a “recess from excess.”

But to tell the truth, I’m not giving the whole thing a lot of my mental energy. I’m in the home stretch of raising $1.5 million for a local land acquisition, and it has been a blast. Working with The Land Conservancy and the Valhalla Foundation, we are raising money to buy a piece of unspoiled, lake-shore private land we have nicknamed “The Valhalla Mile” in order to add it to Valhalla Provincial Park. Know what? This whole campaign has been done during the so-called economic meltdown, and yet we have been overwhelmed with the generousity of individuals, of foundations, and even of the provincial government — proof that when you are truly doing the right thing and you keep the faith, you can build it and they will come! (If you want to know more, check out the campaign at www.conservancy.bc.ca/donatetovalhallamile )

Bottom line: so long as we have our health, good nourishment, a roof over our heads, work that has meaning, and souls who love us and whom we love, we are not in a crisis. Yes, you might have to tighten your belt a bit (who doesn’t need to lose some weight?) and change some budget predictions for donations this year, but we in the charitable sector have always been creative about keeping costs down and doing a huge amount with a little money.

There is abundance in our world, and the people who truly believe in your cause will stick with you. Make sure you stick with them. This is the time to focus on the quality of your donor relationships and recognize that what you do brings meaning to donor’s lives, and that is a most worthy calling.

– Lorna Visser

Super smart viral video

Wow. I’m impressed on a daily basis by all the new ways the the web is being used to spread the word, get people involved and raise money for the US election. Fundraising is changing so quickly! And the election is showcasing the best and latest of every possibility.

Here’s a viral video I think you’ll like — making its point in a clever way and giving viewers to tools to pass it along to friends. Put your full name in to get the complete effect.

AARP 08 Video

Enter your name to see who can bring real change to Washington. First Name: Last Name:

Chart fun for nonprofits

Katya’s Nonprofit Marketing Blog has been hosting the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants and taking submissions of nonprofit graphs this month. Here are two of my favourites. The first is from Jeff Brooks and next two are from Jan Fonger and Kivi Leroux Miller. If you like silly graphs (and who doesn’t) you are not alone.

Will the election hurt your direct mail?

Hi! Back from holidays and I’m thinking about the mail. Annual appeals. Renewals. Prospecting. If you are planning some big campaigns this fall, you might be wondering how the election will affect your direct mail program. Will your donors be so focused on Stephen vs Stephane or McCain vs Obama or Sarah Palin’s hair that your appeal will be forgotten? Will donors direct their gifts to political campaigns instead of your cause?

This is something that several clients have asked me about and so I’ve done some digging. As you can imagine, this is a big concern for nonprofits in the United States. Merkle, a US direct mail firm, has published a white paper on this very subject: “Examining the Impact of Political Fundraising on Non-Profit Direct Mail Performance.” Their conculsion: historical analysis indicates a highly active political campaign season should have little or no significant impact on a charity’s ability to fundraise via direct mail. Good news.

So no excuses. Get your letters written now!

Dear Mrs. Smith…

Honour a donor with a Giving Hearts Award

AFP Vancouver has extended the deadline for nominations for the Giving Hearts Awards. This is a very nice way to honour you most important donors in three categories: Outstanding Philanthropist, Outstanding Corporation and Outstanding Youth Philanthropist. The nomination is not hard to do and your donors will be honoured that you’ve taken the time to honour them in this way. The deadline is August 15, 2008.

For more information visit the AFP website to download the Giving Hearts Awards Information Sheet and Nomination Form. The Awards will be presented at this year’s National Philanthropy Day luncheon, November 14, 2008.

Things you can’t say in fundraising

Hey guys! I’m “Raising More Money” with “Donor-Centred Fundraising!!”

That’s the kind of language that can get you in trouble. Those are trademarked phrases and they can’t be tossed around lightly. Tom Ahern has written a biting post on the subject.

If you are working in fundraising, you’ve witnessed the popularity of Penelope Burk’s “donor-centred fundraising” books, seminars and consulting. Even bigger is Terry Axelrod’s company Benevon (formerly called Raising More Money). You might have explored these programs in a hopeful quest for the secret to fundraising success (both profess to have it). You might have bought the books (I have) or attended a rather pricey seminar (guilty).

I think their approaches both work. But there isn’t anything revolutionary in them. There’s no secret. They are common sense, strategic approaches to fundraising. Follow the golden rule and treat donors well. Say thank you. Be super organized. Be respectful. Tell a good story. Use your assets. Follow through. Is this really new?

A few years ago I was shocked when a colleague received a cease-and-desist letter for using the term “Raise More Money” in a book title. She had been publishing fundraising books and advice for decades. Basically she taught people how to “raise more money.” How many ways are there to rephrase that? She was asked to stop because that phrase belongs to Axelrod. Don’t talk about an “Ask Event” or “Treasure Map” either.

It isn’t enough to make hundreds of thousands from nonprofits? Must you gag your competitors and colleagues too?

Rant over and out.

Vote for the best nonprofit tagline

For anyone who has ever wracked their brain, scoured their thesaurus and sat through painful hours of brainstorming with co-workers to come up with a tagline for their organization… here’s a little inspiration.

Nancy Schwartz’s Getting Attention blog is running a contest where you can vote for the best nonprofit tagline. The short list of 20 has been culled from more than 1,050 submissions.

Personally, I think every nonprofit needs a tagline. All the more so if your organizational name is dry, long, unclear or filled with jargon. The best taglines are short and inspire/explain, delivering your brand promise in a pithy and memorable little nugget.

I’ll never forget an organization I worked with years ago… the Snake River Alliance. Their name doesn’t say much, especially to those who don’t know the Snake River. But they developed a great tagline — “Idaho’s Nuclear Watchdog” — and I’ll never forget them because of it. A good tagline can compensate for a poor name. So if you are contemplating an organizational name change, ask yourself if your identity problems could be solved by a brillant tagline. And go get that thesaurus!

Here are a few of my favourite taglines from clients and former clients:

David Suzuki Foundation – Solutions Are In Our Nature
The Land Conservancy of BC – Special Places. Forever, For Everyone.
Adoptive Families Association of BC – A Family For Every Child
Tides Canada Foundation – Think Big. Give Wisely.

Five ways to improve response to your donation page

Donordigital has released a report called “Perfecting Your Page: Can donation page optimization boost online giving?” The answer to their question is yes — improving your page really can boost giving. The report can be downloaded here and is based on testing done with Amnesty International USA and Optimost.

From the report:

Online fundraising has become a growing source of income for many non-profits over the past 10 years. But while organizations typically spend lots of time spent developing clever, creative, and inspirational online content, they often overlook more mundane aspects of online appeals that can make a big difference in converting advocates, subscribers, and other supporters into donors. Specifically, while email and web page copy may persuade people to “click to donate now,” less than half of those who click through to the donation page (and often just a few percent) typically complete the donation transaction.

Here are five key tips:

• 1. Size DOES matter: Bigger donate buttons helped convert more donors
• 2. Color can matter too: A vividly colored donation button can strongly boost donation page conversion…but seasonality and color choice influenced whether it did (read the report for more on this… green buttons performed better than blue)
• 3. Less is more: Removing unnecessary fields from the personal information form significantly increased conversion to donate
• 4. Remind people (nicely) why they want to donate: Polite header copy (“Please make a tax-deductible gift…”) followed by short appeal copy yielded better conversion than a more forceful call-to-action (“Donate Now! Help us…”) without appeal copy
• 5. No need to be demanding: Using firmer language on the donation button (“Donate Now” instead of “Submit”) did not produce statistically higher conversions

Thanks Donordigital!

Lovely example of stewardship via email

I made a donation to my alma mater, McGill University, last year. Since then they have done a great job of keeping in touch. Here’s an example… A short email linking to an animation about the difference that McGill graduates are about to make in the world as they graduate. It’s a simple idea, but nicely timed and clearly saying “thank you” rather than “give give give.”

Here’s the note sent by email (there was also a header and footer with a salutation and all the contact info). Click to view the animation.

The university is in the midst of “Campaign McGill” a massive effort to raise $750 million. The campaign website is also nicely done and a good example of the presentation of a multifaceted case for support. Their campaign theme of “History in the Making” feels less generic to me than a lot of university campaigns (where a frequent theme seems to be general “excellence”).