Slow news day? Not Groundhog Day! February 2, 2012 By Ewlacasse

Turning on the local (Pennsylvania) noon news today, I groaned as the announcer previewed the next segment in which she would report the “sightings” of ten area groundhogs.  And whether they saw their shadows or not!

Minutes later, I am interviewing Brent Hafele whose webinar series “Live Out Loud” begins this month! 

        1. Developing Your Story
        Thu, Feb 9, 2012 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
        Registration here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/725308400

        2. Pitching Your Story
        Thu, Mar 8, 2012 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST
        Registration here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/959999913

        3. Interviewing Success and Following-up with Style 
        Thu, Apr 12, 2012 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EDT
        Registration Web Link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/812331504

Hafele quips: “You can make a news story from Groundhog Day—if you’re a homeless shelter!  Contact your local media and invite them to do a story on what difference it makes to the homeless and those who care about them if winter continues for six more weeks!”

Brent Hafele, CEO of NewDay Nonprofit Solutions, promises to ignite your creativity as you learn how to make headlines and increase your nonprofit’s exposure and income using the news media.  He’ll cover media basics (we all need a review!) and help you see how Your Organization can develop stories the media will want to run.

Hafele’s first caveat is that your organization has two media publics:  1, obviously, the donor or prospective donor; 2, not so easy to see from where we usually sit, the reporter.  To place a story with the media, you need to think about your story from the perspective of the reporter—who needs a quick story, with a new angle that his readers will relate to.  If you are supplying the story idea and the facts, he needs to trust that you have your facts straight.

So, for the groundhog story, you’d have contacted him last week with some stats, experts, locals who can provide a picture of what six more weeks of winter means to your city’s homeless. You’ve given him enough time to do some prep work, interviews, photos, and earn him/herself a front-page story for February 2!  It will be a great success for the reporter and for your organization; and the reporter will be eager to entertain your next story idea!

Learn how to get your stories placed and your message out. Raise more money as potential donors learn more about your nonprofit. Leave with practical tools and tips from a veteran who successfully placed over 90 different stories in just four years.  This three-part series will take you through the four steps of Media Relations: Developing Your Story, Pitching Your Story, Interviewing Success, and Following-up with Style.


Join GiftWorks and Brent on Thursday, February 9^th, March 8^th, and April 12^th, at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET!

 

Guaranteed to Open Email! January 30, 2012 By Ewlacasse

Daily we hear about the glut of email we’re all receiving. (Not to mention the torrent produced by social media.)  Email is still the most effective online communication for fundraisers.  But, amid all the clutter, how will you keep your donors and prospects opening your missives?

Email subject lines should be short.  Without a quick attention-getter, your message will get no more than two seconds as the reader’s eye scans downthe list of the morning's emails.

Email subject lines need to put the punch in the first word (it’s capitalized!)  Not:  “Wondering how to help in the crisis in Haiti?”—but: “Haiti: Help Now!”  The reader knows your topic at the first glance.

Email subject lines need to identify the immediate benefit. In “Haiti: Help Now!” there’s an implied urgency which may well match up with your reader’s pangs of guilt about not acting yet. You want the readers to open your message right now, not later in the day when other matters are swirling in their minds.

Email subject lines should provide a specific value proposition. Implied in “Haiti: Help Now!” is the message that your gift will get there quickly; the donating will be easy—directly from the email--; there’s no sluggish bureaucracy which will tie up your money for six months while some board struggles to determine which phase of the crisis to support. The donor reaps the tangible benefit of acting to help, acting now, with little hassle and no further delay.  “Haiti: You Can Help Now!” might improve this, but you have to decide whether the shorter title is more effective.

Take a look at your own inbox right now.  Which subject lines are “grabbers,” and which are “ho-hum”?  Need I say more?

Do You Lead with your Heart? January 17, 2012 By Ewlacasse

When you’re creating your next campaign or appeal, remember that all donors do not react equally to a wounded dog, a starving child, or dying wetlands.  Yes, these appeals seem to capture the imagination of a portion of the population (maybe a majority in the past).

But, don’t forget to include in your appeal content attractive to others whose prime motivator may lie along another line.

Intellect leads the decision-making of a large number of people.  The answers they are looking for are:  Would a gift to this organization be a solid investment?  Is this organization well-organized and well-run, with solid programs and credible identification of needs?  Will I be proud to be associated with this organization?

Gut reaction means the most to others.  Do I have a good feeling about this organization?  Are these people my kind of people?  Does this appeal go right to the top of my personal philanthropic priorities?

Heart strings, while maybe the most obvious, is a tried-and-true route to go.  Although, today’s public has been so inundated with this emotional appeal, it’s hard to invent a new way to play it out.

No one approach is guaranteed.  The test of a good appeal is: how well it combines just the right amount of each.  Look back at some of your past appeals and evaluate what you’ve been doing.

Handle Donors with Kid Gloves; Handle Donor Data with Double Checks January 10, 2012 By Ewlacasse

A good way to start the year is with a staff review of the Most Common Missteps you can make to turn off otherwise-happy donors.  You might want to lighten the atmosphere by making up examples in the extreme.  People learn better in a cheerful atmosphere than with a knife being held to their throats..

Not necessarily in Disaster order, since in each case, it all depends on the generosity of the donor and the perceived flagrancy of the staff member.

 In the category of database negligence:

• You misspell the donor’s name
• You misspell the donor’s wife’s name
• You misspell the donor’s child’s name
• You address “Vaughn Hanline” as Dear Sir, when Vaughn is a lady. You address “Marian Thomas” as Dear Madam, when Marian is anything but a madam.
• A donor’s name got duplicated in the database; you mailed two appeals to the same donor at the same address before the donor asked you to stop (if you’re lucky!)
• You address a 10-year donor as “Dear Friend.”

 In the category of more personal negligence:

•  A thank-you letter (gift acknowledgement) arrives a month after the receipt of the gift.
• The donor asked for no more phone calls and the receptionist phoned her to say OK.
• The donor asked for no more fundraising appeals by mail, but someone decided that Christmas was an exception.
• A donor’s  spouse died and left you a large bequest.  Direct mail appeals continue to be addressed to “Mr. and Mrs.”
• The donor asked that his gift not be acknowledged in the annual report, but it was.
• You promised to follow up with a donor in a week, but (for whatever reason) you did not.
• A major donor asked the Development Assistant to send him your audited financial statements, but it never happened.
• You engraved your wealthiest donor’s name on the donor wall, at the wrong giving level.  
• A donor who attended last year’s gala was not invited to this year’s gala.
• Your new Major Gift Officer sat next to your most generous supporter at the gala and didn’t say a thing.
• Your on-hold music/radio station plays “Give it to me one more time."

In most cases, the misstep is not intentional, but the damage can spread farther than just a disgruntled donor.  It’s clear that you need to develop (and reinforce) systems of “check” and “double check” to avoid these potential catastrophes.  Making all staff aware of the danger of a moment’s inattention can save the day all around!

Year-End Reports: Beyond LYBUNT January 5, 2012 By Ewlacasse

GiftWorks Certified Consultant Sally Funk offers some insights into making your year-end reports work for you.  Based in Colorado Springs (CO), Sally is Donor Systems Specialist with McConkey-Johnston International, a fundraising and marketing consulting firm for nonprofit organizations.

You’ve finished entering gifts for 2011. Now’s a great time to run “big picture” reports to help you plan better and work smarter in 2012.

But which reports?

Remember, the main purpose of any report is to answer a question. With that in mind, what questions are the most important to ask – and answer – about your fundraising efforts last year?

The first thing that comes to mind is usually something like “How did we do last year?” or other performance-related questions. Basically, you need to know: “Did we work the plan?” and, “Did the plan work?” This translates into a number of comparison reports: actual to goal, this mailing vs. that mailing, this year vs. last year, etc. Use your Appeal and Campaign reports to get this information, but you’ll also need to gather data like expense and number mailed/invited to get the clearest picture.

The next question should be, “Did it make a difference?” Did your efforts to acquire new donors actually bring donors in the door? Are your continuing donors increasing, both in numbers and in giving amounts?

Think of the different steps donors can take with your organization. How many signed up last year? How many gave their first gift (and how much)? How many continued giving from 2010 to 2011? How many lapsed? How many lapsed donors came back on board? Of your continuing donors, how many gave more – or less?

You can use Smartlists to create these reports, and then you can compare growth – or lack of it – to your efforts last year. Here’s a sure way to focus your efforts for the year ahead.

 

Increases in Giving When Cash is Tight? December 20, 2011 By Ewlacasse

When the Chronicle of Philanthropy consulted 400 groups of top fund-raisers from private sources, they found many are struggling to grow their annual giving in this tough economy.  Not surprised at that, are you?  But, the Chronicle notes, two types of nonprofits are prospering in this struggling economy:

      Groups who receive the bulk of their contributions in the form of donated products, such as international charities or antihunger organizations, are seeing increased giving.  This confirms what we are all seeing internationally and in our local communities. The public’s response to natural disasters, unemployment, and increases in those needing a safety net is vigorous this year.  Not just the wealthy, but most who can afford to rush to the support of the less-fortunate. 

      Why?  Perhaps, as we feel the pinch, we are better able to imagine how others are affected.  Appeals for assistance from these groups are highly visible, visual, and immediate. (A lesson to be learned here!) And, the need in these cases extends beyond individuals to entire communities and societies.

      Another sector seeing increases are groups that raise most of their money in stock gifts.  Why?  Perhaps because, when other markers were lagging, the market revived last year. (Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund [No. 3.], which raised $1.3 billion, more than any other time since it was created two decades ago.)  Donors may feel more comfortable making gifts of stock when cash is tight. Does developing a strategy to encourage gifts of stocks make sense for your organization?

      One of the only ways to profit from the current situation is to understand and explore the new insights it provides.

      Are you finding donor strength in unexpected places? Consider if that suggests a new or revived strategy for the long term.

Engagement: Keys to Success in Fundraising Today December 9, 2011 By Ewlacasse

Fundraising guru and GiftWorks friend Mal Warwick takes a fresh look on donor engagement.  From Mal’s newsletter:

In recent months, I’ve been developing a new perspective on fundraising, born of the increasing frustration I’ve felt trying to understand today’s fundraising environment through the lens of yesterday’s truths. To understand the concept of Engagement, you need to get your head around a new way of looking at donors.

Most of the time, we think of donors as just that: people who send us money. But donors may have multi-faceted relationships with us—for example, as volunteers, as former staff members, as providers of in-kind products or services, or as direct beneficiaries of our work. For them, and possibly even for us, those other aspects of their relationships may be even more important than their financial support. And even donors who are now only donors may be able to contribute more meaningfully to our work in non-financial ways than they do as donors. So, don’t think of Engagement in a narrow way as a means to get more money from them. Take a holistic view. Think of the possible benefits for both parties in a broader relationship.

Four routes to donor Engagement

• Volunteering. First, if your organization offers volunteer opportunities, you have one of the easiest and sometimes the fastest routes to donor Engagement. People who volunteer for a charity are three times as likely to contribute funds as those who don’t. But that’s only one aspect of the picture. Most analysts in the U.S. value volunteer service at $15 per hour, so a person who volunteers, say, three hours a week throughout the year is giving an extra contribution worth more than $2,000 that year. However, some volunteer programs require highly trained and specialized skills that may be worth many times that much. That’s probably a lot more than the value of all their financial contributions.

As you know, running a volunteer program isn’t easy. And it’s absolutely essential that your volunteer program provide a rich and rewarding experience. That takes skill and entails management and training costs. But take care: A badly run volunteer effort can turn people off just as quickly as a good one can turn them on.

• Advocacy. Now, the second route to donor Engagement is advocacy. Increasingly, with the continuing growth of email and the Internet as an inexpensive way to involve supporters, grassroots advocacy efforts, or campaigning, is becoming an ever-more familiar way for charities to recruit new supporters. It’s become equally important as a means to broaden their relationships with people who already support them. But it’s a mistake to think of advocacy as consisting exclusively of sending out email action alerts. There are far more meaningful ways for your donors and other supporters to engage in advocacy on your behalf. For example, they might print out, sign, and mail actual letters—on real paper! Or make telephone calls. Or attend meetings or rallies or demonstrations . . . or walk picket lines . . . or join delegations of citizens to visit legislators . . . or even climb up the side of a high-rise to hang a banner! All this is advocacy—and those few people who choose one of these more active ways to support you are worth their weight in gold. They’re certainly worth paying a lot of attention to!
• Consultation. Yet another route to Engagement is to consult your supporters. Keep in mind the old axiom about major donors: “If you want advice, ask for money. If you want money, ask for advice.” Donors always feel appreciated—and more involved in your work—when you solicit their views. And of course you can do that not just by phone but by email, direct mail, face-to-face at events, or in informal focus groups.

But don’t limit yourself to asking for your donors’ opinions. Use the most appropriate channel to acquire meaningful personal information: what motivates their giving . . . which of your programs is most important for them . . . whether your organization is a top philanthropic priority. In other words, the sort of information that will help you tailor your fundraising appeals more closely to their individual interests and giving habits.

• Access. For some donors, however, there’s simply no substitute for face-to-face contact. Giving them access to staff members, or in some cases the members of the board, can be a huge incentive for some people to give, or give more. And supplying them with the email address and direct phone number of their own personal contact on the staff will enhance their feeling that their support is truly valued.

Direct access like this won’t just pay off in increased giving. Perhaps equally important, it will lead to positive word-of-mouth for your organization. Favorable “buzz” like this can be invaluable—1,000 times as valuable as any advertising you might pay for. That’s what we’re learning from studies in the new field of word-of-mouth marketing. Buzz leads to wider public awareness of your work and even to new donors. Remember: People will listen to friends and acquaintances with less skepticism than they will if you’re making the same claims!

Visit www.malwarwick.com to access Mal’s other thoughtful insights.

Up the Email Addresses in your Database! November 18, 2011 By Ewlacasse

Many of us have email addresses for only 10% of our donors.  It stands to reason: people are reluctant to give their email address for fear they’ll receive a deluge of spam from you or others.  None of us likes this uninvited visitor.

But, as web use increases and more people become familiar with email transactions (bill pay, online purchase, membership renewals), it’s likely that a wider segment of the population might be willing to share their email address with you.

Two caveats:

            Never use an email address that wasn’t given with permission.

            Never abuse your donors by sending emails unrelated to their main interest or sharing email lists.

From your point of view, the benefit of having the donor’s email is shorter response time and your ability to share news quickly.

From the donor’s point of view, the benefit is less snail mail, quicker acknowledgment/receipting,

For both of you, there is great benefit in lowering costs of postage, paper—to the benefit of your mission.

In fact, statistically donors who share their email are more likely to be engaged donors and secure in their relationship with you.  So how would you move more people into that category?

1.  Anytime there’s a sign-up, event registration, raffle entry, petition signing, designate a column for E-mail address.  More and more people are willing to comply.

2.  When asking for gift, offer to send tax receipt by email, if donor provides.

3.  Invite donors to view a webcast; they’ll need to provide email to participate.

4.  At the end of a phone call, have all staff ask for the email—to save costs in future mailings.

5.  On your website, invite readers to sign-up for your email newsletter.

Be sure to offer the donor the option to control the frequency of emails from you.  Have a check off—“Please use my email in the future to save postage, paper, and mailings.”  Offer the donor options of hearing from you monthly or only quarterly, etc. Make it clear that the donor can opt out of emails at any time.

Donor giving is based on TRUST;  using a donor email addresses with respect and letting donors select the frequency of contact will enhance the trust they’ve already given you.

 

Monthly Donors—the 13th Mailing November 11, 2011 By Ewlacasse

Recently (September 19 blog) we enumerated the merits of converting regular donors into monthly givers.  In short, a monthly donor’s annual gift can be larger than a one-time gift, and a steady monthly revenue flow is a wonderful thing!

Here’s another wrinkle on the monthly giver program: The Thirteenth Gift.

Your monthly donors’ annual appeal occurs on the anniversary of the initial sign-up (e.g., every April) along with a request to upgrade the monthly amount.  So the monthly donor isn’t receiving your Annual Appeal.  However, there’s a special reason to suggest an end-of-the-year Thirteenth Gift from these special donors.

The monthly donor has painlessly and without hassle contributed to your organization faithfully throughout the year.  Part of the attractiveness of the monthly donation is receiving fewer appeals and reminders through the year.  So possibly they feel less “mailing fatigue.”  A special and carefully crafted appeal at year-end could be a breath of fresh air.

A Thirteenth Gift offers unique personal rewards.  The donor has already completed a worthy commitment to your organization with their monthly gifts.  Now, at year’s end—when they are free of dealing with the Annual gift request, they could get excited about doing the extra thing—just as we do when we send a “no-reason” gift to a loved one.  It isn’t expected, so the gifting feels extra-generous, extra thoughtful, above and beyond the call of duty.

Your appeal will be most attractive if it’s for something specific—and not just more annual support.

            “Help us to cap off a great year by providing no-cost spaying services to 50 pets.”

            “Let’s plant an additional 20 chestnut trees to make this the best year ever.”

            “With your help, we can add 30 feet of preserved stream bed….”

Give your monthly donor this special opportunity to respond out of the normal routine.  It’s a chance to stir their sense of a special relationship with your mission, without the push for a higher giving level.  In fact, it has a real “family” feel to it.

Tough Times to Find New Donors November 9, 2011 By Ewlacasse

Everyone’s keeping their wallets in their pockets; what might have seemed a “healthier” asking and giving environment no longer exists.  Just lie down and die?  No.  Try some more creative ways to find new names and make new friends.

Best place to start is with your current donors.  They believe in your mission, like you enough  to support your efforts, and you already know some things about them.  Put this to work for you.

Don’t do this in the same way you’ve been doing it for years. (You’ve already reaped the results of that method by now.)  Get a group together—preferably a new mix of people and ideas. Rustle up some fresh approaches and let them loose.  Your first meeting should be a brainstorming session.  Ask for wild ideas, allow no negative responses to an idea, encourage your participants to think outside of the box!

You might start with the information already available:

            What patterns can be found in your current donors?  Go beyond zip codes to employers, other affinities, age data, parenting status. Your participants looking with “fresh eyes” may identify commonalities you have missed.

            If you haven’t already, survey 100 donors to learn how they came to your organization.  Then rethink the paths that have been rich in the past.

            Think Circles.  Extend beyond the existing donor to other natural circles—families, schoolmates, fellow Rotarians, golfing buddies, professional colleagues; let your imagination soar!

            Invite your long-term donors to leverage their interest by:

                        Hosting an event on your behalf

                        Inviting you to present to a group they influence

                        Selling a table for your dinner dance to new prospects they might identify

                        Engaging their employees in adopting your nonprofit for a day, in putting together a company team to run your marathon, or in volunteering to clean up a stream you’ve targeted.  If only one valuable new prospect becomes a donor, you’ve succeeded.

            Partner with other nonprofits for mutual benefit: Bring your service dogs to display at a preschool fair; work with your symphony to provide arts experiences for disadvantaged children.  Share a career counseling session with others serving the unemployed.  Those interested in a cause related to yours may well be interested in you.

            This isn’t a world in which donors are acquired in groups of 100. (Forget the magic mailing list!)  In today’s world, donors are acquired as friends, just as they are maintained and strengthened through friendships.  Think about making one new friend at a time.  With quality relationships, circles expand.