Social Executive for the Social Entrepreneur

This week’s Featured Fundraiser is Rochelle Zeidman.Thank you Katherine Wertheim for referring her to me.
If you ever would like to nominate someone for Feature Fundraiser just send me an email. - Jason

What kind of fundraising do you do and who do you do it for?

Strategy, campaign, foundation, corporate, individual major and principal gifts, and board fundraising are the kinds of fundraising I do for local, national, and global non-profits. Also develop fundraising products.

What keeps you going? Why do you keep working in development?

Development is a means to an end. I work in development because ultimately services depend on organizations acquiring resources. Development professionals keep the lights on in theatres, ensure food reaches those in needs, advance education for youth, help achieve solutions to pressing global health issues, and tackle so much more.
Conceptualizing and designing sustaining solutions keep me going.

What tips/advice do you have to other fundraisers in your field?

• Ours is a rapidly changing profession — stay tuned in to change so you will be an effective leader.
• Have a plan a, b and c for your organization and monitor closely.
• Your success is interdependent. Be active in your organization’s plans and actively network.
• Create opportunities for growth within your own organization.

What is the most frustrating or difficult thing about fund development?

A challenge about fund development is how other factors may affect results. That’s why it’s wise to take a broad view, look at trends, etc. Also your organization’s financials, visibility, reputation, relevance, social marketing, quality of programs, customer service, and technology can affect your fundraising.

Do you have any memorable donor visits or solicitations that you’d like to share?

My first week on a new job, our top donor passed away, and this gift was not endowed, which was a huge problem. I immediately created a challenge to five donors who were one level below to increase their gifts, which they did. In fact, several stayed at the new level. Long-term solution is to endow annual gifts to avoid this situation.

What is a funny story you’d like to share about a solicitation?

Funny story was a visit with president of my institution to a wealthy prospect who graciously offered us a beverage to quench our thirst — glasses of 150-year old scotch. I was eager to try this beverage but felt a quick small kick and urgent look from my president…and we politely refused. You guess: did we ultimately receive a gift?

Related posts:

1. Janice Chan: Featured Fundraiser
2. Featured Fundraiser: Dan Smith
3. Sylvia Allen: Featured Fundraiser
4. Featured Fundraiser: Katie Graf
5. Economic Troubles: Featured Fundraiser Tom McLagan

These entrepreneurs grew their businesses by teaching others the tricks of their trade. You can, too.

A couple months ago, I wrote a post, Want to Versus Need to Hear. I had some great follow-up comments from that post, but I didn’t really give any practical advice about how to cope with receiving unwanted but needed advice.

When I was heartbroken over some difficult issue at school, my father always had the same advice for me. My Dad would tell me, “no matter how bad it gets, it won’t feel as bad in the morning.” I’ve found that advice to be mostly true. Whenever I’m discouraged or frustrated, giving it a night’s rest has almost always worked in taming my emotions and giving me a better perspective. Wait to draw your final conclusions on your frustrating situation until the next day.

We all need to have confidence that we are doing a good job in some areas of our lives and of our work. What is it about your job that you know you can do well, an area you have received recognition? Remembering those moments can be helpful in getting through those experiences of weakness. Take a minute to think about the difference you have made as a member of your profession. Talk with a client you’ve gotten to know well and hear their story again.

Related posts:

1. Want to vs. Need to Hear

Even without data, there are other ways to test your projections.

When I first started fundraising, I was always disappointed at how few names were on my prospect lists. It seemed that the majority of names I sent a letter or made phone calls to were the same names over and over again, and I consistently received a rather low response rate. So, I started looking in new places outside of just lapsed donors and donors from last year’s drive.

• Your local Book of Lists. Every community has those businesses that have become the popular ones to ask for money. Because these businesses get so much charitable attention, they can be the most difficult from which to receive funding.
• Local Chambers of Commerce. Businesses that participate in their chamber of commerce are often philanthropically minded but may not receive as many requests as the larger businesses in your community.
• Ask your board members to recommend names. I encourage you to sit down individually with your board members and ask them to add a few names to your prospect list.
• LinkedIn. One of my favorite places to go to find names and businesses is LinkedIn. Use the search function to find people or businesses in specific geographical regions or industry businesses. Check out the LinkedIn profiles of your board members and major donors to see who they already are connected to who might be good prospects.

Related posts:

1. Fund Drives with Businesses
2. Business Giving vs Individual Giving
3. Prospecting New and Existing Donors
4. Embedded Philanthropy: A New Age of Giving
5. Whom Do You Serve: Donor or Organization?

Learn to calculate the real ROI in 7 steps--increasing your chances of landing an investor and dusting the competition.

The heirs of the late businessman and philanthropist Norman Levy have reached a settlement with the Bernard Madoff bankruptcy trustee to pay $220-million to settle a claim over the money in the estate that came from the Madoff fraud, according to papers filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, says Bloomberg.

The trustee, Irving Picard, will not pursue the family’s charitable foundation, he said, because the money had been given to charity.