Social Entrepreneur blog for the world changers
Jason Dick
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Homepage: http://www.asmallchange.net
Posts by Jason Dick
Fundraising is Not a Narcotic
Jan 23rd
Over the last few months I have been secretly peddling drugs. My blog was hacked and, unknown to me, written into the metadata was advertising for a narcotic. I’m very sorry that I did not catch it sooner. I deleted my site and reposted everything and have solved the problem.
I was thinking about what I want my website to be about and I reflected on what fundraising is about. There is not a lot in common between fundraising and drugs. Fundraising is about capacity building for good work in our communities. It is about providing people a chance they never had before.
However some people seem to steer clear of fundraising as if it was worse than you local dealer. Fundraising is not a narcotic. It is an opportunity for us individually and as a community to make a difference.
Don’t Forget Your $1,000 Gifts
Oct 17th
Every organization understands the value of their very top 20 donors. It is easy to see the importance of a $10,000 annual donor. Many organizations have a cut-off as to when the “major gift” starts; often times this is $1,000. Don’t forget the value of those donors that are right at and right before that cut off. This group knows they are not your top donors but are giving because your organization is an area of passion for them. They want you to keep in touch but don’t expect as much attention. (This group is a really great group to talk with about planned gifts. If a donor can give $1,000 a year, they often have the ability to give a larger gift at the end of their life through a bequest.)
I also mention this level of gift because it often represents an underserved area. Annual Fund Directors will build a great upgrading program where they might start a donor at $100 and over a few years build them to a $500 or even $1,000 gift. In the mind of the annual fund person they are extremely important. But once they reach a certain level they are given over to the major gifts people. When the major gifts person receives this gift these individuals are all of a sudden at the bottom of their list of donors and no longer considered the most important.
Many of your “secret gem” donors who have huge capacity will start at the $1,000 level. Many donors who can give $10,000 or even much more know that major gifts start around the $1,000 level. The $1,000 gift is a trial gift to see how you will respond and whether they really want to invest their capital. If you do not pay any attention or show a value for their $1,000 gift, you will lose them very quickly.
Elusive Prospects
Oct 10th
We all have those prospects which we can never get on the phone. I had a great question in my post, This Thing Called Follow-up, and I wanted to provide a bit more of a comprehensive response.
It is almost always difficult to connect with a new prospect as nobody likes to receive a phone call from a stranger. Building your fundraising programs via people in the community who have never given and have little connection to your organization will always be a challenge.
If these are prospects that could be movers and shakers for your organization, think carefully about who calls them. Send a list around your board meeting to see who might know this individual or a way to connect with them. If you have to do a cold call to them, you might get a lot further if it is the CEO, ED, or President of your organization making the first call. Sometimes it can be helpful to have your board chair or one of your board members who is really well respected in the community or charismatic make the call.
You will always be more successful if you have a reason to connect with the people you are trying to reach. Whether they are patients, individuals that live near the charity, or people that you believe have a common interest, providing a valid reason why you are calling can help people feel more comfortable in calling you back. I have sometimes found that providing a small amount of personal information can help warm someone up to follow-up as well. Too much information will turn everyone off but a quick word about why this message has meaning to you may help in getting someone to return your call.
Take Initiative
Oct 3rd
I am not a particularly brilliant or innovative person nor am I fabulously talented or charismatic. Any success that I have had I’d contribute to a God that cares about me, great friends, and initiative. I am baffled by how many people will only do exactly what they are told or asked to do and nothing more. If you want to be successful, find a way to do more than is expected and asked of you.
Many organizations have a time where the office is less busy often times during the summer donors are less engaged as they are traveling. What a great time to think about a special projects you can work on that will make a difference at your organization. Think about doing a thank you campaign or working on a social media plan. Don’t take your extra time for granted or sit bored at your desk.
If you can create a habit of taking initiative, it will serve you your entire life. Bosses love hiring staff that they do not have to watch over and worry if they are working hard. Everyone will know you are a hard work and you will also get the benefit of the doubt when you make a mistake or when something you try doesn’t work.
The Long Ask
Sep 26th
It always baffles me how little time organizations will spend stewarding and cultivating their donors. The less time an organization spends acknowledging and cultivating its donors the fewer donors they will retain. In this kind of an organization their top donors are current board members because that is the only group with which they have spent significant time. Many of these organizations never ask for a gift they just cross their fingers and hope that the money will come in.
Take time throughout the entire year to connect with your donors. Know what season your donors would like to give and set up a schedule of reaching out. You do not need to talk with them every single month but you should at least touch base with them quarterly.
Depending on the level of gift your “touch” may be very different. If it is someone that likes to give $20 or $100, don’t spend all of your money cultivating them throughout the year. Find ways to send them electronic messages or newsletters so they know what’s going on. For your donors who are major donors take time to connect with them individually. These connection points should NOT be about asking for money. One of them should be immediately after they give and it should be a thank you.
If your donors see that you care enough to build a year-long relationship with them, then when it comes time for them to give it is a very different experience for you and for them. When you talk to someone once a year when they give it feels very transactional and impersonal. When a relationship has been built throughout the entire year a donor can give knowing it will go to continue the good work for which it was originally intended.
The Power of One
Sep 12th
Every board I’ve worked with has board members who are more involved and board members who are less involved. Some of your board members are doers and others are not. If you have a smaller board of 5 to 10 people, then you probably have a board that is almost full of doers. If you have a board of 25+, then you probably know which board members are doers, which ones are only there for the meetings, and which ones you are surprised if you ever see.
Every development person loves the doers on their board. I’m not talking about the doer that gets in the way and is always pushing their own agenda. I’m talking about the doer who wants to help out and is always the first person to volunteer. Finding a way to sustain that kind of engagement is important. You want your board members and volunteers to have a good experience; those that are doers you want to have an even better experience so they will keep helping. Do not overwhelm these people with a thousand different projects and a dozen different action items that is a guaranteed way to burn a volunteer out and keep them from volunteering again.
Give your doers one big task at a time to accomplish. If you must, give them two or three; but don’t give them any more tasks than that. When you give someone just one task you will find that the task gets done quicker and more comprehensively. The less tasks the higher likelihood they will be accomplished. Fewer tasks also mean you have an opportunity to thank and praise your volunteers more often for their essential work. This creates a cycle of good experiences where volunteers know you appreciate the work that they are doing and feel a since of pride that you can count on them to get the work done.
Open Ended Questions
Aug 29th
People like to talk. Generally people would choose a good conversation over a bad conversation anytime. People also like to talk about themselves. If you can find the subject that someone likes to discuss and get them started talking about it, you will find that they start to like you more quickly. Talking about their family or kids, maybe a hobby they are passionate about, or a fun trip they have planned can really get people talking.
This is true when you are talking about your organization or about other topics as well. People will respond based on the kind of room you give them with the question. For example, if you ask someone what time it is, they will almost certainly say “five o’clock”, or whatever time it is. If you get someone that really like to talk you might even get a follow-up comment like, “…the end of the day just will not come fast enough,” or something like that. If you ask someone what their favorite time of day is, they might tell you, “five o’clock because that’s when work is done and I get to go have happy hour with my friends.” They still might tell you “five o’clock, but after that you will get a totally different response. It is very unlikely that they will just tell you “five o’clock”. Implied as part of the question is the “why” and people will talk about their answer more when you ask them why.
Take time to ask questions that are open ended and encourage someone to share a little bit more about themselves or the topic you are trying to get to. If you ask a yes or no question, that is often all you are going to get.
Working the Room
Aug 22nd
A good development officer understands the value of working the room. Whether it is a small house party, a large gala or luncheon, or even just a tour it is important to make a special connection with your guests. Everyone has a different capacity of how many new people they can meet at one time.
Some people could meet people all day; they love it, and are really wonderful in new environments. Others, if not most people, can meet a handful of people but start to get tired especially as they see lots of new faces. Know what kind of person you are and plan accordingly. Taking time to greet your guests is essential to the ongoing success of your events. As your time with an organization grows, you will find that you know more and more people and that less of the individuals in the room are totally unknown to you.
If a large part of the room is unknown to you, meet people intentionally and strategically and do it in phases with which you are comfortable. Do not try and spend every single second meeting new people or an hour in you will find that you have nothing left to give your guests the rest of the evening. Take a few minutes to meet new people and then take a break and talk with some of the guests that you already know. Allow your conversations with your new guests to take a little bit more time if you are have a great time. Those kinds of moments will breathe life into your other conversations. Use the people that you know, the table captains, board members, and volunteers, to participate in introducing you to those at their table.
You Have Influence
Aug 8th
Everyone has influence of some kind whether it is over your friends and family or over business and community leaders. The longer you work in your community the more people that you have an opportunity to meet and get to know. As you begin to build your reputation and build your relationship with these people, you will find that all of a sudden you start to have some influence with them.
As a junior staff member I did not understand that. This message is largely for junior staffers and those newer to development work. I was impressed and amazed at the generosity and kindness of board and community members with which I worked. As I’ve done more volunteering and worked in different organizations I’ve started to realize that many of these individuals are people that I can call on if I have a question or if I need help.
Regardless of your position at your organization, you have communities of people in your life that are watching you and eager to participate in something meaningful that you are doing. Don’t take those relationships for granted. Stay in touch, see if you can find ways to be of help in their lives. Don’t be afraid to ask them for help or ask if they would be interested in being involved in projects that you are doing. People love to help people and if you build good relationships, people will like to help you. Be cautious as to how often and in what ways you ask – but don’t be afraid to ask.
Related posts:
Constituencies
Aug 1st
According to Giving USA in 2010, more than $290 billion was given of that 73% or $211 billion came from individuals and only 5% came from businesses.
It constantly surprises me how much time organizations spend with grants and businesses when there is so much more money in individual giving. As you can see from Giving USA and any other giving report is that the amount of money that is annually donated as a result of individual personal giving vastly exceeds the amount of money from businesses or foundations.
Business and Foundation fundraising is an important part of fund development but it can also be one of the most difficult areas to be successful. Businesses and Foundations have annual budget cycles and systems and guidelines that they must adhere to and the competition is much fiercer for a smaller pool of money. Individuals can give when and as often as they see fit.
Concentrate more of our time on talking with individuals about giving and often much of the business and foundation giving follows suit based on the connections you develop with individuals. Some Businesses and Foundations act as the way an individual give their money.
I’m always surprised with how much time is spent focusing on business giving. I believe it is because people are afraid to ask for money. When you ask for money from a business often you are not asking someone directly for their money. Why do you think people tend to focus so much on business & foundation fundraising?
Related posts:
- Embedded Philanthropy: A New Age of Giving
- Business Giving vs Individual Giving
- Competition or Collaborative
- (Red)volution
- America’s Giving Challenge #2
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