Campaign Goals and New Year’s Resolutions

Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year? How is it going? Have you stuck to it? If not, you are not alone. While many people have the best intentions of self-improvement through a resolution, most are only a memory by the time the calendar turns to February.

In many ways, a New Year’s resolution can be compared to the vision for a capital campaign. It is an ideal state of what your organization (or self) could be. And while it is important to think big about what you or your organization wants to achieve, both always run into the harsh realities of life. For resolutions, that might be demands on your time. For an organization, it is often funding.

The best goals, be it resolutions or campaigns, are those that balance a vision of betterment while recognizing the restraints we all face. It sets a goal that is achievable, but not easy. It recognizes that there will be obstacles and unforeseen events—no one is perfect at predicting the future. You anticipate as much as you can, but also allow room so a few curve balls won’t derail what you are trying to achieve.   

As fundraising consultants, this is often the challenge with recommending a goal in a feasibility study. How do we propose a goal that pushes an organization to achieve its vision, but also recognizes other constraints uncovered throughout the study? Aspects revealed in a study that can propel an organization towards a goal or lead to pulling back include:

• Relationships with and cultivation of top donors

• Willingness to volunteer and staff capacity

• Previous campaigns and annual giving history

• Other campaigns or donor commitments

Click here to learn more about the benefits of a feasibility study

As a board member or leader of an organization considering a feasibility study, you are likely most interested in the top line recommendation of, “How much can we raise?” With such importance on this question, be sure to ask potential consultants how they come to that conclusion. Giving thought to the data that informs that decision will give you confidence (or lack thereof) moving towards your goal.

Happy New Year, and congratulations to those of you who have stuck with those resolutions!

Grow Relationships by Addressing Donor Complaints

If you work in fundraising long enough, chances are you will come across a donor who is upset with you or your organization. Whether it is a misspelled name, lack of acknowledgment for a gift, or soliciting too much, fundraising is not immune to constituents voicing their displeasure. So what do you do when it inevitably happens?

When handled correctly, this can actually be an opportunity to grow a relationship with a donor. Research has shown that customers who have complaints promptly and professionally addressed are more likely to purchase again (or donate in this case).

As a former Telefund manager for a university, it was not unusual for me to come into the office and be greeted by a few voicemails of alumni who were frustrated for one reason or another. And to be honest, it was always a little scary to call them back (some were more upset than others!). Here are the things I found helpful when working with frustrated donors.

First, pick up the phone and give them a call. I found most people were pleasantly surprised that this step was taken. Most importantly, it creates room for dialogue (which is much more difficult via email) and allows you to engage in the next step.

Listen to what they have to say and acknowledge their concerns. Like most things in life, people just want to be heard. Give them time voice their concerns. When they are finished, repeat their concerns, feelings, or frustrations back to them. Although this may seem a little elementary, it lets them know you were listening and understand their concerns. If you are having trouble understanding the issue, politely ask questions to probe a little further and get to the root of the problem.

Finally, offer an apology and to the extent you can, suggest a solution. People will appreciate that you are taking a proactive step to ensure the problem does not happen again. It is important to weigh these solutions against the needs of the organization and the number of upset donors. If one donor calls frustrated about the number of mailings they are receiving, it would be best to simply remove them from the mailing list rather than decreasing the number of mailings. But if you are getting hundreds of calls or emails about the number of mailings, perhaps you need to rethink their frequency.

Take comfort in knowing that most donors just want to be heard and have their concerns acknowledged. Simply ignoring them will likely mean a donor is lost forever, but by engaging them you have the chance to grow the relationship and create an even more loyal supporter.

Fundraising ROI Refresher

As a fundraising professional, it is easy to feel like you are pulled in a million different directions. You visit with donors, prepare appeals, plan the annual golf outing, and are also supposed to update the website and get the planned giving program off the ground. Because of all the demands on your time, it is important to be mindful that the time you are spending is the most valuable for your organization. That’s where the chart below from the Association of Fundraising Professionals illustrating the ROI of fundraising activities can come in handy.

It is important to note that none of these activities occur in a vacuum. They all have a role to play in a comprehensive fundraising strategy.

Major gifts -- Far and away, the best return for your money and time is building relationships with your major gift (or potential major gift) donors. Major gifts should be defined within the context of your organization and fundraising operation.

Grant writing – This can vary dramatically from grant to grant. Applications and reporting structures will be different for every organization. When considering a grant application, weigh the size of the grant, the time it will take (pre and post-application), and the likelihood of being awarded. This likelihood of being awarded will often be dependent on relationships you have built with members of the grant-making organization.

Direct mail acquisition – On the face of it, this looks like easily the worst fundraising activity an organization could undertake. While true that breaking even on an acquisition program is typically seen as a win, it fills an important role by replenishing the donor pool. Then the return on these donors is seen in the next group, direct mail renewal.

Direct mail renewal – This is where you will see the return on your direct mail acquisition efforts—getting donors to make a second, third, and fourth gift. This group also provides a pool of potential major and planned gift donors.

Planned giving – Measuring return with this group can be a bit difficult because of the timing of the dollars coming (often many years in the future) and the variability of gift size. Due to this, the return is generally considered a bit lower than major gift fundraising.

Special events – While events can serve a purpose in engaging and stewarding major and planned gift donors, the time, energy, and money spent putting them together means the net dollars raised are frequently lower.

The point of this post is not to advocate for ONLY investing in those activities with the highest return, but rather examining your activities and making sure you are not spending a disproportionate amount of time on lower return activities, such as events. A comprehensive fundraising plan should include all of these elements, allocated in proportion to their returns.

Find Your Fundraising Style

As humans we like to categorize things, including professions. If I tell you to think of a construction worker, an image pops into your head. The same is true for art teachers, accountants, and any number of other common professions. For better or worse, these characters are often based on stereotypes that may be true for some, but likely not for all.

This applies to fundraisers too. If you were to ask your friends and family to describe a fundraiser, what would they say? Someone who can talk to anyone, knows everyone, and is the life of the party? Someone who can present eloquent and persuasive monologues, moving the unwitting masses to tears and convincing them to support a cause?

The truth is those types of fundraisers can be and often are really successful. But this type of personality is also not the only route to being a successful fundraiser. Those who may be more introverted may not appear as outgoing, but they can bring incredible listening and perception skills, picking up on subtle and important cues when talking with donors. Likewise, some fundraisers are more comfortable telling heartwarming stories about those that benefit from an organization’s work while others are more comfortable when talking about numbers.

As a fundraiser, you shouldn’t strive to become a certain type but rather be aware of your own type and its strengths and weaknesses. Luckily, fundraising expert Brian Saber has a quick online assessment (link below) that will reveal your asking style, as well as descriptions of each.

https://askingmatters.com/whats-your-asking-style/

After understanding your own style, think of where your donor falls on the introvert/extrovert and analytic/intuitive spectrums. Chances are you had a pretty good idea where you would land before you took the assessment, and you can probably make a pretty good guess of where a donor may fall after a meeting or two. This can help identify what type of information a donor may prefer. Those on the intuitive side will likely be more receptive to personal stories of how lives have been impacted, while those on the analytic side will be interested in statistics and details of programs.  

Knowing these styles can also help you think about who should engage with a donor. What are the styles of your team, whether that’s volunteers or full-time staff? Remember that often you will be meeting with couples, committees, or companies where multiple styles are present. Pairing team members with complementary styles will ensure they can excel with any type of donor.  

Like any personality assessment, this is not a perfect tool. Not everyone fits perfectly into one of four categories. Some introverts can still be extroverted in their professional life, and numbers-orientated people can be moved by the right story. Many people fall close to the middle of these axes, fluctuating back and forth depending on the situation. But having a sense of who we are and knowing which situations we thrive in will make us all more successful fundraisers, leading to more fulfilling careers and advancing our organizations. The best fundraising style is your own.

Stop Pitching to Donors

A large part of campaign work includes training volunteer fundraisers--accountants, lawyers, medical professionals, engineers, business owners, salespeople, bankers, and financial advisors. Some have been a part of other campaigns, others are brand new. Some are nervous, some are excited, many are both, and almost all come with preconceived notions about what fundraising is and is not.

One of the most common misconceptions by volunteer fundraisers (and some non-volunteers) is that they need to have a strong “pitch” for potential donors. Fundraisers see themselves as a contestant on Shark Tank, ready to deliver an eloquent and convincing pitch that will persuade an investor to provide backing for their idea.

But most donors are not convinced to give, and they don’t evaluate an organization or project the same way investors look at a new business, searching for the highest return. Instead, donors support projects and organizations that uphold the values that are most important to them.

So step one in “pitching” should not be extolling the virtues of your organization, it should be working to uncover the values held by the donor and asking questions about their lives and experiences. This may have to do with your organization (Why did you first become involved with…?), or it may not (asking about other nonprofits they support and why).

What events were important and formative in their lives? Was there a special teacher, class, or mentor? Did they watch a loved one struggle with an illness, or witness the impact of a compassionate caregiver? What role did sports or the arts play for them? Uncovering a donor’s values might not happen after one question or even one meeting. It may take time for some to open up about what is truly important to them.

This is not to say you don’t need to know the facts and appeal of your organization, but take it one step further. Don’t just think of square feet or statistics, but rather about the values the organization holds and that a project is promoting.

Once you know what a donor values and you understand the values of the organization, the next step is to find where these two value systems overlap. Like your organization, a donor has multiple values of varying importance. But once you discover the sweet spot where a donor’s values intersect with those of your organization, THEN you will know how to pitch the case and ultimately secure a gift. 

Build an Endowment Like a University

We must have seen it 1,000 times. A well-meaning organization wants to “add-on” an endowment piece to their capital campaign. As the interviews progress, it becomes clear that donors are more interested in the building project. While they understand the desire to build the endowment, the impact seems more diffused and less tangible, especially if its going to a general fund that supports operations.

So, aside from their budgets and massive development operations, how are billion-dollar endowments the norm for universities, and local organizations struggle to scratch out a few million dollars?

The answer is universities are not afraid to designate their endowment funds. In fact, Harvard, owner of the largest university endowment (of $40 BILLION), estimates that around 80% of their endowment is designated for a specific purpose. Colleges do not just put names on buildings, they put them on scholarships, faculty positions, and programs.

Many organizations worry that if funds are restricted they won’t have the flexibility to pay for the things they really need. But why not endow things you know will be in the budget? Take an Executive Director or CEOs salary, for example. If even half their salary is covered by a restricted endowed fund, the funds that normally would have been used for salary are freed up to use however you wish--unrestricted!

It can be difficult to project that far into the future, which is why it is important to discuss potential back-up options when putting together a gift agreement. Let’s say a donor is interested in endowing a middle school educational program put on by a local theater. In the gift agreement, you may include language that indicates, should this particular program no longer exist, the funds may be used for other educational programs.

The secret universities are on to is that even if a gift is restricted, it will still result in more unrestricted dollars in the budget. And we know donors like understanding specifically what their gift is achieving. So try changing the conversation around endowment giving, keeping the focus on that magic intersection between the donor’s goals and the needs of your organization.

Read this Before Buying a Donor List

It’s a question often posed by eager board members—where can we find new donors? If you dig a little deeper, however, you will probably uncover that what the board really wants is more total donors, not just new donors. So while we will discuss where to find new donors shortly, a good first step is to check your donor retention rate.

The overall donor retention rate typically averages around 45% year to year. For first time donors, that rate drops to 20-25%, and is about 60% for multi-year donors. If your organization is not at (or ideally above) these averages, focusing on these donors will provide the highest return. If your retention rates are lower, adding new donors will simply be dumping water from a leaky boat. Unless you fix the leak, you will eventually sink.

But even if your retention rates are in good shape, every organization experiences some donor attrition, so everyone needs to find new donors. While some may look externally, your best source for new donors are those already in your database.

First, think of your lapsed donors. Quite simply, those that have donated to your organization before are more likely to give again than any other group (besides current donors), even if they have missed a year or two. Do not make the dangerous assumption that they have permanently stopped giving.

After your lapsed donors, think of anyone on your database that has not made a gift. This is perhaps the most overlooked group for new donor acquisition. Do not go purchase a list when you likely have plenty of prospects already in your database who have interacted in some way with your organization. These could be newsletter subscribers, ticket buyers, volunteers, patients, alumni, parents, etc. This group is going to have far greater affinity than any list that could be purchased.

If you find this group is not that big, consider where you may be missing opportunities to collect contact information from event attendees, volunteers, and others who interact with your organization.

There are some other exercises, such as working with board members and their connections, that can yield higher capacity, but less quantity of potential donors. This can be helpful for special efforts like capital campaigns. Click here for a prospecting exercise designed for your board.

In summary, to grow your donor base your focus should be on the following (in order):

• Current donors

• Lapsed donors

• Anyone on your database that is not a donor (volunteers, event attendees, etc.)

• List purchase (only after the top three have been exhausted)

Bottom line: There is more than likely a lot of untapped potential at your fingertips. Start with your database to get the best bang for your buck.

Building Versus Bringing Relationships

“Can you get us in front of (insert well known philanthropist)?”

“Who do you know?”

“Will (local philanthropist) make a big gift to support us?”

Sometimes these questions are explicit and sometimes they are implicit when boards are considering a consultant. Of course they are all well intentioned, every board wants their efforts to be successful. But they raise an important distinction when working with a consultant—bringing a list of contacts versus building lasting relationships.

Fundraising is built on relationships and many boards look to their consultant to bring in new donors, particularly those with high gift capacities, to make their campaigns successful. While well-meaning, these hopes are often misplaced for a few important reasons:

1.      Perhaps the donor you are coveting simply does not have an interest in your work. It can be a hard pill to swallow—we all steadfastly believe in the missions of our organizations. Still, many boards believe, “If we could just get in front of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I’m sure we could convince them to make a gift.” While we like to think we can convince and persuade donors, sometimes their passion and motivation is just with another cause.

2.      If a consultant comes to the table promising meetings with local philanthropists, a board should inquire about relationships that are made during their engagement. Will their donors be the ones offered up at the next pitch? How will data and giving information be protected?

3.      Perhaps most importantly, relying on a consultant’s relationships takes a short-sighted approach. When the consultant leaves, so does the relationship.

A more strategic approach positions an organization for long-term success by building relationships with multiple people already in the organization—boards, development staff, and leadership. This does not mean a consultant should come empty handed. They should have resources and methods for discerning who is close to an organization and may be able to make an introduction to a new donor. They should know the donor landscape and interest of major potential donors. And they should be able to develop strategies for engaging new donors and building relationships.

By developing multiple points of contact throughout the organization, nonprofits ensure that a relationship will endure beyond a consultant’s contract (or a development/executive director, for that matter).

Building relationships also underlies an important truth—a campaign’s success will be largely based on the donors and relationships an organization already has. Taking someone from zero interest to a lead gift is difficult, and the success rate is low. If you can engage a brand new high-capacity donor in your campaign, its far more likely their lead gift will actually come in your next campaign.

And that is totally fine! Building relationships and deepening a donor’s relationship with an organization can take time. So the next time you are offered a short-term, surefire solution, be cautious and ask the right questions.

Three (or 4) Cheers for the Volunteers

“Our volunteers were so prepared for the demands of this campaign; I think they are ready for the next one!” – Overheard by no one, anywhere, ever.

But how nice would it be if your volunteers walked into the next campaign or event planning meeting energized and encouraged? Thankfully, the best thing you can do to prepare your volunteers in advance for a campaign is also the same thing you would do to increase the overall health of your organization: consistent motivation and encouragement.

Here are a few ideas to get that started:

 1.     Be intentional about letting volunteers know when they have done a good job or had an impact. BF Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory reminds us that consequences influence behavior. And just like children, adults who are given positive attention or recognition are more likely to remain or increase their positive behavior and actions with your organization.

2.     Share positive gossip such as, “I heard that you did a great job the other day on…” Secondhand compliments are more valuable than when you praise the volunteer yourself.

3.     Give regular feedback. It is easy to assume volunteers know that they are appreciated or are doing a good job. But without regular check-ins, many people tend to fall into a spiral of doubt. Thoughts such as, “I am probably not even needed, why would I show up again?” Or, “I doubt they remember all the work I did last year anyway,” are all too common. Volunteers need to know that their work was seen, valued, and appreciated. And they probably need to be told more than once.  

4.     Thank the families of volunteers. Families all look different, but when those who are closest to the volunteer know that they are impacting the organization and making a positive difference in the world, the volunteer feels even better about their contributions. Do this by inviting someone close to the volunteer to an event and personally thanking them for giving up time with the volunteer so they can help your organization.

No campaign is successful without a core group of dedicated volunteers. A campaign often demands late-night or early-morning meetings to tackle what may feel like a lofty goal. But an organization whose volunteer morale is consistently maintained from before a campaign even begins will have unparalleled energy, driving the campaign to its goal and organically building the next tier of dedicated volunteers.

Sources: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/reinforcement-theory-motivation.htm