RSS of Asking

Unless you're a naturally born salesperson, of which I believe there are few, sales are hard.  Really hard. Even those who've put in year in the business may admit to having tripped over their own words or not crafted the messages they'd imagined.  Living with someone who works partly in sales, I see the parallels between the my job in fundraising and the sales aspect of my partners. I have had my fair share of "sales failures" as well as successes in fundraising and have seen each as a learning experience.  Fortunately, I also have had several professional development opportunities to help me learn to craft messages. Most clearly, a former professor telling me to be specific - what did I want and what did I need? 

Recently, I was reminded on this while listening to a colleague's call. They felt a product needed rebranding and remarketing but couldn't (had not) identify beyond that what their needs were. They'd gotten a national advertising agency on the phone to ask for support but when the company wanted to drill down exactly what they wanted, they were unable to come up with an answer.  As I thought about how the call could've gone better, I came up with a few strategies. 

The timing of this post coincides also with recent conversations I've been having with a Hoboken Shelter pal about exploring options to do more Corps and Foundation Fundraising. While the Shelter is grassroots; that's no reason to go to a meeting unprepared. Speaking with another acquaintance, who works at a foundation, she said nothing was more appealing than a nonprofit coming in with a business plan, and that an organization that uses a PowerPoint made a big impact on her decision. My pal and I were glad that our initial thoughts about giving the agency a strong business model, branding our materials and having rich visuals like a PowerPoint, video and strong website were on target. So because I've been thinking about the "ask" and strategy...I developed my RSS of making the ask.

Now what do I mean by RSS of asking...

Research- Research the heck outta your potential ask.  What kind of projects are they supporting? Who do they do business with? Is it any of your supporters?  During the meeting I might ask them about what they are looking for in a partner or what do they know about my organization?  But you should know all about them but let them tell you about themselves.

Strategy - Before the meeting, determine who should say what.  Be prepared for all different types of questions and have materials with you that you may need.

Specify - Know what you are asking for and what you need.  Are you asking a bank to back your financial literacy program, say so! And know how much you need.  Are you asking a graphic designer to design your invite for your gala, say so! Be specific. And know what benefits it will have for your partner.  Will the financial literacy program feature options to be recognized on the website, news and other venues? Will the graphic designer be able to put their logo on the back of the invite and get recognized at the event?  Know what's important to your partner and be specific on your ask.  Bouncing around will likely lead to a no.

Am I perfect at all these things - no!  But I've certainly come along way from my initial meetings and that class in 2005. Recognizing what you need to do and analyzing your past performances is the best way to improve all future yes's.

Nonprofit New Media and Online Communications

I was asked to put together a presentation on social media for fundraising for my nonprofit.  Thanks to the books and bloggers below I came up with the following simple guidelines and tips I've used.

Good buy – The Nonprofit Marketing Guide. By Kivi Leroux Miller

Follow Beth Kanter and AFP TechKnow

Thanks to these resources for their 

1.     Don’t “Just Do It”

Think strategically before you pick which social media to choose. There are many different social media venues, don’t jump on every bandwagon because the technology is there.  The purpose of social media is to communicate, consistently and effectively. Pick only as many networks as you can afford to devote time to.  And you need to be checking the web and responding to items on the web.  For your organization, the site you choose may depend on your audience, for the majority of nonprofits the best approach has been Facebook.  However if you’re nonprofit has a lot of great video or pictures you may also choose to create a you tube channel or set up a Flickr account. Just remember: You’re providing a tangible link to your organization.

2.     Be consistent

Make sure you have time to donate to your social media efforts; you can’t tweet on a Wednesday and then again 2 weeks later.  Out of ideas – consider finding a list of inspirational quotes that relate to what you do – find 52 you love – post those once a week, you’re down to 4-5 days you need to find something.  

3.     Timing is Everything

That said, think about your supporters, when will they be going online, is it in the morning, mid day, late afternoon.  Keep track of your analytics and also when you get the best response from supporters.  Use that time of day to touch base with supporters and send them messages.  

4.     Include Calls to Action/Give Posts Purpose

Social Media may not make you millions, but in can certainly guide your public.  Outraged?  Frustrated? Excited?  Get your supporters revved up!  Give them something to tweet about, create a hashtag, share a response on Facebook and ultimately drive them to your website. Once the website you should make sure they can DO something when they are there sign up for your newsletter, for more information, sign a petition, donate a dollar, or share a speech from your Executive  Director on your homepage.

5.     Always watch the competition

Follow, Like, and watch your competition and your friends, see what people are doing that works and learn from it.

6.     Don’t ignore the cover image.

Speaking of your competition, people are doing a lot of great things with cover images. The new cover image and changes to Facebook made many people groan but the huge cover image really allows you to tell a story and know that you can and need to change  your image to have the most powerful image. Combine your image with a targeted message that tells your story. Provide a call to action in your message. You can feature an upcoming event or make an announcement.

7.     Don’t be messy.

When you post links – neaten them up on Facebook and Twitter – shorten them, once you’ve copied them, delete them out of your post on Facebook. Also, did you know you can edit the text below them? Click on the article and the text below and you can edit it. Let your supporters know why they should read the article.

8.     Interact

We’ve talked about interacting with your supporters but don’t hesitate to interact with other people who may help your marketing.  Interact with reporters and people who may help you advance you cause. I had great success interacting with a local reporter on Twitter post Hoboken Shelter 30th to let him know how much we'd raised - 2 hours after the event.

9.     You’re not asking for money, you’re cultivating

Social Media won’t make you millions, but it will give you the chance to engage and cultivate supporters by sharing your mission, purpose and services. People give because they feel connected and once they give – get their name, address and info, and it’s up to you to do the leg work.

10.Trust your tweeter and Trust your audience

Your organization and the networks you develop – Facebook, Twitter, a Blog, should sound to your supporters like an individual. Say we, us, you.  Also so long as responses from the supporters fall within your social media policies you won’t need to regulate or delete responses.  If a topic elicits a response that opposes your viewpoint, let your supporters do the disagreeing – sometimes it’s good for them to say out loud why they support you. Also, if your staff is exceptional and has a lot a great voice, perhaps they have their own professional Twitter account or a blog, you may want to invite them to team tweet about your mission.  Make sure they state that the views expressed are their own. Employees may choose to keep separate accounts or use filters.

11.What’s Successful on Facebook/Twitter may be successful elsewhere

If a topic is very popular on your blog, Facebook or Twitter and you are getting great responses – recycle it – turn it into an appeal, put it in your newsletter, send out an email asking for support. 

12.Are you sending messages to your supporters?

People may love your organization but if they aren’t hearing from you they will fall off.  More than half of supporters fall off because of a lack of attention from the supplier (you).  If you don’t have any easy listserv that allows you to quickly send supporters, consider investing in an email marketing system for supporters that allows you to send messages and ask for $$$.  Before you send messages ensure that you test them on a mobile device to make sure they can be read, by 2013 more email will be opened on mobile devices vs the desktop.

13.Link to your website

But make sure your website is worth going to.  Do you have a great website? Does it easily let individuals donate? Donate buttons shouldn’t be buried on the bottom of the page. They shouldn’t be top right, visual and appealing. You should have variety of ways for supporters to donate, online, snail mail, stocks, events, sponsorships, membership, planned giving, etc.

14.LinkedIn can be a Powerful Tool

LinkedIn is often the black sheep of the social media family but it has many great resources – we can use it research potential board members, supporters, partners and staff. Use connections to find out how you can get introduced to that person.  If you’re stumped about a particular issue, LinkedIn groups can be a great resource for next steps.

15.There are plenty of ways to promote your work

Thanks to the web you can easily create and post videos, put data into visuals using sites like visual.ly and share that content.  Don’t hesitate to make create and share data because the more people know about you the more they will continue to support you.

Today's the day...

Today's the day the Hoboken Shelter's 30th Anniversary Celebration. Fortunately we've received a lot of great press for the event - including the press release below - which I sent out on a whim last week and we got 3 hits.  Not too shabby.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2012/04/hoboken_shelter_30th_anniversa.html

The jersey journal has definitely been helpful in getting our message across.

How I Met My New Job

I recently took a job in development and fundraising in NYC after an unplanned year’s absence. Getting back into the field was a little scary, but getting back to the 9-5 routine was even more frightening. You can only watch How I Met Your Mother reruns for so many days before you realize you need to put on some pants and get out of the house. If you don’t follow the show, I'm referring to plotline where Marshall quits his job unexpectedly and is constantly asking people “what are you doing?”out of complete boredom.

I, very fortunately, put in some time volunteering at the Hoboken Shelter prior to my unemployment and afterwards spent more time there, while I debated my next move. I had spent 8 years working in women's health for a domestic violence agency and Planned Parenthood - doing a variety of development diva tasks. Prior to that I had worked in public relations after graduating from Hofstra with a PR degree. I got involved with the shelter after seeing how many of my AFP colleagues were volunteers and wanted to give back in my community. It was during this time that I took on the role, in conjunction with a fellow volunteer, of Co-Chair for the 30^th Anniversary Celebration. The celebration is held every five years and, according to the E.D., the committee's initiating the event with more than six months’ time was a success in and of itself. Previously, I helped them with some planning aspects around individual giving, event planning and social media/marketing. This organization has really been working hard to bring in new donors and take their fundraising to the next level to stay competitive and I think it’s exciting to be working with them during this time.

I already have a blog going, Pasta and Power Squats: A Girl Fires Up the Gym and Kitchen, where I am able to blog about my adventures as a group exercise instructor, runner and triathlete as well as my kitchen experiments, good or bad as they are. I was certified as a fitness instructor in 2006 to supplement my nonprofit income at my first job. Now, I love both jobs equally and don’t think I could give one of them up. 

I started the fitness/foodie blog to see what it was like to manage a blog when I was working with Planned Parenthood in NJ, where I initiated the social media program. I suggested a blog for the Education Department and when met with hesitation relating to time constraints and “what do we write?" questions, I wanted to find out how I’d fare doing it myself. It was HARD. It’s only been recently that I’ve gotten into a groove. What to do then – sure start writing somewhere again.  It's hard to talk about nonprofits, fundraising, marketing and social media, community organizing, volunteering, leadership issues and social issues on a blog about spinning profiles, exercise routines and kitchen recipes. And I as I discover new things, read new resources and move ahead in my career I wanted a place to chronicle the journey. I toyed with the idea of writing about social issues on this P&PS, but I’ve mainly stayed clear and may make some comments, since I’d like this blog to speak to my group ex clients.

I'm hoping to share my thoughts and relevant comments on some of the fundraising causes I’ve been involved in: women’s health, domestic violence and homelessness as well as some experiences I have moving forward with my career . I've been doing more and more work in social media and I avidly follow several different blogs on the topic and would like to share cool tidbits and what's working and what's not. Additionally, I love living in Hoboken, and hope that by giving back the city we live in will continue to treat us well.

Work in Progress

Just launched this blog today on leap day - time to take a leap, no? Look forward to posting about my volunteer and fundraising work very soon.