Cultivation & Engagement: Beginning A Strategy

I have been volunteering for the Hoboken Shelter for the past two years in a development capacity and it has been a great pleasure to help and advise them on putting their donor information on paper and track it, create concrete and initiatives as well as an operational plan, and develop communication/new media efforts.

One of the initiatives was to implement a strategy for donor cultivation and engagement as well as tracking.  This required the help of volunteers and board because the E.D. is incredibly knowledgeable about donors but also always time crunched.  I mentioned in a previous post that we were holding an upcoming meeting where we could discuss our top donors/supporters.  We pulled together a small group to discuss how to engage and cultivate donors.  We chose this small group because they were interested in doing cultivation and engagement rather than just events, they knew many of the supporters and we thought the group would be manageable and would help us keep on top of sensitive donor information. 

I plan to keep a log of how our strategy proceeds to share with others who may be unsure of how to make the leap to cultivation and engagement with a bare bones staff.  We've taken the steps to:

1. Go through a list of high-level donors and identify donors who've given recently and we don't know why or who they are and donors who've been giving regularly but we've not taken the opportunity to get to know. Now we just need to narrow down the list. We had about 40 people who were highlighted.

2. Create a Donor Contact Report. We will put all donor information in a database but additional we'll prepare background on donors (much of which is in the E.D. head) inc. employment, education, hobbies, affiliations, foundations, assets, partner and family information, why they give to us, as well as the results of any meetings and what the next steps are.

3. We identified an initial approach to talk to our donors about how their donation was used and find out why they give to Shelter as well as talking with them about the Shelter's future and what programs they know about as the Shelter turns 30 this year.

4. Identified ways to thank our donors and cultivate and engage them:  cultivation events, friend-raisers and in-home parties, newsletters, invitations to special events, personalized notes, etc.

5. Agreed to hold a next meeting to begin to discuss the narrowed down list and start to find out what we know about our donors and plan who will make initial contact.

This is all very exciting and will hopefully mean that more donors feel a part of a family of donors who are well aware of where their dollars are going and will help rally more people to give. 

New Facebook Page Cover Image for the Shelter

Last week I made a change to the Shelter's cover image on Facebook. I wanted to share what I had done.

I slightly "stole" the idea from images I saw used by other shelters/food pantries nationwide.  If I had a number one piece of advice for learning social media - it would be follow your friends and follow your enemies. I had meant to update the cover image after the event but never quite seemed to find the time until now. I would like to identify more images we can use for the Shelter in the future and definitely want to check and make sure they have a digital camera at their disposal.  I don't think we (or anyone else) need anything to fancy.  I think some images can be simple. I had asked Jaclyn (who probably thought I was nuts - trust is a wonderful thing though and I love her for it) for images of food piled up and she said she had tons of bread. We have been finding ways to thank donors since our May event and I thought this was another good way.

What are some good images you've used and do you feel it's important to rotate the cover image on your page?

Tri Point Support: Year End Already?

Sometimes it's great to get a reminder about a task.  As a fundraiser, you wear so many hats it's often hard to remember what foot is going in front of the other.  (Especially not good for someone who is also a runner - albeit a slow one). 

I just got the email from Amy Eisenstein regarding year end fundraising. My first thought was, "is it really that time?"  But really, it is.  We've already started a conversation as to how we'll approach year-end giving but it may be time to kick it into high-gear. Fortunately, it seems we are on the right track with our brainstorming. Also, read Amy's post - she and it are fabulous.

1.  Get in touch with donors:  Our upcoming meeting is a great time for us to identify our donors and start a conversation, tell them where they investments in the organization went this year and remind them about upcoming fundraising goals.

2.  The letter:  The Shelter sends out three newsletters each year as their only snail mail communications with donors.  Prior to this past newsletter, the only newsletter accompanied by a note or letter was end of year giving. They are pretty committed to this type of communication; however I got them to agree to put a note in the summer newsletter and we'll see how that plays out.  It had stats on how many people served to date, referenced a story in the newsletter about a client and told a little about her, and made an ask directly. And it said thanks in advance.  We have already started talking about gathering client stories, pictures, and more for the winter newsletter. Our last meeting we talked about a particular volunteer we'd like to highlight for the newsletter.  I think a few more testimonials couldn't hurt and some great stats.

3. Online: I usually don't donate to them online; however I donate everywhere else online.  I think this means their website could use some work and are we featuring the donate now in EOY emails?  That's usually when I get reminded to donate to my favorite organizations. I like things to land in my inbox. I am certainly an advocate for emails on the 27, 29, 31 or some combination of dates.

4. Social Media: I had spoken with one of the chairs of our holiday event about upping our holiday exposure via social media by collecting stories on Facebook about volunteering at the holidays. More than 400 residents from near and far gather at various holidays from Nov-Dec to help the  Shelter and we should be sharing their stories and getting some great photos. We should also see if we can get the video of Buddy of Carlo's Bakery online to repost. His popularity is certainly not waning. There had been talk of creating a video and if we cannot get a video done from an outside source I think we should do a rough cut video created with my mac to show pictures and what funding has done this year. I also think we need to have pictures taken at the holidays so we can post immediately to tell funders their dollars feed people and maybe a new picture for our Facebook page with people eating at Thanksgiving that says "thanks be to all." 

5. Tooting our Horn:  We'll have to make sure we share our stats in the newsletter.  I stated some ways to toot our horn via Facebook and video. We'll be having a holiday fundraiser, which would be a great place to share a mission centered video.  We'll be doing press releases leading up to that but we can do a post release on all we accomplished - we have some pretty great press contacts.

Unique ideas (off the top of my head):

• For our 30th event in May we created little cards (3x5) with our donation needs - perhaps we can have those reprinted with our statistics. 
• The ED is such an ever-present face for the Shelter - it might be nice to do a EOY video with her thanking the community and asking for their support, which we could also use as a press release. 

If anything else pops up in this tired ol' brain I'll be sure to post it.  I also plan to post a copy of the note we worked on that I mentioned above. 

Top 5 Takeaways from MIE’s Annual National Fundraising Conference

From July 11-13, I attended the MIE National Fundraising Conference in Boston, MA.  As a newbie to the legal aid fundraising world, the conference provided some great insights that will help as we prepare for year-end fundraising and the coming year.  The location also provided the opportunity to take in some of Boston’s sites during morning runs, including the Charles River and Boston Common.  My favorite way to explore a city is on foot, and since I had not been to Boston in quite a while the location offered great places to explore. 

Attending this conference for the first time was a good opportunity to get a better understanding of what works in the legal aid world of fundraising.  Feeling the pinch of ongoing funding cuts, fundraisers from legal aid organizations were certainly looking to improve and sharpen their skills.  Attending the session for those new to legal aid fundraising, I learned that while there are some differences, the tactics I learned from my previous positions with other types of nonprofits are applicable. 

This year conference focused on the “The Power and Importance of Private Philanthropy” and brought together an impressive group of speakers.  Below are my top takeaways from the conference.

1.        Talk to your donors more than you call your mother.  You know how mom always gets upset without that update as to how you’re doing and what’s new?  Our donors want to know what we are up to as well.  And they don’t want to know only when we send them an appeal asking for money.  Simone P. Joyaux’s plenary, “Seeking the Holy Grail of Fundraising…Donor Loyalty” talked about relationship building and experiences. Bottom line? Stewardship is a process but in the end it will secure donations for your organization. 

2.       You, I, we, me, it… The second day’s plenary from donor communications expert Tom Ahern, “Love Thy Reader: The Science and Secrets of Effective Donor Communications” focused on how we talk to readers of our communications (be they in newsletter, appeal or any other form).  Ahern had some great examples of some of his favorite (and not so favorite) communications and how they were donor centered.  Bottom line: we’re not telling the donors what we did; we’re telling them what we accomplished thanks to their generous support.  I think my favorite slide was of an organization’s web page where he pointed out how many times they’d use we/us.  How many times can we say thank you before it’s too many?  Exactly. 

3.       What is fundraising really about…Fundraising is emotional.  We, as fundraisers, are helping people live out their passions. We (board, staff, volunteers) must, Joyaux says, adopt a lifestyle where we find out if our friends connect with our passions.  Bottom line: those who share your passions will likely be good, if not great, donors. 

4.       The right tool for the job.  Before board members and/or staff can go out and fundraise on behalf of your organization, they need to be armed with the proper tools and an understanding of fundraising in order to be effective fundraisers.  Bottom line: invest time in arming and preparing your board and staff to make “the ask.” 

5.       It’s a donor-centered world.  In order to get our donors to be loyal, we must build trust – how do we do that? According to Joyaux, it’s as simple as keeping our promise and saying thank you.  Bottom line: Make phone calls, say thank you, steward donors and give people extraordinary experiences. 

Bonus Takeaways

Form a Committee.  Development is not for everyone.  Susan Kruse, Donor Relations Manager at Legal Aid Justice Center in VA, talked about creating a development committee that meets monthly (separately from the board) and focuses on development issues, including events, to get the work done.  

Keep Knockin’.  Everyone in a nonprofit is busy. People wear many hats and often do too much for one person.  However, as good development advocates we must continue to ensure letters get signed, phone calls get made and stewardship marches on. Kruse advised persistence when getting development work done and dealing with senior level staff. 

Join a board to understand the process from outside in. 

Young Supporters: Untapped Potential & No More "It's Been a Tough Year"

Living in a Hoboken, I live in an area that's populated by the word young. Be that young professionals, young families, or with regard to nonprofits in the area, young donors. Recently there has been a great deal of buzz online with regard to how to attract these young donors and the effect their presence will have on an organization's bottom line. Most importantly some things I took away from reading pieces on the Millennials and my own Gen Y.

1. Don't ignore them.  They are ready to give and are going to be an important source of revenue.
2. Don't expect us to volunteer in the same way as previous generations.  I say "we" because I agreed with the study that I when I looked to volunteer I wanted to know how I could bring my professional skills to the volunteer game.  So many of us are looking to advance in careers, get a job, or grow our skills and we've learned that nonprofit volunteering is a great way to do that.  All the things that your volunteer do are wonderful; however I don't know any nonprofit that would (or should) turn away expertise in fields like marketing, fundraising, special events, graphic design, etc. And hold us to a high standard. 
3.  Know where to reach us.  I'm reading my email on the train and checking FB and Twitter while I walk home and my Ipad in Starbucks and so are many other people.  I am NEVER checking my mail.  I hate my mail.  You know what comes in my mail?  Junk, bills, and crap from local politicians.  I take out my Entertainment Weekly and your #10 envelope stays lost.

What's the best strategy for reaching young supporters?  Penelope Burk in an article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy suggests going the social media route and doing more fundraising peer to peer.  This makes me want to sit down with some of the young people in our organization and discuss SM strategy for recruitment and donating and also peer to peer fundraising through some of our local events.

Also, I think every appeal I've read at my own nonprofit, the local nonprofit I work with in 'Boken and anywhere else has started "In these tough economic times...".  I was wondering when the shoe would drop on that tactic and evidently the time has come. 

What takeaways did you find from this article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy?

Thanks Gail Perry for Sharing!

This article from Sandy Rees was shared on Fired Up Fundraising by Gail Perry and it pretty much sums up a lot of the strategies I've been trying to implement with the help of the Development Committee at the local shelter.  Much like she mentioned, you can't know where you want to go unless you know where you are starting from and where it is you want to go. 

Do we want to raise money, get more friends, acquire sponsors?  I thought this was worth sharing and I hope in the future to share with you what's been successful as the committee creates and works a plan. We have been successful so far in identifying what we've done, what works, what doesn't and put together a draft plan, including what we plan to do. I think we need to clarify our goals.  We've stated some but I think we need to be clearer as to what they are. Our clear goals right now are that we need to raise $50,000 in funds and we need to acquire new donors.  Right now we're working in a 6 month timeline.  

Steps to a Powerful Fundraising Plan

Happy Fundraising from Hoboken - I'll keep you posted - our team meeting is next week.  And I just checked back in from a great Cali vacation so I need to review my notes this weekend. :)

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.