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Turning the good ship of fundraising

February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Changing a nonprofit’s approach to fundraising is like changing the direction of a huge ship. An ocean liner has powerful momentum and it refuses to change direction on a dime.

If your nonprofit depends on grants or special events or a highly successful holiday appeal, and leaves money on the table because you don’t have a committed group of volunteers asking for major gifts in face to face conversations, you face a challenge.

There is going to be resistance to change. Grants can be quick money and when a grant runs out, momentum demands that you get a replacement. Volunteers and donors love special events and they will resist dropping their favorite event.

Thankfully ocean liners can change direction and so can nonprofits

I’ve thought long and hard about how to help nonprofits change their approach to fundraising. That’s why I wrote Green Light Fundraising, a book that describes in detail how to recruit and empower a tribe of volunteers to raise major funds every year for your nonprofit.

Ocean liners change direction thanks to a tiny rudder.  A proposal is the rudder that can change your nonprofit’s approach to fundraising.

Through a proposal you can portray to your CEO and/or board precisely how your nonprofit can move from its current fundraising approach to a new plan that raises substantially more funds through volunteers asking for major gifts in face to face meetings.

E-mail me at richfoss (at) greenightfundraising.org and we’ll set up a time to talk about your nonprofit’s fundraising and how a proposal could set it on a more sustainable course.

In the proposal, you can incorporate the best of your current fundraising combined with a plan to recruit and teach a group of highly energized volunteers who, in four weeks, will raise an amazing amount of funds for your nonprofit through face to face conversations.

I would love to help you write the proposal that will turn your nonprofit’s fundraising to a more sustainable course. E-mail me at richfoss (at) greenightfundraising.org and we’ll set up a time to talk about your nonprofit’s fundraising.

Wisdom for the week: If a tiny rudder can change the direction of an ocean liner, then a humble proposal can change the direction of your nonprofit’s fundraising.

Filed Under: Sustainable fundraisng design phase Tagged With: , ,

And the winner is

January 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

In our last post I promised a $100 gift to one nonprofit as a way to celebrate this season of giving and our gratitude for the good work of the nonprofits who are interested in Green Light Fundraising.

In this issue you’ll not only discover who the winner is but learn three valuable lessons in the art of thanking a donor.

As you can see in the top photo on the right my grandson did the honors of drawing a name out of his grandfather’s hat.

In the second photo he holds up the slip from Linda B. McNeill, CEO, Step It Up, Inc., 2203 Lloyd Center, Suite 2203, Portland, OR 97232-1315.  Step It Up, Inc. received a $100 donation from Evergreen Leaders.

As nonprofits we can learn four lessons in thanking our donors from Linda and Step It Up, Inc.

We received two thank yous from Linda, one in an e-mail and the second by regular mail. Notice how, in the e-mail, she has both a nice personal touch and lets us know how the Evergreen Leader gift will be used:

Your grandson rocks! Please give him a great big hug and thank you for his wonderful selection talents.

We truly appreciate the generosity of Evergreen Leaders on behalf of Step It Up, Inc. Your contribution will allow one middle school student and a significant adult in their lives to participate in five career exploration workshops this winter/spring. The workshop flyer is attached if you are interested. We will have this program online by Spring!

At the bottom of her e-mail was a quick summary of the results Step It Up, Inc. has achieved:

The success of our youth is amazing:
100% graduate from high school in four years
100% succeed in college
35% are hired by their internship host

I opened the attached flyer and was impressed with the description of the program that our gift will be supporting.

In the regular mail letter Linda included three quotes from students who had participated in their programs. As a donor, I appreciated hearing from the students whose lives were impacted by Step It Up, Inc.

The thanks yous were short and yet powerful because of four ingredients:

  • A personal touch to help me bond emotionally with the organization
  • Described how our donation will be used
  • Reassured us by sharing the results of their programs
  • Let us hear about the impact of their work from the participants

Wisdom for the week: Good thank yous reinforce the bond between donor and nonprofit.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

$100 gift for your nonprofit?

December 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

I’d love to have Evergreen Leaders give a $100 gift to every nonprofit that has downloaded the Green Light Fundraising e-book in 2011.

But that would be a little out of our range.

So instead we will give a $100 gift to one nonprofit as a way to celebrate this season of giving and our gratitude for the good work of the nonprofits who are interested in Green Light Fundraising.

There are three simple guidelines:

  1. You must have downloaded the e-book by December 27.
  2. You must reply to this e-mail by December 27 with your name, the name of your nonprofit, and the mailing address of the nonprofit.
  3. The nonprofit must be a 501c3. (Include evidence of 501c3 status).

On December 28th we’ll draw the name of one nonprofit and mail the gift of $100.

Evergreen Leaders gives 10% of its income to other nonprofits as a way to give thanks to our Creator who supplies all our income.

May you have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and a blessed New Year.

Reply today with your name, the name of your nonprofit, mailing address of the nonprofit, and evidence of its 501c3 status, for an opportunity to receive a $100 gift for your nonprofit.

Wisdom for the week: Giving is part of the joy of living. Receiving is part of the honor of being.

Filed Under: Smaller donors Tagged With: , ,

Your volunteer leaders must see your nonprofit at work

December 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Volunteer leaders are critical to the success of your sustainable fundraising. They have connections that make it possible for them to recruit the tribe of volunteers who do the asking on behalf of your nonprofit.

Your task as a development director or executive director is to create in them enthusiasm for their work. To become enthusiastic about your cause they need to see lives transformed by your work.

There are two ways volunteer leaders can see your nonprofit at work. The best way is for them to meet the people you serve. As they see the people you serve and interact with them, they become witnesses. They develop their own stories that they can tell to the people they ask to raise funds.

As you well know, you need to be very sensitive about how you go about this. The people you serve do not want to be stared at like creatures in a zoo. If you give it careful thought you might be able to create a way for volunteer leaders to interact with the people you serve by volunteering, sharing a meal, or working together on a project.

You may decide that for confidentiality reasons it’s impossible for your volunteer leaders to interact with the people you serve.

You have an alternative. Tell stories of your work. You can leave out names and any identifying details and still tell the stories of the people you serve. If you tell these stories frequently enough, your volunteer leaders will feel like they know the work you do, the people you serve, and they will become enthusiastic in leading a tribe of volunteers to raise funds for your cause.

Your volunteer leaders must see your nonprofit at work. Preferably in person where they can meet and interact with the people you serve. If that’s not possible, let them meet the people you serve and see their transformed lives through stories of your nonprofit at work.

Wisdom for the week: Volunteer leaders must see your nonprofit at work in order to enthusiastically lead a tribe of volunteers to raise funds for you.

Filed Under: Volunteers

Why I focus on community nonprofits

November 10, 2011 By 1 Comment

Last Saturday night I discovered another reason I love to work with community nonprofits.

Sometimes people from issue-oriented nonprofits, national, or international organizations ask me if they can apply Green Light Fundraising to their nonprofits.

“Yes,” I say, “Green Light Fundraising is based on principles and you can use those principles to develop fundraising systems for any nonprofit.”

Then why did I focus on community nonprofits?

I often answer that question by saying that I prefer to work with nonprofits that serve people on the edges of our communities.

Last Saturday night I was talking with an executive director of a homeless shelter for families and we were exploring ways that Green Light Fundraising could be of help to them.

I don’t recall how the topic came up but I mentioned that the staff of community nonprofits who provide direct services are often low paid, sometimes being paid barely above minimum wage.

Then I choked up.

I was surprised. What was that all about? I wondered.

Then I said to the director, “I think I became emotional because one of the reasons I feel so strongly about helping community nonprofits raise funds is because I want to help nonprofits pay their frontline staff adequate wages.”

Wisdom for the week: Don’t be afraid to be emotional about what you do and why you do it. Fundraising is an emotional business, not only for the donor but also for the fundraiser.

 

Filed Under: Partly personal Tagged With:

The power of a volunteer leader

November 8, 2011 By 1 Comment

“In 2009 it was a scary year to hit our fundraising numbers,” says Carol Fesco, Director of Development for Horizon House of Illinois Valley, Inc.

In the fall of 2008 the economy went into a free fall, the worst economic time since the Depression of the 1930’s.

“Other organizations were really struggling with their fundraising goals,” she says. “They were falling well short of their fundraising totals…. There was a capital campaign taking place [in our community] and they called it off mid-campaign because they weren’t hitting their numbers.”

The 2009 campaign was the seventh sustainable campaign for Horizon House. Still, it did not look good.

“We had businesses that were closing in our area and downsizing,” she says. “It seemed like every week you’d open the paper and hear about mass layoffs at a company or a store or a factory or whatever.”

“The initial gifts and pledges were not what I anticipated so I got nervous,” Carol says. “I brought in my campaign chairperson, talked about it, hit the list, and he became a fundraising machine.”

“He opened up his Rolodex,” she says, “and his personal address list and sent out letters to all of his clients. He’s a well-known community leader in real estate and is also very involved in the community itself; he’s a local elected official. He hit the bricks and called people and wrote letters tirelessly. If he didn’t get a check back, he’d write them a second letter a week later.”

The campaign chairperson “was persistent and he added about 68 new donors to the campaign. And these weren’t just $25 or $50 donors; some of these were $1000 donors,” she says.

“Not only did we exceed our goal that year,” says Carol, “but we exceeded it by $5000. It was a very scary time and we came out unscathed and it was due to his commitment.”

Volunteer leaders are absolutely the key to success in sustainable fundraising.

Horizon House’s 2009 campaign chairperson not only helped them weather the tumbling economy but he also continues to influence subsequent campaign leaders. The vice-chairperson who was working under him in 2009 saw what the campaign leader was doing to make the campaign succeed.

“It started a friendly competition,” Carol says, “where he wanted to exceed what the 2009 chairperson had done so he was very enthusiastic about hitting and exceeding his goal. It was a very good competition that has continued to this day.” Each subsequent campaign chairperson has exceeded their goal.

In a population of 30,000 people, the last campaign raised over $200,000.

Wisdom for the week: Choose your campaign chairpersons carefully because a good chairperson brings commitment and power to your campaign.

Filed Under: Fundraising chairperson, Volunteers Tagged With: , ,

LinkedIn: The Power Tool for Fundraisers, Part 2

September 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In Part 1 of How LinkedIn Can Help You with Your Fundraising, I taught you how to use LinkedIn as a way to grow your fundraising know-how. In this issue, I’ll teach you how to use LinkedIn as a powerful research tool to uncover potential fundraising volunteers and donors in your community.

Bankers, realtors, investment advisors, sales professionals, business owners, and marketers are the most likely volunteers who will excel as fundraising volunteers.

Using LinkedIn, you can discover the most connected people in these professions in your community, plus you can discover valuable information that will help you build a relationship with these folks.

To begin your research, join LinkedIn, go to search box found on the right side of the top menu, and click on “Advanced Search”.  You are now at a page that allows you to make highly detailed searches. Let’s assume you want to research bankers in your area. Enter your zip code in the “Postal Code” box and then scroll down to “Industries”. Scroll down the Industries box and check “banking”. Then click on “Search.”

Depending on how many results you get, you may want to narrow your search. For instance, once I selected banking and entered my zip code, a list of local banks appeared as part of the menu to the right. I noticed that the bank our nonprofit uses has 39 people on LinkedIn. I checked the box for our bank.

I begin clicking on the names that appear and quickly discovered a V-P for the bank who has 145 connections, another with 15, and another with 98. LinkedIn profiles reveal a lot of valuable information for relationship building such as employment history, education, and groups and associations. When looking for potential volunteers for a sustainable fundraising campaign, the two with 145 connections and 98 connections move on to my list of potential volunteers. They’re connected.

LinkedIn profiles contain a treasure trove of information that can be helpful to fundraisers who want to build relationships with potential donors or volunteers. For instance, when I click on a V-P from our bank I discover that his interests include sports especially White Sox, Steelers, and University of Illinois, travel and movies. Now when I meet him, I will know what he loves to talk about.

Now I’ll teach you how to access the profiles of highly connected people in your community.

You can tell who is highly connected by the number of their LinkedIn connections, however, to see the profiles of the connections of the highly connected people in your community, you need to be connected to that highly connected person.

There are two ways to become connected on LinkedIn. First, if you know the person or have done business with them, you can send them an invitation through LinkedIn inviting them to be connected to you. Once you are connected to them, it’s as if you have access to their Rolodex since you can see the profiles of all their connections.

Second, if your research has revealed a highly connected person in your community but you don’t know the person, you can take a different route to invite them to connect with you.

To the right of a profile of a person you are not connected to, you will see options for sending an invitation to connect, and below that you can click on “Get introduced through a connection.” Once you’ve clicked on “Get introduced through a connection”, you will be shown which of your connections are connected to the person you want to be introduced to. Click on the circle next to the connection who is the best person to introduce you and then click on “Continue.” You will then be taken to the “Request for Introduction” page. Complete the page and click on “Send” at the bottom of the page.

You now have the tools to research potential volunteers. You can use the same tools to research potential donors.

As I mentioned in Chapter 14 of Green Light Fundraising the research that The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko is based on reveals that the typical millionaire does not drive flashy cars and live in a penthouse. Two-thirds of millionaires are self-employed. Their average age is 57, they have three children, and are frugal.

You can use LinkedIn to research self-employed and small business owners in your community.

Wisdom for the week: Use LinkedIn research to identify potential donors and connect with highly connected potential fundraising volunteers in your community. Go fundraisers.

Filed Under: Finding donors, Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

LinkedIn: the power tool for fundraisers, Part 1

September 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

A friend e-mailed me a fundraising question: “One of the organizations that I volunteer at and assist in fundraising…” he said, “is sending out a solicitation letter. Is it better to have several signatures at the bottom – president, director (Rabbi), student president, faculty advisor…or just one? And then if only one – which one?”

I had my opinion—I think fundraising letters should be signed by one person—but I wanted to see what others fundraisers thought.

I went on LinkedIn, clicked on the Professional Fundraising Group, one of several fundraising groups I belong to, and posted the following question: “I’ve been asked whether it’s better to have one person sign an appeal letter or several folks connected to the organization. I tend to think one but don’t have a lot of experience. What do you think?”

Within 24 hours, five fundraisers weighed in on the topic. Using the experience of these colleagues, I was able to answer my friend’s question with a lot more confidence.

As a fundraiser, you need three things that LinkedIn can provide— fundraising know-how, potential volunteers, and potential donors. In Part 2, I will teach you how to use LinkedIn to discover potential volunteers and donors.

LinkedIn has a paid option but I’ve never used it. The features I teach in Part 1 ad Part 2 are free with a LinkedIn account. In this post, I’ll teach you two ways to increase your fundraising know-how through LinkedIn.

First, LinkedIn groups are a powerful way to tap into the knowledge of fundraising colleagues, as you can tell from the example above. There are 1,241 groups related to fundraising on LinkedIn. The groups range from Non Profit Network – MojaLink with 42,777 members to Kids First Alliance with 15 members.

Topics covered by fundraising groups range from soliciting gifts face to face to fundraising through social media to nonprofit marketing. Groups are divided into open groups where anyone can join and members’ only groups where the owner has to approve your request to join the group.

To join a group, join LinkedIn, go to search box found on the right side of the top menu, set search to groups by clicking on the down arrow to the left of the box, and selecting groups. You can then search for groups according to topic.

I’m inviting you to join the Green Light Fundraising Group, I recently created for readers of Green Light Fundraising e-book to support one another. Search for Green Light Fundraising in the search box set to groups and then request to join. I’d love to interact with you through the group. I often post online resources to the group.

In groups, you can post your own discussions, post links to resources you use, and comment on discussions started by others.

Second, you can increase your fundraising know-how by asking a question without joining a group. To ask a question, click on More on the top menu, and then click on Answers. A second menu will appear below the top menu. Click on Ask a Question which will allow you to categorize your question. Assuming you are asking a fundraising question, click on Nonprofit in the first Categorization box and Nonprofit Fundraising in the second box.

You can also learn from the Answers related to fundraising. Click on Answer Questions on the Answers menu, and then enter “fundraising” in the keywords box, and then categorize your search further by clicking on Nonprofit in the first Categorization box and Nonprofit Fundraising in the second box. Click on Search below the categorization boxes and you’ll land on the page with fundraising questions and answers.

See you at the Green Light Fundraising group on LinkedIn. Join Today.

Wisdom for the week: Increase your fundraising know-how and share your knowledge through LinkedIn.

***

Pss. Try out the Green Light Fundraising Club for a month for a surprisingly low price. The Club is an affordable way for you to receive coaching and much more to help you adopt the Green Light Fundraising systems to your nonprofit. For more information, click here.

Psss. You can follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Green-Light-Fundraising/101690509920473 follow me at Twitter, @richfoss, and connect with me, Rich Foss, on LinkedIn.

Filed Under: Fundraising coaching, Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

A Moving Story

August 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Fundraising depends on moving donors through stories.
This story is being used to market a book but fundraisers can learn about the power of a story by this simple, powerful clip. Click on the link below:

The Uncertainty Book

Filed Under: Making the case, Stories

Why volunteers make great fundraisers

August 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Sustainable fundraising depends on fundraisers teaching volunteers to ask people they know for major gifts.

Is this a good idea? Wouldn’t it be better for pros to ask for large gifts and not amateurs?

No.

I’m assuming that you work for a smaller nonprofit and that you are a solo fundraiser, perhaps with an administrative assistant. That means you do it all, from public relations to seeing that thanks go out promptly. This limits the number of people you can ask in a year.

You can multiply yourself many times by teaching volunteers to ask.

If you accompany a volunteer who knows the potential donor let the volunteer take the lead in the conversation.

Consider this story that Jerold Panas tells in one of the books I recommended in the last issue, Asking: A 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers, and Staff Must Know to Secure the Gift:

I remember several years ago when I was making a call with a volunteer for a major campaign for a hospital in Salisbury, Maryland. We had scripted it well and the volunteer, Fulton Jeffers, knew he was to probe and ask.

Fulton began making the call by asking the prospect how he felt about the hospital. The response was startling: “It’s a horrible place. I think the medical staff stinks. The nursing care is terrible. When I was there, they didn’t have anyone on the floor who spoke English. The place was filthy.”

I was thinking of the Cheyenne warrior battle cry: It’s a good day to die.

Fulton was quick: “Ben, I am embarrassed. I thought I knew you so well. I felt you loved the hospital and would be interested in this program. I’m obviously wrong. Tell me what happened so that we can get to the bottom of this.”

Ben went on, nonstop, fifteen or twenty minutes. He finally wound down. And then something very special happened. When he got it all out of his system, he seemed to feel much better.

Finally he said, “Well, maybe it wasn’t as bad as I made out. And we certainly need a good hospital in Salisbury.  What did you want to talk to me about?”

We went on to get the gift.

Fulton had exactly the right response to Ben because he was a volunteer and he knew Ben. You are likely to be friends with some of your donors but you can’t possibly have as many friends as a tribe of trained and committed volunteers.

Wisdom for the week: Well-trained to ask, volunteers will know how to respond to the surprises thrown their way.

Filed Under: The GOOD way to ask for the gift Tagged With: , , ,
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