One sign the giving climate is getting better: When we asked fundraisers this spring to name their biggest challenges, not one talked about the economy.
But that doesn’t mean fundraising is easy. Jamie Ersbak, a donor-relations assistant at PATH, the global health charity in Seattle, told us he felt pressure because of “the death of the unrestricted gift” and the number of donors who want to earmark their money for specific purposes.
Kathy Butler, executive director of the Okanagan College Foundation in Kelowna, British Columbia, said she faced the same challenge fundraisers have encountered since the profession began: Forming stronger relationships with donors and convincing them to give more.
See more thoughts from fundraisers in this video, and tell us in the comments below about your biggest challenge in seeking gifts.
Donors who give through mobile text messages could soon have the options of giving a larger donation and setting up repeat text gifts, say the leaders of two of the organizations that oversee text giving in the U.S. and Canada.
Jim Manis, chief executive of the Mobile Giving Foundation, and Bernard Lord, chairman of the Mobile Giving Foundation Canada, said in an interview that they are working with some cellular service providers to allow $20 donations—double the current $10 limit—and recurring donations, though they gave no timeline on when those features would be available.
Mr. Lord said 75 percent of donors are willing to give $20 or more through text messaging, according to research his group has conducted. Forty-seven percent say they are willing to donate $25 or more through the platform.
Text-message gifts remain popular, the two men say, even though it is quickly be…
Nonprofit managers could take a lesson from archery, says Richard Dietz, founder of Nonprofit R+D, a training and technology consulting company. An archer will shoot an arrow, see the results, string his bow again, adjust based on his last shot, and fire a truer shot.
Adapting a similar approach can improve fundraising and technology projects, said a panel at the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ annual conference, in Vancouver. By embracing mistakes and adjusting strategies, nonprofits can learn to “fail more informatively.”
“The secret is learning what didn’t work and correct the mistakes so you can go forth with a better plan. Few of our failures are fatal, so keep that perspective,” said Erin Shy, senior director of product management at Sage Nonprofit.
Lee Berkeley Shaw, director of development at Rebuilding Together Montgomery County, in Maryland, has learned that…
Social media are often associated with young people, while planned giving is associated with older donors—but it is possible to mix the two and produce results.
“The people most willing to give you a planned gift are the people who have been giving to you for years,” said Kristen Schultz Jaarda, senior vice president at Crescendo Interactive. Because social media are built on relationships, they can offer a great way to appeal to those dedicated donors, she said.
In a session at the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual meeting, in Vancouver, Ms. Jaarda and Carole Touchinski, executive director of the Marquette County Community Foundation, shared lessons they’ve learned using Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to promote planned gifts.
Some of those lessons:
Test the waters. If you aren’t sure if your Facebook fans will respond to a post about planned gifts, just try,…
Nonprofits that want to create marketing deals with companies need to think hard about how they can make it simple and low-cost for the business to carry out every step of the arrangement.
Brent Buechler, Calgary Public Library Foundation’s manager of partnerships, said during a session today at the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual meeting in Vancouver that the goal should be to make it easy for companies to tell their employees, like those at the checkout register seeking an extra $1 for a good cause, how to make the pitch.
Those employees are an important and sometimes overlooked part of a marketing deal, expert say.
“They are the ones who are going to have to ask,” says Jocelyne Daw, a cause-marketing consultant.
Smart charities recognize that making such pitches is an add-on to their everyday job, so make sure not to add much of a burden and offer to train …
Scott Harrison, who founded Charity: Water, has been seeking a director of development for two years. But every applicant fails to meet his ambitious plans, he told the Association of Fundraising Professionals annual meeting on Sunday.
Mr. Harrison says the conversation always goes something like this, with him starting out by asking, “How much money did you raise last year?” The answer is usually something like “$10- million.” “How many people are on your staff?” “10.” “That just doesn’t work for us,” he says.
Mr. Harrison, whose organization employs only two fundraisers, is looking for someone who can generate a much higher return.
Doing things differently has been Mr. Harrison’s goal since he started his nonprofit. Mr. Harrison, a former nightclub…
Laura Fredricks, a fundraising consultant, say she has noticed a disturbing trend. Too often fundraisers use the same formula to seek a gift, whether they are asking for $10,000 or $50,000, instead of tailoring each interaction with a potential donor to the person’s interests and values.
That practice wastes time and ensures poor results, she said at the Association of Fundraising Professionals conference, which opened Sunday in Vancouver.
Conversations with donors are too important to use a standard template, Ms. Fredricks said. A guarantee that fundraisers are doing the right thing: They should be a little nervous every time. Otherwise, it’s a sign they are coasting.
She offered her five steps to improving conversations with donors:
Know exactly what you want. Before you contact a donor, you should have an idea “how much, how many, how often, and why” you want their gift,…
An “elevator speech” can be a powerful tool for fundraisers and nonprofit workers to explain their organizations’ missions—and quickly build a case for a donor’s support.
In the video gallery below, see more than 25 examples of elevator speeches from the recent South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas, and from The Chronicle’s video archives.
Which speeches do you think are most effective? Why? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
Fund raisers this year battled a still-uncertain economy as they tried to increase charitable giving.
The most-viewed post on this blog summarized a report with dozens of ideas about how to increase charitable giving. But fund raisers were also looking for creative ways to inject new life into traditional approaches, as demonstrated by another popular most about a modern twist on the gala.
Here are the five most-viewed Prospecting posts of 2011:
Neil Strauss is not a fund raiser, but he knows a lot about human relationships and motivation.
Mr. Strauss, the author of The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists, spent years testing and perfecting the techniques men use to meet and attract women. One of the most effective techniques could also be useful to fund raisers, he said at the annual NextGen: Charity conference, in New York.
“The best way to sell yourself is to have somebody else selling themselves to you,” he says.
Instead of telling donors why they should give to your organization, Mr. Stauss says, ask them to explain why they would be good donors. When donors articulate why they would want to support your organization, they will convince themselves to give.
“Sometimes you almost have to talk people into doing what they already want to do,” Mr. Strauss says. “There’s no one who doesn’t want to…
Prospecting follows news and trends about fundraising at nonprofits. You’ll find a mix of advice and techniques that have worked for other charitable organizations, as well as updates on new studies and forecasts that will help you do a better job seeking private money.
Holly Hall, who has covered fundraising for more than two decades at The Chronicle, edits the blog. She also writes many of the items, as does reporter Raymund Flandez, who specializes in fundraising innovations, and other Chronicle staff members.
Keep up with Holly Hall on Twitter at @HallHolly and with Raymund Flandez at @Raymundf23.
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