Facilitate Means to Make Easy
Philanthropy should not just be about big checks. We live in times of scarcity. How are you mobilizing your community in fresh and different ways? How are you building long-term capacity to sustain your organization? How are you creating stronger, deeper relationships with constituents?
1. Identify where your communities hang out.How? Look for what groups your current supporters participate in. Check out their Google+ circles. See where your influencers congregate. What blogs do they read? What are they pinning on Pinterest? What are the trends they are following? Then join these groups and discussions. Be supportive. Share their stories. Comment on their posts. Be of service.
2. Develop content to serve your communities. Make sure it achieves your objectives, but don’t just be self-serving. Find a bridge.
3. Be authentic and personal. Look at Bill Gates Twitter profile. He doesn’t preach. He doesn’t talk about his woes. He shares real stories about what he’s doing to encourage others to get involved.
4. Recruit influencers and cheerleaders who want to be your champions. Who? Someone has to motivate others to step up to the plate. Look to your board and other key influencers who share the values your organization enacts. Who has oodles of passion and energy? Who is a super-motivated volunteer? Who has a great virtual rolodex and will be willing to activate it on your behalf?
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| Let’s make an omelet! |
5. Activate your networks when it’s appropriate; create a sense of urgency. How? A campaign with a goal and a defined timeframe within which to generate the funds.
6. Generate excitement. How? Perhaps a challenge grant. Double your money… Wow!
7. Get organized. What’s your plan? What are all the components of your campaign? Plan ahead so it’s not random.
8. Bring your tribe together. Get your champions to give first (start with your board). Make them feel like heroes. Then ask them to go out to their peers.
9. Build trust. How? Peer-to-peer. When friends ask friends to give, it has a powerful impact.
10. Dip your toes in the water of online fundraising. How? Send an email. And tell an inspiring story that answers this question: Why would anyone care about this cause? You will raise money (assuming you have a good email list; if not, that’s another blog post).
11. Close the circle by tying back to outcomes. How? Thank your supporters promptly, personally and creatively. If your letter seems generic, ditch it and start over. Perhaps include some stories of who was helped. Use emotion. Tie the thank you to the specific purpose for which the gift was given. Let your donor know you reached your goal, with their help. Follow up in a month or two with more specific information about the impact of their donation. And don’t forget to give a name and contact information should they have questions or want to learn more. This is the basis for building friendships and the foundation of long-term sustainability.
12. Open up and broaden the circle. How? Ask your supporters to share. Make them your partners. The best way to generate new support is to have your supporters tell their friends and family about their involvement. Use share buttons on everything. It’s the circle, the circle of philanthropy.
Have fun! Hakuna matata!
Do you have tips to add to help us fully occupy philanthropy ?
Remember: Philanthropy translated means love of human kind.
How are you loving your constituents and giving power to your people?
