How to Cultivate Awe, Gratitude, Altruism and Meaning to Significantly Boost Nonprofit Fundraising

I am grateful

Philanthropy is about reciprocal awe, gratitude, altruism and purpose.

I’m a huge fan of the Greater Good Science Center at U.C. Berkeley, and often apply their research to nonprofit fundraising and marketing.  This particular article really strikes me today, because it talks about times when we feel isolated from others: How to Find Your Purpose in Life.

Over my 30 years of practice as an in-house development professional, I’ve encountered a lot of people feeling isolated. It’s one of the reasons they reach out to social benefit organizations, because they crave community and purpose. Depending on what’s going on in the broader world around us, this feeling can be more or less at the forefront of people’s experience. When this feeling creeps in, this is a time for you to rededicate yourself to your fundamental role as a philanthropy facilitator. Or, as my mentor (and who some call the “father of fundraising)” Hank Rosso said: your role in “the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving.”

Here’s what it boils down to:

You serve your donors every bit as much as they serve your organization’s mission.

Please allow that to sink in.

You have a mission and purpose. Donors can help you get there.

Your donors are looking for purpose. You can help them find it.

It’s a symbiotic relationship.  And you have a role in fostering that relationship.  What is that role?

Your job is to facilitate your donor’s philanthropic journey. Their journey to discover their purpose.

So what’s this really all about?

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Philanthropy – Love of Humankind – Needed More Than Ever

Dancing in Love. Heart sculpture as benefit for San Francisco General Hospital Foundation.

We’re entering an era of uncertainty.

For many, this has been a gut-wrenching week. And not just in the United States. People around the world are struggling with how to make sense of global events. Not just the American elections (though this is a huge sea change), but also escalating, senseless violence across the planet, threats to freeedom of speech, religion and assembly, the spread of fake news, a deepening divide between classes, and a creeping sense of dread as events begin to seem out of our control.

And, to be honest, this may feel like just the tip of the iceberg.

The world can seem a cruel and barbaric place.

Philanthropy – love of humankind — can seem elusive.

Yet it’s right here. In each of us.

Love is connected to the things you believe in. The values you hold most dearly.  The dreams you have and cherish.

Now is the time to be more loyal to your values and dreams than to your fears.

Give yourself permission to trust your own dreams. Be open to them. Don’t critique them or tell yourself they cannot happen. Not now.

Be on your own side, and on the side of your family, friends, neighbors and the entire planet that needs you to restore balance. Don’t wait to nurture those dreams.

Make the internal commitment to come from a place of love.

Earlier this week I shared a poem from Tara Mohr. It began like this: “Today, I am more committed than ever to the things I believe in.”

I encourage you to think about what you believe, and what you’ll commit to doing — from today forward.

I do have some thoughts I’d like to share.

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8 BOO BOO’s! Are You SCARING Nonprofit Donors Away?

Halloween skeleton

Is this how you’re making your donor feel?!?!

 

BOO!

Halloween is creeping up on us, so I’ve got some really scary stuff for you!

Don’t get too spooked. There are also a few treats.

In fact, you’ll get eight delicious goodies — in the form of “to-do’s.”

But first… the bad news.

No bones about it, you’re frightening folks away if you’re committing any of these 8 boo-boo’s!

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How to Project Manage Your Nonprofit Story

"Story Quilt" by Faith RingoldYour nonprofit’s story is the whole ball of wax.

Without it, you’ve got nothing.

So let’s really talk about this for a minute.

A story is not “Give us money because we’re good guys and do good work.”

Nor are “Sustain humanitarian aid,” “Support the arts,” or “Save our rivers” stories.

Sure, there may be some implicit narratives hiding within these phrases, but they’re really tag lines or calls to action. Useful, sure. But not until you’ve laid the groundwork of telling a compelling story.

You never start a story with “And they lived happily ever after.”

Similarly, you should never start a fundraising appeal with “We saved the whales.” Where’s the emotion and drama here?

You know donors are moved to give through emotion, right?

The best way to get inside a donor’s head and heart is by telling a dramatic, emotional story. Something that taps into their core and arouses their curiosity, or some deeper feeling like sadness, fear or anger.

You see, human brains are wired for story.

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Top 10 Strategies to Transform Reluctant Fundraisers into Ready Philanthropy Facilitators

What’s holding you back? Culture? Fear?

How do you help people afraid of fundraising become comfortable in what should be a mission-aligned role for everyone associated with your nonprofit organization?

After all, everyone benefits from increased philanthropy.  Not just development staff.

Increasingly, successful nonprofits are adopting cultures of philanthropy where everyone involved – administrative staff, program staff, board members, committee members, direct service volunteers and even beneficiaries – comes together as ambassadors, advocates and askers on behalf of furthering the organization’s mission, enacting its values and fulfilling its vision.

Facilitating philanthropy is not rocket science, yet folks unaccustomed to the relationship cultivation and solicitation required to land major donations are fearful because they don’t know how to do it. Actually, they do. They just need some guidance, hand holding and support along the way. Reluctant fundraisers tend to think fundraising is just about money. It’s a lot more than that.

It’s the job of a nonprofit’s leadership to work with insiders (staff and volunteers) to help everyone feel both passionate about the cause and confident in the fundraising process.

There are barriers to be overcome; first and foremost is fundraising fear.  This fear takes many forms, and is perhaps best expressed in some of the questions I frequently receive.  So I’m endeavoring to answer these questions below.  Hopefully this will help you address these challenges within your own organization so you, too, can transform folks from fearful and reluctant “fundraisers” to joyful and ready “philanthropy facilitators.”

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6 Strategies to Convey Your Most Emotional Fundraising Appeal Story

2020-10-11 14.40.58People are wired for stories.

We use them to understand our world.

But do the same stories work in any time? For any person? No.

You need to understand your SMIT story – ‘Single Most Important Thing’ – at this moment in time.

And that SMIT will change, depending on the environment in which you’re operating.

You need to know your audience. Today. The story you told last year may not work as well this year. And here is why:

(1). The story must be relevant to the donor – which will depend on what is top of mind for them (hint: pay attention to the news).

(2). The need to give the story a happy ending must feel urgent (hint: pay attention to the news).

Whatever your mission, relevancy and urgency are the key to emotional appeals.

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5 Strategies to Get and Keep More Donors for Your Nonprofit

Happy donorsPeople are unpredictable sometimes. They’re also predictable.

If you see someone yawn, you’re likely to yawn too.

If I tell you seats are limited, you’re likely to purchase a ticket now rather than later.

What if you knew getting people to donate to your nonprofit could be a predictable consequence of something you did?

It turns out you can encourage people to act in desirable ways, simply by applying a few lessons learned from neuroscience, psychology and behavioral economics. The truth is scientists have learned quite a lot over the past few decades. It’s up to us to put that learning to good use!

Alas, as Daniel Pink, author of To Sell Is Human, has noted: “There’s a gap between what science knows and what business does.” This applies to social sector businesses too!

That’s right. Pink explains the most successful for-profit businesses use what science knows to “convert leads to customers.”  The secret to more sales is knowing what the customer wants. Your non-profit might convert prospects into donors, and donors into repeat donors, using the very same principle.

The secret to closing more gifts is knowing what the donor wants.

Today I’d like to consider five specific strategies that will help you ethically take advantage of some of the psychology underlying human behavior. Once you understand these principles, you can begin to strategically apply them to your integrated development (marketing and fundraising) strategy. If you’re nervous about this, you can test what you did before against a new strategy informed by science. Break your mailing list randomly in half, send an “A” and a “B” version of your appeal, and see which performs best.

Ready for 5 science-informed strategies?

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Boost Gift-Giving with These 5 Donation Page Improvements

Soliciting donations from your supporters is hard work. It requires identifying prospects, building relationships, and ultimately asking them to contribute to your organization. Luckily, your donation page can do some of the heavy lifting for you! When optimized for the donor experience, your donation page can help potential new supporters form a positive first impression…

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