The work of philanthropy facilitation is very personal. And, fundamentally, it’s based on trust. Which is why establishing and building trust should be part of your nonprofit and personal mission. “Amid times of change, one truth remains: trust is the foundation of progress” — Eman Trust Barometer 2025 Alas, I rarely see this in mission…
The major gift journey is a synergistic one. You see, it’s both your journey and your donor’s journey.
If you want to follow along the most direct pathway to sustainable philanthropy, you’ll want to consider the two-fold nature of the expeditious endeavor known as major gift fundraising. Or, as I prefer to call it, passionate philanthropy.
First understand the pathway to passionate philanthropy is not just about the money; it’s every bit as much about the experience.
If you do your job as guide well, they’ll find meaning, purpose and happiness being engaged with you.
That’s right! It’s both (1) a business, and (2) a donor journey toward joy. You’ve got to treat it like a business if you want to make money. That means clarifying goals, setting specific objectives, planning strategies and tactics, and holding yourself accountable. Otherwise you’re just occasionally taking folks along for a stroll, without being thoughtful about what’s in it for both of you. And if you haven’t concretized what the benefits are, it’s hard to deliver on them!
Let’s take a look at the 6 steps you must take to build and sustain a winning major gifts program.
Did you miss the most popular tips on Clairification last year? The trending topics included how to effectively leave voice; retention techniques; e and other campaign appeal strategy; how to communicate about things like overhead and transaction fees; philanthropic culture and board giving. The standout articles, from bottom to top, include: Countdown: Top 10 Hottest…
But it’s not easy for you. It’s hard work. Because, inside the mind of a potential donor, many things are working against you. I don’t know enough about you. I can’t make a real difference. I don’t think of myself as a philanthropist. I don’t know how to evaluate one charity against another. I don’t…
You’ve got one month before fall fundraising season begins in earnest.
What will you do with it?
I’VE GOT 10 TOP STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU GET ALL YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW!
We’ll start with the first five today.
Next week we’ll look at:
Ready?
While you no doubt want donors of all sizes, you especially want loyal donors who make above average size gifts. Because that’s where you’ll get the greatest return on your investment. Today, let’s talk about major donors. Why? They account for the lion’s of all contributed income. Studies show over 88% of all…
Once upon a time I let folks know I’d “finagled” a discount for them. After one reader told me the word “finagle” means “to obtain something by devious or dishonest means,” I sent an apologetic “Ruh Roh” email. I received a lot of forgiving (thank you!) feedback. Many kindly supported my initial use of the word “finagle.”
Susan sent me this:
finagle (third-person singular simple present finagles, present participle finagling, simple past and past participle finagled)
finagle a day off work
finagled his way out of a ticket by pretending to be on the way to a funeral, distraught
I think the word has come to mean “using super-human negotiating skill to obtain a superior result“
Terry sent me this:
I thought you meant “obtain (something) by indirect or involved means.” I always felt it was sort of clever or creative negotiations to get something done when it seemed like it couldn’t be done.
Sam sent me this:
I always thought it was someone who could manipulate circumstances to achieve a goal. No adverse implications. No criminal intent. Just clever in being able to make something work that really shouldn’t have worked.
And there were more. I thank you all.
And not just about negotiation (which is a subject unto itself), but about being clever.
And thoughtful.
And about what it takes to obtain superior results.
All good outcomes require a little positive finagling to get there.
For example,
I’m going to guess “yes.” I’m sure some will hate me for saying this, but after 30+ years in the nonprofit trenches and another 10+ as a coach and consultant, I’m still amazed at how small many of us think. In 2008 during the big recession, and 2020 during the pandemic, all I heard was…
For at least the past seven years I’ve been actively encouraging nonprofits of all stripes to prioritize beginning or ramping up their monthly giving program.
Not a lot of nonprofits were really leaning into this then. But, as much sense as it made then, it makes even more sense now.
So, I’m going to ask you: How are you doing with this?
Here’s why I’m asking.
If there’s anything the pandemic years have taught us,not to mention recent climate-related disasters, you need a dependable source of income in order:
It turns out there’s nothing as dependable as monthly donors.
In fact, donors who give to you recurrently sustain you so well a monthly giving strategy is often called a sustainer program.
Do you deserve a group of people who will sustain you through thick and thin?
Of course you do!
But you don’t always get what you deserve – unless you make it happen.
As someone poetic so eloquently put it:
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
— Maya Angelou
Let’s get down to work!
There are four steps to a successful monthly giving work plan:
The single most important lesson I ever learned. Begin with the why. Always. If you don’t, you’re likely to work very hard and not achieve much of value. Why? Because you didn’t begin your endeavor by asking yourself: “Why am I doing this?” “What’s the value in this work upon which I’m about to embark?”…
In Part 1 I laid out why philanthropy inspires, and fundraising tires.
Fundraising must be done, of course, but there’s something about how it’s too often practiced that turns too many people off.
It’s the “fund” part of the word. This makes people think it’s all about money, when really it’s all about valued outcomes.
These valued outcomes are shared by many who care about the cause.
All these folks have a collective stake in the love and mission-focused organization’s survival.
Because all of them are dedicated to making the world, or some small corner of it, a better place.
When fundraising is delegated to the development committee, or the development director, it disenfranchises a huge segment of folks who care about sustaining the cause — both internally and externally.
Similarly, when donors are competed over, donors are disenfranchised. This may take the form of non-cooperation or even outright war between those who should be facilitating philanthropy.
Did you have a New Year’s resolution to look for a new development position? Or maybe to transition to work in the social benefit sector?
Have you put your job search off, wondering how your skills translate to what you’d really like to do?
We all have an inner critic telling us super unhelpful things like:
These are all variations on the theme of “you don’t have what it takes.”
Nonsense!
This is a totally irrational fear. Your inner critic is perhaps trying to protect and defend you, but actually this critic is holding you back by ruminating on the risks and worst-case scenarios. If you always play it “safe,” you’ll never grow.
Today, I’d like to tell you what it actually takes to be an effective fundraiser.
I hope you’ll see these innate qualities and strengths are things you have already. All you need to do is formulate them into a pitch format you can use when you interview for a job.
This week the groundhog told us it’s going to be an early spring!
Spring is always a good time for re-awakening, rebirth and just plain dusting away the cobwebs. And what a dreary, grave, cobwebby period it’s been.
We’ve got a lot to clean up, reorganize and rethink. So much, in fact, it’s downright overwhelming. So, as I sat down to write today’s article, I thought about what you actually have within your power to do. Right now. And all throughout the coming months.
I know it’s been pretty hard to focus with everything going on in the world.
So I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried to pull together the various challenges I’ve seen nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and marketers grapple with in the past year. Actually, the past years. Through elections, pandemic, climate catastrophes, shootings, war, unprecedented demonstrations of cruelty and inhumanity, and more. It’s a LOT.
But, the show — your good work — must go on.
In other words, your mission must move forward. People rely on you to do the critical work of the social benefit sector.
I thought: what can people do now to set themselves up for success as we move forward into high fundraising season at the end of this coming year? It may seem early to think about this, but it’s never too soon to put your best foot forward.
I’ve ended up with four tips I hope you’ll find relevant and timely.
Whether it’s a marketing or fundraising communication, keep these four messaging basics in mind.
I’ve written about this before. But since I continue to get questions, I’m writing about it again. Fundraisers wonder about the upsides and downsides in asking donors to cover credit card and other gift transaction fees. Hmmn… First, let me be upfront in letting you know my gut emotional response to doing this is “no.”…
People keep telling you to add text messaging to your communications strategy, right? It’s a mobile world, and you need to reach people where they are. But how do you actually get people to opt in to text messages and grow your contact list? Let’s explore five ways to get your supporters to consent…
You likely collect a lot of data in your donor database, but is it really valuable to you? It’s not if you just let it sit there, rarely lo at it, and never run reports based on data that will help you with meaningful donor segmentation for appeals. And by that, I mean meaningful from…
In Take Heed Nonprofits: The Sky is Not Falling, but it’s Cloudy we loed at trends in giving and how this might impact your strategic fundraising planning. Some of the data-based take-aways included: Less Donors and Dollars Overall Less Individual Donors — Shrinking Slice of Fundraising Pie More Foundation and Corporate Giving Focus of Giving…
Have you ever wondered how major donors think about philanthropy?
To a large extent, they think about it the same way as anyone else. They just have more money.
It’s good to remember major donors are, first and foremost, just people.
And like all human beings, they are on a continual quest for meaning. It’s the existential search to be all that one can be.
And you can help them!
You (as executive management, development staff or board member) are a facilitator of philanthropy. Your organization exists, in part, to facilitate your donor’s quest for meaning and teach the joy of giving. To do this effectively, you must be attuned to your donors. And, since the wealthy have the ability to make a larger impact when it comes to furthering your mission, you especially must be attuned to these folks.
NOTE: I am not suggesting you eschew small gift fundraising. All gifts are important, and some of your smaller donors will likely engage in other critically important ways as well. They may become ambassadors, advocates, inlfuencers, volunteers and even legacy donors. You never want to put all your eggs in one basket. At the same time, it’s smart to develop a strategy to unlock giving from those who have potential to make transformative gifts.
In the past I’ve looked at six major donor philanthropic triggers. You need to know about these things, because if you can key into any of them you’ll have a strong basis for pursuing a major gift from the prospect whom you’re approaching:
Today I’d like to review six more things you should be on the lookout for; then I’ll suggest four strategies to help you enter into your prospective donors’ worlds so you can make a win/win match – one that will help your major donors simultaneously help your cause and themselves.
Coincidentally, I found a back issue of Lifestyles Magazine from 2008 (yes, I’m a bit of a hoarder) and was struck by some of what the publication had to say—a veritable peek inside the minds of major donors. There’s a clue right in the way Lifestyles (now out of publication) describes their mission (highlights are mine):
You are if your modus operandi is fire fighter.
Because, let’s be real, you’re mostly putting out fires set by other people.
It may make you feel like a hero, but it’s not the best way to approach your job on a daily basis. Let me explain by asking you to answer these questions:
If so, you (and most likely your co-workers too) are probably not doing the important preventive work that must be done so these urgent fires don’t break out.
Anyone can fight a fire; “Only YOU can prevent [forest] fires.”
So, get out of the trees for a minute, take a perch at the top of a hill, and get a panoramic birds-eye view of your organization’s forest. Look for the places where danger lurks and fires might break out. For example (this is a non-exclusive list), it could be the way:
The single most important lesson I ever learned.
Always.
If you don’t, you’re likely to work very hard and not achieve much of value.
Why?
Because you didn’t begin your endeavor by asking yourself:
“What’s the value in this work upon which I’m about to embark?”
“Why am I doing this?”
This may be the most powerful strategy in your entire toolbox.
So simple. So basic. So fundamental.
Yet it’s a step we tend to overlook.
Why?
Humans are funny creatures.
Monkey see, monkey do.
Monkey be told what to do, monkey do.
We’re driven instinctually, by biology, to survive.
Don’t eat the berries no one else is eating. We take what appears to be the safest course.
It generally works in the short term. There must be a reason.
Sometimes, however, there is no reason.
There’s just habit.
Or the reason isn’t a good one.
Answering the why question requires two elements: knowing what and who something is for. Let’s begin with the what.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there” – Lewis Carroll This is actually a paraphrase of an exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I use it often to encourage people to develop and stick to a plan. Lewis Carroll, on the other hand,…
I’ve been getting nervous es from colleagues who attended the 2023 AFP ICON conference in New Orleans, all bemoaning the fact not just donors but also donations are down. You see, information was presented from the full 2022 Fundraising Effectiveness Project report, and the results were sadder than usual. I want to this with you,…
Do you write anymore?
I don’t mean do you type.
I’m talking about good old-fashioned handwriting.
You know, that very human practice most of the world seems to have abandoned post digital revolution?
It may seem practical and smart. After all, using a keyboard is definitely quicker.
But something critical gets lost in translation.
Not just to your audience, but to yourself.
Could keyboarding be causing you to disconnect? To lose your passion?
This is why writers including J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, Danielle Steele, John Updike and Joyce Carol Oates have rejected word processors and computers in favor of writing by hand. At least for their first drafts.
CAVEAT: Don’t fall into the trap of thinking these “handwriting people” are all just “old,” “old school,” or “stuck in their ways.” Rather, they intuitively discovered things about hand writing. All subsequently borne out by neuroscience. Once upon a time I intuited this as well. I couldn’t imagine giving up my yellow writing pad and pens of various colors. How would I think expressively if forced to type everything? Gradually, I was persuaded (shamed?) to jump on the bandwagon of modernity and efficiency. And, lo and behold, it was incredibly efficient. So fast! I got used to editing as I went along. Pretty soon I couldn’t envision ever going back. BUT…
But… after many years on the wrong track, I’m coming to understand the documented benefits of composing by hand.
You can learn more about some of these benefits from specific studies here (improves memory and promotes deep encoding); here (bolsters learning), and here (advances idea generation), to name just a few.
Today I want to share six of these benefits I think you’ll find most relevant to your nonprofit work.
You are known by the company you keep.
No nonprofit stands alone.
It may be born alone, or die alone, but it stands together.
That’s because it’s not about “I,” but about “we” and “us.”
Your nonprofit not only fulfills a demonstrated need, but it addresses problems other folks agree need addressing. All of you are “in” on addressing the problem and making the community and world a better place.
The company you keep should reflect your community.
Community based. Significance-based. Story-based.
Friendships. Deep connections. Relationship building.
This all creates the nonprofit brand.
Put another way, as my friends at The Ross Collective say: “People who are closest to the problems are weighing in on the solutions.”
Have you ever received confoundingly terrible customer service? Maybe at a restaurant, hotel, fast food restaurant or retail outlet? It happens all the time and, likely, you’ve thought to yourself: “Why on earth are they treating me like this? It’s so stupid! Don’t they realize I’ll never come here again?”
Sadly, this is exactly what many donors feel when:
“Customer service, like everything an effective organization does, changes people.”
Think about it. When you experience poor service in the for-profit world, it’s likely because the person with whom you’re interacting has no stake in the business. They see their job as just a job, and really don’t care about the business as a whole. Whether or not a customer returns again means little to them.
This also happens at nonprofits without a donor-centered culture of philanthropy. While the customer, or donor, may not always be exactly “right,” it is imperative everyone in your organization recognizes and appreciates the value donors bring.
“Each person directly associated with your organization should value donors and implicitly or explicitly express that value with gratitude and appreciation. No exceptions.”
— Brian Lauterbach, fundraiser, consultant, entrepreneur
“Without tackling internal issues head-on, we believe the prospects for major fundraising progress are limited. In most organizations, fundraising is limited more by organizational culture and structure than by lack of strategic or tactical know-how.”
— Alia McKee and Mark Rovner, Founders, Sea Change Strategies
NOTE: How to instill a culture of philanthropy is a topic for another article (like this one), but at base it has to do with how people treat each other in your organization.
There’s a lot of potential legacy giving out there in the universe. Per Giving USA 2022, giving by bequest was an estimated $46 billion, (an increase of $5 billion from just two years previous). What are you doing to assure some of it will flow to your cause?
I cover this subject in depth in Where Are Our Nonprofit’s Legacy Donors? Contrary to the way most nonprofits behave, legacy gifts don’t simply fall from the sky. They’re not delivered by storks carrying baskets filled with wills, trusts and beneficiary designations. You need to do something proactive.
You can’t simply rest on your reputation, however solid it may be. You could be raising tons and tons of money annually, and it won’t necessarily translate to bequests. It’s not because your donors aren’t the will-writing kind. That may be true for some of them, but there are other simple ways to leave a legacy accessible to all. Donor willingness is not the problem.
You are!
No charity succeeds simply waiting by the phone for folks to call. You’ll receive a bequest or two, perhaps. But nowhere near what you could receive if you took the bull by the horns and created a program that speaks to why people make legacy gifts.
There are two main reasons: (1) they’re asked, and (2) it feels meaningful to do so. So, given this, what do you incorporate into your program? What if I told you there’s a way to take charge of your own destiny, as you simultaneously help donors take charge of theirs?
STEP #1: Figure out a strategy to get folks thinking of you as a recipient of their philanthropic largess after death. There are elements to include in a full-fledged legacy giving program, and I’ve written about that plenty (e.g., see here and here).
STEP # 2: Help donors connect their giving to their personal identity and meaning. People may believe you’re awesome. But when it comes to distributing the hard-earned income accrued over a lifetime, they just don’t think of you that way. As an extension of their family, deepest values and essential identity. This is where many nonprofits fall down on the job, and it’s what I want to discuss today.
I confess I know virtually zip about artificial intelligence.
But I’ve been learning. Fast.
Because it’s hard these days to travel anywhere in the world, including the social benefit sector, without hearing enticing things about it.
At first blush this sounds good. But… the devil is in the details, right?
Which is why people are equally thrilled or unnerved at the prospect.
I wondered if using it could create unintended consequences. New tools used as blunt instruments could cause unintentional harm. So, I thought I’d do a little research to know whether I should advise fundraisers to jump on the AI bandwagon.
For many nonprofits, the yearly annual report is often just another task on a very long to-do list. Most charities are juggling a lot—development, program maintenance, fundraising, and more—and the annual report can feel like yet another mandatory routine project. One that often gets handled at the last minute without much intentional care and effort.
Even though annual reports are an industry standard, most nonprofits don’t realize how fruitful an effective annual report can be. An annual report that prioritizes storytelling, transparency, interactivity, and more can actually bolster donation solicitation efforts and become a lucrative fundraising tool.
Before we jump into the nitty gritty of strategic annual reporting, let’s cover the basics.
Think of an annual report as a “year in review”—like a yearbook of sorts, but for donors, supporters, and partners to look at the highlights of any given year at your organization. Of course, a lot can happen in a year (nonprofits know that best), but with an annual report, you can summarize all the year’s milestones including your impact, accomplishments, new developments, and more.
Annual reports can be created and presented in a variety of ways—both digitally and in print. Depending on the needs, audience, or even constraints of the individual nonprofit, you might choose to create a printed booklet or pamphlet (which could then be mailed to supporters and donors or handed out at events). Or, in line with more frequent developments in the space, you could turn to digital software tools to create an annual report that intrigues readers with more vibrant visual elements like photos, videos, and clickable links.
Every nonprofit’s annual report is different, depending on its mission, values, impact, audience, and more. However, most organizations include a few standard elements:
Though every nonprofit is required to submit a Form 990, most organizations take their reporting a step further and create a yearly review that includes more audience-centric material (like the topics listed above).
Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s dig into the best part of annual reporting—the ability to create the ultimate fundraising tool.
Have a heart- and people- centered, colorful year! Here are the 10 most popular Clairification articles from the past year, according to Google Analytics. Plus, at the end, I’m sharing some photos I hope you’ll enjoy! Counting Down… 10. What to Say When Your Donor Asks: How Much do you Spend on Overhead? Here I…
Are you thinking “It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Kaching!?”
Oh, dear.
That’s akin to making the holidays all about the commercial aspects, and losing sight of the season’s wonder, awe, gratitude, love, and warmth of community.
Yes, many nonprofits raise the lion’s share of their annual fundraising goal in the last few months of the year. In fact, December accounts, on average, for 31 to 50% of all contributions from individuals. So, you’re to be forgiven if you’re excited to see the money come flowing into your coffers.
But, just because it’s solicitation time does not mean it isn’t cultivation/stewardship time.
It’s not just about the money.
How you spread love through your mission-focused work.
How you love your supporters.
How love, not money, is at the heart of all philanthropy (philos/love + anthro/humanity).
Even though you’re ramping up fundraising activities this month, you can’t lose sight of your donor. And what’s in it for them if they give to you. So, ask yourself:
You may if your year-end fundraising looks mostly like this:
Such admonitions are all about you, your deadlines and money.
They are things people think about with their brain, not their heart. With their reasoning, not their emotions. WIth the part of their brain that makes them give a token or habitual gift, not a thoughtful or passionate one.
And once the gift comes in, then what?
If a donor makes a gift and you simply dispense an automated thank you, and nothing more, that’s not a donor relationship. That’s a transaction
If you get all ATMy at this time of year you’re going to lose these donors by this time next year. Or you won’t get them to give more. Or tell their friends how great you are. Or do any of the other things that donors do when they love you.
One-time gifts are here today, gone tomorrow. In fact, a whopping 80%+ of first-time donors won’t give again.
Transactions won’t help you next year or the year after that.
No. You’ve got to transform the transactions into something longer lasting.
Yes, you’re going to ask — maybe multiple times — at this time of year. But to get the desired response – and feeling — you still have to ask the right way.
Okay, I recently let folks know I’d “finagled” a discount for them. After one reader told me the word “finagle” means “to obtain something by devious or dishonest means,” I sent an apologetic “Ruh Roh” email. I received a lot of forgiving feedback. Thank you! Many of you kindly supported my initial use of the word “finagle.” Apparently, there is more than one definition.
Susan sent me this:
finagle (third-person singular simple present finagles, present participle finagling, simple past and past participle finagled)
finagle a day off work
finagled his way out of a ticket by pretending to be on the way to a funeral, distraught
I think the word has come to mean “using super-human negotiating skill to obtain a superior result“
Terry sent me this:
I thought you meant “obtain (something) by indirect or involved means.” I always felt it was sort of clever or creative negotiations to get something done when it seemed like it couldn’t be done.
Sam sent me this:
I always thought it was someone who could manipulate circumstances to achieve some goal. No adverse implications. No criminal intent. Just clever in being able to make something work that really shouldn’t have worked.
And there were more. I thank you all.
And not just about negotiation (which is a subject unto itself), but about being clever. And thoughtful. And about what it takes to obtain superior results.
All good outcomes require a little positive finagling to get there.
For example,
I hate jargon. With a passion.
Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.
Just. Can’t. Stand. It!
Yes, I guess you could call it a pet peeve.
But, really, why would you ever use jargon if you wanted to truly communicate with someone?
Just check out the definition:
“language used by a particular group of people, especially in their work, and which most other people do not understand”
— Cambridge dictionary.
When you talk to people in words they don’t understand, really, what’s the point?
Are you just trying to make yourself look smart?
Because, trust me, that’s not how it comes across.
Have you started working on your annual appeal and year-end fundraising plan?
It’s time!
I worked for 30 years in the trenches, so I know exactly what this time of year feels like.
It feels like you’re at the base of a mountain you’re about to scale.
And this particular year, you may feel you’re taking two steps forward and three steps back.
That’s to be expected during times of great uncertainty.
Expected or not, I know you’re still anxious and thinking “What if we don’t reach the top?”
Don’t worry, I’m here to help.
This year you may need the equivalent of a few extra granola bars for energy. And maybe an extra tool or two to help you get a grip.
Right now I want to give you a few specific, timely tips you might not be thinking about.
Here are some strategies I hope will give you a leg up, so to speak.
Here are 11 tips I’ve learned over the years.
You’ve got one month before fall fundraising season begins in earnest.
What will you do with it?
I’VE GOT 10 TOP STRATEGIES TO HELP YOU GET ALL YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW!
We’ll start with the first five today.
Next week we’ll look at:
Ready?
The reasons I love SWOT analyses is they’re all about looking at the present to divine the future. And leaders need their crystal balls to:
What I have for you is something you can do this week (or you can pick another week on your calendar that isn’t already overfilled with appointments, assignments, meetings and what-not). It’s really simple and really powerful. There’s one catch: you have to put aside 45 minutes/day for five days. If you’re resistant to change, read no further. This post isn’t for you. If, however, you have a hunch you might be able to move from good to great, then… read on (oh, and there’s a little bonus ‘gift’ at the end).
I’m going to show you how to become a donor-centered fundraiser in just five days. And by “donor centered,” I don’t mean pandering to donors, letting them abuse you or succumbing to mission drift in order to please them. That’s extreme. I’m going to show you how to simply follow the “Golden Rule,” and do unto donors as you’d wish them to do unto you.
Like I said, it’s simple. But you’ve got to dedicate the time. Go ahead. Find yourself a week where you can dedicate just 45 minutes/day to find out what ‘donor-centered’ may mean to your constituents.
This exercise is something I hope will dramatically change – and improve – how you approach your donors. And this change can happen for you in just five days.
In a nutshell, I’m going to ask you to:
Ready to get started?
In Part 1 of this two-part series delving into the topic of major gift fundraising asks, we looked at a number of Proven Strategies to Take Charge of Major Donor Asks. Specifically, we covered (1) four elements of a successful visit and (2) four elements of a compelling offer. Feel free to refresh yourself before we move on.
Now I want you to truly think about the offer from the recipient’s perspective.
As insiders, we often don’t stop to think about the outsider perspective. It’s just human nature to become so absorbed in a topic it starts to seem obvious. To us.
When crafting your compelling fundraising offer however, it’s important to stop and consider how it may be received. As noted in Part 1:
You can’t ask the donor to address your entire mission.
When crafting and making a major gift fundraising ask, make sure you incorporate the following into your planning:
For at least the past five years I’ve been actively encouraging nonprofits of all stripes to begin or ramp up their monthly giving program. It made sense then. It makes even more sense now.
Why?
If there’s anything the past couple of years have taught us, you need a dependable source of income in order:
It turns out there’s nothing as dependable as monthly donors.
In fact, donors who give to you recurrently sustain you so well a monthly giving strategy is often called a sustainer program.
Do you deserve a group of people who will sustain you through thick and thin?
Of course you do!
But you don’t always get what you deserve – unless you make it happen.
As someone poetic so eloquently put it:
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
— Maya Angelou
There are four steps to a successful monthly giving work plan:
Just about every nonprofit at this point understands they need: a robust way to communicate with and engage constituents. a user-friendly way to record this engagement so they can track actions, monitor performance and either automate or personalize future engagement, as appropriate. Technology is a tool to help you do and better. Enter CRM…
I’ve long advocated for incorporating accountability into nonprofit job descriptions if you hope to get, and measure, results. Without accountability, tasks have a serious likelihood of slipping to the back burner; then off the stove entirely.
Procrastination is just a human trait.
We tell ourselves we’ll clean out the garage this weekend. But no one makes us do it. So the weekend comes and goes without anything happening.
We make a new year’s resolution to exercise more. We even join a gym. We attend a couple of times, but no one is tracking our progress on the elliptical machine. We fall back into our previous habits and, before we know it, we’ve stopped going.
We plan to get out of the office and visit a donor at least three times a week, but no one really pays attention to our schedule – after all, we’re grown-up professionals! – and it’s easy to get distracted by emails, meetings, and a host of other tasks.
I could go on with a zillion examples. You probably can too. Why? Because human beings are wired this way. We get distracted. We procrastinate. We give in to habits that may not serve us well. And we’ve been doing it for centuries. It even has a Greek name: Akrasia.
“Legacy? What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you will never get to see.” — Lin Manuel Miranda, playwright Planting for the future is why a donor might want to leave a legacy to your nonprofit. They won’t live to see the impact, but they’ll know – deep in their heart and…
Early in my career a mentor taught me something I never forgot: You’re not being strategic unless you diversify your sources of revenue! Even though you may be sitting pretty right now, with a preponderance of funding coming from one or two major sources that seem dependable, you can’t assume this will always be the case. It’s…
Studies show over 88% of all funds raised come from just 12% of donors.
In fact, the top tier of donors account for the lion’s share of all philanthropy. Just 3% of donors give 76% of all gifts.
If you’re not focusing your fundraising resources on these donors, this should give you pause. You’re missing a really big boat.
Plus, chances are good you’re fundraising in a manner that’s not exactly cost-effective.
You’re not alone. I run into this problem all the time.
There’s nothing wrong with any of these strategies. However, generally they won’t give you the biggest bang for your buck.
Where you do get a huge return on investment is from an individual major gifts program, which costs you roughly 10 cents on the dollar vs. 50 cents or more on the dollar for special events fundraising and actually losing money on direct mail donor acquisition.
If you know the Pareto 80/20 Rule, you might want to focus just 20% of your resources on the lower-yielding strategies and 80% on major individual and legacy fundraising.
Usually I find it’s one of the following reasons:
There’s a treasure trove of knowledge and research around major gift fundraising. What works well. What doesn’t work at all. What’s, at best, half-baked.
It’s not rocket science. But there’s definitely art, and some science, involved.
The gestalt way of thinking about the three secrets boils down to simply being:
(1) smart,
(2) systematic and
(3) passionate.
But, the devil’s in the details. I’m pretty pragmatic, so I’d like to give you something more practical.
If I had to pick the top three practical secrets to success, they would be the following:
Over the pandemic I took some time to enroll in an intensive coaching course. Over Zoom, of course. It was designed for people who don’t necessarily intend to become certified life coaches as a career path, but who want to incorporate a coaching approach into their daily life.
The heart of this approach, I believe, can be distilled into two words. And they’re extremely useful for donor conversations:
1. CURIOSITY
When you’re genuinely curious about another person you ask questions to draw them out. And questions to help them get to the place they want to go; not where you think they should go. Because what’s right for you is not always right for someone else. They’ll tell you what’s right – with you acting as their guide – but only if you’re interested enough to ask.
It happens some questions are better than others if you want to get to the core of the matter at hand. We’ll get to those in a moment.
2. LISTENING
There’s a better way to have dynamic, effective conversations than jumping in prematurely with your own opinion. I’ve always known this, but it turns out there’s more to it than adopting the old adage: “You have two ears and one mouth; use them in that proportion.” Because it’s how you approach the listening that matters.
Your donor’s philanthropic journey begins with you. Your job is to steer them down the pathway to passionate philanthropy, making them feel joy and fulfillment every step of the way. When the gift is finally made, they should experience a true sense of victory in a job well done.
The cherished philanthropic outcome generally will only happen if you do your job well.
One of my favorite fundraising experts, who specializes in major and legacy giving, is Dr. Russell James. He knows everything there is to know about what the industry calls “planned giving,” but he knows so much more than most. Because Dr. James, while a skilled technician, is also a thoughtful and strategic fundraiser. And he knows the best practitioners guide towards a goal. I recently listened to a webinar where Dr. James spoke extensively about the universal hero’s journey and how this comes into play in fundraising. It dovetails so nicely with my fundraising philosophy I thought I’d write about it!
You see, once you know where you’re going with any particular donor (be sure to pick a goal!), your job is to advance their journey towards that goal with every step you both take. You’re like a “Donor Engagement Sherpa,” who supports your donor up their trek towards the mountain’s peak. Sometimes there will be more than one way to get there. Be open to your donor’s needs, not just yours. Lead with vulnerability, but lead.
Some rules are meant to be bren. These three aren’t. Never. That is, unless you want to continue to lose donors hand over fist. If you’re the average nonprofit you’re retaining only 19% of first-time donors and 44% of all supporters. The Fundraising Effectiveness Report reveals the depressing data. It shows a pattern of donor…
There’s a lot of potential legacy giving out there in the universe. Per Giving USA, giving by bequest was an estimated $41.19 billion in 2020, and grew 10.3% from 2019 (an increase of 9.0%, adjusted for inflation). What are you doing to assure some of it will flow to your cause? First you have to identify…
TRUTH BOMB:
The key to successful fundraising is knowing your donors.
If you don’t know them, you can’t nurture them.
If you don’t nurture them, they won’t grow.
Simply staring at your bare patch of land waiting for flowers to sprout and blossom doesn’t work 99% of the time.
Why are you waiting to ‘get lucky’ the winds will just blow some seeds your way?
Likely, this won’t happen.
Even if it does happen, the seeds may not take root and grow.
Unless you do something to help them along.
In fundraising, the best way to nourish supporters is to know them better.
So you can give them what they explicitly need, not what you think they need.
You need to engage in “getting to know you” activities so you’re basing your work on knowledge, not just opinion.
There are all sorts of excuses.
Many come from a sense of ‘donors’ being primarily identified that way, rather than as the complex people they truly are. Staff are often afraid of, or at least uncomfortable with, ‘donors.’ Even many volunteers, who aren’t major philanthropists themselves, feel this way.
Have you ever heard (or felt):
Have you started working on your annual appeal and year-end fundraising plan?
It’s time!
I worked for 30 years in the trenches, so I know exactly what this time of year feels like.
It feels like you’re at the base of a mountain you’re about to scale.
And this particular year, you may feel you’re taking two steps forward and three steps back.
That’s to be expected during times of great uncertainty.
Expected or not, I know you’re still anxious and thinking “What if we don’t reach the top?”
Don’t worry, I’m here to help.
This year you may need the equivalent of a few extra granola bars for energy. And maybe an extra tool or two to help you get a grip.
Right now I want to give you a few specific, timely tips you might not be thinking about.
Here are some strategies I hope will give you a leg up, so to speak.
Here are 11 tips I’ve learned over the years.