Are you aware one of the hottest things in for-profit management over the past five years or so is “customer service,” otherwise known as “customer experience” or CX? There’s an entire industry that’s grown up around it. If you want to learn , I highly recommend Strategic Customer Service and Customer Experience 3.0 by customer…
You probably know my tagline is “Philanthropy, Not Fundraising.” It’s my overarching philosophy, and I welcome you to read about it here. But make no mistake…
I’m still using the word fundraising. In fact, I wrote an article entitled To Sell is Human; To Give, Divine – Why We’re All in Fundraising Now. I understand this may be a bit confusing. In fact, I’ve had some comments to that effect. Some of you hate the word philanthropy; others hate the word fundraising. So, let’s clairify.
If you want to move from a culture of transactions to one of transformation don’t get bogged down worrying about semantics! You say potato; I say potahto… a rose by any other name… It’s the CONCEPT of “philanthropy, not fundraising” I’m hoping you’ll grasp. The point is to come from a place of love; not need. A place that centers on your donor; not you. A place that is deeply relational; not one-sided. A place that focuses on impact and outcome, not money and process.
Let me share a few comments I received and contribute my thoughts:
I’m a HUGE proponent of blogging for nonprofits.
Blogs are media. They’re also social. They aren’t rocket science.
You can build a great blog. But why would you want to? Aha! That’s the question too many nonprofits fail to ask. So, today we’re going to ask and answer this important 21st century question.
If you’re not currently rocking a blog — and making it central to your content marketing strategy — I hope you’ll reconsider.
Which is why I recently hosted Jay Wilkinson of Firespring for a wonderful webinar on the power of blogging and thought leadership for nonprofits. Among his key take-aways were these:
It’s how you get the word out about what you are experienced in. This is important so people think of you in this regard. Depending on your mission, when the topic of local theater comes up… or cancer research… or feeding the homeless… or equine therapy… or fighting human trafficking… you want folks to immediately think of you. For this to happen, you must truly commit to becoming a thought leader in your particular area.
A blog is akin to a super-charged, dynamic website that will bring you many more visitors – and a lot more engagement — than your website does now. Did you know 70% of visitors to the average website never visit again? Done well, a blog drives traffic to you naturally… brings folks back for more… and even gets folks to share stuff you post on your blog with their own networks. It’s a hugely powerful tool for finding and engaging with people – your donors and potential supporters – and I’m not the only one who thinks so. The primary reasons to blog are:
To these reasons I would add: To generate more philanthropic support. That’s the bottom line. It’s why you’re building awareness and driving traffic to your website, right? So… let’s dive into how to make your blog the best tool in your integrated marketing and fundraising toolbox!
I wish I had a dime for every time a nonprofit board or staff member told me “We’re the best kept secret in town; if people knew what we do, they’d give to support us.”
If I had all those dimes, I could make a nice contribution to your cause. That is, if…
You see, merely “building awareness” will not ipso facto raise more money for your cause.
Just because I care about something, and somehow learn you are involved in doing something about that thing, doesn’t mean I’m going to support you financially.
Why should I? There are a lot of good causes out there, and making a decision to invest in you is something I need to act on.
I’m busy. I’m overloaded with information. And inertia is just too powerful a force.
Greg Warner of Market Smart writes a lot about the difference between “work” and “progress.” I appreciate the distinction, both professionally and personally. I think you can use this notion, so I’m going to recommend some of his articles to you and also suggest a way to extend this idea to your nonprofit fundraising.
Warner notes in Why You Should Never Get a Job and Go to Work: “work” is tedious and negative; “progress” is inspiring and positive.
This is about being intentional about where you’re going.
It’s somewhat about perception and desitnation, but I’d argue it’s largely about the journey.
Your journey. Your donor’s journey.
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. A recent article really struck me: How to Find Your Purpose in Life.
Over my 30 years of practice as an in-house development professional, the fundamental thing I learned is this:
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. A 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?
Donors are always a bit nervous about their investment in your nonprofit. More than anything, they want to know what their hard-earned money is accomplishing!
Bloomerang found that 8% of donors failed to renew their giving specifically because they weren’t sure what their gifts accomplished.
THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN!
If you want more gifts, you must give them.
And in this article we’ll look at why stories can be the perfect donor gift!
For a lot of nonprofit insiders, this is a paradigm shift. Think about it. I’m asking you to go from focusing on asking to focusing on giving.
Another way to consider this is to shift from focusing on selling to focusing on helping.
Nonprofit fundraising and marketing is very different today than when I began. Yet not every nonprofit I encounter seems to have received the message.
That’s why I’m writing. Because the road to success has changed more in the past five years than the preceding 50.
Why?
It’s been called a “digital revolution,” a “disruptive” force and the “end of business as usual.”
“Outbound marketing” has been proclaimed dead, making way for “inbound marketing.”
The world is networked digitally in a way that was, until recently, unimaginable to most of us.
So… what does this mean for nonprofits? Especially for small to medium-sized nonprofits who don’t have staff with titles like “Online Fundraising Coordinator,” “Digital Communications Associate,” “Social Media Specialist” or “Digital Philanthropy Manager.”
How can you compete to raise awareness and support among your likely constituents?
Philanthropy should not just be about big checks.
Last week I shared some reasons not to eschew small gift fundraising. Today I’m following up with some tips for building and mobilizing your community to find, sustain and grow these gifts.
This is important, because a donor’s first gift is seldom their largest. It’s a starting point.
The majority of your gifts will be small, but the majority of your income will come from a small group of major donors.
You have to grow this cadre of loyal, passionate philanthropists by building relationships with supporters over time.
The lion’s share of major gifts come from previously small gift donors.
A client I’m working with told me 50% of their major donors began with very small gifts. How about tracking this for your organization? Sure, some major donors come in at the top. But I’ll bet you a majority start by dipping their toe in the water. How can you get folks more fully immersed?
Did I ever tell you about the fortuitous happenstance that taught me about the power of small gift fundraising? A few years ago I went to research something online. Not surprisingly, I ended up viewing the first entry Google gave me – which was on Wikipedia.
As luck would have it, and to my delight, I ran into an awesome fundraising campaign. [This is an occupational hazard with fundraisers. We actually like and admire things like pledge breaks when they’re done well!]
Here’s what I found superimposed at the top of the screen:
DEAR WIKIPEDIA READERS: To protect our independence, we’ll never run ads. We take no government funds. We survive on donations averaging about $15. Now is the time we ask. If everyone reading this right now gave $3, our fundraiser would be done within an hour. We’re a small non-profit with costs of a top 5 website: servers, staff and programs. If Wikipedia is useful to you, take one minute to keep it online and ad-free another year. Please help us forget fundraising and get back to Wikipedia. Thank you.
I was then given the option to make a one-time gift of $3, $5, $30 or $50, or a monthly gift of $10, $20, $100 or other.
The Wikipedia campaign serves as a great reminder. Even though many nonprofits survive by the grace of 3% of their donors providing 97% of their contributed income (or something closer to the 80/20 rule) there are indeed nonprofits that are exceptions to this rule
Recognition. Appreciation. Acknowledgment. Gratitude.
Psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, economists and historians have often studied and documented this phenomenon. It’s part of our quest for meaning and connection.
I like the way
In Part 1 of this two-article series I walked you through some steps to create a rough draft of a marketing communications plan that will serve you in the current digitally-revolutionized and highly networked world. Not what you’ve been doing every year for the past decade, but something that will really serve you in today’s…
You don’t just roll out of bed one day, randomly go visit a major donor prospect and ask for a random amount. At least not without a boatload of advance preparation. Right?
It’s a lot smarter to begin at the beginning.
And then take it step by step from there.
According to a plan.
A plan to secure BIG gifts for you BIG mission.
Since it’s the beginning of a new year, it’s a great time to review what you can do to get yourself and your solicitors (staff and volunteers) ready to make win/win matches between your organization and your prospective major donor/investors.
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, 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:
A year ago I had the opportunity to present a major gifts master class where Jay Love, Founder and President of Bloomerang (and a board member and major donor himself) offered his thoughts on major gifts development from the donor’s perspective.
SO important!
The more that you know, the less they’ll say “No!”
If you can’t show your major donor prospect you really know them, how can they trust you’ll be a good steward of their passionate philanthropic investment?
We all want to be known before we enter into a major engagement.
Which brings us to the crux of successful major donor development. Not surprisingly, it begins and ends with the same thing.
Can you guess what that might be?
You really must! Because the world in which we fundraise is changing rapidly.
Keeping up is challenging.
Yet that’s not a good reason to pretend that time has stopped. I’m not suggesting you neglect the tried-and-true fundamentals, of course (direct mail, telephone, events, face-to-face).
You need them! And they still work. But you’ve got to leverage them with today’s tools, within the context of today’s marketplace.
This is your time. This is our time. But, these times are different and what comes next is difficult to grasp. How people communicate. How people learn and share. How people make decisions. Everything is different now. Think about this…you’re reading this article because it was sent to you via email. Yet more people spend their online time in social networks than they do in email…Technologies such as social, mobile, virtual, augmented, et al compel us adapt our story and value proposition and extend our reach to be part of communities we don’t realize exist.
The people who will keep you in business or running tomorrow are the very people you’re not reaching today. Before you continue to read on, allow me to clarify my point of view. My inspiration for writing this is to help you augment, not necessarily replace, the programs you’re running today. We must still reach those whom matter to us in the ways they prefer to be engaged. .
— Brian Solis, The End of Business as Usual
This is not the first time I’ve channeled Bob Dylan, calling for a change in the way fundraising and marketing is practiced in the social benefit sector. Because the times truly are a changin’…
Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command, your old road is rapidly agin’…
THEN: When I grew up in fundraising I had a shoe box as my database. I wrote grant proposals on yellow legal pads. When we got our first FAX machine I complained that now folks expected us to mail and FAX them (so double the work). When email came on the scene I complained that now folks wanted us to mail and FAX and email (so triple the work). But it was still the same old road of outbound marketing. At least I understood what it was all about.
NOW: We’re on a new road entirely. Because folks are coming to us. They’re telling us what they want. They’re defining our nonprofit brand. And they’re doing so in real time via a multitude of online channels and using a multitude of Web-connected devices.
I could just say (1) prepare, (2) prepare, (3) prepare, (4) prepare, (5) prepare, and (6) prepare.
Did I mention that you really need to prepare?
Essentially, this is the meta-message of Shark Tank’s “Mr. Wonderful,” Kevin O’Leary, to would-be entrepreneurs seeking to get spots – and funding – on the television show.
In “How to Present the Perfect Pitch: From the Shark Tank to the Boardroom” he offers 10 tips to help you ace a fundraising pitch. Whether you’re seeking venture capital or a philanthropic gift, many of the principles are the same. I’ve selected six tips I find perfectly aligned with what it takes to make a successful nonprofit ask. Take them to heart, and you’re sure to make your next in-person fundraising presentation a winner.
Oh, and there’s one more important thing, says O’Leary:
“The number-one rule is to make your pitch incredibly dynamic.”
Let’s do it!
I”m going to offer you 6 guidelines and 8 really practical tips…
Do you want more major donors?
You can have them!
Today we’re going to look at a great tool for building those important relationships with top prospects over time.
And we all know that is what will result in the big gift.
You know how important it is to put a plan in place to build relationships, right?
It’s super-de-duper important if you want to secure major gifts.
I’m talking about “Moves Management.”
It simply makes sense to follow the money. Where is it? Let’s begin with that elephant-shaped piñata in the middle of the room. It’s filled with 80% of all philanthropy. You’ve got to figure out how to get the goodies out of it or you’ll just be scrambling for spare change. The most recent data…
“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” So wrote Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland.
It’s the same with major donor fundraising, except you don’t ever really stop. You just start up again. You do follow a prescribed path, however. And here’s what it looks like:
If you do this correctly, it becomes a transformational process for the donor. They want to stay connected and engaged and invested. Which is why you don’t stop. You follow up with “Some More.”
But first…
A sailboat without a sail might float.
For a long time, in fact.
But without a sail, it can’t go anywhere, can’t fulfill its function.
Floating is insufficient.
– Seth Godin
These are serious questions that deserve your serious consideration.
So… take a moment right now to answer these three questions for yourself.
Go ahead.
Put an “F” or an “S” next to each one of these.
There are some basic strategies that ensure a successful nonprofit grants program.
They’re surprisingly straightforward.
If you follow this formula, you’ll succeed.
But you’ve got to be methodical, detail-oriented and focused.
Grantsmanship is not an “I’ll just wing it” proposition.
Applying for grants is hard work.
You must:
Let’s take these one at a time.
I’m a big believer in nonprofits borrowing from for-profit marketing research (they have more money to spend!). So I was excited to take a peek into the recently released 2017 Social Media Marketing Industry Report commissioned by Social Media Examiner.
If you think for-profit marketing insights don’t apply to you, think again. You compete in the same space for audience attention!
Stop being satisfied with lagging behind your for-profit brethren. Get a head start on your social sector competition by reading the full 49-page report.
Don’t have time now? I’ve got you covered with this quick look at what’s happening in the world around you.
Are you aware that one of the hottest things in for-profit management over the past 5 – 10 years or so is “customer experience?” There’s an entire industry that’s grown up around it.
It’s something that goes beyond customer service.
Customer service is to an outbound marketing world what customer experience is to an inbound marketing world. The former you do to your constituents; the latter you do with them.
You may be asking why this is important.
Post digital revolution, nonprofits must adapt to the realities of inbound marketing. The way people find and engage with you in a constantly connected, networked marketplace has changed. Your constituencies crave interaction. And meaning. And, gosh darn it, they want you to make them feel good!
They want a full-bore, positive experience with you.
Fail to deliver? They’ll go elsewhere.
I cannot tell you how many times I begin a consultation with a small nonprofit, only to discover they have no real donor database.
They’re still using Excel or Filemaker or something that was developed for the program or finance department many moons ago.
I also find many nonprofits that do have a decent fundraising database, but they aren’t really using it to their advantage.
It’s the equivalent of having a 747; then using it to drive down the block to the corner store.
If you’re not exactly maximizing the resources you have, or if you simply don’t have the resources you need, it’s going to adversely affect your fundraising results.
We live in an era of ‘Big Data.’ Which means that understanding why data is important, what data is most meaningful to you, and how to prioritize data collection and evaluation strategies to help you reach your goals has never been more important.
If your fundraising and marketing strategy is not currently undergirded by data, I guarantee you’re missing opportunities, working inefficiently and leaving money on the table.
Could you use a bit of guidance?
Read on…
If you don’t build donor loyalty over time, you’re really missing out on the long-term value of every donor you bring in. And, guess what else?
You’re working too hard.
Donors come in. Donors go out. Donors come in. Donors go out.
One-time gifts are here today, gone tomorrow.
It’s like being on a non-stop treadmill. Just exhausting!
But there’s an easy way to catch your breath, and even begin to enjoy breathing again.
Instead of continuing on as a transactional fundraiser, become a donor experience transformist!
I often say “if you want gifts, you must give them.”
I want to “clairify” that I mean this somewhat metaphorically.
I mean you shouldn’t focus only on getting, but also on giving.
Your relationship with your donors shouldn’t be all take, take, take.
That being said, most donors don’t want a lot of “stuff.” They particularly don’t want expensive and/or useless stuff. In other words, you don’t have to give them tangible gifts of tote bags, coffee mugs and socks. Instead, consider giving them “gratitude experiences.”
In Part 1 of this two-part article I described the importance of:
Part 1 also included links to a lot of articles I’ve written previously about mastering online social fundraising. Some of them are on Clairification. Others are guest posts I’ve done for other blogs.
I truly, passionately, want you to master the integration of a robust online communications and fundraising strategy with an equally robust offline strategy. In our digitally revolutionized world, they are two halves of a whole.
You need to rock them both.
Today we’re going to layer on with some other important essentials if you want to succeed with your online fundraising.
Charity auctions are an oft-held fundraising event, but even the most seasoned nonprofits often don’t host them well.
Since auctions are multifaceted events that are relatively complicated to organize, many organizations focus too much on getting the logistics in order and not enough on how they can provide an amazing experience for their donors.
Instead of considering how they can leverage their auction to build deeper supporter relationships, they bolt straight to the fundraising finish line: increasing event proceeds. It’s no wonder that event retention is so low!
In this article you’ll receive great advice from Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation, as to how you can make your auction a more positive experience for your donors, focusing specifically on how auction software can help.
Recently Tom Belford of The Agitator penned a post entitled “Donor Retention … Why Is It So Hard?”
Great question!
I’d like to explore this a bit, and I hope you’ll join me.
First, are you finding it difficult?
If so, why do you think that’s the case?
If not, and you’re being successful getting repeat gifts,
E-newsletters are dinosaurs.
There, I’ve said it. There are many reasons I favor blogs over e-newsletters for nonprofits. They simply try to accomplish too much at once. As a result, they tend to accomplish very little.
Blogs are best if:
Today I’m going to tell you about just two of the reasons blogs out-perform e-newsletters, but they’re doozies.
And they accomplish all of the points I’ve just bulleted.
If you’ve got donors, then you have the raw material for a major donor program – and it’s easier than you think.
Begin with your own database.
Most organizations have plenty of donor prospects, without having to go outside and look for prospects who aren’t connected to you.
You know who I mean. The people your board members tend to suggest to you. Folks who may be rich, and may even be philanthropic elsewhere, but don’t have any interest in what you do. And no one knows them or can make an introduction to them.
Don’t start with the most out-of-reach prospects. You can be a major donor prospect rainmaker without having to go outside or reach too far.
Last week I gave you my top priorities for nonprofit success in 2017: “Seven is Heaven.” I suggested you focus on each of these with written plans in the year ahead, and that you persist in improving your mastery in each area.
If you embrace these priorities, I’ve little doubt you’ll see greater success in generating the contributions your nonprofit needs to fulfill your mission this year — and in the years to come.
Last week, in Part 1, we covered the first four priority areas. Today we focus on the final three areas.
Last year if you followed me, I gave you 5 priorities for success in 2016. I called them “Dive the Five.” This year, I’ve expanded my thinking a bit. ‘SEVEN IS HEAVEN.’ Create Compelling Annual Giving Offers Master Integrated On Social Fundraising Master Major & Legacy Giving Master Donor Retention Master Donor-Centered Content Marketing Embrace…
Last year I had the opportunity to present a major gifts master class where Jay Love, Founder and President of Bloomerang (and a board member and major donor himself) offered his thoughts on major gifts development from the donor’s perspective.
Since I’m constantly encouraging you to come at donor development from a donor-centered perspective, I want to share his viewpoint with you.
Not surprisingly, major donor development begins and ends with the same thing.
Can you guess what that might be?
Thanking donors is the one thing most nonprofits do not spend enough time thinking about. Too often I find that staff spend 95% of their time crafting their fundraising appeal and getting embroiled in project management — design, layout, printing, postage, etc. Finally, the letter (or e-appeal) is ready to launch. The mailing is dropped. The button is punched. And… voila! Gifts start to arrive! But then what?!
After you’ve sent out your appeal is too late to start thinking about what your thank you letter or email will say. Or who will sign it. Or whether someone who donates online will also receive an actual letter. Or thank you call. Or who will make the call. Everything must be well thought-out in advance. You must be ready to go, with different templates and strategies for different target audiences, well before you’ve asked for your first donation.
What would Miss Manners have to say about the way you too often focus more on the gift than on the giver? She would not be happy. Not happy at all. So, make a vow to remedy this situation before we kick into prime giving season.
This week’s Click-it is a cornucopia filled with an eclectic mix of goodies. Maybe not as good as Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes or pumpkin pie, but… sometimes your mind and soul need feeding too!
To my friends in the U.S. who celebrate Thanksgiving this week, have a good one filled with many blessings. For those of you scattered elsewhere around the globe, make yourself a nice meal anyway and gather together with people you love. Life’s too short not to.
This poem I wrote several years ago seems particularly appropriate this year, so check out “Attitude of Gratitude” if you’ve a mind to.
And if you can, try to find some time this week to dig into some of these resources.
Now… go make our world a more caring place, and hug yourself some hope!
I am thankful for you,
The Halloween Nonprofit Blog Carnival is back, offering tricks and treats galore from a Witches Coven of nonprofit experts – all good spirits who’ll help you find, cultivate, solicit and steward your major donors.
You like to trick and treat at the houses that give out the most candy, natch? Well… let’s find the donors giving out the most goodies, so your mission is assured of a heapin’ Halloween sack filled with success!
And let’s get you prepared! We don’t want you showing up without a costume, or lacking a thoughtful plan of attack that takes you through the “good” neighborhoods. Sure, you might get some lollipops and chewing gum. But what you really want, I dare say, are the Snickers bars and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
Go for what you need. Go for what will make your time spent on this effort feel worth your while.
It’s almost Halloween, and a great time to think about how not to scare your donors away; rather, give them treats that will keep ‘em coming back year after year! Here are links to articles you may find helpful.
Plus, as usual, you’ll find a cauldron full of free resources – downloadable templates, webinars, cheat sheets, and more. Take some time to continue your professional growth and education. It will make you stronger, I promise. Share with others on your staff too; there’s something for everyone!
I could just say (1) prepare, (2) prepare, (3) prepare, (4) prepare, (5) prepare, and (6) prepare.
Did I mention that you really need to prepare?
Essentially, this is the meta-message of Shark Tank’s “Mr. Wonderful,” Kevin O’Leary, to would-be entrepreneurs seeking to get spots – and funding – on the television show. And the same advice holds true for nonprofiteers seeking investments from major donors.
Here are some goodies to help you raise as much money as possible during the last quarter of the calendar year! Keep your focus on inspiring storytelling that sets you apart from everyone else, yet don’t forget that who you tell your story to matters as much as how you tell it. As does where you disseminate it (hopefully not just by snail mail, but also online and face to face). Click on these links to helpful articles I hope will delight you.
If you could only do five things between now and the end of the year to make a noticeable difference in your nonprofit’s fundraising results, what would you do?
I’ve been writing recently about five subject areas – key priorities for success this year, and beyond. Today I’d like to offer one BIG “to do” in each area to help you hone in on some actionable steps that will move the needle and have a transformative impact on your results.
It’s mid-September and we’re well on the way towards the year-end rush of “giving season!” Now it’s time to get serious about end-of-calendar-year fundraising. It’s when folks are most generous, and you don’t want to miss out. So while I’ll continue to offer links to articles and resources aligned with my top “Dive the Five” fundraising fundamentals for 2016, and beyond, I’ll also include some practical, basic stuff that falls a bit outside these categories.
It’s all good stuff and, as usual, plenty of free resources too. I count seven freebies, and 17 great articles! I dare you not to find something you can use right now.
Welcome back from summer – at least for my North of the Equator friends. I hope you had the opportunity to read through some of the resources I offered up in my Summer Click-it Extravaganza. If not, there’s still time over this long week-end.
Now it’s time to get serious about end-of-calendar-year fundraising. It’s when folks are most generous, and you don’t want to miss out. So while I’ve continued to offer links to articles and resources aligned with my top “Dive the Five” fundraising fundamentals for 2016, and beyond, I’ve also included practical, basic stuff that falls a bit outside these categories. It’s all good stuff and, as usual, plenty of free resources too.
Annual giving is the cornerstone to any nonprofit fundraising effort.
And while some organizations think of annual giving as a way to raise money for their operational expenses and other projects and causes, I’m about to let you in on a secret:
It’s not.
Never think of your event as a stand-alone. That’s a waste of your time.
Always think in terms of “What’s next?”
You must always be cognizant of moving folks along a relationship continuum.
From awareness… to interest… to involvement… to investment.
What prompted me to write this article was a recent post by Matthew Sherrington on the 101 Fundraising Blog about the dangers to the public benefit sector posed by erosion of trust. We’ve known for some time that whenever there’s a charity scandal, the bad behavior of one player can become detrimental to all. But over the past year in the U.K. the problem has become even more challenging. Could it happen here? Matthew says “yes.” And I concur. Trust is a fragile thing.
In the U.K what happened was a perfect storm of perceived over-solicitation and insufficient outcomes, exacerbated by a barrage of media that sounded an alarm about nefarious practices. Trust plummeted. A wake-up call, for sure.
But what does it mean?
Thinking about doing a “non-event” event where no one has to attend? It sounds great on the face of it. After all, Penelope Burk’s research revealed that many donors reported they like to receive invitations to events; they just prefer not to attend them. Win/win?
Not so much. It depends why you’re hosting the event in the first place. If it’s your only method of fundraising for the entire year, then fine. Go right ahead. Whether folks attend or not doesn’t much matter. You’ve made your single annual ask, received your gift and you’re done. All you wanted was money. Once. Right? Hold on!
Hope you enjoy these links, free resources and training opportunities. Again, I’ve organized according to two of the top 5 areas I’m hoping you’re working on improving this year. This week it’s:
I’ve also got some “food for thought” articles on special events, plus links to free resources and upcoming training opportunities. I hope you find at least one useful nugget!