Archive for the ‘Get Fully Funded’ Category

Don’t you love the start of a new year?  It’s like having a crisp, clean page ready for you to create anything you can dream up.

I hope by now you’ve got some fundraising goals set for the year. (If not, you better get busy!).  Have you set BIG goals?  You should.  Nonprofits that will be successful in 2012 are thinking BIG.  They aren’t being dissuaded by the economy or negative Board members.  They are focused on what’s possible, not what’s impossible. And they WILL be successful!

So, what’s your BIG goal this year?  Try this exercise:  Write down the amount of money you want to raise this year (like $150,000).  Then add a zero at the end (now it’s $1,500,000).  What would you have to do different to raise that kind of money?  You’d sure have to think different, wouldn’t you?  You’d need to get serious about the systems in your office, organize your volunteers, and focus on some major donors.

Now apply that level of big-picture thinking to your goals for 2012.  Feel more doable?  I thought so.

If you need a word of encouragement, please leave a comment here on the blog or better yet, post on my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/getfullyfunded) and let me know how I can support you.   I’m happy to remind you of all the reasons why you CAN be successful this year and keep you thinking BIG!

As we look to a new year, it’s time to start thinking about what 2012 might hold for us. Will the new year hold more of the same or will things be different?

I don’t think it really matters what the new year brings. The more important question to ask is ‘what will you do?’

Over the past few years, many nonprofits have faced a withering economy, nervous Boards, and more demand for services. The organizations that are flourishing (and yes, some are doing great!) have been proactive and purposeful about fundraising. I have several clients who have had their best years ever in 2010 and 2011.

Here’s what I see vibrant nonprofits doing in 2012.

Take fundraising seriously. Nonprofits that will raise big money in 2012 will take fundraising seriously. They won’t put it on the back burner to deal with ‘more important things.’ They’ll have a written plan of how they’ll communicate with their donors and prospects, and they’ll treat their donors as partners in their work, not as ATMs. They’ll be proactive, not reactive. And they’ll be successful.

Invest in themselves. Nonprofits that will raise big money in 2012 will spend money on training. Even with tight budgets, they’ll find a way to send staff to workshops or webinars. They know that their organization is only as strong as their staff, and to keep their skills sharp, they’ll focus on continuing education.

Invest in their Board. Nonprofits that will raise seriously big money in 2012 will invest in training for their Board. They know that they’ll need their Board in tip-top shape to help reach more people in the community, especially key supporters. Without training, their Board might now be willing or have the know-how to make these important connections. Seriously successful organizations know that a little training can go a long way with a Board.

Unwilling to accept mediocrity. Nonprofits that will have their biggest year ever in 2012 will be unwilling to accept mediocrity. They will demand (and get) the best from their Board, their staff, and their volunteers. Together, they will improve their service delivery, they’ll learn to be excellent at telling their story, and they will engage people in their work. And they will be successful. They’ll help more people and they’ll raise more money than ever before. They’ll see themselves as a vital part of the community, changing lives for the better.

As you look forward into 2012, remember this: it doesn’t matter so much what the year brings. What matters is what you do with it.

“All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, and I promise you something great will come of it.”

This is a line from a new movie called “We Bought a Zoo.”  I saw the preview weeks ago and I can’t get that phrase out of my head.  Maybe because I’m wrestling with a few fears right now and I keep thinking about what difference 20 seconds of insane courage would make.

If you think about it, we have lots of fears: fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of (fill in the blank).  As nonprofit Fundraisers, we have lots of fears too, like

• Fear of asking for a gift and being told “no.”
• Fear of not making our campaign goals.
• Fear of not making budget.
• Fear of what our friends will think if we ask them to support our cause.
• Fear of not being accepted and approved of by our boss or our Board.
• Fear of offending our donors by sending too many appeal letters.
• Fear of wasting money by trying something new.
• Fear of trying something like Facebook or mobile giving because we don’t understand it.

Fear is just worrying about what might happen.  It’s all in our head and can be overcome by a number of techniques.  Right now, the one that’s working for me is to think about what I can do with 20 seconds of insane courage.  In the past few days, I’ve overcome my fears and made things happen because of that.

If you are a Fraidy Cat, and you hide behind your fears, don’t expect to be successful in fundraising.  If you want to get serious about raising big money for your nonprofit, you must work through your fears.  I’ve heard it said that your organization is only as strong as the people who work there, and I believe it.  So, to raise more money, you have to learn to put your fears aside and do what must be done.

What can YOU do with 20 seconds of insane courage?  Can you pick up the phone and make an appointment with a donor?  Can you push on toward a campaign goal?  Can you plan fundraising campaigns now event though naysayers advise against it?

I’d love to know what you think, and if you decide to use the 20 seconds, what happens for you!  Be sure to come back here and share.

For those just starting out in fundraising, it can be overwhelming to figure out.  Look around the community and you’ll see lots of different groups doing lots of different things.  But what really works?  And what should you be doing?

Fundraising is about engaging people in the work your nonprofit is doing.  It’s not about selling candy bars or having a golf tournament.  It’s about giving people the chance to make a gift and feel good about it, knowing they are changing lives and making a difference in the world.  This is donor-based fundraising, and it provides long-term sustainability to nonprofit organizations.

Here are 7 simple steps you can take to raise big money for your nonprofit.

1. Make fundraising a priority.  Before you begin, make sure you’re ready to begin.  If you’re going to commit to raising money, be prepared to spend time on it every day for at least 6 months.  You must be organized and prepared when it comes to fundraising. You must have a plan and work it. You can’t be successful if you’re reacting to whatever falls in your lap from day to day.

2. Understand why people give.  People give for lots of different reasons – because they want to help, or they want to give back.  Mostly it’s because someone asked. 

Giving is an emotional act, backed up by logic.  That’s why so many nonprofits understand how to play up the emotional side of their work, to pluck a prospect’s heart strings. When you understand the emotion behind the gifts that come to your organization, you’ll be better able to tell your story and raise big money.

3. Identify the best donor prospect. This may hurt your feelings, but not everyone will care about your mission.  Not everyone will give.  Even if you are very passionate about the work your nonprofit does, not everyone else will be.  So, it’s best to get focused on those people who are likely to care about what your nonprofit is about.  Start by getting clear about who is most likely to support your nonprofit.  What do your current donors or volunteers have in common?  Once you understand your ideal donor prospect, it’s much easier to go find others just like them. 

4. Tell your story. Telling your story is key to fundraising, but what is your story?  It’s who your nonprofit is and what you are doing to change the world.  It’s about the lives you are changing (or saving).  And it must be told in a way that’s easily understandable and meaningful to your ideal donor prospect.  That means you must use simple language, leave out the jargon, and keep it short. When you tell a compelling story, people will take action.  They’ll make a gift or sign up to volunteer.

5. Plan how and when you will ask for a gift. This is the nitty gritty part of fundraising – the fundraising plan! It’s important to set clear, concrete, SMART goals so that you can be successful. After all, if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. Plan how, when, who, and what for every fundraising activity you undertake. Be sure to use a variety of strategies to diversify your revenue streams

6. Acknowledge and steward the gift.  This may actually be the most important part of fundraising, yet the part that most nonprofits don’t get right.  And it’s quite simple: Thank your donor promptly, warmly, and sincerely every time.  The most common way to do this is with a thank-you letter. Done well, the thank-you letter accomplishes many things, including building trust with your donor and setting up the next gift.

7. Evaluate success and Get Fully Funded.  Be sure to track where money is being spent, and where money is being raised so that you know what’s working for you. Then continue doing those things that work, and stop doing those that don’t.  This means that you may have to stop doing an annual event because it just isn’t worth the investment of time and money you’re putting into it. 

Once you get the basics in place, fundraising becomes easier, and your confidence will increase with each successful activity.

 

If you’re like most nonprofit folks, you give little thought to your Thank-You letter.  At some point, you wrote the letter, and now you use it for every donor, every time.  You know it isn’t the greatest, but you aren’t sure how to make it better, and you certainly don’t have time to think through it.

Sound familiar?

Then let me give you a wake-up call.  Your Thank-You letter is one of the most important pieces of communication you have with your donors.  Done well, it increases trust and builds relationship.  Not only does it let the donor know you received their gift and are grateful for it, but it send the message to the donor that you are organized and professional.

If you use the same old boring, stale letter, it’s time to take it to the next level.  It’s time to create a Thank-You letter that will stand out from all the other drivel your donor receives. Here are a few tips for creating a next-level Thank-You letter.

1. Keep the letter short but powerful. This is not the time to go on and on about something happening in your organization.  Stay focused on the donor and focused on the gift.  Use your newsletter or another tool to promote your events and other activities.

2. Use the word “you” early and often.  It’s the sweetest word to a donor’s ears and it will help you stay focused on the donor.  Use it in the first sentence then see if you can use “you” in every paragraph in the letter.

3.  Relate your Thank-You letter to the Ask. Instead of sending out a generic letter, customize your Thank-You letter to the specific Ask that was used to generate the gift.  If a gift comes to you from an appeal you sent out, make sure your Thank-You letter refers back to the story or the text in the appeal.  If a gift is given at an event, reference the event and share how much was raised at the event.

You may need to write several different letters that can be used for whatever you have going on.  For instance, you may want to write one letter for a special event you are working on, another one for monthly givers, and another one for donors who respond to your newsletter.  Relating the Thank-You letter back to the ask is a way to let your donors know you are paying attention and that you are organized enough to use their money they way you said you would.

4.  Tell the donor how you will use their money. This is critical.  Make sure the donor knows how you plan to use the donation he or she just sent you. Text like “Your gift will ensure that 15 children will go to summer camp for one week” makes the process of donating more real and tangible to the donor.  They can envision 15 kids going to camp for a week and it helps create a bigger feeling of satisfaction for the donor.

5.  Include an offer to tour your facility or program site. Always include in your letter an offer for a guided tour of your facility or program site (if appropriate).  You may never have anyone take you up on this, but they will remember that you offered.  You will probably get a few people who want to visit you.  Seeing firsthand the work that you do may make all the difference in the world to a particular donor.  It can also mean the difference in an average size gift and a major gift.

I remember one particular donor who came for a tour of my organization with his wife.  They had always been good givers and usually gave about $10,000 a year.  They were so impressed by the tour that they wrote a check on the spot for an additional $15,000!

I encourage you to take the time this holiday season to have a fresh look at your Thank-You letter and do what you can to spruce it up and take it to the next level.  I think you’ll be very pleased with the results!

You’ve likely heard the saying that you get one chance to make a first impression.  The first sentence of your Thank-You letter is your first impression with your donor in acknowledging their gift.  Get it right and they’ll read on.  Mess it up, and they’re done reading.

How do you mess up the first line of a Thank-You letter?  Make it boring and predictable.  Put your reader to sleep, like this:

“On behalf of the staff and Board of the XYZ organization, thank you for your recent gift.”

Snoozer.  If your letter sounds like that, it’s time to change it!

How do you start your letter off on the right foot?  Make it warm, sincere, and most of all, unexpected.  Imagine a letter that starts like this:

“We needed you and you were there.”

or like this:

“You just made my day!”

The point of your Thank-You letter is to let the donor know you got their gift and that you apreciate it.  When you can be real and authentic in your letter, not dry and institutional, you will score points with your donor.  Donors love knowing that they’ve made a good decision to give to your organization.  And your well-written, warm letter will give them that reassurance.

 

Want more help with Thank-You letters?  Check out my new book “Get Fully Funded: How to Raise the Money of Your Dreams.”  In it, you’ll find a whole chapter on donor acknowledgement, including a recipe for a great Thank-You letter, a list of thanking words you can use, and more examples of opening sentences.  Check it out at www.getfullyfunded.com/get-fully-funded-books.







Many people are being wildly successful in fundraising these days.  After working with several, I’ve noticed that share a few things in common.

1. The are passionate about their cause.  They believe deeply in the work their nonprofit does and they love seeing loves changed.

2. They are willing to do whatever it takes to see their nonprofit organization succeed.  If that means working long hours, they’ll do it.  If that means dealing with problematic Board members, they’ll do it.  If that means overcoming their fear of asking for money, they’ll do it.

3. They believe that their cause is worth supporting, and they place no weight on the current economy.  They know that there are plenty of people out there who have money to give, so they keep asking.  Some of them stop watching the news because they don’t want all that negativity about the economy.  They focus on the good stuff and on the lives that are being changed by their nonprofit.

You can be a wildly successful fundraiser, too!  Adopt these three attitudes and watch things start to change.

 

 

 

 

My new book “Get Fully Funded: How to Raise the Money of Your Dreams” is garnering some wonderful support from nonprofits all over the country.  I’m mighty proud of it and I thought I’d give you some specific reasons why I think you need to get a copy.

1. Fundraising can be complicated. You don’t need to figure it all out yourself.  Let me give you some simple steps that you can take to make it work for you.
2. It comes in a user-friendly workbook, with everything broken down into an easy step-by-step format.  You won’t have to work hard to use this book!
3. Checklists are the BEST!  And I have 101 checklists, templates, and worksheets in this book.  These pages alone are worth the price of the book!
4. Almost no one has enough time in the day to get everything done.  That’s why I start this book with a section on Making Fundraising a Priority.  I go over some simple yet effective time management strategies that will help you plug the time leaks in your day.
5. You’ll learn how to take the guesswork out of identifying the best donor prospects for your nonprofit.  There’s a whole section on creating a donor profile and selecting the right target audiences.  And I’ll send you a bonus CD that complements the book.  It’s called “How to Attract All the Donors You Need.”
6. There’s an Appendix in the back that has tips on engaging your Board in fundraising, complete with a sample Fundraising Agreement you can use. It will help you and your Board get very clear about what you expect them to do and what they are willing to do.
7. It comes in a nifty 3-ring binder, so you can take the pages out and make copies of them.
8. You get 2 months of support to help you, including weekly Q&A calls and a private Facebook group so you can ask all the questions you want as you’re working through the book.
9. You will probably find at least one golden nugget in the book.  Kimberly Clement, Executive Director of Kinship of Aitkin County has already used one idea to generate over $3,400 in about a week’s time!
10. You could win a $1,000 check!  As part of the launch of the book, I’m hosting an Implementation Contest.  Everyone who purchases the book is automatically entered.  The object is to learn as much as you can from the book and take action on it.  Put things into place.  I’ll choose a winner on December 31 and write a check.  Cool, huh?

Scoot on over the www.getfullyfunded.com/get-fully-funded-books to read more and get your copy.  You’ll be glad you did!

Are you fundraising on purpose?

That may seem like a silly question.  But it’s one that needs to be answered.  So I’ll ask it again.  Are you fundraising on prpose?  Or are you just taking whatever comes along?  There’s a big difference.

When you’re fundraising on purpose, you have a plan.  You’ve put some thought into what you want to do to raies money and which groups of donors and prospects you want to approach, and how you’ll do it.  You know what resources you need and the timeline for pulling everything off.  People who fundraise on purpose generally have much better results than those who don’t.

Fundraising on purpose requires looking at the big picture.  It means you know what the overall goals of your nonprofit are.  ANd you know what your fundraising goals are.

The nicest thing about fundraising on purpose is that it gets you out of “crisis du jour” mode.  You stop reacting to whatever comes along and you start being proactive.  And you’ll get lots more done.

What can you do to shift into fundraising on purpose?

• Plan your day.  Make sure you know exactly what you need to get done when you sit down in your chair in the morning.  This means you need to spend some time at the end of every day to map out the next day’s activities.
• Say NO more often.  People who work in nonprofit fundraising are a bunch of do-gooders and don’t like to say “no” to anyone.  But in order to be really successful, you must learn to say “no” to things that don’t move you forward toward your goals.
• Eliminate distractions.  Check your email, then turn it off. Same for your cell phone. Turn them back on later, but give yourself some quiet, uninterrupted time during the day to focus and you’ll love the results!

One of the biggest problems with fundraising on purpose is that sometimes well-meaning Board members or Executive Directors get wild-hair ideas and want you to implement them.  So you need to know how to tactfully handle these situations.  When you have a plan, you can show that person your plan and tell them gently and lovingly that their idea doesn’t fit into your plan for now, but that you’ll be happy to consider it in the future.  Just because a Board member or an ED has an idea and shares it with you, it doesn’t mean you ahve to act on it.  It’s just an idea.  Not an order.

When you get a handle on your plan for fundraising and shift into being proactive, your Board or ED will be so impressed, they’ll want to know how they can support you and they’ll stop creating new things for you to do.

In my new book “Get Fully Funded: How to Raise the Money of Your Dreams” I spend a whole chapter on making fundraising a priority.  There are dozens of tips and worksheets to help you get organized and shift into proactive mode.  Read more and get your copy at www.GetFullyFunded.com/Get-Fully-Funded-Books.

Woohoo!  It’s Launch Day for my new book Get Fully Funded:  How to Raise the Money of Your Dreams! I’ve been working on this book for a couple of years and I’m so happy to have it finished and available for you to read and use.

What I LOVE about this book is that it flows in a step-by-step way through everything you need to put in place to be uber successful in fundraising.  I tried to create something that would make your life so much easier and simpler.  One of my peeps at the Preview Party last night said “I wish I’d had this when I was a Development Director!”  Love it!

Want to read more or get your hands on it?  Get the full scoop at http://getfullyfunded.com/get-fully-funded-books/.