Fundraising from the inside out

On this blog, I've briefly mentioned the Abundance League before. Last month, I had the pleasure of talking with them in person about the power of fundraising. Co-host Neal Gorenflo was kind enough to write down a few summary notes. They included:

• Fundraising is a great opportunity for transformation for both the fundraiser and those who want to realize their dreams by supporting a good cause.
• When you connect to a donor through their passions and help make their dreams come true, there's no need to be shy about asking for money or other help.
• Giving is good for your health. You enlarge your soul and better connect to others by increasing your generosity.
• Giving and getting are connected. Make room for receiving when you give.
• Learning how to give and receive are equally important to creating a culture of generosity. Reward those that give by accepting their gifts fully.
• To be an effective fundraiser, all the rules that apply to building personal relationships apply to donor relations.

If you'd like to learn more about the Abundance League or get involved, please visit their blog today.

I'd like to make a donation of $100 to the nonprofit of your choice

In my work as a nonprofit fundraising consultant, I’ve found my most rewarding clients always come through referrals. Currently, I have some opening for new clients, so I am writing to ask for your help in connecting me with good causes in need of support. As my way of saying thanks, if you are able to refer me to a new client who signs a contract before the end of April, I pledge to donate $100 to the nonprofit of your choice!

I see my job as providing nonprofit leaders the practical fundraising tools and solutions that they need to make their jobs easier and to succeed in this ever-changing world. Licensed by the state of California, I draw on over twenty-years of nonprofit management, for-profit business ownership and professional fundraising experience. My areas of expertise include:

• Annual Fund Support
• Board Development
• Corporate Solicitations
• Event Management
• Executive Coaching
• Grant Writing Assistance
• Major Donor Initiatives

As the President of DER, a trade association for San Francisco Bay Area fundraisers, I have an extensive network. Please let your connections know I’m always open to providing free referrals or answering simple questions. For more long-term professional assistance, I am also available on an hourly or project contract basis. (Btw, because of a family connection, I now have access to complementary airfare, so am also available to help good causes outside the Bay Area region!)

Please feel free to download and forward to your colleagues my 1-page introduction or full biography, resume or testimonials sheets. If you have any questions, referrals or suggestions, feel free to contact me anytime at gayle[at]gayleroberts.com.

Thanks so much in advance for all your help and support!

30 tips for effective nonprofit board leadership

When you are fundraiser like me, you routinely are asked to join nonprofit boards. In the last 4 weeks alone, I've been asked to join the leadership of 4 different organizations! I couldn't tell you how many times I've been asked the same question in the last 12 months, as I've lost track.

While some people have the capacity to serve on multiple boards, I simply don't. Particularly because I'm the new board president of the Development Executives Roundtable, a trade association for nearly 200 Bay Area fundraisers, representing organizations with combined budgets of approximately $1 billion. DER is an all-volunteer group, so we're a "working" board in the fullest sense of the term.

I recently posted a question on LinkedIn asking for advice as a first-term board president. Given how essential this role is to successful fundraising, I thought I'd share with you just some of the invaluable tips I received:

• Avoid micromanagement, while making sure you understand the big picture.
• Be passionate about your organization, making sure everyone you meet hears about your nonprofit frequently.
• Communicate clearly and frequently to the membership and the outside world.
• Develop a plan. If you don’t already perform strategic planning, start now. Establish a list of realistic and attainable goals, and make them happen.
• Develop individual board member agreements that specify what each member will contribute and what they can expect in terms of support and opportunities.
• Ensure all board members play a role in agency fundraising.
  
• Find 15 minutes on the agenda of each board meeting to either reflect upon a big picture trend or to learn about an issue that affects the work of the nonprofit.
• Find opportunities to expand the participation of regular members in big and small ways so they have a stake in the organization success.
• Have a strong treasurer who keeps true financial oversight.
• Hold monthly check-in calls with agency leadership to act as sounding board and provide coaching. Call all board members once per quarter and thank them for specific things they have done, checking in on their sense of engagement.
• If you ever decide to hire paid staff, make sure to establish a true partnership with the executive director, rather than a vertical relationship, and keep expectations realistic.
• In advance of board meetings, call key board members to check the pulse. Often important or sensitive matters will emerge in private that may not be suitable to be addressed in a larger context.
• Insure that all members of your board share a common vision for the organization.
• Keep organized records so when your term is done you can hand off information to your successor. Make sure that officers and committee chairs are doing the same.
• Develop patience. Learn how to smile when you really want to cry.
• Less is more. Doing the right 1-2 member-driven items is far more valuable than a laundry list of initiatives.
• Make sure there is a shared understanding of the importance of board development, and what support directors need to be successful.
• Make sure there is an engaging and challenging conversation on the agenda for every board meeting and that it is well framed.
• Make sure you have a clear understanding of what you were elected to do and what you are bringing to the table.
• Review the year and look at what worked and what could use improvement
• Run effective meetings. Have an agenda, with times, and follow it.
• Strengthen collaborations with other organizations in your sector.
• Succession planning is critical. Have board officers and committee chairs take the lead in scouting for successors.
• Use the board executive committee to preview of the full board meeting agenda and really road test it to work out kinks.
• Weed out the people who have nothing better to do than to contribute through negativity or simply want something to put on their resume.
• When chairing a meeting, find ways to draw in people who don’t always get a chance to speak or who are newer to the board.
• When people’s terms on the board expire, find ways to hold on to them in some capacity if they contributed a lot: perhaps by forming an advisory group?
• You need a process person and a cheerleader on the board. Decide which you are and then find a partner to play the other role for the organization.
• Your primary market is your membership. Just as in any other business, you must assess the needs of your market.
• Recommended books: The Best of Board Cafe, Great Boards for Small Groups, Heroic Leadership, Nonprofit Board Answer Book, Basic Principles of Policy Governance, Boards that Make a Difference, Good to Great and The Social Sector, The Source, and Leaders Who Make a Difference.

Big love to all those who contributed their words of wisdom, including: Aaron Hurst, Beth Yoke, Birgit Van Hout, Brian Weiner, Chris Sinton, Doug Barg, Gayle Uchida, Glen Peterson, Greg Lassonde, John Darrouzet, John Kenyon, Jovida Ross, Juanita Carroll Young, Kliff Kueh, Kliff Kuehl, Lela Davia, Marion Conway, Mike McClure, Morrie Warshawski, Neal Gorenflo, Peggy Hoffman, Sara Farina, Stephen Peelor, Steve Novak, Pam Cook and Sushma Raman.

Everything you know about fundraising is wrong

If you think fundraising is merely raising about money, you really are missing the point. The inspired fundraiser understands her job is to foster greater generosity and gratitude in the world. Development is simply the building of valued-based relationships between prospective donors and organizations. Fundraising is a vehicle for donors to act on these values, bringing joy to themselves and others.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Truth is there is no lack of money for good causes. According to Giving USA, last year $295 billion was given away to nonprofits in the U.S. Over 83%, or $245 billion, came from individuals. All research indicates that individual can provide nonprofits with stable and flexible sources of funding, even in times of recession. The single largest barrier to raising money is your own lack of belief in yourself, donors and your good cause. The first step is healing your own negative relationship to money, power and privilege. If you are having trouble raising money from others, let me suggest you start by increasing your own donation.

It is also a mistake to think you must know rich people to succeed as a fundraiser. You already know everyone you need to get started. The fact is that low- and middle-income folks give at a higher percentage of their incomes than those of upper incomes. Successful fundraisers welcome donors of all levels. Statistically speaking the regular, small annual fund donor is the best planned giving prospect.

Too many of us have forgotten that the ancient practice of giving and receiving of gifts has the power to transform the lives of individuals, institutions and communities, and even connect us to what is divine in the world. Fundraisers can:

• Help those in need to break free of the cycle of poverty, violence and oppression they might face, reminding them there are those who still care.
• Help donors express personal values, developing a sense of abundance and generosity by learning they have enough to share.
• Reduce isolation in communities by connecting people who share common values, providing them opportunities to organize for social change.
• Create sustainable financial support for organizations that have strong community need, yet often little or no perceived for-profit market value.
• Through opening hearts to the cycle of giving and receiving, connect people to something larger than themselves, which is the core of every spiritual tradition.

Think about the last time you wrote a donation check or spent time volunteering at a nonprofit? How does it make you feel months or even years later to remember? Isn’t this one of the best feelings? Don’t you want everyone else to feel as you do right now? You can. All you need do is ask them for a gift.

You see, asking for help is one of the best ways you can tell someone they are important to you. If you decide to not ask, perhaps you think they are not rich enough or do not care enough about the issue. You may think you are protecting them. In fact, you’ve taken away one of their most valuable rights: their right to choose. The truth is, people only rise to the level of expectations we place them. To succeed as a fundraiser you don’t need to change donors, only your belief in them.

The inspired fundraiser provides donors an opportunity to put their values into action, to become the hero of their own life story, and to make their dreams for a better world come true.

So let me ask you. When you ask someone for a donation, whose gift is bigger: their’s or yours?

What is the average fundraising cost per dollar raised?

In the last few days, a couple different consultant friends have both told me about clients quickly growing frustrated that their fundraising efforts are not “turning a profit” within the first few months. I blogged recently that in order to successful raising money, nonprofit leadership needs to make a long-term commitment to the process. However, the question remains, “How long must one wait?”

My friend and talented nonprofit technology consultant Robert Weiner recently turned me on to a few fundraising benchmarks. Included are statistics pulled from James Greenfield’s book, Fund-Raising: Evaluating and Managing the Fund Development Process. Greenfield states the U.S. national average cost to raise a dollar is 20 cents, which he breaks down into the following:

1. Capital Campaign/Major Gifts: $0.05 to $0.10 per dollar raised.
2. Corporations and Foundations (Grant Writing): $0.20 per dollar raised.
3. Direct Mail Renewal: $0.20 per dollar raised.
4. Planned Giving: $0.25 per dollar raised (and a lot of patience!)
5. Benefit/Special Events: $0.50 of gross proceeds.
6. Direct Mail Acquisition: $1.00 to $1.25 per dollar raised.
7. National Average: $ 0.20

One of the challenges with such benchmarks are they do not take into account different nonprofit markets and missions. It is a lot easier to raise money for puppy dogs, than say for some rare and unknown disease. As a rule, social welfare nonprofits receive smaller average donations than organizations in other areas, such as education or the arts, and thus must solicit larger numbers to acquire adequate funds. Nor is it fair either to compare a small, community nonprofit with a large, established university. Most importantly, uniform benchmarks do not take into account start-up acquisition costs and the typical donor's giving life-cycle.

In the past, a general rule of thumb I have used is from the Maryland Association for Nonprofits. Their recommended Standards for Excellence are that organizations work for a 3-to-1 fundraising efficiency ratio over a five-year period. The important factor here is that fundraising efficiency is measured over a period of years, in which market factors and acquisition costs are accurately weighed against total revenues received.

However, I think perhaps Mal Warwick states it most clearly when he writes:

"The 'overall fundraising Cost to Raise a Dollar' is a myth. There is NO such standard, and anyone who tells you there is one should survey the real world of fundraising in all its diversity. One organization might be embarrassed to spend more than a dime to raise a dollar, while another might be fortunate to squeak by with 40 or 50 cents on a dollar -- and both might be ethically run, well-managed organizations."

Therefore, as with most things the answer to the question is, “it depends.” It depends on the organizational fundraising goals and what financial risk the agency leadership is willing to take to reach them. Most importantly, it depends on how effectively the organization uses monies raised to fulfill its mission. That should always be our primary benchmark.

The 5 keys to individual fundraising success

For-profit organizations know that developing a new market requires financial risk and takes several years to return a profit. The same can be said for nonprofit individual fundraising. It takes several years of up front investment to develop a strong pool of individual donors, let alone find a return on the initial capital outlay. Success therefore requires leadership committed to a multi-year, 5-part fundraising cycle of planning, prospecting, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.

Planning
Internationally know fundraising trainer and consultant Kim Klein, once wrote, "The key to fundraising success is planning, planning, planning and then working your plan." A good fundraising plan is donor-centric. It requires a willingness on the entire agency, from top to bottom, to engage with donors in the most transparent, accountable and professional basis possible. This often requires an internal cultural shift and building the capacity of the organization.

Prospecting
"You already know everyone you need to know to raise money," is one of the truisms of fundraising. Many people think you need to know rich people to be a successful fundraiser. Of course this doesn’t hurt, however wealth is the least reliable indicator of giving. Strength of relationships and the interest in the cause are more reliable factors. Successful fundraising builds on the relationships already in place between an agency, board, staff and community to identify new prospective donors.

Cultivation
Prospective donors should be cultivated as agency "friends." If we ask ourselves how we would like to be treated by our own friends, than we have answered the question as to how to treat prospective donors. We should thank them for their interest, maintain regular communication, actively listen to them, spend time with them, be accessible, share information and ask for their advice. New friends whom we want to get to know the best, our major donor prospects, should receive even more regular and personalized interaction from agency leadership.

Solicitation
Many people fear asking others for money or help. Exploring our own personal relationship to money and recognizing that fundraising provides an opportunity for donors to act on their values can often shift this barrier. However, not everyone involved has to ask for money. Fundraising is a team sport. There are always more line roles available than those in the backfield. Yet, without a strong quarterback, there is no point in taking to the field.

Stewardship
The importance of donor stewardship cannot be over-emphasized. Gifts received by nonprofits are not given to us, but through us in service of the greater community. Donor stewardship includes gift acknowledgement, managing funds effectively, maintaining good donor communication and deepening donor relations. This is good manners as well as good business practice. All gifts should be appreciated. However, the larger the gift, the more personalized the donor attention should be. As a matter of efficiency, cultivation and stewardship activities are often combined.

What to look for when prospecting for donors

I was recently asked by someone if, “complete strangers are more generous than close friends?" She asked because she is continually surprised by who donates and who does not.

My short and simple answer was “no.”

My longer answer was that when prospecting for potential donors one traditionally looks for three factors: linkage, interest and ability. The stronger each of these qualities, the more likely your prospect is to make a gift.

Linkage means the closeness of the relationship between you and the potential donor. It is the most critical factor in determining whether someone will be inclined to a good cause. In surveys, the number one reason people give for donating is that someone they knew asked. The fact is, people are more like to give to an individual representing a good cause, rather than a good cause all on its own.

Interest means just that, is the prospect interested in your good cause? How do they spend their time and money, what is their family history, and most importantly, what are their values? At its core, fundraising is simply offering donors an opportunity to act on their values. When you ask somebody to make a donation, you are helping him or her become the hero of their life story by making a difference in the world.

Last -- and of surprisingly least importance -- is ability or how rich someone is. The wealthy may have more money to give away, but statistical speaking lower- and middle-income people give a higher percentage of their wealth than those with higher-incomes.

One other important factor is how routinely has the prospect ever given in the past to other causes? Some people are givers; others are not. Usually this has to do with their own relationship to money, something constructed within all of us at a very early age. It is easier to secure gifts from those who learned “to whom much is given, much is expected.” On the other hand, if they learned, “money is the root of all evil” or “we need to save money for a rainy day,” my friend may have some barriers to overcome. The successful fundraiser is one who actively listens to prospective donors, and through reporting, assessing and reframing helps them build a more healthy and generous relationship to money.

Where do you find your next fundraising superstar?

These days, there are few things more difficult than hiring a new fundraiser. There simply are not enough people to fill the ever growing number of development jobs. Recruiting more individuals into this field should be of critical importance for all of us.

The first step of creating a powerful job description is not only a helpful recruitment tool, but essential long-term planning guide and evaluation benchmark. Please take a some time to reflect on your goals and expectations for this position. Are you looking for a staff person, consultant or a volunteer? Full-time, part-time or temporary? What is the life stage of your organization? What gift markets do you want to develop? What is your hiring, as well as long-term support budget?

If you are having a hard time answering these and other questions, call up a similar nonprofit and ask to conduct an information interview with the head of their development efforts. I’ve found that fundraisers are, by and large, very generous with their expertise.

Ultimately, successful fundraising is a team effort, whether you are an all volunteer group or a large institution. The traditional model is a small, well-trained professional staff supporting a large group of volunteers, with occasional outside consulting assistance. The answers you get to the above questions, as well as which team member you are recruiting, will of course shape your recruitment strategy. However, you can’t go wrong with 1) looking to promote from within, 2) leveraging your personal and institutional network, 3) accessing professional trade associations or special interest groups, and 4) paid advertising.

Perhaps you have an intern who is ready to step into an associate position, or a manager who might be ready to take on a new director role with a little bit of coaching? Other options include forwarding your job announcement to contacts in your address book or asking your Board to do the same, attending a meeting of the your local fundraising association, or even advertising. If this is a high level position, you would be well served by putting together a staff/board search committee or even hiring outside professional experts.

With so many people making mid-career moves into the field, you may want to also try reaching out to local for-profit MarComm and Publicity groups for people with similar skills. There are a growing number of MBA graduates entering the nonprofit field. More colleges and universities have nonprofit management programs that you can approach. Many cities have nonprofit management support organizations or volunteer centers that act as information hubs.

Finally, don’t forget to ask your current funders. Experienced donors often already know the best fundraisers in your community.

These days -- and into the foreseeable future -- it is a job seeker’s market when it comes to fundraising. It is not uncommon for it to take six months or longer to fill an open position. Interim staff or consultants are temporarily filling many jobs. Because of these factors, do understand the salary scale for development jobs is higher than in any other nonprofit department. In fact, some Development Directors earn more than their Executive Directors.

One last piece of advice. When looking for your new superstar don’t just sell the position, sell your mission. That’s what’s going to attract someone to your organization with passion for the work, who can successfully raise funds for your good cause.

56 more fundraising tips just for you

Following up on Friday's post, here are a few more blasts from the past for your perusal. Hope you enjoy.

6 steps for a revolution in nonprofit fundraising

10 top flaws that doom your grant request to the reject pile

10 reflections on giving and receiving

11 essential program evaluation resources

16 easy steps to implement a planned giving program

37 fundraising tips for the price of 1

One of my favorite philanthropy bloggers is Rosetta Thurman of Perspectives From the Pipeline. This young woman is going places! Her post today, The Friday Four, inspired me to share with you a similar blast from the past. Below are four links from this humble little blog's first month, July 2006.

5 things to know about direct response fundraising

8 things to know about women donors

10 common mistakes in selecting donor databases

14 free (or almost free) major donor research tools

P.S. Ever wondered what I looked like? No, I didn't figure you did, but one of these links contains my photo. So click away!

Radio, podcasting and fundraising, they go good together

A belated shout out of thanks to Dr. Stephen L. Goldstein and Sean Stannard-Stockton. I was interviewed on Stephen’s radio show and podcast, Fundraising Success, earlier this month. Sean asked me to pinch-hit for him when other duties called him a way at the last minute. Really enjoyed my chat with Stephen on the joy of fundraising and other topics. If you want to take a listen, my 10-minutes of fame starts at a little before 29 minutes into the cast. (Note to self, when you're excited and nervous, remember to breath.)

For those of you who have not yet discovered this podcast, I would encourage you to subscribe. This weekly, 1-hour show is professionally produced out of the studios of WXEL, south Florida’s public radio station. Stephen has smartly put together pool of regular experts and special guests, many of whom are among today’s leading bloggers. In addition to Sean from Tactical Philanthropy, other regulars include Beth Kanter of Beth’s Blog and Peter Panepento of Give and Take. The show I was on also featured Michael Weinholtz and Jennifer Mayhew of CompHealth, Stephen Rockwell of Management Consulting Services and show regular Jesse Carter from ProfitQuests.

Then there are times when fundraise is all that bad, and then some

As I mentioned earlier this week, when "done well," fundraising has the power to inspire transformative change. But when done badly, well, things like this happen:

"Federal prosecutors in New York today unveiled criminal charges against Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu for allegedly operating a massive Ponzi scheme that defrauded victims across the country out of more than $60 million... Hsu is accused of pressuring investors to contribute ten of thousands of dollars to various candidates in presidential and congressional races in an effort to raise his public profile and thus encourage more victims to invest in his scheme."

Though specifically a political scandal, don't think for a moment that the backlash of this, and other fundraising scandals, isn't going to impact the nonprofit sector. Increased regulation is part of our future. Have I told you that here in California I'm already legally prohibited from soliciting on behalf of my clients? I'm restricted to only training others how to make the ask themselves. This came about not because it is the right thing to do (it is), but because of unethical fundraisers, who in the past have not passed any of their collected donations along to the good cause that hired them.

Ethical fundraising must be at the core of our daily practice. Because if we don't function ethically the entire sector is in danger of collapse -- just like Hsu's ponzi scheme -- for ours is a sector built on the building blocks of trust and good will.

This is just one more reason professional training is so critical. For one of the best blog post related to this topic, please check out Lilya Wagner's article today on onPhilanthropy. Includes over 50 links to fundraising career articles and resources. What a gift, thank you Lilya!

10 reasons fundraising ain't all that bad

Jeff Brooks at Donor Power Blog this week hosts the Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants. He conducted a "highly scientific" poll on the question Is fundraising good or bad? As Jeff reports, the results were "shocking and amazing."

• 60% said bad.
• 20% said good.
• 20% said other.

If I read the poll results correctly, that 20% good figure was almost represented entirely by yours truly with my submission to this new Carnival.

Like Jeff, I to came a similar conclusion after hosting the recent Giving Carnival here on this blog. While many people took the challenge seriously, I was frankly unprepared for the amount of pessimistic, cynical, and well, darn-right snarky responses – this from people working in our field.

Clearly, our profession has not only a public image problem, but a large self-esteem challenge. Whether this is based in practice or perception, I'm not about to argue now. But if people think of a fundraiser akin to the stereotype of a used car salesperson, than we have much work to do.

Done well, effective fundraising can help gift recipients break free of the cycle of poverty, violence and oppression they might face in life. For this reason alone, our profession is an honorable one worthy of high praise. Yet I would argue that there are many other benefits, particularly for donors, that are too often not appreciated. Fundraising can help individuals:

1. Express personal values and feel less powerless in the face of all the world’s needs.
2. Eliminate isolation by connecting with a community of people who share similar values.
3. Reduce the perceived differences between those with means and those with needs, helping people moving from fear toward love of others.
4. Generate a sense of personal abundance and generosity, through understanding one has enough time, talent and treasure to share.
5. Leave a legacy for their children and the world.
6. Connect with the cycle of giving and receiving at the core of most spiritual traditions.
7. Build support for projects that have strong community need, but little or no market value.
8. Organize communities to effectively advocate for changes in public policy.
9. Develop a sustainable gift economy as a viable alternative to capital markets.
10. Provide opportunities for volunteers to become more engaged with causes and communities that they care about.

Perhaps I am naive to think that effective fundraising can help move us as a society from “fear to love.” Yet in today’s world, why would I want to believe anything else?

September Giving Carnival: Your roadmap to the future of fundraising

If predicting the future were only as simple as drawing a line across a map, being prepared for the next 10 years would be easy. But as the 22 generous contributors to this month's Giving Carnival demonstrate, we each see the world in our own way. From pessimistic to hopeful, the guides below offer you many possible paths to follow. Know that which you choose will impact the rest of your individual life, but also remember, all paths lead to our same shared future.

Tom of The $5 Philanthropist laments that The Year 2017 is a Letdown
Online fundraising risks becoming a victim of it's own success...

Paul of Cause Related Marketing shares several Fearless Predictions on the Future of Cause-Related Marketing
Cause-related marketing will continue to grow in North America, if modestly, while rapidly growing in places like India...

Here on Fundraising for Nonprofits I humbly offer you 8 Predictions on the Future of Fundraising
The changes in regulation, donors, markets, leadership, technology, fundraisers and even volunteers will result in a greater demand for ongoing training for both donors and fundraisers...

An anonymous reader of this blog also contributed a comment.
Fundraisers will deploy scanning devices that identify the best ways to appeal to the donor’s big ego and small primate brain...

Nancy of Getting Attention looks out 10 Years Down the Line
Issue-oriented giving, with donors having the option to specify organizational recipients by percentage of the total gift...

Phil of Gift Hub writes on Philanthropic Advisors to a Field of Interest
The leading solicitors of major gifts and planned gifts will bill themselves as Philanthropic Advisors...

Elie of Give Well offers a roadmap with Two Futures
Fundraising today is all about the pitch; 10 years from now, I hope it will be about the product...

Britt of Have Fun – Do Good brings her passion to Mobilizing Donors and Activists in an Overwhelmed World
Keeping campaigns simple, social, personal, creative and tangible might transform feeling overwhelmed into empowerment...

Dori of Inspired Annual Giving ask us all Where Will You Be?
We'll be using technology beyond our wildest dreams to reach our audience...

Trista of New Voices of Philanthropy keeps it real with You Think Fundraising is Hard Now?
The only role of an executive director will be to raise the money needed to keep the doors of their respective nonprofit open...

Ken of The Nonprofit Consultant Blog reports back from Stardate: September 2017
President Clinton declares foundations could do more for the public good by keeping their endowments "working for America" by staying invested in the stock market, lowering yearly payout to 1-1/2% of their endowment...

Kelly of The Nonprofiteer joins in with And They Call Her a Carnival Clown
Fundraisers and agencies soliciting donations will rethink the current stance holding unethical the practice of having fundraisers compensated by a percentage of the what they raise...

Susan of Philanthromedia builds on years of experience to predict The Future of Fundraising
Money to social impact will continue to grow but name brands will become less important than value and vision...

Mark of Open Hands offers several predictions for The Future of Fundraising
Witness a growing trend of charities who see the value and synergy in fundraising together...

Maya of The New Jew: Blogging Jewish Philanthropy shares her thoughts Predicting the Future of Nonprofit Fundraising
Lowered barriers to technological access, especially in computer hardware and web media, will attract more smaller foundations to the field...

Christopher of Non-profit Leadership, Innovation and Change has three insights into Fundraising in 2017
As the younger generation gets older the internet is going to play a very important role in fundraising...

Laura of PhilanthroFlash sees in her crystal ball 3 Futures of Fundraising
The tooth fairy will leave "$5 was given to your favorite charity" cards beneath children’s pillows...

Arlene of Seeking Grant Money Today asks We're On Our Way, But Who's At the Helm?
Grant donors bolster government giving by uniquely supporting seed money, pilot programs, and most importantly, the nonprofit sector's strength...

Phil of Strategic Governance, Philanthropy and Planning looks back to look forward for The Next 10 Years-Some Promethean Predictions
Increasingly distrust the organizations which manage philanthropy and deliver social services...

Sean of Tactical Philanthropy explores Fundraising in the Philanthropic Capital Markets
A future where fundraisers are less focused on direct to donor appeals and more focused on what Lucy Bernholz calls the Philanthropic Capital Markets...

Rachel of Vampituity goes farther into the future than all others with Where Fundraising Will Be in 2020
Philanthropy will be much more integrated into life and less on the fringe...

Albert of White Courtesy Telephone muses on Online Giving in 2017
Ten years from now, sensors surgically implanted in your brain by the Department of Homeland Security will automatically register your intention to give and send radio signals to your government-monitored bank account...

8 predictions on the future of fundraising

You expect when a host throws a party that she'd at least have the decency to show up. So with no further ado, here's my submission for this month's Giving Carnival on the theme of "Predicting the Future of Fundraising."

1. Increased Regulation
   Donor demands for accountability, transparency and professionalism, will lead to greater industry self-regulation and government oversight. The tax code will be expanded to include several new types of tax benefit corporations with different levels of “public support test.” The requirements to start-up a traditional nonprofit will be increased, while some formerly for-profit businesses will be provided new, partial tax credits. The trend toward requiring fundraisers to be licensed, regulated and insured will become ubiquitous.
   
   
2. Donor Networks
   Issue-based, collaborative donor funding networks will become the norm. Larger funders view them as a way to reduce risk and exposure, while smaller donors view them as a way to leverage funding and access to evaluation tools. Traditional community foundations will be one of the casualties as donors shift their assets. These “giving circles on steroids” will increasingly function as their own operating foundation. While empowering individual donors, these internally transparent networks will become increasingly impenetrable to outside fundraisers.
   
   
3. Diversified Markets
   New revenue streams will be developed from non-traditional markets, including capital markets to fund mission-based investments. For-profit financial service organizations will lead this development. Many formally successful fundraisers will become personal philanthropic investment advisors. Planned giving vehicles become more commonplace for mid- and lower-level donors. While corporate foundations are a thing of the past, business marketing departments have been expanded to include “community ambassadors,” who raise cause-related donations directly for business sponsored events.
   
   
4. New Leadership
   The much heralded leadership crisis will result in new opportunities for youth, people of color and those from outside the sector to play an increasingly important role. The strong CEO and small board will become the idealized nonprofit leaderships model. While this team will hold agencies to higher outcomes, most have no formal fundraising training and will outsource this function. In less than ten years there will be more fundraisers working as independent contractors than in permanent staff positions. Association of Fundraising Professional membership benefits will now include health care and retirement options.
   
   
5. Changing Technology
   While social networks are attracting a lot of public attention today, the most significant strides in fundraising technology over the next decade will be made in data mining and donor tracking. Online fundraising is no longer just for acquisitions and annual fund campaigns; Major donor prospecting, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship have become the norm. A new job title, Director of IT Fund Development, is now commonplace.
   
   
6. Celebrity Fundraisers
   Money is like water; it flows to the place of least resistance and pools with other assets. Deregulation has resulted an even greater gap between the rich and the poor, with money pooled in different parts of the globe. To move in this international world, fundraisers will increasingly have to rely on or develop their own celebrity status to gain access. Bono and Lynne Twist are just two different examples of this growing trend.
   
   
7. Community Volunteers
   While some things change, others will not. Ten years from now a successful fundraising campaign is still built on turning strangers into friends, friends into donors, and donors into advocates. While managed by professionals, critical fundraising activities are still carried out by volunteers. The Professional fundraiser, who cultivates an active pool of volunteers, will be the one who succeeds in meeting her budget targets.
   
   
8. Professional Training
   The ever-rapid changes in regulation, donors, markets, leadership, technology, fundraisers and even volunteers will result in a greater demand for ongoing training for both donors and fundraisers. Philanthropic training programs will become commonplace within universities, colleges and K-12 schools. Entrepreneurial organizations and individuals, sensing a business opportunity, will start their own fundraising training institutions.

EXTENDED DEADLINE: Haven't yet gotten in your submission to this month's Giving Carnival? Have no fear. The deadline has been extended to midnight Thursday, pacific standard time. Get your submission in by than and I'll be sure to include it in Friday's full Carnival post.

Help wanted: Good pay and benefits

Welcome to the land of fundraising, we need you! Look around. It’s a complex world where people feel isolated, powerless and fearful. From threats of global terrorism to global warming, today’s challenges seem overwhelming. Like you, my heart breaks when I see someone forced to live on the streets or go without health care. There must be a better way, but what is it?

What if we lived in a world were we cared for our neighbors? What if instead of being fearful of differences we embraced them? What if instead of feeling helpless, we lived a life of abundance? That is the gift you give to others when you become a fundraiser. By connecting donors with the gentle joy of giving, you help them discover what it means to be human. In joining with others and giving to those in need, donors recognize they already have everything they need.

You are the Johnny Appleseed of generosity. Years from now you will look back and see all the young children you helped graduate from college, the local park that was once an toxic landfill, and the community center built in the middle of former gang turf and know your life was one well lived.

Here’s my recommended steps for entering the field.

1. VOLUNTEER: What good cause do you care about? Development offices are always looking for volunteers to stuff envelopes and help out at events. My first fundraising gig was volunteering to write grants for a small arts group. Join a nonprofit board. Even without experience, if you are willing to support fundraising efforts, you’ll be snapped up.
   
   
2. LEARN: Take classes, read books and subscribe to blogs. Research your city to find free or low cost training. The Foundation Center offers free classes in five major U.S. cities. In the San Francisco Bay Area CompassPoint, The CBO Center and USF are great resources. I’m a huge fan of the writing of Kim Klein, Hank Rosso and Kay Sprinkel Grace. Today’s thought leaders are bloggers. If you have time to read only one, make it the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s Give and Take, which summarizes all the rest. Start developing your expertise now.
   
   
3. NETWORK: Find the nonprofit trade associations in your town. If you're a regular reader of this blog you know I’m a big fan of Development Executives Roundtable, in fact I'm on the board. Five years ago when I decided to change my career I walked into my first DER meeting, stood up and announced I wanted to become a fundraiser. At that meeting I met people who would become my professional colleagues, career mentors and good friends. Other resource include local branches of the Association of Fundraising Professionals or the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network.
   
   
4. START: We all must begin at the beginning. My first paid job was part-time telefunding. A horrible job really, but learning how to ask for money 30 times a day is a good skill to develop if you wish to build a career in fundraising. Now I’m a successful freelance Fundraising Counsel. Last week I turned down an interview to lead up a $45,000,000 capital campaign. I can tell you most certainly that there are always more development jobs available, and the pay scale is higher, than found in other nonprofit departments. If you can learn to raise money, you will never be without work.

Getting to know LinkedIn

Turned down an interview last week to lead up a $45 million capital campaign for one of San Francisco’s leading nonprofits. The inquiry came because of my profile on LinkedIn, the Internet's leading professional business networking website. Figuring that 12 million users couldn’t be wrong, I had only created my free account on the service less than a month ago.

Though LinkedIn has a reputation for being dominated by the tech industry, I think perhaps those of us working in nonprofit fundraising can also benefit from its use. One of the core principles of successful fundraising is “you already know everybody you need to know to raise money.” Amongst my colleagues the common joke is you know your campaign is headed for trouble when your Board President suggests soliciting Bill Gates, but hasn’t yet asked any of her friends for support.

But the truth is, if you are a skilled networker, you can actually reach Bill Gates -- or anybody else you want to -- because network theory states that we are all only six degrees of separation from anyone on the planet. The trick is to start from where you are and with whom you know and, and then work you’re way out. Used wisely, LinkedIn can be a practical tool for building these connections. For example, in less than one month, I now have 202 first degree connections, over 4,000 second degree connections, and over 250,000 third degree connections on LinkedIn.

To use LinkedIn to build your own business network, here are a couple of recommended first steps:

1. Be proactive: Sign up for a free account
   Paid accounts allow subscribers to ask for introductions and send emails to users more widely throughout the LinkedIn community. Yet with a free subscription you have access to the vast majority of the sites networking tools, and is what I recommend. You can always upgrade at a later date.
   
   
2. Invest in learning: Take the tour
   LinkedIn has a lot of depth and features, which can be intimidating at first. Review the site FAQs. A quick Google search for LinkedIn tips can be helpful too; one of my favorites is this short video.
   
   
3. Promote yourself: Keep an up to date profile
   I can’t stress this enough. The more detail you provide the greater number of ways you can be discovered, linked to and receive recommendations. Include not only current and past employment, but also your volunteer and education history. Be sure to include company or personal website or blog URL. Update the provided public profile URL to include your full name to increase search results. Stress your accomplishments and skills in the summary description. Expand your interest area to include searchable key words. Don’t forget to add a formal or informal group affiliations, honors and awards. Think of your LinkedIn page as your online, dynamic resume. My listing now comes up as the third result under a Google search of my name.
   
   
4. Build your network: Invite your friends to join LinkedIn
   The site offers several easy tools for importing your current address book into their system. Basic networking theory would suggest you invite everyone you’ve ever come in contact with, but in a world of increasing email spam, a little grace goes a long way. So my advice would be to certainly extend an invitation to all current users of the system whom you know. Then segment the rest of your address book, sending invitations to join to those to whom you are close or who have demonstrated an interested in business networking. After you’ve built up your personal network and have something more to offer, then send out personalized invitations to others describing the benefits of joining the service.
   
   
5. Spread the love: Give it all away
   Every successful networker knows that if you want to succeed in life, the best way to go about that is by helping others succeed first. Like fundraising, it should be a practice of giving without keeping score. On LinkedIn one of the easiest ways to get started is to recommend your connections. No one wants to receive insincere flattery, but being the recipient of honest, specific praise makes life worth living. For more such tips, read Tim Sanders' Love is the Killer App.
   
   
6. Keep connected: Tell me what you think
   If you’ve been on LinkedIn for a while, I’d love to get your feedback in the comments below; and if you’re a reader of this blog, I’d love to keep connected to you. You can send me an invitation through LinkedIn at gayle[at]gayleroberts[dot]com.
   

Fundraisers like you

I've mentioned before I'm a big Kay Sprinkel Grace fan. She's the high priestess of value-based fundraising, and we should all be her acolytes. If you don't have a dog-eared copy of Beyond Fundraising within arms reach of your desk, I just don't know how you can call yourself a fundraiser.

Now for the last few years Kay's been helping the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's revise its entire funding strategy. For as our dear federal government continues to reduce funding for open discourse, public television is increasingly turning to "viewers like you" for support. Traditional telethons soliciting millions of individuals for small donations can no longer fill this gap. So like other agencies that have traditionally relied on large membership bases -- the YMCA comes to mind -- CPB is shifting its focus to major donors and planned giving.

Fortunately for you and me, they've published all of their campaign tools on two public websites, Major Giving Now and Planned Giving Now. I doubt there are two more comprehensive, comparable resources available online. From planning, prospecting, cultivating, soliciting and stewardship, its all here with detailed case studies and worksheets for you to use, whether you are fundraising for public television, a community college or an animal shelter. If you are familiar with Kay's work, it doesn't take long to see her hand at work in all of these materials.

If you like what you find, why not consider making a donation to your local public television station today?

Fundraising in the 21st Century: Bananas, popsicles and cookies, oh my!

Permission marketing guru Seth Godin is fond of saying that when it comes to succeeding at marketing, we must all learn to "flip the funnel." Traditional advertisers, according to Godin, spend all their efforts creating a big funnel to draw in people, which results in a constant need to spend more money to attract more people. But what if we gave our fans the power to speak up on our behalf? What if we gave our donors the tools needed to solicit new donors? In his recent ebook of the same name Godin reduces it to this simple equation:

• Turn strangers into friends;
• Turn friends into donors;
• And then ... do the most important job:
• Turn your donors into fundraisers.

Internet evangelists will tell you that this is the revolutionary idea behind Philanthropy 2.0. But don't believe it for a second. There is nothing revolutionary about this. Any experienced fundraiser knows that volunteers have always been, and always will be, the key to any successful fundraising effort. While new technologies may allow us to scale in ways not imaginable in the past, the fundamentals haven't changed.

But if you haven't started leveraging the new technologies available, now maybe the time to consider it, for the earlier adopters have already established successful beachheads. Take for an example my friend Anna's AIDS/LifeCycle 6 web page. She's currently half way through a 545 mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, raising money on behalf of those infected and affected with HIV/AIDS.

On her customized web page you will find her own personal story, along with photos, about why she supports this nonprofit and why you should too. There are multiple links to where you can learn more about this cause, or with a click of a button, make a secure donation online. Her page displays a running total of the amount she has raised so far. You can also leave Anna a public message, or listen to a podcasts she has recorded from the road. (Be sure to listen to episode #1 to understand the title of this post).

AIDS/LifeCycle provided Anna the tools to construct this page, and she did the rest. So far she has raised over $5,800 on her own. Anna, like the record 2,300 volunteers from 10 countries and 43 states who are currently riding down the coast of California, is not a professional fundraiser. But collectively they have raised a record $11 million this year -- surpassing last year's total by nearly $3 million.

For their part, AIDS/LifeCycle simply contracted with one of the many web-based fundraising application service providers, and let their riders do the rest. The May/June issue of Advancing Philanthropy special section on Fundraising Technology listed nearly 100 from which to choose.

So has your nonprofit taken this step yet? Perhaps you are waiting for your group to grow to a certain size or develop a signature event? But while you're waiting, life, and your donors, will pass you by. Think of it like dating. If you pause first to loose that 25 pounds, you'll find yourself languishing a long time for Mr. or Ms. Right. You need to just jump in and start dating. Next year, the two of you can join AIDS/LifeCycle 7 and work off those pounds together.

Similarly, by giving your donors the tools they need today to advocate on your behalf, you'll find your nonprofit becoming healthier and stronger in the years to come.

Sharing good people and good ideas

Am happy to let you know I recently become an Affiliate Consultant with the East Bay CBO Center. The Center is dedicated to building the professional capacity of nonprofit organization's serving the counties of Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

I will continue to operate as an independent Fundraising Counsel, but this arrangement will provide my business with additional outreach and referrals. But what makes me most excited is that I now have direct access to a hand-picked network of over 30 of the San Francisco Bay Area's top nonprofit consultants.

So if you need help finding a nonprofit organizational development, human resources, evaluation or technology expert, give me a call and I can now pass you forward to a consultant with a proven track record.