Non-Profit Chas

Some thoughts on recruiting 20-somethings to your non-profit cause. As a member of both a non-profit board and Generation Y, this is what I have to say about my peers.

• We are passionate.
• We are independent and challenge authority.
• We usually have a lot of debt and manage money poorly.
• We are generous with what we do have.
• We are online a lot and often prefer online communication to phone, email, or in-person meetings.
• We work hard and demand a lot from the people we work with.
• We are risk-takers and get frustrated with slow change.
• We care about both aesthetic and function.
• We have a hard time seeing other perspectives.

Volunteering: Pushing the Chips All In

The quickest way to lose a volunteer is to overwork them and fail to show gratitude. When recruiting Gen-Y volunteers, consider that you’re competing for our time. We’re often building a career and working well over 40 hours a week. We’re also trying to maintain a social life, traveling, or have new families to care for. Asking too much is a sure-fire way of turning us off to volunteering.

We’d love to help, though. So create entry points with specific tasks and roles for us. We’d love to help manage that marketing project or organize the food for that fundraiser. If we get really interested, we’ll let you know we want to help out more.

Don’t forget to thank your volunteers, of course. If we don’t think we’re making a difference, we’ll give up.

Cradle to Grave: Donors of Tomorrow

I heard from a non-profit marketer recently that their organization was considering Gen-Y and how we fit into their overall strategy. The head of the group argued that Gen-Y doesn’t have any money and isn’t worth his time. He’s right, but not for the reason he expects. His skill is in working with major donors. He can raise more before breakfast than all of the Gen-Y gifts combined. But that’s not the point.

Gen-Y is the major donor base of the future. Your major donors and volunteers were 20-somethings once. They built companies and careers and wealth, just as the current batch of recent college graduates are trying to do. They will often take a different path to get there, but they’ll build their wealth over time. As they do, you’ll wish you started engaging them earlier and developing your relationships from the beginning. Cradle to grave.

Consider also the thousands of small gifts that some political candidates have sought. A gift of $50 is a lot easier to get than $50,000, and when you get 1,000 donors to give the $50 it’s just the same. And then you’ll have 1,000 donors to grow and cultivate into larger investors in your mission.

Gen-Y opens a lot of doors

It makes a lot of sense to recruit from Generation Y. So go on and sign up for a Facebook account. Ask your recent college graduate nephew to organize a project with some friends. Or work with a local college to find interns or service groups. The passion we bring to our work will help uplift your organization’s spirits. We bring new networks of potential volunteers and donors. We have a different perspective on the things you’ve been doing, which can lead to innovative programming and marketing. And as we develop our resources, you’ll have access to those as well.

Having taken up the fundraising reins about a year ago, I got my start by reading a lot of books and blogs. I met with fundraisers, consultants, non-profit managers, and volunteers. I heard many different tactics, strategies, and advice.

I looked at the fundraising activities that we had been doing. I knew right away that they weren’t all effective or efficient. Weeks would be spent planning for a $350 payoff. Meanwhile, a quick phone call could return a $500 donation.

Something clicked.

Planning is not doing

Smart fundraisers focus on the activities with the greatest return. They minimize their time and costs while maximizing donations. They start with strategy and decide on tactics. Then they do stuff.

In trying to evaluate our activities, I spent a lot of time on planning and deciding on tactics. Too long, actually. I didn’t really do any fundraising. I just pored over my communications strategy, held meetings, and did research. Income received from my strategy, meetings, planning, and research: $0.00.

Don’t get me wrong…good strategy and planning can increase your gift levels considerably. Well planned and executed campaigns are far more effective than haphazard desperation. But the most important half of the that campaign is the “executed.” Without execution, you don’t get anything.

All Activities Are Not Equal

Here’s a “sample” of some fundraising activities that an organization might do.

As you can see, certain activities return more than others. Some of this is the approach, and some of it is the nature of the activity. A well-planned and executed event is going to be much more effective than a last-second silent auction tacked onto a party.

Individuals make up the vast majority of giving in the United States. Not through events, candy sales, or car washes. They give to individual appeals.

Let’s look at that chart again

The best way to raise money is to give an individual a chance to make a difference. Even at events, the most effective are actually just opportunities for you to reach out to more individuals at once. And then appeal to them individually.

What about __?

Organizations try all kinds of gimmicks to get people to donate. They resort to shock advertising or strange events.

Social media is great for engagement. It’s great for reaching certain audiences in a way that connects with them. But it isn’t the end. Social media isn’t the same as an ask, and it won’t produce the results of a properly cultivated, engaged, and informed donor.

Events are a great piece of the puzzle

Diversifying your fundraising plan is a good idea, but organizations often have too many events and spend all of their time planning and running small events.

Planning a fundraising event takes a lot of time and consideration. The best events produce great results. But there are some rules:

• Stick to one or two signature events each year – small events aren’t that much easier to put on than big events
• Invite the right people
• Let donors identify themselves to you – use the chance to find new donors to cultivate and grow

One women’s care organization holds one signature event each year, raising nearly all of their operating budget in a single night. They spend a nearly year planning and preparing for it. Last year, they nearly doubled their donations with a couple of major gifts in the following days.

Fear Itself

Fear is the biggest reason keeping fundraisers from doing real fundraising. There’s a lot on this topic. People fear rejection. Or they hate begging. Or they’re just not that outgoing, and they are uncomfortable talking to strangers. This fear keeps many fundraisers going back to events and other arm’s-length appeals.

If you’re begging, you’re not fundraising. That’s because begging is desperation. Instead, fundraising is the appeal for an investment. You’re looking for investors: people who understand the need, align with your mission, and are willing to help fix the problem.

The worst thing you’ll hear is “no.” It happens a lot. But your chances get a lot better with practice and training. Spend the time to learn how to properly cultivate, engage, and steward your donors. You’ll find it gets easier, and it gets results.

Time isn’t on your side

The development process takes time. After the fear of fundraising, time is the number two reason that people resort to less effective tactics. Developing a major gift requires a strong relationship and trust. These things do not happen overnight. Be patient and fill the gaps with your events and other fundraisers, but don’t let yourself believe that they are the most important.

Get out there

This whole article could be distilled into a single word: active. The difference between successful fundraising organizations and struggling fundraisers is whether they are actively fundraising. To overcome the fear and become an active fundraiser, here are some tips:

• Make a goal to call or visit one person each a day or week – not just prospects, but call or visit current donors to thank them.
• Create milestones so you can measure yourself against your fundraising goals.
• Find a mentor who can help you learn the ropes and bring him or her along on a fundraising visit.
• Interview your largest donors about why they give.
• Ask them to recommend potential donors.
• Make sure you have given first. If you’re not willing to invest in your mission, it’s hard for you to convince others to give.

I found a bit of circular humor in my feeds today.

Recently, I was invited to join a blog network called Brazen Careerist. I’m excited about this for the potential exposure, the network of intelligent bloggers with whom I will be able to converse, and the expertise of one Penelope Trunk. (Penelope is the author of a book, Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success.)

She recently wrote:

This is something I’ve learned in the last two weeks. For those of you who don’t know, I never look like my photo on my blog. First, my hair is never that organized. I try to remember back to when Yahoo had the photo taken and I don’t remember hair like that, so maybe it was never like that and it’s all Photoshop. That wouldn’t be too outlandish an assumption since my skin also never looks like that, or my lips, and it might actually not even be a photo, but a Yahoo rendition of what a photo might look like.

The only reason – and I honestly mean the only reason – that I haven’t accepted the offer to join the network is that I don’t have a headshot that I’m happy with. Seriously, look at the arrogant beach bum in the upper right corner. That’s not really me. I’m cocky, but I’m not some frat boy on a pub crawl in Redondo Beach (which is more or less what I was in that photo, visiting my brother in LA).

I’ve had the draft of the acceptance email in my box for weeks now, and I keep telling myself to suck it up and send whatever photo I have. I’m sure I can change it later.

I’m usually not this conceited. I think Penelope’s post might be enough to knock me off the vain train and pick a stinkin’ headshot.

Victory means something.

Watching Michael Phelps achieve eight victories was amazing. Fans – even those who normally wouldn’t be so invested – were elated and cheered him on. People flock to success. They want to be a part of it.

Show your organization’s victories. Wherever it might be – look at how much we’ve done with so little! – donors and volunteers want to be a part of a successful venture.

Timing is important.

With a 12-hour difference between the Eastern time zone and the action in China, major events would have been lost on viewers in America. NBC did an excellent job of bringing the stories to prime time, delaying broadcast for the most popular events until they would have the best ratings.

Don’t miss out by thinking that your stories are irrelevant just because they happened months or even a couple of years ago. Great stories are important. At the same time, it’s critical that you take advantage of them as soon as possible – opportunities are all around you, and it’s up to you to be prepared.

Stories sell.

The swimmer who is twice the age of her competitors. The track star who battles back from an injury to compete. The gymnast who overcomes hardship to achieve her dream.

Fans root hard for the athletes with great stories. The stories make us care about something we otherwise wouldn’t. Heart strings control a lot more than our hearts.

I need software. As a long-time tech guy, I have high standards. But I just can’t find what I’m looking for. I’m asking for your help.

Here are two “user stories” to consider how the software might be used.

User Story 1

A donor writes a check. We log the donation, making sure his contact info is up to date. A review of the donor’s giving history shows that the gift is a step up from previous gifts, prompting me to make an extra phone call to thank him.

User Story 2

We’re working on a new campaign and are identifying prospective major donors. We produce a report of all gifts in a certain time range, over a certain amount, and from certain segments of our people. The report reveals a prospect with close ties to one of our board members, who helps secure a significant lead gift.

Requirements

The user stories help determine requirements, but I’ve also given a lot of thought to features. These are usually split into “Must Have” and “Nice to Have” lists.

Must Have

1. Web based – Our team is made up of volunteers all over the area
2. Multi-user – We have several people who need access to the data
3. Giving history – pull up all previous gifts from a donor
4. Reporting – arbitrary reports such as gifts in a date range
5. Restrictions – noting that gifts are restricted for a specific purpose
6. Export – it’s our data, and if we need to use it outside the software we need to be able to export it

Nice to Have

1. Campaigns – Indicate that gifts are part of a specific campaign
2. Helpful reporting – some systems offer suggestions for donors who are more likely to give and why
3. Accept online donations – we don’t have any online donation system yet but we plan to – some web-based systems actually handle this for you
4. Integrate with online giving – at the very least, we’ll need to get that data into the system and it would be great if we could automate that
5. Alerts – email alerts or reminders of certain things – hitting campaign milestones, major gift anniversaries, etc.

Hmmm…

So, for a small non-profit with relatively small budget and no paid fundraising staff, what options would you recommend? What’s easy enough to learn and use, but powerful enough to provide value?