Mandi Frishman, a Product & Marketing Intelligence Manager for Make Me Social joined us on Tuesday for the fifth session of the Online Fundraising Academy. She discussed how to build a community of supporters on Facebook and us Facebook analytics to improve communications and audience engagement.

Mandi has managed social media promotion for companies in the finance, manufacturing, hospitality, education, and retail industries. She uses research, persona analysis and data to create strategies that drive measurable results. In this session,

Session Recording: http://www.anymeeting.com/WebConference-beta/RecordingDefault.aspx?c_psrid=ED59DC84854E

Session Notes:

Facebook is just a new way for us to tell stories. It’s about creating and sharing media and publishing content to acquire new donors. You’re working to drive action, which leads to donations.

Storytelling is important on Facebook because compelling stories are shared. Whenever something is shared, more people see your content. On Facebook, the number of people who see your content (even if they don’t act on it) is referred to as impressions. You want to increase the number of impressions in an effort to increase the amount of likes, comments, and shares that your posts receive.

Set Goals and Integrate Efforts

Example: drive people to sign up for your email newsletter

Make sure to align Facebook efforts with larger, organization goals (such as certain fundraising goals)

Facebook is NOT an Island

People have vibrant lives outside Facebook. Don’t forget that you should apply a holistic approach to your communication and management strategy. Make sure to engage people on and off Facebook using similar messaging.

3 Tips to Prepare for Fundraising Success

1. Examine your audience – Understanding your donors is key

• Build everything around your audience. Use Facebook Insights to learn where your audience is based and see when people are responding to your posts. Identify ideal times to post content.
• You can always test, learn, and improve your post times.
• Test things for about 30 days to determine if something does or doesn’t work. You need to see if a pattern develops.
• Think about what might appeal to you as a member of your audience. You would probably not be responsive to constant requests for donations.
• Use Facebook to build a personal connection with your supporters.

2. Look Professional & Trustworthy

• Cover photo: 851 pixels wide X 315 pixels tall; 20% text limit, update periodically
• Profile picture: 160 X 160 pixels; upload at least 180 X 180 pixels; fit to square
• Avoid blurry photos!

3. Plan Your Story – There is power in the process

• Build out a content calendar to streamline the process of creating content and to ensure that you are posting regular content
• A content calendar may include:
  • Date and time of post
  • Post content & theme
  • Target audience
  • Platform (if you’re using multiple types of social media)
  • Post style (picture, link, status update, etc.)
  • Media & links
• It’s important to have a visual story on Facebook because different types of media (particularly photos) are more heavily promoted
• Your stories are going to come from the community you serve, inside your organization, and your external supporters
• One way to get your audience involved in storytelling is to ask questions!
  • If you think about the way Facebook works, every comment helps to increase the chances that others will see your content.

Facebook Funnel: Awareness => Engagement => Donation

Awareness

• It’s not just about asking people for money. It’s about getting people to connect with your mission and engage with your content.
• To build awareness, you need to make sure that people are seeing your content.

Engagement & Donation

• A smaller percentage of people who see your content will like, comment, or share it. The more likes, comments, and shares that you receive, the more people who will see your content.
• Of those who engage, a smaller percentage will act on your calls for donations.

Edge Rank Algorithm 

• Edge Rank is the algorithm that Facebook uses to determine whether people will see your content in their news feed (the stream of content that they first see on their dashboard when they log on to Facebook).
• If people can’t see their content, they are unlikely to engage with you. If your content does not show up on their feed, they are unlikely to go to your Facebook page to read your content. You need to get in front of them!
• Here’s a break down of this formula:
  • Affinity score between the person viewing the content and the person who created the post. This is dictated by how recently and frequently the user engages with content from the page that posted. The stronger your posts, the more consistent engagement you’ll get, and the more likely it is that your followers will see your post.
  • Weight of the edge type: types of engagement are weighted differently in the Edge Rank
    • Comments are weighted more than Likes because they have a larger time commitment.
  • Time decay is based on how long ago the post was created.
• Learn more about Edge Rank here: http://www.whatisedgerank.com/

Insights

• Insights gives you an idea of how your content is performing on Facebook.
• Admins will see an admin bar at the top of the page on Facebook where you can click on Insights.
• Access to simple analytics about the activity on you Facebook page.
• You can isolate certain time periods and export the data to play around with it more in excel.
• You should set goals that you can track with Insights, like the number of Likes, comments, or shares.
• You can also look at data by post to see how many people have viewed, liked, commented, or shared it.
• Insights also gives you information about your audience including gender, location, languages.
• Insights may not be available if you have less than 30 Likes on your page or if you have not had any activity in the past 7 days. It’s important to remain active in order to have access to this information.

Content Guidelines

• 180 characters (not words!) or less. Remember, characters include spaces, punctuation, etc.
• Mixed media – Photos are more engaging and more highly ranked in Edge Rank.  Mix things up! Include photos, videos, and links.
• Give your audience a clear direction.
• Consistent updates. Don’t let your page get stale. Don’t be afraid to update multiple times a week but make sure not to inundate your supporters (no more than 3 posts a day).
• Make sure your content is audience-centric. Use posts to create community and engage your audience.

3 Best Practices for Content

1. Less is more

• Posts between 100 and 200 characters (less than 3 lines of text) receive about 60% more likes, comments, and shares than posts with greater than 250 characters. – Facebook
• Can’t cut it down? Break it up! Separate out last line or links.

2. Mix up media

• Posts with media receive 120% more engagement! – Facebook
• High resolution photos: 403X403 pixels. Don’t post small photos.

3. Fill in the blank posts generate about 90% more engagement than other posts on average. – Facebook

Question & Answer

Q: How do you schedule a post?

A: There is a clock at the bottom of the box where you enter your post. Click on the post to schedule a post for the future or the past (so that the post appears on your timeline but not in your fans’ news feed).

Q: What Facebook pages do well?

A: Foundation Fighting Blindness and charity:water. Also look at organizations that are similar to yours. What are they posting that does well? What lessons can you learn from their social media?

Q: How much money should be budgeted to Facebook?

A: That’s a tough question because it of course depends on the size of your budget and the other things you’re budgeting. As Facebook evolves, it is becoming more important to spend money to make sure posts are seen on Facebook. This is something to consider and to watch closely.

Q: What is the return on investment?

A: It’s very hard to measure because Facebook isn’t isolated. Someone may learn about you on Facebook, but choose to donate offline. There’s a lot of value in creating awareness and building relationships that will benefit you in the long-term.

Q: How do I get people to Like my page?

A: You can upload your email list to Facebook and invite people to join that way. Partner with other organizations and close supporters to ask them to help share out your content and direct individuals to your page. When you’re having conversations with people, make sure to ask them to Like you on Facebook. Make sure that your website links to Facebook and that your donors can connect to you on Facebook through any of your other communications and outreach. Make sure your Facebook strategy is well-integrated into your organization’s overall outreach.

Q: What should I do if I have multiple pages for my organization?

A: Facebook makes it possible to merge your pages, which makes it easier to have your audience all in one place.

We were fortunate to have David Schaeffer, the Vice President of Development for Children’s Cancer Association, join us for the fourth session of the Online Fundraising
Academy! David has close to twenty years of fundraising experience, having worked in development for multiple organizations including Make A Wish Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and now, the Children’s Cancer Association. He shared his organization’s donor-centered approach to retention and how they retain 44% of their 10,000 active donors each year!

Session Recording: http://www.anymeeting.com/WebConference-beta/RecordingDefault.aspx?c_psrid=ED58D985824C

Session Notes:

CCA was started in 1995 by a family whose child died of cancer. They wanted to bring the same support to other families that they received during the process. They’ve created programs of joy for seriously ill children and their families.

David joined CCA in 2008. At the time, the organization  had 5.000 active donors and 63% were new each year. Today, the organization has 10,000 active donors and 56% are new every year.

Donor retention is VERY important for their strategic planning. Their goal is to increase their donor retention to 40%.

Donor Retention:

• Prospecting for new donors is time intensive and costly.
• Maintaining relationships with existing donors is generally less expensive (but probably just as time consuming).
• We know that the longer an organization gives to an organization, the more likely they are to continue to give.
• Average donor retention rates are falling throughout the non-profit sector as a result of the recession. But those rates are starting to improve.
• The Fundraising Effectiveness Project is an annual survey with more than 3,000 participating non-profits, representing more than 1.8 million donors. Each year, their reports help non-profits better understand the trends in the sector and benchmark their trends against other organizations in the sector.
  • Between 2006 and 2011, donor retention rates decreased by 10%
  • Overall, donor retention was 41% in 2010; that means that 59% of people did not give again!
  • Repeat donor (someone who has given multiple times before) retention was 70% in 2010
  • New donor retention (someone who gave for the first time) was only 27%
• Using this data, CCA was able to conclude that their donor retention rates were below average and focus more energy strengthening relationships with donors so they could increase their retention rates.

What are some causes of donor attrition?

• Some donors can no longer afford to donate (maybe because of the economy, their job situation, their stage in life, etc.)
• They have no memory of supporting the organization. This is particularly true for individuals who participate in events or special promotions, who are often not investing in the long-term mission of the organization, instead, they’re trying to benefit from the one time opportunity.
  • David used the example of a car raffle. CCA does an annual car raffle and they’ve found that individuals that give during that raffle are often not interested in CCA. They want to win a car! So, every year, CCA reaches back out to the individuals who participated in the car raffle the previous year to ask them to participate again,
  • It’s the organization’s job to make sure that these one-time donors understand why their donation made a difference and why they should consider continuing to support the organization.
• You’re asking them for the wrong amount. If a donor is a $10 donor and you ask them for $100, they may choose not to give. On the other hand, if you ask a $100 donor for $10, you may be missing out on an opportunity. It’s important to, when possible, segment your asks based on donors’ giving history and giving potential.
• They feel that other causes are more deserving.
• They  were not reminded to give again.
• They don’t feel connected to the non-profit organization.
• The organization didn’t tell them how their donation was used.

Ways to increase donor retention

• Know your average gift – CCA’s average gift is $70
  • Doing analysis on your donations and your donors will help you to forecast, conduct annual planning, and make donor-related decisions.
• 91 days lapse period; thank donors within 72 hours
  • If you do not communicate with your donor within 91 days of their gift, they will not give again.
• Personalize and segment your communication! Make sure to address your thank you communications to the individual who gave.  Segment your communications based on how and how much the donor gave.
• Show donors how their funds help you achieve your mission.
  • Penelope Burke’s book, Donor-Centered Fundraising is a great resource for this!

CCA Acknowledgement Standards – Major Gifts from Individuals, Foundation, and Corporations

• CCA created donor acknowledgement standards. They thank donors within 72 hours.
• CCA segments their individual donor thank yous based on the amount that the donor gave. Gifts of $500 – $999 receive a phone call in addition to a letter. Gifts of $1,000+ will receive a phone call and a small recognition item (chocolates, ceramic mug, or photo book)
• Hero Award about a specific child with a chronic illness that personifies being a hero for Foundations and Corporations that give $1,000 or more. For donations of $5,000 or more, they have a framed Hero Award, and for donations of $10,000 or more, they offer a shadowbox with ceramic heart and Hero Award.
• DO NOT include an another ask in the thank you and initial follow up communications!

Tips for writing a great thank you letter

• Personally addressed and personally signed
• No more than 2 short paragraphs
• Makes specific reference to the use of funds
• Indicates when the donor will receive an update on the program being funded
• Includes a name, phone number, and contact information for a staff member that the donor can connect with at anytime
• DO NOT INCLUDE ANOTHER ASK or ask the donor to complete a survey or another step.
• Thank you notes are all about donor stewardship and building a relationship.

Create a donor stewardship move management plan 

• Identify constituent groups at CCA that they want to develop relationships with.
  • Major donors, new donors, monthly donors, in-kind donors, GlobalGiving donors
  • Board members, Ambassador Board, past Board members, volunteers, event leaders, corporations, and foundations
• Create a menu of touches
  • Welcome letter, stewardship stories, CEO bi-annual progress letter
  •  Valentines gift, birthday email, holiday card/email
  • Chemo Pal e-newsletter
  • Volunteers e-newsletter
  • General e-newsletter (varies by constituency)
  • Volunteer appreciation gift
  • Personal visits & hospital tours
  •  Hero Gala, Wall of Courage event, Luncheon, Open House
• Assign specific touches to each constituent group
• Assign dates and a responsible staff member to each touch

Check out the recording to see CCA’s donor stewardship Excel document. It may give you some ideas for creating your own donor stewardship plan!

References:

• 2011 Fundraising Effectiveness Project Donor Retention Supplement
• Tom Ahern and Simone Joyaux, Know Your Donor: The Guide to Better Communications & Stronger Relationships, AFP Fund Development Series, John Wiley & Sons, 2008
• Joshua M. Birholz, Fundraising Analytics, John Wiley & Sons, 2008
• Penelope Burk, Donor Centered Fundraising, Burk & Associates, Ltd./Cygnus Applied Research, 2003
• Ken Burnett, Relationship Fundraising: A Donor-Based Approach to the Business of Raising Money, 2nd Edition, Jossey-Bass, 2002
• Adrian Sargeant, Elaine Jay, Building Donor Loyalty: The Fundraiser’s Guide to Increasing Lifetime Value, Jossey-Bass, 2004

Earlier this week, we were fortunate to have Paull Young, the Director of Digital Engagement at charity:water join us for the third Online Fundraising Academy session. He shared charity:water’s approach to attracting new donors (>400,000 in the last 6 years!).

Paull launched charity:water’s birthday campaign, helped pull off Twestival and now leads the team’s online presence. He is responsible for attracting new online donors to charity:water’s cause. Prior to joining charity:water, Paull led accounts for a social media agency and earned multiple awards for work with Fortune 500 brands.

Session Recording: http://www.anymeeting.com/WebConference-beta/RecordingDefault.aspx?c_psrid=ED57D7888148

charity:water’s approach:

100% Model

• Fundraise separately for water projects and administrative costs. Donors can feel confident that 100% of their donations go to water projects.
• Two bank accounts – one for administration, one for water projects
• Operations’ bank account covered by major donors who are interested in investing in the organization

Proof

• Every project that they implement, they mark on Google maps so people can see where their money is going.

Brand

• Build a brand like Apple or Nike. They want people to love their brand and recognize it like other corporate brands.
• They have developed an amazing brand team which produces amazing content online that inspires people and drives donations.

No direct mail. All online.

Inspiration: Most important part of digital strategy.

• Inspire people to go out there and take action.
• Invest in creatives. Invest time and energy in developing inspiring content.
• Visual storytelling and great photography - Use instagram to share cell phone photography
• charity:water has worked hard to convey their message and need in a compelling and inspiring way. Their Water Changes Everything video is a good example of that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCHhwxvQqxg.
• Engaging people on social media. Spend time in these environments, interacting with supporters and followers. To date, the Founder and Paull, the Director of Digital Engagement have managed the organization’s social media. It doesn’t require a huge staff investment.
• Create campaigns around specific needs (ex: drilling rig) and inspire individual fundraisers to reach out to family and friends. For this particular campaign, they motivated about 1,200 fundraisers to reach more than 12,000 individual donors.

MyCharityWater.org – Peer to peer fundraising

• Fundraising platform that allows people to take charity:water’s story and make it their own and to reach out to family and friends to ask for donations.
• Similar to GlobalGiving’s fundraiser pages that allow donors to create their own fundraiser page with their own photos and goal and to reach out to family and friends: http://www.globalgiving.org/dy/v2/fundraiser-new/type
• Website created in 2009, when it became clear that peer-to-peer fundraising was a really successful fundraising strategy for charity:water
• Have raised $20 million from more than 360,000 individuals. The average fundraiser raises $1,000 from 13 new donors.

Give. Raise. Influence.

• Inspire the fundraisers! Fundraising is incredibly difficult. charity:water needs to help inspire and motivate people to feel more confident about fundraising.
• When thinking about supporters of the organization, they don’t just perceive them as individual donors, but potential long-term fundraisers and influencers.
• Deliver great content to fundraisers, inspire them, give them the tools to thank and update their donors.
• A lot of unique stories have emerged–One little girl ate only rice and beans for a month in an effort to raise money for charity:water.  Two different individuals committed to walk across America to raise money. Cubby did a  campaign “save or shave his epic beard.” Sarah swam naked across the San Francisco Bay.

See your impact: Digital customer experience

• Show every donor exactly where their money went. What well they supported and where it is.
• Photos of the village, GPS coordinates, and brief, written update.

Question & Answer

Q: How do you get regular stories and pictures from the field?

A: charity:water sends professional photographers to the field. For organizations with smaller budgets, you might consider recruiting photographers to volunteer with your projects in the field. charity:water is also working to better train their own field staff to take better photos and to post them on instagram. charity:water has chosen to invest in photography because the results can be very inspiring and motivating for supporters.

Q: Do you design fundraisers for your supporters or do they design the fundraisers themselves? How do your fundraisers find out about charity:water?

A: Fundraisers find out about charity:water via word of mouth or online content. They get inspired and come up with their own fundraiser ideas. charity:water does not create the fundraisers–they’re all created by the individuals! GlobalGiving also offers a similar fundraiser feature: http://www.globalgiving.org/dy/v2/fundraiser-new/type.

Q: How would you suggest an organization with a $40,000 budget a year best go about implementing some of the suggestions you’ve made? How can they best build a digital strategy?

A: It depends on where your strengths lie. Having some great creative talent can be really impactful. There are people out there who would like to commit and invest time and energy in telling your story. Spend a weekend watching amazing videos on Youtube and try to track down who made them. Video doesn’t have to be the answer but it’s one great way to tell your story. You have nothing to lose. Get out there and try stuff! Get out there and share photos. Get close to the impact you’re having. Post photos online. Thank donors.

Q: What are your most effective tweets? How do you build a following on Twitter? How do you engage your audience without being annoying?

A: If you don’t have anything interesting say, don’t say anything at all. Be an organic part of a conversation, just like personal conversations. Listen to people. Find ways to add value. Engage in conversations you care about. It’s more important what other people are saying about charity:water than what the organization says about themselves.

Q: How do you go about building relationships with celebrities and more well-known donors?

A: Personal introductions. Building trust. The Founder typically has those types of relationships. It helps that charity:water’s brand is cool. This is just one of the many reasons that brand is so important.

Peter Panepento from The Chronicle of Philanthropy joined us yesterday for the second session of our Online Fundraising Academy. He showed off an incredible tool on the Chronicle’s website which shares giving data by ZIP code and by income level in every city and town in the United States!

Session recording: http://www.anymeeting.com/WebConference-beta/RecordingDefault.aspx?c_psrid=ED57DE888049

Session notes:

About Peter: Peter oversees The Chronicle’s online presence. He reports in depth on issues such as fund raising, endowments, cause-related marketing, donor-advised funds, and planned giving. Read Peter’s bio here.

How America Gives - http://philanthropy.com/section/How-America-Gives/621/

This project came about when The Chronicle discovered that the IRS had provided information about donations that Americans had claimed on their income taxes in 2008 broken down by income bracket and zip code.

• The research examines more than 35.2 million tax returns;
• In seven income brackets;
• In >28,000 zip codes

The data accounts for more than $135 billion in charitable donations (out of about $214 billion in charitable giving in 2008).

Nationwide, the typical household gave $2,564, about 4.7% of their discretionary income, to charity in 2008.

The information is broken down in four ways:

• Total contributions – Total amount given by all households (earning more than $50,000 a year) in each zip code
• Median contribution – A typical household contribution to charity in a given community
• Median discretionary income – Median income after taxes, housing, and living expenses have been paid
• Percent given – The value of contributions divided by discretionary income

Each of these metrics are available to view:

• By three different income brackets
• By zip code, town, county, metro area, or state

The data set also includes demographic information such as race, age, and education level.

This data does not include:

• Donations made by individuals who did not itemize their donations on their taxes
• Information how donations were allocated (local organizations, churches, international organizations, universities, etc.)

Take some time to explore the tool on The Chronicle’s website. Get started here!

Why is this information valuable:

• The data gives you greater insight into the typical charitable contribution by household in the communities that your supporters live in; you can better understand the potential for donation volume within the communities that you’re engaging.
• This data can help you make smarter decisions about the donor communities that you’re targeting for your outreach. This might apply specifically to direct mail campaigns.
• This data can help you better engage your existing volunteers, advocates, and board members in the U.S. You can use this information to help your supporters better understand the giving potential within the communities that they come from in and effort to help encourage them to conduct outreach on your behalf. 

Additional online fundraising data - http://philanthropy.com/article/Online-Fundraising-Makes-Gains/136125/

The Chronicle uses online fundraising data provided quarterly by Blackbaud, Network for Good, and PayPal to analyze online giving by time of day, day of the week, month gift size, and location. This information could be very useful for understanding when and how much people give.

Question & Answer

Question: Does this data include giving to churches?

Answer: Yes. Church giving is a very big percentage of what people donate every year. You can see some basic information about giving to secular causeshere.

Question: Is it possible to use this data to determine what people are giving to?

Answer: No. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to determine what people are giving to. However, the IRS recently made available data on giving by charity based on 990 data (U.S. tax returns filed by non-profit organizations). The Chronicle is looking to break this down by zip code to see if people are giving in their home communities or throughout the country or world. This data is for over a million charities. It will take several months to do this analysis.

Question: How have other fundraisers used this information to inform their work?

Answer: An arts institute in Texas was doing an exhibit tour in their area. They wanted to find communities in their surrounding area that have traditionally been more generous to include in their tour. Other organizations have used the data to learn more about the giving trends of the communities that their donors live in and to determine if there are nearby communities that they would like to engage. Many organizations have been using the data to compare with their own donor databases to make smarter decisions about their fundraising.

Question: If you were a small community based organization outside of the U.S. with a donor community within the U.S., how would you leverage this tool and information to better identify and engage potential donors?

Answer: Let’s say you’re doing a direct mail campaign and you have limited resources, you might try to target your mailings to folks in higher giving areas. You might also reach out to your existing donors and networks in higher giving areas and ask for their help in spreading the word and promoting your cause.

Question: How can organizations determine the top giving zip codes in the U.S.? Is there a round up of some of the most valuable data available on the site?

Answer: The Chronicle has put together a round up of giving by state–most giving to least giving. The website also provides giving information by metro areas.

Question: How often do you plan on updating the information on the site? If the information is from 2008, how much do you think the information has changed in the last five years?

Answer: The Chronicle relies on information from the IRS to update this information. The IRS has not released new information but they are watching out for it and plan to update it when the information is available. Because of the repression, it is possible that these numbers have changed and it will be very interesting to see.

Earlier this week, we kicked off the Online Fundraising Academy! Forty-five organizations have been invited to participate in the 2-month online course.

To get things started, Kelly Voss, the Director of Development for Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project joined us for the first session to talk about the ways that her organization has taken fundraising to the next level over the past several years and the steps they are taking to continue to grow and improve their fundraising.

Session Recording: http://www.anymeeting.com/globalgiving/ED56DB898047

Session Notes:

Kelly sees passion, compelling photos, and compelling stories as the drivers of Nyaka’s success.

Know what motivates you.

• For Kelly, it’s a photo of the pit latrine that one of the Nyaka grandmothers uses everyday. It’s a reminder of the importance and value of her work.

Know your mission and your story.

• Your story is even more important than your mission. 
• Check out Nyaka’s stories on GlobalGiving here: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/help-educate-aids-orphans-in-africa/updates/.
• Be prepared to sit down next to someone and tell them about your work. You should be prepared to do this every day.
• Focus on YOU language. Make it all about your donors. Not about you and your organization. Take a look at Nyaka’s project reports to see how they use YOU language: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/help-educate-aids-orphans-in-africa/updates/.
• Additional resources: Tom Ahern, http://aherncomm.com/news.php

Personalize your donor asks.

• Make sure that every email communication you send is customized to the individual donor.
• Send donor thanks you’s within 48 hours. It will set you above the rest!
• Whenever possible, have face-to-face meetings with your donors.
• It can take 7 no’s to get a yes.

Establish a great team!

• Take the time to establish a strong team!
• Develop individual work plans for each member of the team using the strategic plan. It’s easier to understand who is doing what.
• Come from a place of inquiry. Instead of being right, ask your team members how they would like to do something.

Your Champions! (Also known as your board)

• Create passion on your board.
• Help your board take fiscal responsibility for your organization. Your board should be involved in budgeting and financial decision making.
• At Nyaka, Kelly and her team send board members email stories on Fridays, right before they head out to socialize on the weekend.
• You need a good mix of board members–conservative members, visionaries, and individuals with deep pockets.
• Nyaka’s board meets 6 times a year.
• Additional resource: Sign up for Gail Perry’s newsletters! She has great, fresh new ideas on board fundraising and more. http://www.gailperry.com/

Development Committee – Goldmine of advice!

• Cover Your Booty! This is a group of people who are on  your side. They understand your development strategy and they can help you make your case with your board, founder, and more.
• The development committee may include board members but it is also made up of outside volunteers.
• The development committee will help you come up with your fundraising plan and implement your plan.
• The development committee meets about 6 times a year. They’re there to help brainstorm fundraising ideas.

Founder’s Syndrome

• When you have a small organization started by an individual with a vision, you have a situation where the founder has invested his/her life and then suddenly people come in with new ideas. There can be some difficulties and tough conversations.
• Be prepared to ask questions, listen, learn, and be patient.
• Use the development committee to help you help the founder understand your ideas and where you’re coming from.
• Practice making your idea someone else’s. Bring your ideas to your board, your supervisor, etc. and make them see the idea as their own.

Exercise - yes, really!

• Take at least 15 minutes everyday to get outside and get some fresh air.  It will make a huge difference in your fundraising.

Major Donors, Corporations, Individuals, Monthly Donors, and More

• 80% of your money will come from 20% of your donors. 
• Familiarize yourself with the concept of the donor pyramid (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-donor-pyramid.htm). Your goal is to move donors up the pyramid to become generous, life-long supporters.
• If you’re not yet at a place where you have a full-time development staff, you should be meeting with potential major donors and individual donors face-to-face.
• Guidestar is hosting a free webinar next week on major donor fundraising on April 30th. Sign up here. 

Leverage relationships!

• Use relationships to get free design work, free strategic planning.
• Recruit interns. They’re free and eager to learn!
• Tap into fellow development professionals.
• Sign up for newsletters from other, similar organizations. See what they’re doing that works.

Questions &  Answer

Q: “You say it’s all about the story, which I agree with, but how does Nyaka get people to read the story in the first place.”

• Starting early  on, the Founder has done a great job promoting the heck out of Nyaka. He has written books, been featured on CNN, Clinton Global Initiative, GlobalGiving, and much more.
• Rely on your volunteers. At Nyaka, Kelly has a group called the “Friends of Nyaka,” which they engage around specific promotions like GlobalGiving Bonus Day.
• It’s really thinking about how you can really leverage relationships. It’s all about relationships!

Q: You  had mentioned that there were some infrastructure improvements that you made to help you improve the way that you interact with donors. I wonder if you could talk about some of the infrastructure improvements you’ve made at Nyaka to help improve your interactions with donors.

• Create a brief case statement written in the first person so that anytime someone asks to learn more about your organization, you can copy and paste content that’s already been prepared. This case statement should help you with your grant proposals, donor inquiries and more.
• Nyaka also took their annual report, which used to be 20 pages, and trimmed it down to 4, in an effort to increase readership.
• Update on GlobalGiving every month. Use updates to tell stories.
• Nyaka uses Constant Contact to send regular donor newsletters and updates.
• Make sure your donors know your donors and your team knows your donors.
• Make sure you have a database of donors! Nyaka uses Sage Fundraising. Other organizations use Blackbaud. Kelly says that if she died today, someone else could easily come in and do her job. They have developed the necessary infrastructure to make that possible.
• Kelly suggests reaching out to some of your biggest and brightest donors and asking for their help in investing in fundraising software and infrastructure. Go to the people who really truly support  your mission, and have for years, when you need additional infrastructure support.

Q:  What do you think was the step that Nyaka took right before they hired you? How did they get to the point where they were ready to hire a full-time staff person for fundraising?

• Nyaka wasn’t planning to hire Kelly! She was originally hired as a part time grant writer. The board of directors realized that they needed to diversify their fundraising so they went to one of their major donors, who was savvy and recognized the need for the organization to develop some additional infrastructure, and asked to hire her. This is the same way that Jackson, the Founder, was hired as a full-time staff member.

Stay tuned for recordings and summaries from other Academy sessions! Next week, we are thrilled to welcome Peter Panepento, Assistant Managing Editor at The Chronicle of Philanthropy. He will share the Chronicle’s recent research on How America Gives, which examined giving data by ZIP code and by income level in every city and town in the United States. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the research before the session next week! Visit the website here.