Sharp Thoughts -- our Blog
More on Year-End Solicitations"It's the most wonderful time of the year ..." yeah, not the old holiday standard, but the time when your mailbox is probably full of direct mail pieces. You can almost hear the sobs and gasps as the trees die one by one to make more paper.
Driving home the other night, I had another one of those little epiphanies. A billboard caught my eye because on it was a beautiful large close-up of a young girl who was bald from chemotherapy. It said "Emma vs. Cancer" and informed me that I could help Emma beat cancer if I gave to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. This billboard is part of St. Jude's annual "Thanks for Giving" year-end campaign, and what got me was that they were following the old rule of KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid).
An eye-catching visual showing the person your donation will help (emotional hook!)
A short and to-the-point appeal.
Contact information (URL and phone number).
No wonder St. Jude's is such a fundraising powerhouse.
Their approach is instructive for all of us, whether it's a year-end appeal or a case for annual support or even a case for support for a major gifts campaign.
December 3, 2009 by Linda Garrison
------------------------
Not Your Same-Old-Same-Old Cultivation Technique
My phone rang the other morning. That in itself isn't an unusual situation, but what followed blew me away.
"My name is Cara," the person told me, "and I'm a client with CWEE. I'm calling to thank you for your donation last year. It made a difference for me."
I told the caller she was quite welcome, she thanked me and hung up.
That was it.
No ask. No nothing.
What makes this unusual is that for CWEE, I'm probably considered a major donor. That's because after my mother passed away in 2008, I donated more than $2,000 worth of "new with tags" business clothes to CWEE's dress for success program. A few weeks after the donation, I received a hand-written note from the person I'd interacted with, followed by a thank-you from the executive director, Laurie Harvey. I've received very few solicitations since then.
So. End of the year. No 2009 donation. Potential lapsed donor.
And that's the brilliance of this very simple, very effective technique. Get one of the clients, the "end user" of the donation, if you will, to humbly and sincerely say "thanks."
Put a human face on the cause and create an emotional response.
December 2, 2009 by Linda Garrison
----------------------------
Fancy Pants and the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse
Today's New York Times features an article by Stephanie Strom, detailing the woes a number of nonprofits are experiencing from getting in over their organizational heads with debt and what one nonprofit exec terms "fancy pants financing."
Debt and risky financial behavior has become what the article dubs the "fourth horseman of the non-profit apocalypse." Even mega-endowments like those of Harvard and Brandeis Universities have taken immense hits, due partly to the market's collapse last year and partly because of risky investments in instruments such as hedge funds.
Experts are predicting that as bond ratings change and non-profits scramble to pay off their capital campaign debts, a day of reckoning is on the horizon. Program closures, layoffs and even closing the doors of well-respected NPOs is in the cards.
A bright light, in our opinion, is a new product offered by BBVA Compass Bank. We just finished meeting with a couple of executives with BBVA's nonprofit and healthcare groups, and must admit we're impressed, especially with a new product they are offering as an alternative to bond financing. (If you're interested, let us know and we'll connect you.)
September 24, 2009 by Linda Garrison
----------------------------
Melting?
The economy of the past year brings to mind the scene in “The Wizard of Oz” when Dorothy Gail throws a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch of the West, triggering the Green One's literal meltdown.
Certainly, this has been the most difficult climate in our professional lives. Everyone is nervous.
And therein lies the problem.
Fear
FDR said in his first inaugural address: “... the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
While there is a lot to be concerned about, many nonprofits are absolutely immersed in fear. Let's face it: Fear was a big part of the nonprofit subtext way before the economy started to tumble. Let's take a look at a few of them.
We’re afraid that:
• Donors will complain.
• Someone will get mad.
• We’ll get sued.
• We’ll fail.
• We’ll succeed.
• We’ll lose our good reputation.
• We’ll lose our funding.
But what exactly does fear do? It:
• Paralyzes you.
• Makes you mediocre or even worse.
• Makes you short-sighted.
• Drives you toward making bad decisions.
The antidote is simple to articulate but sometimes difficult to do.
Face your fears. Name them.
Ask yourself this: What horrible thing will happen if:
• Your donors complain? Look at it more positively. Thist could be an opportunity to develop a better relationship with that individual by responding positively to their complaints and creating dialogue and more understanding.
• Someone gets mad? Someone always gets mad. If you’re doing anything impactful, you’re going to be noticed and count on it: somebody will get mad!
• You’ll get sued? You can get sued at any time, even if the postal worker slips on your sidewalk or you’re in a fender bender.
• You’ll fail. If you don’t try, nothing will happen. You won’t fail and you won’t succeed. If you DO try, you might fail. And failure is often a necessary part of attaining better results in the future.
• You’ll succeed. Some organizations (and people) thrive on dysfunction. If you can honestly admit you’re afraid of success, you’re a step closer to achieving it.
• You’ll lose your good reputation. Just like litigation, a loss of reputation can occur at any time. All you can do is keep on keeping on and hold your head up knowing that you’re doing the best you possibly can.
• You’ll lose your funding. This is a likely fear, especially if you’re afraid of failure. It’s likely because you’ll be too timid to be innovative, you’ll probably agree to development staff cuts, you’ll lose your focus and your vitality.
Disarm fear by facing it. Fear and panic are the easiest way for a nonprofit to commit recession suicide. Drastic staff reductions, drastic program or budget reductions are much more toxic than the recession itself.
Donors
Love them!
A new psychological study strongly suggests that buying life experiences rather than material possessions leads to greater happiness for the consumer because they satisfy higher order needs.
Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, then ask: How can I create an experience in my donors’ lives? By creating something:
• Memorable/
• Cool; and
• Experiential.
Now is the time to think – and act – like an entrepreneur, not a churchmouse. Talk vision and transformation, and then seek out that donor who can truly give a transformational gift.
Don’t use the economy as an excuse to hide behind your desk. Now is the time to get out in front of them. Don’t make their decisions for them – offer them the opportunity to help and allow them to make their own decision.
Show donors that their participation is genuinely world-changing.
Don’t use the situation to cry wolf – do let donors know the situation your organization is in, and if your organization is in trouble, tell your supporters. Timidity never raised any money.
Continue to create a donor “pipeline” – focus more on cultivation and communication rather than asks. You’ll end up ahead of the curve.
Don’t focus on the transactional (i.e., X$ = these benefits.)
Develop genuine relationships with your donors as people, not ATMs.
Consider matching or challenge grants, especially dollar-for-dollar challenges.
Consider monthly giving programs.
September 2, 2009 by Linda Garrison
-------------------------------------
Women and the Power of Philanthropy
I recently returned from the Giving Institute's Summer Seminar where the latest research on fundraising in the U.S. was outlined to the participating 35 leading American consulting firms. Nearly all the data came from studies conducted for the Giving Institute by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.
If your nonprofit is concerned with how giving differs between men and women, how the "Silent Generation" differs from all others, the role women are playing in philanthropy (including what motivates them), what younger philanthropists expect from nonprofits, Latino philanthropy, and the evolving importance of social media, then contact us!
We have already seen several examples of how spot on the research is: Last week in conducting a feasibility study interview for a client, the female interviewee indicated that she "loved" the organization but that her husband had given her "strict orders not to commit to gift at any level"-- which she complied with when asked if she and her husband would consider a pledge. I put down my notes and looked at her and said, "I've just returned from a great conference where we learned that married women can and do influence the gift decisions in their households -- now more than ever before."
She looked back at me, smiled and she said, "You got that right!"
We believe they will, in fact, make a gift because she then offered what she called "a few suggestions" on what the organization needed to do to bring her husband along. We have a great plan and we know we have a partnership with her!
Fundraising has been and will continue to be relational, but we are now able to apply more research to our work with clients who, in turn, can use it to improve their efforts on behalf of this mighty profession.
Aug. 3, 2009 by Bob Sharp
-------------------------------------------
Gender Does Count.
Recently, the Journal of Marketing published a paper by three Dutch researchers that explores gender-based differences in customer loyalty. We think it's fascinating, and can be easily applied to fundraising.
Authors Valentyna Melnyk, Stijn M.J. van Osselaer, & Tammo H.A. Bijmolt say that these differences are based on fundamental psychological differences between the sexes. Female customers are more loyal than their male counterparts to individuals -- think of hair dressers, physicians and sales people. But men are more loyal to companies and organizations, e.g., the hair salon, the medical clinic and the store.
Apply this to fundraising. This would mean that female prospects and donors, in general, will require more personal, one-on-one attention, in other words, relationships. It also means that in a large nonprofit with many fundraisers, the focus should be on one donor "manager". Secondly, male donors may well prefer to be part of group activities, or to be considered "part of" ... which ties very much into the psychology of impact we often talk about in terms of capital campaigns.
To retain donors, strategies such as rotating donor managers or assigning a team to male prospects may be more effective.
Apply this to your donor database and create your strategies based on this new psychology. We think you'll have some interesting findings to report back.
And please do contact us at info@rbsco.com
July 27, 2009 by Linda Garrison Fancy Pants and the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse
Today's New York Times features an article by Stephanie Strom, detailing the woes a number of nonprofits are experiencing from getting in over their organizational heads with debt and what one nonprofit exec terms "fancy pants financing."
Debt and risky financial behavior has become what the article dubs the "fourth horseman of the non-profit apocalypse." Even mega-endowments like those of Harvard and Brandeis Universities have taken immense hits, due partly to the market's collapse last year and partly because of risky investments in instruments such as hedge funds.
Experts are predicting that as bond ratings change and non-profits scramble to pay off their capital campaign debts, a day of reckoning is on the horizon. Program closures, layoffs and even closing the doors of well-respected NPOs is in the cards.
A bright light, in our opinion, is a new product offered by BBVA Compass Bank. We just finished meeting with a couple of executives with BBVA's nonprofit and healthcare groups, and must admit we're impressed, especially with a new product they are offering as an alternative to bond financing. (If you're interested, let us know and we'll connect you.)
September 24, 2009 by Linda Garrison
----------------------------
Melting?
The economy of the past year brings to mind the scene in “The Wizard of Oz” when Dorothy Gail throws a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch of the West, triggering the Green One's literal meltdown.
Certainly, this has been the most difficult climate in our professional lives. Everyone is nervous.
And therein lies the problem.
Fear
FDR said in his first inaugural address: “... the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”
While there is a lot to be concerned about, many nonprofits are absolutely immersed in fear. Let's face it: Fear was a big part of the nonprofit subtext way before the economy started to tumble. Let's take a look at a few of them.
We’re afraid that:
• Donors will complain.
• Someone will get mad.
• We’ll get sued.
• We’ll fail.
• We’ll succeed.
• We’ll lose our good reputation.
• We’ll lose our funding.
But what exactly does fear do? It:
• Paralyzes you.
• Makes you mediocre or even worse.
• Makes you short-sighted.
• Drives you toward making bad decisions.
The antidote is simple to articulate but sometimes difficult to do.
Face your fears. Name them.
Ask yourself this: What horrible thing will happen if:
• Your donors complain? Look at it more positively. Thist could be an opportunity to develop a better relationship with that individual by responding positively to their complaints and creating dialogue and more understanding.
• Someone gets mad? Someone always gets mad. If you’re doing anything impactful, you’re going to be noticed and count on it: somebody will get mad!
• You’ll get sued? You can get sued at any time, even if the postal worker slips on your sidewalk or you’re in a fender bender.
• You’ll fail. If you don’t try, nothing will happen. You won’t fail and you won’t succeed. If you DO try, you might fail. And failure is often a necessary part of attaining better results in the future.
• You’ll succeed. Some organizations (and people) thrive on dysfunction. If you can honestly admit you’re afraid of success, you’re a step closer to achieving it.
• You’ll lose your good reputation. Just like litigation, a loss of reputation can occur at any time. All you can do is keep on keeping on and hold your head up knowing that you’re doing the best you possibly can.
• You’ll lose your funding. This is a likely fear, especially if you’re afraid of failure. It’s likely because you’ll be too timid to be innovative, you’ll probably agree to development staff cuts, you’ll lose your focus and your vitality.
Disarm fear by facing it. Fear and panic are the easiest way for a nonprofit to commit recession suicide. Drastic staff reductions, drastic program or budget reductions are much more toxic than the recession itself.
Donors
Love them!
A new psychological study strongly suggests that buying life experiences rather than material possessions leads to greater happiness for the consumer because they satisfy higher order needs.
Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, then ask: How can I create an experience in my donors’ lives? By creating something:
• Memorable/
• Cool; and
• Experiential.
Now is the time to think – and act – like an entrepreneur, not a churchmouse. Talk vision and transformation, and then seek out that donor who can truly give a transformational gift.
Don’t use the economy as an excuse to hide behind your desk. Now is the time to get out in front of them. Don’t make their decisions for them – offer them the opportunity to help and allow them to make their own decision.
Show donors that their participation is genuinely world-changing.
Don’t use the situation to cry wolf – do let donors know the situation your organization is in, and if your organization is in trouble, tell your supporters. Timidity never raised any money.
Continue to create a donor “pipeline” – focus more on cultivation and communication rather than asks. You’ll end up ahead of the curve.
Don’t focus on the transactional (i.e., X$ = these benefits.)
Develop genuine relationships with your donors as people, not ATMs.
Consider matching or challenge grants, especially dollar-for-dollar challenges.
Consider monthly giving programs.
September 2, 2009 by Linda Garrison
-------------------------------------
Women and the Power of Philanthropy
I recently returned from the Giving Institute's Summer Seminar where the latest research on fundraising in the U.S. was outlined to the participating 35 leading American consulting firms. Nearly all the data came from studies conducted for the Giving Institute by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.
If your nonprofit is concerned with how giving differs between men and women, how the "Silent Generation" differs from all others, the role women are playing in philanthropy (including what motivates them), what younger philanthropists expect from nonprofits, Latino philanthropy, and the evolving importance of social media, then contact us!
We have already seen several examples of how spot on the research is: Last week in conducting a feasibility study interview for a client, the female interviewee indicated that she "loved" the organization but that her husband had given her "strict orders not to commit to gift at any level"-- which she complied with when asked if she and her husband would consider a pledge. I put down my notes and looked at her and said, "I've just returned from a great conference where we learned that married women can and do influence the gift decisions in their households -- now more than ever before."
She looked back at me, smiled and she said, "You got that right!"
We believe they will, in fact, make a gift because she then offered what she called "a few suggestions" on what the organization needed to do to bring her husband along. We have a great plan and we know we have a partnership with her!
Fundraising has been and will continue to be relational, but we are now able to apply more research to our work with clients who, in turn, can use it to improve their efforts on behalf of this mighty profession.
Aug. 3, 2009 by Bob Sharp
-------------------------------------------
Gender Does Count.
Recently, the Journal of Marketing published a paper by three Dutch researchers that explores gender-based differences in customer loyalty. We think it's fascinating, and can be easily applied to fundraising.
Authors Valentyna Melnyk, Stijn M.J. van Osselaer, & Tammo H.A. Bijmolt say that these differences are based on fundamental psychological differences between the sexes. Female customers are more loyal than their male counterparts to individuals -- think of hair dressers, physicians and sales people. But men are more loyal to companies and organizations, e.g., the hair salon, the medical clinic and the store.
Apply this to fundraising. This would mean that female prospects and donors, in general, will require more personal, one-on-one attention, in other words, relationships. It also means that in a large nonprofit with many fundraisers, the focus should be on one donor "manager". Secondly, male donors may well prefer to be part of group activities, or to be considered "part of" ... which ties very much into the psychology of impact we often talk about in terms of capital campaigns.
To retain donors, strategies such as rotating donor managers or assigning a team to male prospects may be more effective.
Apply this to your donor database and create your strategies based on this new psychology. We think you'll have some interesting findings to report back.
And please do contact us at info@rbsco.com
July 27, 2009 by Linda Garrison
------------------------
New ResearchI recently returned from the Giving Institute's Summer Seminar where the latest research on fundraising in the U.S. was outlined to the participating 35 leading American consulting firms. Nearly all the data came from studies conducted for the Giving Institute by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.
If your nonprofit is concerned with how giving differs between men and women, how the "Silent Generation" differs from all others, the role women are playing in philanthropy (including what motivates them), what younger philanthropists expect from nonprofits, Latino philanthropy, and the evolving importance of social media, then contact us!
We have already seen several examples of how spot on the research is: Last week in conducting a feasibility study interview for a client, the female interviewee indicated that she "loved" the organization but that her husband had given her "strict orders not to commit to gift at any level"-- which she complied with when asked if she and her husband would consider a pledge. I put down my notes and looked at her and said, "I've just returned from a great conference where we learned that married women can and do influence the gift decisions in their households -- now more than ever before."
She looked back at me, smiled and she said, "You got that right!"
We believe they will, in fact, make a gift because she then offered what she called "a few suggestions" on what the organization needed to do to bring her husband along. We have a great plan and we know we have a partnership with her!
Fundraising has been and will continue to be relational, but we are now able to apply more research to our work with clients who, in turn, can use it to improve their efforts on behalf of this mighty profession.
Aug. 3, 2009 by Bob Sharp
-------------------------------------------
Recently, the Journal of Marketing published a paper by three Dutch researchers that explores gender-based differences in customer loyalty. We think it's fascinating, and can be easily applied to fundraising.
Authors Valentyna Melnyk, Stijn M.J. van Osselaer, & Tammo H.A. Bijmolt say that these differences are based on fundamental psychological differences between the sexes. Female customers are more loyal than their male counterparts to individuals -- think of hair dressers, physicians and sales people. But men are more loyal to companies and organizations, e.g., the hair salon, the medical clinic and the store.
Apply this to fundraising. This would mean that female prospects and donors, in general, will require more personal, one-on-one attention, in other words, relationships. It also means that in a large nonprofit with many fundraisers, the focus should be on one donor "manager". Secondly, male donors may well prefer to be part of group activities, or to be considered "part of" ... which ties very much into the psychology of impact we often talk about in terms of capital campaigns.
To retain donors, strategies such as rotating donor managers or assigning a team to male prospects may be more effective.
Apply this to your donor database and create your strategies based on this new psychology. We think you'll have some interesting findings to report back.
And please do contact us at info@rbsco.com
July 27, 2009 by Linda Garrison
------------------------
New ResearchI recently returned from the Giving Institute's Summer Seminar where the latest research on fundraising in the U.S. was outlined to the participating 35 leading American consulting firms. Nearly all the data came from studies conducted for the Giving Institute by Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy.
If your nonprofit is concerned with how giving differs between men and women, how the "Silent Generation" differs from all others, the role women are playing in philanthropy (including what motivates them), what younger philanthropists expect from nonprofits, Latino philanthropy, and the evolving importance of social media, then contact us!
We have already seen several examples of how spot on the research is: Last week in conducting a feasibility study interview for a client, the female interviewee indicated that she "loved" the organization but that her husband had given her "strict orders not to commit to gift at any level"-- which she complied with when asked if she and her husband would consider a pledge. I put down my notes and looked at her and said, "I've just returned from a great conference where we learned that married women can and do influence the gift decisions in their households -- now more than ever before."
She looked back at me, smiled and she said, "You got that right!"
We believe they will, in fact, make a gift because she then offered what she called "a few suggestions" on what the organization needed to do to bring her husband along. We have a great plan and we know we have a partnership with her!
Fundraising has been and will continue to be relational, but we are now able to apply more research to our work with clients who, in turn, can use it to improve their efforts on behalf of this mighty profession.
Aug. 3, 2009 by Bob Sharp
-------------------------------------------
Recently, the Journal of Marketing published a paper by three Dutch researchers that explores gender-based differences in customer loyalty. We think it's fascinating, and can be easily applied to fundraising.
Authors Valentyna Melnyk, Stijn M.J. van Osselaer, & Tammo H.A. Bijmolt say that these differences are based on fundamental psychological differences between the sexes. Female customers are more loyal than their male counterparts to individuals -- think of hair dressers, physicians and sales people. But men are more loyal to companies and organizations, e.g., the hair salon, the medical clinic and the store.
Apply this to fundraising. This would mean that female prospects and donors, in general, will require more personal, one-on-one attention, in other words, relationships. It also means that in a large nonprofit with many fundraisers, the focus should be on one donor "manager". Secondly, male donors may well prefer to be part of group activities, or to be considered "part of" ... which ties very much into the psychology of impact we often talk about in terms of capital campaigns.
To retain donors, strategies such as rotating donor managers or assigning a team to male prospects may be more effective.
Apply this to your donor database and create your strategies based on this new psychology. We think you'll have some interesting findings to report back.
And please do contact us at info@rbsco.com
July 27, 2009 by Linda Garrison
