Remember…It’s Not About You – It’s About Your Donors

Update your website with a ThanksforGiving theme. Keep in mind your donors enabled your organization to meet its mission thus far this year.

Show prospects who have already given the Faces of Philanthropy in your Honor Roll thus far this year.  Display pictures of a cross section of donors.

Showcase your Mission and how it is helping those affected in these tough times. Post photos of the smiling faces of those you have helped.

Add a page to your website – Look Who Is Talking About Us, testimonials from community leaders about your effectiveness in meeting your mission.

Demonstrate the consequences of not meeting your giving goal and how that affects your mission.

Encourage pledges if prospects can’t make a year-end cash gift and allow them to give on their terms.  Most prospects feel all your organization wants is cash now.  Yes, you need it, but give donors the option to pledge now and pay later, when their financial situation improves.

Divide and Conquer

Split your LYBUNTS into three categories as follows:

Send a renewal reminder to donors under $100 via an eye catching post card on where to send a check or how to give online at your website.

Send a first class letter to those who gave $100 to $999, a personal salutation and P.S. note signed by a board member or another person the donor will know.

Meet in person with LYBUNTS of $1,000 or more and ask in person. Enlist a team of volunteers to get this done.

When Making the Ask (From my book: Take the Fear Out of Asking for Major Gifts)

Change your mindset from asking to inviting your major gift prospect to come along for the ride, make a difference, by helping your organization meet its mission.

Take a donor or board member with you when extending the invitation to give. One of you makes the case, as noted below, the other answers objections as they come up.

Give the prospect a sense of urgency.  Why is his/her gift needed NOW?

Engage the prospect when you meet with him/her. Don’t skip the social amenities.  Thank the prospect for seeing/meeting with you and promise to be brief and to the point.

Present your case to the prospect by answering these four key questions every donor deserves to have answered by your organization:

Where we have been…
Where we are today…
Where we are going in the future…
And what philanthropic investments/gifts are needed to get there NOW

Then stop talking.  Listen and be prepared to answer any objections.

Overcome Objections to Giving Now

“I am waiting for the economy to turn around before I give.  Times are tough right now.”

I couldn’t agree with you more. Times are tough, we see it in the demand for our programs and services, our numbers have never been higher. For example…

“I can’t afford to give now.”

I understand, many others have told us this as well.  Will you consider a pledge which you can pay in 2010?

“I have so many requests sitting on my desk — why should I give to your organization?”

We are very effective at what we do.  We stretch the dollar.  We are well run.  We keep costs down.

“I think I will wait until 2010 to give, see what happens.”

That’s fine if you don’t need or want the tax deduction for your gift THIS year. Most of our donors are glad we are reminding them to make their gift now so they can take the deduction this year.

“I am not sure my gift will make a difference.”

I can assure you it does in two ways.  First, it helps us meet our mission to….

And second, it inspires others to give, as people notice who supports us and that in turn encourages their friends/peers to give as well.

Happy ThanksforGiving

Jim Donovan

P.S.  This Holiday Season give the gift that raises Major Gifts.  Purchase and save $5:  Take the Fear Out of Asking for Major Gifts for $25 inclusive of shipping by Priority Mail and send your check to Donovan Management, Inc. P.O. Box 471438 Lake Monroe, FL  32747-1438 or email your order to dmimgt@aol.com and we will invoice you.  Click here to read more about the book.

We are almost half-way through 2009. Are you, your fund raising staff and volunteer committees prepared to maximize your major gift fund raising efforts for the remaining six months of the year?

Most financial experts are predicting an improved economy and stock market toward year-end. Regardless, it is still a tough environment for philanthropy. In my last Blog (scroll down) I noted several reports and studies that indicate that donors keep giving even in tough times.

However, this does not mean it will be easy to obtain major gifts. On the contrary, it will be more competitive than ever because those wealthy donors who still have the capacity to give will consider the times we are in, the increased number of requests for their gifts and how their giving can have the greatest impact on those most affected by these tough times. The challenge facing nonprofit boards and staff is to prepare staff and volunteers to do their best when making the ask.

My long time friend and colleague, Bill Carlton, ACFRE is Chair of the AFP Board for Advanced Certification and Chair of Carlton & Company in Boston. Bill makes volunteer solicitor preparation a priority for the campaigns he and his associates direct. He insists, as part of his client contract, that all campaign workers attend special training before they ask for a major gift. As noted below, he will tell you that convincing his client to do this hasn’t always been easy.

Over the years it has been my good fortune to provide this training for Carlton & Company clients in Alabama, Massachusetts, Ohio and elsewhere in the U.S. What is interesting about this exercise is that prior to the training, I ask Bill’s on-site campaign director to poll each participant as to what they fear the most about asking for money. The answer is always the same — dealing with the objections.

Occasionally, even Bill’s client raises an objection about bringing me in to conduct the training. “How is this guy from Central Florida going to come to Huntsville, Alabama and tell us how to ask for money for our church/school capital campaign?”

His response to this objection is always the same, “Jim has written a book on this, I’ve road tested and refined it with him over the years. He has a method – it works, trust me.”

Indeed, the content of my solicitor training is based on my book, Take the Fear Out of Asking for Major Gifts. In this Blog, I will share with you the chapter on Dealing with Objections in the hope you, your staff and volunteer leaders can be better prepared in the remaining six months of 2009 when seeking major gifts.

Tip One: Acknowledge the objections as they arise.

Don’t overlook them. If you do, it says you are more concerned about what you have to say than what the prospect/donor is saying to you. Listen, then repeat back the objection. For example, “I believe you said, now is not a good time, as your stocks are down. Is that right?”

Then give a response such as, “There are still a few months left in 2009 and hopefully your stocks will appreciate. If they do, you know the tax advantages of gifting stock. And, we know you want to make a gift, as you have always been a great supporter. Why don’t we come back to see you in two months?”

Tip Two: Don’t debate, educate.

Nothing overcomes an objection better than facts. The prospect/donor may be worried that the goal for your campaign is too ambitious given the current economy. Use this objection to provide the facts facing your organization.

“Yes, $5 million is a lot of money. The facts are the Food Bank is getting four times the number of requests for assistance, has access to tons of government food and no more space to properly store it. Furthermore, we now operate in two new counties in addition to the four we already serve. The growing demand isn’t going to go away even when the recession is over as these counties are six of the fastest growing counties in our state with the elderly poor accounting for the largest percentage of that growth.”

Tip Three: Maintain a common ground.

Always stress principles that you have in common with the prospect/donor, like keeping costs down. “I have a problem with the organization’s 12% fund raising costs. They are too high.”

You can say, “I agree these costs are too high. In this economy we had two choices. Spend less, raise less, do less. Or, spend more, raise more do more. Thankfully, the extra costs we have incurred resulted in dozens of new donors. Sure the acquisition cost is high right now; however, if we treat these new donors right they will be repeat donors year after year and that is what we need. The fact is, had we budgeted more for fund raising in the good years, we would not be in the position we are in now. It takes money to raise money and we are well within acceptable guidelines.”

Tip Four: Do an inventory of objections and responses to them.

By the end of each solicitor training seminar we do for Carlton & Company clients and our own clients, we conduct the inventory exercise with participants. This forces them to collectively think and devise the best responses. The objections and responses are later printed on the back of a special Talking Points Card that is given to each campaign worker.

The front of the card contains bullet points for making the case to the donor/prospect. It has four questions with bullet point answers for each question. You can answer these same questions about your organization. The questions are:

1. Where has your organization been, its past.
2. Where is it today, the present situation/challenge facing it.
3. Where does it need to go in the future? The solution to the situation/challenge.
4. What philanthropic investment is needed to get there? The prospect/donor’s gift.

I think Bill Carlton said it best for many of us consultants who have seen a trend of late:

Volunteers, especially in recent years, are less comfortable in asking for major gifts. Moreover, many who would like to get involved often do not because of their fear and dislike of fund raising. This is alarming for two reasons.

First, experience shows that campaign goals are better met or exceeded when the asking is done on a peer-to-peer basis, that is volunteer to volunteer.

Second, the shifting of asking to the professional staff sends the signal to major gift prospects/donors that their peers don’t care enough to invite them to give and instead they are sending out the hired help.

One last tip from my book. If you really want your team to be successful in major gift fund raising, consider making a shift in your thinking. Asking for major gifts is not about solicitation, but invitation. I tell the story about how I came to this conclusion in the first few pages of the revised edition of my book. It took place in the Caribbean while working with the Puerto Rico Chapter of the American Red Cross in the late nineties.

All the best for continued $ucce$$.

Jim Donovan

P.S. For information on my book: Take the Fear Out of Asking for Major Gifts, click here.

When ordering, reference this Blog and receive a 10% discount on single or quantity orders.

To learn about Carlton & Company, go to: www.fundraising.org

This brief overview sums up the reason why so many board members of nonprofit organizations, local leaders and others are spending a lot of time raising objections rather than raising money to fix their nonprofit budgets. Are these real objections or excuses for not raising money in tough times?

Having received so many e-mails and phone calls of late about such objections, in this Blog I will share with you the top three objections my consulting colleagues and I have been asked to address and our responses. These are as follows:

Why try to fund raise? We all know, now is not the right time.

How can you not “try” to fund raise? What does not trying say about the importance of your organization’s mission or the relevance of your case? Hasn’t your message been that you are performing a vital function for the community? Isn’t your mission even more relevant now?

This objection also strikes me as a sweeping generalization that most giving is done by corporations and businesses, when in fact we know that less than 15 percent of all giving is from this sector. Given the media coverage (hype), one would think the U.S. economy (the world’s largest) is about to crash. Some would say — the right time is when the nation’s economy and the stock market are soaring.

Closer to home in Florida, one might say — when the mortgage crisis is over, tourism and housing construction picks up. Keep in mind, even in the tightest market, many businesses flourish. It’s the law of supply and demand. Some sectors are doing well; seek them out. Check what the experts say at the websites of Florida’s public universities and community colleges. These economists provide valuable insights into what’s ahead. It’s not all gloom and doom. We still have 95 percent employment.

But, more to the point: The best time to raise money is when you need it. This isn’t a fund raising issue, it’s a communications challenge. You must convince your constituency that your mission is more relevant NOW than ever before. Remind them of the consequences of not meeting your mission. Who will suffer, go without, be worse off than they are today?

Money is tight, people won’t give.

How do you know? Have you asked — by mail, by phone or in person? Nine times out of ten when I ask that question the answer is, “Well, no we haven’t, we just figured…” In tough economic times donors may not give as much as in the past, but they don’t stop giving. Ask them to give what they can now and pledge more to be paid in the same year or future years. Pledges are not legally binding and 90 percent of the time donors do honor their pledges. When being interviewed for a new client account, I am always asked, “How much do you think we can raise?” My response is twofold — “I can only estimate that if we do a feasibility study. But I can tell you how much you will raise if you don’t get out and ask — nothing.” The history of giving shows that during economic slumps people continue to give, particularly to causes that are serving those most affected.

Some say right now is a really difficult time for the arts. Perhaps. On the other hand, the major donors to the arts — financial service sector, stock brokers and individual philanthropists — have seen the ups and downs before. Now is a good time to hug and hold on to them so when things improve they know you didn’t abandon them or their passion for art, dance, music and theater.

Yes, money may be tight. Let the donor/prospect tell you that, don’t assume you know. People who really care about your work and mission try to find a way to help. In the end, that’s why people give — they want to help.

We need to wait until there is a turnaround in the economy.

And when will that be? While your organization is waiting for this announcement from the business gurus on television, calculate how much money your organization left for the asking by nonprofit groups that kept asking while your organization sat on the sidelines. Even worse, imagine how croweded the starting line is going to be when television hosts Lou Dobbs, Jim Cramer and Larry Kudlow tell nonprofit leaders, “Ready, set, go.”

I know, I know, you are just a staff person. You work for the board. It’s your board that is dragging its feet. Well sure, they fear failure. Most board members, any given day, month or year, don’t get out of bed in the morning and say, “I think I will launch a fund raising campaign today, that will be great fun.” No, when it comes to fund raising, most boards do so reluctantly. Board members prefer to spend their time in examining budgets, scrutinizing expenses, developing policy and some, even micro-managing staff.

But what about the big picture? What about the organization’s ultimate purpose — which is called the mission?

Fear of failure is normal. In fact, it’s healthy for board members to feel this way. However, with proper planning, the right message, a compelling case, good strategies and the right combination of outstanding staff and volunteers, nonprofits can not only survive in this economy, but flourish.

But, don’t take my word for it. Ask your donors and prospects. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Please, let me hear from you.

All the best.

Jim Donovan