Blog
How Do You Like to be Thanked?
February 12, 2012 by Dianne · Leave a Comment
How to you like to be thanked? A form letter that you read quickly and put with your tax records until next January, or a photograph or video that makes you smile – that you might post on your refrigerator, use as a screen saver, or share with your friends?
Nonprofit organizations must follow certain regulations for gift acknowledgment, of course. But if your acknowledgement is memorable, it will build an understanding of your mission and generate friends who may be inclined to spread that information widely, as well as to give again in the future.
A personal letter might tell the story of a person who has benefitted from your service. Change the name to protect confidentiality. Consider embedding photos within the letter. Send an e-mail acknowledgement with a link to a video or photo collage. Be creative in choosing powerful images that represent the outcomes for your organization, and avoid images that stereotype.
After your initial acknowledgement, say “thank-you” again with a second message a few months later telling the donor how the gift was used. Although foundations have specific reporting requirements, other donors might like a short friendly note with a photo demonstrating the use of the gift. And please don’t ask for another gift yet. Just say thanks.
What are some creative ways you use to thank your donors?
-Dianne
2012 MN Foundation Outlook Partly Sunny
January 10, 2012 by Katrina · Leave a Comment
Today the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF) released its annual Minnesota Grantmakers Outlook Report for 2012. The results? Grantmakers expect relatively stable giving in 2012. The majority expect to remain flat or increase by one percent. The report was developed based on survey responses from 104 Minnesota grantmakers, which represent seventy six percent of grantmakers in the state.
Key findings from the report include:
• Giving by the largest grantmakers – those that give more than $10 million annually – is estimated to remain relatively flat in 2012.
• Many foundations anticipate that assets will rise in 2012: 45 percent expect their assets to increase, while 39 percent predict they will stay the same. Most grantmakers who expect higher assets forecast increases to be less than 5 percent.
• A strong majority (70 percent) of grantmakers expects to continue with current grantmaking priorities and programs in 2012, compared with 61 percent in 2011 versus 2010, as reported in MCF’s 2011 Outlook Report.
• Twenty-three of 77 education funders surveyed predict they will increase their giving to education in 2012. Arts, culture, and humanities is the only subject area to which more grantmakers expect to decrease funding than plan to increase it.
What does this data mean for your cause? With more and more organizations looking to diversify their funding streams by seeking out grants from private donors, the grants environment remains extremely competitive in Minnesota. One grantmaker quoted in the report shared: “The demands on our grantmaking funds continue to increase…..the decisions become more and more difficult.”
Stay tuned to this blog for grant writing tips that will give your proposal the competitive edge so you can focus on what’s important: your mission.
-Katrina
Project New Year: Get Organized!
January 2, 2012 by Katrina · Leave a Comment
Let’s face it. Sometimes life gets out of hand. Loads of work pile up on your desk, loads of laundry at home. It doesn’t take long before you feel overwhelmed with professional and personal obligations. I’m not an organized person by nature. In fact, my aunt gifted new bed linens to me over the holidays and mentioned that they may have to be ironed. I laughed. I never have, or intend to iron bed linens in my lifetime. I have three junk drawers in my kitchen. But that’s besides the point. Fundraising is a grueling occupation and I’ve learned how much a difference a little bit of time on the front end can make.
Investing your time and energy into organizing your fundraising efforts will give you peace of mind at work, and while I can’t promise it will take away those nagging “right before you fall asleep panics,” it will make you more effective and hopefully quell your anxiety some while you are away from the office.
Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way that, if put into practice, will save you time and sanity.
- Choose a time/appointment management system and stick to it. And don’t feel pressured to use an electronic calendar. Find one that works for you. I use Entourage for Apple. My colleague Bob recently switched from his high-tech i-Phone app back to a paper pocket calendar.
- Put together two grant calendars for the year. One for grant submissions and the other for reports due. Make sure to include deadlines.
- Print, copy and file all of your organization’s supporting documents such as your IRS determination letter, by-laws, 990, board lists, etc. Print them and file them into their own folders. That way, the next time you’re putting together a grant proposal last minute, you can pull together an appendix with ease!
- Get it in writing. Put together a calendar for fundraising and communications activities for the year. While you may think you have it all in your head, you’ll quickly find out that putting it in writing will ease your tension and help others on your team get on board with your plan for the year!
- Clear off your desk every Friday so you return to a fresh, clean start on Monday morning.
- Use a visual display board, whether it is a chalkboard or cork board to write motivational statements that will keep you going throughout the week.
- Finally, when you begin feeling overwhelmed, find a way to relax. Go for a short walk. Do a breathing exercise. Use aromatherapy. Experiment with what works best. We are all more productive and accurate when we feel relaxed and in control.
Resolve to be more organized in 2012. Do it for yourself. Do it for your colleagues. Do it for your family. Just do it!
What methods of organizations work well for you at the office?
Cheers,
~Katrina
Year-end online giving. Are you ready?
December 27, 2011 by Katrina · Leave a Comment
Did you know that almost a quarter of all online gifts are made during the last two days of the year?
While e-mail solicitation has yet to replace mail solicitation, it is gaining ground and serves as a great reminder to donors to remember your organization in their year end giving.
Last December, we brought you “5 ways to increase online giving before the new year.” Since they are still relevant today, we thought we’d bring them back with a few added bonus tips.
Here are 5 activities you should do now to ramp up your fundraising efforts over the next 4 days.
- Test your system. Make sure giving online to your organization is seamless and easy.
- Send an e-mail to your donor base today reminding them why they support you and that time is running out to make a year-end gift. Make it short and sweet. Inform them of your goal. Send another e-mail on the 30th.
- Ask your board to forward the e-mail on to their friends.
- Update your web homepage or landing page with a specific call to action to donate. Check out Minnesota Public Radio for a good example of this.
- Update your blog to include a story about a client you’ve served. Post the blog on your Facebook page (if your nonprofit doesn’t have one, post one to your personal page…also remember to share it with your friends).
And a few more for good measure:
- Add a video to your webpage and social media platforms even if its just a 2-minute vignette shot with your i-Phone.
- Personalize your GiveMN page. The folks at GiveMN have made it easy! Add photos, a video and a story that illustrates the impact of your work.
- Tell donors exactly where their money will be going. Either solicit for a specific project or show how a general donation will make a difference.
Finally, staff the office on December 30 and 31. Not everyone is comfortable giving online yet and may call in with a donation or transfer of stock. It is painful to imagine a ringing phone in a dark office on the biggest giving days of the year.
From all of us at HBH Consultants, cheers to you and yours for a healthy and successful 2012!
~ Katrina
Take it from Picasso-Pick up the Phone
Pablo Picasso once said that “action is the foundational key to all success.” And who could argue?
As fundraisers, we know that if we don’t ask, we won’t get. Then why is it that so many nonprofit execs grumble around the water cooler about the low return on their year-end appeal rather than simply picking up the phone?
Picasso's "Three Musicians"
Donors are busy. Letters are easily tucked away into drawers or fall behind the microwave. Research suggests that following up on a mail appeal with a personal phone call can double your return. In fact, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, it is often the follow-up call, not the letter, that actually motivates the donor to give.
Here’s how to do it:
1) Approximately 2 weeks after your appeal is mailed, gather a handful of outgoing volunteers (depending on the size of your mail list). My experience is that one person can reach about 10-15 people per hour (including documenting the conversation).
2) Prepare a list for each volunteer caller with a page for each donor that includes: the donor’s name, how much you are asking them to give this year and a space for them to document the conversation i.e. yes, no or maybe and anything else that should be added to the donor database. And for goodness sake, make sure not to call anyone who has already made a gift!
3) Provide callers with a simple script to guide the conversation.
4) Take time before the calling commences to coach volunteers on how to conduct a call and what kind of information to collect. Work with them on voice tone and role play the various responses they will encounter. This will also ease anxiety.
5) Have fun! Order in pizza, make it a competition, do whatever it takes to ensure callers have an enjoyable time.
Now gather the troops around some eggnog and get dialing!
Cheers,
~ Katrina
Follow Us
