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Project New Year: Get Organized!

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?

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.

1. Test your system. Make sure giving online to your organization is seamless and easy.
2. 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.
3. Ask your board to forward the e-mail on to their friends.
4. 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.
5. 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