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A crowdsourced blog on fundraising and changemaking.

Phone first!

As a relationship professional, I’m a big fan of Alexander Graham Bell’s electronic speech machine(*), the latter-day telephone.

My mantra when communicating with major donors: phone first. Phone first. Ph f. (Soothing, isn’t it?)

Email and letters don’t allow for the bilateral conversations our donors and prospects deserve for their generosity. The best “touches” by phone aren’t end-games of trivial information or data collection, either. The goal of every call you make should be to begin, advance or deepen a new or long-term relationship between your prospect/donor, you the fundraiser, and your organization.

The secondary goal of every phone call is to move beyond the business at hand – the hook – to get your donor/prospect to articulate what they need from you to further engage with your organization. The language and approach can be the same for loyal donors and discovery prospects: “I welcome the opportunity to update you on where we stand today, and our goals for the year.”

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Rebecca Davies Rebecca Davies

The importance of annual plans in fundraising

Everyone just started fresh with a new annual plan… hopefully! Annual plans are great. As a fundraiser you can’t live without them, because it’s your blueprint for fundraising success. Below a few reasons why I think you have to spend at least 10% of your whole year working on next year’s plans.

What do I mean with an annual plan in fundraising? In short, I would say a narrative document which explains all of your fundraising activities, and answers all why, when, how, who and how much questions. Obviously the annual plan should be linked to the overall organizational strategy. And attached to the narrative there should be a kind of Excel document explaining the numbers in detail per activity per month…

That sounds like an awful lot of work and, to be honest, it is! But it’s only the most important document in your fundraising department, so let’s do it anyway…

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Reinier Spruit Reinier Spruit

Give that gift back!

Hey, did you hear the one about the donor who wanted his money back? In January Robert Burton, a longtime supporter of the University of Connecticut’s athletics program asked the school to return his $3 million gift. From all appearances, Burton’s disagreement with the school is profound, personal and insurmountable.

He plans to cease all support to the University. Burton wants the family’s name removed from the “Burton Family Football Complex”, he won’t renew his luxury suite at the football field ($50,000/year), he won’t purchase an advertisement in the football program ($8,000/year), and he will cease funding a summer coaching clinic to the tune of $20K per year. Finally, he requested the funds from his two endowed scholarships transferred from athletics to the business school.

Certainly this is a problem that brewed for some time. Can any amount of customer service on the part of UCONN fix the relationship between it and the Burton family? It seems unlikely. It’s not unheard of that donor relationships sour to the point that a donor requests the return of his gift, but this level of acrimony is uncommon. Occasionally someone other than the donor requests a return of funds.

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Donna Caputo

Ongoing support is needed

As individuals, when disaster strikes we dig deep and give to a relief fund, often having to reduce or put a hold our regular giving.

For an organisation, there is likely to be an occasion when you’re income reduces as supporters divert their giving to a disaster relief fund.

How can this be managed, can it be managed?

Some organisations will have a contingency plan in place, others will have to fly by the seat of their pants; and just hope they can ride it out. (more…)

Graeme Russell

Sociale media – interessant voor fondsenwervers?

Social media is hot momenteel. Het volgen van alle blogs, opleidingen en workshops hierover zou meer dan een dagtaak zijn. Elk zichzelf respecterend marketing- of communicatie-congres heeft het op de agenda staan. Tegelijkertijd neemt ook het aantal kritische geluiden toe. Is het wel zo rendabel? Levert het wel iets op? Wat is eigenlijk de ROI? Is het niet een ‘Bubble about to burst’?

Een onderzoekje tijdens de DDMA-clinic ‘Social Marketing voor Non-profits’ gaf aan dat “non-profits wel social willen maar zoeken naar het hoe”. Social Marketing zou met name interessant zijn voor Communicatie en PR en in mindere mate voor Fondsenwerving.

Als fondsenwerver voor de Hartstichting zie ik echter juist Sociale Media als een bron van onschatbare informatie (luisteren!), een nieuw kanaal naast de teruglopende traditionele kanalen, maar vooral een vorm van directe interactie met je achterban. Een nieuw kanaal dat zich minder leent voor het oude businessmodel met focus op het direct werven van machtigers of donateurs. Maar wel voor co-creatie, voor het faciliteren en ondersteunen van (fondsenwervende) initiatieven van je achterban, en voor het aanbieden van andere donatiemogelijkheden. (more…)

Ellen Janssens

The next big thing in fundraising is closer than you think

A few weeks ago at the Institute of Fundraising Direct Marketing and Fundraising Conference, the question was asked of the panel: What do you think is the ‘next big thing’ in fundraising? Their answer wasn’t entirely surprising, but was particularly refreshing.

They unanimously said that it’s better to use traditional direct marketing but to hone the skills so you’re doing it as well as possible. Sticking to what you know, but doing it better than it’s been done before, is more important than some fad.

Personally, I agree, but it’s interesting that in spite of no fundraising panacea, as a sector we still talk about ‘the next big thing’. And we’re still worried about jumping on the bandwagon too late. Take door-to-door fundraising. It’s been hugely successful for years for a number of UK charities, mobilising a core base of Direct Debit donors. It generates largely Gift Aid-able, predictable, unrestricted income from a large base of donors that can tend to absorb the effects of a bad economy. There’s strength in numbers.

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Alison McCants

One-night stands ruin your fundraising

“Originally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer(s) on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly applied to a single sexual encounter, an example of casual sex, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a long-term sexual or romantic relationship.” (source: Wikipedia)

Hope I caught your attention. Sex usually does, so I guess you’re still reading. Being new to blogging I recently found out that metaphors usually do the trick. In this blog post a one-night stand opposes the long term focus in fundraising, which is trying to engage in meaningful and lasting supporter relationships.

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Reinier Spruit Reinier Spruit

Love is in the air: corporate fundraising

Bij veel goede doelen is het besef gekomen dat bedrijven een cruciale rol spelen bij het creëren van een betere wereld. Maar voor veel goede doelen is het bedrijfsleven een grote, wat bedreigende onbekende. Een beetje zoals Monty Python’s Merchant Banker.

Het goede nieuws is dat het bedrijfsleven meer en meer open staat voor samenwerking met goede doelen. Dit bleek uit de instemmende reacties naar aanleiding van mijn presentatie onlangs tijdens een bijeenkomst van het TopMarketeersNetwork.

De vraag tijdens de bijeenkomst was: hoe moeten bedrijven en goede doelen met elkaar omgaan om echt impact te hebben? En de vraag die goede doelen zichzelf hierbij mogen en stellen: hoe kunnen we onze missie dichterbij brengen en tegelijk onze (financiële) doelen bereiken door samen te werken met het bedrijfsleven? (more…)

Erik van Dorp

Het nieuwe doneren via mobieltje (NFC) in 2012

Op de achtergrond zijn diverse organisaties aan het bekijken hoe mobiele betaaloplossingen gebaseerd op Near Field Communication (NFC) technologie toe te gaan passen. Dit wordt ook wel aangeduid als contactloze betalingen.

Schrik je nu omdat er weer een nieuwe techniek aan zit te komen en deze blog weer naar een nerdy geek gehalte dreigt te gaan? Niet schrikken zou ik zeggen. Gewoon blijven lezen omdat deze techniek weleens een nieuwe vorm van doneren aan non-profits kan gaan betekenen. Wellicht is dit alles al realiteit in 2012!

NFC is een draadloze korte-afstand technologie die op meer en meer plaatsen wordt ingezet of ingezet gaat worden. Een voorbeeld: wanneer ik in een bus of trein stap bij een van de deelnemende vervoersbedrijven (in de toekomst) hoef ik alleen maar met mijn kaartje te zwaaien voor een NFC-lezer en het systeem haalt automatisch het tarief van mijn rekening en ik mag reizen. (more…)

Jordan van Bergen

Top 9 donor loyalty tweets!

First of all I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to the inaugural bloggers who’ve opened this crowdblog with some great blog posts!  We’ve seen 6 blog posts so far and I enjoyed every bit of them! Thank you Rebecca, Victor, Mitch, Margot, Julie and Lars!

Obviously there are a trillion fundraising topics to choose from, but today I’ve chosen one I consider the most important: donor loyalty.

When I started to use Twitter last year I made a few rules for myself. One of them being that I didn’t want to tweet about personal stuff, so I decided to tweet only about fundraising. To boost my followers I thought I’d summarize the best Tiny book in the series: Essentials of Donor Loyalty from professor Adrian Sargeant.

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Reinier Spruit Reinier Spruit

Dutch Cancer Society recruits 50,000 donors via telethon

2010 was a very special and historic fundraising year for KWF, the Dutch Cancer Society. We reached €100 million gross income from fundraising and recruited 115,000 new structural donors. A record in the history of KWF, which is the largest nonprofit in the Netherlands based on fundraising income.

One of the highlights in 2010 was the fundraising TV show “Stand Up To Cancer” which generated 50,000 new structural donors. This was the fourth fundraising TV show since 2006.  This last one exceeded everyone’s expectations except our host Ruben Nicolai, a Dutch celebrity: he opened the show with his personal dream of 50,000 new donors, which is more than twice the result of the show in 2009. Our host proved to be very prophetic.

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Lars Arnoldussen

KWF’s Telethon: 50.000 nieuwe donateurs

2010 was voor KWF Kankerbestrijding een heel bijzonder en historisch fondsenwervend jaar. We hebben voor het eerst de grens geslecht van € 100 miljoen baten eigen fondsenwerving en hebben 115.000 nieuwe structurele donateurs geworven. Een record in de historie van KWF Kankerbestrijding.

Eén van de hoogtepunten in 2010 was de fondsenwervende Tv-show ‘Sta op tegen Kanker’ (AVRO) die maar liefst 50.000 nieuwe structurele donateurs genereerde. TV is de afgelopen jaren een bijna vaste waarde in de kanalen-mix om donateurs te werven en dit was de 4e fondsenwervende Tv-show van KWF sinds 2006. Maar deze laatste overtrof werkelijk ieders verwachtingen behalve die van onze presentator Ruben Nicolai: hij sprak in de live uitzending zijn droom uit van 50.000 nieuwe donateurs en bleek gelukkig profetische eigenschappen te hebben.

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Lars Arnoldussen

Communication and Fundraising, the never ending story…

The past 2 ½ years I travelled to different countries and met lots of people engaged in a wide range of fundraising activities and campaigns. Despite the obvious differences in ‘couleur locale’, it always struck me that fundraisers are struggling with the same questions and problems, if it is in Japan, Italy or Brazil.

One of these issues coming up over and over again is the cooperation between Fundraising and Communications. More specific digital communication as communication through the website, webvertising, Twitter, social networking, crowdfunding, etc. The digital area offers great new fundraising opportunities with yet unknown potential. If you visit a doctor, buy a new car or want to know what’s happening in the Middle East, the first thing you do is surfing the web. What do you think a potential donor will do…?

Knowing this, it would seem obvious that every communication department is fully prepared to receive these donor prospects. An effective digital communication strategy is in place aimed at attracting and informing prospects in such a way that they are guided to the appropriate webpage where they are one mouse click away from their so-much-wanted donation. (more…)

Julie Verhaar

Fondsenwerving bij bedrijven gaat steeds minder over fondsen

In de 8 jaar dat ik fondsenwerver ben, is het vak er alleen maar leuker op geworden. Maar niet makkelijker. Ik vertel niks nieuws als ik zeg dat (hoewel onze inkomsten groeien) het aantal cheques dat wij in ontvangst mogen nemen met de boodschap “doe er wat goeds mee”,  terugloopt. De donateur wil steeds meer betrokken zijn bij de besteding van zijn geld.  (En terecht.)

Zeker bedrijven verwachten in toenemende mate een maatwerkoplossing die aansluit bij hun merk en bedrijfsdoelen. Uit een onderzoek dat wij vorig jaar bij SOS Kinderdorpen deden onder 16 multinationals, bleek duidelijk dat bedrijven steeds (pro)actiever worden in het inzetten van hun kerncompetenties voor een betere wereld. Hierbij is groeiende aandacht voor het creëren van een business win en het betrekken van de medewerkers.

Deze trends bieden ons fondsenwervers naast grote kansen ook veel uitdagingen. (more…)

Margot Ende - van den Broek

Corporate fundraising is less and less about funds

In the eight years that I’m a fundraiser, the profession has become a lot more fun. But not easier. I don’t tell anything new when I say that (although our revenues grow) the number of checks we receive with the message “go ahead, do something good” decline. The supporter increasingly wants to be more involved in the spending of his donation. (And rightly so.)

Certainly companies increasingly expect a tailored solution that matches their brand and business objectives. A study we did last year at SOS Children’s Villages Netherlands among 16 multinationals, made it clear that companies are being more (pro) active in using their core competencies for a better world. Attached is a growing interest in creating a business win and involvement of the employees.

Besides great opportunities, these trends offer our fundraisers also many challenges. (more…)

Margot Ende - van den Broek

So you want to learn how to do fundraising, eh?

As 30-year veteran of fundraising, I get asked a LOT of, well, silly questions about fundraising. But the most obvious one that shows someone is just learning the field is: “So how DO you do fundraising?”

The (obvious) answer is: well, that depends on what kind of funds you want to raise. So the first thing you need to do if you’re starting in this field is to learn the nomenclature, the language. That way, you can tell the difference between a TYPE of fundraising, and a TECHNIQUE of fundraising. For example, a charity run is a technique. So is a $500-a-plate dinner. But each of these goes after a different TYPE of donor. (more…)

Mitchell Hinz

Major gifts: Fundraising from the frontlines

Years ago when I stepped on the tee box to play my first round of golf, I assumed success. My swing, short game and putting were decent after months of practice at the driving range. But that day my game never took off to even be able to fall apart. I knew the rules and had reliable shots – all the necessarytransactions to the game. I did not, however, know the etiquette of golf: the social behaviours that enhance the experience and sport, and expose a novice like I was then. I talked. A lot. I constantly walked in front of others’ lines on the green, and my club must still be at the bottom of that pond. Of course I was never invited out by that group again. In recreational golf, technique is necessary as a point of entry but is not enough.Values-based behaviour is as important to succeeding at the game as having a consistent fairway shot. (more…)

Rebecca Davies Rebecca Davies

Welkom fondsenwervers!

Hallo en welkom bij onze allereerste blog post! Wij zijn enthousiast over fondsenwerving en nonprofit marketing, dus zijn we een nieuw fondsenwerving blog begonnen. Jij bent getuige van een historisch moment met de lancering van 101fundraising. Ten minste, dat hopen we… (more…)

Jeroen Beelen

Welcome fundraisers!

Hello, and welcome to our very first blog post! We are excited about fundraising and nonprofit marketing, so we decided to create a new fundraising blog. You are witnessing a historic moment with the launch of 101fundraising. At least, we hope… (more…)

Reinier Spruit Reinier Spruit