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What running Mt. Washington taught me about fundraising

This past weekend, I embarked on an event that frightened me.  Literally and figuratively.

You see, several months ago, I entered a lottery.  And, the drawing was for a chance to run up Mt. Washington in the Mt. Washington Auto Road Race.  I got in. At the time, it seemed fabulous.  Then as reality dawned, I realized that I need to step up my training, if I were to tackle this 6,288-foot peak, and not hiking it, but running it.

IMG_1787So, many months ago, I set out and found a hill.  I went up and down that hill over and over again.  Then, searching online, I found mountain races.  And, I entered them.  And, I began running up to the summits of mountains.  First smaller ones, and then larger ones.  But, nothing greater than 3,000 or so feet.

When the week dawned, and I made my trek to New Hampshire, I began to have second thoughts about what I was doing. Most everyone in my life, asked me, “Do you know what you are  getting yourself into?”  Admittedly, I thought I did.  But, when the mountain physically appeared on the horizon, I began to wonder, if this is something I should attempt.

Race morning dawned, and I was feeling more than butterflies in my stomach.  This day was the moment given to me.  I had trained for it, and now it had arrived.  All my “new” mountain running friends told me that this was going to be the most difficult thing that I was going to do.  But, they all told me I could do it.  I wasn’t even sure of the weather conditions that I would encounter at the summit.  I packed a hat and gloves just in case.

The race cannon fired, and off we all went.  I had a strategy; I worked it.  Slowly but surely, I chipped away at the mountain and tenths of miles passed.  It got hard. No, it got downright painful.   As the 5,000-foot mark appeared,  my upper body felt like lead.  Then 6,000 feet.  And, I knew that if I kept going, I was going to do this.  Slowly but surely,run-walking all the way to the top.  When the summit appeared, one last obstacle presented itself.  A 22% percent grade in the road and then the finish line.  Nothing stopped me at that point.

What does all this have to do wIMG_1780ith fundraising?  Well, a great deal.  Courage.  I honestly believe that the most significant characteristic of a fundraiser is courage.  These exceptional individuals know that even in the most difficult times, perseverance is key, and that “this too shall pass.”  Courage to get a lot of “no’s” and to be able to ask for a gift without hesitation.  It is the ability to do this, with rumblings and butterflies floating around in your tummy.

I now know that I climb any mountain.  There is no project, no tasks, that I cannot do.  Courage is something that no everyone has, but surely, the best fundraisers do.

Someone remarked to me recently, “The thing I like about you is that you live life to the fullest.  You don’t live on the edge looking in.”  And, truly, that is what we should expect of all our fundraiser.  They are making the mission possible.  And, you can’t make an organization’s mission possible by looking in from the fringes.  You need to be in the field, each and every day, living life to the fullest, in the thick of it all.

While I did know that Mt. Washington would change my life, I didn’t realize that it would give such professional perspective and insight.  Courage. A life worth living for causes life-changing and life-saving.  Isn’t that the characteristic you want for your organization?

P.S. – Are you ready to get started with your first large fundraising campaign?  And, you want it to be successful?  Get started with my FREE 7 Steps to a Majorly Successful Fundraising Campaign and use the same EXACT steps that I share with my clients.  Click here to download your FREE 7 Steps “Cheat Sheet” and start planning your fundraising campaign today.   I will share with you all the steps you need to be successful before launching your next campaign.

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Is your fear of asking causing you to make assumptions for your donors?

Let’s cut to the chase.  I know, and you know that one of the biggest things that stop us from being effective in our fundraising is fear.  Good old, heart pumping, nail biting, fear.

Recently, I had a conversation with some folks, and I asked them the question, “what is your number one concern around fundraising?”  And, time and time again, folks responded, “fear of being rejected.”Fear being rejected in your fundraising

Let’s face it; we just don’t like being told no.  And, while no may not be personal, it sure feels that way, right?

So, then I have had to ask, are we projecting onto our donors and making assumptions about how they will respond?  Meaning, are we projecting our fear of rejection onto them.  I am sure that we have all thought at some point, “Oh he won’t give anything to support us, so why even ask in the first place.”  Are we projecting our thoughts, fears, and assumptions on a donor, so that we won’t have to attempt to ask or even just develop a relationship with him or her?

There once was a very insightful book I read.  It was  Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements.  He spends a whole chapter on “Making Assumptions.”  Here is a quote that I think will help you in your work with donors:

“The biggest assumption (in my opinion) is that we assume everyone sees the world and each circumstance the way WE do. We assume they think, feel, and even judge the way we do. This assumption sparks our internal fear of being ourselves around othersŠ we think they will judge, victimize or blame us; just as we do to ourselves. So before someone has the opportunity to accept or reject us, we have already rejected ourselves. The way to keep from making assumptions is to ask questions.”

I urge you to take a look at your fears before embarking on major gift work.  Are you fearful of rejection personally?  And, how is that fear allowing you to make assumptions for donors, just so that you won’t suffer the slings and arrows of rejection in the asking?

This question that I pose is a tough question to think about, but I am asking you to dig deep, not for me, for you, or even for your organization, but for all those in need that you can help by clearing away your fears and your assumptions.

 

P.S. – Are you ready to get started with your first large fundraising campaign?  And, you want it to be successful?  Get started with my FREE 7 Steps to a Majorly Successful Fundraising Campaign and use the same EXACT steps that I share with my clients.  Click here to download your FREE 7 Steps “Cheat Sheet” and start planning your fundraising campaign today.   I will share with you all the steps you need to be successful before launching your next campaign.

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Is scarcity stopping you from asking for a major gift?

Do these phrases sound familiar to you?

“I never have enough money!”
“Money goes out faster than it comes in!”
“Money doesn’t grow on trees!”

How often have we heard these phrases growing up?  Well, if you were like me, probably a lot.  As a child, these were the Scarcity mindset in major giftsmessages that I subconsciously learned about money, and they helped to develop my now adult relationship with it.

Just this week, I led a workshop on asking for money.  As part of the icebreaker exercise, I asked attendees to share with me some of their greatest fears about fundraising.  And, fear after fear centered around scarcity.  In fact, many participants commented that they grew up hearing the very same phrases above.

Stop and think about what you believe about money.  Are your beliefs limiting you in your work?  Do you have a scarcity mindset?

Have you ever found yourself saying these types of things?

“There are only so many donors to go around!”
“Donors only have so much money to give!”
“We already asked our donors once this year; we can’t ask again!”

Are we placing our beliefs on our donors?  Are we making assumptions for our donors?  Are we self-sabotaging our work?  Are we limiting our role in the work that we do?  Are we focusing our efforts and time on things such as events that will take us out of the context of asking?

To be truly effective fundraisers, we all need to dig deep and look at our views and those beliefs of scarcity that may be holding you back.   Are they self-limiting and if so how can you work to create an abundance mindset?  We don’t want scarcity from preventing our life-changing work from happening both for our donors and for our missions. So, it is critical that you identify your mindset and work to change it.  Major gifts start with you.  Get that part of the relationship right first.

Break the scarcity mindset before you ask for a major gift.

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What does your body language say about you in fundraising?

Recently, I had some conversations with a former co-worker. Her outlook and atmosphere had changed so dramatically that I had pause and ask, what is different. Well, she set me on the course of all of her “research” on the importance of human body language. And, I realized that there was profound applicability for me personally, but also for me professionally as a fund development professional, particularly as it applied to major gifts work.

So, I set out to view some of these suggested videos on research from my friend. And, I wanted to put some ideas in practice.

The first important concept I learned about is “setting your intention.” When I Googled setting an intention, I came up with many entries. The practice of doing so has deep historical and religious roots. However, it is about stating what you want the outcome to be for a given encounter. The second concepts that I am learning about are the importance of non-verbal body language and how to “command”

body-language-groupyour territory. Use facial gestures that indicate happiness, open up your chest area, use hands to illustrate your words, etc.

With an upcoming major gift visit, I decided to put some of these concepts into practice.

For this particular major gift solicitation, I knew that there was an ideal gift in mind. So, before I arrived at the meeting, I had decided that I was going to set the intention. The intention of this particular meeting was to obtain a gift of a pre-determined amount. I also made a conscious effort to use some of these body language techniques. Sitting with shoulders back, feet planted, a smile on my face, conversations “easers,” and the most important topic, using hand gestures.

What was the result? Well, evidently I felt more confident and at ease. I held the attention of those I were meeting. They and I were both at ease with each other. And, most important when negotiation started regarding the gift amount, that intention was there, and it propelled me forward. So when an objection popped up, I found myself more purposeful regarding setting the donor’s heights higher than what they were even thinking.

The question remains will the gift come in at that amount? Truly, it is up to the donor to decide, and they are going to take that time to do so. However, what was most important is that these “new” techniques gave me greater confidence to be able to ask for my intention with much greater ease. Subconsciously set, the intention moved me forward in a way that I had not been before.

So, I see where my former co-worker is getting her energy. There is something to this science of body language. Others have spent work studying the importance of what we say and the emotions in which we say it in fund development, but I have seen little on the non-verbal study of people and their behaviors and how we interact. I suppose if we are involved in major or individual gift work that it would behoove us to learn more about these techniques for ourselves and to study what they mean in others.

Off I go to watch more TED Talks. And, you need to keep track of this gent…Mark Bowden, the leading expert on body language!

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Ask your donors key questions, and fundraising becomes simple!

Let’s get rid of our printed newsletter and just send an e-newsletter.

Our donors don’t like personal solicitations.

We are only going to send out one appeal a year because we don’t want to send too much mail to our donors.

I hear statements like this all the time.  And, I wonder if we are making decisions for our donors.  I know that this goes for some groups.

Donor survey toolWhen I surmise this is the case, I often ask, “Have you asked your donors?”  And, the response is “No, how do you ask them?”

Well, quite simply you meet with them, or you call them on the telephone, and you ask them questions.  Questions like, “how much mail would you like from us?” or ” how do you prefer to be called upon to make a gift to us?”  or even, “how do you prefer to get information from us?”

There are other ways to ask donors what they prefer.

Try a donor survey.  You may design a questionnaire that asks things such as:

  • Why does he/she support the organization?”
  • Which programs, projects, or issues you address are the most important to him/her?
  • Is your organization one of his/her top philanthropic priorities?
  • Do he/she actively use email and do does he/she prefer to get emails from you?
  • Is he/she planning to remember your organization in his/her estate plans?
  • How old is he/she (hint ask for a birthday or date range)?
  • Etc., etc., etc.

Before mailing to your donors, be sure to test the survey and solicit feedback from other folks like your colleagues, friends, or family members, and include an envelope, a personalized letter, a brochure, and a self-addressed reply envelope as part of a survey package.

Then send this package out and be sure to analyze and document these returns. Don’t just let them pile up.

Then and only then will you be able to understand truly who your donors are, what motivates them to give to you, and what decisions you should make regarding your strategy, approach, and appropriate communications.

For instance, after you analyze and track the returned information, you can then segment your donors and mail materials that interest them.

But, the adage of “you don’t know until you ask” is such a critical element of driving all that you do in fund development.

We surely cannot begin to make assumptions for our donors based on our thoughts, interests, and profiling.

 

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What is your aversion to asking others for money?

I enjoy asking for gifts.  I like to connect a donor with a mission and see magic happen.  Indeed, when you ask one for a gift, the giver gives.

When I have broached this topic as of late, I see faces cringe and heads nod, “no.”  The body language says it all.  But, what is the aversion?  It has to do with how we value money and the beliefs and, ultimately, the power that money has over us.  Some feel awkward. Some even feel a little embarrassed about it.  Some ask “who will give us money?” and others ask “how will we ask them?”Beliefs around asking for money

We need to look carefully at ourselves.  What is our relationship to money?  We will never be able to move forward to ask for money if we do not know how we relate to it ourselves.

How important is money in our lives?  What is your past around money?  How do we spend the money we have?  Where are we giving our money?  How does having money affect our self-esteem and self-worth?

Money is about security and that is surely about a very vulnerable place in our lives.

Until you examine your beliefs and thoughts are around money, you will be adverse to ask others.

We must realize, that we are helping others by our asking.  We are enabling them to do great work for our clients, our community, and our world.

But, this must begin with you.  Take time to reflect on truly what money means to you.  And, that will prepare you to embrace asking others, and allowing for changed and transformed lives.

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Fundraising audits inside and out

The fundraising audit is a major step in fundraising planning.  When you think about planning, you think about where are we, where do we want to be, and how are we going to get there?

The fundraising audit helps you to determine, where are you.  And, it is probably the most important step of the entire planning process.  If you don’t know where you are today, how can you even plan for tomorrow?  And, it is What is a fundraising audit?important to not only look at internal things that will impact your fundraising success i.e. Board of Directors, etc., but it is also critical to examine external factors as well.  Some external things that may affect the success of fundraising include political factors (i.e. election time), economic (a down economy), sociocultural (changing demographics), and technology (changes in the web, social media, etc.).  Development audits also tend to examine others in the industry including nonprofits serving the same type of causes, similar sizes, potential collaborators, and other market factors).

Also, one can examine the feasibility of conducting a future large-scale campaign. Currently, I am conducting a development audit for a nonprofit organization, and as part of that review, I am asking initial capital campaign feasibility questions to determine if a proposed future capital campaign would be a success.

An audit is just that, a systematic attempt to gather tons of data, and then analyzing and synthesizing this data against professional best practices.  While it is best that an objective third party person conducts this process, it can also be accomplished by a new in-house development staff member who still has an objective “eye.”  It is also helpful to have someone who has their finger on the pulse regarding what is shifting and changing in the philanthropic landscape.

A development audit is also a great way to engage key stakeholders i.e. Board members, donors, etc. who may need more cultivation.  It is just as much about the product as it is about the process.

Insanity is creating a fundraising plan without first doing an audit.

Do you have a long-term strategic fund development plan?

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How does your fundraising ROI measure up?

How are you looking at your fundraising rate of return?

It is critical that you develop a variety of ways to measure your performance and report theFundraising Effectivenessse results to the board.

In doing so, you are ensuring appropriate stewardship of your resources through demonstrating that your fundraising is efficient and effective.  While it does cost money to raise funds, as professionals, we need to be assured that we aren’t spending excessive amounts to do so.  While our board should be looking at these types of benchmarks, we can be sure that our donors and public is.  Take a look at the recent issue surrounding the Wounded Warriors national charity.

It is important that we do invest in fundraising and administrative costs in these functions appropriately, even though there is much criticism for doing so.

What constitutes a reasonable amount?

James Greenfield wrote several important books several years ago, and I regularly still find myself turning to his outline on how to best measure the costs of fundraising.  One book, in particular, has been especially valuable.  It is titled, Fundraising Cost Effectiveness:  A Self-Assessment Workbook and was written in 1996.  He highly recommends the importance of benchmarking to other similar organizations in the sector both aggregate and on an individual fundraising level.  What are best practice and industry standards and how does your organization compare?

It is only through this analysis that we can say that our fundraising is within acceptable boundaries of efficiency.

As a fundraising consultant, I spend lots of time auditing organization’s fundraising effectiveness through auditing their development function comparing it to industry standards.

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I have a motive, and it is a bequest.

Yes, I have a motive, and it is a bequest. As a young woman with no children, I have already created my estate plans. Yes, I have. And while those I love will be taken care of as they should. There is a time after they are gone when my assets held in trust will be given to a charity which will receive the bulk of my estate.

You may ask, why?My motive for a bequest

Well, undoubtedly motives for donors are all different.  Some decide to leave money in their estate to avoid taxes, some choose to leave money to obtain recognition.   There is a whole host of other important motivations. For me, it is because I want to give to a charity which has given so very much to me. And, this gift that I make on my death will be impossible for me to make during my life.

We all tend to live on a set amount of disposable income.  While I have had saved and invested, surely I am not willing to take a chance and spend down a considerable amount of my assets while I may still need them.  I still have a long life yet to live.  However, after my death, who cares!  At that point, I will be able to make the single largest gift that I will ever make.  For me, that is enough.  More than I could do while alive.

I should add that at one point, I had a significant number of charities in my estate to benefit from my death.  And, that is where stewardship comes into play.  For you see, some charities are so intent on “chasing” the big donors that they forget about those little folks making small gifts out of their disposable income.  What they fail to think about is that for some, this giving may just be the tip of the iceberg. Since estate gifts are surely revocable, all donors whether large or small should be stewarded in some way appropriate to each.

I can’t tell you how many times during my career that an organization  I was working with received a bequest from a donor who may have made one $10 or $25 gift during their lifetime.

I have thought long and hard about those local charities and have narrowed it down to one – one that is extremely near and dear to my heart and one that treats me like a person when I visit, call, or make a gift.

I have a motive, and it is a bequest.

 

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Insanity? Creating a fundraising plan without conducting an audit.

When developing a fundraising plan, I am often asked whether or not, I can skip the development audit analysis. And, I arguably say “no!”

A fundraising audit is probably the most critical stage of the entire planning process looking at where an organization is now, where it has been, and where do they want to be? Without knowing the answers to these questions, how can anyone put together a solid plan for the future?Importance of a fundraising audit

An audit is a review of all the factors within an organization that may impact how an organization can expect to accomplish in the future both internally and externally.

A fundraising audit is the first essential component of a healthy fundraising plan, and it provides the “Where are we now?” component. It is only when the organization has a complete picture of the organization’s current strategic position and each of the donor markets served can the organization hope to make meaningful objectives for the future.

So, when an organization says to me, “We don’t have the time to bother conducting a fundraising audit. We’re too busy doing the fundraising.” I say, that if you don’t have a roadmap for the future, you are always going to do what you have done and how do you expect your fundraising to do any better than it has always done? It is absolutely essential and critical to the success of any planning efforts.

Don’t skimp on a development audit. You will only be skimping on solid results in the future.  And, that is just plain insanity!

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The importance of gift range charts to major giving

There are two things that you need to consider when developing a major gift strategy. The first is deciding on what level of gift you want to solicit in person, and the second is prioritizing the list of prospects from the screening process to ensure that there are enough prospects for each level of gifts needed.importance-of-a-fundraising-plan-13-638

What is the goal of your campaign? Once you have that in place, you can develop a gift chart that will demonstrate the number of gifts needed at each gift level and the corresponding number of prospects needed to obtain one gift at each level. As one moves down the gift chart, the ratio of prospects to gifts drops. Naturally, it becomes much easier to solicit at the lower gift levels.

This gift range chart allows you to ensure that you have an adequate number of prospects to reach your ultimate goal. Not ensuring an adequate base of prospects is the number one cause of campaign failure. You can take the information gained through the screening process to determine if the gift levels are realistic and if enough prospects are available at each gift range level.

For your free e-course on establishing a major gifts effort in a small fundraising shop, sign up here!

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Are you wishing on a capital campaign?

Oh no! We need a new building. The offer letter is on the table.

What now? We need money!

But wait, we haven’t done any fundraising in the past. We need millions tomorrow to move into our new facility and to make all the necessary upgrades. Time, we don’t have time!

Does this scenario sound familiar?

It very well may. It is an accurate one of many who forge ahead without contemplating the planning and preparation necessary for a successful capital campaign. And, let’s face it, there is a great deal of planning and preparation necessary. You can’t just flop campaigns of this magnitude together. They take strategic thinking and planning. Capital Campaigns are the science behind fund development.Are you wishing on a capital campaign?

For instance, one question that is always top of mind for me as a consultant, “Do you have any major donors?” or even, “Any major donor prospects?” “What relationship-building strategies have you been engaged in with your current donors and prospects?” “For those current donors and prospects, what cultivation activities have you been pursuing with them?” and “At what stage of cultivation are you at with each of your prospects?”

Fundraisers can’t be expected to swoop in and create money where it is not possible. And, surely they can’t do it in the time frame that a capital campaign demands. It is setting the fundraiser, and, ultimately, the organization and the organization’s mission up to fail.

Here are some things to think about up front to ensure the success of a campaign:

  • What is the expertise level of current development staff? Do you have ample development staff on board to handle a campaign?
  • Do you need campaign counsel to oversee the stages of a capital campaign effort (highly recommended, of course)?
  • Do you have a large enough major gift pool of loyal and personally significant givers?
  • Do you have a large enough major gift prospect pool?
  • At what stage of cultivation is each major gift prospect at within this pre-determined pool?
  • How comprehensive has your donor stewardship plan been in the past?
  • Do you have a long track record of raising funds within the community?
  • Does your organization have a long-standing reputation?
  • Are there other similar services or projects that exist in the community and, if so, how is yours different?
  • Do you have a clearly outlined case for support document that highlights a substantial community need?
  • Have you previously conducted a feasibility study for this campaign to determine the feasibility of a major fundraising effort to support the case for support.
  • Do you have the internal structures in place to mount a large-scale campaign such as up-to-date database software, cleaned-up and segmented database, acknowledge and pledge receipting process, finance and bookkeeping systems, and overall campaign management supports?

These are just a few questions that are top of my mind as I sit and think about an organization seeking to mount a significant capital campaign. This list of questions is not exhaustive but illustrates the types of systems and processes that need to be in place before a significant campaign is mounted.

The morale of this story? One can’t embark on a such a significant endeavor such as a capital campaign without planning. Failing to plan, is failing to succeed. And, failing to succeed, in most cases, falls on the backs of the fundraiser who is “put in charge” of the effort. Rarely is failure seen as a team-effort.

For your free half-hour capital campaign consultation, contact me via email to schedule your time today. We can discuss the above question, plus more and determine how prepared are you for a possible effort.

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