So How Do I Make My Capital Campaign Successful?
Most of us want our efforts to be successful. In business, it might be the introduction of a new product, service or a new initiative, but the goal is to make it profitable. Sure there are always questions and mysteries surrounding something new, but the potential for future earnings make it well worth the risks.
Can Campaign Success Be Guaranteed?
That’s true in the nonprofit world as well. In fact, there is one major question that just about anyone involved in a capital campaign thinks about but rarely asks, “What can I do to guarantee campaign success?”
While there are lots of variables that make or break campaigns, most organizations want to position themselves to achieve maximum productivity. To that end, in our capital campaign consulting we have found at least 5 essentials that enhance the probability of success. They include the following:
Mission and Vision
These are essential parts of your story. Mission addresses who you are organizationally and why you exist, usually in one sentence. Vision addresses what you want to be or become. Success in fundraising demands that people understand your story and the need that flows from it. Yet simply understanding mission and vision is not enough. Your story must also be compelling in ways that move people. The case actually flows from the vision, but it needs to be articulated with a strong sense of passion.
Leadership
No doubt, strong and engaged leaders can make a big difference in campaign outcomes. Organizations that struggle are typically ones with weak or less visible boards. It’s important that every board member be involved first in giving and then in helping raise additional funds for the campaign.
In organizations with smaller or less visible boards, we typically recommend recruiting 15-20 additional people of means and influence to help as steering committee members. If the organization can’t do this, it’s unlikely that the campaign will get any traction.
Prospects
It’s important to have a sizeable prospect pool of at least 400-600 prospects or more. In the past, we’ve been approached by organizations that intended to kick off multi-million dollar campaigns. When I asked how large their database was, in every case it was less than 100. Not that you can’t have a successful campaign with a relative start-up, but you are greatly increasing the degree of difficulty. And even if you have a large database that’s no guarantee of success.
Plan
John Wooden once told me, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” You don’t raise millions of dollars without a solid plan, and that plan should be comprehensive. In other words, a campaign is not an entity unto itself. It occurs within the context of all of your operations, which must continue along with the campaign. A good campaign plan will take this into account and also provide strategies on how to incorporate and enhance public relations, annual giving, special events and more.
Action
You can have a good understanding of mission and vision with a strong case, a great leadership team, a rich prospect pool and a well-conceived plan. However, if you don’t have action you won’t be successful.
Why Campaigns Fail
As fundraising consultants we tell clients that when campaigns slow down or fail to achieve goals, it’s rarely because of a lack of prospects. Instead, it’s usually because of a lack of action by volunteers in making cultivation and solicitation visits. Remember, success requires that someone must ask someone else for financial support. Timely action on this is really an important part of success.
There they are, 5 essentials for campaigns. Do they guarantee success? No, but if you put them in place they’ll surely enhance the likelihood. For more information on campaign strategies check out our E-book “5 Sure Strategies to Make Your Capital Campaign Successful”.
I Don’t Want to Talk About It!
An Emotional Topic
Few topics are closed to discussion, but this is one of them. While this promises great reward, it can also produce considerable embarrassment. It can help feed, clothe, house, heal and educate people, or it can shrink one’s heart. It demonstrates grace and benevolence, but it can also lead to a lack of mercy.
What can possibly produce such diverse results? The answer is philanthropy or giving or the lack thereof. Gallup recently revealed that 83% of Americans give and over half give to religious organizations. Of course, that doesn’t include giving to hospitals, schools and social service agencies for religious purposes. Why such a reluctance to talk about giving and why so much religious philanthropy? I believe it’s because giving is a spiritual activity.
Nouwen on Giving
The late Henri Nouwen emphasized that very thing. “Fundraising (and philanthropy are) not a response to a crisis. First and foremost, they’re a form of ministry, a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission. Whether we’re asking for money or giving money we’re drawn together by God to do (something) through our collaboration.”
In the Bible the Greek word for giving is metadidomi, which means, “to impart” or “give.” Often it is accompanied by haplotes, which means, “sincerely, generously and without pretense.” To give that way requires being moved emotionally by someone’s vision and the hope of what that vision can achieve.
A Spiritual Activity
You might witness homeless people receiving help, an alcoholic being redeemed or dozens of other outcomes that in our capital campaign consulting we see churches and non-profits regularly achieve. However, the degree to which organizations connect deeply with prospective donors will be the degree to which their generosity is provoked. That’s why I believe that giving is a spiritual activity.
Again Nouwen explained, “If money touches our relationships with family members (and) the world beyond our home, it also reaches into our inner life. It is interesting that the phrase “personal worth” can mean both the extent of our financial assets and our value as a human being.”
Value the Contributor More Than the Contribution
As fundraising consultants, we often tell clients that whether it’s in a church or nonprofit organization, people desire to be valued based on who they are and not what they give. In fact, when the former is prevalent the latter tends to take care of itself.
I heard a story about two shipwrecked men on a remote island. One man paced and worried while the other got a suntan and relaxed on the beach. The worrier asked, “Aren’t you afraid that we’re going to die?” The second man responded, “Nope. I make a $100,000 per month and I tithe. My pastor will find me.”
Giving is Stewardship
While humorous, most pastors and many nonprofit executives avoid talking or teaching about stewardship, because giving is private and they are uncomfortable invading that privacy.
However, this is contrary both to sound practice and Biblical wisdom. In fact, sixteen of Jesus’ thirty-eight parables were about handling money and possessions. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer but over 2,000 on money and possessions.
Pastor Sid Litke argues, “Giving is actually a deeply personal indicator of our spiritual maturity and love for God. If we understand that our ‘treasure’ is an indication of our ‘heart,’ how can pastors avoid teaching on the important issue of giving?”
Giving As a Form of Worship
Litke believes that giving is our stewardship responsibility for using wisely what He gives us. “As God’s stewards, giving decisions are simply thinking through how He wants us to allocate His money.” He believes that giving is a form of worship allowing us to give back in thanksgiving for what has been given to us.
If more churches and even nonprofits embraced that idea, philanthropic conversations and activities would grow exponentially. And from my perspective, it can’t happen soon enough!
Leadership Wisdom From the King of March Madness (Part 2)
You can’t mention March Madness without including Coach Wooden. His UCLA teams won an unprecedented 10 National Championships in 11 years.
Last week I told you that I had the opportunity to spend a few days with Coach Wooden, and in that short time I learned a great deal about both the man and the success he achieved. In the last blog I mentioned that he was,
- A Humble and Value Centered Man….who had a
- A Strong Commitment to Excellence…and was
- A Repository of Wisdom and Success…and conveyed
- A Caring Beyond Performance.
Now today I’ll cover a few more traits that I believe contributed to Coach Wooden’s success.
An Acknowledgement of all Contributors
Organizations generally tend to acknowledge contributions of the stars and high performers. However, Coach Wooden believed it was essential to acknowledge the contributions of all of the players on his team. He did this regardless of how small that role might be.
Using an analogy he explained his logic:
“I’d say, we’re like a powerful automobile and Jabbar is the engine. You now, are only a wheel; and you over here are only a nut that holds that wheel on. Now which is most important? What good is that engine if we don’t have wheels? What if you don’t have the nuts holding that wheel on? You also need somebody behind that wheel or you’ll go in circles. You all have an important part to play. And I made a special effort to let those who weren’t playing very much know how much I appreciated them.”
A Passion for Planning
In my fundraising consulting with organizations I’ve found very little consistency in strategic planning. Some organizations rarely plan, while others plan annually. However, Coach Wooden planned regularly. In fact, he shared something with me that made a lot of sense. He said simply and with conviction that, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
While it’s a catchy phrase, clearly Coach Wooden lived it. He planned everything practices, recruiting, drills, player development and much more. And to think that the Coach planned just once a year is silly. He actually did annual planning, but he also planned monthly, weekly, daily and minute-by-minute during games.
A Foundation of Trust
The empirical data on the benefits of trust is clear. Leaders who build trust produce both higher productivity and profitability. I reference the following examples frequently in capital campaign consulting. These are the results of just two of hundreds of studies on trust:
- A Cornell University study of 6,300 Holiday Inn employees found that hotels where managers followed through on promises and demonstrated integrity were more profitable.
- A Watson Wyatt study found that organizations where front-line employees trusted senior leaders had a 42% higher return on shareholder investment than organizations where distrust was the norm.
Coach Wooden clearly was a trust builder. In addition to acknowledging team member contributions, he built trust relationally.
He noted, that he,” wanted them to be considerate of each other. To my wife and me, our players were an extension of our own family. I’ve had players refer to my wife as kind of like their mother. And I wanted that. I wanted them close with each other and to know that I was concerned about them as I would be my own children and their future – not just as basketball players. They wouldn’t know this (at) first, but I hoped they would perceive it as time went by.”
The coach’s intent was captured in the words of former UCLA star and NBA great, Bill Walton: “Coach Wooden represents everything that is good, not only in the world of basketball, but in life in general. He is such a positive influence on everyone. He has taught me everything I know. Not so much about basketball, but about life.”
Leadership Lessons From the King of March Madness
While I’m not like I used to be, I’m still somewhat of a basketball junkie, particularly during March Madness. I grew up playing in the schoolyards of Chicago and actually had the opportunity to play for a while in college.
However, I don’t want to create any illusions about my ability. Though we were a good Division I team, I only played (and I’m using that term loosely) for two years, and my skills were mediocre at best. Still, I always enjoyed the NCAA Tournament, and one of my heroes was the unofficial King of March Madness, UCLA Coach John Wooden.
A Man to Admire
After college, I continued in education, first as a teacher and coach and eventually as a Vice President at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. We actually brought Coach Wooden to town to receive a prestigious leadership award and to speak with our students. Coach Denny Crum was instrumental both in helping us invite him and in securing an affirmative answer.
His three-day visit culminated in an awards banquet with some 1,500 guests in attendance. Of course, as his volunteer escort, I learned many valuable lessons from Coach that were not necessarily about basketball. At heart, he considered himself a teacher, and it was as a teacher that he wanted to be remembered. And if you watched him in action, you’d quickly see why.
A Humble and Value Centered Man
Despite his acclaim, the coach was a most gracious and humble man, which incidentally is one of Jim Collins’ key traits in “Good to Great” leaders. During tight games, I never saw Coach loose his cool. On the contrary, he held the familiar game program rolled up in one hand while the other hand was in his pocket, where he carried a cross. He’d rub that cross during tight spots to remind him of, “who he was and whose he was.” The cross and the values it represented allowed Coach to keep a cool head and the game in perspective.
A Commitment to Excellence
The coach’s practices were timed and well organized in ways that spoke to his commitment to excellence. His planning was detailed and masterful, including inviting a tailor to practice to fit uniforms. He wanted to take any excuses away from players for not performing with excellence. His standards were high and his teams were famous for their outstanding execution. He also considered the games to be a test of his coaching. If his players failed to perform well, he considered that to be his failure and not that of the players.
A Repository of Wisdom and Success
Coach Wooden had a good grasp on life, and his quotes were famous. At times I have used these quotes in my fundraising consulting with clients, “Failure is not fatal but failure to change might be,” and “Learn as if you will live forever; live as if you will die tomorrow.”
Having been in his presence for only a short time, it was obvious that he was both well read and a repository of wisdom. In fact, one of his favorite authors was Robert Louis Stevenson, who said, “That man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much.”
By those standards Coach Wooden was clearly a success. However, his record of 620 wins (81%), 4 undefeated seasons and 10 national championships wasn’t bad either.
A Caring Beyond Performance
Beyond basketball, Coach Wooden cared about his players on a personal level. That was obvious from their comments in the mail we received from them. He addressed their personal needs and shared with them from the wisdom he had accumulated. It all contributed to player success both on the court and in life.
There’s much more I learned from Coach Wooden that can be applied to fundraising and capital campaign consulting. As March Madness progresses I will share some more of those jewels.
Using Social Media to Boost Donor Retention
Thanks Steven!
Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Association of Fundraising Professionals monthly meeting of the Louisville Chapter. I was fortunate to hear Steven Shattuck from Bloomerang share his experience with using social media to boost donor retention. As fundraising consultants, many times nonprofits ask us how they can improve donor retention rates. This blog is a brief recap of some of the helpful knowledge he shared. More detailed information can be found in his E-Book at: http://bit.ly/bloomerang-social
Retain to Sustain
It comes as no surprise to any nonprofit professional that donor retention is key to long-term sustainability. However, studies reveal that most organizations retain only 23% of their first time donors. Giving USA reports that the national average for donor retention is only 46%. Although a lot of nonprofits use social media to communicate with donors, they may not realize the influential role it can play in keeping donors engaged.
Why Use Social Media?
Social media usage should be used by nonprofits for three reasons. They are:
- Appreciation
- Advocacy
- Appeals
Abundant Appreciation
Simply put, nonprofits should use social media to thank donors. In fact, posts with a message of gratefulness should account for 70% of the organization’s social media activity. It has been proven that posts of appreciation get the most engagement. They are retweeted nearly 99% of the time.
In our capital campaign consulting we stress the importance of a timely and sincere gift acknowledgement. While posts or tweets should not be used in place of a personalized thank you letter or phone call, they do provide the organization with the opportunity to respond almost immediately to a donor’s gift. With the donor’s consent, they can either post a gift acknowledgement (leaving out the gift amount) or share a picture of a volunteer workday with a note of gratitude. This puts philanthropy on display and gives the donor a sense of pride in the important work they are helping the nonprofit achieve.
When donors share or retweet appreciative posts, it creates a FOMO or “fear of missing out” among their peers. Hearing about the generosity of others can inspire others to get involved and this increases donations.
Engage Advocates
Every nonprofit has a cause for which they advocate. Social media provides an excellent platform to educate or raise awareness about an issue. Posts can come from external sources such as research, news updates or other content-rich sources. Internal sources may include insights from staff on a variety of topics. Employees might create videos, podcasts, webinars, or other content that can easily be posted to various social media outlets.
Limit Appeals
Although social media is a great place to make an appeal, these posts should be used sparingly. Appeals should only come after the nonprofit has established a regular pattern of activity heavily focused on appreciation and advocacy. When the time is right to make an appeal, there are three ways to make it effective.
- Be specific – It is important to remember that specific asks receive better response than general requests. For example, asking for the donation of a specific baby item (diapers) or volunteer need (writing letters to soldiers) help people know exactly how to respond.
- Get help – If you can get high-visibility donors, board members, volunteers and employees to help develop and deploy social media campaigns they will have a larger impact.
- Express Urgency – When an appeal is truly urgent, it is important to make people aware. Convey in posts the tight timeline and share why an immediate response is necessary.
Implementing the strategies outlined above can help your nonprofit develop an effective social media plan that will help you boost retention and increase engagement.
Four Principles That Will Help Make Your Campaign A Success
Managing Church Campaigns
As capital campaign consultants, when working with churches we tell them that there are four principles on which we build our work that greatly enhance the church’s success.
However, beyond that, I believe these principles can help most organizations enhance fundraising success. What are they?
Principle 1 – Broad Information Sharing
Major donors want to know that you have created, tested and vetted strategies that best help you achieve your mission. The last thing anyone wants to believe is that a few people in a back room created most of these plans.
We’ve learned that the most effective fundraising comes from a strategic planning process. We typically test the proposed plans through a church survey and interviews. Also, during the campaign process we share information regularly about the campaign projects and processes through 7-8 articles that are posted in the bulletin and on the website.
We also host information meetings at the church, where people hear about the plans again and then are encouraged to ask questions. In fact, to ensure this kind of dialogue occurs, we suggest that clients plant a few questions (if necessary) to make it comfortable for others to ask questions.
Principle 2 – Involvement
Often institutional campaigns wind up having a few people do a lot of work. Among other things, that contributes to higher levels of burnout as campaigns wind down. In churches we try to reverse that model, having a lot of people do a few things.
We have six committees performing various tasks, but none actually does fundraising. Each committee meets no more than twice for an hour or less, and I (or one of my colleagues) create the agenda and then lead each meeting. Also, the actual work of each committee member takes no more than 1-2 hours.
Depending on the church size, we involve anywhere from 40-150 volunteers, typically 20-25% of the membership. Although that seems like quite a few, we rarely fail to recruit the volunteers we need. Also, with that many volunteers, you tend to get increased awareness, enthusiasm, advocacy and giving.
Principle 3 – Momentum
As a high school coach, I planned and used momentum to win quite a few games. I learned that from my college coaches. During my career in higher education, I figured out ways to apply that concept in fundraising campaigns. In churches we do that in several ways. First, the committees are all focused towards the “capstone” phase, which happens in the last 6 weeks. There are activities for adults and children, information blasts, testimonials and much more.
In addition, through a series of dinners we ask 10-15% of the church membership to consider making their commitment a few weeks in advance of the rest of the congregation. The results of this phase are announced prior to commitment weekend, which serves as a momentum builder for the rest of the congregation.
Principle 4 – Prayer
Campaigns are about capacity and will. Through the feasibility study we get a pretty good idea of the capacity and to some extent we can even influence the will of church members to give. However, we also depend on the Holy Spirit to influence that will by incorporating prayer into our effort.
Specifically, every meeting begins with prayer. In addition, we ask people to thoughtfully and prayerfully consider what they may be led to give. Finally, we encourage churches to organize a 24-hour prayer chain with 15-minute segments, right before commitment weekend.
Proven Results
Applying these principles may not work for every organization. However, using this model over 20 years, we have had nearly a 100% success rate!
Want to transform your organization? Go get a transformational gift!
Clearly, there are organizations that secure multi-million dollar gifts, but they are few and far between. Why is that? Well, when it gets right down to it, few executives are willing to do the work involved in securing such a gift.
Principles of Transformation
For those brave individuals willing to do that work, I have included a few principles to aid you in your quest.
- Transformational donors need to know what you’ll do with a transformational gift. If you don’t know that answer, you won’t influence transformational donors. They need to know you’ve done your homework. If most of your time is spent keeping the doors open, eventually they are likely to close. You have to think in a visionary way about the future and communicate that vision.
- Transformational donors need to be found. Start first with your own database. As fundraising consultants, when we help clients in their planning for a capital campaign we encourage them to conduct a wealth screening of their database. It gives them extensive information on net worth, liquidity and giving capacity.
One client was a bit reluctant to allocate resources to do this. However, they relented and in their own files found 18 new multi-millionaires about whom they knew nothing. Of course, that doesn’t guarantee fundraising success, but it certainly tells you where to start fishing. Beyond that, online sources can also help you find high capacity prospects.
- Transformational donors need to be informed and eventually affiliated with your organization. Try to connect with them through someone they know who is affiliated with your organization. It might be a staff person, board member or current donor, but you will have to make a personal connection.
A recent study of people who gave $100,000 or more found the most important motivators for giving are organizational affiliation and alignment with its mission (97.2% of donors). But for new donors, having a personal relationship with someone inside the organization is an important part of getting them affiliated.
You might also invite them to volunteer. The majority of high net worth volunteers (84.3 percent) give to at least some of the organizations with which they volunteer.
However, you have to learn their values and areas of interest, and one way to do that is simply ask them. Most high net worth households (76.4%) base giving decisions on personal values.
- Transformational donors need to know their gift makes a difference in the lives of others and it’s lasting. The late Dr. Woody Bartlett made a transformational gift of some $40 million to the Auburn University to establish the Bartlett Scholars Program.
He said, “Auburn (helped) me get ready for the type of career I wanted. I know there are a lot of young people coming along in the future. I hope the scholarship fund will give them a chance to focus on their studies and prepare themselves to do their best as veterinarians.”
- Finally, transformational donors usually need to be asked and you must consider timing. I remember the first transformational gift request I made, which prompted a funny response. Early in my career I requested a multimillion-dollar gift from a donor. His response was simply, “I don’t feel very rich today. Come and see me when I feel rich.”
Lessons Learned
I learned two things from this encounter. First, I asked too early in our relationship. I needed some time to make the case without asking. Second, I learned to hang in there and be creative in how I approached donors. He eventually gave at the level I asked, but it took a while to get there.
Applying these principles is never a guarantee, but it certainly is a good place to start!
Leading by Keeping Your Promises
Practice Keeping Promises
Many times as fundraising consultants, leaders talk with us about the importance of keeping promises. Walking the talk of core values as a leader involves making a commitment to keep promises, regardless of the circumstances. When promises are broken, it’s usually because one person puts his or her interests ahead of those of others. But leaders can’t afford to do that. Frank Layden is the former president and coach of the Utah Jazz of the NBA. In a conversation I had with him about leadership, he commented:
“The minute (a promise) is broken is when I say I’m more important than you are and that my goals are more important than yours. Usually, the reason we are doing this is for my benefit or for the benefit of the few. And I don’t think we (as leaders) should be able to do that. What we should rather say is that if we have a contract, then that contract is supposed to be fair to both of us.”
An Excellent Example
A real life example of taking action consistent with the principles and keeping promises regardless of the circumstances is found in the story of J. Robertson McQuilkin. He is President Emeritus of Columbia International University. For 22 years he served as the University’s President, and his tenure was arguably one of the most productive of any president in the South Carolina school’s history. By his admission, this was his “dream job.”
On a vacation to Florida, McQuilkin noticed his wife, Muriel, began to repeat stories that she had just told only minutes before. It was a pattern that eventually would lead to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. As the disease advanced, McQuilkin faced an important decision. His wife was growing less and less conscious of both the people and the circumstances around her. The doctors advised him that regardless of the person providing care for her, her condition would likely deteriorate to the point where she would not recognize who it was. Therefore, he could just as easily continue as University President, achieving his vision while caring for his wife by providing full-time nursing assistance for her.
Despite the doctors’ counsel, McQuilkin’s commitment to his wife was much stronger than his loyalty to the University. He commented, “When the time came, the decision was firm. It took no great calculation. It was a matter of integrity. Had I not promised 42 years before, ‘in sickness and in health, till death do us part?’” He eventually resigned his position to care for his wife. In speaking about keeping his promise, he said simply, “This was no grim duty to which I was stoically resigned; She had cared for me for almost four decades with marvelous devotion; now it was my turn.”
Results Will Follow
Through his actions, McQuilkin demonstrated his commitment to and his belief in keeping his promises, regardless of the circumstances. The same is true both in organizations and in fundraising. Leaders are not only responsible for embracing and articulating values, they must also demonstrate commitment to those beliefs through their actions. Apart from that they only create cynicism. It makes sense that if leaders espouse something but fail to deliver on what they espouse, they lose credibility. Simply stated, if they expect to achieve their goal of building successful teams and increasing donations, then they must also create an atmosphere of trust. That doesn’t happen without keeping promises, regardless of the circumstances they face.
Leading by Following
Rejecting Gifts
In some cultures it’s an insult not to accept a gift from someone who offers it. That’s because a gift is considered an extension of one’s self. In rejecting a gift you’re in essence rejecting the person. As offensive as this seems, people do this all of the time in businesses, non-profit organizations and even churches.
Heads of organizations regularly reject and thereby insult people by not allowing them to contribute their gifts and talents. Sure they wield power and tell them what to do, but that’s not leading. Most people affiliate with organizations because they believe they have something to offer. Therefore, if leaders hope to achieve and sustain success, they must take advantage of what people are offering.
Allowing Others to Contribute
However, allowing people to contribute their gifts and talents is a daunting task for power wielders. It requires them to be flexible by giving up a degree of power or control and in some ways following. Yet, that’s exactly what leaders do to sustain long-term success. They maximize the gifts and talents of their volunteers or employees by allowing them to contribute.
Engagement or Control
As fundraising consultants, people ask us all the time how to engage more people in their organizations. The response is simple, “You can have engagement or control, but you can’t have both. The more control you impose the less people will be engaged. To engage people you have to give up some control.” It sounds simple enough, but because it sometimes requires leaders to become followers, it is often neglected. In an interview I had with Former Goodyear Chairman and CEO Stan Gault, he explained:
“All of us are followers in some ways and at some time. We’ll not always have all the bright ideas on our own. When someone has an idea, we certainly should honor that. I’m not the slightest bit embarrassed to say that I’m a follower. I think when you’re following you also have an opportunity, perhaps even an obligation to ask how do you do that better.”
Actually, Stan was talking about exchanging some power and control for the “bright ideas” of his people. Regardless of the type of organization in which it occurs, facilitating this kind of an exchange strengthens the commitment and engagement of the people involved and is a sure church growth tool.
A Good Example
Bob Russell retired a few years ago as pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. During his career he grew the church from a little over 100 members to more than 20,000. In an interview, Bob explained to me how he empowered volunteers and staff to use their talents and contribute to the church’s success. He said,
“90% of leadership is recruiting the right people. You get the wrong person and it doesn’t matter how much oversight or direction you give. But you get the right person and give them responsibility, resources and encouragement and it’s amazing what they’ll do. You try to smother people and box them in, then they’ll work to please you rather than please the Lord and fulfill their giftedness. So I really believe in recruiting good people and then giving them the freedom to do what they’re gifted to do.”
Leading by following is really about trusting, trusting in the gifts and talents of the people being led, trusting in their willingness to become engaged and trusting in their integrity when you allow them to lead. This is a proven strategy on how to motivate church members as well as nonprofit staff and volunteers.
2017 Trends That Could Influence Your Philanthropy (Part 3)
So far in our series we’ve looked at 4 trends that could influence your philanthropy in the course of this year. We have reviewed:
- Political differences becoming more polarizing
- Technology being used more effectively
- Unemployment and under-employment greatly influencing philanthropy, but promising to improve, and
- Less institutional trust, increased millennial involvement and more demand for projects demonstrating tangible results
Today, I’ll discuss at least two more trends:
Corporations give more where their people are involved.
According to a 2013 study, 82% of US consumers consider social responsibility in deciding what products to buy. When it influences the bottom line, corporations tend to pay attention. Not that they lack altruistic tendencies, but if corporate involvement influences sales it’s one more reason to take responsibility seriously.
While corporate giving accounts for only 5% of total philanthropy, it provides a real boost for nonprofit fundraising. So how can you get corporate employees more involved in the life of your organization? There are several ways!
Co-brand events – Each year one nonprofit organizes a fun run sponsored by a local corporation. Another one engaged a large corporation to underwrite their annual festival of new plays. Then there are sponsored events like the Nutcracker, sports tournaments, recognition ceremonies, arts festivals and much more. In fact, we’re finding that corporations are even more generous through co-branding because the money typically comes from marketing budgets.
Provide opportunities for involvement – There are lots of ways to involve others, but the responsibility for doing so lies with the nonprofit to communicate its needs and it’s not just about money needs. For example, for upcoming events call volunteers and let them know you need their support. Also, rather than put heavy workloads on staff, think of creative ways you can utilize volunteers. For example, the United Way uses corporate loaned executives as additional staff each year.
Invite corporate employees to join your board – When volunteers demonstrate strong interest or passion for your cause, consider them for board membership. Also, when you already have a good number of corporate employees involved, gather data on the hours they contribute, what that equates to monetarily and what they’ve helped you achieve. Send thank you notes to the corporation’s upper management and include this information. It enhances your relationship and helps build your case if and when you make a monetary request for support.
Identify the value proposition – What’s in it for the corporation? When you solicit corporate gifts in any form you must be prepared to answer this question. For example, you may show them how your mission parallels theirs. Discuss ways you can help them reach their target audience through social media and other forms of communication. Corporate challenge grants are even more attractive, since you will communicate their challenge to your entire donor base. Essentially, you want to identify the “quid-pro-quo” prior to your visit and make that part of your discussion.
Ways to involve corporate employees are endless, but organizations that do plan and invite people to help are also ones who will secure more of their support.
Community problem solving will increasingly motivate giving.
Increasingly major donors seek to make a tangible difference. It’s not good enough just to give to annual funds or capital campaigns. Essentially, they want their gifts to be transformational, and they want to see results that clearly demonstrate those transformations.
Facilitating that requires nonprofits to have appropriate foreknowledge about donors and their interests. As fundraising consultants, we recommend a thoughtful process of donor research followed by careful planning around areas of donor interest. Of course, that planning is geared towards solving one or more problems that are in line with your mission. That way you will be able to engage donors strategically in supporting your priorities.
However, the challenge will always be to find ways to accommodate donor interests without changing your mission or key programs simply to chase dollars.