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To Enhance Member Engagement, Acknowledge Member Contributions

Have You Said Thank You?

You’d be surprised at how many pastors want to build church growth through more engagement from their members. Yet, simultaneously they do a poor job of acknowledging their contributions. In fact, in many cases they take those contributions for granted. Whether it’s a regular giver, a staff member, a Sunday School teacher or ministry volunteer, they rarely if ever are thanked. And if they are acknowledged, it is usually in perfunctory ways.

Value Contributions and Build Trust

What may start as a trusting relationship often fails when people take each other for granted. That usually boils down to a failure to acknowledge the value and contributions of another individual.  Building trust requires not only giving people meaningful assignments, but also treating them well as they perform them.  An important part of that is making an effort to acknowledge their contributions.

Learning From John Wooden

John Wooden is arguably the most successful college basketball coach ever.  In the 1960’s and 70’s he guided UCLA to ten national championships in eleven years.  When I interviewed Coach Wooden, he explained that it was essential to acknowledge contributions of all players, regardless of how small their role was.  He illustrated this point by sharing an analogy,

“I’d say, ‘We’re like a powerful automobile and this player, maybe Jabbar is the powerful engine.  You now, are a wheel; and you over here are 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 nuts holding that wheel on?  You also need somebody behind that wheel, inside, directing it or you’ll go in circles.  You all have an important part.’  And I made a special effort at practice to let those who aren’t playing know how much I appreciated them.”

Finding the Right Way to Say Thank You

Appropriate recognition can be verbal or written, but occasionally it must go beyond that. Sometimes people who make significant contributions, need to benefit in some way from the fruits of their labor. It could be a bonus for staff or a nice dinner or trip for a volunteer. It says simply that we value and thank you for your contribution. At our church, one volunteer gave thousands of hours over several years to help acquire land and then build a new church. The church acknowledged his contributions with a trip for him and his wife.

While trips or bonuses aren’t always possible, acknowledging people in special ways is important. Simply stated, it builds trust and engagement. Assuming leaders endeavor to maximize staff and volunteer potential, they should recognize also that getting more out of a relationship sometimes requires giving more. In our church leadership consulting, we remind pastors that when people begin to trust and give they start to move out of the realm of contractual obligations and into the realm of covenantal ownership and engagement.

The Power of Covenants

True, covenants are far more complicated than contracts.  They require willingness on the part of leader and follower alike to respect, trust and give rather than just receive from the relationship.  In essence, it means acknowledging the contributions of each other, but it also means sharing talents, resources, work, problems and even revenues. That creates a long-term environment of mutual trust and engagement that promises not only to prosper and strengthen the church but is also a strategy on how to grow church membership.

by Len Moisan

Track Your Progress for Fundraising Growth

Often our firm is called on to conduct a planning study prior to a capital campaign. This used to be called a feasibility study, but our studies encompass far more than whether or not an organization can raise a certain amount of money. That is part of the study, but our studies also include much more.

The Necessity of Reviewing Key Operations

Just because you are in a capital campaign, doesn’t mean that the rest of your operation shuts down.  On the contrary; if the plan is effective it will incorporate strategies for all areas related to fundraising. This includes public relations, donor relations, operations and in particular, annual giving.

In fact, often the most important funds a nonprofit organization raises each year are its annual funds. That’s why we ask organizations for three-year trends. Among those trends we request the following report on source of funds:

1. Foundation Giving – We want to know what foundations have given to you over the past three years. Even if it is nothing, that tells us something. We are then better able to help you develop strategies to improve in this area.
2. Corporate Giving – What have local and regional corporations given? This includes co-branding, which normally comes from marketing budgets.
3. Board giving – Here we review both the participation rate and the average gift.
4. Non-board individual giving through direct mail – Direct mail is frequently not tracked. Organizations simply send out mailings without considering how they might be improved. We have our clients track the cost of the mailing (materials, postage, etc.), gross revenue, net revenue, response rate and average gift. We also have them test as much as possible and we encourage clients to send mailings at least 6 times per year.  Finally, we recommend that each mailing have a theme. That might sound like a lot, but believe me it’s not.
5. Non-board individual giving through solicitation of major gifts – It normally occurs through face-to-face solicitations. This is really where the action is or should be in the development office. Even though it’s labor intensive, it is the most productive and least expensive form of fundraising. We track the number of solicitations made over each of the last three years, the number of “yes” or “I’ll consider” responses and the percentage of those to the total. It should be at least 70% or more, and if it’s not we usually conduct some cultivation/solicitation training.
6. Bequest giving– If you have a good program, you should receive bequests. However, if you don’t ever mention bequest and other planned giving opportunities, the likelihood of receiving them is not high. We’ve had several of our clients who had zeroes in that column for years, but with a few key strategies we’ve also helped them begin to fill those columns up. It takes both discipline and patience, but most donors have far greater capacity to give in their death than they did in their lifetime.
7. Special events-We review special events to determine cost and net revenue. We try to advise our clients on ways to keep the cost of the event under 50%.
8. Giving levels– Starting at $100,000, we work our way downward and analyze giving amounts at various levels including $50,000, $25,000, $10,000 to $100 and below. We’re looking for gaps at each level and strategies to improve.

Measurement Equals Positive Changes

Now we usually look at all of these areas in organizations who are planning for a capital campaign, because they need to be sustained and hopefully improved during the campaign. However, organizations would do well to track these items regularly to help ensure long-term success and sustainability. Remember, very little changes until it’s measured.

by Len Moisan

Using the Board as Part of your Major Gifts Team

A Study on University Fundraising

I recently conducted an informal study, the findings of which I used to make a point. The board of one of my nonprofit clients kept pushing staff for improved fundraising results.  Though the staff was small, they were already producing at a high level, and they were doing so without much help from the board.

Several of the board members cited university examples of fundraising excellence, which led me to my idea for the study in the first place. Accordingly, I picked a university to study from which I received a degree, and I found something quite revealing. That university currently had over 250 professional development staff, and that number was exclusive of any support personnel.

A Contrast in Nonprofit Fundraising

With the development and support staff combined, this nonprofit had less than 2% of the professional staff the university had. We were then able to use this information to help make the case (successfully) that board members needed to be involved.

In a sense, board members and other volunteers become an extension of the nonprofit organization’s development team. They have to do so! Why? Because if the board, those closest to the nonprofit organization, aren’t willing to give and get involved, it’s difficult to expect others in the community to do the same. Actually, board involvement occurs in a variety of ways, and that is happening with increasing frequency. But let’s look at just two of the responsibilities (give and get) that often get neglected:

Two Key Responsibilities of Board Members

Give – According to a recent study by Board Source, 60% of chief executives identified fundraising as the area most in need of board improvement. While 85% of organizations report having board giving policies, only 60% of nonprofits have 100% of their board actually giving. That has increased from just a few years ago, but there is still much room for improvement.

One easy way to kick this off is to start the year with a peer-to-peer board campaign, in which every board member is asked by a fellow board member to make a commitment in a face-to-face solicitation.

Get – The most effective kind of fundraising comes from face-to-face solicitations. In fact, 70% of the time a peer visits a peer in a face-to-face solicitation the answer is “yes.” That far surpasses a good direct mail response rate, which is about 2%-3%. However, to get board members involved there is work to do. Specifically, it will help if you can:

Take away some of the fear of fundraising through orientation and training sessions in which you create a clear case.

• Include subjects like how to schedule the appointment, how to make the case, how to make the ask and how to handle objections
• Develop prospect lists and ask Board members to make selections and add to the list.
• Accompany board members on initial calls to help coach them.

Board Members Must Ask

On average about 42% of board members provided names for letters and calls, but only 22% of board members met in face-to-face meetings with potential donors and only 26% of members accompanied others on a call. This lack of involvement is sometimes associated with not being asked, but often it is associated with anxiety about asking. In our capital campaign consulting we also recommend including board giving and fundraising expectations in the initial board orientation. That way, it is not a surprise when you ask for their help.

Other Ways Board Members Can Help

Another element of getting is getting influence and new friends for the organization. To that end we suggest that board members be asked to help by hosting receptions. True not every board member is gifted in making face-to-face solicitations, but most board members can host home receptions for friends and associates to introduce them to the nonprofit organization.

by Len Moisan

Increasing Your Fundraising Success by Retaining Your Donors

Donor Retention Rates

When we conduct a fundraising audit/planning study there are at least 27 different reports that we request. One of the most important elements we obtain is a report on donor retention.

More specifically, we review donor retention rates over a three-year period. We are looking to see both how that compares to the national rate of 46% and what the non-profit organization might do to improve donor retention.

Of course, retention rates vary depending upon the kind of institution it is. For example, retention rates in private higher education average closer to 70% while social service agencies tend to have lower retention rates.

Acquiring New Donors is Costly

Why do we analyze this? Well first, according to Giving USA, acquiring a new donor is about 5 times as costly as it is to retain a current donor. Second, the actual return from newly acquired donors is about 1/3 of what it costs to acquire them in the first place.

Simply stated, acquiring new donors is much more costly and time consuming than keeping them. One of our higher education clients had a retention rate of just 34% over a three-year period. That means that each year 66% of their donors had to be recruited. The task was overwhelming for the development staff.  They had to raise over $4 million in unrestricted funds annually, and a good portion of that came from new donors.

Tips to Enhance Donor Retention

So what could be done and as fundraising consultants what did we tell them? The following are a few tips that will enhance your donor retention and should also increase your annual giving:

1. Be thankful to and for your donors, and acknowledge their gifts promptly. I have found organizations that take one or two weeks or even more time to acknowledge gifts. Right off the bat you are telling donors their gift isn’t very important. We suggest that our clients acknowledge gifts within 48 hours and encourage them to move towards 24 hours.
2. Be accountable to your donors as good stewards. Tell them how much you raised and for what purposes you used the funds. People want to know that their gift makes a difference. Show them how they have been a partner with you in your work. Share stories of lives that have been touched.
3. Communicate with donors on a regular basis. How? A good communication program includes direct mail, newsletters, social media, information receptions, telephone calls and more. Remember, it is much more to your advantage to keep a donor than it is to lose one and have to recruit another.
4. Pay attention to what projects your donors support and target your requests for specific purposes. Not all people are motivated by the same projects, so the requests should vary.
5. Seek to engage donors in meaningful ways. One of our theatre clients did an excellent job of creating community with donors. For example, they regularly invited top donors to visit with playwrights prior to the opening of a show or the creative director before the season opened. In addition, they would invite selected donors to provide reviews of certain live performances. They also sent donor welcome packs to new donors.  These strategies were key in increasing donations and improving donor retention.

These are just a few strategies, but together they can make a significant improvement in your funding. Measure your donor retention rate and then work to improve it. That is really where the action of caring and building strong relationships begins!

by Len Moisan

GIVING USA, Philanthropy in Review

Source: Giving USA 2016 (Highlights)

Published by The Giving Institute, in cooperation with

Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

Thank you

A special thanks to everyone who came out last Friday to hear Len Moisan’s presentation on the results of Giving USA 2016.  Also, thanks to the Center for Nonprofit Excellence for coordinating the event and Metro United Way for being such gracious hosts.

We trust that you found the data informative and applicable to your own development operations.  We also hope that you are already finding ways to implement some of the strategies we discussed to enhance your fundraising efforts.

A Few Statistics

With 2015 being the most generous year ever that presents much optimism and opportunity for local nonprofits.  Americans gave $373.25 billion to charitable causes last year and that was an increase of over 4% compared to 2014.  The top five sectors that continue to receive the largest share of total giving are:

• Religion (32%)
• Education (15%)
• Human Services (12%)
• Foundations (11%)
• Health (8%)

Specifically, all four categories of giving experienced growth.  Those include:

• Giving by Foundations: +6.5%
• Giving by Corporations:  +3.9%
• Giving by Individuals: +3.8%
• Giving by Bequest: +2.1%

More than likely your nonprofit has received support from several of these sources.  However, some categories maybe more than others, so how can you maximize your support from as many of these sources as possible? The following are a few of the key strategies we discussed.

Strategies to Consider

1. Put a renewed emphasis on individual giving

• When conducting capital or annual campaigns, organizations tend to neglect giving from individuals.
• On average, individuals give 88% of the total giving each year.
• Of the total amount given, 71% came in direct gifts from individuals.  However, individuals also are the ones who make bequests and nearly half of the gifts from foundations came from family foundations, again, controlled by individuals.
• The most effective form of solicitation is still face-to-face visits.  In fact, 70% of the time a peer visits a peer in a face-to-face solicitation the answer is “yes”.  However, it is still important to have a full program that includes social media, direct mail, special events and more.

More to Come

This is the first in a series of blogs that will continue to present strategies that you can apply to your own fundraising efforts. The next blog will focus on Starting to Think About Some Foundations as Individuals. 

Remember, The Covenant Group is here to help you create and implement strategies to grow your fundraising. We have worked with hundreds of nonprofits to accomplish their strategic planning, capital campaign and fundraising goals.  Our associates have raised over $1 billion in our 20-year company history.  Contact us to put our experience to work for you.

by Cheryl Gurr

To Improve as a CEO, Operate Like a Pastor

It’s not uncommon for pastors to be admonished to operate more like a CEO, but seldom is a CEO admonished to operate like a pastor. At first glance it would not appear that pastors and CEO’s have much in common. Yet, if they’re effective, the best pastors and their churches have a great deal to teach CEOs.

For example, in 2006 Bob Russell retired as pastor at Southeast Christian Church after over 40 years. During his tenure the church grew from 125 to more than 20,000 members. When asked about the Church’s success, Bob would respond simply that it was God’s blessing and “keeping the main thing the main thing” (preaching, teaching and living the Gospel). Translated, success means understanding the purpose and keeping it in the forefront of everything we do.

For many years Bob reinforced that purpose so it was commonly understood and embraced by a majority. The mission was printed in church literature and posted around the church. Also, the pastor regularly taught on the scriptural basis for the mission, and organized church ministries around it. Bob said he also challenged the church to achieve big goals through strategic planning every few years. This kept them focused and moving in a positive direction.

To ensure the congregation understood it all, Bob also offered eight one hour classes entitled, “What We Believe,” for new members. They learned about the church mission and doctrines, but they also learned what was available to and expected from them as members. Bob commented:

“People learn up front what they can expect from this body. It gives them an opportunity to plug into the values of this church. And we say, ‘Ok, here’s what we stand for; here’s what you can expect from the pulpit.”

With 20,000 members and 300 employees, the church long ago outgrew his ability to control everything. Bob explained how he adapted:

 “When I started I had 125 people. I could visit the hospital, counsel marriages. I knew everyone’s name. And then it started growing beyond my control. I could panic, feel like I am losing it and clamp down, or I could change.  I had to change and become an administrator and then eventually a shepherd of the staff and the leaders of the church.”

Bob noted that another part of church growth is recruiting the right staff and volunteer leaders and then giving them freedom to use their talents. He explained,

“90% of leadership is finding the right people. You get wrong people and it doesn’t matter how much direction you give. Get the right person and give them responsibility, resources and encouragement, its amazing what they’ll do. You can’t smother people and box them in. (You must) give them freedom to do what they’re gifted to do.”

Clearly, if pastors intend to lead, then their duties must expand. In Bob’s case he’s a model of leadership for any organization. Granted, the mission and dynamics of a church are different and there are probably as many power wielders in the pastorate as there are leaders. Nevertheless, as far as communicating, knowing how to motivate church members, building consensus and leading around a common purpose are concerned, CEOs could learn a thing or two from effective pastors like Bob.

by Len Moisan

Overcoming Obstacles With Vision

Leaders must overcome obstacles almost daily to advance their respective missions. So how does that happen? Well, I thought a quick look at how a few survivors have done it might be helpful.

Frankl’s Perspective

In Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl provided a vivid look at his struggle for survival in Nazi prison camps. He noted first that it was important for him to have a strong sense of purpose that could transcend his circumstances.

Lessons From A Survivor

Frankl’s insights reminded me of my father-in-law.  In 1941 George Rogers’ recruiting officer, convinced him that the Philippines was a poor man’s paradise.  George enlisted and soon boarded a ship. He arrived in “paradise” with six other men from the 4th Chemical Company.  As it turned out, George was the only survivor.

Two months later Pearl Harbor was attacked and then the Philippines.  The troops went first to Manila and then to Bataan, where they fought for five months. Finally, in April General Edward P. King surrendered.

Surviving in Harsh Conditions

Some 76,000 Americans and Filipinos marched over 100 kilometers in scorching heat and no food or water. The troops had rationed food so they were weak and suffering from sickness.  Men carried sick friends but as they fell, they would be shot, stabbed or run over by tanks.  On the march alone, 10,000 men died.  Then George and others were loaded into steel boxcars and shipped to Camp O’Donnell in temperatures reaching 120 degrees. By July, 1500 additional Americans and 25,000 Filipinos died.

George was shipped to Japan and forced into hard labor at a steel mill.  For over three years, he had a starvation diet that left his 6’3″ frame weighing only 85 pounds.  He endured beatings, humiliation, Malaria, dry Beriberi, amoebic dysentery, helping bury 1,600 Americans, and much more at the hands of his captors.

Keeping the Vision Alive

Yet, he was neither defeated nor lost hope. When I asked what sustained him, he described two things.  First, George believed in God.  That faith bolstered him with an optimistic understanding that despite his circumstances, God still had a purpose for George. Evidently, prisoners who lacked a transcending purpose were quickly overwhelmed and died.

Vision that Transcends Circumstances

Second, George developed a vision for the future that transcended his present circumstances.  After the war, he would go back to St. Louis, marry Barbara Randall, graduate from St. Louis University, secure a good paying job and raise a large family.  George also discussed this vision with a friend from St. Louis.  He kept it alive and the meaning it provided helped sustain him:

“You need something to look forward to,” said George.  “Our news was old. We didn’t get correspondence, so having something to look forward to was helpful.  And having someone who also knew the Randall family helped too. We talked about the beautiful Randall girls, and I was going to marry Barbara and eventually I did that. I also graduated from college, have 5 wonderful kids and to this day I still have my hair and teeth.”

George’s experience offers would be leaders a powerful illustration of how a strong sense of purpose and a clear vision can sustain a person or an organization in the midst of hardship.  George’s vision and philosophy have not only helped him survive, they have also prospered him with faith, family and prosperity that he still enjoys at 97.

How Vision Affects Fundraising

When we counsel clients on strategic planning, part of the stakeholder retreat includes the creation of a vision statement.  This statement answers who the organization wants to be or become and by when? A well-defined vision plays an important role in increasing fundraising effectiveness and capital campaign success.

by Len Moisan