Is it better to commit a campaign commmittee member to giving and a job description or engage them slowly?

The simple answer is yes. If you have volunteers that you can go to and ask to get heavily involved in campaign fundraising, it is always prefered to set high expectations from the start.

However, most organizations do not have a large quantity of major gifts level volunteers who are willing to invite there friends to join them in giving. And, if your organization does have these people they are likely on your board.

Practically you will seed your committee with a couple of solid board members, maybe one of them will help co-chair the committee. The rest of the committee often takes more work to engage. In fact, talking with someone that is not too close to your organization about a list of respondsibilities and making a gift will result in a lot of nos. If you can start a volunteer off with attendance and some fun work then move into a conversation about giving they will often be very ready to engage.

What has been your experience? Do you always use a job description and have a formal recruitment process for committee members? Or, do you take a longer more informal recruitment approach (I am not talking about board membership)?

You may have heard a guideline, “ask for three times what you’d like a donor to give.” This is a mantra that’s often used as a technique to get a stretch gift. That guideline is a very poor rule of thumb. A good ask is one the donor feels they could stretch to make but does not feel like is out of their ability.

The magic of asking for a specific amount is that you can encourage a donor to think about a larger gift than they would traditionally do. If a donor has said yes to you soliciting them for a gift, then they have already indicated that they are very likely to give. People do not like to say no. Most of your “no’s” will happen because you’ve surprised someone and they did not know the purpose of your meeting. From a donors perspective in their heart of hearts they want to say yes to whatever you ask.

Most donors, especially if you’ve done a good job bringing them close to your nonprofit, want to do something that will be significant. Right after you ask for your gift the first thought of the donor is, “can I make that work?” That is why it’s so important that you give them time in silence to think about your ask (for more read my post: Be Quiet). If you ask for a number that is completely out of the realm of their ability, their first thought is, “how can I say no without disappointing them?” From the Development Officer’s perspective we believe that we’ve challenged them to make a stretch gift. Our hope, especially if we ask three times what we think a donor might give, is that they will give at a higher level than if we just asked for a gift at a specific level.

From the mindset of the donor the ask is the ask. Ask for a stretch gift but not one that is out of reach. When you ask for more than a donor has the capacity to do they leave feeling disheartened. If they are close to your organization, they will feel like they’ve let you down.

I recently joined a committee that funds social services projects in the city in which I live. At one of our meetings the committee was discussing setting our funding guidelines. I’ve been a part of the grant writing process for many years and have seen the result of some of the stranger and more involved funding questions.

Maybe it was just my revenge on the funders but I realised quickly that funders and nonprofits do not always speak the same language. The intention behind a funding guideline does not always translate into the intended results. Here are a couple of examples that came to my mind. I’d love to hear from you if you have any other examples.

Example #1 – Leverage

In order to receive funding a nonprofit must use a funders gift to leverage additional financial support from other funders.
Funder Intention: Their perspective on leverage is that it increases their giving power. They can say that with a gift of $500 it was turned into a gift of $1,500.
Nonprofit Result: More partners does not always equal better results. Sometimes a project is best run independent and additional partners just add cost and red tape. Many nonprofits are seeking initial funding to get the project started. This also means that they have to have a process in place to track and report to a group of funders which can mean additional work and administration. More partners does not always equal better service.

Example # 2 – Sustainable Funding

This is the concept that a nonprofit must show that they have a plan for how the project will be funded after the initial contribution runs out.
Funder Intention: The idea is that the funder is providing the start up funds for a program that the organization does not have the capacity yet to fund. They see themselves on the cutting edge of a new solution or kind of assistance.
Nonprofit Result: A nonprofit will wait until they are a year away from putting this project in their annual budget. The result is that it is not a new idea but one they have been hoping to run for a while but have been forced to put off until the organization grows to meet a sustainable funding model. This can also commit a nonprofit to a project that turns out to not work as it was originally intended.

Over the last few months I have been secretly peddling drugs. My blog was hacked and, unknown to me, written into the metadata was advertising for a narcotic. I’m very sorry that I did not catch it sooner. I deleted my site and reposted everything and have solved the problem.

I was thinking about what I want my website to be about and I reflected on what fundraising is about. There is not a lot in common between fundraising and drugs. Fundraising is about capacity building for good work in our communities. It is about providing people a chance they never had before.

However some people seem to steer clear of fundraising as if it was worse than you local dealer. Fundraising is not a narcotic. It is an opportunity for us individually and as a community to make a difference.

Every organization understands the value of their very top 20 donors. It is easy to see the importance of a $10,000 annual donor. Many organizations have a cut-off as to when the “major gift” starts; often times this is $1,000. Don’t forget the value of those donors that are right at and right before that cut off. This group knows they are not your top donors but are giving because your organization is an area of passion for them. They want you to keep in touch but don’t expect as much attention. (This group is a really great group to talk with about planned gifts. If a donor can give $1,000 a year, they often have the ability to give a larger gift at the end of their life through a bequest.)

I also mention this level of gift because it often represents an underserved area. Annual Fund Directors will build a great upgrading program where they might start a donor at $100 and over a few years build them to a $500 or even $1,000 gift. In the mind of the annual fund person they are extremely important. But once they reach a certain level they are given over to the major gifts people. When the major gifts person receives this gift these individuals are all of a sudden at the bottom of their list of donors and no longer considered the most important.

Many of your “secret gem” donors who have huge capacity will start at the $1,000 level. Many donors who can give $10,000 or even much more know that major gifts start around the $1,000 level. The $1,000 gift is a trial gift to see how you will respond and whether they really want to invest their capital. If you do not pay any attention or show a value for their $1,000 gift, you will lose them very quickly.

We all have those prospects which we can never get on the phone. I had a great question in my post, This Thing Called Follow-up, and I wanted to provide a bit more of a comprehensive response.

It is almost always difficult to connect with a new prospect as nobody likes to receive a phone call from a stranger. Building your fundraising programs via people in the community who have never given and have little connection to your organization will always be a challenge.

If these are prospects that could be movers and shakers for your organization, think carefully about who calls them. Send a list around your board meeting to see who might know this individual or a way to connect with them. If you have to do a cold call to them, you might get a lot further if it is the CEO, ED, or President of your organization making the first call. Sometimes it can be helpful to have your board chair or one of your board members who is really well respected in the community or charismatic make the call.

You will always be more successful if you have a reason to connect with the people you are trying to reach. Whether they are patients, individuals that live near the charity, or people that you believe have a common interest, providing a valid reason why you are calling can help people feel more comfortable in calling you back. I have sometimes found that providing a small amount of personal information can help warm someone up to follow-up as well. Too much information will turn everyone off but a quick word about why this message has meaning to you may help in getting someone to return your call.

I am not a particularly brilliant or innovative person nor am I fabulously talented or charismatic. Any success that I have had I’d contribute to a God that cares about me, great friends, and initiative. I am baffled by how many people will only do exactly what they are told or asked to do and nothing more. If you want to be successful, find a way to do more than is expected and asked of you.

Many organizations have a time where the office is less busy often times during the summer donors are less engaged as they are traveling. What a great time to think about a special projects you can work on that will make a difference at your organization. Think about doing a thank you campaign or working on a social media plan. Don’t take your extra time for granted or sit bored at your desk.

If you can create a habit of taking initiative, it will serve you your entire life. Bosses love hiring staff that they do not have to watch over and worry if they are working hard. Everyone will know you are a hard work and you will also get the benefit of the doubt when you make a mistake or when something you try doesn’t work.

It always baffles me how little time organizations will spend stewarding and cultivating their donors. The less time an organization spends acknowledging and cultivating its donors the fewer donors they will retain. In this kind of an organization their top donors are current board members because that is the only group with which they have spent significant time. Many of these organizations never ask for a gift they just cross their fingers and hope that the money will come in.

Take time throughout the entire year to connect with your donors. Know what season your donors would like to give and set up a schedule of reaching out. You do not need to talk with them every single month but you should at least touch base with them quarterly.

Depending on the level of gift your “touch” may be very different. If it is someone that likes to give $20 or $100, don’t spend all of your money cultivating them throughout the year. Find ways to send them electronic messages or newsletters so they know what’s going on. For your donors who are major donors take time to connect with them individually. These connection points should NOT be about asking for money. One of them should be immediately after they give and it should be a thank you.

If your donors see that you care enough to build a year-long relationship with them, then when it comes time for them to give it is a very different experience for you and for them. When you talk to someone once a year when they give it feels very transactional and impersonal. When a relationship has been built throughout the entire year a donor can give knowing it will go to continue the good work for which it was originally intended.

I have a friend who has recently stepped into a new role as a fundraiser and is struggling. Lots of calls + lots of effort = no new money for his organization. It’s a tired and challenging equation that if we are not careful can erode our posture of passionate advocates for our respective organizations into anxious and worrisome cold callers, complete with signature white knuckles and high blood pressure. He told me the other day that it ‘feels like I’m going to have to start begging.’

Hopefully, none of us have been where he is at. More likely though, and if we’re honest, we all have.

The fruit of our labors are relationships that generate investments of treasure, time, and talent. In seasons of fiscal and donor management drought there are many dangers, but perhaps the greatest is our losing sight of and trust in the mission. Though giving may decrease at times, and relationships may dwindle, our passion and trust in the work must not waver. We must never resort to philosophical posture of begging, no matter what.

I’m totally guilty of the hat in hand mentality myself. After 7 years in this bizarro world of development and bearing witness to some amazing giving, I am still convicted all too often of how much I think about all the reasons someone has not to give. When I need to get out of this rut and recharge, re-focus, and re-dedicate I lean on guys like Henry Nouwen to give me the juice:

“Fundraising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer people an opportunity to participate with us in our mission and vision. Fundraising is precisely the opposite of begging. When we seek to raise funds we are not saying, ‘Please, could you help us out because lately it’s been hard.’ Rather, we are declaring ‘We have a vision that is amazing and exciting! We are inviting you to invest yourself!”

Let it be known that it is a privilege to participate in the organizations we represent! Let it be known that people have the need to give just as much as our organizations have the need to receive! Let it be known that even if giving has stunk for the last few months, our mission is still worth it! Lives are being changed, goals are being met, and we continue to invite you to join us! Phew, that’s better. Now back to work.

How do you stay excited about your organization when donors aren’t responding how you’d like them to? What are sources of encouragement that you lean into when you’re not seeing the results you hope for?

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Edward Sumner is currently serving as the Director of Development at Puget Sound Christian Clinic.  He is a Jesus guy, proud Papa, and an advocate for social justice deeply committed to loving and serving the least and the lost in our communities.

Every board I’ve worked with has board members who are more involved and board members who are less involved. Some of your board members are doers and others are not. If you have a smaller board of 5 to 10 people, then you probably have a board that is almost full of doers. If you have a board of 25+, then you probably know which board members are doers, which ones are only there for the meetings, and which ones you are surprised if you ever see.

Every development person loves the doers on their board. I’m not talking about the doer that gets in the way and is always pushing their own agenda. I’m talking about the doer who wants to help out and is always the first person to volunteer. Finding a way to sustain that kind of engagement is important. You want your board members and volunteers to have a good experience; those that are doers you want to have an even better experience so they will keep helping. Do not overwhelm these people with a thousand different projects and a dozen different action items that is a guaranteed way to burn a volunteer out and keep them from volunteering again.

Give your doers one big task at a time to accomplish. If you must, give them two or three; but don’t give them any more tasks than that. When you give someone just one task you will find that the task gets done quicker and more comprehensively. The less tasks the higher likelihood they will be accomplished. Fewer tasks also mean you have an opportunity to thank and praise your volunteers more often for their essential work. This creates a cycle of good experiences where volunteers know you appreciate the work that they are doing and feel a since of pride that you can count on them to get the work done.