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How Do You Attract Big Gifts from the Affluent? – Part II

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A guest post from Tripp Braden, of Developing Serving Leaders.   You can read the previous installment at How Do You Attract Big Gifts from the Affluent? – Part I.

Ask for Feedback on New Programs

Tripp Braden

Tripp Braden

The second opportunity to connect with more affluent givers is to become better at sharing new opportunities as they develop.

Successful entrepreneurs are good at identifying and implementing new opportunities faster than their competitors. If you share an opportunity in the early phases, this wealthy individual can help you crystallize your thinking on this new opportunity.

If you can help them see the possibilities, they are more likely to provide financial support for them. I call this social innovation and I believe it’s the great equalizer in attracting the right people to your cause and organization. Most wealthy entrepreneurs are very good at understanding risk/reward as part of their everyday lives. If you can challenge their thinking, you are well on your way to building an extraordinary partnership with them.

If you want to get somebody more involved in what you’re working on, ask them if you could share an idea with them to get their feedback. Learn how to tell stories about where your organization is considering going and then ask them provocative questions to help them see the opportunity more clearly.

 Ask for the Gift of Networking

The third opportunity to connect with more affluent givers is to learn to see individuals as having many different resources they can bring to your organization.

I’ve found most of my millennial givers are not always able to provide the same level of funding as my baby boomers. What they do bring to the table is high energy and a larger network with others who can help your cause. If you remember that almost every wealthy person sees their network as a large part of their net worth, having the ability to mobilize these people can provide a positive impact on your organization.

On the other hand, we baby boomers are very willing to provide a wider range of gifts to your organization. When dealing with us, challenge us to find the right people in our community who would be interested in your cause–because we are involved. I can remember several times where I was able to identify the right person to provide a significant gift because of a relationship I had with them. You shouldn’t be afraid to have me or my peers make calls of introduction for you.

Today, I believe that most fundraisers are only one person away from the person who can help transform their organization forever. It is critical that you are able to engage your donors in a different way. I believe there are many ways to engage and empower people to help grow your organization.

I hope this gives you several ways to begin cultivating relationships and connecting with your larger donors. Good luck.

The Case of the Unknown Audience

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“You’ve got to help us,” the Executive Director said. “We have all these different audiences, and we don’t know them.  We’re communicating in the dark.”

Do the detective work to know your audiences

Do the detective work to know your audiences

“A hundred dollars an hour plus expenses,” I said.  As a private detective, I’m used to searching in the dark.  Besides, it would be a break from snooping on cheating husbands and wives.

Here’s how I tracked down the unknown audiences.

Searched the case files.  I looked through the database for tips about donors and prospects.  I combed the Board bios and meeting minutes to get the skinny on the directors.  For clients, the agency balked: confidentiality, they said.  I’d heard that one before.  “Give me a sample of client folders with the names removed.  I’ll take it from there.”

Talked to informants.  Who knows each audience the best?  The nice lady at the front desk told me stories about the people who come in looking for help that would curl your hair.  The program directors dished the dirt on the organizations they collaborate with: thick as thieves, but not as well funded. The Executive Director herself knew all the politicians in town.  I made notes.

Beat the pavement.  Take a tip from an old gumshoe: don’t wait by the phone.  Get out and talk to people.  Interview people from each audience.  Find out their motives.  How else will you know how to motivate them?

Tail the suspects.  These days, people leave trails a mile wide all over the Internet.  Track them.  What footprints can you find through a web search?  Who do they visit on Facebook?  See what business they’re conducting in LinkedIn groups.  Read the notes they scrawl and toss onto Twitter.  You don’t have to snap photos: they’re doing it for you, on Instagram and Pinterest and other juke joints all around.  Make yourself known there and see who talks.

Follow the money.  Are your audiences making payments to other organizations?  Look at donor lists to see what relationships they have on the side.

Get the suspects in a room.  Call it a focus group.  Call it an advisory board.  Call it Ishmael, if you like–just ask them the questions.  Put them at ease and they’ll sing like a room full of canaries.

I made my report.  The Executive Director was grateful. “Now we know who they are, what they want, where to find them, and how to talk to them.  I can just see the volunteers and donors coming in!”

“Good,” I said.  “Don’t spend it all in one place.”  They would need to do more investigation as their audiences changed.  Good investigators don’t come cheap.

Personalized Fundraising: The Right Tools Help

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Feel like a numberYour supporters aren’t numbers. Why are you keeping track of them with a spreadsheet?

A recent study by Software Advice, a consultancy that helps nonprofits find software, found that 52% of the organizations they studied currently use general-purpose software, such as Microsoft Excel or Google Drive, to manage data. That includes all the data on their donors and prospects.

I feel your pain, nonprofits. You’re strapped for time and short on money. That makes you use the tools you already have–especially if they’re free.

But free is not always the best price.

What it Costs You to Use Free Tools

Using Excel or Google for your fundraising database may be fine if all you want to do is look up what you know about one person. Suppose, however, that you want to:

  • Send a carefully crafted email to only those people who have given more than $100 as a donation and who live in the zip codes closest to your office.
  • Keep track of registration for a gala or other event.
  • Print call sheets for a phone-a-thon.
  • Automatically send a welcome message and a series of follow-ups to new members.

You can’t do any of those directly from free tools.

If you want to send a targeted email message, for example, you might have to create a distribution list in Outlook, export it to Excel, import that to an email marketing system like MailChimp or Constant Contact, compose and schedule the email, and then enter the results back in Outlook–all by hand. What a waste of time! Don’t you have better things to do?

Better Tools for the Personal Touch

“Nonprofits have always tracked donors and contributions, but increasingly, buyers are requesting robust constituent relationship management (CRM) systems and outreach tools,” says Janna Finch of Software Advice, the author of the study.

Why invest in that kind of tool? The paradox is that the more high-tech systems let you keep in touch with your donors and supporters in a more personal way. As Finch explains:

CRMs let nonprofit staff track information beyond a supporter’s name, address and contribution amount, including specific interests, professional experience, relationships, participation in activities, and more. Leveraging this knowledge, fundraisers can create a personalized message that targets a group of supporters that is more likely to turn a fence-sitter into an active donor, advocate or volunteer.

The Power of Personalized Asks

It’s a sad truth that big corporations like pharmacy chains and health insurance companies treat me more personally than the causes I support. Part of the answer is to invest in tools that will let you, the nonprofit, track your relationship with me, the donor, and let me know you care.

Quoting Janna Finch of Software Advice again:

“Here’s a comparison to illustrate the power of personalization. The first is a sample of a generic ask letter sent to all supporters; the second is personalized and targeted to past donors who are also teachers working in a school district the organization serves.”

Generic: Once again, we’re holding our annual drive to collect contributions to supply underprivileged students with school supplies for the upcoming school year. Since our organization relies on the generosity of individuals such as yourself, would you consider a donation to our cause?

Personalized: As a teacher, you are undoubtedly aware of how having the necessary school supplies impacts a student’s educational experience. Thanks to your $100.00 donation last year, 23 underprivileged students in your school district started the year fully-stocked with supplies. Would you consider another donation this year to ensure every student has all the supplies he or she needs?

Neither of these is the ideal appeal letter–but the personalized one will win every time. And you can only write the personalized letter if the data are ready to hand. A CRM tool will help you let the donor know he or she is not just a number to you.

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