1. Fundraising Strategies for Board Members
Cook Family Foundation
December 9, 2016

2. Resources that were used to build this workshop
Donor Centered Fundraising, Penelope Burke
Fundraising for Social Change, Kim Klein
10 Ways Board Members can Fundraise without Asking for Money, Nonprofit Hub
15 Ways to Transform your Board of Directors into Fundraising Champions, Nonprofit Hub
Building a Culture of Philanthropy in your Organization, Nonprofit Quarterly
Involving your Board and Board Members in Fundraising, Nonprofit Quarterly
2015 Trends to Watch, National Council of Nonprofits
Top 10 Fundraising Trends and Predictions for 2016, Gail Perry

3. Fundraising Trends
Nonprofits retain only 1 in 5 donors – usually because of the post gift experience.
Smart organizations are:
Investing more staff and resources in donor relations
Measuring the performance of their donor relations programs
Educating their leadership and board members in this important metric

4. Fundraising Trends
The end might be coming for general unrestricted fundraising. Why? So many donors don’t trust nonprofits.
Smart organizations are:
Asking donors to fund specific projects
Reframing their general appeals to focus on specific programs
Are your program budgets accurate and appropriate?

5. Fundraising Trends
“Fundraising” is shifting toward a broader concept of “philanthropy”. “Philanthropy” feels like a higher calling to our better human nature. It evokes happy feelings about helping people.

6. Fundraising Trends
Fundraising will continue to be chronically-underfunded. We are leaving so much money on the table because of our reluctance to invest in fundraising. Management issues are the biggest impediment to greater fundraising totals.
Smart organizations are:
Adequately staffing and budgeting for their fundraising programs
Not carrying out their missions on the back of their employees
Embracing philanthropy as an organization wide commitment so that staff is not left alone to do the work

7. Fundraising Trends
Mobile giving will continue to increase. There is explosive growth in the use of mobile devices for everything. Blackbaud is reporting that 17% of gifts it processed on Giving Tuesday came from mobile devices. The rate peaked at 10pm when 42% came in from smart phones and tablets.
Smart organizations are:
Making sure everything they send out is “mobile-enabled”

8. Fundraising Trends
Clearer measures of performance and impact will be required by donors and funders. They want proof that you are doing a good job with their money. They want high performance, efficiency and effectiveness.
Smart organizations are:
Talking about their accomplishments in meaningful and measureable ways.
Demonstrating clear results
Turning their annual reports into “impact reports”

9. Board Meeting Discuss Questions
Handout

10. What's your key take away?

11. BREAK
Be back in 10 minutes

12. Board and Staff Responsibilities
Some hire staff or assign their ED to fundraising. All organizations should establish a board level development committee.
The board is ultimately responsible for the financial health of the institution. That means that the board is ultimately responsible for fund development.
Are the expectations of your board and staff understood? Discuss how your organization communicates who is responsible for what.

13. Board and Staff Responsibilities
The boards fund development committee is responsible to provide leadership and to institutionalize the process.
Staff provides leadership and information and support and serves as the resource for best practice and the body of knowledge.
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your current structure and any adjustments that might need to be made.

14. Best Practices
The best staff and the best committee engage each and every board member – and other volunteers – in the process. And the best staff engages all of their colleagues in the process of philanthropy. Describe how board and staff engages others in the fundraising process within your organization.

15. Building a Culture of Fundraising
Everyone – janitor to board chair – has a role in the customer-centered and donor-centered process (not just mission-centered and client-centered)
Everyone is an ambassador for the organizations servicer, philanthropy and fund development. Everyone understands how all the various jobs in the organization create one integrated system.

16. Creating the culture
Everyone is an ambassador for philanthropy and fund development. If the quality of the program is not good enough, it doesn’t matter what the fundraiser does.
If the board members don’t talk enough about the organization to their friends and colleagues, it doesn’t matter how hard the executive director tries to raise funds.
If the receptionist isn’t customer centered, the best direct mail solicitation will not be as effective as it can be.

17. Discussion
How do we build and maintain a culture of philanthropy within our organization?

18. Set Expectations
“First and foremost, let people know that you expect them to fundraise BEFORE they join your board.”
Carol Weisman, Internationally known fundraising speaker and author
You can’t expect your board to become fundraising champions if you don’t create a clear expectation of a culture of fundraising.

19. Every board member is responsible to do the following:
Understand and promote the culture of philanthropy.
Serve as a philanthropic ambassador within the organization and outside in the community.
Give an annual contribution to the best of personal ability. When there are special campaigns, give an additional gift.
Cultivate relationships on behalf of and in support of the organization.
Help identify and cultivate prospective donors and fundraising volunteers.
Participate in some fundraising task(s) every year.

20. What's your key take away?

21. Challenges in 2017
Millennials will continue to change charitable giving
Continue to study what motivates this generation. (80 million millennials are coming of age…. Learning how they spend their cash will be critical to nonprofits)
Consider using the word “invest” rather than “donate”
Personal connection tends to influence both volunteer time and giving

23. Brainstorm ways to engage younger donors

24. What's your key take away?

25. No Ask Fundraising Strategy for Board Members
Make their own gift – EVERY board member should be a current and generous donor to your organization. The amount they give should be significant to them based on their capacity. Wealthier board members can and should give more but everyone should make a gift that is meaningful to them.

26. No Ask Fundraising Strategy for Board Members
Call donors to Thank them Think this doesn’t have an impact? In a study by Penelope Burk, donors receiving a “thank you” call from a board member within 24 hours of making their gift said they gave 39 percent more. Fourteen months later those same donors were giving 42 percent more than donors who didn’t get the call and they had a 70 percent retention rate. Set your board members up for success. Give them a sample thank-you script, background on the donor, details on their gift and a few discovery questions they can ask to learn more about them.

27. Thank you calls Set your board members up for success. Give them:
A sample thank-you script
Background on the donor
Details on their gift and a few discovery questions they can ask to learn more about them.

28. SAMPLE THANK YOU CALL SCRIPT Hi [DONOR NAME], my name is [CALLER NAME] and I’m calling from [NONPROFIT NAME] to thank you for your generous donation to our organization as part of the [GIVING DAY NAME]. It means a lot to us and will really make a difference in what our organization can accomplish! Pause to let them respond. If they don’t seem to want to chat, say: Thank you again so much for your donation and your time. We are deeply appreciative and look forward to working together in the future. If they do seem interested in talking, this is your opportunity to dive into more details about your organization, gauge their interests and find ways to involve them even more. To end the conversation, say: Thank you again so much for your donation and your time. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you ever have additional questions about our work. We hope that this is the beginning of a meaningful relationship between you and [NONPROFIT NAME], and we look forward to talking to you again soon!

29. No Ask Fundraising Strategy for Board Members
Name the Organization in their Will
Invite 10 of their key contacts to a private tour of the organization
Host an intimate cultivation event in their home

30. No Ask Fundraising Strategy for Board Members
Get assigned to 2 to 3 donors to cultivate Cultivation is key AND it sets up the next ask. The invitation is the cultivation (even if they never come). Board members can regularly call the donors to update them on how their gift is making an impact. I recommend assigning no more than 3 donors to each board member. Three is a realistic number for a volunteer to handle.

31. Cultivation Ideas Stay in touch – send birthday cards
Invite them to tour the facility or come “observe” programs and events
Tie in volunteer opportunities
Invite them to coffee/lunch to talk about issues, trends regarding the mission of the organization
When an article appears that connects to the work of the organization, mail or the article
Ask donors for advice

32. Cultivation Ideas
The day a check arrives from the donor, call and say thank you
Give the donor your direct phone number
Send updates on the status of projects, goals including pictures
Send your audited financial statements
Nominate your donors for awards
Ask donors to read a draft copy of your case statement and ask for feedback
Introduce donors to other leaders within the organization

33. Cultivation Ideas
Attend events hosted by or important to your donors, like ribbon cuttings or open houses
Make sure the donor is on mailing lists of the organization
Invite donors along when other VIP’s to your organization are in town (eg when people who represent the national organization come for a visit)

34. How would you create a cultivation system?
What would need to be available and accessible to your board members to allow them to cultivate donors? What systems would need to be in place for a cultivation program to be successful?

35. What's your key take away?

36. No Ask Fundraising Strategy for Board Members
Take on a project to increase community awareness about the organization
Write letters to the editor
Write a blog post
Use social media
Send follow up press releases to the media
Call elected or appointed officials

37. No Ask Fundraising Strategy for Board Members
Share how money makes an impact at the Organization
Collect and Share Client Testimonials
Write articles for newsletters, annual reports
Blog why the organization is important to them

38. What's your key take away?

39. Read

40. Planning Time What are you going to do with this information?
How would you share this information with the rest of your board?
When?
What’s the first thing you need to do?
What barriers will you face?
How would you utilize Tom to coach you?

41. Thank you for serving your community
Review intent and accomplishments of session
2800 Springport Rd., Jackson, MI