All Donors Are Not Equal
Have you ever been asked to lend your business expertise to a notforprofit board only to learn later that board members are expected to help raise money as well? If you suddenly find yourself in this role how can you help ensure a successful campaign and the productive use of your own time and energy?
Raising resources requires an investment and a savvy board will determine early whether the organization is willing and able to spend appropriate amounts on technology donor research travel and communications. A successful campaign also requires:
- The right development staff.
- Committed capable board and volunteer leadership.
- A feasibility study confirming that a campaign is warranted and that goals are achievable.
With this structure in place the remaining steps all involve prospects identifying ranking and cultivating them; soliciting gifts; and keeping donors engaged.
Identifying and ranking prospects
Not all donors are created equal. Given limited resources the organization must devote most of its attention to the prospects most likely to donate large gifts.
A successful campaign will begin by using technology to create lists starting with:
- Past donors.
Relevant constituencies such as alumni and parents for a university.
- Other individuals and organizations with some connection including associates of board members former board members and staff and names drawn from files annual reports magazines and newsletters.
Software and electronic screening tools can help generate estimates of each prospects ability to give. Public sources provide biographical details stock and property holdings seats on boards and gifts. Lists can be sorted by assets zip codes affinity groups upcoming reunion classes for example or giving patterns.
A prospects motivation to give which will require further research is as important as his or her ability to give. The higher a prospect ranks in both areas the more personal attention the fundraiser should devote to him or her.
Cultivating prospects
Visiting the prospects home or workplace allows the fundraiser to learn more about the donors motivation and to customize giving opportunities that will match the donors interests making it easier for him or her to say yes.
A university president and successful fundraiser once asked a donor to endow a chair in engineering. The donor had earned an engineering degree at the university and had gone on to help build a multimilliondollar firm. Surely the president reasoned the donor would be interested in supporting engineering students.
But the donor had a different motivation. So proud was he of his childrens involvement in the business that he did end up funding a chair but in family business not in engineering.
Solicitation and stewardship
While many board members cringe at the prospect of actually asking for the gift thorough preparation and completion of earlier steps will ease the process. A savvy solicitor will present a onepage proposal with bullet points highlighting up to three options leaving the donor less opportunity to say no if just one proposal is offered.
Having the right folks present is crucial. The institution will want to include staff and volunteers important to the donor. The donor will want to include spouse advisers and company officers.
But the process doesnt end there; ongoing stewardship is crucial. At one institution we discovered through research that a students parents appeared very capable of giving. We involved them in university activities and then began soliciting them for 10000 annual fund gifts. When the student graduated we continued communicating with the parents and eventually obtained a gift for a building renovation.
Conclusion
Any successful campaign achieves its fundraising goals while also preparing the organization for the next campaign. With the right structures in place to support effective research communications and stewardship the organization will be well positioned to ask for more and bigger gifts in the future.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Carol Wittmeyer served as VP at Newman University in Wichita Kansas and as Associate VP for University Relations at Alfred University where she managed the New Millennium Campaign which raised 82 million. She served as VP for College Relations at Medaille College.She was President of the Raymond Institute dedicated to promoting family business.She teaches management at St. Bonaventure University and serves as president of Meliora Group.
Related posts:
