The ten most important things you can know about fundraising, from Paws to Think magazine of North Shore/Pet Savers

[Guest guest]

The ten most important

Things you

can

know

about fundraising

BY KIM

KLEIN

 

Many

times at the end of a training or a speech about

fundraising techniques and principles, I am asked,

"What are the most important things to remember?"

Usually the person asking is either a volunteer with little

time to help with fundraising, a person new to fundraising

and overwhelmed by the number of details she or he has

to keep in mind, or a staff person who is not responsible

for fundraising but wants to help.

Over the years, I have thought about what I consider the

ten most important things to know about fundraising. The

items are not presented in order of importance, although

#1 is probably the most important; nor are they in order

of difficulty. If there is any order, it is the order in which I

understood these things and integrated them into my own

fundraising work. Undoubtedly, other skilled fundraisers

would have slightly different lists, but this list has served

me well for many years. I hope you find it useful.

 

1. IF YOU WANT MONEY, YOU HAVE

TO ASK FOR IT

While there are some people (may their kind increase)

who will simply send an organization money or offer

money without being asked, there are not enough of

them to build a donor base around. Most people will not

think to give you money unless you make your needs

known. This is not because they are cheap or self-centered;

it is because most people have no idea how much it costs to

run a nonprofit, or how nonprofits get money. If you don't

ask them, they will simply assume you

are getting the money somewhere. They have no reason

to think your group needs money unless you tell them, the

same way they have no reason to know if you are hungry,

or unhappy, or needing advice.

 

Millard Fuller, who founded Habitat for Humanity,

says, "I have tried raising money by asking for it, and by

not asking for it. I always got more by asking for it."

 

2. THANK BEFORE YOU BANK

Once you receive money, you must thank the person

who gave it to you. I have found that disciplining myself not

to deposit checks until I have written the thank-you notes

has forced me to make thank-you notes a priority. I am not

rigid about this rule because if I get behind in my thank-you

notes, and then don't deposit the checks for a while, the

donors may wonder whether we really needed the money.

 

Thank-you notes do not need to be fancy and should

not be long. If at all possible, they should include a personal

note, even if it is from someone who doesn't know the

donor. You can add something as simple as, "Hope to meet

you sometime," or "Check out our website," or "Happy

holidays," or even, "Thanks again - your gift really

helps."

 

Many organizations have created note cards for staff

and volunteers to use when writing thank yous. The front

of the card has the logo of the group, on the top half of the

inside is a relevant meaningful quote from a famous person,

and the bottom half of the inside is used for the thank-you

message. It is a small space, so you really can't say much.

 

Many databases will print out a thank-you note after

you enter the information about the donor - saving

valuable time. These are best if accompanied by a personal

note at the bottom.

 

Late thank yous are better than no thank you at all,

but photocopied form thank yous are almost the same as

no thank you.

 

The long and the short of thank yous is: if you

don't have time to thank donors, you don't have time to

have donors.

 

3. DONORS ARE NOT

AUTOMATIC TELLER MACHINES

A survey of donors

who gave away more than $5,000

a year asked, "What is your relationship with your favorite

group?" Several gave similar answers, even though they

did not know each other and did not give to the same

group. All the answers were on this theme: "I would love

to be considered a friend, but I am more of an ATM. They

come to me when they need money, they tell me how

much, I give it to them, and the next time I hear from

them is when they

need more."

 

This is a terrible indictment of much of what passes

as fundraising. When I have described this common situation

in trainings, people have often asked, "How can we

make sure our donors don't feel this way?" The answer is

very simple, "Make sure you don't feel that way about

your donors."

 

All groups have a few "high maintenance" donors, and

may be forgiven for wishing them to go on a long trip to a

place without phones or e-mail. But the majority of

donors require practically no attention. They have the

resilience of cacti - the slightest care makes them bloom.

Thank-you notes, easy-to-understand newsletters, and

occasional respectful requests for extra gifts will keep people

giving year in and year out.

 

Think of your donors as ambassadors for your group.

Design your materials so that donors will be proud to give

your newsletter to a friend or recommend your group

when their service club or professional association is looking

for an interesting speaker, or forward your e-mails to

several of their colleagues.

 

By treating your donors as whole people who have a

number of gifts to offer your group, including their financial

support, you will have more financial support from

existing donors, more fun fundraising, more donors, and

the peace of mind of knowing that you are not treating

anyone as an object.

 

4. MOST MONEY COMES FROM PEOPLE,

AND MOST OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE NOT RICH

There are three sources of funding for all the nonprofits

in the United States: earned income (such as products and

fees for service), government (public sector), and the

private sector, which includes foundations, corporations

and individuals. For the nearly 60 years that records about

who gives money away have been kept, at least 80% of this

money has been shown to be given by individuals.

 

In 2002, total giving by the private sector was almost

$241 billion, and 84.2 percent of that ($202 billion) was given

away by individuals! These people are all people - there

is

no significant difference in giving patterns by age, race, or

gender. Income is not nearly the variable that one would

think: middle-class, working-class and poor people are

generous givers and account for a high percentage of the

money given away. In fact, a study by Arthur Blocks of the

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse

University showed that 19% of families living on welfare

give away an average of $72 a year!

 

Too often, people think they can't raise money

because they don't know any wealthy philanthropists. It is

a great comfort to find that the people we know, whoever

they are, are adequate to the task. Seven out of ten adults

give away money. Focus your work on these givers, and

help teach young people to become givers.

 

 

5. PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY NO

One of the biggest mistakes I made early on as a

fundraising trainer was not balancing my emphasis on the

need to ask for money with the reality that people are

going to say no. No one is obligated to support your group

- no matter what you have done for them, no matter

how wealthy they are, no matter how much they give to

other groups, how close a friend they are of the director,

or any other circumstance that makes it seem they would

be a likely giver.

 

While it is possible to guilt-trip, trick, or manipulate

someone into giving once, that will not work as a repeat

strategy. People avoid people who make them feel bad,

and they are attracted to people who make them feel

good. When you can make someone feel all right about

saying no, you keep the door open to a future yes, or to

that person referring someone else to your group.

 

People say no for all kinds of reasons: they don't have

extra money right now; they just gave to another group;

the don't give at the door, over the phone, by mail; a serious

crisis in their family is consuming all their emotional

energy; they are in a bad mood. Rarely does their refusal

have anything to do with you or your group. Sometimes

people say no because they have other priorities, or they

don't understand what your group does. Sometimes we

hear no when the person is just saying, "I need more

time

to decide," or

"I need more information," or "I have

misunderstood something you said."

 

So, first be clear that the person is saying no, and not

something else like, "Not now," or "I don't like special

events." Once you are certain that the person has said no,

accept it. Go on to your next prospect. If appropriate,

write the person a letter and thank them for the attention

they gave to your request. Then let it go. If you don't hear

no several times a week, you are not asking enough people.

 

6. TO BE GOOD AT FUNDRAISING,

CULTIVATE THREE TRAITS

A good fundraiser requires three character traits as

much as any set of skills. These traits are first, a belief in

the cause for which you are raising money and the ability to

maintain that belief during defeats, tedious tasks, and financial

insecurity; second, the ability to have high hopes and low

expectations, allowing you to be often pleased but rarely

disappointed; and third, faith in the basic goodness of people.

13 WWW.GRASSROOTSFUNDRAISING.ORG * 1-888-458-8588 * 3781

BROADWAY, OAKLAND, CA 94611

While fundraising is certainly a profession, people who

will raise money for any kind of group are rarely effective.

Fundraising is a means to an end, a way to promote a cause, a

very necessary skill in achieving goals and fulfilling missions.

 

7. FUNDRAISING SHOULD NOT BE CONFUSED

WITH FUND CHASING, FUND SQUEEZING,

OR FUND HOARDING

Too often, organizations get confused about what

fundraising is and is not.

 

If you hear that a foundation is now funding XYZ

idea, and your organization has never done work in that

area nor have you ever wished to do work in that area, the

fact that you are well qualified to do such work is immaterial.

To apply for a grant just because the money is available

and not because the work will promote your mission

is called fund chasing. Many groups chase money all over

and, in doing so, move very far away from their mission.

 

Similarly, if your organization seems to be running

into a deficit situation, cutting items out of the budget may

be necessary but should not be confused with fundraising.

When deficits loom, the fund squeezing question is,

"How can we cut back on spending?"; the fundraising

question is "Where can we get even more money?"

 

Finally, putting money aside for a rainy day, or taking

money people have given you for annual operating and

program work and being able to put some of it into a

savings account is a good idea. Where savings becomes

hoarding, however, is when no occasion seems important

enough to warrant using the savings.

 

I know a number of groups that have cut whole staff

positions and program areas rather than let money sitting

in their savings be used to keep them going until more

money could be raised. I know groups that overstate what

they pay people, what price they pay for equipment, what

they spend on rent, all to get bigger grants from foundations

or larger gifts from individuals, and then put that

extra into savings - savings that they have no plan for.

 

A group that saves money needs to have a rationale:

Why are you saving this money? Under what circumstances

would you spend it? Without some plan in mind,

the group simply hoards money.

 

Fund chasing, fund squeezing, and fund hoarding

need to be replaced with an ethic that directs the group to

seek the money it needs, spend it wisely, and set some

aside for cash-flow emergencies or future work.

 

 

8. FUNDRAISING IS AN EXCHANGE - PEOPLE

PAY YOU TO DO WORK THEY CANNOT DO ALONE

Hank Rosso, founder of the Fund Raising School and

my mentor for many years, spoke often about the need to

eliminate the idea that fundraising was like begging.

Begging is when you ask for something you do not

deserve. If you are doing good work, then you deserve to

raise the money to do it. What you must do is figure out

how to articulate what you are doing so that the person

hearing it, if they share your values, will want to exchange

their money for your work. They will pay you to do work

they cannot do alone.

 

 

9. PEOPLE'S ANXIETIES ABOUT FUNDRAISING

STEM FROM THEIR ANXIETIES ABOUT MONEY

Anxiety about money is learned, and it can be

unlearned. If you

are ever around children, you know that

they have no trouble asking for anything, especially money.

In fact, if you say no to a child's request for money, they

will simply ask again, or rephrase their request ("I'll only

spend it on books"), or offer an alternative ("How about if

I do the dishes, then will you give me the money?").

 

Everything we think and feel about money we have

been taught. None of it is natural; none of it is genetic.

In fact, in many countries around the world, people talk

easily about money. They discuss what they earn, how

much they paid for things, and it is not considered rude to

ask others about salaries and costs.

 

We have been taught not to talk about money or to

ask for it, except under very limited circumstances. Many

of us are taught that money is a private affair. Having too

little or too much can be a source of shame and embarrassment,

yet money is also a source of status and power.

Most people would like to have more money, yet most will

also admit that money doesn't buy happiness.

 

As adults, we have the right - in fact, the obligation

- to examine the ideas we were taught as children to

ensure that they are accurate and that they promote values

we want to live by as adults. Most of us have changed

our thinking about sex and sexuality, about race, about

age, illness and disability, about religion, about marriage,

about how children should be raised, what foods are

healthy, and much more. We have done this as we have

learned more, as we have experienced more, or, as we

have thought about what we value and what we do not.

We need to take the time to do the same work with our

attitudes toward money. We can choose attitudes that

make sense and that promote our health and well-being.

 

Our attitudes toward fundraising are a subset of our

larger attitudes toward money. The most important

change we can make in our attitudes toward fundraising is

to remember that success in fundraising is defined by how

many people you ask rather than how much money you

raise. This is because some people are going to say no,

which has got to be all right with you. The more people

you ask, the more yes answers you will eventually get.

14

Finally, if you are anxious about asking for money or

would rather not ask, this is normal. But ask yourself if what

you believe in is bigger than what you are anxious about.

Keep focused on your commitment to the cause and that

will propel you past your doubts, fears, and anxieties.

 

10. THERE ARE FOUR STEPS TO FUNDRAISING-

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN, AND WORK YOUR PLAN

Though humorous, this formula that I learned from a

community organizer underscores the fact that fundraising

is three parts planning for one part doing. I learned this later

in my career, after having gone off half-cocked into many

fundraising campaigns and programs. I meant to plan, I

planned to make a plan, I just never got around to planning.

 

I have learned (usually the hard way) that an hour of

planning can save five hours of work, leaving much more

time both to plan and to work. Planning also avoids that

awful feeling of "How can I ever get everything done,"

and that sense of impending doom. It moves us out of

crisis mentality and means that we are going to be a lot

easier for our co-workers to get along with.

 

There are a lot of articles and books on planning -

I recommend reading some of them. However, the easiest

way I have found to plan something is to start by defining

the end result you want and when you want it to happen,

then work backwards from that point to the present. For

example, if you want your organization to have 100 new

members by the end of next year and you are going to use

house parties as your primary acquisition strategy, you

will need to schedule five to seven house parties that will

recruit 10 to 15 members per party.

 

To set up one house party will require asking three

people to host it (only one will accept), which will require

identifying 15 or 20 possible hosts to carry out the number

of house parties you want to have. The hosts will want to

see materials and know what help they will have from you.

 

The materials will have to be ready before the first

phone call is made to the first potential host, and the first

phone call needs to occur at least two months before the

first party. So, the materials need to be produced in the

next two weeks, hosts identified in a similar timeframe,

calls made over a period of two or three months, and so on.

 

When you are tempted to skip planning, or to postpone

planning until you "have some time," or to fly by the

seat of your pants, just remember the Buddhist saying,

"We have so little time, we must proceed very slowly."

 

Reprint by

permission of the Grassroots Fundraising Journal

WWW.GRASSROOTSFUNDRAISING.ORG

 

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