4 Ways Of Finding Society Donors

Nonprofits will gladly accept a donation of any size but when it comes down to it receiving a gift from higher-priced donors are much more helpful in the fundraising enterprise.

The most sought after gifts come from what are called Society Donors. These individuals tend to make the biggest donations and, as such, are the biggest catch for any fundraiser. During the 2013 Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits, George Durney and Page Bullington of Marquette University discussed the best ways to secure a gift from a Society Donor. The process should involve a careful, dedicated program of cultivation.

Based on surveys taken at 12 institutions of higher learning over a 20-year period, Durney and Bullington offered the following reminders when going after Society Donors:

• Have patience. On average, it took 13.2 years for a donor to make their first $1,000 gift.
• Keep donors engaged and giving. Those who gave $1,000 in fiscal year 2009 gave in about 73 percent of the years they were on file.
• Have a cultivation plan. Some 57 percent of donors made a first gift of less than $100.
• Establish donor potential. The higher the first gift, the quicker they became a higher-level donor/

Webinar: Can Nonprofits Raise Money With Social Media?

It's the age-old question for nonprofits: Can you raise money using social media? While studies done over the last three years show that the answer is generally "no," that doesn't mean organizations should abandon ship.

The NonProfit Times, in partnership with the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN), is proud to present "Can Nonprofits Raise Money With Social Media?" This webinar, which is happening on October 25th at 1:00 p.m. EST, will show how social media is a great way to deepen relationships with your community and eventually turn them into donors, featuring expert opinions by Allyson Kapin of Rad Campaign, Lindsey Twombley of the Human Rights Campaign, and Danielle Brigida of the National Wildlife Federation.

Here is just some of the information you will take away from this special event:

• Strategies that can help you move from single to multi-channel ways to engage and fundraise;
• A suggestion of tools that help you move agilely in a rapidly changing environment; and,
• Information about future trends to help keep your marketing mix fresh and innovative.

This special premium webinar event puts you directly in conversation with expert panelists. Take advantage of our advance registration discount: purchase your registration at our online store by October 20th to receive the early-bird rate of just $49. Full registration after October 20th will be $69.

Register today at the best rate so your organization can be on top when it comes to social and digital engagement.

Webinar: Social Media, #GivingTuesday and End-of-Year Fundraising

UPDATE: The webinar begins today but it's not too late to register! Sign up today to learn about this important topic.

Every nonprofit wants to be a part of the social media scene. Not only will it increase your organization's visibility, it could potentially lead to an increase in donations. But beware: Being popular on social media doesn't automatically mean you will be seeing improved fundraising.

Join us along with Salsa Labs for "Social Media, #GivingTuesday and End-of-Year Fundraising," a free webinar on September 26 at 2:00 p.m. Roz Lemieux, CEO of Attentive.ly, Drew Bernard, founder and CEO of ActionSprout.com, and Christine Schaefer, VP of Community and Marketing at Salsa Labs, will be speaking about how your organization can turn your social media success into guaranteed donations.

Whether it's on #GivingTuesday or end-of-year fundraising, these three speakers will walk you step-by-step through how even with just a small team and some technology tools you can easily plan, execute and measure to segment and target the right people with the right message at the right time.

This webinar might not be for another three weeks but it's never too early to register. Sign up for free today so you can learn how to turn online popularity into dollars.

Campaign Brings $91 Million To SDSU

San Diego State University (SDSU) just had the most successful fundraising campaign in the school's 116-year history.

The institution announced Thursday that its annual Campaign for SDSU bought in more than $91 million during the 2012-2013 fiscal year, which ended June 30. Overall, the campaign has reached $413.8 million of its $500 million goal.

“We are grateful to our generous alumni and community supporters whose gifts continue to fuel our development as a leading public research university,” said SDSU President Elliot Hirshman. “This record breaking year is a critical milestone in the development of our culture of philanthropy.”

During 2012-2013, SDSU raised nearly $58 million for student scholarships, endowed professorships, and program support. These gifts will enhance the broad institutional goals set forth in “Building on Excellence,” SDSU’s new strategic plan, which builds upon SDSU’s areas of strength and pride: student success, research and creative endeavors and community and communication.

Some of the more notable gifts from this year's campaign include:

• A gift of $3 million from Charles and Chinyeh Hostler to support international programs in the College of Arts and Letters;
• A gift of $1.5 million from the Campanile Foundation board member Terry Atkinson to establish an endowment that will strengthen SDSU’s ambitious research agenda by supporting faculty research; and,
• A $1.5 million endowment from the late Professor Emeritus Donald G Wilson for the College of Engineering.

The Campaign for SDSU, the first campus-wide fundraising event in the school's history, was launched in 2007 as a way to provide new opportunities for students. To date, The Campaign has received more than 43,000 gifts from alumni, friends, faculty, staff, parents and community partners, including 78 gifts of $1 million or more.

You can find more information about the campaign at http://campaign.sdsu.edu/campaign/ 

Poor Fundraising Derails $28M NJ Community Center

Plans for a $28-million Jewish community center have been halted after fundraising for the project ran dry. Only six more weeks of construction were required.

According to a report in The Times of Trenton, plans for the community center, which was being built by the Jewish Community Campus (JCC) Council of Princeton Mercer Bucks, are likely finished as the organization has been unable to secure more funds.

“We’ve been trying to get this back on track,” Howard Cohen, president of the JCC, said in an interview with The Times. “So far, we haven’t succeeded, which means short of a miracle or something else, we can’t continue.”

Planning for the new community center began in 2006 after the old JCC, which is now the Ewing Senior and Community Center, was sold. The Council secured approval from the borough of West Windsor to build the 77,000-square-foot community center in 2007, the construction of which was made possible by using the money from the sale of the old JCC and by borrowing $11 million.

Since the Jewish community in West Windsor had been talking about a new community center for many years, Cohen told The Times he expected that donors would line up to contribute. The donations were not as plentiful as anticipated, however, and construction halted in mid-October when the JCC could no longer pay the construction bills.

According to the New Jersey Jewish News, the JCC is not only short on its construction funds, it also lacks the money to pay back the $11-million loan it received at the beginning of the project. Approximately $6 million of that loan is due in December.

While the Council is attempting to restart the project, Cohen said that he is not optimistic. “At this point, I’m not sure what kind of help there really is,” he said. “The odds are not in our favor.” He also noted that the property could soon go into foreclosure.

You can read the full story in The Times of Trenton.

Making The Switch To Monthly Giving

Monthly giving programs are on fundraisers' radars these days as some nonprofits have found it to be a great source of revenue and engagement. That doesn't mean it's easy to switch to it when your nonprofit is already practicing annual giving.

During Fundraising Day in New York 2013, sponsored by the New York City chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Valerie Arganbright of Appleby Arganbright and Jason Lott of Human Rights Campaign, discussed the challenges organizations can face when switching from annual to monthly giving. They warned that adopting a new fundraising method means learning a new way of doing business, which means you should learn the following rules:

• Asking, who is the business owner for the monthly giving?
• Deciding how and when revenue will be recognized.
• A decision about monthly giving as the number one ask and one-time giving as the only other option.
• Consistent branding.

Arganbright and Lott also said that nonprofits should make the following considerations when evaluating the pros and cons of a monthly giving campaign:

• Monthly activation rates, particularly by channel;
• Decline and attrition rates;
• Average gift of new monthly donors by channel; and,
• Actual performance against budget.

7 Elements Of A Successful Fundraising Event

Every nonprofit wants a successful fundraising event but are they doing the right things to have one? According to one expert, this is not always the case.

During a recent international conference on fundraising, Vivian A. Smith of Liberty Quest Enterprises said that a diverse fund development program should include events, but urged organizations to incorporate them thoughtfully into their overall strategy. They should not, she said, be viewed as standalone initiatives used just to raise money.

To be successful, planners of an event must consider:

• Event Purpose. Is it just money, new prospects, increasing public awareness, gaining attention or some other objective?
• Prospective audience. Think of characteristics and demographics, as well as the size of the group and the kind of appeal that is appropriate.
• Type of event. It should meet the goals and reach the target market. It should be mission focused. Is there competition?
• Resources needed for the event. This includes staffing, leadership, volunteers, time, skills, budget and a contingency plan.
• Cost per dollar raised. This includes both direct an indirect costs.
• Evaluation. Think of event goals, net revenue, staff commitment and volunteer impact.
• Outcome. This is not just dollars raised at the time of the event. It can also serve as an opportunity to build team spirit among volunteers and staff.

Nonprofit Galas Breaking Fundraising Records On West Coast

Nonprofit galas in the Bay Area are breaking all sorts of fundraising records this year, bringing hope that organizations could soon be returning to pre-recession fundraising levels.

A report in the San Francisco Business Times reveals that many San Francisco-based organizations are getting a big boost in revenue from their annual galas. For example, Meals on Wheels (MoW) raised almost $2.17 million for homebound seniors at its 26th annual Star Chefs and Vinters Gala in April. That amount was the most ever raised by the organization for that particular event. In total, it netted $300,000 more than last year's gala, as more than 1,000 guests showed up to sample a spread of food made by gourmet chefs.

MoW Executive Director Ashely McCumber told The Business Times that she believed the success of this year's gals stems from a couple of factors: Strong donor relationships and an increased confidence in the economy, as people are feeling more comfortable giving once again. He added that most of the money from the gala came from individuals while corporate donations remained the same. Around 200 businesses and individuals participated in the gala's live and silent auctions.

While Habitat for Humanity San Francisco has not yet had its annual gala, Executive Director Phillip Killbridge told The Business Times that he is confident it will also break fundraising records, especially after Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage wrote the nonprofit a $25,000 check.

Are your nonprofit galas and special events seeing similar results? Let us know in our comments section.

You can read the full story in the San Francisco Business Times.

5 Ways To Keep In Touch With Monthly Giving Donors

Your work is done just because you got a donor to join your monthly giving program. Far from it; in fact, as fundraising consultant Pamela Grow explains, your work is just beginning.

Grow says that it's up to you as a fundraising professional to make sure your monthly donors are made to feel special. As a member of an exclusive club, these individuals are going to be expecting world-class treatment. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to keep in constant contact with them.

In her e-book, "The Lifetime Donor Attraction System," Grow shared five tips on how to keep in contact with your monthly donors:

• Don’t stop communicating. Keep sending emails, as well as offers to upgrade their monthly commitments. These donors are also excellent prospects for planned giving, having demonstrated dedication to your nonprofit.
• Send monthly donors special versions of your regular communications. Make sure they reference the donor’s membership in your monthly giving program.
• Give them special opportunities, such as events, guided tours and access to your organization’s executives. Make sure they know the opportunity is exclusive to monthly givers.
• Send special thank-yous. Think about including premiums in your thank-you correspondence with monthly donors.
• Don’t neglect your regular correspondence. Follow up if a monthly sustainer’s renewal lapses or if she suspends payments.

Idaho's First Giving Day Begins

The inaugural edition of Idaho Gives, a statewide online giving campaign run by the Idaho Nonprofit Center, began today, with more than 500 charities taking part in the event.

As reported by The Boise Weekly, there were already 1,000 donations by sunrise this morning, and donors have until 11:59 p.m. to continue giving. The five nonprofits with the most unique donors by the end of the day will receive onus grants of $3,000, $1,000, $500, $250, and $250 respectively.

All donations made on the Idaho Gives website are made to the Razoo Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization which permits donors to advise a regranting of their donations to other IRS recognized qualifying 501(c)(3). The Foundation will then regrant 97.1% of its contribution to the qualifying organization as advised by the donor, retaining 2.9% for Razoo Foundation’s expenses.

Participating nonprofits are divided into three categories based on their size: Large, medium, and small. Currently leading the "large" category is Idaho Humane Society Inc., which has 134 unique donors giving $5,952. Idaho Falls School District 91 Education Foundation Inc., rounds out the "medium" category with 59 unique donors giving $2,765. Finally, Girls on the Run-Idaho Inc., leads the "small" category with $1,325 in donations from 35 unique donors.

State online giving days have a long history of success for nonprofits. In a recent article on The NonProfit Times, it was reported that 800 nonprofits received over $1 million in donations from Arizona Gives Day, held on March 20.

You can read the full story in The Boise Weekly.

10 Fundraising Rules For Managers

Nonprofit managers often have to wear multiple hats if their organization's mission is to succeed. One of those roles requires them to chip in on the fundraising side of the operation.

The word "fundraising" can make any executive start to sweat, but it doesn't have to be that way. Susan Black of Allene Professional Fundraising shares these 10 rules in her white paper, “Ten Rules to fundraise By.”

• People give to people. A gift officer needs to win a donor’s trust so he or she knows the donation is in good hands.
• Know your story, then articulate it. It’s the gift officer’s job to translate the organization’s impact into relatable, digestible bits of information.
• Have a plan. Your organization needs both a strategic and a fundraising plan.
• Get out of the office. Connect with donors face-to-face.
• Identify, cultivate, ask and than, then do it again. Your work doesn’t stop with the first gift; turn your donors into advocates for your organization and they’ll be more valuable, both monetarily and otherwise.
• Remember, you are brilliant. Recognize how important your work is, and have confidence that you can get the job done.
• Your only job with volunteers is to make them successful. Volunteers want to feel useful, be managed, feel appreciated, have an impact and share your success. Your volunteer management plan must take their needs into account.
• If it’s not in the database, it didn’t happen. Recordkeeping is of vital importance.
• It’s not about you. It’s about the donor. Practice donor-centered fundraising, and always be aware of the donor experience.
• Measure it. Start with the end in mind, consider all the costs, and create success metrics before you have to use them, not after.

The Donor Research Checklist For Small Nonprofits

What's the best way to ensure a successful fundraising campaign? Some would argue that donor research should be on the top of that list, and they would have a point. More information about donors means your fundraisers will have a better idea about how to approach them.

While large nonprofits usually have full-time researcher on-staff, it can be a little bit harder for smaller organizations to find room in their budget for donor research. That's why Ann Rosenfield, executive director of The WoodGreen Foundation, offered some tips to help these organizations reap the benefits of this research without breaking the bank. 

She wrote the following checklist in the Winter 2013 edition of Advancing Philanthropy:

• Hire a researcher, even if just for a while: This will enable managers to focus on the technical aspects of fundraising while research crunches the numbers.
• Pay for a research database service: This allows for quick look-ups of prospective donors recommended by the board, events, and potential board members.
• Remember that information on foundations is free: This information is easily accessible online on such sites as Foundation Center.
• If possible, use data analytics: This allows the organization to see how analytics work and keep track of these findings on a spreadsheet.
• Identify new prospects: Having a researcher means being able to seek out new prospective clients who will give.
• Don’t forget that the organization’s small size is actually a strength: The small size of is an asset in that it allows research to be done on a more personal level.

Charity Raises $7 Million In Aftermath Of Boston Marathon Bombings

A fund created to raise money for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings has already received nearly $7 million in donations from corporate partners and individual donors.

One Fund Boston was launched on Tuesday by Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino to give philanthropists and other individuals a way to support the more than 180 individuals who were injured during the attacks on Monday. The $7 million raised so far includes a $1 million commitment from John Hancock Financial Services, which was one of the lead sponsors of the marathon.

Taking aside the donations from businesses and corporations, One Fund Boston has received $500,000 from 8,500 individual donors.

“I am humbled by the outpouring of support by the business community and individuals who are united in their desire to help,” Patrick said. “At moments like this, we are one state, one city, and one people.”

Mayor Menino said via a statement that he received calls from businesses and individuals who wanted to pledge money “within the hour” that the fund was established. “We are one Boston. We are one community. As always, we will come together to help those most in need. And in the end, we will all be better for it,” Mayor Menino said.

One Fund Boston will be headed by attorney Ken Feinberg, who was appointed in 2001 by the Attorney General of the United States to head the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. In 2010, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to administer the fund for those affected by the BP oil spill, and he also helped administer donations for the victims of the mass shootings in Aurora, Colo., and at Virginia Tech.

“I am honored to serve at the request of both Governor Patrick and Mayor Menino,” Feinberg said in a press release. “I will do my best to justify their confidence in me as we move forward to design and administer an effective program following the terrible tragedy in Boston.”

Feinberg, who is himself a native of Boston, will head the fun entirely pro bono.

The Fund is currently in the process of applying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. A statement on the organization's website said that if the IRS makes the determination that it is worthy of being tax-exempt, that decision will be made retroactive to the date of the Fund's formation.

Idaho Nonprofits Getting Online Giving Day

Nonprofits in Idaho are being invited to participate in a one-day online giving day campaign next month. The event hopes to bring new donors and increased outreach to local organizations.

Idaho Gives Day, created by the Idaho Nonprofit Center, is set to begin on May 2. Much like the online giving days in other states, this campaign will let individuals search for nonprofits in their area to which they wish to contribute. According to a report in The Twin Falls Times-News, there will be additional incentives for organizations that choose to participate, including tracking of the number of donors and how much money each nonprofit receives.

In addition, the Idaho Nonprofit Center will randomly draw a donor's name throughout the day and give $1,000 to a charity of their choosing. The five nonprofits at the end of the day that have the largest number of donors will also receive a grant from the Center.

Those individuals who wish to participate in Idaho Gives Day should visit the event's website on May 2. You can read the full story in The Twin Falls Times-News.

Khloe Kardashian: Husband's Charity Not A Scam

Reality star Khloe Kardashian has taken to the web to deny allegations that her husband Lamar Odom's charity is a scam.

A report on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" program on March 31 alleged that many charities of top athletes don't fulfill their missions as stated. They cited Odom's charity Cathy's Kids as one of the examples, alleging that the organization hasn't given any money to cancer research even though it has raised nearly $2.2 million.

The charity was founded by Odom in 2004 and was named after the NBA star's mother who died from cancer. ESPN noted that the charity was supposed to raise funds for cancer research, but the report alleged that nearly 60 percent of donations has gone to finance two elite youth basketball travel teams and that there is no evidence that any of the remaining $900,000 went to cancer research.

The Huffington Post reported that on Tuesday, Kardashian took to her blog on the website Celebuzz to defend her husband from the allegations. She insisted that the Los Angeles Clippers star has personally donated "millions" of dollars to cancer research, and that none of the money from the charity went to help him or any member of his family.

She also sought to clarify the ultimate mission of Cathy's Kids, saying that the organization was founded with multiple purposes in mind including cancer research and helping underprivileged youth. "A decision was ultimately made that the charity should focus on one of those purposes — to help enrich the lives of underprivileged inner-city youth," wrote Kardashian. "It accomplished that goal. Cathy’s Kids helped fund multiple AAU basketball teams providing underprivileged youth with opportunities enriching their lives, providing financial support for coaching and travel to tournaments, helping inner-city youth on a path toward success and leading many participants to go on to college."

Aside from Odom's charity, the ESPN report also mentions alleged questionable practices by such well-known athletes as New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, whose foundation stopped filing tax returns five years ago, and NFL wide receiver Randy Moss, whose two charities allegedly spent no money on philanthropy in 2010.

4 Reasons Your Nonprofit Isn't Having Fundraising Success

Fundraising can be considered a game of chance. Sometimes you win; sometimes you lose. If your nonprofit is losing much more often than winning, however, there could be something wrong with the way you are playing the game.

In the book "Five Good Ideas,"  Ross McGregor, former CEO of Ketchum Canada, lists some of the more common reasons nonprofits don't experience more fundraising success. One of the practices he most highly recommends avoiding is to hire a fundraising consultant to ask for support on your behalf. These individuals should instead be used, McGregor said, to help shape your overall fundraising strategy.

McGregor also listed four other mistakes organizations make in their fundraising practices:

• They don’t ask;
• They don’t make fundraising a priority;
• They hope that their good work will automatically attract financial support; and,
• They fear rejection.

6 Steps To A Grant Proposal

Are you ready to apply for one of the funding opportunities on The NonProfit Times's Grant Page? Great; your next step will be to put together a competitive proposal that will give your organization the best chance to be selected for funding.

According to Barbara Floersch, director of The Grantsmanship Center in Los Angeles, Calif., not any old grant proposal will be enough to perk the interest of the funder. “The quality of the process you use to put the proposal together directly affects competiveness,” she explained.

Floersch said that the first step to having a quality grant proposal process is to mobilize a team of people invested in the project, assign a leader, lay out a timeline, and assign tasks. The demands of the proposal will dictate some tasks, but here are six that should always be included:

• Gather Letters of Commitment: Get a letter from each substantive collaborator documenting the role they’ll play;
• Assemble Attachments: Be sure documents are updated, and get them into the required format, usually electronic;
• Finish the Research: Find information to fill remaining blanks. You might need a few more statistics, a couple of quotes, or even a literature review of the project’s approach;
• Develop the Budget: The narrative and budget must be perfectly synced. Be sure the financial person and writer work hand-in-hand;
• Draft the Narrative: When several people contribute sections, you’ll need one writer to pull it together to ensure cohesiveness and give it one voice;
• Have Others Review the Entire Proposal Package: Accept that you’re too enmeshed in the work to review it objectively. Have a couple of people critique the package. Does it respond exactly to application guidelines? Are all elements clear and convincing? Does each element support the others? Allow time for corrections.

5 Questions About Donors

What makes donors tick? That's a question that some fundraisers don't necessarily feel the need to answer; if they're giving money who cares, right? To keep them giving, however, it is good to get a better idea of what donors are thinking.

Understanding what donors are thinking will give you a better idea of how to cultivate them and, in turn, allow your organization to have enough money to complete its mission. In his book, “The Eight Principles of Sustainable Fundraising,” Larry C. Johnson poses several questions that he believes nonprofits should be asking about their donors. Those questions are:

• Why are donors’ values important? When organizations come to terms with the fact that donors are people just like nonprofit employees -- and act upon this certainty -- they have made the single most important step toward success in fundraising.
• What is philanthropy ultimately about? It is about giving and receiving. Donors want to be engaged, not enticed.
• How can an organization engage donors? Engaging people by first learning who they are and what is important to them allows a charity to fashion messages that will be understood, acted upon and appreciated.
• What do donors want? First and foremost, donors want to be seen for what they are -- investors.
• What is the difference between program focus and donor focus? It is important to remember that people give to people. Programming is merely the vehicle to enriching the lives and meeting the needs of human beings.

Major Donor Traits

What makes a major donor? The obvious answer is a substantial amount of money, but these individuals also have different belief systems. Fundraisers must learn to understand these beliefs if they are to be successful at cultivating these types of donors.

As Kent E. Dove, Alan M. Spears, and Thomas W. Herbert wrote in their book “Conducting a Successful Major Gifts & Planned Giving Program,” major gifts aren't just going to appear to an organization; they have to be cultivated from major donors by fundraisers. In order to achieve the proper success, it's important to understand what makes these individuals tick.

Dove, Spears, and Herbert explained that while major donors have many characteristics, understanding the following three will lead to the best results in procuring a major gift:

• Major donors typically have strong values and deep beliefs. They believe in people and have great respect for knowledge.
• They know someone in or something about the nonprofit organization they are supporting.
• They view giving as an investment, and through such investments they desire to solve a problem or issue and to express themselves (to attain self-actualization).

Special Event Planning Rules

The concept of a special event is great: A night of fun and celebration partnered together with increased publicity and revenue for your organization. What's not to like? Nothing, really, except for the fact that it takes a lot of work just to plan the event.

This might not be a problem if your nonprofit already has a large number of volunteers at its disposal, but this isn't the case for all organizations. As Thomas Wolf wrote in his book, "Managing a Nonprofit Organization," agencies that fall into this category must come up with new plans to ensure their event runs as smoothly as possible.

Wolf laid out nine rules that will help make things more practical:

• Set a dollar goal early and stick to it. Too many event planners get off course by confusing public relations functions with fundraising;
• The secret of success is net income, not gross income. What counts is how much the organization has left over after all the expenses for the event have been paid;
• Plan an event that people will enjoy. It is easier to get people to participate if the event itself is a drawing card as well as the organization sponsoring it;
• Establish a committee with a strong chairperson to work on the event. The chair (or co-chairs) often determines the success of an event;
• Exaggerate the number of volunteers and dollars you will need to make the event a success. It’s better to have too much help rather than too little;
• Allow plenty of planning time. Things always seem to take longer than expected, and there should be plenty of margin for error;
• Build in plenty of ancillary ways to pick up money in conjunction with the event;
• Involve local merchants; and,
• Attempt to find a type of event that works for the organization and stick to it for several years.