A Small Change- Fundraising Blog

Org of the Month is an opportunity to highlight some of the amazing things that organizations like yours are doing globally (I want to sign-up).

Social & Economic Development Association (SEDA)

What is your non-profit about? And what areas do you serve?SEDA-Laos is working to bring social and economic development to the people of rural Laos. We are a non-profit, non-government, Laos-based organization, dedicated to providing a long-term and sustainable solution to poverty in Laos.Based in the capital city of Vientiane but serving outlying rural communities, SEDA is currently operating several projects aimed at upgrading schools and medical training facilities, increasing HIV/AIDS education and prevention outreach, developing eco-friendly agriculture and plantation skills, as well as an understanding of sustainable business so the people of Laos can earn a stable income for their families.What major fundraising programs do you have?SEDA is still small, so at this stage we have no major fundraising programs. We have recently started collaborating with Global Giving and intend to expand our online fundraising presence. We are currently looking for support and partnership from any organizations, individuals or companies who would be interested in helping SEDA.What sector do you raise money for and how is that different from raising money in another sector?SEDA is raising money for agriculture development, health (HIV/AIDS) and education in Laos PDR. However, in these sectors there is lot of competition for available funds which means never ending grant applications and fund sourcing. Also, SEDA has to look all over the world for funding, rather than just in its own community.What geographic area does your charity serve and where is it located?Over the next seven years, SEDA will focus on remote rural communities in Vientiane Province and southern Laos. For phase two, the projects will extend to central and northern Laos. For those who don’t know, Laos is a small South-East Asian country nestled between Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and China.

Any tips on how to approach donors in your area?In Laos, finding local donors has been the single biggest obstacle for SEDA. Local businesses do not understand how they can really help, or why, and INGOs operating in Laos have their own projects and are not willing to donate to small local projects. Met with this kind of response, the director of SEDA recently spent eight months in America raising awareness about the organization. For many of those months, it was difficult to get the word out and be recognized. But over time, people began to recognize SEDA as an organization. It took a lot of contacts, networking and persistence, but now the profile of SEDA has been raised considerably and the future looks brighter.Any pointers on organizations in your area that help non-profit professionals?Get in touch with big international bodies that can help in a professional manner, such as sectors of the UN, ASEAN and others, and stay in touch with them through updates about your charity or NGO. These organizations often provide conferences, training workshops and impart valuable knowledge that you can pass onto your team.For more information about SEDA, please visit our website: http://seda-laos.org

For the first time ever, Micro-enterprise in some instances can be more powerful than macro-enterprise. What does that mean? It means that a small organization that is serving a very specific need may be the best tool to address a problem. For example a large relief organization might be able to help 30 villages in Africa, but a small organization focused on helping one village may do a better job. A small nimble organization in that instance can understand the needs of the village and respond specifically too them. The large organization is trying to run programs that fit with all the villages.

What does that mean regarding fundraising? It means that with online giving and social networking you can be just as powerful as UNICEF, World Vision, or St. Jude’s. How you might say? Well first you need to make sure that you have a very specific mission. No organization can be all things to all people so make sure to know what your strengths are. From that point find different mediums where you can get your message out their in a compelling way to the masses. Start a blog or create a website for your non-profit. Use social networking tools and your existing donor base to launch you into the online community.

Why do donors give money?  What makes their gifts increase?  Donors give for a wide variety of reasons.  Some give because they are passionate about a cause or an issue, others give because they want to do good in their community, many because they feel like they should, some give because they were taught, others because they believe they should, and some out of self interest.

First time giving.  Many things draw a donor to give a gift for the first time.  Sometimes it is a new campaign that is specific to their interests, they came into new money, or a friend personally asked them.  Getting someone in the door for many non-profits is the hardest part.  The first gift will come either out of a compassion for the cause or because they have found a new connection to it.  What have you found motivates a first time gift?

Renewed giving.  Donor loyalty is all about relationship and interest.  Gifts will continue to come if donors are properly stewarded and solicited (with exceptions of course).  Make sure that your donors are a part of a regular program, that you are bringing them into tour the facility, talking with them about the organization, and sending them newsletters and such.  If you take time to build the relationship a donor will usually keep giving and sometimes upgrade their gift.

Upgrading giving.  This is the area everyone always wants to talk about, but this conversation cannot begin if you do not know how to renew a donor.  You need to have a regular cultivation processes in place to even begin to talk about upgrading your donors. It is something like three times as expensive to secure a new donor than it is to keep an existing one.

What is it that motivates a larger gift is it volunteerism, relationship, solicitation, donor research?  What do you think?  I think that donors upgrade their gift based on an understanding that the organization needs it and can use it better than it was used before.  This looks like explaining what a larger gift means in terms of persons helped, in terms of new services provided or old services improved.  Donors want to know that the upgraded gift is actually making a difference to improve the organization.  When a donor is already invested in your organization you can no longer use compassion as an appeal for more money.  You need to know that your volunteers, monthly donors, long-term major givers already have a strong compassion for your cause.  These people want to know what more of their money will mean for the non-profit.

Cause marketing is all the rage now days. I have heard many organizations talk about how they are doing or want to do cause marketing. But what is it and how can you do it at your non-profit? Fortunately for us in the non-profit world we have Joe at Selfish Giving. He is an expert in cause marketing and he as offered to help us out and get us started.

What is cause marketing?

Cause marketing is a partnership between a for-profit and a non-profit for mutual profit. When I say “mutual profit” I mean two things: visibility and money. Both parties are trying to enhance their brands and generate revenue from the relationship. -Selfish Giving

How does it work? At the organization I’m a part of we have been doing cause marketing & marketing partnerships formally for about a year. We have had some little success and some medium size ones. I wrote Joe and he provided me with some great ideas I wanted to share with you as to how you can grow or build your existing program.

1. Create partnerships with businesses that directly benefit from the work your organization does.
2. Use your existing partnerships to create new marketing relationships and to branch off to working with other businesses in the same industry.
3. Approach some local organizations and pitch an idea to their senior management.

Joe has created some great cause marketing tips to get you started check out his blog:

• Cause Marketing 101
• Cause Marketing in Action
• Are you a business looking to partner but don’t know how?

Have a few more questions? Feel free to ask Joe a question, visit Selfish Giving and post a comment. Go ahead and talk with some local businesses and get a program started. Let me know how it is going or post a comment about a marketing partnership you have at your organization right now. Some places to start could be your local grocery store, bank, or bookstores. Many of those organizations have existing programs to help out their local community.

I just finished reading a pamphlet talking about fundraising as ministry, a rather unique idea. The Henri Nouwen Society created this booklet, The Spirituality of Fund-Raising. Visit their website if you are interested in receiving a free copy. There are some really original ideas about how to treat a donor and how to think about asking for money. The book stresses a solid personal relationship with donors in a way that goes beyond just a financial gift. I’m interested in what you think, let me know if you have read this pamphlet or plan on reading it.

I’m participating in the Non-Profit Blog Exchange Virtual Event. Frogloop is a non-profit communications and marketing blog for an organization called Care2. The organization exists to, “connect people with opportunities to make a difference.” Through a network of over 8 million they use community-building platforms such as MySpace or del.icio.us to raise awareness for a non-profit’s cause. If your organization participates in petitioning or social activism this is a great site to check out.

Do you have any great resources that you think other non-profit professionals would benefit from knowing about? Post a comment with a few of your recommendations.