A Small Change- Fundraising Blog

You had some really great responses to my recent article I Don’t Want to Ask for Money. I think that there are many of us in a similar place. I was really encouraged by your wisdom and responses.  Linda from Portland Women’s Crisis Line had a really encouraging comment:

I want my donors to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves. That their check, along with each check we receive, is an indication of their commitment to the values the organization holds true.

In many ways that is exactly what I want fundraising to be about.  We have an opportunity to advocate for an idea, or belief, or person, together in a way that is bigger than ourselves. When we “fundraise” we are not just trying to get people to give money we want to see an entire shift in thinking.  Linda went onto say, “I have seen this idea bring spark to the eyes of the most reluctant board member who has to ask for money. It’s a shifting of paradigm.”  That is so encouraging I love it when donors see that they are making a difference and get excited about it.

With development professionals like you I’m really excited about the future of fundraising. I keep hearing time and time again that fund development is changing into something more personal and more intentional. Stephanie from Community Service for the Blind and Partially Sighted had a great comment too:

Development is about relationship building, not only cultivating the initial relationship, but deepening it. I used to think it was “asking for money” that was the issue. I’ve since revised that thinking somewhat when I realized there are many, many people who fear deepening a relationship.

Do you have anything to add to the conversation?  Any stories or examples that keep you going when you are raising money?

I get really frustrated when people talk about how much they dislike being asked for money and dislike fundraisers. Many times I hear people alluding to “those awful development officers” that are always harassing people. That actually hurts to hear, I didn’t get into development to piss people off and annoy them. And from the experience I’ve had almost everyone I talk to is not offended or frustrated by our conversations.

I see development as providing people with opportunities not soliciting for funds. Is that just semantics or is it really a different model? I can talk about a “brilliant new idea” of All Donors as Major Donors but in practicality am I really changing my philosophy? In the end of the day we are all accountable to how we work with and treat those that partner with us in our work… the donor.

How do you feel about being on the other side of giving? I have been surprised when I’ve had someone call me with a request for money. Sometimes I’m totally supportive of it and excited and other times it makes me frustrated too. Is that because I’m seeing my own fundraising styles and evaluating against another person’s fundraising styles? Maybe I have too many insights into the process and I’m thinking too hard.

Have you had a similar experience? Does it ever bother you when people express frustration with fundraising professionals?

So how do we really treat donors differently? What does it really mean? What does “Donor-centric” actually look like? It is one thing to talk about new ideas and a totally different thing to have tangible ways of carrying them out. I think that a major key to All Donors as Major Donors is to remember, “people not process.” We cannot forget that our systems can only be secondary to the people that are a part of them. Many donors don’t care about donor lists, quarterly coffee visits, and an annual solicitation. But some do so we should adapt our processes accordingly. I’ve received a bunch of great ideas from you and from a few individuals on LinkedIn. Here are a few tangible suggestions. Please add your own ideas & experiences as a comment below

• Aubrey suggests that when a donor calls take an extra couple minute to actually talk to them and to make sure you thank them for their continued support.
• A few ideas from Amy J. Good, a Nonprofit Management grad student at, Regis University, “Personal invitations/tickets to special events; Let them know you saw an article in the newspaper about them; Phone call from a board member for no other reason but to thank the donor for their gift.”
• Paul Cusimano says, “People cannot be thanked enough. Every step of the way, let them know you are there…don’t forget about people.”
• Marcus Fish recommends, “doing a bit of research about each donor/prospect…check [their] files/database, google their name, and look at where they live.”
• “Send holiday photo cards with pictures of some of our kids engaged in programs, invitations to tour the school, and I always make a phone call to donors on the same day we receive a major gift from them.” Jim Price, Executive Director, The Child’s Primary School
• “Include a series of check boxes on direct mail reply cards that let donors choose how often they hear from me. The boxes would be things like ‘Please ask me for a gift only once a year’ or ‘Please ask me for a gift only during the Holidays’. This let the donor decide how often they wanted to receive mailings from me, and subsequently, my response rates went up while my expenses went down. And my donors were happy.” Sandy Rees
• “A handcrafted thank-you card from an actual service recipient. Of course, this isn’t always plausible; but the underlying theme is right on. Figure out a way to really connect a constituent, funder or supporter with the people they’re actually helping, and they’ll stay with you forever.” Trevor Scheetz, Program Coordinator at Business Volunteers Unlimited
• “Let your donors know exactly where their gifts went. Whether you do it via an annual report, a special end-of-year thank you to all donors, or on your website, make sure people know that even the smallest gift made a difference.” Dana Camacho, Development Manager, American Academy of Periodontology Foundation

Christopher from NPower Seattle:

Connection to mission is what it’s all about right? If a member of your constituency isn’t feeling it, or feels stronger connection to another mission, then what are the chances of that long-term relationship continuing to grow? In my mind the best way to build that relationship is to identify those things to which the constituent connects best and be sure that you are “keeping them in the loop.” The birthday cards, phone calls and events mean nothing if you are not using them to provide a clear and consistent message that your mission is something that resonates with them, and is something exciting to be involved with. We are not selling the mission, we are inviting them to be part of something important.

Wow! I was blown away with the incredible responses in the All Donors as Major Donors post earlier this week. You had some incredible feedback and ideas, if you have not read the comments from Wednesday’s post I recommend that you read it now. To be honest I thought that I was going to be laughed out of the room with that post. What surprised me the very most was that almost every comment that I received said, “I wish it could work that way.”One major point was that treating all donors as major donors is not possible either logistically or cost-wise. I think that it is more a philosophy of cultivation issue not a logistics or cost issue. Start with the change in philosophy and if you have a capacity problem then it can be solved because people are giving more money so you can hire more people. I would start doing it incrementally first change the philosophy, then start hiring to meet the demand.As we all know fundraising is all about relationships. One comment that surprised me was from Aubrey. It surprised me because it reminded me that our current “major” gifts systems don’t always work and she gave a tangible example how to cultivate a $25 donor as if they were a major donor. I wish that this idea was simple, uncomplicated, and easy to realize. But we know it is not. Here are a few questions that were raised in comments that I am going to think about a little more next week:From Cal’s comment, “To be honest, I want so much to believe in this stuff, but I see the real world for what it is. I agree with your premise, but would ask what is REAL generosity?”Roger comments, “This article could imply that if the donor (regardless of wealth) is not giving a substantial percentage of his or her wealth to your nonprofit organization, there is an attitude problem.”J. Erik Potter takes a step back and “stops time” and asks the question, “Even if you could spend all that time with a $25 donor, would you? Or is the idea of unlimited time too far out there to even comprehend?”Allena reminds us not to forget the volunteers. How would/could they fit into this?

Here is a crazy idea. What if we treated all of our donors like major donors? What if instead of cultivating and personally soliciting donors we started treating them all as if they were major donors? This is a question I’ve been pondering in my head over and over again for a number of weeks. It is linked to the concept of what is a major donor and why do we only personally cultivate donors at a specific level? To get a little more background on where this idea has developed look at Turning it Over to the Donor, and The Rich Young Ruler.  I have a follow up article for this ready for Friday and I’d love to include some of your comments, arguments for & against, and ideas. I think it is a little untraditional and want some of your expert opinions.This idea first crossed my mind when I realized that I am a “major donor” to the church that I go to. I do this out of a passion for the work of my church and because I’m connected to it’s purpose and mission. And I think that is what we want from all of our donors. I’ve struggled sometimes because in non-profit we will often set a value on each donor based on their circle of influence and their giving capacity. But we in non-profit have set our expectations extremely low. I often will spend more time cultivating a give from a wealthy person to give what equates to small gift in proportion to their wealth and forget that the “normal” donors are often giving a much higher percentage of their wealth with a gift of the same size. There are many wealthy people that are giving generously out of the money that they have-don’t misread me. All that I am saying is that percentage wise a $500 gift costs more for someone who makes $50,000 a year than $1,000 gift from someone who makes $150,000 a year.Giving is connected extremely closely to the way we think, act, and believe it is often at the heart of who we want to be.  Check out What Motivates Giving and a collection of experts answering the same question at the Giving Carnival: Motivation.  In non-profit we have a unique opportunity to partner with people and connect to the passions of their heart. This kind of connection doesn’t have a distinction between annual fund and major donor. This kind of fundraising is all about one on one relationship.I am really interested in your input here.  Please comment below if you like/dislike, agree or adamantly disagree.  And I’ll highlight some of this conversation in a follow up article.