catching fire with fund raising

2014 National Convention

network improve lead

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Catching Fire With Fund Raising:

Everything you need to know to create and implement a

comprehensive development plan to grow private support

Michael J. David-Wilson, CFREChief Executive OfficerThe Arc of Atlantic County, NJ



Begin Your Own Success Story!

• Stable cash flow and financial flexibility.

• Ability to fund more competitive salaries and recruit and retain quality staff.

• A strategic reserve or Board Designated Fund to take advantage of special opportunities.

• A stronger Chapter means better and more consistent services.

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In this session…

• We will learn how to diversify and sustain significant agency funding support by integrating major and planned giving into your comprehensive development plan.

• We will present this material in a scalable way which agencies with small, medium and large budgets can incorporate incrementally.

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The Elephant in the Room

• Multiple years with no cost of care budget increases to contracts to keep up with the cost of living.

• Reductions in budgets or changes in business rules which effect the same.

• Growing financial burden of employee health and other insurance coverage.

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To Ensure Stability & Services

• Chapters must increasingly look to private funding to supplement or replace dwindling government funds to ensure financial stability and continued availability of services.

• Chapters must become more entrepreneurial to will need to be able to self-fund income generating services.

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Learning Objectives:

• How to create a comprehensive development plan which includes major and planned gifts and a budget to support it.

• How to turn your annual campaign donors into major and planned giving donors.

• The benefits of integrating major and planned giving for your agency and mission.

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The Pyramid of Giving

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Comprehensive / Integrated Development Plan

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MajorGiving

AnnualGiving

Planned Giving



Factors In Selecting An Approach

• Donor support in the past: Evaluate patterns and opportunities.

• Specific program needs: Operating, capital improvement, physical plant, endowment growth and strategic reserve.

• Program messages: Which messages resonate best with your donors? Develop strategies.

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Factors In Selecting An Approach

• Donor support in the past: Evaluate patterns and opportunities.

• Specific program needs: Operating, capital improvement, physical plant, endowment growth and strategic reserve.

• Program messages: Which messages resonate best with your donors? Develop strategies.

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What Kind of Major Focus Is Right for Your Chapter?

• Heavy Operating Costs + Few Capital Costs = A focus on Annual and Planned Giving

• Large Capital Requirements = Capital Fundraising and Planned Giving

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Scalable Solutions

• Small Development Budget +

• Small Staff +

• limited or intermediate fundraising experience?

• Just build major and planned giving into your annual giving program.

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Kick Starting Major Giving

• Develop a Targeted and Time Limited Mini-Campaign.

• Solicit a challenge gift or grant as the Leadership Gift.

• In order for your Chapter to earn the full challenge gift or grant you must raise the same amount from your donor base.

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Kick Starting Major Giving

• Get commitments from your Board, Chapter leadership and closest supporters equivalent to approximately half the challenge.

• Raise the remainder of the challenge from the rest of your supporters.

• If a donor cannot give as much as you request now, ask them to consider a multi-year pledge or a planned gift component.

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Kick Starting Planned Giving

• Establish a Legacy / Planned Giving Society.

• Talk with your local Community Foundation to see if they can write Charitable Gift Annuities for your Chapter.

• Give a presentation to your board so they understand how planned giving works and ask them to consider their own gifts.

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Kick Starting Planned Giving

• Include inspiring stories in each Chapter newsletter.

• Let your supporters know you are in the business of planned giving.

• Include sample language that they can add as a codicil to their current Last Will and Testament leaving a fixed amount or a percentage of their estate to your Chapter.

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The Arc of the US Pilot Project

• Crescendo GiftLegacy Pro Version: $3,500 per year if at least 25 chapters commit to a subscription of $3,500 per year for 3 years.

• GiftLegacy Planning Giving website with customized branding.

• Weekly e-Newsletters for donors and advisors.• CresManager System.• Royalty Free Marketing Materials.• Annual marketing reviews and customized

marketing plans, etc…

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Role of the CEO and Board in Fundraising

• The Chapter CEO is Ultimately the Chapter CDO.

• The CEO and Board must understand the role and value of fundraising and invest adequate Chapter resources to support successful fundraising.

• The CEO and Board members must be available to go out on fundraising calls, make asks and develop relationships.

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Role of the CEO and Board in Fundraising

• To set the example by making their own generous commitments.

• To inspire insiders to make their own generous commitments.

• 100% of the Board of Directors should give to any campaign .

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Common CEO and Board Mistakes

• Hold back on wealth studies and prospect research expenses.

• Hold back on feasibility studies in preparation for a major campaign.

• Not investing in good donor management & Gift Processing software.

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CEO & Board Mistakes Continued….

• Promoting an internal candidate with little or no experience in fundraising.

• Not committing the financial resources to support a salary that will both attract and retain them.

• Thinking that most support will come from foundations and corporations.

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Executive Transition

• If your agency is planning an executive transition in the near future, make sure you select candidates with a strong background in Fundraising.

• If possible, hire a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) or someone who has had experience in capital or endowment campaigns.

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Your CDP Tool Kit

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How I

Did It!

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Understanding Your Donor Base

• Invest in a wealth screening of donors in your data base.

• You need to be confident you can ask the right people for the right amount at the right time and for the right purpose.

• The Arc of the US has recently negotiated a price of $1,000 per year for Chapter Subscriptions to Wealth Engine.

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What Did Arc Atlantic Find Out?

• 250 Families are capable of making gifts of $5,000 to $800,000.

• 90 individuals are capable of making gifts of $25,000 to $530,000.

• 500 people are qualified planned giving prospects (65 years of age and capable of making a $100,000 gift).

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What Did Arc Atlantic Find Out?

• 7 of our Thrift Shop Donors are multi-millionaires!!!

• The largest gift the one worth 50 million gave us was $250!!!

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Other Lessons Learned

• More than 90% of those listed on the previous slide have never given a gift of more than $100.

• Out of 10,000 names in the donor data base, 2,500 names had either insufficient information to make contact or expired addresses and bad phone numbers.

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Donor / Gift Management

• If you do not already have Donor / Gift Management Software or have outdated software, plan to replace it now with something that is intuitive.

• Data base conversion from one solution to another is fairly easy to do internally. You may need to pay extra to do an initial conversion from other kinds of incompatible data bases.

• More sophisticated solutions may require additional on-site or off-site classroom training at additional cost. More intuitive solutions tend to have web based training, often free of charge.

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Preparation For The Development Retreat

• Analyze the last 3 to 5 years of fundraising data.

• Develop a list of proposed appeals, events, campaigns.

• Understand any Chapter strategic plan objectives for the short-term or long-term and their funding requirements.

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Classifying Fundraising Income

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Preparing Development Budgets

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Carefully determine what resources are needed and will really be used.

Be realistic and anticipate actual expenses will be higher then initially expected.

Develop a detailed budget narrative with the basis of your calculations in notes.



We Must be Donor Centered

• Your urgent fundraising need will not result in a gift if the timing is wrong for the donor.

• Major gifts require time for the donor to thoughtfully consider your request and decide if and how they will make a gift.

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Asking For Major Gifts

• Myth: Ask the donor for a larger gift than you expect them to give you…

• Reality: Ask for the right amount the first time, at the right time and, for the right reason.

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Myth: If people really want to give a major gift they will respond to a

written proposal.

Reality: People give to people; not appeals, and they give because they

are asked.



Fear of Rejection

• Myth: Board members are willing to raise money, and they accept it as their job.

• Reality: Most Board members are terrified to ask for money and would rather “friendraise.”

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Importance of Board Giving

• 100% internal participation establishes credibility with individuals, corporations and foundations invited to participate.

• Your first solicitations will be with donors most capable of making leadership or major gifts. Why should they give big if the board solicitor or full board hasn’t given?

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Solicitation Team Training

• Train every volunteer in the art of team gift solicitation. Role play with volunteer and staff solicitors working together.

• Provide all pertinent background information on the donor, what motivates them, what the gift would be used for and what the exact gift request will be.

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Stack The Deck For Success!

• Communicate before the solicitation to confirm time, date, place and determine who will do what.

• Schedule calls with donors most likely to make commitments. Early successes increase volunteer confidence and willingness to solicit again.

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The Ask Is A Special Opportunity

• Volunteers are helping match donors whose philanthropic interests are consistent with your mission and case for support with an exciting opportunity.

• Remind volunteers that they are not asking for money for themselves.

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Communicate Every Success!

• Communicate results of successful calls; especially leadership and major gifts with all your insiders.

• Build up some friendly competition: Recognize the volunteer who made the most donor visits, raised the most money, identified the most prospects, etc…

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Silence is Golden

• Once you’ve made your ask, be quiet and wait for the donor to respond…

• The first one to speak looses money!

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Be Optimistic Because….

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Questions?

Michael J. David-Wilson, CFREChief Executive Officer

The Arc of Atlantic County 6550 Delilah Rd, Suite 101

Egg Harbor Township, NJ 08330609-485-0800 X [email protected]

www.arcatlantic.org

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mailto:[email protected]

http://www.arcatlantic.org/

catching fire with fund raising

Government & Nonprofit