upcoming events - the nonprofit academy · compelling story about a real person in your community...
TRANSCRIPT
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Upcoming Events:
June19: Members' Hot Topic / Q&A Call 20: Fundraising Planning Workshop - Attend Online!
July10: Grants Webinar17: Hot Topic Call
present:
Harvest Time10 Ways to Increase Revenue through Low-Hanging Fruit
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What is Low-Hanging Fruit?
Low-Hanging Fruit, as it refers to Fundraising, is ‘immediate’ funding available through existing activities, that can be realized in a shorter-than-traditional timeframe, with minimal expenditure of additional resources.
Why Worry about Low-Hanging Fruit?
• Executive Directors, Board Members and Donors expect that organizations will leverage their fundraising investment dollars to raise as much money as possible through existing programs and activities.
• Successful cultivation of low-hanging fruit maximizes scarce organizational resources -including time, talent and money - that have already been invested in fundraising activities or events.
• Significant numbers of Nonprofit Organizations are leaving money on the table by not ‘leveraging out’ their existing activities or taking advantage of Social Media and other high-impact, low-cost approaches.
• Finally, leaving money on the table costs money!
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1. Tell a Story
• Tell a Story about a real person with an immediate and ‘curable’ need that will be helped when your organization successfully reaches its goal.
• Storytelling personalizes your approach and puts a human face on the problems your organization is trying to address.
• Remember, ‘Numbers Numb’ but ‘Stories are Stored.’
• Human interest captures attention and is often the decisive factor in what motivates a donor to give.
• People give to People, when asked by People, and on behalf of other People. Tell a compelling story about a real person in your community helped by your organization.
• Humanizing the problem adds a local, human element to a broader issue or problem. Often, it makes the problem solvable, and places a human responsibility on your potential donors.
• Storytelling lends itself incredibly well to Social Media fundraising.
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2. Make More Special
• Always include Revenue Boosters , event add-ons that can significantly increase your overall revenue. Never let the full potential of a fantastic event go unrealized.
• Opportunities to boost revenue are everywhere: auctions, photo opportunities, organization and community heroes, raffles, spokespersons, press alliances, etc.
• Remember that committees are for fundraising. Staff develop, plan and facilitate giving.
• Don’t neglect sponsorship. Have a dedicated Sponsorship Committee focused on securing underwriting for the event so expenses are covered.
• Always follow up with donors, new prospects, attendees, non-attendees, sponsors, volunteers and the media.
• Use available social media tools to push attendance.
• Don’t let the goodwill created by the event go to waste! Re-sign sponsors and volunteers while the excitement from this year is still in the air!
3. Direct Response: Yes, it’s (still) important!
• The Top 3 revenue streams for non-profit organizations, according to the Non-Profit Times are:
1-Direct Mail2-Events3-Retail*Hidden Revenue Stream - “ The Middle Donor”
• The key to effective, ‘fruit-producing’ direct response copy is an easily remembered command to take a reasonable action within a specific time frame.
• All Direct Response collateral should include your Social Media ‘badges’ inviting people to join your community. This is an ideal way to set the stage for Low-Hanging Fruit cultivation.
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Five BIG e-mail mistakes that costorganizations Low-hanging Fruit
A recent study* of 150 nonprofit organizations revealed the following easily-correctable mistakes representing millions of dollars in missed fundraising revenue:
1. More than one-third of organizations did not send a single e-mail to new subscribers within the first 30 days of signing up.
2. 56% of organizations did not make a single ask in the first 90 days.
3. 79% of e-mails do not personalize the “To Line” with a first and last name.
4. 66% of e-mail sign-up offers provide little-to-no interest to a potential donor.
5. Nearly 25% of organizations do not make it easy to find their e-mail sign-up form.
*Fundraising Score Card, Jan, 2014, Dunham & Company
4. Believe in the Power of Partnership• Sharing efforts with another nonprofit, business or government
agency (local fire departments, park districts, health organizations, etc.) can dramatically improve your organization’s status, exposure and fundraising success while reducing overall expenses.
• Schools, college fraternities & sororities, chambers of commerce, ‘meet-up’ groups, etc. are a fantastic source of volunteers and can bring increased vitality, visibility and new donors to your organization.
• Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs and other fraternal organizations dedicate a fixed percentage of their efforts towards helping nonprofit causes. They can be great sources of support, event attendance, board members and new volunteers.
• Increase your low-hanging fruit ‘yield’ whenever possible by taking advantage of opportunities to reach a brand new audience.
• Never miss a cross-marketing opportunity!
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5. Volunteers• (Most) volunteers, volunteer because they passionately believe in your
cause, are familiar or intimately acquainted with your organization, and are likely direct beneficiaries of your organization’s mission. They want you to be successful - don’t forget to use them!
• People who have volunteered for a charity in the past 12 months are 10x more likely to give ($2593 versus $230 /year)*
• Volunteering in America- Americans 15% more likely to volunteer than Dutch, 21% than Swiss, 32% than Germans- American Enterprise Institute 2009*
• 4 in 10 American Adults volunteered for a charity in the last 12 months*Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund –Volunteerism and Charitable Giving Summary (2009)
6. Planned Gifts
Although the average timeline to get a Planned Giving Program up and running may take years, organizations that understand their constituents can significantly accelerate the process. For these organizations, gifts can mature in as little as a few months.
• 8% of Americans have included a planned gift to charity in their estate plan
• 68% of PG donors do not inform the charity in advance
• 54% of those making a gift to charity benefitted more than one charity
• 92% of bequest donors never change the bequest provision once in their will*
(Chronicle of Philanthropy- 1992-2009 Giving Trends)
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The cost of NOT having a Planned Giving program:• 41 trillion dollars ($41,000,000,000,000) will transfer generations
between now and 2048*.
• This is expected to be the greatest wealth transfer in our nation’s history. If your organization does not have a Planned Giving Program, you’re missing low-hanging fruit – and a lot more!
*Boston College
7. Find Your Pied Piper• A ‘Pied Piper’ is the well respected person (or
persons) in your community whose name, presence and/or endorsement will motivate others to make a donation, attend an event or take a positive action on behalf of your fundraising efforts. Many times, it’s not who you think it is.
• Younger, or not so young Pied Pipers often have a robust and active Social Media following. This can be an extremely useful in your quest for Low Hanging Fruit.
• The addition of a Pied Piper can turn slow-developing events into major fundraisers.
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8. Grants
Grant funding is not generally considered short-term funding. However, often short-term, readily available funding is available provided that the needs to be funded are relatively small, short term, very specific and/or critical to the organization and its community.
The following sources are great for all types of grant funding:• Grantsmanship Center-TGCI.com
• USA.Gov
• Foundation Center-Foundationcenter.org• Grantproposal.com
• Reconnectingamerica.org
SOCIAL MEDIA is here to stay.
• Social Media is an very powerful tool for building your donor base, engaging constituents, setting the stage for future cultivation opportunities and, reaching that low hanging fruit!
• Social Media, when used appropriately and strategically, can be the most cost-effective method to spread the word about your organization.
• The ‘freshness’ of Social Media makes it the most dynamic and timely method for promoting events, community needs, organizational objectives and stories of personal triumph.
• While everyone in your organization should participate in your Social Media efforts, it’s well worth appointing a full/part-time staffer or outsourcing the work to a professional.
• Promote your communities! Your Social Media Community can be a tremendous asset, but it won’t grow by itself. Develop a plan for growth, engagement and cultivation.
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9. Get Friendly with Facebook• Get to know the Facebook tools exclusively for Nonprofits - this is where
Low Hanging Fruit hangs out! • Facebook for Good• Facebook Fundrazr• Facebook Advertisements• Facebook Events Module
• Your Facebook Strategy must include Outbound Posting. It is an incredibly effective method for generating last-minute support while spurring program participation and event attendance.
• Contests are a fantastic way to grow your community, wake-up your donors, and spur engagement.
• Did you know that the average cost to an organization per ‘Like’ is $3.50? Or that the average donation per ‘Like’ is $214.41 over twelve months?!
Get Friendly with Facebook (cont’d.)
• 98% of Nonprofit Organizations are on Facebook (or other Social Media platform), but few take advantage of Social Media’s potential and make it a true fundraising asset. Why? They never take the time to develop a solid Social Media Strategy.
• The virality of Facebook means everyone in your Social Media Community is a potential advocate and resource - not only in your quest for Low Hanging Fruit, but in helping to promote your organization, your objectives and your immediate needs.
• Facebook is uniquely perfect for sharing interest stories of who you help, your organizational needs, and how your organization makes a real difference in your community.
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• Linkedin is a valuable tool for building multi-tiered relationships with donors, sponsors, board members, and alliance organizations. These are all fertile ground for cultivating Low-Hanging Fruit.
• One of Linkedin’s major advantages is its professional focus; often times, this can serve to pre-qualify your prospects while paving the way for beneficial relationships.
• Linkedin involvement should ideally include everyone in your organization, from the Executive Director to BOD on down the line. Linkedin enables organizational management and staff to cultivate professional relationships at their own levels, seeding the ground for Low Hanging Fruit at each phase of the fundraising spectrum.
• One of the best – and most underutilized features of Linkedin is the Groups feature. Join Groups and participate regularly. Doing so will position your organization as a leader in your industry, lending credibility and visibility in your quest for Low Hanging Fruit.
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About PhilanthroPros
P h i l a nt h r o P r o s h e l p s o r ga n i za t i o n s t o i n c r e a s e r e v e n u e b y b e t t e r e n ga g i n g w i t h t h e i r c o m m u n i t i e s , c o n s t i t u e n t s a n d d o n o rs .
P h i l a nt h r o P r o s r e c o g n i ze s t h a t w h i l e t h e f u n d a m e n t a l s o f g o o d f u n d ra i s i n g n e v e r c h a n g e , o r ga n i za t i o n s t h a t e m b ra c e m o d e r n a p p ro a c h e s t o h o w t h e y c o n n e c t w i t h t h e i r c o n s t i t u e n t s a r e u l t i m at e l y m o r e s u c c e s s f u l .
O u r c o r e s e r v i c e s i n c l u d e s t r a t e g i c p l a n n i n g , n o n p r o f i t m a r ke t i n g , f u n d ra i s i n g d e v e l o p m e nt a n d s o c i a l m e d i a . To g e t h e r, o u r ex p e r i e n c e d c o n s u l t a n t s h av e o v e r f i f t y y e a r s ex p e r i e n c e h e l p i n g g r e a t o r ga n i za t i o n s t o a c h i e v e t h e i m p o s s i b l e .
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Questions?
Michael Thorson(954) 801-2425
Paul Keefe(954) 732-4623