Fundraising

Having a successful fundraiser on your team is a great feeling. These are the rock stars of the nonprofit world, but unlike the big-haired bands of old, they aren’t smashing guitars or getting their faces splashed on the front page of gossip magazines. Instead, they’re quietly, calmly, and creatively generating the funds you need to keep the doors open and the work moving towards fulfilling your organization’s mission.

What’s their secret? How do they work their magic? Here, we distill the five secrets of successful fundraisers.

5 Traits that Successful Fundraisers Have (and You Can Learn!)

You may think that successful fundraisers are born. But anyone can learn or embrace the characteristics that great fundraisers embody. Read through this list and see which ones you can add to your skill set.

1. Curiosity – Great fundraisers remain curious about the world around them. This curiosity opens them to new possibilities, connections, and potential, which in turn leads to the creativity that’s needed to launch effective campaigns.
2. Understanding of human behavior – One of the main traits of successful fundraisers is that they understand how the average person thinks and acts. This in-depth knowledge can be intuitive or acquired through reading, study, and experience. It leads them to develop campaigns that get responses because they understand the motivators and drivers of human behavior and can connect it to the cause supported by your organization.
3. Insights into the target donor – Many people new to fundraising create campaigns based on their likes and dislikes. That can lead to mistaken messaging and poor response rates. Good fundraisers understand that they are different from the donors they approach. Most donors are in their 60’s and follow specific personality characteristics unique to a given nonprofit. Those who donate to animal charities may differ from those who support healthcare nonprofits, for example. Understanding the “end customer” is marketing-speak for knowing why your donors give and how to approach them so that they are likely to say “yes.”
4. Data-driven mindset – While great fundraisers are also creative, they embrace a data-driven mindset and aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and crunch the donor campaign data. The resulting facts are then used to fuel the next round of marketing. Data is used to support decisions and improve response rates.
5. Networking – Great fundraisers are also good net-workers. They network with people both within the nonprofit world and those from the profit-driven business world. Thanks to this relentless networking, they have a large circle of colleagues and friends who can share advice and best practices. They absorb information from throughout their network and aren’t afraid to share their learning and understanding, too, to help a friend succeed.

But the Most Important Characteristic?

The most important characteristic of successful fundraisers isn’t one that can be taught or bought. It’s the love of the cause and a passion for fundraising.

These are the people who genuinely believe in the mission of the organization and who aren’t afraid to go the extra mile to support it. They have a genuine love of the fundraising world and embrace best practices in direct response marketing, direct mail marketing, advertising, and digital marketing to help them achieve their goals. They find joy in developing relationships with donors and sharing the mission to drive margin.

Successful fundraisers are worth every penny of their salary. They not only raise money, but they also lift spirits. Because of their dedication, others in the organization find themselves recruited into the fundraiser’s orbit. Fundraisers are the rock stars, but they are also the rock of any organization, creating the foundation from which margin flows and organizations can meet their objectives.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact Welter Consulting at 206-605-3113 for more information.

One common refrain heard among nonprofit management everywhere is “I can’t get my board to help with fundraising!”

Does this sound familiar? You’re not alone. Many board members perform their duties faithfully but fail to support or engage in fundraising activities. That’s a shame, because board members have a lot to offer an organization that they are deeply involved with and know very well.

It’s not impossible to get busy board members to help you with fundraising activities. The trick is to make it easy for them to say yes. Give them specific things they can do and the fundraising tools to help them and with the right amount of effort and support, your board can become your best advocate.

3 Tips to Get Board Members to Help with Fundraising

The key is to remove any objections they have to helping with fundraising. Common objections include:

• “I don’t have time to help”
• “I don’t know what you’d like me to do”
• “I’m not good at fundraising”

To overcome each objection….

“I don’t have time to help”

• Create a list of fundraising tasks you’d like help with and distribute it via email and at your next board meeting. Be as specific as possible. Break large tasks into smaller steps.

• Ask people directly if they can help with one task. By asking them personally, rather than sending out a blanket “please help” message, you’re making it much more likely for them to say yes to the specific request.

• If board members aren’t sure how to perform the task, offer to  demonstrate it, but avoid doing it for them.

• Break tasks into small half-hour increments or things that can be completed in half an hour or less. After all, who doesn’t have half an hour each week to give to their favorite charity? It’s not much time  to give and it’s easier for people to agree to the request.

“I don’t know what you’d like me to do”

• Asking for help with a specific task(s) on your list (see above) overcomes this objection.

• Ask each board member to approach one friend as a potential donor.

• If they aren’t comfortable asking directly for donations, ask them to provide you with a list of people they think might be willing to donate to the organization.

• Spend time with board members writing appeals and solicitation letters. Provide them with templates and text to send out on their own.

“I’m not good at fundraising”

• Offer support and training to help with the fundraising process.

• Involve them at every step of the way: creating donor lists, approaching potential donors, writing appeal letters, reviewing donor marketing, etc.

• Provide them with individual web pages they can use to process donations. This can be a simple way to track who is following up on fundraising activities and personalize the appeal for each board member.

Working with your board may seem like a  challenging process, especially when it comes to securing their help with fundraising activities.Although it’s an important task that they should embrace, they may not. You can help them become your best advocates by overcoming their objections to fundraising in a positive, proactive way.

Fundraising and Donor Software: Accountability and Transparency

Fundraising and donor software can help you track all fundraising activities including those in which your board members are engaged. The right fundraising and donor management software makes it easier view everyone’s activities and ensure accountability and transparency.

If you’d like a free consultation to discuss fundraising and donor software, please contact Welter Consulting.

Spring may not strike you as the perfect time for fundraising, but in many ways, the longer days and warmer weather lends itself to creative fundraising events and activities. The holidays may be the peak donation time for many nonprofits, but spring may be equally as busy if you can maximize the fundraising opportunities.

Raise 4X more this Spring with MobileCause. Learn about our online Fundraising solution for Community Brands or schedule an online demo today. 

Spring Fundraising Ideas

Depending on your nonprofit, you may come up with other ideas. Feel free to pick and choose from among this list to find an appropriate fundraising idea that matches the spirit, tone, and brand of your organization.

Make sure you know the three most common fundraising pitfalls and avoid them as you plan.

Outdoor Fundraisers

With the warmer weather, people want to get outside. Indulge their need for fresh air and outdoor activities by hosting outdoor spring fundraisers. 

• Garden parties offer an elegant outdoor event that can double as a fundraiser. A themed garden party, such as Derby Day (for the Kentucky Derby) or an afternoon tea may appeal to different groups. Event ticket sales, raffles, and door prizes are all great ways to add fundraising opportunities to the event.
• Donation drives may be held outdoors for organizations collecting tangible goods. Animal shelters and charities can find willing partners to grant the space to set up tables and bins to collect dog and cat food, cat litter, bleach (always needed at shelters to clean the kennels), old towels, and related items; other charities can collect clothing, canned goods, or whatever they need using a similar strategy.
• Sell outdoor products such as seeds, gardening tools, and plants. Plant sales are a great fundraising activity in the springtime as peoples’ thoughts turn to their gardens.

Adjust the Timing 

Fundraising solicitations may also be sent out to coincide with various spring holidays. Easter, Mother’s Day, and Earth Day are all opportunities to organize donation campaigns around a theme. Use your creativity and imagination. Time the communications so that they arrive several weeks before a holiday, especially if you are asking for donations to be given in honor of someone,  like a memorial plant for Easter, a gift honoring Mom, or planting a tree for Earth Day or Arbor Day.

Be Aware of School and Vacation Schedules

School and vacation schedules tend to be different across the nation, with some schools dismissing for the year as early as May and others much later. As the season draws closer to summer, their minds turn to trips, vacations, time at the pool, beach, or barbecue. Send email donation campaigns and snail mail donation campaigns out well before the end of the school year and the start of peak vacation time in your area.

Manage Fundraising Campaigns with Ease Using the Right Software

Manage your fundraising campaigns with ease using the right software. It’s difficult to track, monitor, and measure fundraising activities using spreadsheets. They can be cumbersome, and one error can throw off the entire spreadsheet and drive you crazy looking for it among all the cells. 

Instead, try fundraising and donor contact management software. It allows you to track and manage fundraising campaigns and donor contacts to ensure transparency and accountability. With the right fundraising software integrated into your accounting system you’ll find it easier to track, manage, and measure fundraising campaigns.

Spring is in the air, and with it, change. If it’s time to change how you conduct your fundraising activities, we invite you to explore fundraising and donor contact management software. Contact Welter Consulting for a free consultation.

Nonprofits are always seeking funds. Entire departments are established for fundraising. Yet some funding opportunities aren’t a good idea. Learning which ones to turn down and which ones to accept can save your organization a lot of time and debate later on.

Why Say No to Funding Opportunities?

Why turn away money? After all, aren’t all opportunities for funding good opportunities?

Alas, no. Here are some reasons why you may wish to turn down a funding opportunity:

1. It’s a significant amount – but unlikely to be continued another year: Although a large amount of money may be useful to fund a major project, the lack of it the following year may cause a great deal of stress for your organization. It may be better to scale slowly than to use a windfall for a major advance, just to have it stall for a while.
2. It is government-funded, but it is an election year: While that may not necessarily indicate change, if the incumbent loses the election and the funds are part of a controversial project, the funds may evaporate. The sudden loss of funding may negatively impact your nonprofit.
3. Funds are restricted: Restricted funds have their place in any nonprofit, but if all sources are restricted funds, this can hamper the organization’s ability to achieve its mission. Without funding for overhead, marketing, and similar needs, programs do not have adequate support. All the funding in the world for a program won’t make a big difference if you can’t support it long-term.
4. The funding source goes against your mission: You may not have pursued the opportunity, but it arrived on your doorstep. Alas, it contradicts vital aspects of your organizational culture or mission. That’s a good reason to say “no” to an opportunity, tempting though it may be. You must remain true to your mission for long-term stability and growth or risk alienating donors who also believe in your mission.

Saying no can be difficult. It’s hard to turn down opportunities, especially if you’ve been working hard to find new ones. Rather than worrying about turning down opportunities, focus instead on the better step ahead: preparing guidelines for funding sources so that your staff knows where to look, what to look for, and how to develop the right sources of funding.

Now Say Yes – Prepare Funding Guidelines

To prepare funding guidelines, you’ll need to work out which opportunities align with your mission. Then, examine how the opportunity impacts the bottom line, both short and long term.

• Speak with your accounting team and finance professionals to discuss what, if any, impact specific types of funding make on the long-term finances of the organization.
• Decide what portion of restricted funds should be pursued, and for which types of programs. Include this in the guidelines.
• Examine how government-funded opportunities may or may not align with your organization’s mission. Then, develop written guidelines about the types of opportunities that are acceptable and those that are not.
• Develop a plan for “gray area” funding opportunities. How should these be evaluated and by whom? Do you want to pursue them and then decide later on what to do if they should come through; or discuss as a team which ones to approach and which to decline?
• Share guidelines throughout your organization. Review annually to ensure they continue to align with the values your organization holds dear and with the current plans, financial forecasts, and information at hand.

Passing up an opportunity may feel frightening, especially if your organization is desperately in need of funds, and whose isn’t? By focusing on the “yes, let’s do this” and preparing funding guidelines, you can decrease the times you must decline funds and instead, spend energy wisely on pursuing valuable funding opportunities.

Welter Consulting

Welter Consulting bridges people and technology together for effective solutions for nonprofit organizations. We offer software and services that can help you with your accounting needs. Please contact Welter Consulting at 206-605-3113 for more information.