Nonprofit News Recap

Walmart Foundation President, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, was nominated by President Obama to serve as the Director of the OMB. Burwell served under President Clinton, so the appointment would mark a return to the White House.

The Federal Government Sequester has begun its toll on charities serving seniors and the disabled. Meals on Wheels, rental assistance for low income families, and homeless programs are services that will be reduced or cut while congress attempts to strike a deal.

Legislators in Texas are looking to create a state-run primary care program for women’s health to recoup funds lost in 2011.

Massachusetts Blue Cross Blue Shield has restored board pay, which will consist of up to $54,500, according to Philanthropy Today. Board pay was suspended in 2011 amid controversy after payments of nearly $80,000 went to the organizations board.

The United Arab Emirates donated more than 2,500 macbooks to high school students in tornado-stricken Joplin, Mo. And $5 million in post-Sandy reconstruction in New York and New Jersey.

Volunteerism in Russia is rapidly increasing, despite current attempts by Parliament to bring volunteer activities under state oversight.

Amplify Austin & Consolidated Giving Events

I’m Amplified.

For the past several weeks, my nonprofit, like many others in the Austin area, prepared for Amplify Austin, a city-wide day of charitable giving. We’ve been tweeting, posting, blogging, begging, sharing, and emailing – all with the hope of taking a few bites out of the Amplify Austin pie.

The basic premise revolved around a single donation-driven website, crafted by “I Live Here I Give Here”, serving as the central point of donor contact. Organizations were given unique links routing donors to their own fundraising page within the site, and a small portion of each donation was pulled toward admin fees to manage the site. “I Live Here I Give Here” then promoted the event with sponsorships and media partnerships, as well as offered donation incentives for the highest dollars and donors raised. Local nonprofits then reached out to their donor bases to plug the event and encourage giving.

I was fully prepared for larger organizations to eat smaller nonprofits alive. How could a new/small nonprofit ever compete for donor/dollar incentives against longstanding and massive nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity or the American Red Cross? The nonprofit I work for is still developing our individual donor base, so I had no idea what our participation would look like. To spare myself from disappointment, I set expectations low and hoped to raise a few hundred dollars. Imagine my surprise when I watched the totals ticked up past the $2,000 range. The total feel is somewhat diminished by the 7% of donations which went to administrative costs and to “I Live Here I Give Here”, but for the promotion and advertising that accompanied the event, the costs are reasonable. My single greatest surprise came from the donor inventory. 97% of the donors who gave to my nonprofit during Amplify Austin were new donors. Thank goodness, because our individual giving could use a boost.

So what does this mean for consolidated giving events?

For starters, it proves they work. The total giving during Amplify Austin exceeded $2 million, which when you consider the size of Austin, is impressive. Many organizations shy away from consolidated giving strategies because they fear the donor will reach the central website and choose another organization or that they aren’t worth the time and energy, or even claim that it confuses donors, who will see consolidated giving messaging along with existing campaigns.

To streamline our communications, we made sure that our messaging matched the branding of Amplify Austin, so donors could distinguish between our standard communications and the outreach for Amplify Austin. It was a win-win, because we were able to play off of the “Amplify” theme and Austin’s reputation for live music and develop some more creative taglines and metaphors that we normally aren’t able to do. Cheesy? Yes. Worthwhile? Definitely.

My participation in Amplify Austin diversified our development plan and expanded our donor base, which in my mind is equally as important as the dollars raised. Any organization thinking about the long term needs to consider innovative revenue streams, and consolidated giving events like Amplify Austin are gaining popularity. Dallas has the North Texas Giving Day, Chicago has the Chicago Day For Charity, and World Give Day encourages international support of philanthropy.

Even with a small development team, consolidated giving events are feasible, and worth the investment.

Book Review | The Zen of Fundraising by Ken Burnett

I am not a calm person. I function entirely through my task management software, personal and professional calendars, and the series of handwritten and orated to-do lists that populate my car, iphone, and desks. In high school, I was voted most-stressed, and that was well before the pressures of a fast-paced career were tossed on top of my existing commitments.

Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting to feel at peace with donor stewardship and fundraising after reading the Ken Burnett’s The Zen of Fundraising, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The title reflects Burnett’s desire to share what he calls “nuggets of information” and “thoughtful wisdom and insights.” Very specifically, he identifies 89 tid-bits of experiences, best-practices, and advice that cumulate for a quick read full of great suggestions for a new fundraiser, or someone in a small organization struggling to raise funds and keep funds simultaneously. Representing the later group, I constantly find myself devoting time to initial donor outreach and communication, with little remaining time left over to provide them with the warm and gooey feeling that will keep them around. We all know that donor stewardship is vital to the success of any organization, but Burnett weeds through the brush of fundraising to share what to avoid and what to embrace in donor development.

My first take away – “Be Savvy.” With only 2% of donors saying they welcome nonprofit direct mail, times are a-changing. Potential donors will stray from boring, repetitive and expected fundraising practices. Sites like donors choose expose the high costs of fundraising and can affect confidence in an organization, particularly larger ones.

Another great take away – "Be a donor." When you put your money into an organization and the roles are reversed, it becomes easy to identify holes in your organization. A colleague of mine was the major donor at a local fundraising event. Not only did the organization not recognize major sponsors of the event, but there was little food, no entertainment, and the event lasted well beyond 4 hours. My colleague felt unrecognized, unappreciated, bored, and ultimately left the event with a bad taste in her mouth before it had officially ended. Her experience changed how we plan and develop events, and I guarantee donating money yourself will change how you see fundraisers and donor stewardship.

Burnett spends some time discussing what he would do if he were the head of donor development. I thought to myself, “I’m the head of donor development and I’d still consider myself relatively new to the position, so let’s compare notes.”

Aspire to be the most learned fundraiser of my generation. Check. I read, I blog, I survey donors, and I keep up on the happenings of my peers. I meet and mingle with people who are more successful in this profession than myself, and then I steal as many of their ideas as possible (insert menacing grin here).

Teach fundraising colleagues to be fifteen minutes ahead, aka implementing small and significant fundraising ideas. Probably not checking this one off just yet. I find that development directors in small shops are open to creative projects and new fundraising systems, but we aren’t equipped with the time or resources to implement them. We just can’t take a chance on a failure if what we’re doing still seems to work.

Develop a culture of high quality donor service in our organization. Check. I know how to say thank you and I’m so glad I do. Kissing ass is an important part of my job, and thankfully I’ve had plenty of practice.

Be choosy. Check. Seeking out the real donors and building relationships will do worlds more than blanketed solicitations. While some of us are making lasagna, others are throwing the noodles against the wall to see what sticks.

Cut out short term thinking. Right here, ladies and gentlemen, is where I begin to feel like I’m reading a book by a consultant. Any fundraiser who touts ideological theories on long term fundraising plans obviously hasn’t had their nose in a budget lately. Sometimes the short term will dictate the long term.

Switch from Marketing to Communication. This point won me back. Nonprofits should be communicating with donors and stakeholders; we are sharing a story, not advertising a product. Big check in my box for this one.

I won’t keep going and spoil the tidbits of the entire book, but Burnett brings up some great ideas and some points that I think are too far removed from the daily fundraising practices of a development head. I will say that he is easy to agree to when you read his justifications, but once you think about how implementation would work in your organization, some commentary seems too foreign.

One of his best points is his fundraising mantra. Burnett posits that the three most important words in fundraising are  MAY CHANGE MIND.

He’s right. At any moment, at any time, a donor can and will change their mind for a variety of reasons. Part of our responsibility as fundraisers is to keep that from happening. Burnett also reminds us of what put us in the nonprofit sector in the first place – to INSPIRE. We aren’t salesmen. Fundraisers are showcasing life transformations at our organizations, and we need to inspire potential donors rather than make a sales pitch and ask for the sale. We need to be creative, sincere, and truthful. We need to need to believe in our cause, otherwise how can we expect someone to support it?

This is a wonderful read for anyone who is new to the fundraising field or may have forgotten how we got here in the first place. While it definitely hovers on the intellectual level of fundraising, it does provide some practical advice we can use immediately. Do I feel the zen? A little, but like most aspects of fundraising, I'll take what I can get.

Jobs Galore in Austin

There are countless opportunities for nonprofit employment here in Austin. Below are some featured opportunities, but there are great resources for job seekers via TANO , YNPN, and Greenlights.

Giving Program Manager – Build a Sign

Director of Development – KMFA

Grant Writer – RBI Austin

Early Childhood Education Team Leader – Avance Austin

Donor Relations and Communications Manager – Glimmer of Hope Foundation

Digital Media Manager – Ballet Austin

Director of Communications – Communities in Schools

Visitor Relations Specialist – AMOA Arthouse

Program Coordinator – Colin’s Hope

Development Manager of Grants – Easter Seals of Central Texas

Client Services Specialist – The Caring Place

Social Services Outreach Coordinator – Capital Area Food Bank

Volunteer Resources Coordinator – Capital Area Food Bank

Community Relations Director – Capital Area Food Bank

Community Events Manager – Capital Area Food Bank

Project Coordinator – Texas Association Against Sexual Assault

Development and Marketing Officer – Austin International School

Office Assistant – KIPP  

Another charity event…

Charity events are sort of ubiquitous – every development professional will at least consider an annual event, and most of us will plan several. No two are similar, but they more often than not become a black hole of time and tasks. Having just wrapped up my first annual event at a new nonprofit, I thought I would run the post mortem on the event with you.

Challenges for this event:

• Venue – it was a lumber yard. No restrooms, uneven pavement that wasn’t particularly handicapped accessible. Outdoor event during 90% humidity.
• Weather – Hot, sunny, humid. Dehydration and sunburns.
• Clientele – The event was partially an academic event and partially a gala, so we faced advertising and recruiting attendees with a new demographic than the organization typically faces.
• Consultants – enough said.
• No backfill – grants, donation processing, and other development and communications related tasks were put on hold as I planned and managed the event.
• …not to mention an ill timed vacation that took me out of commission until immediately before the event, so I spent my days clicking my fingernails against the iphone screen hoping that I could plan an event remotely…

Successes of the event:

• Awareness – more people walked away knowing about our organization than we planned on.
• Attendance – remarkably good considering it was a weekday event and people had to leave work.
• Cost – We stayed in budget! Yay!

Take Aways and Words of Wisdom:

If you’re a small department and a small organization, stop trying to reinvent the venue wheel. Use the location you have. You’ll save time, money, and additional resources. Plus this brings people to your location to see your building and services. Is your building not the nicest? GOOD! It will show potential donors your areas of need; donors want honesty, and anyone who is attending an event just to dress up shouldn’t be eating your free food anyway.

Don’t forget clients and partners. We secured more donations and inkind support through clients and relationships than any development plan could achieve. Fundraising is all about creatively leveraging relationships to support your organization, so if you have clients who know people, its an easy call and chances are the clients are happy to contribute. Plus, involving clients in any event that will garner attention for them is wonderful!

Its never to early to start planning next year. One of the first things we did the day after the event was discuss the pros and cons and make decisions about the next year’s event, including venue and date. While things are fresh in your mind, make notes and start thinking about what you’d like to change for future events. Don’t let it sit for 6 months until you forget the little things. Write down that you didn’t have enough twist ties for the trash bags or that you should’ve made more parking signs. It’ll be invaluable.

THANK YOUS. Say thank you. Say it a lot. Say it to people who didn’t help as much as you would’ve hoped. Now that the event is over, take the time to make everyone feel appreciated so they’ll do it again. If someone didn’t give you all they could’ve, write it down and work on them for next year. Don’t forget event volunteers.

Another Reason Why Embezzlement Makes No Sense: Cecilia Chang

This morning the New York Daily News reported that Cecilia Chang, the disgraced former dean of St. John’s University, hung herself with a stereo cord in her New York home. After accusations of embezzlement of over $1 million from the University, Chang refused a plea deal and opted to remain silent while on the stand.

In addition to embezzlement, Chang was also accused of forcing students to work in her home in exchange for scholarship funds, expensing personal items to university accounts, and stealing cash from the school where she served as Deal of Asian Studies. Lawyers close to the 59 year old claim that she was “humiliated.”

Prior to her indiscretions, Chang was an excellent fundraiser for the University, bringing in millions of dollars throughout the course of her career. She is survived by a son.

Takeaways from the 2012 Texas Nonprofit Summit

The theme of this year’s Texas Nonprofit Summit was “Inspiring Allies and Impact.” This was the first time in the past several years that I was able to attend and give the content my undivided attention. The opening Keynote was offered by Dr. Tererai Trent, whose testimony of escaping a remote village in Zimbabwe to obtain her Ph D.  and found Tinogona, a nonprofit dedicated to constructing schools in Africa, brought tears to many attendees eyes.

• On the need for nonprofit collaboration: “It takes two rocks to kill head lice.”

• On nonprofits competing for funds: “When two elephants fight, the grass loses.”

She concluded her speech with perhaps the most memorable quote of the summit, exclaiming “Nonprofits defy everything because we want meaning in other people’s lives.”

The first breakout session I attended focused on peer to peer fundraising, and how to harness the power of supporters and followers. While conceptually the session was interesting, and reminded me to use more multimedia components like photos, videos, and infographics, I felt like the tools and content really were targeted toward a larger organization with more than a one person development office. Does my organization have a large enough following to implement a peer to peer fundraiser? Probably not. Do I have the time or resources to create a mobile app or online donation applications? No. Nonetheless, I was inspired to spend more time implementing our website and to better tell my organization’s story.

I then attended a session directed by Rachel Armbruster, who is best known for her direction on the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s yellow bracelet campaign with corporate partner Nike. Not conincidentally, the session discussed how to best foster corporate relationships and collaborate with corporations to raise revenue and organizational awareness. She was unsurprisingly full of insight, stressing flexibility and the need to court corporations rather than ship materials to them and hope for the best (something I know I’ve been guilty of). She encouraged implementing networking opportunities and relationships stemming from board members and existing partners. A bulk of the session discussed what attracts corporate partners, from volunteer programs and innovative practices to integrate staff with charity initiatives, to how to show partners that their investment is worthwhile and valuable. She also stressed the importance of making opportunities and programs web-accessible….another item for the to do list. I also attended a few other sessions and film screening covering data metrics and outcomes management.

So what were my biggest takeaways from the conference?

1.     USE YOUR WEBSITE AS A TOOL. Every session stressed the increased time people spend on social media, mobile apps, and the internet. There are tons of opportunities online to reach new audiences and increase awareness for your organization. Put as much information online as possible, and begin to engage online.

2.     METRICS MATTER. It isn’t enough to offer great programming and mission focused services. Now, donors have a wide array of organizations competing for their dollar, and they are seeking the biggest and most tangible impact for their buck. Organizations need to track progress, make changes to services not offering substantial impact, and be ready to show donors successes (and failures) of programming.

3.     DON’T PUT YOUR EGGS IN ONCE BASKET. It isn’t enough to have a thriving individual donor base anymore. Corporations, grants, individual donors, third party fundraisers, and other supporters all need to be integrated into a healthy development plan. Grant funders and donors are looking for sustainability, and the better an organization can prove this, the more likely they are to be supported.

4.     RELAX. Everyone is in the same boat as you. While the American Cancer Society and Charity Water are touted as wonderful examples for charities to live by, most organizations are small shops, where everyone works hard and doesn’t cross off everything on their to do list before they go home. 

Two Tragedies in Aurora, Colorado

Over the course of the past several weeks, an alarming number of statements have been released from families of the deceased victims in the Colorado theater shooting about the mismanagement of the Victims Relief Fund and the lack of support for the families.

The Aurora Victims Relief Fund continues to be under immense scrutiny, having so far only disbursed about $5,000 to each family of the 12 killed and 58 wounded. A little over $100,000 has also been disseminated to other nonprofit organizations, primarily mental health charities. The fund is currently managed by the Community First Foundation.

Survivors of the victims are now calling for the Colorado Governor to interviene and appoint an arbitrator to oversee distribution of the fund, which has now amassed more than $52 million.

Victims and families are looking for funds to support the medical expenses, physical therapies, and health costs for those wounded in the massacre. A spokesperson for the Governor's office said the Governeor is looking to integrate United Way, local city officials, and other charities into determining the next steps. 

But why is it taking so long? 

The Community First Foundation created a 7/20 Recover Committee to provide recommendations on how funds will be distributed, but they have yet to confirm committee members, which may grow to include victim families. In addition to not slating the final membership, the committee hasn't determined whether or not they will pay for survivor mental health fees, citing a federal grant may be an alternative. 

While the Community First Foundation drags its feet and makes no decisions about funding, a survivor of the massacre who miscarried and lost a 6 year old daughter in the shooting is resorting to another charity to help her. As a result of her wounds, Ashley Moser will be paralyzed and Habitat for Humanity has been solicited assist in a handicapped-accessible home. 

Some families of victims are calling the mismanagement and broken promises of the Community First Foundation the second tragedy in Aurora.

*On July 20, 2012 just outside of Denver, Colorado, a gunman opened fire on the audience of the midnight showing for "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 12 and wounding 58. Suspect James Eagan Holmes was charged with 24 counts of murder and 116 counts of attempted murder.

Philanthroper Turns Off the Switch

One of my first blog posts focused on Philanthroper, an online donation site that mirrors crowd-funding. The site rotated beneficiary charities daily, and operated under the the idea that if everyone gives a little, the impact on the charity would be enormous. I participated, donated, and watched hundreds of dollars support great causes each day. 

But, without corporate backing or a buyer for the company, Philanthroper will close the site down within the next month. Interested supporters of Philanthroper can still use similar sites like Groupon Grassroots. 

Gearing Up for Texas Nonprofit Summit 2012

I couldn’t be more excited to head out to the Texas Nonprofit Summit this week, held at the AT&T Conference Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The conference will run September 20th –21st. I’ll be live tweeting using from @ambercooney using #TXNS. Here are the sessions I’m thinking about attending:

Fundraising & Board Engagement: Mission, Donors, then the World!
 - Mike Bacon, CFRE, Principal, and Priscilla Guajardo Cortez, Associate, Bacon Lee & Associates

Outcomes Matter: Calculating and Communicating Your Social "Return on Investment" -Matt Kouri, President & Executive Director, Greenlights for Nonprofit Success

Speed Networking with Funders - Representatives from approximately 20 private foundations, government funders and corporate grant makers from across Texas

Donor-Centered Fundraising - Penelope Burk, President, Cygnus Applied Research

Lance Armstrong Foundation Lives Strong

Here in Austin, people are very loyal to hometown cyclist Lance Armstrong. As the cycling legend dropped his fight against accusations of drug use, support of the Lance Armstrong Foundation surprisingly increased.

More than $75,000 poured into the charity the day Armstrong made the announcement and was stripped of his Tour de France titles. Chief Executive Officer Doug Ulman responded with a statement that donors respect Armstrong’s decision to move on.

This initial surge in support indicates good things on the horizon for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which is expanding to create cancer counseling centers and more healthy living programming. 

Stealing is Wrong

Some mothers forgot to teach their children that stealing is wrong, especially if their children are embezzling thousands of dollars out of the hands of deserving charities. This week several embezzlement scandals emerged, with the two most prominent involving a former employee of the Warren Buffet Foundation and another surrounding an aide to a New York Senator.

Clement Gardner, an aide of Senator Ruben Diaz, was initially accused of stealing $75,000 from two Bronx-based nonprofit organizations: the Christian Community Benevolent Association and Christian Community in Action. As the investigation continues, the total amount embezzled could be as high as $532,000. Gardner served as financial manager of the two organizations in addition to duties associated with Senator Diaz’s campaign.

"This criminal scheme turned a charity into a personal piggy bank," said the New York Attorney General.

Meanwhile, Dhaval Patel, a former program officer with the Buffet Foundation, currently faces up to twenty years in prison for stealing nearly $50,000 by doctoring reimbursement receipts, reports both the Chronicle of Philanthropy and Omaha World Herald. 

Tapping into Online Markets for Charity

I’ve been working with a Crowdtap, a social branding and marketing website, for over a year now. I signed up as a member early into the beta testing, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by my experience along the way. Crowdtap serves as an intermediary between big brands like Old Navy, Woolite, McCormick, etc. and the consumer by providing a forum for online surveys, marketing ideas, and product testing.

The incentive for the consumer/member is a point system – earned points can be redeemed for online gift certificates, tshirts, and other prizes. Early on, however, Crowdtap implemented a charity component. When I first signed up, 5% of all monies earned were donated to a charity of my choosing (in my case Support Wildlife, but others have opted for the American Red Cross, Austism Speaks, To Write Love on Her Arms, and others).

For me, this was a very exciting model – it appealed to younger people with a strong online presence but also the coupon-cutting stay at home moms who participate in the site. Suddenly Crowdtap offered a platform for fundraising that didn’t involve backend work by the charity. Supporters pick their cause and get to work. Recent changes to the website’s structure actually allow people to donate additional earned funds to the charity of their choice – an exciting opportunity for a family who may not have the funds to write a cash donation.

With alternative business models creeping up – think Toms shoes and Soap Hope – charities have to adapt and embrace alternative fundraising facets to maximize branding and donations. Online donation mechanisms like Philanthropr, Crowdtap, Kiva and others start to make philanthropy more interactive and easier for the donor, but it means abandoning the traditional development strategies nonprofits have relied on in the past.

More Bad Press for Susan G. Komen

It has been a rough year for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, although many would call the turmoil a self-inflicted wound. Earlier this year, under the direction of founder and CEO Nancy Brinker, the organization issued a public flop over funding of Planned Parenthood. Some affiliates saw fundraising decline by more than 10% and board members claiming that Brinker, alongside President Elizabeth Thompson, tarnished the Komen Brand.

Last week Brinker announced that she would step down as Chief Executive Officer in lieu of her lifetime board membership and chairmanship of the Komen Board Executive Committee, essentially retaining power over the organization.

Yesterday, Holly Hall of the Chronicle on Philanthropy reported the popularity of an online petition to oust the organizations founder from Komen entirely. The petition, hosted by change.org, has approximately 220 signatures and as word spreads throughout the affiliates, the signees will likely increase.

For the Dallas-based Komen, the question lingers whether or not the organization’s brand can recover. For New York affiliate board member, Eve Ellis, the answer is no. “[Brinker] has destroyed the Komen brand.” 

So far, Susan G. Komen representatives are not offering comment. 

A sad day for Austin Nonprofits

A few moments ago I just walked out of the saddest professional meeting of my career. Our local affiliate of the United Way announced more than $1.2 million in cutbacks, award-stoppages, and elimination of two key issue areas – effective immediately. No warning. No transition. No funds.

The problem? Aside from cutting funds, the communication with the United Way was mixed, inaccurate, and abrupt. Some organizations were told reductions were on the horizon, but no one anticipated immediate cuts. From services to the elderly to meals on wheels and aids services, Austin’s populations in need will certainly feel the results.

Over the course of the past several years, United Way of Greater Austin as dipped into its reserve funds to sustain their grant allocations and commitments. Under the direction of Chairman Bill O’Brien, the United Way’s board voted this week to reorient funding toward education and a few other pet projects. While O’Brien made a statement to the Austin American-Statesman claiming “thoughtfulness behind” the board’s decision, some organizations received little more than an email late yesterday afternoon.

Currently, the immediate focus is on transitional dollars to prevent layoffs and cessation of vital human services and financial opportunity programming. Representatives from the mayor’s office offered to approach community funders and key players to help ameliorate the situation. Until then, nonprofit executives from the 18 affected organizations will scramble to sustain programs they believed to were funded.

Groupon Grassroots

Every morning I receive at least 3 or 4 daily deal emails, whether from Living Social, Groupon, or some other likeness. Recently I was pleasantly surprised to receive a similar email from Groupon Grassroots. It's a daily deal donation site, offering a wide array of local and international campaigns to donate from.

The basic principal of sites like Groupon Grassroots is collective giving – small donations in large quantities bringing in huge sums for good causes. Although the page was created by a unique team separate from the developers of the deal site, Groupon’s branding can bring a new audience to the idea of daily donations. Currently, Groupon grassroots maintains a different database than subscribers of the Groupon coupon site, but with the reach Groupon achieved in such a small period of time, I can easily see how the Grassroots page could quickly grow.

I was impressed to see that 100% of donations go directly to not just the organization, but the specific program advertised on the website. This is a great motivator for donors who don’t want to support administrative costs or overhead.

Groupon Grassroots, along with similar sites, like Philanthropr, are encouraging signs for the future of collective giving and online solicitation. With social media sharing/posting opportunities via the sites, this is also a positive shift toward social media based philanthropy. Visit them on facebook and twitter for more info.

Book Review | Ask Without Fear by Marc A. Pitman

A while back I downloaded a copy of Mark Pitman’s “Ask Without Fear” and I recently was able to sit down and give it the focused read it deserved. Pitman introduces his experiences in fundraising and shares the acronym REAL as how to experience success: Research, Engage, Ask, and Love. The work is divided into the various sections of REAL, and he is deliberate in supporting his assertions with personal anecdotes and his own professional experiences.

The first section of REAL, research, begins with an account from Pitman of an “ask” that took place on the anniversary of an accident which rendered the donor a widow. Pitman stresses the importance of understanding the donor, timing the ask, and how research can ease the process of fundraising.  From gift tables to tiered goals, Pitman explains that large donation targets require support from large and small gifts. Pitman then works his way through the resources we have for research: university databases, old paper files, and even the ability to outsource prospect research to vendors like Blackbaud. Wherever the research originates, Pitman encourages the reader to be comfortable objectifying information and to remember that research is merely the first step.

The book moves onto the engagement portion, where Pitman discusses the value of relating donor interests to the cause and getting to know the donor beyond their checkbook. When the time comes to engage the prospect, providing them with a unique experience can distinguish your organization and bring them closer to the services the nonprofit provides. In house information, mailings, and close communication keep prospects and donors in-the-know without a high-end pricetag.

Pitman shifts the next section toward the actual ask, and begins immediately at setting up the appointment. I found this section to be the most educational, as Pitman discusses how to make the ask, from props and tools during the conversation to how to get something out of the meeting even if the prospect declines, such as referrals to other prospects. He also spends time discussing how to make the ask tangible in the eyes of the donor, like when Heifer Project tells donors $120 is a pig and $20 is a chicken. Later portions of this section cover rejection, objection, and other hiccups in the ask process.

The final section of the REAL process, love, took me by surprise; I was expecting a chapter on donor stewardship, but instead I got a lesson on how to continue cultivating a relationship even if a prospect declines to support the cause. Pitman stresses the importance of lifelong relationships and how each donor is unique.

Pitman also devotes time to fundraising myths, which range from reliance on spell-check to providing prospects with too many options when deciding their commitment level. He also spends time encouraging fundraisers to put themselves in the donors shoes, in addition to utilizing a special assessment to classify donors better. Pitman includes his resources at the end of the work, providing a wealth of additional information should questions linger after reading.

Overall, I found this to be a great, short read; this is a quick how-to that could be read in an evening, and I think would be very informative to new fundraisers or nonprofit staff who haven’t been on an ask before.  

For more information about Marc or his book, please visit his website.

Austin Restaurant Week (Great Food, Great Cause)

I love charity and I love to eat, so when food and philanthropy mix I get very excited! Lucky for me (and everyone else who participates) Austin Restaurant Week has begun. From now through April 4th, participants can choose from a host of restaurants in downtown, central, or north Austin with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Meals on Wheels and More. Menus and prices are fixed depending on whether you’re visiting for brunch, lunch, or dinner and reservations should be made through the Austin Restaurant Week website to ensure appropriate tracking, but this is well worth the effort. Visit Austin Restaurant Week 2012 for more information.

Perhaps one of the more exciting aspects about Austin Restaurant Week teaming up with Meals on Wheels and More is that the organization is celebrating 40 years of service in the Austin area this year. Since inception, Meals on Wheels and More has expanded from 8 volunteers to more than 7,000 and they reach more than 5,000 Austinites in need. In 2011 alone, Meals on Wheels and More has served just under 1,000,000 meals, and the charity now covers pet visits for the elderly, grocery programs, meal programs, and many other community initiatives.

Terminate, then Reinstate

It has been a rocky quarter for Susan G. Komen for the Cure in the wake of the Planned Parenthood funding controversy. In the wake of the funding pull and reinstatement, several high-level Komen officials are stepping down.

Yesterday, the Huffington Post reported that three officials from Komen’s headquarters in Dallas resigned, in addition to the Chief Executive Officers of affiliates of Oregon and New York City. To top it off, the Washington Post released this afternoon that LaSalle D. Leffall, the Chairman of the Board, has left his post as chair (although he will remain on the board). These actions have shifted Komen’s founding board member, Robert Taylor, out of retirement.

The public relations backlash from the organization’s doubletake is running its toll on the remainder of this year’s budget cycle as well. Affiliates are postponing or cancelling events, and National Headquarters is undergoing an extensive internal budget review. Still, some affiliates are citing no significant change in donor relationships post-planned parenthood flip. Nevertheless, there is a growing sentiment among Komen and affiliates that confidence in leadership and mission needs to be reaffirmed.

While Komen continues to sort out messaging and donor relations in the wake of their conflict with Planned Parenthood, representatives from Planned Parenthood are meeting this weekend in Portland for their annual conference, Komen funding in hand.

Book Review | The Silent Auction Handbook by Joe Garecht

In the midst of planning my charity’s largest fundraiser, I thought it apt to take a moment to read Joe Garecht’s “The Silent Auction Handbook,” hoping to absorb some words of wisdom before I bite my nails watching to see if my auction brings in the revenue we all need (and budgeted).

Right off of the bat, the book serves as a sense of motivation.  You are consistently encouraged to “think big,” and to move past the stigmas associated with fundraising and asking for donations. Garecht reminds the reader to remember the audience (a.k.a. event attendees) when making donation requests for the auction, bearing in mind the likes/dislikes and price points of auction participants. He also reiterates that the fundraisers are events, and to take a holistic approach to silent auctions; the better the overall experience, the more likely people are to bid.

Thankfully, the “Silent Auction Handbook” doesn’t take a single approach; it discusses how to incorporate fundraising into existing events as well as how to plan from scratch. He tackles the usual suspects for fundraising events: committees, payment methods, food and beverage, entertainment, marketing, and even how to propose a silent auction as an option to a board or higher level staff.

For organizations who utilize committees for event planning, Garecht spends time discussing how to train, motivate, and maximize the potential of committees in respect to special events and fundraising. For my charity, I’m a one-person shop, so I read these pages and drooled over the idea of relinquishing responsibility to a committee.

Perhaps one of the greatest sentences in this entire book is when he tells the reader to make auction solicitation mailings “Simple, direct, clear.” In the silent auction world, no wiser words can be spoken.  I know from planning my event, that the average company/prospective donor, spends about 2 minutes reviewing the letter and determining if they are supporting the cause. That isn’t a lot of time, especially if your solicitation is convoluted and wordy. If the donor has additional questions or needs more information, they’ll ask, believe me.

Another key component of this book is what Joe describes as “aggregated items.” In laymen’s terms – baskets or packages. I think this is something we don’t do enough of: taking small donations and combining them for one big one-two punch. Small items assembled correctly can have a high-perceived value and bring in the big bucks for an event.

Garecht continues to spend ample time discussing item tracking and pricing, and moves into payment processing and how to run a successful auction event. This was an area where I feel like my charity event failed last year.  It was chaotic; we didn’t have enough runners, people who bid on multiple items stood there while we shuffled through bid sheets and some people picked up their items themselves and didn’t wait for a runner. What a mess. After reading Joe’s suggestions, I feel like I have a better handle on how to manage the crowd of people all wanting their items.

Silent auctions aren’t for every organization or every event, but if you’re considering it, I think that giving “the Silent Auction Handbook,” a read will definitely help you put the pieces together to assemble a great event.