Overview: Basic Steps in a Campaign

Overview: Basic Steps in a Campaign • Set goals based on organization’s strategic goals • Select steering committee • Identify roles and responsibilities for each person • Set up record system and recognition system • Develop case statements (why should anyone give?) • Carry out research on potential donors • Find ways to meet them • Engage them with organization • Invite them to help support specific activities that interest them • Recognize and thank them, keep them involved • Repeat, evaluate and refine this cycle every year

The Board’s Role in Fundraising Thomas P. Holland, Ph.D., Professor UGA Institute for Nonprofit Organizations

Getting the Organization Ready 1. Fundraising must be based in the organization’s strategic plan. Each strategic goal becomes a fundraising goal too. 2. The board oversees this whole process of planning and implementation.

A Strategic Plan addresses • What are the most important ways we can strengthen this organization and its programs in the coming 3-5 years? • Answers depend on careful analysis of internal and external factors. • Challenge of mission-drift, self-perpetuation for its own sake. • Clear priorities strengthen commitment and effectiveness throughout organization. • Provides foundation for all fundraising

Strategy vs. Operations • Most board and staff members (like most people) come from positions of responsibility for operational decisions. That’s familiar territory. • Most board and staff members (like most people) have little understanding of or experience with governance, strategic thinking, or planning for the future. • As a result, discussions slide into familiar territory-- operations. • Staff unwittingly foster such slides by providing more operational details.

A Strategic Plan is • Clear statement of the major goals and priorities of an organization that guide all decisions toward achieving its mission. • Specification of the main values and directions as we approach our environment and constituencies, how we invest our resources for maximum results • Demonstration of who we are, distinguished from others in our environment

What is Strategic Planning? Strategic Planning is a Process that: • Is filled with decisions and actions that shape and guide what an organization is, does, and why it does it • Requires broad-scale information gathering • Explores alternative directions for the organization • Emphasizes its future • Results in a tangible written document that guides all organizational actions, including fundraising

Why Participate in a Planning Process? • For sharper organizational focus • To concentrate on priorities and key strategies • For a systematic approach to future thinking • To compete in marketplace more effectively • To determine our priorities • To evaluate organizational effectiveness • To clarify vision, mission, critical issues, and strategies • To prepare for possible partnerships • To provide guidance to staff • To stay on track during leadership transitions • To demonstrate accountability

Why be Strategic? • To find best approach(es) to implementing the mission • To identify organization’s unique niche for success • To build on assets • To identify and correct weaknesses • To anticipate problems and be prepared to deal with them • To take advantage of opportunities

Where are We Now? • Is the organization clear about its primary purpose? • Are new strategic approaches needed for implementing the mission? • Can existing strategies be implemented in a more effective way? • Are organizational goals and outcomes clear? • Should any of our major programs be eliminated? • Is there a need for new programs and services? • Is it necessary to consider a totally new approach to our mission? • Should we consider a merger or collaboration?

Funding the Planning Process • Money Is Needed To • Support information gathering, analysis, and research • Contract for consulting and facilitating services • Cover logistical expenses • Develop a Budget • Type of process chosen • Size and complexity of organization • Number of people involved • Geographic spread of mission • If Funding is Not Available, we must first • Create a plan to access funding • Seek donated services and meeting space • Look to board for financial support or planning

Are Our Board and StaffMembers Committed? The Board • Commitment absolutely essential • Should have willingness to • spend time planning • support expenses of planning process • monitor implementation of plan’s strategies and goals • Participate in asking for contributions, opening doors, making connections

Are Board and Staff Committed? (cont.) The Staff • Commitment essential • Should have willingness to • spend time planning • earmark funds for planning process • monitor implementation of strategies and goals of plan • participate in gathering information • commit to new and diverse roles and responsibilities

Are Board and Staff Committed? (cont.) • Board/Staff Partnership • Determine how to access needed information • Share research and interview assignments • Discuss issues that arise in planning • Communicate disagreements and differences of opinion

Who Should Facilitate the Process? • Should a Consultant Be Hired? • Assess whether there is a need • Determine if funding is available • Seek referrals for consultants who work best with specific organizations • Should a Board Member Act as Facilitator? • Caution: Board members are not the best option • If board member facilitates, he/she must • remain objective • limit insights and ideas • act as catalyst in planning process

The Board’s Role • Commits to planning • Ensures adequate resources • Decides on approach • Coordinates steering committee • Helps prepare and approves “plan to plan” • Ensures full board participation • Conducts board self-assessment • Reviews and approves vision, mission, critical issues, and tasks • Makes final decision on approving plan • Ensures plan become operational • Ensures plan is fully implemented • Oversees accomplishment of goals

Chief Executive’s Role • Seeks board’s buy-in for planning • With the board, ensures adequate resources • With the board, decides on planning approach • With the board, appoints steering committee • Participates in “plan to plan” • Ensures participation of staff • Informs staff; encourages feedback and input • Prepares operational plan with staff • Evaluates accomplishment of strategies, goals, and objectives • Regularly reports status to board

The Role of Staff Staff <20: • Expect participation from every staff member Staff >20: • Create leadership team more directly involved in planning Staff will be involved with • Analyzing internal capacity • Formulating and distributing questionnaires • Organizing data collection • With chief executive, identifying critical issues (vision, mission, strategies) • With chief executive, preparing operational plan • Implementation of plan

Involving our Stakeholders • Who are they? • Clients, staff, funders, members, community • What can they add? • Involvement with internal/external assessments • Outsiders’ perspectives

To interest potential supporters, we must be very clear about • What exactly is our mission, and how will we carry it out? • How do our various constituencies view our mission? Will they support it? • How well have we identified and communicated our goals? • What programs & services will best carry out our mission? • How will we deliver our services in ways that are positively noticed and supported? • How will we organize our efforts to be successful in accomplishing our goals? • How will we ensure resources to sustain our programs?

Importance of an external orientation • Most staff are internally focused, concerned with quality of projects and programs. • The external environment is increasingly complex, competitive, and demanding about accountability and responsiveness. • Our intended audiences’ points of view, needs & interests, are vital to our success. • Other organizations that are more attentive and responsive will successfully compete for our constituencies and resources. • So we must define our audiences and find out what each group wants, in what forms and ways of delivery.

The external environment is changing • People are less loyal to old, familiar organizations; brand loyalty diminishing • People have fewer close friends or long-term commitments; more transience • Average age is increasing • People distrust large organizations, and interest in joining organizations as formal member is declining • Investment in some civic activities has diminished • Technology emphasizes quick responses • Choices among options, brief engagement, and privacy are valued

Trends affecting the stakeholders of every nonprofit • The external environment is increasingly turbulent, unstable, changing • Constituents and supporters want more control, and loyalty cannot be assumed • Unplanned networking is less reliable as source for money, volunteers, publicity • Public policies are changing • Demands for accountability are rising • While some nonprofits are paying attention to such changes, most are not

Key Questions about stakeholders’ needs and interests • Who are our target audiences (individuals and groups we have/ want to have involved)? • What are the key segments (sub-groups) within those groups? • What are the needs/ interests of each? • What business do they think we’re in? • How much interest or awareness do our activities generate among them? • How satisfied are they with our output? Good fit? • What are our competitors doing about these issues? • Do we have any distinctions that allow us to be in a more attractive position than our competitors?

Strategy must match conditions of the organization’s market • Are our mission and values congruent with our consumers’ and sponsors’ interests and concerns? • Do we have programs that will accomplish our goals effectively? • Do we have the skills, commitments, and resources to deliver? • What are our best, most feasible directions for the coming years?

Concentric circles of interest in a nonprofit organization Board, staff, Volunteers Donors Clients People with similar interests

Constituencies and organization must share in the mission and goals • If they are based upon constituents’ concerns and interests, there will be energy and resources to achieve shared goals. • The organization must know what criteria stakeholders are using to judge the success of its performance. • Activities must be consistent with shared core values or there will be little chance of achieving stakeholder satisfaction.

Effective reciprocal relationships with constituencies • Each group is necessary for the other to succeed. Both must receive adequate benefits in order to be successful. • Organization must involve target audiences to accomplish its goals. Donors, volunteers, members must be empowered to achieve their individual goals through involvement. • Messages of encouragement, solicitation, and benefit are sent by those inside the organization to those outside, while messages of acceptance, displeasure, and encouragement are sent from those outside to those within the organization.

Appealing to our constituencies • There must be some degree of current interest in the topic for people to respond to overtures from the organization • Information presented by the organization must be compatible with listeners’ prior values & attitudes for them to be receptive • People respond in differing ways to same material, and their response depends on their beliefs and attitudes. • We must understand each audience’s interests and tailor approaches to match. • Example: packaging aspects of organization to appeal to donors (naming opportunities)

Tools for understanding our constituencies’ interests • Focus group discussions • Analysis of demographic & census data • Key informants • Surveys of consumers, sponsors, referral sources • telephone • in-person interviews • mailed questionnaires

Identifying useful strategies • Can we fine-tune our current operations? Work harder at what we’ve been doing? • Should we shift our focus and resources to address an emerging opportunity? • Can we convert a barrier or threat to an opportunity? What would it take? Can we do that? What resources would be needed? • How will our answers address the factors raised in our SWOT analysis? • How will answers foster constituency engagement and loyalty? • What are some specific aspects of our organization and programs that would appeal to what kinds of donors?

How should we spend our money? • Some projects may operate at a loss because of centrality to our mission (core) • Some projects not core to mission but money-makers may be accepted to offset losses in others (cash cows) • We may invest in growth of programs in hope they will break even in the future (venture capital) • Some projects may be discontinued because they no longer meet the needs for which they were designed (dogs)

Specify multi-year financial plan and income needs • Options (on-going & new programs) • Priorities • Estimated expenses • Estimated income • Renewable income • Last year’s gifts minus non-repeatable gifts (Grants, personal gifts, contracts, fees, earned income) • New income • Use historical rate of growth, OR combine with new fundraising efforts

Key Steps in Fundraising • The board takes leadership, with staff support. • Begin with strategic goals for the organization, not with whatever funding sources seem available. • Search for sources and people who are interested in and share your goals. • Develop relationships with them. • Find ways to engage them with your organization before asking for anything. • Results are directly correlated with the extent of engagement. There are no shortcuts.

Specifying the Fundraising Plan • Identify the steps and resources needed to achieve each strategic goal • Formulate them clearly in terms that interest, attract, and engage our constituencies, including staff, volunteers, sponsors, others • Specify roles and actions each can take to move forward, including target audiences and strategic goals that will interest each. • Take advantage of constituencies’ different talents, interests. Match task with talent. • Prepare people for campaign tasks.

Components of an Effective Fundraising Plan • Gather information on market conditions • Identify avenues to donor acceptance • Every member of our organization must approach work in terms of engaging constituents • Emphasize that accomplishments of this organization are due to constituents’ efforts • Specify goals and action steps • Monitor results and publicize them • Modify programs (and people) that do not engage constituents and produce results

More Key Components • Everyone must be fully committed to meeting constituents’ interests, from board and top management on to all staff. • Acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses • Always tell the absolute truth about the organization and its programs. Integrity builds trust. • Explain actions in light of mission and goals • Put our explanations in constituents’ terms • Focus on the key audience segments critical to the organization’s success in reaching each strategic goal

Emphasize Friend-Raising • There must be some degree of current interest in the topic for people to respond to overtures from the organization. • Information presented must be compatible with listeners’ prior values and attitudes for them to be receptive. • People respond in differing ways to the same material, and their response depends on their beliefs and attitudes. • Listen to them. Ask questions and seek to understand each one’s interests. Tailor your approaches to match them.

Be Clear about How you Add Value for Sponsors • Each party in the transaction should sense that they are receiving more than they are giving up. • The nonprofit must understand what each target audience wants and how it truly provides them their expected benefits. • The nonprofit must satisfy efficiently and effectively its half of the transaction • Are we truly adding value for them? Evidence? • By building on its strengths, the organization can better serve constituencies and strengthen their loyalty.

Develop the Case for Givingon each strategic goal • Begin with the why: what is our mission? • Then state the what: what do we want to achieve? • Draw key goals from strategic plan • Then state the how: how will this new project meet a goal and fulfill mission? • Then who: who we are and how well we have been serving our constituencies. • Finally, what specific action do you want the reader or listener to take? • Frame answers in donors’ terms and interests • Boil it all down to one page. • Practice using it in conversations. • Draw on alternative cases depending on listener.

Remember about Giving and Asking • People give money because they want to. • People don’t give unless they are asked. • People give money to people, not programs. • People give money to opportunities, not deficits. • People give to successful organizations, not to distressed ones. • People give money to make a change for the good. • People give on their timetable, not ours.

More Points to Remember • We cannot do everything or talk to every person, so must prioritize. • All new efforts must be evaluated based NOT solely on their potential as programs but also on their probability of success in gaining financial support. • Never neglect current donors to go after new donors. • Plan for sustainability (e.g., sequencing or phasing in efforts over time). • Keep good records.

Basic Steps in Fundraising: Developing Friends into Sponsors • Board identifies goals and priorities for new funding. • Board and staff demonstrate commitment by 100% giving. • Each ones shares enthusiasm with friends. • Identify and cultivate relationships with new potential donors. • Invite them to get acquainted with organization. • Host special events to showcase projects & people. • Ask friend for support for aspect of interest or introduce to Executive or Chairperson for the ask. • Follow up with appropriate thanks. • Staff supports board in these efforts, rather than doing it all for them.

Prerequisites for our People • If your board and senior staff are not already taking leadership in fundraising, the FIRST task is to solve that problem. • Willingness to learn and try are the beginning steps. Skill comes with practice. • Develop clear case statements for each goal and practice using them in conversations. • Everything else depends on these foundations. • Everybody must be involved in some way, either in direct solicitations or in support roles. • No excuses allowed for anybody.

Common Excuses: • I’ll do anything but raise money. • Nobody ever said raising money was part of serving on this board (or working in this organization). • My time is my gift. • We deal with substantive issues, not with raising money. • I’m too busy. • I don’t want to ask my friends for money. • I can’t stand being turned down. • I’m just not good at that sort of thing. • I’ll get around to that later.

Such Avoidances of Responsibility Must be Resolved • The board is ultimately responsible for the well being of the organization in every area. • Other competitors are moving ahead with raising money, taking your potential donors. • People have various talents, all of which are needed by the team. • Fundraising can be learned, practiced, and refined. • It can be fun and satisfying. • Our survival as an organization depends on it.

Set Clear Expectations • Include fundraising in job descriptions for board and staff • Evidence of commitment to values and mission • Attendance and active participation • 100% giving • Public representation and advocacy for organization • Fill gaps in group’s skills by • Targeted recruitment • Education sessions on fundraising, communications, volunteering • Engage volunteers in special projects • Bring in needed skills • Watch for potential nominees for deeper engagement • Conduct regular evaluations to learn and grow • Demonstrate accountability to sponsors • via financial reports and individual communications

The Board’s Fundraising Committee • Oversees the preparation of a comprehensive plan for review by full board • Ensures a realistic appraisal is made of potential support and reasonable goals are set • Develops consistent messages (cases) for all to use • Participates actively in identifying prospects, cultivation, asking • Enlists every other board and senior staff member in specific tasks, events, recognition of donors • Reminds everyone to give and to complete assigned tasks • Evaluates efforts for future improvement

Support Roles: Something for Everybody • Everyone helps develop volunteer opportunities and engage people in them • Host receptions or events where CEO or Board Chair gives brief presentation • Introduce friends to CEO, Board Chair, or other leaders • Identify and do background research on potential donors and doorways • Offer to speak at civic organizations • Help draft case statements, press releases, other approaches to public awareness • Develop donor appreciation and recognition plans • Search for ideas and people with expertise and bring to board education sessions

Start Small, Build Pyramids • Every member gives according to means • Each invites friends to events and asks them to bring some amount for this organization • Maintain database on all givers • Identify those who give larger gifts • Take them to lunch, explore their interests • Match their interests to organization’s needs via volunteer roles • Ask them to invite their friends to event next year • Try creative, alternative events

Overview: Basic Steps in a Campaign