It is possible to build a major gift program from scratch for your nonprofit.

A major gift program can take root if you have these things:

• An annual appeal from a donor database with 20 – 30% who are giving at least once, preferably twice a year.
• A Board of Directors with a few members who know your community and are well-networked.
• A senior staff member who knows how to formulate and then execute a sensible development plan.

Convene a meeting of your Board members who are connected.  Print a copy of your donor list on a spreadsheet with giving history over last three years.  You can include donor names or code them in some way, but be sure to collect these worksheets after the meeting.  Let those present know what you’re doing and why:  Your donor database is one of your most valuable assets and should be treated in a secure and a confidential manner.

Ask those gathered to scan the list for names of people they know, or, people they know have a special connection to your mission, or who are connected to a person they know.

Staff then work to formulate a targeted plan of communication and social activities for these prospects.  The idea is to move them up the donor pyramid and get them interested in making significant annual gifts (what’s the right number? $1,000?  More?  Less?).

Oh.  Be sure you’re clear on the purpose for this major gift campaign.  What exactly is it that your nonprofit needs to do that this campaign will make possible?  Who will prepare the case for this campaign?   How will it be introduced?  When along the friend-raising portion of this effort will be the right time to introduce the ask?

Build it and they will come.

I’ve been “talking” with my Northeastern University Fundraising class (online) these past few days about the collapse of Hull House in Chicago.  After we get past  the shock of how such a venerable institution, committed to the widely varied immigrant populations of Greater Chicago, could collapse after 123 years, we do some research and we ask some questions.

Board members blame the staff for “sugar-coating” a nasty financial situation.  Please. Financial reports as far back as 2007 showed a $2.3 million loss.  Were board members sophisticated enough to distinguish the difference between an operating deficit and a declining valuation of assets?  Given the story in the Chronicle of Philanthropy blog http://bit.ly/w78Zdz of a few days ago, the numbers were right there, with or without sugar.

Did board members hear directly from the auditor who reviewed the financial statements?  A lesson for all nonprofit boards: The firm that conducts the audit should present both to the Audit Committee (or Finance Committee) and to the full Board of Directors.  The lead CPA on the job, always a person with nonprofit accounting experience, should present the audited statements and be available to answer questions.  And for board members who join the organization without financial experience, there should be an orientation with the Treasurer, Finance Committee chair, and the staff person who prepares the monthly statements present to present the documents and answer those questions.

January 27, 2012 must have been a very dark day for the 300 (now) former employees of Hull House when they learned that the doors would be closing.

Not to mention the people who were receiving services.  And you can see the array of services they provided at http://www.hullhouse.org.  The website still stands.  And the Hull House Museum is in operation.

So the collapse spiraled out of control over at least a five year period, if not more.

I post this sad tale to get the attention of board members and senior staff of nonprofits great and small.  Board members have a legal and fiduciary duty to take care of the nonprofit organization.  Take care of its mission, the people it serves, the people it employs, and the assets of the nonprofit.  It’s a big job.  The job has to be taken seriously and with both eyes wide open.  The numbers on the financial reports have to make sense.  No amount of sugar can compensate for a troublesome financial situation.

Most nonprofits have wrapped up or are wrapping up their holiday appeal.  Most of these direct mail (or, more inclusively, “direct response”) campaigns are run in November – December, with follow-up in January – February.  Increasingly, nonprofits recruit board members to conduct a personal solicitation component of the holiday appeal to high-level and “special handling” donors.  This usually adds significantly to the dollars raised.  A recent client conducted an e-mail component and raised revenue 20% over the previous year.

Now is a good time to consider an Extra Contribution or “Extra Mile” campaign.  Nonprofits identify donors who did gave, perhaps early in the annual appeal (November) and ask that these donors consider going the “extra mile” and adding to their gift.  Nonprofit staff and volunteer leadership need to feel comfortable taking this step.  It’s possible that some donors will be turned off by this approach.  In my experience, there is a significant number of donors who will consider doing more for your mission if you make a good case.

Your case for an Extra Contribution should be 100% focused on those who rely on the service you provide.

And of course, you have already thanked your donors at least once for their recent annual appeal gift.  It’s a good idea to start the appeal letter with another “thank you.”  To clearly acknowledge that your nonprofit and your clients (I refer to them as primary customers) appreciate what your donors have done.  But there are unmet needs.  And you will note one or two of these: the number of people who need to be reached but aren’t because there isn’t quite enough in the cupboard to get the job done.

Give it some thought.  Talk it over.  Let your development committee know what you’re considering and ask for their feedback.

The potential is there to add another 10% to annual appeal revenue.  Food for thought.

Here we are in 2012 with the US economy starting to improve. As public confidence in the nation’s economy regains its footing,  nonprofit organizations should utilize one of their most precious asset—their networks.  Identify connections with your stakeholders: The people who benefit from your mission directly and indirectly, the people who support your mission directly and indirectly. Create a plan to strengthen the bonds with individuals in your networks. Focus on people with the ability to deliver all manner of resources to help deliver the mission .The goodwill, future financial support, and contacts developed by networking during this period of economic resurgence  will be the silver lining to emerge as the clouds of recession lift. Networking is the art of identifying, cultivating, and engaging friends of your organization. These relationships ultimately may yield monetary support, non-financial support; they can become ambassadors who cultivate more friends. Now is the time to identify these potential friends, hone your message, and plan how to best deliver the message. By getting your staff, board of directors, and other volunteers ready for brighter days, you’ll build your capacity to thrive when recovery is more firmly established.The best place to start is a meeting of the board of directors, who must constantly stay mindful of their critical role as emissaries for the organization. They know the mission, they know the goals, they know the good that the organization brings to the community. How do they communicate this value? How do they spread the good news with people they work with, play with, pray with?
Start with a conversation. Take some time at a staff meeting and the next board meeting to talk about reaching out to friends to share your mission. There may be members who are doing this now. Identify them before the next meeting. Ask them to share their techniques with the group. Use their experiences to kick off the discussion. Listen for the ideas that have been most successful. Share a summary of the results with all who can benefit from these experiences.
Continue the conversation. Be sure to put the discussion on the agenda for subsequent meetings. Find out in advance who is trying the new techniques. Ask one or two of the new practitioners to report on what they’re doing.
Engage communications experts to share advice. Do you have a director of communications on your staff? If not, does one of your board members or volunteers have communication expertise? Strategize with this person about your approach to engaging networks. Incorporate messages that are consistent with your brand so your staff and volunteers are talking about your work in a unified and consistent way.
Twitter? Facebook? Blogs? Is someone on your team familiar with social media and willing to show others how to effectively use these tools? It’s likely that this person will be younger than most of the team. If so, this is an excellent opportunity to let an up-and-comer show their stuff. An effective plan for social media can engage people you otherwise might miss who will support your mission once they learn what the organization is about.
What’s your story? Nonprofit organizations have numerous stories about your clients’ great experience with your services. Incorporate telling stories as part of “conversation time.” A program staff person or a volunteer probably has more than one such story to share. Let your group hear a story or two each time you meet, and encourage your board, staff, and volunteers to retell these stories when they are out engaging their networks.
There is a reservoir of good will out there, ready to hear about the good you do. And every day, your volunteers and staff talk with many people who will want to help bring the “good” you deliver to more people. Your organization’s job is to forge links through staff, board, and volunteer networks so you can grow the circle of friends and supporters. When you take the time to apply creative approaches to communication through networks, you engage and energize people for your mission. It takes commitment and work, but it will put your organization in the strongest possible position as the economy gets ready for the next great leap forward.

This week it’s all about Relationship Fundraising.  And the guy who wrote the book on the subject is Ken Burnett.  If you’re raising money for charitable purposes, you should have his book close by.  Relationship Fundraising: A Donor Based Aproach to the Business of Raising Money. Jossey-Bass is the US publisher. Second edition: 2002.

I recommend that you check out his blog. A post in 2009 “2020 vision” is definitely worth a look:  http://www.kenburnett.com/Blog2020vision.html.  A sample:

Fundraisers will wake up to the fact that they are selling neither their organisations nor their causes, nor their missions and certainly not all the nuts and bolts and insignificant minutiae of what they do. Rather they are promoting joy, the warm glow, the exhilaration, the sense of achievement and fulfilment, even the meaning of life. As business life and political life are so discredited now, the timing for all this could not be better now.

Great food for thought. Particularly for nonprofit boards who think “someone” (preferably staff) just go ask for and get money.  Mr. Burnett teaches us to reach out to prospective donors, befriend them to the mission, acquaint them with the good you do and the people who benefit from that goodness so there’s a desire to be a part of the good works.

Makes lots of sense to me.  Please tell me if it makes sense to you.