Effective Methods for Nonprofit Fundraising Workshop

September 10, 2013

Instructions for Warm-Up Exercise:

Take a few minutes to look at the “I Give Because” page on

the wall.

Using the stickers provided, mark the statements that apply

to you and how you make decisions in your own nonprofit

giving.  You may mark as many statements as you like.

If there is something that you would like to add (another

reason why you give), write it on a post-it and add it to the

“I also give because…” box at the bottom.  If someone has

added a statement in this section that you feel also applies

to you, you may add a sticker to that post-it.

A

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Introductions

Working Agreements & Goals

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Fundraising overview

What you need before you begin fundraising

   The board’s role in fundraising

   Creating a fundraising plan

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   Creating an individual donor program

   Applying for grants

   Generating corporate & business donations

Special Events

Fundraising Trends

Questions & feedback

Introductions

1 MINUTE with your partner:

Name

Organization

Role—Development Director, ED, etc.

What’s the word or image that comes to mind when you think of “Fundraising”?

4 MINUTES with your team:

Name

Organization

Role—same as above, etc.

What’s the word or image that comes to mind when you think of “Fundraising”?

POPCORN

Goals for today's workshop:

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 Share knowledge and real-life experiences that

others can use to increase their fundraising

success

 Lay the groundwork for success- a clear

fundraising plan- and provide the practical tools

to make the plan a reality

Working Agreements

Recognize we are all at different levels, with varying

experiences. Celebrate the diversity and the learning.

Cell phones on

stun.

One conversation at a time- no sidebars.

Vegas Rule.

Parking Lot.

PART I:

Laying the Groundwork

What is

fundraising?

fundraising-

 (noun) the raising of assets and

resources from various sources for the

support of an organization or a specific

project.

- The Association of Fundraising Professionals Fundraising

Dictionary Online

What are some things you

need to have in place before

you start fundraising?

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 Non-profit tax status

A donor tracking database

A system to quickly acknowledge donations and donors

 Individuals (staff, board, volunteers) who are trained in how to

ask for money

Knowledge of available funding sources

 Basic materials about the organization

 Firm knowledge of who you are

  Clarity and agreement about how the funds will be used

Source: GivingUSA 2013 Highlights

(www.givingusareports.org/2013)

The Board’s

Role in

Fundraising

One of the board’s primary responsibilities is

ensuring that the organization has adequate

funding to fulfill its mission.

Board members do this by:



…reviewing financial documents and budgets.



…making personal financial donations.



…helping to make connections with prospective donors.



…asking for donations.

Quick gut check:

How are your board members

doing in fulfilling their fundraising

responsibilities?

Three steps to board

fundraising success:



Make it clear



Make it easy



Make it fun

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The Fund Development Committee oversees

fundraising strategy and the board’s fundraising

activities by…



…working with staff to establish a strategic

fundraising plan.



…engaging in fundraising activities.



…taking the lead in certain fundraising activities.



…being responsible for other board members’

fundraising engagement.

What does this all mean?

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Think to yourself:

What is one thing you can do in

the next 48 hours to more

effectively engage the

members of your board in

fundraising?

Creating a

Fundraising

Plan

What is a

fundraising plan?

Step One:

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Group Exercise:

Assess your 

strengths

 and weaknesses

Board and board giving

Staff

 Members, donors & prospects

Grants

Corporate & business donations

Fundraising events

Earned income

Step Two:

Review your current

budget and your recent

fundraising numbers

Step Three: 

Set Goals

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Secure 25 gifts of $1,000 or more

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Increase donor retention rate to 70%

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Get at least three prospect names from each board member

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Raise $67,500 total

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Apply for five grants; receive at least two grants

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Contact each foundation at least four times during grant period

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Raise $55,000 total

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Identify five potential corporate sponsors with which a board or staff member has

a personal connection

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Ask for four donations

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Raise $15,000 total

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Secure sponsors that cover 100% of Annual Dinner event costs

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Net $20,500

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Have 50% returning students and 25% “bring-a-friend”/ referral students

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Raise $7,000 total

Step Four: 

Create your 

fundraising calendar

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Grab a post-it & make a note:

of the fundraising planning tools

just shared, what one thing might

you try out to upgrade your

planning?

PART II:

How to Fundraise

Creating an

Individual Donor

Program

Major

Donors

Mid- Level Donors

Small Donors

The Donor Pyramid

Why do people 

give?

What makes a 

person give to a 

specific organization?

A person may give money for

many reasons.

A person gives money to a

specific organization because of:

A

bility

B

elief

C

ontact

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Where can you

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...at your events.

...at partnering organizations.

...on your mailing and email lists.

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Thank before you bank!

Within 72 hours, make a

personal thank you call or send a

thank you note.

How do you keep track of

information about your

donors and donations?

What information will your

organization need to know

for the future?

Applying

for Grants

Where do I find my grant?

Online research (The Foundation

Center, Google)

 Community & foundation listservs

 Other organizations doing similar work

Listservs With Grant

Announcements

Grantstation Insider (Free with LANO membership)

Unified Nonprofits of Greater New Orleans (unifiednonprofits.org)

Congressman Cedric Richmond's government grants newsletter-

Richmond.grants@mail.house.gov

Larger foundations (i.e. Greater New Orleans Foundation,

Foundation for Louisiana, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Foundation, Louisiana Cultural Economy Foundation, etc.)

The Grantsmanship Center (tgci.com)

Neighborhoods Partnership Network (npnnola.com)

Common documents required

for grants

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Case for Support

 Your current budget

 List of board members and their biographies

 List of staff members and their biographies

 Copy of IRS determination letter & 990 form

 Audited financial statement

Consider…

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 The funder's organizational requirements

 The funder's geographic focus

 The size of the grant

 Other organizations the funder has supported

 The funding timeline

 Whether you have the capacity to write the proposal

 Whether you have the capacity to follow the funding

requirements

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 GuideStar.org

 990 tax forms

 Google/ Funder's website

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 Grant can support existing activities

 Grant can expand activities in a way that is

productive and helps advance your mission

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Length, format, font, number of

copies, required attachments,

things you should include, things

you should NOT include…

Five Rules for Writing Fundable

Grant Proposals:

1- Keep it clear and simple

2- Use (credible) data

3- Use real-life stories

4- Be specific

5- Use language that the person

reviewing the grant will understand

Creating your project budget

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 Use real numbers to calculate how much each item will cost

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Office rent, utilities and insurance

 Legal, bookkeeping and payroll

expenses

Budget Narrative/ Budget

Justification

The narrative serves two purposes:

•

It explains how the costs were

estimated.

•

It justifies the need for the cost.

The importance of editing

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 Use “the brother-in-law test”

 Have someone else review the directions and make

sure you followed them

 Have the person/ people responsible for doing the

work review your draft

 Review a full copy, with all attachments, arranged

exactly the way the foundation will see it

When you your proposal is accepted

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 Start planning for after the grant period

When your proposal is declined

 Thank the funder

 Ask for feedback

 Ask if you can apply in the next grant cycle

 Ask if you can stay in touch and, if so, how

Generating

Corporate & Business

Donations

Potential business donors:

 Businesses that have a stake in your work

 Businesses that would want to advertise to

your audience

 Your vendors (bank, realtor, office supplies

company, etc.)

 Employers of your board members or of

people your board members know

 Businesses in your neighborhood

In-Kind vs. Monetary

Marketing vs. Philanthropy

Letter of Introduction:

 Who you are

Your connection to the company

 What you are asking for

 How the company will be recognized

 Your contact information and follow-up plan

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 Hang a plaque with their name and logo

 List them in your annual report

 List them in your event program

 Give them a quote in your press release

 Mention their name 

when

 making a speech

 Put their logo on your website or promotional materials

…and don’t forget to ask how they’d like to be recognized!

Planning Special

Events

The Harsh Reality:

Special events are an

inefficient way to raise

money.

So why do people do them?



To attract new donors.



To engage current or past donors.



To have fun.



To reinforce your mission.



To generate publicity.



If done correctly, to raise funds.

Generating funds

through special

events

Event Sponsors

Remember those ideas about

finding your corporate donors?

Tickets

Factor in the per-person cost

Also factor in the financial

capability of your audience

Auctions, Raffles and

Ad Books

Ask people in your network to

contribute

Research who has contributed to

other events

Think of customer bases that overlap

with your likely guests

The importance

of your event

team

A strong event team:

•

…has a clear plan and group buy-in.

•

…has a strong leader.

•

…has enough members for each

person to take on the workload they

would like.

•

…has a range of talents and interests.

•

…can get the word out to potential

sponsors and attendees.

Planning and

Follow-Through

Creating a budget and task list

•

Involve the whole team

•

Make sure everyone knows

•

Update regularly

Frequent communication among

the team

•

Make it regular

•

Make adjustments as necessary

•

Celebrate success

And remember…

The event is the beginning,

not the end.

•

Follow up with guests

•

Follow up with sponsors and

other donors

•

Take notes for next time

•

Set up your team for future

engagement

Fundraising

Trends

Cause-Related  Marketing

Marketing in which a for-profit organization,

by using the name of a not-for-profit

organization, promotes its product and in

return provides financial support to the

organization according to a predetermined

formula based on sales and purchases.

- The Association of Fundraising Professionals Fundraising

Dictionary Online

Establishing a cause-marketing

revenue stream:

•

Identify a corporate supporter whose target

customer base relates to your nonprofit

•

Be prepared to explain how the partnership

would benefit them

•

Work with an attorney and an accountant

Earned Income

Money received by a person or

organization for product sales or service

rendered.

- The Association of Fundraising Professionals Fundraising

Dictionary Online

“According to the Center on

Nonprofits and Philanthropy,

private-sourced feed for goods and

services made up more than 45

percent of total nonprofit sector

revenue in 2010.”

Richard Tait, “The Importance of Earned Income in Your Funding Model,”

The Stanford Social Innovation Review, Nov. 7, 2011

Establishing an earned income

revenue stream:

•

Identify what product or service you can

reasonably provide.

•

Confirm that there is a demand for that

product or service.

•

Work with an accountant.

Finding an idea for earned income

New products

for new

customers

Find new customers for existing 

products

Develop new products for existing customers

Improve profit from current earned income activities

Source: Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations

“Fund Development: Diversifying Your Portfolio: 

A Framework for Sustainability” (2012)

Social Media Fundraising

Crowdfunding

Twitter and Facebook

Multi-Channel Fundraising

Examples of nonprofit

crowdfunding platforms:

Crowdrise

FirstGiving

Facebook Causes

Twitter & Facebook

The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55–64 year age

bracket.

This demographic has grown 79% since 2012.

The 45–54 year age bracket is the fastest growing demographic on

both Facebook and Google+.

25% of smartphone owners ages 18–44 say they can’t recall the last

time their smartphone wasn’t next to them

Belle Beth Cooper, “10 Surprising Social Media Statistics That Might Make You

Rethink Your Social Strategy,” Buffer, July 16, 2013

When and How Often??

Facebook: No more than 3x/ day

Twitter: At least 1x/ day

Mornings: 8:00-9:00 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00-1:00 p.m.

End of Day: 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Nights: 9:30-11:00 p.m.

Source: “Fundraising With Social Media,”

Presented by Social Media for Nonprofits, Freer Sackler Galleries and the Razoo Foundation

Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Organizational Effectiveness program, 2013

Multi-Channel Fundraising

A donor is more likely to give when he or she

has been asked multiple times through multiple

methods

Different people respond better to different

types of asks

Coordination and list management are key

Fundraising 101:

Some Closing Thoughts

Know where you are.

Create a team.

Create a plan.

Work the plan.

Don’t forget the data.

Recommended Fundraising

& Non-Profit Resources:

 Greater New Orleans Foundation's

“Needs Scan Report” & Primers (gnof.org)

 Kim Klein's 

Fundraising for Social Change

Giving USA (www.givingusareports.org)

Next Steps

Revisit Parking Lot

Evaluation Questionnaire

One Thing I Will Commit to Doing

One Word that Best Reflects My

Experience Today

Greater New Orleans Foundation ~ 1055 St Charles Ave, Suite 100

New Orleans, LA 70130 ~ (504) 598-4663 ~ gnof.org

The Funding Seed ~ P.O. Box 52154 ~ New Orleans, LA 70152

(504) 307-7220 ~ thefundingseed.com