Fundraising for Nonprofits. Welcoming the two new members of our writing team, Jon Howard & John Elbare February 26: Direct Mail, Direct Response: An Introduction You Can Help Save the Combined Federal Campaign – Part I March 5: Introduction to Planned Giving – Part I A Mission (Statement) Impossible March 12: Statistics In Grant Proposals Events In Private Homes: Part I March 19: You Can Help Save the Combined Federal Campaign – Part II How Do You Deal With Grant Deadlines March 26: Events In Private Homes: Part II Building Blocks of Direct Mail April 2: Making Your Nonprofit Conference A Special (Fundraising) Event Events In Private Homes: Part III April 9: How Many Development Staffers Do We Need to Attain Our Fundraising Goals?
“I Can’t Tell People What They Should Give!” No one would argue the fact that every fundraising campaign needs a goal and that everyone connected with the campaign, including prospective donors, needs to be aware of that goal.
Why, then, do people so often fight the setting of a goal for each prospective donor and the sharing of that goal with the prospect? Trustees often blanch at the idea, and it is the rare solicitor who for the first time he or she is told that there will be a suggested giving amount for each of his prospects does not respond with, “I can’t tell people what to give!” They’re right! Solicitors shouldn’t try to tell prospects what to give, as that will likely engender a great deal of resistance.
Yet, setting a personal goal for all prospective individual donors, letting prospects know what their goal is, and helping them see where and how it fits under the umbrella of the campaign goal, are probably the most important elements of any campaign. Evaluating Your Major Gifts Prospects. Too many people (NPO board members, volunteers and staff) believe that “Evaluation” means determining what a potential donor should give!!
That couldn’t be more wrong. A formal evaluation process has two objectives: to identify a dollar amount that the prospective donor would be likely to be able to afford; and, to identify a (realistic) dollar figure that the donor will be asked to give – a figure that a donor might give if s/he were so motivated. Though they may sound alike, they’re not the same thing !! And, they are not identified in the same timeframe. The focus, initially, is on determining if an individual should be on the Major Gifts Prospects List. So, how do you come up with the number you use to prioritize your list of major gifts prospects? The determination of that figure, therefore, must be part of a serious process. *Oh, yes !! Constructing The Gift Table. “Hank,” the email said, “can you send me a gift pyramid that my organization can use in preparing for a capital campaign.”
My response leaned somewhat toward the academic…. Gift Tables and Pyramids are great fundraising tools, but their construction and usage are often very much misunderstood. They are most often associated with capital campaigns, but are also great tools for major gifts fundraising for “fiscal year fundraising,” and even for major events. There is, however, no such thing as a standard gift table. You may find many examples of gift tables in texts and in articles on fundraising, but they are examples, and not to be assumed appropriate for every circumstance/situation. An “idealized” Gift Table (as follows) has as it’s top gift an amount that is 10-15% of the overall goal, with the bottom gift being no less than 1% of the goal. BUT, what if there’s no one on your list of prospective donors who can give at the 10% (or more) level? Fundraising Non-Profit Fund-raising Resource - Tony Poderis.
Worksheets & Forms A library of worksheets and forms you can download and use Before You Begin Leadership Planning For Fund-Raising Prospective Donors Rating Prospects for Goal Setting Annual Fund Projection Funding Sources Who Should Ask for the Money Solicitor Information & Training.
Www.raise-funds.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/pdf-16rating16-fill-blanks.pdf. Www.raise-funds.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/pdf-16rating16-fill-blanks.pdf.