‘Making the call’ – should we be asking for leadership gifts over the phone? Gareth Pettit – Development Officer, Partners’ Circle Rob Summers – Annual Fund Manager

Your Manchester Fund Learning Enrichment Bridging Hardship Awards Research Impact Global Outreach Opportunity Manchester Scholarships Priority Areas

Your Manchester Fund Direct Mail Alumni Events SMS Telephone Campaigns Online Giving

Your Manchester Fund 2012/2013 telephone fundraising campaign stats 23 weeks of calling 11,000 conversations 1,500 donors £370,000 raised (over 5 years) 14% participation rate 20% pledge rate £247 average gift

The Partners’ Circle  Clearly linked to the annual fund  Tailored stewardship commences at £5k (naming opportunities etc.)  Building a pipeline AIM To increase the number of donors giving £1,000 or more on an annual basis, in support of the priorities of ‘Your Manchester Fund’.

The Partners’ Circle MEMBERSHIP  50% THIS YEAR 55   10 87% = 50+ = 1/3 DIRECT D e b i tD e b i t 65 GLOBAL MEMBERS Membership stats

Why phone leadership donors?  Donors giving at this level already (in response to a lower ask)  Wider reach – face-to-face activity centres on Manchester and London  Future proofing – management of a growing donor pool needs to be more process-led

Who did we call?  Non-donors from the main campaign who had relevant prospect rating categories  Previous donors giving £200+  Current Partners’ Circle members who are unlikely to have a face-to-face meeting (geographically) or that we have been unable to contact  Used our best callers and held a short training session

Call Structure INTRODUCTION ENGAGEMENT DISCUSSION ASK NEGOTIATION CLOSE

Call Structure INTRODUCTION ENGAGEMENT DISCUSSION ASK NEGOTIATION CLOSE

Asking “Your Manchester Fund enables us to combine the contributions of our alumni to make a significant impact on priority projects and programmes across the University. “The University depends on the support of alumni like you to provide the very best opportunities and resources for current and future students. With your help, Your Manchester Fund can make a real impact on students’ lives and help us find answers to some of the world’s biggest issues. Your support would also make an important contribution to realising Manchester’s ambition to become a world leading institution. “Something we are asking successful alumni like you to consider is giving back to Manchester by joining our Partners’ Circle, which brings together donors who make an annual gift of £1,000 or more in support of Your Manchester Fund. “A regular gift of £100 per month would mean we can invest so much more each year in scholarships, opportunities and facilities for students and researchers. Could you show your support for the University and its students by joining the Partners’ Circle today and making a gift at that level?”

Issue resolution Script too wordy – introducing Case for Support and Partners’ Circle at the same time Ask level was too high in most cases:  Non donors - £84 per month too much for an introductory gift over the phone  Previous donors £ want to give at same level again or make a lower increase Used standard script with more simple ask Callers given more freedom to use their judgement in determining ask level Both made possible through selecting best callers

Results New Partners’ Circle Members 2011/129 New Partners’ Circle Members 2012/1312

Conclusions  3 additional leadership gifts compared to previous campaign (33% increase)  Pledge rate, participation rate and fulfilment rates were all higher than for standard calls  Average first gift amount was significantly higher than standard calls  Worth identifying the leadership prospects and using best callers to contact them  Also good for prospect qualification - those that didn’t reach leadership level this time are strong prospects to do so in the future

Future plans  Focus on renewals and upgrades from £500+ in future  Best students to call other strong prospects (rated non-donors and £200+ donors) to raise higher than average gifts  Affinity calling to prevent attrition of Partners’ Circle membership

‘Making the call’ – should we be asking for leadership gifts over the phone? Gareth Pettit – Development Officer, Partners’ Circle Rob Summers – Annual Fund Manager