An Introduction to Best Practices Fundraising 101 An Introduction to Best Practices

The Basics The Fundamental Principle of Fundraising? People give to people! Find the right person to ask for the cause Find and get to know your prospects Thank your current donors. And thank them again.

Did you know? America is, per capita, the most generous country on the planet. Individuals gave $229.3 BILLION to charity in 2011 Corporations gave $14 billion Foundations gave $41 billion (just 13% of all giving!)

What does that tell us? Focus more on actual people – foundations and corporations are there for us to lean on, but we have to count on friends and supporters more

Fundraising is a process Planning Research Especially with high-dollar donors Marketing Communications Evaluation

The plan Determine the need(s) The pre-ask activities Create the plan! Examples Create the plan! Track and monitor

The need How much money do you need to raise? Unrestricted Individuals, foundations and corporations– in that order What method(s) will work best for y’all? Can you accomplish your plan with the resources you have?

The methods Special events (KISS) Sponsorships for projects Annual appeals* Direct mail Capital campaigns Foundation/Corporate Planned giving/ legacy giving

Special events (KISS) Keep It Short and Simple Think twice– a flop is not as bad as it seems, but it’s still bad! Do you have the time and volunteer support? Seek sponsors Consider events that you’ve seen work well (theme?)

Sponsorships Inverse pyramid Develop sponsorship committee Math! Develop sponsorship committee Overachievers, well-connected, big deals Make them work! Don’t assign amounts to the cost of the event Develop prospect list Find the right people (see above!) Thank your sponsors Keep them involved/ask them again next year

Plead your case Describe it Make it relate-able Prove that it’s real Convince the donor Explain where their $$ goes/ how it is used Don’t go overboard Create a sense of urgency

Personal connections Fundraising is peer to peer Volunteer to volunteer, director to director Start with who you know Make a list People only give if they are asked!

Identify prospects The bigger the net, the more fish you catch! Flat tire, dinner, Facebook, work, appendix Keep track

Create the plan Timeline– count backwards! Schedule activities Establish due dates and deadlines Assign duties– delegate! For God’s sake, delegate! Progress Reports, Updates, Takeaways, Evaluation

Check in Own it! Make sure they’re doing what they say they are doing “Did you see what we mailed you?” The infamous stack! Facebook is mostly worthless So is email  Call and connect!

SAY THANK YOU! Hand-written notes and phone calls to repeat donors Provide a record (EIN) Print on letterhead

Evaluation Keep it honest, keep it real Praise sandwich (with volunteers) Did you make it?! Who did you ask? Who should you have asked? How were your volunteers? How were your sponsors? Tracking Take notes for next year

OK, fine. But I’m ONE PERSON. Give me bite-size chunks If all else fails, two sure-fire ways to raise some money House party Annual appeal Track ALL data- can be Excel and Word! Delegate and ask for help

Sources Jerold Panas, author of Asking: A 59-Minute Guide to Everything Board Members, Volunteers and Staff Must Know to Secure the Gift Sarah Bonefas, Development Manager, Food Bank of Iowa Mary Mendenhall-Core, Development Director, Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa

Ryan Crane Development Director, Primary Health Care rcrane@phcinc.net 515-240-8523 cell Twitter: @citizen_crane linkedin.com/in/ryancraneiowa