Consultants in Advancement Planning, Fundraising, Marketing Communications and Executive Search 10 Ways to Re-energize Your Major Gifts Program Mid Valley Development Professionals Tom Wilson December 8, 2011

1) Classical musician, conductor & teacher 2) 30 years of encouraging donors & nonprofits 3) Weblog – 4) Certified trainer Peter F. Drucker The 5 Most Important Questions 5) Started fundraising career in major gifts running a capital campaign Tom Wilson Trusted Advisor & Coach 2

3 Winning Gifts Make Your Donors Feel Like Winners Wiley & Sons 2008 I. A Winning Gift for Your Donor 1) People Centered Fundraising 2) Donor Values 3) Listen II. Winning Gifts for Your Organization 4) Make Your Case 5) The Win Win Ask 6) After Winning the Gift

4 The art & science of major gift fundraising 1) The art EQ, emotional intelligence a) Keep people centered b) Use your emotional intelligence ethically c) Ensure you’re deep listener & observer 2) The science IQ intelligence quotient a) Track moves with prospective donors b) Research, contact reports, strategy memos c) Set priorities, measure results

Giving U.S.A. Foundation 2010 Sources of Giving Nearly $290 Billion 33% of individual giving directed to religion 10% of individual giving to foundations & advised funds Individuals 75% Foundations 13% Bequests 8% Corporations 4%

10 Ways to Re-energize Your Major Gifts Program #1 – Spend 80% of your time where 80% of your money comes from # 2 – Use special events strategically #3 – Utilize your senior management team #4 – Help every board member play a role #5 – Create a donor community #6 – Never lose a donor #7 – Make your case #8 – Measure #9 – Meet your donors F2F #10 – Be a fearless, gentle asker 6

Define what a major gift is for your organization Run a frequency distribution of annual giving Follow Pareto’s rule  80% of activity comes from 20% of the people Where is your critical mass of major gifts?  For many organizations $1,000 is the right level  For major universities – $10,000  For small communities – $500 7

Current annual giving table $125,000 a year 8

Proposed annual giving table $500,000 a year 9

#1 Spend 80% of your time where 80% of your money comes from or...  Spend 80% of your time where you want your money to come from 10

11 “Know Thy Time” The Essential Drucker, Peter F. Drucker 2001 “ Effective knowledge workers do not start with their tasks. They start by finding out where their time actually goes. “Then they attempt to manage their time and to cut back unproductive demands on their time. “Finally they consolidate their ‘discretionary’ time into the largest possible continuing units.”

12 Time tracking MTWThFSaSu Face-to-face donor contact Preparing for calls Debriefing calls FR office misc. Institutional misc. Professional development

# 2 Use special events strategically Know the net net of your special events  Most of us track the net results of events Revenues minus expenses = net  That’s not good enough, seek net net data Net minus staffing expenses = net net 13

Present one fantastic event Net net goal of $100,000 or more People going to your event must come away with a clear understanding of your case Follow up to meet new people who attended  Your goal is convert transactional event attenders to philanthropic major gift donors  Move 10% of your SE revenue to MG revenue each year 14

15 Before This is me before I started making charitable gifts. Overweight, poor, unhappy and alone. After This is I after contributing major gifts regularly Rich, trim and sexy. Transforming people through philanthropic giving

#3 Utilize your senior management team The philanthropic buck stops at the executive director’s / CEO’s / president’s office  The CPO – chief philanthropy officer must be on the senior management team  Everyone on the senior management team has a role with major gift donors  Deans and program leaders need to be fundraisers too 16

#4 Help every board member play a role The Tipping Point Peer solicitation Recruiting board “players” 17

18 The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell 1)The law of the few ● Champions — early adopters, mavens ● Connectors — know lots of people and spread the message ● Salespeople — skills to persuade 2)The stickiness factor ● A message with a memorable impact 3)The power of context ● Settings and small factors can make a big difference

Peer Solicitation The most influential ask is?  “Match my gift of $__________ Very few volunteers can “ask up” If you want $10,000 donors, recruit $10,000 capable board members 19

20 Recruit Board “Players” To Raise $500,000 Annually

#5 Create a donor community Define one major gifts level as “the level”  Brand it with a name  Donor board  Ribbons  Make it “the” place to be  To honor donors above the basic membership level honor donors at the bronze, silver, gold, etc. 21

#6 Never lose a donor Your multi-year major gifts renewal rate should be 90% or better First year renewal rate – aim for 75% Use monthly giving with auto renewal to help 22

#7 Make your case Demonstrate your philanthropic impact and need for contributions - your sticky message  Clear  Concise  Urgent  Concrete  Community benefit  Written, outlined, video  Stories, pictures 23

The Seven Faces of Philanthropy Prince & File

25 Your case must be like Velcro TM You want dozens of hooks that are gentle but persistent Remember The Seven Faces of Philanthropy Readers & listeners 4 Listening styles

#8 Measure Production – each month, quarter, and year end 1) Cash & cash pledges 2) Planned estate gift expectancies Compare to a year ago at this time 2 years ago 26

27 Major gift officer expectations

28 But you can’t just measure money Good philanthropic fundraising is the result of donor relationships built over time Average of 6 contacts to a major gift Planned estate gifts can take 10 or more Until the money comes in, measure F2F contacts with qualified major gift prospects Use weekly reporting sheet Analyze monthly

29 Donor meetings reporting for ____________week of ____/__ Prospect NameContact DateContact Report Filed 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8)

#9 Meet your donors F2F Face to face fundraising is always more successful  55% of all communications are nonverbal Get out of the office Meet with your top 25 donors at least once a year 30

31 The “one a day” plan One, F2F, major donor meeting a day  Minimum expectation To be a star – do more  30 minutes of listening by reading a day

Donor comments from a 60 minute meeting Rough notes made at the meeting barely legible even to the writer Contact Report Full thoughts for in-depth future reference by institution Reflective Listening

33 “80% of success in life is simply showing up” Woody Allen

34 Follow up your calls a)Who should you follow up? b)Who is ready for an ask? c)Use a tracking chart to stay organized Your Top 10 List Next 25 Future 65 d) With no travel or institutional “distractions” a major gifts officer can handle 125 prospects The Tipping Point research – 148.5

35 Track your relationship interactions

#10 Be a fearless, gentle asker The major reason people aren’t philanthropic?  Nobody asked them for a gift Be the role model asker Ask with style & grace 36

37 One on one discussions Find a partner Review the 10 Ways of Re-energizing Your Major Gifts Program What can you do differently next year Be ready to report out

10 Ways to Re-energize Your Major Gifts Program #1 – Spend 80% of your time where 80% of your money comes from # 2 – Use special events strategically #3 – Utilize your senior management team #4 – Help every board member play a role #5 – Create a donor community #6 – Never lose a donor #7 – Make your case #8 – Measure #9 – Meet your donors F2F #10 – Be a fearless, gentle asker 38

Always remember... Think big 39

Consultants in Advancement Planning, Fundraising, Marketing Communications and Executive Search 10 Ways to Re-energize Your Major Gifts Program Tom Wilson (503)