1. Success Series: Fundraising Strategies

2. Welcome! Irene Miller Development & Events Coordinator Tracy Carey
Grants & Scholarship Coordinator

3. 101 Refresher Get Organized Get Familiar Get Active!
Collecting Info, Protocols, Systems
Get Familiar
Segmentation
Get Active!
How to get the most out of each group of donors.

4. Get Organized Data Where is stored? How is it maintained?
Database, Excel, Google Spreadsheet
How is it maintained?
Is it updated? How often?
Who has access to it/is in charge of it?
Is anyone responsible?
Do too many people have access/the chance to accidentally alter it?

5. Get Organized
Contact Information
s, s, s
Incorporate s from online gifts/registration
Phone Numbers (WhitePages.com)
Spouse, Middle Initial
$$$ - Yay!
You’re not done. Fill in the blanks.

6. Get Organized Protocols Donor Communications Events
Weekly/Monthly/Quarterly/Annually
Solicitations
Gift Thank You/Tax-Deductible Letter
Above & Beyond (Phone Call, Visit, Swag)
Events
Prospects/Invitees
Donors
Vendors
Partners/Sponsors
Volunteer Committees
Media Friends

7. Get Organized Who is responsible? Who can help with a piece of it?
Staffer
Who can help with a piece of it?
Volunteer
Intern
Remember: Delegate & Update

8. Get Familiar

9. Get Familiar What do you know about your donors?
What events do they attend?
What solicitations do they respond to?
What is their average donation amount/annual aggregate amount?
What are their passions?
What are their socioeconomic/demographic factors?
Who are they connected to in the community/personally?
Are they an in-kind donor/volunteer?

10. Get Familiar Record Information
“Institutional Knowledge” doesn’t walk out of the door
Make it useful, searchable, sortable
Columns, Codes, Affiliations, Relationships
Notes, Contacts
Scan in paperwork, notes

11. Get Familiar Code as you go When entering new donor profiles
Set up useful codes
Inform staff/volunteers, as appropriate/useful
Make it truly “institutional knowledge”
When entering new donor profiles
Add all known info
Add all relevant codes
Add aspirational/prospect codes

12. Get Active! Good, Clean Data Produces useful spreadsheets
Foundation for successful events, campaigns, solicitations, committees, etc.

13. Master Spreadsheet

14. Centre Gives

15. Centre Gives Getting Started
Your data is all in once place and cleaned up
You have protocols in place
Your team is assembled
You’re ready to raise money
Now what?

16. Centre Gives Options Galore! Options Abound! So Many Options!
Paid advertising
Social Media
Mail Letter, Newsletter
, E-blast
Phone Call
Personal Visit
Physical Event
Time?
Resources?
Efficacy?

17. Social Media  Fundraising
Social Media is:
Fundraising is:
Educational
Action-Oriented
Broad
Targeted
Social (Share, Like)
Purpose (Donate)

18. Social Media  Fundraising
Solely on Facebook
a fundraising plan cannot exist.

19. Social Media  Fundraising
How Social Media can Assist with Fundraising
Events: Sign-Ups, Publicity
Fundraising Progress Updates
General Brand Awareness
General Education, Information, Motivation
Thank You, Donor Appreciation

20. Offline
Offline Tools
Donor letters, post cards, newsletters, print advertising.
Some Thoughts on Using Offline Tools
If you have the budget and staff, go for it.
Use it early. Use it as general education.
If you are expecting a high percentage of “conversions,” don’t.

21. Offline Think It Through as a Donor Now what? How many steps?
Desired action?
Timeframe?

22. Online Online Tools Some Thoughts on Using Online Tools
s (orgs & personal), E-Blasts, Social Media, Online Paid Advertising
Some Thoughts on Using Online Tools
Less Cost-Prohibitive
Staff/Volunteer Time Still Necessary (Delegate!)
Repurpose & Save Time
Think through the Click-Through

23. Think through the Click-through
Where is this going? Then what? Why? What else?
Staff
Signatures
Social Media Posts
E-Blasts
E-Newsletters
Volunteer/Board s
YOURWebsite.org OR
YOURWebsite.org/Blog
CentreGives.org OR
CentreGives.org/YOUR PAGE

24. Online Think It Through as a Donor Now what? How many steps?
Desired action?
Timeframe?
1 Click to
$$$$$

25. Example
April 1, 2016 Deadline: Edit, Check Links, Photos (your page is LIVE now!)

26. Example
April 1, 2016 Deadline: Edit, Check Links, Photos (your page is LIVE now!)

27. Example

28. Back to Basics
Peer-to-Peer, Person-to-Person

29. Call Time

30. Call Time, Fun Times!

31. Call Time, Fun Times!

32. Call Time Delegate Who knows this donor? Assign board members to call
ABC: Always Be Coding
Make it Truly “Institutional Knowledge”
Think Ahead
Are they a snowbird?
How will you reach them?
Are they tech savvy? (If not, then what?)

33. E-Mails Imagine an Inbox. Whose email gets opened?
from Organization
from Friend
So?
Utilize Board Members
Volunteers/Committee Members/Supporters
Be Subject Line Sensitive

34. Subject Lines & Senders Matter
Nonprofits average
open rate
25% – 35%
6% – 10%
click through to a website
June 2015, Constant Contact

35. Physical Events
Even well-done, 1-click, online messaging leaves room for more in a comprehensive fundraising plan.
Humans are social.
Humans are competitive.
Humans love your organization.
Give your humans a chance to be socially competitive together on behalf of your organization!

36. Physical Events When Should We Have an Event? Pre-Centre Gives
Pledge Cards
Careful with Data
Prize Power Hours
Staffing/Donor Availability
During Centre Gives
Press Coverage

37. Physical Events
Pre-Event, Combo-Event Idea Theme-Event Idea

38. Physical Events

39. Centre Give$ How Does My Organization Get Money? Community Donations
Centre Foundation $100,000 “Stretch Pool”
This is NOT a 1:1 match.
The more money your organization raises, the larger your share of this stretch pool will be.
In 2015, this stretched each dollar raised an additional 13%
Additional Prizes ($25,000 in 2015)
Power Hour Prizes
By Unique Gifts, Not Amounts
Top Finisher Prizes

40. Centre Give$ On May 3-4, Unique Gifts > Gift Amounts Power Hours
These prizes are awarded by the most unique gifts to a single organization during a single hour.
Anyone with a minimum $25 donation can help your cause.
Top Finisher Prizes
These prizes are ALSO awarded by the most unique gifts to a single organization during all 36 hours of Centre Gives.

41. What does “unique” mean?
Who can donate and is there a minimum or maximum gift?
Any individual or business may donate. A nonprofit may not donate to itself. The minimum gift amount is $25; if a gift of more than $10,000 is given, only the first $10,000 will be matched. Donors who make multiple gifts to the same organization with the same credit card will be counted as one donor for the prizes. Donors who donate to different organizations will count as separate unique donors for the prizes.
Our vendor, Kimbia, has a formula that determines the “uniqueness” of gifts. Credit card numbers and names weigh into this formula. ⁼

42. ⁼ “Unique” One Unique Person = One Unique Gift

43. Prizes Know a Power Hour When You See It Power Hour = Prize Hour
More Bang for the Buck
More Impact for the Staff Time
Capitalize on It: Schedule Physical Events during Power Hour Prize Opportunities

44. Pre-Event Facebook Challenges
Pre-Event Challenges
Outlet for Growing Enthusiasm
Practice Run for Centre Gives
Educate/Motivate, Locate, Take Action
No Donation Required
Opportunity for Online Supporters to be Impactful
Build Momentum with Early Prize Money!
Look for these to begin in early April!

45. Pre-Event Facebook Challenges

46. Pre-Event Facebook Challenges
Tips
Get organized early, form an online team
Tag people to show them exactly where to comment
Re-direct attempted entries that appear in the wrong location
Be nimble
Details
These will be explained on the CentreGives.org/Prizes page
They will all occur on Centre Foundation’s Facebook page

47. Pre-Event Facebook Challenges

48. Secrets

49. Secrets What are Successful Organizations Doing?
Getting Board Members Involved
Personally Calling Targeted Donors
Personally ing Targeted Donors
Hosting Strategic Physical Events
During Power Hours
Capitalizing on Donor Enthusiasm
In Public Places with Audience Cross-Over Potential

50. Secrets What are Successful Organizations Doing?
Using their “Donor Download” List
My what?
Get it, Save it, Use it

51. Secrets You will receive this e-mail in late April.
(Add Centre-Foundation.org to your Safe Senders list.)

52. Secrets
This link will download an Excel sheet of your donors, amounts, and contact information. It will only populate once you begin receiving donations. It is live during Centre Gives, so download it often to receive the updated donation information.

53. Secrets What are Successful Organizations Doing?
Using their “Donor Download” List
My what?
Get it, Save it, Use it
Did someone pledge?
Are you targeting a power hour?
Are you posting progress updates, goals?

54. Secrets What are Successful Organizations Doing?
Using and Communicating Goals
Centre Gives is 36 hours, built-in deadline
# of Donors, # of New Donors
100% board participation
Geographic representation
Scavenger hunt donor idea
Amounts (internal/external)
Funding a certain project, program, etc.
What is the bar?
How do you know if you exceeded it?

55. Matching Funds
Some organizations have their own matching funds program.
Great!
Communicate it
Who is the audience?
Public/Private
What is the message?
Example: “Your donation during Centre Gives will be matched by our own anonymous donor AND it will help us qualify for a larger share of the $100,000 stretch pool, as well as additional prize money!”

56. Get More Gifts (Dollars Will Follow)
Prizes Are the Quickest Way to Rack up Centre Gives Earnings
$250, $500, $1,000+/ea
Prizes Are Awarded to Organizations with the Most Unique Gifts
$25 minimum gift
So, Get More Gifts.

57. Get More Gifts (Dollars Will Follow)
Why Do Girl Scouts Sell Cookies at Walmart?
Population Density
High traffic
Discretionary Budget
Prepared to Purchase
Salesmanship
Who can say “no”?
Similar Passion
Locality, etc.
How can my organization replicate this?

58. Mythbuster If you hear any other potential “myths,” please contact us!
Myth: gifts from the same IP address won’t count as unique.
If you hear any other potential “myths,” please contact us!

59. The Long Run
It’s May 5th and your organization raised a TON of money during Centre Gives! Congratulations! Now what?
If your organization is fiscally healthy, it may be time to consider endowments.
Many organizations already have an endowment with Centre Foundation.
Some opt to invest some or part of their Centre Gives earnings into their endowment fund.
Establishing an endowment or expanding an existing endowment may be a goal that resonates with your audience.

60. Centre Foundation Funds
Growing your existing endowment fund is easy. Gifts of all sizes are accepted. Establishing a new fund is also easy. An opening balance of $2,000 is required to begin. Grant distributions begin once the fund receives $10,000 in gifts.

61. Time to get to work on that
Questions?
Time to get to work on that
#CentreGives plan!
Let’s connect: