Imagine if you had spent 8 years doing direct mail fundraising, working with many colleagues and raising tens of millions of dollars

Transcription

1 5 lessons learned from Congress Brian Hobbs Director Development Conservation Halton Foundation Imagine if you had spent 8 years doing direct mail fundraising, working with many colleagues and raising tens of millions of dollars 2 and you joined an organization where you were the only fundraiser & all of a sudden you had to learn about major gifts, sponsorships, events & working with boards 3 1

2 This was my transition from to Conservation Halton Foundation. 4 I went from an organization where I raised $10,000,000 p.a. by direct mail to one where I raised $250,000 per year using everything except direct mail 5 Here are the results $600,000 $500,000 $400,000 $300,000 $200,000 $100,000 $ Est Est. 6 2

3 Joys of sole proprietor fundraising Along the way, I entered 3,000 gifts in RE, printed 3,000 thank you cards, signed 3,000 thank you cards, wrote 800 grant proposals, presented 300 board reports, and helped the organization double our annual fundraising...and it s been great! 7 What did I do? I tried to use the top 1 or 2 things that Congress speakers talked about (to get the biggest bang for my time invested) to raise as much money as possible. 8 This presentation covers lessons learned from AFP speakers & personal experience that I use over and over and over 9 3

4 You ll see actual examples of thank you cards, proposals, follow up reports, event invitations, and Donor Reports 10 I hope : a)you ll stay awake, and b)that you can use 2 or 3 ideas to make your fundraising program even better 11 Lesson #1: Use GREAT photos A secret: I didn t actually learn this at Congress. I just like great photographs. (and it bugs me when I see materials with lousy photographs) 12 4

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7 A little secret How did I get these photos? I took them on a $350 point and shoot camera, And a Canon Rebel w/good lenses ($1,000) And I hired my daughter s friends mother, a professional photographer for four hours at a time, for about $400 per event And I bought photographs from a local nature photographer 19 Lesson #2: Thank donors before asking again 72% of donors receive a request for support before they ve been thanked for their last gift Courtesy of Penelope Burke This insight is key to how I raise funds 20 How we use this information To set yourself apart from many, many other organizations, thank donors before you ask for another gift (don t be like Oliver Twist) 21 7

8 How we use this information To set yourself apart from many, many other organizations, thank donors before you ask for another gift (and thank them well) 22 How we use this information To set yourself apart from many, many other organizations, thank donors before you ask for another gift (and thank them well) 23 How we use this information To set yourself apart from many, many other organizations, thank donors before you ask for another gift (and thank them well) 24 8

9 How we use this information To set yourself apart from many, many other organizations, thank donors before you ask for another gift (and thank them well) 25 How I use this information For our Adopt a Raptor program, everyone gets: a card showing a photo of the bird they adopted, that tells them how the funds benefit the raptors the card is hand signed has information on how to contact me with questions, contains the tax receipt the outer envelope is live stamped Everyone donor, no matter the gift level, gets a tax receipt, customized thank you card with impact, hand signed and live stamped

10 28 Another little secret All the Thank You cards are set up in Microsoft Word using text boxes, and printed on 8 ½ by 11 card stock on a color printer I can change them whenever I need to and use different cards for different programs 29 Lesson #3: Show how their gift has impact Penelope Burke s research confirms that showing donors the impact of their gift has a significant effect on renewal and subsequent giving levels 30 10

11 Learning #2: also from Penelope Burke CWF Outside 31 Learning #3: an extension of Penny Burke Repeat, repeat, repeat 32 Learning #3: an extension of Penny Burke Repeat, repeat, repeat 33 11

12 Learning #3: an extension of Penny Burke Repeat, repeat, repeat 34 We have donors who have given $2,500 - $5,000 annual gifts for 5 and 6 years in a row here s why 35 Lesson #4: Keep demonstrating gift impact Repeat, repeat, repeat Can you send me a copy of that report you sent last year? 36 12

13 Learning #3: an extension of Penny Burke Repeat, repeat, repeat 37 Learning #3: an extension of Penny Burke Repeat, repeat, repeat 38 Learning #3: an extension of Penny Burke Repeat, repeat, repeat 39 13

14 Lesson #4.1 : copy, migrate & repeat & repeat And if it works, keep using it for other programs. And, repeat. 40 Learning #3: an extension of Penny Burke Repeat, repeat, repeat. And if it works, keep using it for other programs. 41 Lesson #4.2 : Don t do an annual report Do a Donor Thank You report (this was my idea ) This has become a keystone of our annual plan 42 14

15 Donor Report key lessons What matters is impact And impact And impact And impact And nothing else. 43 Donor report blank 44 Donor report blank 45 15

16 Donor report blank 46 Donor report blank 47 Donor report blank 48 16

17 Donor report blank 49 Donor report blank 50 Donor Report key lessons Only focus on how donor contributions made a difference No comments from the Chair No Board List No Donor List No financial statements 51 17

18 Donor Report key lessons Inspired by the Lee Valley Tools & Post City Magazine like an ad on a refrigerator door pretty enough to live on my coffee table 52 Donor Report key lessons 53 Donor Report key lessons 54 18

19 Donor Report key lessons Repeat, repeat, repeat And only use great photos! 55 Donor Report key learnings Surprise! Repeat, repeat, repeat 56 Donor Report key learnings Surprise! Repeat, repeat, repeat 57 19

20 Donor Report key learnings Surprise! Repeat, repeat, repeat 58 Lesson #4.3 : Don t have a Donor Event Throw an annual Donor Thank You Party 59 Learning #3.3 : Don t have a Donor Event Thrown an annual Donor Thank You Party 60 20

21 Learning #3.3 : Don t have a Donor Event Thrown an annual Donor Thank You Party 61 Learning #3.3 : Don t have a Donor Event Throw an annual Donor Thank You Party 62 Learning #3.3 : Don t have a Donor Event Thrown an annual Donor Thank You Party 63 21

22 Learning #3.3 : Don t have a Donor Event Throw an annual Donor Thank You Party 64 Lesson #4.3 : Have a Thank You Party What happens at a Thank You Party? Activities, food and conversation We do not ask for donations. 65 Learning #3.3 : Have a Thank You Party What happens at a Thank You Party? Activities, food and conversation We do not ask for donations

23 Thank You Party feedback Hi Brian, It was really great to explore Crawford and we did get the chance to check out the longhouses, fire-starting, carvings and pottery, as well as the lake. Thank you for taking the time recognize the contributions of donors in such a thoughtful and interesting way. The staff on hand were welcoming, knowledgeable and professional. Kind regards, Melissa 67 Thank You Party lessons Typically get 80 guests including children & grandchildren 3 hour event Catering budget is $1,600 + $800 in staff time Annual follow up gifts of $5,000 and others 68 Lesson #5: Make your materials easy to read With thanks to Tom Ahern if you get the chance to see Tom, you should

24 Lesson #5: Make your materials easy to read Insights I learned after listening to Tom Ahern inform the design of all of the donor thank you cards, Thank You reports, and invitations 70 Lesson #5: Make your materials easy to read I believe that this is hugely important. 71 The best thing I learned from Tom Ahern (get this book) 72 24

25 Learning #5: Make your materials easy to read I believe that this is hugely important. 73 Learning #5: Make your materials easy to read I believe that this is hugely important. 74 Learning #5: Make your materials easy to read I believe that this is hugely important

26 Learning #5: Make your materials easy to read I believe that this is hugely important. 76 Learning #5: Make your materials easy to read I believe that this is hugely important. 77 Donor Proposal: Example #1: Meighen Foundation 78 26

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29 What I learned at AFP from Tom Ahern HFF CWF 85 What I learned at AFP from Tom Ahern HFF CWF 86 What I learned at AFP from Tom Ahern HFF CWF 87 29

30 What I learned at AFP from Tom Ahern HFF CWF 88 What I learned at AFP from Tom Ahern Lots of white space between lines and between paragraphs Serif font Garamond etc., Put pictures in places where they belong and don t distract from the read-ability of the piece Large font size 12 or 14 pt 89 Why is font size and type important? Have you (tried) to read a Tylenol bottle, half-awake, in the middle of the night? 90 30

31 91 What I learned at AFP from Tom Ahern Is this easy to read? Easier than this? How about this? And how about this here? 92 What I learned at AFP from Tom Ahern This font is a sans serif This font is a serif font Garamond my favorite Serif fonts easier to read & understand & used by most newspaper & magazines

32 Last example: Everything I learned from Tom Ahern & Type and Layout, together in the new Conservation Halton Foundation Case for Support 94 Last example: Everything I learned from Tom Ahern & Type and Layout, in my new Case for Support 95 Last example: Everything I learned from Tom Ahern & Type and Layout, in my new Case for Support 96 32

33 Last example: Everything I learned from Tom Ahern & Type and Layout, in my new Case for Support 97 Last example: Everything I learned from Tom Ahern & Type and Layout, in my new Case for Support 98 Last example: Everything I learned from Tom Ahern & Type and Layout, in my new Case for Support 99 33

34 Last example: Everything I learned from Tom Ahern & Type and Layout, in my new Case for Support 100 Lesson #6: the BONUS (and secret) lesson! There is no secret. 101 This is the secret. Success = ask (with a proposal that your donors can and will read) thank.show impact and thank and thank show more impact and thank and ask again and thank.and repeat

35 Recap Maximize the effectiveness of your time by doing the most impactful things Ask Say thank you Show impact Use great photos Design materials for read-ability Repeat, repeat, repeat 103 Thank you. Brian Hobbs (905) x