GiftWorks: Nonprofit Fundraising Software

Another DUH Moment

OK, I'll admit it...I'm not the sharpest tack on the bulletin board. But sometimes my own failure to reach an outside the box "oh so easy" conclusion astounds (and maybe annoys) me.

The other day I mentioned to one of our GiftWorks software engineers that I had commiserated with a new GiftWorks user that when you send email through GiftWorks, you can only add one attachment. The programmer asked me (oh so kindly I figure now in retrospect) what did you want to attach? I said, well, for like mailing both an agenda and last month's meeting minutes to my board members.

His response was lightning quick, striking me squarely with that DUH hammer. Why don't you just gather the docs together into a folder and zip it, he offered.

OK, I got it. Sometimes limitations in using software are solely my own.

Big Surprise...Not

So it happened this morning, riding into Mission Research, listening to an NPR story on the fact that, right now, 14 or so national art museum/galleries are searching for new executive directors. The reporter went on to interview a chap who'd had 17 job application rejections in a row for positions at that level. Why?

Simply this, the first question from each search committee wasn't "What is your vision for our role in promoting, education and presevation of art and culture?" but rather, "How much money have you raised?"

Is anyone surprised? I'm not. The interviewer, by the way, went on to observe that universities have been asking that of their presidents for years.

This observation is simply evidence of a broader recognition...and hardly new...that major fundraising for an organization is not the sole province of the fundraiser, but rather belongs to those leaders who can best "state the case" for support. In my experience, when a CEO or Board President can "state the case" and can do so with all the professional acumen, passion, integrity and open humility of a polished major gifts officer, they bring in some of the most significant commitments.

Fact is, some donors only want to hear from the CEO. Perhaps their view of themselves and their expectations of others demands that attention. In any case, part for our job as fundraisers is to help other advancement leadership in our organization be as comfortable and as competent as possible in this role.

As they say..."That's moving you forward."

The Story of An Ask

As promised in my last post about planning for an ask, I wanted to share a story I hope will inspire any of you who are afraid to make the ask. It is the easiest thing to do...if you believe in your mission.

Let me set a scene for you. A visit has been planned to solicit a former nonprofit board member. The VP, Development (me) set up the meeting, and asked the current chairperson of the board's development committee to go along to help. We had a project in mind that needed funded because, though strategically important to the organization, it was not in the always strained budget. The project, implementation of a turnkey fundraising program, cost $8,000. The leadership of the nonprofit including the VP for Development, the development committee and its chair were fully behind the idea. The Prospect actually had helped start this nonprofit's formal fundraising program about five years previously and had been a committed donor ever since. All the right keys were in place.

The Chairperson was reluctant to make the ask. So, toward the end of a nice lunch, after we had thoroughly described the project, the why it was needed, how it would improve our capacity to fundraise and answered all the Prospect's questions, I said: "Propect, how do you see yourself helping to cover the cost of making this critical strategic improvement?" At that point, the Chair breathed a sigh of relief. Then less than two seconds after the ask, the Prospect said: "I like this project. I'll commit to cover half of it."

I hadn't even had time to register that we didn't get all we needed, when the Chair added brightly: "Great, I'll cover the other half...let's do it!"

It was done. A critical step had been taken. There were broad smiles all around. Three people who cared deeply about the sustainability of this nonprofit saw this project and their commitment to it as a very right and good thing. This had been a long-term cultivation on both sides...actually significantly longer than I had been there as the fundraiser. Here's definitely a case where the concept of donors seeing in the organization a trusted partner in making a change they wanted to see in the world was manifested. It was never more clear to me.

Today, I have the utmost respect for those individuals and their capacity to care and commit.

Now, go out and invite someone to support your mission!

Assign and Plan the "Ask"

In this series on major gift issues, one of the most difficult that confounds fundraisers is planning for the ask. In this instance, recording this infomation in GiftWorks is not difficult. I've created an Ask Amount text-based custom donor field, because I just don't record numbers in it.

Make no mistake about it, the ask needs to be made but by whom? My GiftWorks database has a Next Step drop-down list in which one of the entries is "Assign Ask". For my money, the asker can anyone in whom the prospect reciprocates respect and a common commitment to the mission. Typically, for truly major gifts, the asker is a board member, the ceo, the chief fundraiser or the major gift officer closest to the prospect. This issue should be broadly discussed and consent reached. It can even be two people, but any arrangement should be by agreement about who is closest and with whom the prospect will be most comfortable.

On the matter of ask amount, there are lots of strategies that tell you they are the "answer". Here is what I've learned. No major prospect was ever put off by being asked for a stretch-gift. Unless the ask amount is viewed as way too much or not tied to outcomes, most prospects are flattered to be considered players at that level. The danger is being told by a prospect that "I would have given you more if you had just asked." In my mind, that makes asking for an amount that that it will take to  "make something happen" that the prospect cares about or asking for the stretch gift the best options.

When you are truly uncertain about the right ask amount, you can learn alot from your major prospects by showing them a range of major donation levels and asking them where they see themselves fitting in. Sometimes, you come away dissappointed (you really have no right to be, by the way) or totally overwhelmed at an act of consummate generosity.

Next time, I'll share little story about just such an experience. In the meantime, make sure you have a amount in mind for your asks and that you actually "put them on the table". Tracking them in GiftWorks will help keep you focused and on target.

Tracking Donors' Interests

Critical to any consideration of major gift fundraising is coming to understand what your donors care about. Just as critical is recording that information in GiftWorks. (Getting the information is easy, just ask, then listen.)

Some GiftWorks users leap to this custom donor field solution: "Hey, let's name a text field 'Donor Interest' and we can enter anything we learn there." I think this is a bad approach based on this single measure: Without focus and over time, that field will be littered with disparate donor interests that, while somewhat informative, is functionally useless.

Let me suggest a better approach. Go ahead to create a custom donor field but use the text-dropdown format which accepts only entries that you want accepted in term of the mission of your organization. For example, for my sample database, I used entries that echoed the major thrusts of our mission or programming, like "Childrens Welfare", Domestic Violence" or "Family Relations".  This list can be as detailed as you want. The important point is that by constraining the possible entries to what you share in common with that individual (or organization), you get truly useful information that can help you in prospect management, mailing segmentation and event planning. Limiting those possible entries makes SmartList creation and reporting so much more meaningful.

And if you really want a free-for-all recording of donor interests, consider setting a standard Notes entry title called "Other Donor Interests" where you can list skeetshooting, canasta or whatever else floats their boat.

This way, you can alway focus on their interests that intersect your mission and still have a way to enliven friendly chats about whatever.