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Deeper Donor Relationships Through Note-Taking

9/30/2019

About four or five months into my first fundraising job I went to a conference. It was my first ever professional conference and I was meeting so many people who I knew would be in and around my career for the foreseeable future.

I wanted, and needed, to remember each and every one of them.

At my previous job working on a cruise ship, I didn’t need to remember everyone’s name because once they got off the boat I was unlikely to ever see them again. But in a field like fundraising, which is centered on people and relationships, remembering people is important.

I started taking notes at the end of every day on every new person I met who had a chance of being in my life professionally. And I still do. I do all of this on the notes app on my phone so I can take notes anytime, anywhere, but you should use whatever device works best for you.

The first thing I do is write down each person’s name, full name if I have it. I also record anything that comes up in conversation: their interests, where they live, what their job is, etc.

Then, before I see each person again, I check my notes. This makes conversation less awkward because I don’t have to rely on generic small talk. I can ask specific questions about their job, hobbies, or interests because I made a note about what I learned from previous interactions.

It makes a world of difference.

People genuinely appreciate it when you take the time to remember something specific about them.

I can’t take all the credit for this practice, I learned it from my dad. He would write down everything he learned about people so that he wouldn’t forget them before the next time he spoke to them.

I encourage everyone to adapt this practice to your needs. Take notes on anything that seems useful, but don’t pressure yourself to record everything. This practice isn’t supposed to add hours of work to your day, just a few minutes here and there. Keep this information in a place where you and your employees can access it easily before talking with donors and beneficiaries.

Taking notes will help your conversations go more smoothly because it removes any nervousness surrounding what to say. It will also remind you and your employees to see your donors as people, not as wallets.

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide

9/27/2019

By now you’ve read the first three installments in this series on corporate sponsorship for nonprofit events. Maybe your nonprofit has decided this is something you want to pursue with vigor or you’re still interested in learning more.

This week we’re breaking down the steps required to land a corporate sponsor for an upcoming nonprofit fundraising event. These are the same steps I take my clients through when planning events.

Put together a list of your dream corporate sponsors. Think big. This is a dream list. Your dream sponsors do not have to be based in your community, but remember that they should be connected in some way to your nonprofit’s mission. Think about the corporations in the networks of your donors. Do your board members have connections to specific corporations?
Put together a corporate sponsorship package. This is a packet or presentation that should be customized and themed appropriately to your event(s) and the potential corporation. Here’s the page order I use with my clients:
- Begin with the company name and logo and the name of your nonprofit.
- Next, include a one-page letter introducing your nonprofit and your special event.
- Include one page with the logos and names of past corporate sponsors (over the last five years), if applicable.
- Include one page of quick facts and statistics about your organization and the impressions that the corporation will get from this partnership. How many Facebook/Twitter/Instagram followers do you have? How many guests will be in attendance?
- Include no more than two pages explaining your organization’s mission and work in the community. Include photos of your nonprofit in action.
- Provide a one-page menu of sponsorship opportunities and everything the corporation receives from the partnership.
- Finally, include a form at the end for the potential corporate sponsor to fill out and return to you.
Mail the packet to the corporate representative you have been cultivating a relationship with or have it delivered to their office.
One week after you deliver the packet, follow up with an email asking if they received the packet and providing a copy of it through email in case they did not.
Follow up again two weeks after the email and politely remind them of the deadline to respond. At this time you may also ask if there is someone else at the company you can send the packet to. You may also invite them to come take a tour of your facilities.
Once you have one sponsor secured, leverage that sponsorship to bring in other sponsors.
Keep your sponsor(s) up to date on all event developments and don’t forget to thank them regularly.

These are the basic steps I encourage all my clients to use when soliciting corporate sponsors. Of course, every situation is different and you may find that not all the steps are necessary or that more work is required to secure the sponsorship of your dreams.

I wish securing a sponsor was as easy as this list makes it look, but it’s never this simple. Don’t be discouraged if your initial attempts fall flat. Like all things, soliciting sponsors takes practice. You’ll only get better by doing it. Take your time, put together a solid sponsorship package, and get out there and start soliciting.

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: Things to Consider

9/23/2019

Now that you’re familiar with the two approaches to corporate sponsorship, it’s time to talk about the potential downsides that come with this relationship.

Poor communication can tank any relationship, especially corporate sponsorship, before it even gets going. Open and clear communication between the nonprofit and the corporation is absolutely necessary for the partnership to be a success. Both parties should be upfront about what they want from the partnership and how they see things moving forward. Any issues that arise should be dealt with swiftly and maturely. Open communication builds trust and ensures that the partnership remains strong for the duration of the sponsorship.

It is time-consuming to put together sponsorship packages and solicit corporations. It takes a small team of people to do the research, put together a compelling sponsorship package, and cultivate relationships with corporations that may be interested in a partnership. If your nonprofit has a small staff, you may find that it’s not worth it to take the time away from your standard fundraising efforts and community outreach.

Expect it to take two or three weeks to put together a package and make sure everything looks good. You want enough material to solicit a response out of every type of person. Everyone absorbs information differently, so be sure to include images, data and metrics, and quality text.

When putting your package together, make all your asks at one time. If you are looking for sponsorship for three events throughout the year, send all that information in the same package. Yes, this means it will take you a bit longer to put your sponsorship package together, but it’s worth doing. It saves your nonprofit from putting together three brand new packages each year and it saves the corporation from feeling like you ask too often.

Don’t be surprised if it takes two or three months to receive a response. Like soliciting major donors, you should expect this process to take time.

A failed partnership can wreak havoc on the public image of both the corporation and the nonprofit. Corporations, of course, are more likely to survive any fallout from a failed sponsorship, but smaller nonprofits may struggle to reestablish their reputation in the community after a negative event.

This is why it is imperative to do your due diligence and ensure that any corporation you decide to approach would be a good fit for your nonprofit. Do what you can, from the beginning, to minimize the chances of a negative outcome. Not only will this save you the headache of rebuilding your reputation in the community should it come to that, it also puts you in a better position to secure additional sponsorships in the future.

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: Two Approaches

9/20/2019

Last time, I talked about the basics of corporate sponsorship: How it works and why you want to do it. Now I’m going to dive into the two main strategies for approaching potential corporate sponsors. Which method you use depends on what your nonprofit is after.

The two main strategies for approaching potential corporate sponsors are:

Asking for straight donations to offset the cost of your event. Also known as the gold, silver, and bronze method.
Asking for sponsorship of specific things at your event: the dinner, the valet, the auctioneer, etc. Also known as piecemeal or category sponsorship.

These two approaches are both similar and very different.

Gold, silver, and bronze levels work well if you have a limited development department. Approaching different companies to sponsor different aspects of your event takes time, a lot of time. If you are working with a very small staff, it may make more sense to take this broader approach to sponsorship. It also works well if you don’t have strong relationships with the individuals you are approaching, or if it is your first time approaching a specific company.

Category sponsorship allows for more creativity and more marketing opportunities for the sponsor(s) at the event. For example, a company sponsoring the bar at the event could have napkins, coasters, straws, etc. made up with their logo and colors on them. Another company sponsoring your valet station could have their name worn by the valet drivers and emblazoned on the valet station. Category sponsorship is more relationship based, so it works well if you have good relationships with the individuals you are approaching. You have to really know a person to make these sorts of specific asks.

If I am sponsored at an event, I often wear the name of the company on my back when doing the auction.

The category approach to corporate sponsorship is growing in popularity. People are always looking for the most unique and creative methods for soliciting corporate sponsorship and right now this is it.

Social Media and Corporate Sponsorship
A major trend in corporate sponsorship is offering social media posts to companies as part of the sponsorship package. Not everyone is doing this yet, so it’s advantageous to get your nonprofit onboard with it now. Social media agreements typically entail making a certain number of social media posts across agreed upon platforms promoting the corporation sponsoring the event.

This practice is one reason I encourage all nonprofits to grow their social media presence; the further your social media reach, the more attractive you are to sponsors. Simply put, your social media reach gives you something to offer corporations in return for their sponsorship.

Remember, your nonprofit has to do more than convince potential sponsors why they should care about your mission, you must make it an attractive business proposal. This means showing them the potential value the partnership will contribute to their company in terms of brand exposure and potential new customers for their business. A strong social media following is one of the best ways to accomplish this.

Now that you have some familiarity with the two basic approaches to corporate sponsorship, next time we’ll take a look at the potential downsides.

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: The Basics

9/16/2019

Corporate sponsorships are a huge money maker. Often, they are the most profitable revenue stream for an entire event.

If you’re wondering how to get your nonprofit started soliciting corporate sponsors, or why you’d even want a sponsor to begin with, I’ve got you covered with a look at the strategies I use with my clients.

Sponsorship is a fantastic way to secure funding for major events, fundraisers, and programs. This funding helps offset the cost of expensive items like the venue and catering or it’s used to underwrite the hard costs of one of your organization’s programs.

Consumers are increasingly interested in corporations that show an interest in social responsibility. Corporations that are seen publicly aligning themselves with worthy causes and nonprofits can garner increased support, especially from the online community. For corporations, sponsorship is often the best PR money can buy.

Before we go any further, let’s get one thing straight:

Corporate sponsorship is not a donation to your nonprofit, it is a business deal.

Corporate sponsors expect to get something in return for their financial support of your event. This something takes the form of advertising opportunities and an acknowledgement of their sponsorship during the event itself. The idea is that exposure at your event will increase public awareness of their brand and philanthropic inclination among your donors and supporters.

That’s perhaps the most important point. Corporate sponsorship should ALWAYS be a win-win situation for companies and nonprofits. These are not one-sided relationships. You reach out to sponsors because you see a benefit in working together, your corporate sponsor must also see that benefit.

All corporate sponsorships should bring legitimacy to the nonprofit, improve the public image of the corporation, and increase public awareness of both.

Before You Dive In
Before you even begin reaching out to potential sponsors, do your research. Brainstorm a list of corporations who are already aligned with the goals/mission of your nonprofit or who are in an industry that directly relates to your cause.

You will have better luck approaching corporations who are already aligned with the goals of your nonprofit than you will approaching those to which there is no intrinsic link.

For example, if your nonprofit is a homeless shelter it makes sense to reach out to companies that specialize in food or personal care items because access to these items objectively improves the lives of your beneficiaries. You could also reach out to companies invested in job training or addiction treatment, services often needed by your beneficiaries. Aligning your nonprofit with corporations that match your core values is incredibly important.

If your nonprofit doesn’t already have robust email lists and a solid social media following, it is a good idea to work on growing those before approaching potential sponsors. Social media followers and email lists are used as currency, your nonprofit needs to show potential sponsors that you have something to offer them in terms of potential customers.

Most of my nonprofit clients have worked hard to grow their social media followers in order to offer mentions on social media as part of the compensation package presented to potential sponsors. For example, you could offer two dedicated Facebook posts, seen by your 10,000 followers, in addition to branding opportunities at the event and recognition from stage.

Regardless of which corporation your nonprofit decides to approach, you must sell your potential sponsor on the benefits to their company, not the benefits to your nonprofit.

Remember that sponsorship is first and foremost a business partnership. The partnership must benefit both your nonprofit and the corporation, otherwise it’s not worth it.

There’s so much more to corporate sponsorship than I’ve covered in this post. Next week we’ll take a look at the two main approaches your nonprofit can take to corporate sponsorship.

Stop Comparing Your Nonprofit to Others

9/13/2019

One of the most common things I hear nonprofit professionals talk to each other about is how well another nonprofit in their area is doing.

Often it’s gossipy things like, “Did you hear how much so-and-so raised at their gala?” Or, “I don’t understand how they’re doing so well when we have x, y, and z.”

During these conversations the participants are invariably comparing the wrong things. Things like how many auction items they had, who their auctioneer was, or whether the richest people in town were in attendance.

But, what is invisible is hardest to compare.

From outside of an organization you can’t see:

How many hours they put into planning their event
Their dedicated development team
What their donor outreach looks like

Constant comparison is crippling for many nonprofits - and let’s face it, for life in general. It leads to copycat behavior and jealousy.

Here’s an example of this phenomena that is local to me.

If you know Wine Women & Shoes, you know that these events are incredibly successful franchise fundraisers. Every year where I live there are dozens of knock-off events run by people trying to recreate the magic of Wine Women & Shoes without the proper ingredients.

These events are so obviously knock-offs (even maintaining the distinctive naming scheme) that it is physically uncomfortable. The nonprofits that organize these events are clearly attempting to recreate the success of these wildly popular fundraisers, but they are failing to create a unique and meaningful experience for their donors.

My advice to nonprofits everywhere is: Keep your head down, stay in your lane, and work on creating memorable experiences that resonate with your donors. Do the work required (and it is work!) to connect your donors to your mission and you will find the success you’re looking for.

Or better yet, get in touch with other nonprofits in your area that are doing work similar to you. If your nonprofit focuses on job training for the homeless community, perhaps there’s a collaboration opportunity with a nonprofit that focuses on feeding or housing the homeless. Brainstorm ways you can collaborate to increase the reach of your organizations. By focusing on what you can do together, rather than what the other group is doing, you and your team will begin to approach the issues from a place of positivity rather than negativity.

Bringing related organizations together allows you to form a partnership that benefits both nonprofits. Your combined resources will benefit the community far more than petty jealousies and in-fighting. After all, isn’t that why we’re in this business?

The ABCs of Fundraising Events

9/9/2019

Fundraising events are like theatrical productions. A lot of people put in a lot of work to make sure these events go off without a hitch. Those of you who have a background in performance will recognize many of these terms but if you don’t, don’t worry! I’m going to walk you through it, step by step.

You can even print this list out and carry it with you as you attend meetings and plan events so you always sound professional and experienced.

Air Wall Partitions: Movable walls that allow you to create smaller rooms within a larger space.

Banquet Captain: The person in charge of your servers and running the service.

Breakdown: The act of cleaning up after the event. Returning the venue to the state in which you found it.

Check In/Out: A table near the entrance of the venue where your guests check in and pick up any forms as they arrive.

Corkage: The price hotels and other venues charge for serving wine brought in by the customer.

Cue to Cue: A document that lays out every cue in the program.

Dance Floor: A movable floor that designates a space for dancing.

Entertainment: The evening’s entertainment offerings. Comedians, dancers, musicians, etc.

F&B: Short for Food and Beverage. The department at a hotel or venue responsible for catering and service.

Family Style: A method of serving food on large plates placed in the center of the table. A faster way of doing service.

Floorplan: The layout of the room including the stage and all tables and chairs.

GoBo: Metal plates that slide over the front of lights to project images onto the floor or wall. Must be custom made.

Green Room: The room your special guests or honorees wait in until they are needed on stage.

Handlers: People who make sure your award winner, guests, and honorees are where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there.

Honorarium: Includes any fees, travel expenses, and accommodations provided to your special guests or speakers.

Honoree: A member of the community chosen to be honored at your event for the work they do in the community.

Installation: The act of setting the event up prior to the day.

Keynote: A speech given at the beginning of the event. Generally focuses on a unifying theme and major accomplishments.

Livestream: Live video of the event, available to watch online both during and after the event.

Mic Check: A point, before the event begins, when everyone checks that their mics are working and set to the correct volume.

No-Show: A guest who RSVP’d but does not show up for the event.

Overhead Projector: Suspended above the room. Used to project images and presentations on to walls and screens.

Projection Screens: Either front or rear projection. Used to display presentations. I prefer rear projection because it is neater and you don’t need to worry about people walking in front of the screen.

Run of Show/Show Flow: A minute-by-minute schedule that includes all elements of the event, including cues and volunteer duties.

Service: The time during which food or drinks are served at an event.

Site Visit: The visit you and your team make to look at the venue before your event.

Staff Meal: The meal your staff is served at the event. This meal is separate from your event and served in a different room.

Stage Manager: The person who calls the show.

Stage Monitor: A speaker that points at the stage so the person speaking can hear themselves.

Tech Run: A practice run of the event with all technical elements working.

Teleprompter: The device that displays text for the person on stage to read.

FUnd-A-Need: An auction that invites everyone to make a donation without expectation of something tangible in return.

Venue: The location of your event.

Virtual Attendees: Attendees who watch your event live, or after the fact, over the internet and participate by making a donation.

Volunteers: Unpaid workers who donate their time to help organize, execute, and clean up after your event.

Waitlist: A list of guests who have RSVP’d but cannot fit inside the venue unless another guest no-shows.

X-Stands: Also called Service Stands or Jack Stands. These are for meal service at a large venue. Waiters use these to support their tray when serving a large number of entrees.

CharitY Auctioneer: A professional auctioneer hired to plan and call auction and run the Fund-A-Need.

Zoom Lens: Allows your videographer to vary the focal length of recorded video.

This list is far from comprehensive. As you continue to improve your fundraising skills and plan new events, you will naturally become familiar with the terminology.

Did I leave your favorite nonprofit fundraising event word off the list? Comment below and let me know.

Fund-A-Need: Before, During, or After the Live Auction?

9/6/2019

When it comes to special event fundraising, Fund-A-Needs are the best bang for your buck. They have the best ROI in terms of time spent and money raised.

Despite this, many organizations still like to have a live auction as part of their charity event.

A question that often comes up when I’m working with clients is: Where should we place the Fund-A-Need in relation to the live auction?

Your Fund-A-Need can happen before, during, or after the live auction. Over the past year I’ve done all three and there are pros and cons to each.

After the Live Auction
The most popular time to have a Fund-A-Need is after the live auction.

It is perfectly fine to have the Fund-A-Need after the live auction unless:

Your auction has more than eight items
Your crowd is particularly rowdy and drunk
Your crowd tends to leave early
Your event takes place in the afternoon

These factors lead to more people getting bored and leaving your event early, which means that many of them will not be around for the Fund-A-Need portion of the evening.

Now, I’m a really engaging auctioneer (if I do say so myself) but keep in mind that during a typical live auction only about 10-20 people participate. The more items in your live auction, the more time the majority of your audience will be disengaged and at risk of boredom.

During the Live Auction
I only do a Fund-A-Need in the middle of a live auction if the auction contains more than ten items and I’ll tell you why.

Once the auction gets rolling it is really hard to stop the momentum. Not only that, but it’s hard to get that momentum going again.

At any live auction there is an energy build-up that happens. The first item or two up for auction tends to be bid on less enthusiastically while this energy grows. After a couple items everyone is ready to bid and we’re off to the races! Interrupting the live auction destroys this energy and forces the room to start building that energy all over again.

The first item after the Fund-A-Need becomes a sacrifice to the Fund-A-Need gods. It’s likely to sell for less than you would like as we work to build that energy again.

It’s also confusing for people to go from buying things, to serious and excited about your cause, and back to buying things. With a longer auction this isn’t as huge of a deal because there are more items to sell which allows for that energy build-up to happen again.

Before the Live Auction
Putting the Fund-A-Need before the live auction is controversial and I’m only starting to appreciate the merits of this practice.

If you have a rowdy crowd, enthusiastic drinkers, or a lengthy program you want to catch people when the excitement is high, which typically happens at the beginning of the event once everyone is seated.

Holding the Fund-A-Need ahead of the live auction virtually guarantees you’ll get everyone engaged in giving, allowing them to just relax and enjoy the rest of the night. And you, as the development professional, won’t care how much they drink or how much they talk because the money’s already been raised.

Many people dread the Fund-A-Need because some auctioneers (not us!) create an awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere during this part of the evening. It’s only after the Fund-A-Need is out of the way that people feel like they can start enjoying themselves.

The Fund-A-Need is the only time of the evening when everyone comes together as one big group. Inclusivity is a key aspect of Fund-A-Needs, unlike live auctions where very few people are actually participating, making this an excellent way to kick off the event.

My advice, when placing your Fund-A-Need before your live auction, is to go straight into the Fund-A-Need while people are enjoying their salads. No speakers, no awards, just the Fund-A-Need. A well-run Fund-A-Need starts the evening off right and gets everyone excited to continue giving.

Regardless of where your nonprofit decides to place the Fund-A-Need in the evening’s program, your Fund-A-Need success relies heavily on the energy and excitement in the room. For more tips and tricks, check out my post on getting your Fund-A-Need to work harder for you, or grab a copy of my free ebook 8 Easy Steps to Your Best Fund-A-Need Ever.

Leaving Money on the Table: Is Your Fund-A-Need Working Hard for You?

9/2/2019

Fund-A-Need auctions are far and away the best way to raise the largest amount of money for your nonprofit, in the shortest amount of time.

Even if your nonprofit holds a Fund-A-Need every year, I bet your leaving something on the table.

I’m talking about getting the entire room to participate in a way that benefits your nonprofit, and not just financially.

Let’s talk about some ways your nonprofit can encourage supporters to help out and get the entire room energized and excited to give.

Call to Action
At the conclusion of the Fund-A-Need I sometimes ask all attendees to take an action in addition to, or instead of, giving.

Recently, I worked an auction during which the organization encouraged everyone in attendance to text their congressperson and urge them to vote no on an issue important to the work of the organization. At the end of the Fund-A-Need everyone who wanted to participate held up their phones. It was wonderful to see so much enthusiastic engagement.

I have also asked for people to commit to donating food once per month for a year, they signaled their commitment by raising their paddle at the close of the final giving level.

You can ask for planned giving commitments. Attendees raise their paddles if they are interested in talking to a development professional about what it would take to leave money in their estate for this purpose.

I have also worked with organizations who ask for parties interested in stock transfers when the market is doing particularly well.

I encourage you to think about what actions you’d like your supporters to take, in addition to giving financial support. Would it be most helpful if they volunteer their time? Foster an animal? Donate food or other items?

Determine what you need and then ask for it at the conclusion of every Fund-A-Need you do. I think you’ll be surprised at the response you receive.

Energizing the Room
The success of a Fund-A-Need auction hinges on the excitement and energy level in the room. There are two things I do at every Fund-A-Need that help keep the excitement and energy levels high to promote maximum giving.

When running a Fund-A-Need I always start high and finish low. In other words, I begin with a high gift level, let’s say $10,000, and work my way down to $100. This ensures that every single guest at your event will find a giving level that is comfortable for them.
As soon as the Fund-A-Need is over, I take the time to thank everyone from the stage, and your auctioneer should too! Thank them for their generosity and for caring about the work your organization does. Thanking your donors is a crucial part of maintaining that donor relationship. You really can’t thank people enough.

Keeping the energy high and your attendees engaged is crucial to Fund-A-Need success. Create an auction that allows everyone, regardless of giving capacity, to participate. Asking your supporters to take simple actions in support of your nonprofit’s mission will increase engagement and participation at your events.