Category: Donor Outreach And Appreciation

Get Comfortable Asking for Money

12/13/2019

If the thought of approaching a donor and soliciting a donation makes you break out in a cold sweat, you are not alone. Asking for money is something nobody is taught how to do and almost everyone is uncomfortable with it at first.

There’s a lot of advice out there for improving this skill. One of the more common suggestions is to challenge yourself to ask for a discount every time you buy anything. If you are making your purchase in person, you ask the person at the register. If you are making your purchase online, you include the request in the notes to the seller.

The point of this challenge is to get you comfortable doing something incredibly uncomfortable. Asking for discounts is not something that’s natural in American culture, so for many of you this may be an incredibly uncomfortable activity. That’s the point. If you can get comfortable asking a random cashier for a discount you have no reason to ask for, on an item you were going to buy anyway, you can get comfortable soliciting donors.

This challenge is fine but I don’t think it’s enough.

What you really need is practice.

Practice with your coworkers. Practice all the time. Make it a part of your weekly duties.

Practice with your board. Board members should be involved in fundraising to some extent, as part of their duties. They may be responsible for soliciting their friends and other major donors. Take a large portion of a board meeting and get everyone in attendance to practice with each other and give feedback on the asks.

Practice talking about your nonprofit in a confident, passionate, mission-focused manner. You don’t have to practice this part with other people, though that is certainly a good idea. You can do this in your car or in the shower.

Sit in on other solicitations. This is especially great for major solicitations. Go out with a coworker or your CEO and just observe. What does the conversation actually sound like? I think you’ll find it’s just like any other conversation.

Relax. Your donor often already knows the ask is coming and will ask you to get to the point long before you planned to. This is especially true when soliciting long-term donors.

If your donors have a strong relationship with your nonprofit, asking for gifts is a breeze. You’ve already done all the hard work of building their emotional connection to your organization, now you are simply inviting them to act on that connection.

Get out there and start asking. Asking for money is one of those things that gets easier and less intimidating the more you do it. You’ll discover what works for you and what works for your donors. You just have to do it.

Remember, a botched ask or a rejected solicitation is not personal. There are so many reasons why your donor might not be able to give at the moment you ask, and that’s okay! The world won’t end, but you will learn something about asking for money from every solicitation you do, no matter what.

Do you have any tips for getting comfortable asking for money? Share them in the comments.

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

9/27/2019

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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.

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Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: Things to Consider

9/23/2019

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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.

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Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: Two Approaches

9/20/2019

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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.

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Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: The Basics

9/16/2019

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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.

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The Worst Donor Thank You Ever

8/23/2019

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Recently, I received an email from an organization that I give to regularly. Ostensibly this was a thank you email, but you wouldn’t know it. I considered including the email in this post, but I don’t want to embarrass the party that sent it.

The email in question was over 300 words long, and “thank you” appeared only once, near the very end of the email. The person who created this email was clearly not interested in thanking me for my donation. In fact, they spent the beginning of the email talking about how giving to the organization makes them feel.

They were also not interested in personalizing the correspondence because everything about this email screamed form email.

Now, I’m not against using form emails. In fact, used properly form emails can save your organization a lot of time. But, you must put in the time to personalize every single email you send, especially thank you emails. This can be accomplished through a simple mail-merge process.

When personalizing thank you emails at least three things must be included:

The donor should be addressed by name.
You should make reference to each donor's specific philanthropic interests.
You should mention at least a couple ways your donors dollars are being used.

In the case of this email, the sender listed off three ways in which my dollars might have been used, none of which were the reason I give to this particular organization.

Finally, there’s an obvious typo near the end of the email. It should go without saying, but all materials produced by any organization should be proofread before being sent out.

When it comes to thanking your donors, the details matter. Your email should be uniformly formatted and free of typos. It should address your donor personally and include references to their specific philanthropic interests. And most importantly, it should say thank you early and often.

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Minor Donors: Your Unsung Heroes

8/19/2019

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80% of your donations come from 20% of your donors.

Everyone in the nonprofit world knows this rule.

But not everyone remembers the other side of this rule: 20% of your donations come from 80% of your donors.

It’s easy, even tempting, to overlook these 80% because they don’t donate as much as major donors. After all, there are only so many hours in the day, your time is better spent tending to your major donors, right?

Wrong.

Does this group’s lower capacity to give make them less worthy of your time and attention?

Of course not!

I challenge all nonprofits to stop ignoring their minor donors.

Too often, minor donors feel marginalized and rejected by the nonprofits they support because they do not receive even a fraction of the recognition that major donors receive.

To create long-lasting donor relationships and increase donations, nonprofits must put more effort into recognizing their minor donors.

A great place to start is by creating giving societies for your long-term, minor donors. Start with donors who have been contributing $500 a year for twenty years or more.

**If your organization is small and $500 is considered a large gift, adjust that number down to fit your organization. Giving societies work for any donation level.

Recognize these donors at all of your special events, just like you would with your major donors and honorees. Include their names in your annual report. Thank them at every opportunity.

Giving your minor donors love in simple and easy ways costs your organization almost nothing and it means the world to your donors. After all, $500 a year over twenty years is not an insignificant amount of money for most people.

There are dozens of unique and creative ways to help this group feel vital and appreciated by your nonprofit so that they will continue giving for years to come.

Here are a few other ideas to try:

Host a special event just for giving society members
Send personalized thank you letters
Hand out special name tags at major events to distinguish them from the crowd
Interview them about why they care about your nonprofit and publish these interviews in your newsletter and on your website
Record these interviews and release them over social media
Use giving society members as speakers at your events

Encourage giving society members to recruit their friends to volunteer and donate to your organization. Harness their enthusiasm to increase your reach and build your donor rolls.

Minor donors who give year after year are vital to the longevity of many nonprofits. Don’t ignore the donations and volunteer hours contributed by this group. Creating a giving society for your nonprofit’s minor donors is a great first step towards maintaining a healthy relationship with your minor donors and encouraging others to start giving each year as well.

How does your nonprofit show appreciation for your minor donors? Let me know in the comments.

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Get Comfortable Asking for Money

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

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: Things to Consider

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: Two Approaches

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: The Basics

The Worst Donor Thank You Ever

Minor Donors: Your Unsung Heroes

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