Why Should Donors Support Your Cause?

Why should donors support your cause?

5 Myths About Getting Corporate Sponsorship

5 Myths About Getting Corporate Sponsorship

How To Cut Costs At Your Next Fundraising Event

With the state of the economy, so many non profit organizations are looking for ways to produce fabulous special events on a shoestring budget. Here are a few tips:

How to cut costs at your next fundraising event: Secrets your vendors don't want you to know

View more presentations from Anisha Keeys.

Here’s a round up of articles about non profit organizations that successfully reduced event costs while maintaining ambiance and raising net income:

http://tinyurl.com/p8uc36
http://tinyurl.com/oxfl3l
http://tinyurl.com/pmdjhg

What are some of your cost saving ideas and tips?

On Finding Corporate Sponsorship: A Resource Roundup

Hoover’s Online- Public company profiles linked to current earnings updates, ticker symbols and additional Web searches

IEG - research database, advisory and ROI services

Careerbuilder- for corporate sponsorship prospect ideas, search area corporations—then find out if they are connected to your organization or volunteers

Seven Steps to Foundation and Corporate Giving- 7 good strategies that help ensure the success of your foundation and corporate giving programs


See our Blog post: Exploring the World of Corporate Giving

Join us for our Teleclass on Charity University- From Spam to Sponsored: Where Corporate Sponsorship Is and How Your Organization Can Get It, offered at Charity University on September 14, 2009, 10:30 a.m. PST

Fundraising in 2008: The Good and Bad News

Last month, Giving USA released their summary of giving for 2008. Because I'm an optimist, lets talk about the good news first:

Good News

2008 was the second highest fundraising year on record (2007 was the first)

Individuals, corporations and foundations still provided more than $307 billion

Foundation Giving Stayed Relatively stable

Analysts expected a significantly higher drop in fundraising


The Bad News

The $ 6.42 billion dollar change in giving from 2007-2008 is a decrease of 2% or -5.7% adjusted for inflation.

2008 marked fundraisings sharpest decline since 1974

Since foundations set their giving on a 5 year yield, we may see decreases in their financial support in the next few years

According to Charity Navigator, It will be quite some time before contributions pick up. Historical data shows that it took three years for giving to rebound after the recession in 1974


My Recommendations

Despite cutbacks, individuals gave $229.28 billion last year. Cultivate your individual donors, or consider starting your organizations individual donor campaign if you have not already done so.

Build and strengthen your relationships with all donors: individuals, corporations and foundations

Diversify your fundraising efforts. Create a strategic fundraising plan with a broad reach. Such a plan should target income from a variety of places, including individual donors, corporations, and foundations, as well as earned income from special events and the sale of products and services.

Remember that the best way to stop raising money is to stop asking for it!


Here's a breakdown of GAVE the money last year:





And Here's who Got the money last year:




Check out a few additional perspectives on the results:



Check out How much did Americans really give in 2008?



Blackbaud Forum

Exploring the world of corporate sponsorship: potential benefiets to consider

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Exploring the world of corporate sponsorship: potential benefiets to consider

View more presentations from Anisha Keeys.

8 Tips For Increasing the productivity of your non profit board

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

8 Tips For Increasing the productivity of your non profit board

View more presentations from anisha1.

Pros and Cons of Typical Sources of Funding

Double click chart to enlarge

How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?

One thing I know for sure is that the best way to stop raising money is to stop asking for it! Stick to your big bold audacious plans, and stay in touch with your donors now more than ever.

I'm sure that many of you are wondering if this is even a good time to be raising and asking for money. I've talked to a few groups who have even delayed or canceled their next fundraising drive and all but stopped reaching out to their individual donors.

I have a shortlist of favorite charities I give money to annually. In the past, I've given healthy donations several times a year and pretty much in tandem with their fund appeal letters. Right now, I can't donate as easily and as often, however, I do still donate. On my desk, I have a folder that holds the organizations latest newsletters, fund appeal letters etc. Before I write checks, I look at these things to remind me of the great work I'm supporting (instead of buying that new Coach bag) and to determine how much I should give in proportion to the organizations need.

Back in October, two of these favorite charities asked me for donations. I let them both know I unable to donate at the time, but to keep me posted on their work. Can you believe that I've not heard from either organization (no calls, emails, newletters, etc) since then? Just because the 3rd week of October 2008 was not a good time for me to donate does not mean that I do not care about the organizations work, or would not have been prompted to write a check after hearing about one of their recent success stories, events, etc.


In the song, " How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" , Prince grieves the object of his affection that suddenly stops calling as much as she used to. Prince has a unique way of showing his grief and much like Prince, it can be confusing and disconcerting to donors when you shower them with calls and information and suddenly disappear (just don't count on your donors to chase you down and make songs in your honor).

Now is the time to keep your donor relationships fresh. Donors invest their time and money in your work and genuinely want to hear about your progress. Show that you care and keep them informed of your initiatives-- even during these hard times.

"You Only Learn Who Is Swimming Naked When The Tide Goes Out." -Warren Buffet

"You Only Learn Who Is Swimming Naked When The Tide Goes Out." -Warren Buffet

This quote from Warren Buffet may conjure graphic imagery, but trust me that this post is rated “G”.

Just this week, I’ve had conversations with three different Executive Directors who have found themselves well…“naked” as the tide is going out, and wondering how to realign their fundraising goals and strategies with the state of the economy.

I’m sharing the conversations in hopes that your organization doesn’t make some of the same mistakes. I’ve promised each Executive Director anonymity so names and other incriminating details have been concealed to protect the “naked”. Here are some of the issues:

1. Raising 85 % of their funding from two large grants that they wont get next year: the Madoff scandal has put one major foundation out of business, and the other foundation is not accepting RFPs until they can fully evaluate the economy. If your organization receives grant funding, you have to check out the 2009 Foundation Giving forecast, published and consistently updated by the Foundation Center

2. Scaling back on fundraising staff, leaving much needed fundraising positions vacant and redistributing the workload.

3. Creating employee burn-out from # 2 and loosing a dynamic fundraiser to another organization. This naked offender did not have a succession plan for the dynamic fundraiser, and now suspects that several large donors may have followed dynamic fundraiser out the door.

4. Being complacent about getting up and running with a donor database. Donor data is one of a non profit organizations most valuable assets, so if you don’t have a system, check out this comparison of some of the most popular data base tools for nonprofits. Make a commitment to nurtureyour donor data my managing it data properly. These systems can do much more than MS Excel ;)

5. Failing to DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY, DIVERSIFY their organizations fundraising efforts and developing strategies to raise money in the 5 major areas of fundraising: Individual and Corporate Giving, Foundations and Grants, Special Events and Earned Income.

Having been a fundraiser during the economic downturns of 1998 and early 2002, I know for sure is that the hard work put into thinking about sustainability while sticking to audacious funding strategies paid off when the economy got better.

What's the status of your non profit? Will you be caught naked?

Stimulus Stealing Your Wealthiest Donors?

Wall Street will GET its share of the bailout money, but executives may have to GIVE up lofty salaries with Washington’s plan to limit their pay. According to an article in the New York Times, “Charities Fear New Pay Limits Will Hurt Executive Donations.”

This article makes me think of one of my rants about fundraising from individuals--never underestimate the power of your entire donor base---not just the ones that write big checks. In 2007, Americans gave over $ 300 billion to charity, however according to the American Express Charitable Giving survey, the average charitable gift was $ 172. Now more than ever its important to take good care of all of your donors.

On finding the perfect match

In honor of Valentines Day, I want to talk about finding the perfect match. The organization that leaves you breathless with passion for what they do, the one you swoon over and express your love though giving your time, money and talent. With over one million non profit organizations in the United States, and hundreds actively working in the issue areas you care about how do you choose “the one”?

I came across a service that helps you match with the charitable organization that best matches your social change interests. Is Donation Dashboard the match.com of philanthropy? Basically, you rate a small set of non-profits, and upon completion you are presented a portfolio of recommendations that match your preferences.

The service at can recommend non profit organizations that work in the issue areas you care about. I tried the site for myself. While I didn’t quite see how some of the recommendations matched my preferences, I did learn of several organizations and checked out their websites to get additional information. The site owners noted that Donation Dashboard is a work in progress that will get better as they get more users/ data.

I hope that you try it for yourself. When you do, let me know about your experience. Did Donation Dashboard recommend organizations that truly match your hearts desire?

101 Resources for Non Profit Organizations

101 Resources for Non Profit Organizations

The word wide web has a wealth of worthy websites for those working in the non profit sector (try saying that 3 times fast). But sometimes its hard to know where to start when seeking a straight answer or simple insight on a specific non profit issue. So to help all of you who work and serve in the non profit sector, I’ve compiled this categorized list of resources.

Please note: this list is an index. I have no control over the content of the sites listed here. Also, listing does not imply my personal endorsement of products and viewpoints of the sites.

Also--this list is by no means comprehensive-- if you know of a good non profit resource that is not listed here, or if you find dead links, please respond through comments or email me.

Board Development

1. Article: The Boards Role in Fundraising. Link also includes additional readings, recommendations and resources
2. Board Source Essentials - Great non profit knowledge center from one of leading sources for non-profit consulting
3. Boardnetusa- Helps match prospective board members to non profit organizations
4. Idealist.org Non-Profit FAQ - General information, definitions and facts about non-profit boards including links to additional information
5. Toolkit for Boards - Covers the main topics for running a non-profit board properly

Careers

6. Association of Fundraising Professionals Job Board
7. Common Good Careers Report: non profit jobseekers share their attitudes, motivations and challenges in pursuing careers in the social sector. Interestign report from the mouths common goods job seekers
8. Idealist: Search for nonprofit jobs internationally as well as domestically.
9. Jobs at Foundations: So—one of my dream jobs is to be on the giving side of fundraising. This site offers current job postings at foundations through out the United States
10. Non Profit Oyster
11. Opportunity Knocks
12. Philanthropy News Digest Job Search : Listings of current full-time job openings at U.S.-based foundations and nonprofit organizations. Organizations may submit up to ten postings a month at no charge

Communications and Marketing

13. American Marketing Association: provides best practices, articles, reports, webcasts and a newsletter focused on marketing, public relations, advertising, trends and industry news
14. Cause Marketing Forum: Collection of articles and other resources on the best practices in cause marketing
15. Email Labs: Special Report on best practices for email marketing. The report was created in 2005 but mnay of the concepts are still relevant
16. How To Guide for : Designing a Communications Plan To Enhance Your Fundraising Campaign

Corporate Giving

17. Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP): Founded by Paul Newman this international forum of corporations are dedicated to lead the business community in raising the level and quality of corporate philanthropy
18. Google Alerts: updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of topic
19. Hoover's Online: Public company profiles linked to current earnings updates, ticker symbols and additional Web searches
20. IEG: research database, advisory and ROI services
21. Monster: search area corporations—then find out if they are connected to your organization or volunteers
22. Seven Steps to Foundation and Corporate Giving: Strategies and to-dos to help ensure the success of your foundation and corporate giving programs

Earned Income

23. Non Profit Business Solutions: Offers clear definition on why and how non profits can start an earned income program
24. Financial Management & Legal Compliance
25. Form 123 Help: Designed to help small nonprofits prepare a successful Do-It-Yourself application for 501(c)(3) status. Provided by a private individual.
26. Guidestar: Limited name search; fabulous free source of 990-PF foundation info
27. IRS- Lists of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. Tax laws for non profit organizations
28. Nonprofit Risk Management Center: Online tool that will take your nonprofit's risk management practices to the next level

Fundraising

29. Chronicle of Philanthropy : Known as THE newspaper of the nonprofit world
30. Council on Foundations - The Council on Foundations is a nonprofit membership association of more than 1,300 grantmaking foundations and corporations. The council's mission is to promote effective and responsive philanthropy.
31. Direct Marketing News: Comprehensive coverage of the convergence of direct, database and online marketing and advertising
32. Foundation Center: Provides information and services to grant seekers and others about foundations and their grantmaking activities
33. Fundraising123: Powered by Network For Good here you will find a great compilation of links to articles and resources
34. Jossey-Bass: Publisher of non profit books, periodicals, and other media to inform and inspire those interested in developing themselves, their organizations and their communities.
35. NonProfit Times : On-line (and print) periodical that captures latest non profit news and best practice

Grant Writing

36. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA): The online Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance - a database of all Federal programs available to State and local governments
37. Federal Register: Clearinghouse for federal grants, publications and information
38. Grants.gov : Governmental resource to find and apply for federal government grants
39. Grantsmanship Center: Provides grantsmanship training to nonprofit and government agencies. The site includes free information and resources, including archives of the organization's magazine, daily grant announcements, and funding source databases
40. Grantwriters Online: Explains the basics of grantwriting by providing easy-to-understand guidelines, tips, and sample proposals and financial statements
41. Information on Government & Private Funding : Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's Grant Information Home Page
42. Non-profit guides: How to guides and tools for grantwriting
43. Office of Minority Health Funding: Grants available from OMH; includes Community Grants
44. ProposalCafe.com: Information, resources, news, training, employment/employee leads, and dialogue helpful to grant writers
45. U.S. Dept. of Education grant information: Information on grant and other programs at the Department. Includes information for new grants seekers
46. Yahoo's Grant-Making Foundations Listing of the Foundations that are listed in Yahoo's search engine

Individual Giving

47. Development of an Annual Giving Campaign: Quick and dirty guide that explains how to develop and manage an annual giving program
48. Donor Power Blog: This blog offers strategies and insight for connecting to your donors in a meaningful way rather than treating them like ATMs
49. FECInfo: Federal campaign contributions listing with donor profession & city
50. Individual Giving Forecast: Schervish and Havens study about individual gift projections in 2009

In kind Donations

51. Gifts In Kind: partners with thousand of corporations and provides new products to 150,000 community charities in America and throughout the world

Non Profit News

52. Bridespan Group: Strategies for building organizations that inspire and accelerate social change.
53. Forbes.com: Forbes magazines section on corporate philanthropy
54. Harvest Today: Clearinghouse of philanthropic news
55. Nonprofit Charitable Orgs : About.com's Nonprofit Resource Center. Topics include essentials for starting a nonprofit, fundraising resources and more.
56. Non-Profit Good Practice Guide - Best practice guides including: accountability, fundraising, governance, management, etc.
57. OnPhilanthropy: onPhilanthropy.com is a global resource for non-profit and philanthropy professionals. It is free of charge and features several industry-leading e-mail newsletters
58. Philanthropy Journal: This journals mission is to help people understand, support and work in the nonprofit and philanthropic world, and help them recognize and solve social problems
59. Stanford Social Innovation Review: Award-winning magazine covering best strategies for nonprofits, foundations, and socially responsible businesses
60. Tactical Philanthropy: I love this blog which provides an open space for discussion of philanthropy and a chronicle of The Second Great Wave of Philanthropy

Professional Development and Training

61. Alliance for Nonprofit Management Event Calendar: Educational events calendar of the professional association of individuals and organizations devoted to improving the management and governance capacity of nonprofits
62. Association of Fundraising Professionals: The standard-bearer for professionalism in fundraising for the last 40 years
63. Brief History of the Non Profit Sector: Article about the beginning of the sector in the US
64. Chronicle of Philanthropy Event’s Calendar: Calendar of events that includes all conferences, workshops, and online courses known to The Chronicle,
65. Foundation Center’s Conference Calendar: Listings of philanthropy-related events, symposia, and (on occasion) training held around the country
66. Fundraising School: Leading academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice through research, teaching, public service and public affairs
67. Leader to Leader Institute Publications, workshops, training and other tools and resources for nonprofit leaders. (formerly the Drucker Foundation)
68. Independent Sector Conferences: Leadership forum for charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs committed to advancing the common good in America and around the world. They host educational seminars around the country

Planned Giving

69. National Committee on Planned Giving: A Guide to Evaluating Organizational Readiness for Planned Giving
70. Planned Giving Today : Newsletter with index of selected articles, links to other web sites and a humorous anecdote section

Program Evaluation

71. Innovation Network: shares planning and evaluation tools and know-how
72. Targeting Outcomes of Programs (TOP): helps with outcomes in planning, implementing, and evaluating programs.
73. United Way: Courtesy of the United Way, check out their logic behind logic models in clarifying and communicating outcomes

Prospect Research

74. 10k Wizard: streamlines financial and legal research with pinpoint accuracy
75. Complete Glossary Non Profit Good Practice Guide, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy, Grand Valley State University
76. Glossary The Foundation Center's User-Friendly Guide to Funding Research and Resources
77. GovDocs: Gateway to federal, state and local government documents and funding sources
78. HollyBiz: Sites for researching celebrities and the entertainment industry
79. Library of Congress An all around good research resource
80. Portico: Collection of web sites, containing publicly available information, compiled for the use of the advancement community
81. Reporters Desktop: Good collection of research links that prospectors should make their home page
82. ResearchBuzz: News about search engines, databases, and online information collections since 1998
83. The Ultimates Phone Directories Here you can search resources from all over the net like phone books, email directories, and trip planners
84. Top List: Rankings and ratings of individuals, foundations and corporations
85. Virtual Reference Desk: Fact checker for the internet

Social Networking

86. 12 Tips for Nonprofits Getting Started With Social Media: About.coms guide to social media for non profit organizations
87. Non Profit Technology Network: How to measure the ROI on your social media initiatives
88. Should you social network?: Idealware.coms article about how non profits can best engage in the social network process
89. Social Networking for Non Profits: Special report from SixDegrees and Network for Good that discusses how technology and social networkings effect on fundraising

Special Events

90. FundraisingIP Helpful information about planning, running and improving fundraising events. Offers fundraising articles
91. Internet Movie Database: Find a celebrity connection for your organizations special event
92. Non Profit Tips: Archive of blogs about special events fundraising. Includes event types (golf, galas, auction and conferences) and helpful tips like room calculators etc.

Technology

93. Advancing Philanthropy Fundraising Technology Roundup- Comprehensive list and ratings of technology products for the non profit sector
94. Common Mistakes: in selecting a donor database system. Guidance and insight to help you make the right data decisions
95. Donor Management Software: Article about the case for using donor management software. The article is from 2004 but the concepts are timeless
96. Email Sherpa: Helps you find the right tools and tips for your email marketing efforts here in blog format
97. Npower: Resources including free articles about technology and toolkits that contain guides, sample documents, and useful links
98. TechSoup; The technology place for non profits
99. Web 2.0 in Nonprofits Wiki : Tech best practices for non profits

Volunteer

100. Free management library: Tips and tools for developing and managing volunteer programs
101. VolunteerMatch- is a leader in the nonprofit world dedicated to helping everyone find a great place to volunteer. You can list your organizations volunteer opportunities free of charge

Last checked 2/ 15/2009

Service Is Sexy again...and a F*ree E-Book

According to the Associated Press, volunteer agencies have seem a jump in applications to serve. Why? The 2 major factors seem to be President Obamas call for Americans to volunteer , and the effects of our economy, which has left some folks with more time and less money.

Related to volunteers serving, check out this great read from Seth Godwin: Giving your Fans a Chance to speak up- short, free e-book offers great steps your group can take to get your supporters to be ambassadors.

Many foundations have publicly announced plans for how they will respond to the economic crisis. The Foundation Center has compiled an overview of these announcements. Many major foundations have clearly stated their funding intentions, and some have not. The foundation center is updating the chart as additional information becomes available. Stay updated on your foundations forecast.

10 Ways to Energize your fundraising efforts

Some of these tips are simple and small but if deployed they will breathe new energy into your organizations fundraising efforts

1. Evaluate how you can best diversify the ways you raise money. Focus on efforts in: Individual Giving, Foundations and Grants, Corporate Giving. Special Events and Earned Income.

2. Write personal notes on your donor letters.

3. Add a meaningful P.S. to your donor letter---the P.S. is often the first thing read on a letter.

4. Create win-win proposals for prospective corporate partners. Carefully measure the benefits and financial return a company will receive by partnering with your non profit.

5. Ask your well connected supporters to host a house party to raise money and visibility.

6. Highlight your success stories; show how your organization is changing the lives of those you serve.

7. Collect personal information from your special event attendees—especially home addresses as people are more likely to make a job transition during tough times.

8. Ask your vendors to donate.

9. Update your prospect lists.

10. Share your grant prospecting list with your board and staff. See if anyone has connections that you can leverage to land the grant.