With Ground Hog Day right around the corner here in the US, I thought we’d learn Fundraising Secret #11 from the perspective of the classic movie Ground Hog Day:
Fundraising Secret #11: Don’t be a Ned
Does this sound like your fundraising efforts?
Ned: Phil? Phil Connors? Phil Connors, I thought that was you!
Phil: Hi, thanks for watching. [Starts to walk away]
Ned: Hey now, don’t you tell me you don’t remember me ’cause I sure as heckfire remember you.
Phil: Not a chance.
Ned: Ned… Ryerson. “Needlenose Ned”? “Ned the Head”? C’mon, buddy. Case Western High. I did the whistling belly-button trick at the high school talent show? Bing. Ned Ryerson, got the shingles real bad senior year, almost didn’t graduate? Bing, again. Ned Ryerson, I dated your sister Mary Pat a couple of times until you told me not to anymore? Well?
Phil: Ned Ryerson?
Ned: BING!
Phil: Bing.
Ned: Do you have life insurance, Phil? Because if you do, you could always use a little more, I mean, who couldn’t? But let me tell something - I got’s a feeling [whistles] you ain’t got any. Am I right or am I right or am I right? Right, right right.
I crack up every time I see this scene!
Phil is so completely self-absorbed and utterly uninterested in Ned, let alone what Ned’s selling. And Ned’s so completely absorbed with selling insurance, he’s not reading Phil’s very clear signs of indifference.
Please, don’t be a Ned.
Our donors have had it “up to here” with marketing and sales and promises from people that don’t care about them.
Learn to care.
Our donors, like us, are real people with real concerns about real lives. And your nonprofit isn’t at the center of their real lives. Nor should it be.
It’s our job to help get our organization on their radar screen. But rather than going after anyone that can fog a mirror, it’s more helpful for your fundraising efforts to figure out what type of person already gives to you.
- Men or women?
- WWII generation? Silent Generation? Boomer? Xer? Millenial?
- What draws them to your mission?
- How are they first introduced to your organization?
I’d venture to guess it’s not by accosting them on the street in the middle of a cold February day. (Or on the phone. Or in the mail.)
So as you start this new year, commit to taking the time to do the hard research to get to know your current donors. And commit to engaging with donors and donor prospects to get to know them, and to let them get to know you, before you ask.
And whatever you do, please, don’t be a Ned!
To help you get even more of a jumpstart to 2008, I’ve extended my offer of 20% off my Creating Donor Evangelists products and the Highlands Abilities Battery.
Just go to http://fundraisingcoach.com/store.htm and after you put the items in your cart, type the word yearend in the coupon space. That will ensure you get 20% off.
And that you get a jumpstart in 2008!
January is a great time to set plans for the new year. I know many of you are using my MagnetGoals Program or something similar.
If raising more money this year is one of your goals, one of the most important things you can commit to is investing in learning. Learn all you can about fundraising. In subsequent fundraising secrets, I’ll talk about books, CDs, listservs, and seminars.
But for today, I’ll recommend a free learning opportunity: read blogs.
Blogs are a great source of free education. Some of the best practitioners in the field have blogs. Read them. Learn from them.
I’m currently subscribed to 108 blogs. Even with most of them being pretty inactive, I couldn’t remember to go to all these sites! So I use Google Reader to pull all my feeds in one central place. In the past, I used Bloglines.com which is a good option too. Google is easier for me since I’m already using Gmail for all of my email accounts and the Google Calendar for church events.
Even with a feed aggregator like this, you won’t be able to read every article in depth. That’s not the point. Keeping a pulse of the blogosphere is a great way of hearing what’s news out there. And can be a great way to learn about new tools to help you do your job better.
Since you’re reading this, I’m assuming you have some level of comfort with blogs. If not, there’s a lengthy article on blogs at Wikipedia.
Here are some of the fundraising blogs–and a few other–I keep up with (in alphabetical order):
- AlumniFutures.com: I just found this blog last week. For years, I’ve benefitted from Andrew Shaindlin’s comments on a listserv we were part of. I’m looking forward to being a regular reader of his blog!
- BlogBaud.com: a low traffic pilot from Blackbaud employees.
- [chrisbrogan.com]: I’ve got no idea how he does it, but if you want to learn about Web 2.0, Chris is your man.
- ChurchMarketingSucks.com: Great insights on how to make marketing better.
- Creating the Future!: Hildy is a change agent par excellence
- Donor Power Blog: Jeff Brooks’s blog on fundraising. He definitely "gets" it.
- Give and Take: The Chronicle of Philanthropies round up of blogs on philanthropy. Be sure to check out their extensive blog roll. They have links to dozens of blogs (including yours truly!).
- GuidingVision.com: I always benefit from learning what Sandra Sims is thinking.
- Hopecaptive: My wife’s blog. Keeps reminding me why I do what I do. (Read this gem for a chuckle: From Caleb This Morning)
- LizStrauss.com: Liz’s thoughts on business and life consistently spark ideas that improve my life.
- MarcPitman.com: Hey, how’d this get in here?
This is my other blog, one I’ve been writing since 2000. This is where I put my thoughts about church, family, life, coffee, and beer.
- Mashable: This group posts way too often. But if there’s anything you want to learn about the latest advances (and retreats) in social networking and Web 2.0, this is the blog to read.
- never eat along blog: I loved Keith Ferrazi’s book Never Eat Alone. His blog keeps up his great tips on networking and connecting with others.
- Nonprofit Marketing: Katya has the ideas I wish I had!
- Seth Godin: Seth Godin’s thoughts on marketing are amazing and easily applicable to fundraising.
- The New Jew: Blogging Jewish Philanthropy: Maya is prolific when it comes to Jewish philanthropy.
I’ll stop there. That will get you started.
Check this out: now you can search for a nonprofit on GuideStar and make a donation at the same time!
Click “donate now” and you’ll get a link like this snazzy way to give to the Inland Foundation.
All the more reason to have pretty 990’s!
You can bet I’ll be finding out how to do this with my healtchare system’s fiscal folks! The latest 990’s are from 2003. Our financials are much better now!
Since more people are asking about coaching, I’ve updated my Fundraising Coaching Services page at Fundraisingcoach.com.
Let me know if I can be of service!
I’ve been emailing with the publishers of Ask Without Fear! A Simple Guide to Connecting Donors with What Matters to Them Most.
They assure me the book will be in print by the end of February/beginning of March.
As hard as it is for me to believe, there are other authors in their queu. And apparently some of those other authors in line in front of me.
Thanks for your continued patience and enthusiasm!
