The Extreme Fundraising Blog

I’m pleased to announce the Ask Without Fear! radio show is starting next Tuesday!

This radio show will be hosted through BlogTalkRadio.com. Every Tuesday at 11 a.m., I’ll be interviewing the top fundraising gurus from around the US (and eventually from around the world).

My first four guests are:

• Jay Love, founder and CEO of www.eTapestry.com
• Gayle Roberts, uber blogger and fundraising counselor www.gayleroberts.com
• Jeff Brooks, another uber blogger, the man behind the ever popular www.donorpowerblog.com
• David Phillips, president of CDS, a nationwide consulting firm based out of SC.

The show is geared at fundraising professionals that have been in the field a long time. (But other fundraising enthusiasts will benefit from the interviews as well.)

To join in the fun, go to: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/marcapitman at 11 a.m. Eastern time next Tuesday. (I chose 11 a.m. because it’ll be the start of the day for our West Coast colleagues and the end of the day for our European listeners.)

You can listen online or by calling the "call in" number (347) 996-5931. Long distance charges may apply for the call (just as they would if you were calling your Aunt Ethel.)

If you could ask Jay, Gayle, Jeff, or David just ONE question, what would it be?

You can reply to this email or send me one at: marc@fundraisingcoach.com

To your fundraising success!

Marc

P.S. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 a.m.

About.com’s Nonprofit Guru, Joanne Fritz just posted a delightful review of Ask Without Fear!.

This is how she starts out:

It must be the years of graduate school that have resulted in my current love for small, easy-to-read, even “sassy” books.

I just found another one, Ask Without Fear: A Simple guide to Connecting Donors with What Matters to Them Most, by Marc A. Pitman

I think it may be the first time I’ve been called “sassy”!

Read the entire AWF review at: http://nonprofit.about.com/od/fundraisingbasics/fr/fundraisingfear.htm

Usually when we do think about estate giving, or so-called “planned giving,” we tend to think of really rich people.

But the AFP reports shares that a new study by Campbell & Company blows this preconception away. According to the AFP:

Most surprising for fundraisers was that income did not affect the likelihood that donors would make a bequest, or consider making one, in their wills. Accordingly, fundraisers should not focus solely on high-income individuals but attempt to cultivate all possible prospects.

This really shouldn’t be much of a “surprise,” the same results show up every time a study is done. Gurus like Robert Sharpe, Jr. have been telling us this for years.
Later on in the study, it says:

This study suggests that individuals aged 40 to 60 and those with at least a bachelor’s degree education were the most likely to name or consider naming a charity in their will.

Unfortunately, knowing something and acting on it, are two different things. Most of us who “know” we should be asking everyone to include us in their wills, still find ourselves limiting our relationship building to elderly, wealthy constituents.

In my opinion, asking for planned gifts is a public service we provide. I’ve been told that 70% of Americans die without a will. Whether or not they end up including our nonprofit in their will, the simple act of asking them to include us gets them thinking about wills. The vast majority of people underestimate the real value of their estate. So our asking them to consider including us, is a reminder for them to be proactive.

We will all be philanthropists at death: voluntary or involuntary. Either we’ll choose which causes our life’s work supports (family, charity, etc.) or Congress and the White House will choose for us (the war in Iraq, Wall St. bailouts, funding Medicare or Social Security).

Asking people to inlude our nonprofit in their will is not asking them to cheat their families. Most planned gifts are simply saying “after my family and other interests are taken care of, I want x% of my estate to go to these nonprofits.” This is called a “residuary bequest.”

If you go to a planned giving seminar, you’ll likely be dazzled by the variety of complicated planned giving tools. Here’s a small list, with links to websites (usually nonprofit’s) that show how to market each:

• life insurance policies
• CRUTs,
• CRATs,
• charitable lead trust,
• gift annuities,
• life estate (gift of a home while retaining life use), etc.

And you’ll probably hear examples of sophisticated estate planning like how Jackie Onastis used these tools to structure her estate to maximize the benefit to her family.

But don’t let that confuse you. The single easiest way to ask for a planned gift is to focus on the “residuary bequest.”

Here are some fundraising scripts, or key phrases, to help get you started:

• Would you consider including the hospital in your estate plans?
• After you’ve taken care of your family, would you consider asking your advisors about leaving the hospice in your will?
• Are we already in your estate plans?

Asking for planned gifts doesn’t have to be rocket science. And we don’t have to be estate attorneys. We just need to consistently invite people to talk to their advisors about their estate planning.

So remember, Fundraising Secret #17: Ask everyone for a planned gift.

[This is part of Fundraisingcoach.com’s “Fundraising Secrets” series. For all the articles in the series, go to: http://fundraisingcoach.com/blog/category/frsecrets/. An executive summary of Bequest Donors: Demographics and Motivations of Potential and Actual Donors is available at the Cambell & Company website. If you want more ideas on possible wording donors might take to their advisors, go to the For Financial Professionals section of inlandfoundation.org.]

Add this to my “15 minutes of fame”: H. Les Brown interviewed me on his Frazzled Entrepreneur Show.

Click here to listen to our interview.

A week ago tomorrow, I got my first copies of Ask Without Fear!. Caleb even made me a sign!

What a whirlwind of a week!

My kids helped me pack up the 70 or so boxes:

And we finally got them done:

Here’s a link to the rest of the photos.

I have the honor of being included in Sandra Sim’s Mythbusters series.

You can see the blog post at: http://stepbystepfundraising.com/fundraising-myth-its-great-to-be-cheap/

Well, the PRWeb approved press release is live and available at:
http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclient&hl=en&ned=&q=recession+proof+fundraising

It was #1 when I last checked.

[PRWeb didn’t like this because it wasn’t “self promotional” enough…which is exactly why I liked it!]

Waterville, ME April 14, 2008 — Experts still debate whether it is a recession but fundraising expert Marc A. Pitman author of the new book Ask Without Fear! claims now could be the best time for charities to recession-proof their fundraising.

Weak economies can force to be leaner and more efficient. When the economy rebounds, they’re in a much better position to take advantage of it. Weak economies can also be perilous times for nonprofits. When faced with a recession, many nonprofits may bad choices that limit their growth or cause them to fail.

According to Pitman, the best way to recession-proof a nonprofit is be avoiding the deadly mistakes of: spending less on fundraising, becoming pessimistic, and apologizing when for asking

Everyone has heard that it takes money to make money. This is true in the nonprofit world too. But when money is tight cutting costly mailings and fundraising activities might seem like obvious opportunities. Pitman says to exercise extreme caution.

Most fundraising efforts can be tweaked to improve their effectiveness. These tweaks can either reduce cost or increase money raised. But a fundraising effort never raises more money by simply being eliminated.

In a recent study conducted by Pitman, he discovered his organization’s direct mail program raised more money during the years they sent out more letters. He was surprised. He had worked for a couple years to eliminate mailings and focus exclusively on the people deemed most likely to make a gift. But in that time, their annual fund dropped by around 30%. This year they have increased the number of mailings and have already raised as much in six months as they did the entire previous year.

Spending less on fundraising can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Less investment can result in less being raised which leads to further cuts and even less raised. Tighten budgets where necessary but be very careful when making cuts to fundraising programs.

Pitman says the next way to weather a recession is by not becoming pessimistic. The top fundraising professionals are some of the most optimistic people alive. The minute they start being gloomy, people begin holding on to their wallets. Pitman encourages them to continue to shed light on the good things happening around them. He says, “Even clouds of recession have silver linings.” Charity leaders need to constantly look out for those linings and call them to the attention of others.

The third mistake to avoid in times of recession is to get awkward about asking for donations. Timidity is a sure way to raise less money. Pitman stresses the need to continue getting out and inviting donors to give. His new book Ask Without Fear! specifically teaches board members and volunteers how to overcome their fear of asking.

He is not advocating being brash or arrogant. Fundraisers do need to understand that in a recession many of their donors may not be able to give at the same level. This is where they can be compassionate and understanding. And their relaxed understanding of people’s financial realities can make them even stronger proponents of their organizations in the future.

But, Pitman stresses, there is nothing compassionate about not asking.

Whether the economy is in a recession or not, a sure way to raise less money is to stop asking for it. “Keep on making wise investments in fundraising efforts, stay upbeat, and continue to compassionately raise support, ” says Pitman, “and you’ll protect your nonprofit in times of recession while helping your donors become evangelists for your cause.”

For specific information on how to strengthen relationships with donors and overcome the fear of asking, Pitman’s book Ask Without Fear! is being released on Amazon in the coming week. Or go to http://askwithoutfear.com .

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In the spirit of the last fundraising secret People give to people, I offer

Fundraising Secret #16: ALWAYS be interested in the donor as a PERSON not as a pocketbook.

Relationships are always our most vital asset. Whether or not people give to us, they are intrinsically important.

That’s not to say we have to pour all our fundraising efforts in the same measure for donors and non-donors. By no means!

But if your only interest in a person is what they can do for you…you’re sunk before you even start.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of such a request? Doesn’t it make your skin crawl?

Back in college, I was one of the students with a car. I still remember the “you’ve got a car and we want to go somewhere” look. One time in particular, two girls sought me out and asked, “Do you want to go to the movies?” Despite their big smiles and their sweet sounding voices, their eyes were clearly saying, “We could care less about you. We’re just interested in a ride to the movies.”

At first, I felt the extrovert’s high of loving to be with people. But that was almost instantly followed by the let down of “I’m just being used.”

Don’t use your donors. Get engaged with them.

It can be as simple as asking little questions about their family (if appropriate) or about their business. Just something to get to know the other person as a person.

They know your job is to raise money. And they’ll probably give. But do them the honor of treating them like people.

I gave the girls a ride. But I certainly didn’t stay for the movie.

We want our donors to stay with us. To get more involved with our organization.

This is especially important if we really are moving into an economic downturn. Donors that are engaged with us in a relationship will be more likely to stay with us through the tough times. They’re more likely to become our donor evangelists.

So please, be sure to always be interested in the donor as a person!

Pundits are predicting a soft economy for the coming months.

This could be great for fundraising. Soft economies help us tighten wherever we can and cause us to be even stronger.

But many nonprofits make fatal mistakes during times like these and end up having to close their doors.

Don’t be one of them.

In order to help you, I’ve recorded a “7 Myths of Fundraising” audio seminar and am offering it at an incredibly affordable $7.97.

The biggest mistake would be to pull away entirely from fundraising. But I know you won’t do that.

So get 7 Myths of Fundraising and start recession proofing your fundraising today.