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.

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.

Some readers have asked where I’ll be speaking so here’s the current schedule:

• Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits, May 1 & 2 in Montreal.
• Direct Marketing Association, July 14-16 in Washington, DC
• Maine Library Association, October 23 in Bethel, ME. (The leaves will be colorful!)

If you’re planning on going to any of these, please let me know! I’d love to grab a cup of coffee.

Here’s another question I received in my inbox from Emile Dillis:

How to propose a fund raising project to organisations, fundraisers or individuals?

The Lord has led us to a place in the mountains of Northern Italy. Here our ministry shall be hospitality. Holiday home, meeting place, courses, seminars, Bible school, evangelisation and so much more.

We are looking for support from organisations and individuals, donations to realise this project. How do we propose this project to organisations? Do we make a formal business plan? What do we include/exclude? What do we need to do and what not?

Any advice or help is gratefully welcome !

We are prepared to take steps in Faith.

And here’s my answer:

Wonderful!! Good for you!

I’d start dreaming and visioning–on paper. What is God calling you to? What is your intent?

And the hardest part: what niche is God calling you too?

Yeah, everyone. But really, who? 20 year old backpackers? 65+ elderhostel folks? Churched? Unchurched?

This is SO hard but SO important. You’ll need to market your place. And it’s FAR easier to market to a specific group.

Don’t worry, you’ll get all sorts of people. But get really clear on a people group or type that God is calling you to. A group that’s easy to find.

I’d highly recommend using a goals program like my MagnetGoals program. There’s a free version and a print out version. (Website below.)

Get books like

• Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It
• Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• Jim Collin’s & Jerry Poras’ Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
• Jim Collin’s Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
• Seth Godin’s Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable and Free Prize Inside!

That should get you started!

One last encouragement, work through the MagnetGoals system and the E-Myth work of business planning and Covey’s 7 Habits. It’s tedious but the clarity it’ll bring is priceless.

While you’re at it, get to know yourself too. DiSC or Myers Briggs or Highlands Abilities Battery or StrenthsFinder. Find out what God made you good at and what you’ll need to outsource when you can.

You are going to hit a wall at some point. Anything God calls us to requires we come to the end of ourselves. That way we rely on him! But when you’re at the end of yourself, you’ll want to quit. Don’t. The clarity this early work brings will help reignite your fire and renew your faith.

And please keep in touch. I’ve only been to Northern Italy once, just long enough to whet my appetite!

Links:

• http://fundraisingcoach.com/magnetgoals.htm
• http://fundraisingcoach.com/diy.htm
• http://fundraisingcoach.com/store.htm

To ask me your question, go to Question Marc on my site or simply log on to LinkedIn.com and use the Charity & Nonprofit Answers section.

This month’s Carnival of Nonprofit Consultants question is: “What are you most looking forward to in the coming weeks and months?”

My immediate answer is: Montreal in May!

I’ve been invited to give two talks at Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits. On Thursday, May 1, I’ll be teaching people to ask without fear!. Then on Friday, I’ll be teaching people how to share there story in ways that will actually communicate to donors.

Best of all, I get to take my family with me this time!

For more information on the conference, and to see if you can still register, go to: Blackbaud’s Conference for Nonprofits.

Looking forward to May!

Just read a news brief from the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s daily entitled Small Colleges Say Board Members Have Been Poor Fund Raisers.

In the article, Wesley Wilmer is quoted as saying:

“If college presidents and development staffs are unhappy with board members’ understanding of fund raising, they should take the initiative to get them trained,” he said.

Music to my ears!

Remember that oft quoted definition of insanity? Insanity is keeping on doing the same thing you’ve been doing but expecting different results.

[Shameless plug alert] Board members need training but so many nonprofits are unable (or unwilling) to pay for it. That’s what led me to write Ask Without Fear! and price it at inexpensive $14.95.

Hopefully this book will be a cost-effective way to help remove some of the tension that seems to exist with college presidents and their board of trustees.

For the entire article, go to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

I just watched the premier of The Big Give. (Thank God for a DVR! )

I really liked it.

I was really touched by the examples of people bringing community together. Like the woman who’s husband was shot. Wow. They all pulled together. And the balloons. How cool that the family will forever have a way to validate the place Dad has in their lives.

And I loved that the fashion show got panned. Particularly because it had nothing to do with the person. No connection whatsoever. Maybe we’ll hear less of that type of suggestion from our well meaning volunteers.

As a full-time fundraiser, it was a bit annoying to see how “easy” some of them made fundraising look. I’m sure dropping Oprah’s name was a HUGE motivator. While I’m glad for the success they had, I dread the backlash that it may have to my job. “Hey, just watched Oprah last night. When are you going to actually raise some money like that?” Ouch.

I’d probably answer, “As soon as Oprah allows me to use her name and the exposure of a national TV show.”

And I did find myself worrying for the people helped. What are the long-term impacts? Sure they gave folks housing for 6 months, but what then? These guys are going to screw up, that’s just life. We all make mistakes. But now they’ll be screwing up with someone’s lives. What are the implications?

Sure, the four judgement areas seem a bit corny. But it is a “reality” show after all. And America watches reality shows.

Oprah certainly knows how to communicate to America!

So this can go a long way in inspiring people to make a difference in their own communities, with their own neighbors. And it can show them that “just raising money” isn’t enough.

And for the nay-sayers that say, “C’mon, they’re just competing for $1 million.” Please. Let it rest. The show is quite clear that they don’t even know what they’re competing for.

I wouldn’t call this “philanthropy.” Perhaps I’m splitting hairs. But it is cool to see the difference a motivated team can do in someone’s life. It can be really addicting!

I like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. But The Big Give seems to “make it real.” You don’t need to be Ty or have a huge show to change a family’s life. You can just be a couple of regular joes with a little seed cash.

And you probably don’t even need the seed cash.

I’m having quite a week!

Tuesday, I was invited to train the super-elite fundraisers for Habitat for Humanity International in Atlanta. I’ve been a fan of Habitat for years. And what a terrific group of development people they have!

Now I’m at the Consortium for Endowed Episcopal Parishes annual conference speaking on fundraising to people employed by their parish as stewardship directors. What a cool job!!! These folks are right in the thick of engaging Christians with the place of their resources in their spiritual journey.

It’s an incredible privilege to be speaking to such terrific people. These people are expanding the Kingdom in some pretty creative ways!

One of the neatest things is that both groups are actively transforming their understanding of what it means to “engage” the people that invest in their causes. And both are seeing it in a much more comprehensive way than just finances.

What an inspiring week!

[This post was cross-posted at marcpitman.com.]

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!

Just made a reservation for the New England Association of Healthcare Philanthropy 2008 Conference at the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa.

The call to the Marriott reservations person was friendly. He knew of the conference discount. He not only asked if I was a Marriott Rewards member, he even looked up my number for me!

As we were winding up the call, I asked if, being a Rewards member, if there were any perks or amenities I should be aware to ask for when I arrived. It being a spa, I certainly didn’t want to miss out.

The until-that-point friendly man paused as though looking and then said, “No I don’t think you have enough status to get anything.”

Doh!

I’d been enjoying my experience until that point. Why didn’t he say:

• that there was nothing available at my “level” or
• that if I had 48 separate night stays at Marriott hotels I might qualify for a level by March or
• that I qualified for a free paper or free breakfast (without telling me that everyone else does too)?

Instead he told me I wasn’t important enough to be considered for any pampering.

I’m sure what he said was very factual. In fact I know it is. I haven’t used Marriott hotels in years. I’m a Hilton guy. I even told him there probably wasn’t anything I qualified for. He could have simply agreed with me.

But he said “you don’t have enough status.” It felt like I was in Sense & Sensibility being snobbed for being in the wrong socio-economic class! Weird isn’t it? I know better but I still felt like it was a personal judgement.

I sure hope I don’t end my phone calls with donors that way! I’m definitely going to be more aware of my phone manners today!

For earlier posts on phone etiquette, see:
Dialing for Donor (visits)
and
Phone Etiquette II