FundraisingCoach.com » 2. Engage

Nonprofit fundraising & Groundhog Day’s Ned Ryerson

Marc A. Pitman — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:57:38 +0000

Happy Groundhog Day! It’s become my Groundhog Day tradition to repost my 2008 post: Fundraising Secret #11: Don’t Be A Ned. Enjoy! (And don’t be a Ned!)

Fundraising Secret #11: Don’t be a Ned

Click on the image to watch the clip.

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!

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

Brief rant: YOU ARE NOT YOUR PERFECT DONOR!

Marc A. Pitman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:01:57 +0000

[Warning: Rant in progress]
In my book Ask Without Fear!, I encourage fundraisers to PYITS–put yourself in their shoes. Thinking like the donor or prospect can save you lots of embarrassment in the process of asking for money.

But never forget: you are not your perfect donor

Your major gift donor prospects are not on the same life trajectory as you. They have different life goals, work patterns, and values. This is good. This is why they are in a financial place for you to be talking to them.

So listen to what they want.

Based on my trainings around the world, 70-75% of the people reading this blog are outgoing, gregarious extraverts who love to be recognized. Don’t assume your donor wants their name up in lights. They may simply want a note of thanks from the CEO. Or maybe a quiet coffee with her.

On the other hand, if you tend to be more introverted and detail oriented, remember that your donor may indeed want to have his name listed as prominently as possible. Or to be recognized at a big gala.

Today, take off your ear muffs

Even if you could never conceive of anyone really wanting “that” [splashy recognition, quiet recognition, whatever], listen to what the donor wants.

As you go through your day today, take off your ear muffs to listen. It might even help to stop at the donors office door and pantomime taking off ear muffs.

You’ll be able to raise alot more money when you remember that you really aren’t your perfect donor.
[The rant is now over]

How do you stop assuming you know and really listen? Tell us in the comments!

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

2 easy ways to get free PR in 2012

Marc A. Pitman — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:44:30 +0000

One of your 2012 New Years resolutions should be to get more media for your nonprofit.

No matter how big your marketing budget is, chances are great that you could use more exposure. More postitive exposure!

I know for nonprofits, it’s much easier to fundraise when the organization is getting positive press. And it’s great for donors to see people from your organization included among the experts quoted in an article. It reassures them that they made a great investment when they gave a gift to you.

HARO

HARO stands for “Help a Reporter Out.” Every day, three times a day, HARO sounds out an email with dozens of information requests from journalists, TV show producers, radio shows, bloggers, book authors and others. Their site claims to send out 200 requests a day. Because of HARO, I’ve been included in a couple books, some online articles, and even interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. (Alas, I didn’t make it into the WSJ article.)

When I started, I read each query title line by line. But I already have a fulltime job, I didn’t need to make HARO one too! A hundred queries a day is a bit overwhelming. So I usually just skim the queries relying on my eyes to pick up interesting keywords the might fit me “nonprofit,” “social media,” “charity,” etc. This cuts my HARO time down considerably and still allows for some good exposure. From time to time, friends email me HARO requests that seem appropriate.

You can also use HARO to gather information for articles you’re writing. Just sign up as a reporter and post your question to the list.

If you’re not signed up for HARO, I strongly encourage you to do it for 2012. I use the free HARO and couldn’t be more pleased.
Reporter Connection

Reporter Connection seems to be a HARO wannabe. Rather than three times a day and hundreds of queries, this is a daily email with only a dozen or so queries. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever responded to a query from the Reporter Connection. But this is one of the few emails I make time to read every day.

Why? Each email has a PR tip from Bill or Steve. It could be about a TV show looking for stories; or how an author got lots of notice for a book; or even a simple tweak to your website for generating more traffic from media outlets. Today’s was a quick suggestion for writing Facebook headlines that get attention.

These tips are quick and helpful. A couple weeks back, Steve told of speaking with a TV producer about how she finds guest for her show. She said she googles on the name of the topic and the word “expert.” Steve’s tip? Put the word expert in your the meta fields on your website! You can increase the SEO by narrowing it down with adding the field of your speciality.

These tips make signing up for Reporter Connection a must in 2012 too!

Free PR can help your nonprofit get in front of more

Those are my favorite free PR tools! What do you use?

Let us know in the comments!

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

Using video in nonprofit fundraising

Marc A. Pitman — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:45:38 +0000

Here’s a 5 minute recording of CC Chapman talking with me about using video in nonprofit work.

Filmed at BlogWorld Expo in Los Angeles last month, you’ll see there’s a lot going around in the background…including voices from on high and a loud shriek!

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

Google+ for Nonprofits at BlogWorld Expo in LA

Marc A. Pitman — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:22:49 +0000

Here’s a video of my “Google+ for Nonprofits” session from BlogWorld Expo in Los Angeles last month.

There were 2 sessions about Google+ there: Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan did one; I did the other.

This was presented days before Google opened up pages for brands. The information presented here is still relevant but now there is even more nonprofits can do.

How are YOU using Google+ for your nonprofit?
Let us know in the comments!

The above video is only one of over 100 recorded sessions from BlogWorld Los Angeles 2011. You can get all of the videos — plus nearly 100 bonus interviews and other bonus content — by picking up the entire Virtual Ticket here: BlogWorldExpo Virtual Ticket [affiliate link]

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

3 Nonprofit Lessons from The Princess Bride

Marc A. Pitman — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:21:38 +0000

I love William Goldman’s classic The Princess Bride, and the movie of the same name. And as a dad, I’m proud that my kids can quote portions. (Not as much as me, but I’ve seen the movie a few dozen more times.)

But did you know there are nonprofit lessons embedded in the story? Here are three I’ve identified:

Praise everyone–even those you’re fighting against

Remember when Westley, as the man in black aka the Dread Pirate Roberts, dueled with Inigo Montoya? They covered lots of ground and Westley praised Inigo’s technique. Even as he knocked him unconscious, he compared Inigo to a stain glass window.

As nonprofits, we are so often focused on what we’re doing to “fight the good fight” that we don’t talk up the work of others. And, if we’re honest, we sometimes fear that talking about other organizations might cause us to lose donors. This couldn’t be further from the truth. As we talk up the great things others are doing, we position ourselves as trusted authority in our cause space. That leads to more people to seek us out!
Have the guts to stick with a message

“Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya…”

Ha! I heard you finish that sentence!

Inigo spent two decades repeating that phrase, seeking the man that killed his father. He’d even given up hope. But in the end, he found the man with the six fingers.

For those of us in nonprofits, we repeat the same messaging and phrases over and over. And we get tired of them. But we get tired of them long before our donors and others do. To help get our message out, we have to repeat, repeat, repeat.

We may find ourselves saying them in our sleep. But we need to keep sticking to it!
Don’t give up

After Westley was taken from her in the fire swamp, Buttercup knew “her Westley” would come for her. And eventually he did.

For those of us championing causes, we need to have that dogged faith in the hope we’re striving for.

Some light blogging for a Friday! What would you add to this? Tell us in the comments!

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

So you have a Google+ page for your nonprofit, now what?

Marc A. Pitman — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:09:48 +0000

On Tuesday, 501 Mission Place hosted our monthly “Office Hours” on Google Hangouts. We had a blast!

I hosted it using the “Hangout with extras” so I was able to give the hangout a title (not creatively called “501 Mission Place November Office Hours”). And we were able to play with Sketchpad and Notes right in the hangout.

The conversation quickly went to Google+ Pages. Nathan Hand, John Haydon, and I decided that Google+ Pages have:

the functionality of a Facebook page
combined with the usefulness of Facebook groups
with the openness of Twitter.

As we were riffing about Google+ Pages, Nathan challenged us to come up with a blog post on the spot, during the Hangout. The amazing thing is: we did!. All three of us were able to add and edit text right in the hangout! And the document was automatically available (and editable) in our Google Docs account!

(You can see the original notes we collaborated on here: 501 Mission Place Google Pages Blog Post. The rest of what follows is based on that document.)

Great, now Google+ has Pages

For months, we’ve been encouraging people to check out Google+ saying, “Even though nonprofits can’t have a presence yet, set up your personal profile. That way you’ll be familiar with Google+ when they roll out pages.”

Last Monday, they did.

It was pretty fun to see all the pages that were being created. It was sort of like a digital land rush. People staked their claim. But most people aren’t really doing much more than that.

Here are the tips we came up with on what to do next.

So you have a Google Plus Page… Now What?

Create an awesome “About” tab
People going to a page will quickly click on the “about” tab. Make sure it’s compelling to them. Be sure to use keywords they may be searching on. And make sure you have links embedded to help them find more information.
Use an attractive main image
Your main image is how you’ll be seen in people’s newsfeeds. For now, Google is requiring your image to be a square, so make sure your square stands out!

Bonus tip: Upload more than one image as a main avatar. Google+ has a cool flip-book feature built in. If you have more than one profile/page image, people can click on it to see other images. (To see what I mean, go to my Google+ profile and click on my face.)
Search for conversations around your cause
Google is the biggest search engine. Use that to your advantage. As you search terms on your cause from within Google+, you’ll find pages, people, and posts that relate. More importantly, social media platforms suck if you’re not following anyone. So find people that you think will be interesting, and start following them. Hundreds of them. Listen to what they’re saying and how they’re saying it.
Comment on those conversations as appropriate
This is social media, so be social. It’s a good idea to support other people’s agendas before your own.
Grab some friends and try a hangout
Hangouts are still a bit quirky. So play around and test it first before you look bad in front of others.

Bonus tip: Check out Hangout Canopy. This cool extension that shows you who else is having a hangout that you can join.
Take the time to play around
Any new social media platform can get complicated. But the more you interact with it, the easier it gets. And if you have already done #3, you’ll be able to learn from lots of other people who are learning Google+ too.

It’s not about you

And as you think about your Google+ page, think about this thought from Chris Brogan:

Brand pages are now open on Google+. Funny thing is, most seem to be set up to brag, not to honor their community.

.

Be sure to honor your community!

For more on Google+

Some of my Google+ blog posts are:
Nathan’s take on Google+ is here
John’s Google+ Pages post is here
You can check out the new Google+ For Dummies by Jesse Stay
You can sign up for the even more robust, soon to be released Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything by Chris Brogan
And you can watch my quick YouTube video How to Start Your Own Google+ Hangout

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

6 tips to help board members work a room

Marc A. Pitman — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 12:30:58 +0000

Last night, I was asked for some tips to help my fellow board members with a fundraising dinner on Thursday. Fundraising events so often devolve into board members huddling together in tight groups of people they all ready know.

But money is raised when board members act as ambassadors and hosts. Here’s what I wrote.

Tips on Working the Room

Remind yourself why you’re there
As a board member, you’re not there to hangout with friends. You’re there to be a host. So meet new people and make others feel welcome.
Look for “centers of influence” you haven’t met
As you look over the room, notice the people that seem to have a crowd around them. Go up and introduce yourself to those people you haven’t met.
Look for stragglers
It’s also helpful to look for people feeling lost. Some people simply are uncomfortable. Do your best to make them welcome but don’t let them become a time suck. It can be great to introduce them to someone else who has something in common. That makes them feel more connected and allows you to walk away.

Here are some questions to help get conversation going

“What do you do when you’re not at an anti-trafficking dinner?”
This will get a chuckle. But it also gets at “where do you work” without insulting at home parents and retired people.
“How did you get into that?”
People love to tell their story. So be a person who’ll listen. They love you for asking, and you don’t have to carry the conversation all on your own! Don’t try to fill them up with facts about Amirah. The dinner program will do that. Just take the time to get to know the guests.
“How did you first hear about Amirah?”
It’s nice knowing how people connect with us. It’ll show us what messaging is working, as well as who are our most effective evangelists.

Those were my tips. What would you add?

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

Google+ is open to nonprofits

Marc A. Pitman — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 19:19:46 +0000

If you’ve been waiting to join Google+ until your nonprofit or organization could have a presence on Google+?

The wait is over.

About 30 minutes ago, Google opened up Google+ Pages!

I’ve scoured their introductory material and have found references to pages being for “businesses, organizations, and groups.” There appear to be no explicit restrictions on nonprofits.

As I told folks in my “Google+ for Nonprofits” webinar last week at Blogworld Expo, I highly recommend using Google as individuals. But now you can have a sanctioned place for your organization too!

Here are some reasons I think Google+ is going to become the way nonprofits communicate with their donors.

Google+ is wonderful for sharing pictures and videos as well as really detailed posts
Google+ circles allow you to communicate solely with donors or your board or your staff
Google+ allows you to follow anyone you want, without having to get “permission” like you do on Facebook or LinkedIn
Google is already driving the majority of traffic to nonprofit sites so why wouldn’t you jump on board when they roll out a search engine changing platform like Google+?

Get your own nonprofit page at Pages for Google+!

Update

In the time it took me to write this post, Google must’ve received all the Page entries they wanted. I’m now getting an “it’s not open to everyone” image. *sigh* I guess they’ll be rolling out invitations similar to the way they did with people. I’ll let you know if I get any invites.

In the meantime, I highly recommend getting your personal profile set up. Be sure to include links to your nonprofit!

Know you should be fundraising but just need a little kick? Sign up for the weekly Fundraising Kick!

Other Possibly Related posts:

FundraisingCoach.com » 2. Engage

Nonprofit fundraising & Groundhog Day’s Ned Ryerson

Brief rant: YOU ARE NOT YOUR PERFECT DONOR!

But never forget: you are not your perfect donor

Today, take off your ear muffs

2 easy ways to get free PR in 2012

HARO

Reporter Connection

Those are my favorite free PR tools! What do you use?

Using video in nonprofit fundraising

Google+ for Nonprofits at BlogWorld Expo in LA

Top 10 Blog Posts in 2011

3 Nonprofit Lessons from The Princess Bride

Praise everyone–even those you’re fighting against

Have the guts to stick with a message

Don’t give up

So you have a Google+ page for your nonprofit, now what?

Great, now Google+ has Pages

So you have a Google Plus Page… Now What?

It’s not about you

For more on Google+

6 tips to help board members work a room

Tips on Working the Room

Here are some questions to help get conversation going

Google+ is open to nonprofits

About 30 minutes ago, Google opened up Google+ Pages!

Here are some reasons I think Google+ is going to become the way nonprofits communicate with their donors.

Update