FundraisingCoach.com » 1. Research

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]

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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!

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An interview with Get Fully Funded author Sandy Rees

Marc A. Pitman — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 01:29:42 +0000

I love it when people come out with practical, nuts-and-bolts books to help nonprofits. It’s even more fun when it’s with people I know!

I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Sandy Rees and ask her about her new book Get Fully Funded. [affiliate link]

The Fundraising Coach: Why did you feel compelled to write “Get Fully Funded”?

Sandy Rees: Writing a book like this has been a professional goal of mine for a long time. When I became a coach/consultant, I found myself teaching the same system of fundraising over and over. It just made sense to write it all down and put it in a book so I could make it available to way more nonprofits than I can possibly get to one at a time.

FRC: What are some of the common fundraising mistakes the you see nonprofits making?

SR: One of the most common mistakes I see is nonprofit leaders thinking small. They don’t see their organization as being able to attract lots of donors or “heavy hitters.” They look at other nonprofits with envy and think “we could never raise money like they do.” They see themselves as competing with other nonprofits. It’s all poverty mentality. The truth is that if nonprofits built good relationships with donors and encouraged them to give just a tiny bit more, there would be MORE than enough money. The concept of fully funding your mission isn’t a dream. It’s do-able. I’ve done it and I’ve coached many organizations to do it. In fact, there’s a testimonial on my website from one client that consistently has a cash surplus in the bank.

FRC: You talk about 7 simple steps in your book. Could you share those steps with us?

SR: You bet! The Get Fully Funded system is a step-by-step process for creating long-term financial stability through donor-based fundraising. Simply put, it’s a blueprint to building the fundraising program of your dreams.

I’ve boiled it down to 7 simple steps that you can easy implement.

Step 1: Make fundraising a priority. You must get infrastructure in place in your office, and put the systems together that will support you when you are fundraising. Otherwise, your fundraising program will collapse as soon as it starts. You also must get your mind focused on what’s possible and let go any beliefs that zap your energy.
Step 2: Understand why people give. Before you try to raise money, it’s helpful to uncover a donor’s motivations for giving. You must understand all the reasons why someone might make a gift to your organization so that you can appeal to them specifically.
Step 3: Identify the best donor prospect. You can save a lot of time and resources by focusing your efforts on the right people. When you get clear about your ideal donor and how to find more just like them, attracting donors becomes easy.
Step 4: Tell your story. When it’s time to talk to donors and prospects, it’s best to have a clear, focused message to share. You need carefully-selected key messages and a compelling, hooky elevator speech. You also need to be able to share a heart-warming story about a person or a family your nonprofit has helped.
Step 5: Plan how and when will you ask for a gift. This is the nitty-gritty! You need a written, comprehensive fundraising plan for your nonprofit, complete with all the strategies and techniques that will be most effective for the target audiences you are after.
Step 6: Acknowledge the gift and build relationships. Thanking and stewarding a donor is not only polite, but it builds relationship and trust with the donor. It starts with a great Thank-You letter and ends with a grateful donor who becomes an ambassador for you in the community.
Step 7: Evaluate success. Measuring your success will help you know which fundraising activities to continue and which ones to dump. Consistent evaluation will help you not only stay on target and focused, but keep you moving forward.

FRC: I like that you use the term “long-term.” So many people seem panicked for short-term fundraising results. How do you respond to people like that?

SR: In order to achieve sustainability for next year and the year after and so on, we’ve got to think long-term. Nonprofits have got to stop living “paycheck to paycheck” or “bake sale to carwash” or whatever they’re doing. The principles in my book will help put things in place that make fundraising work every year, like a well-oiled machine. Now, I know that some folks are backed into a corner and really must raise money right away. For them, they have to figure out what they can do that will get them the most results in the shortest amount of time with the greatest long-term impact and the least investment. Then they have to do whatever it takes to make it happen and raise the money they need to get out of their current crisis. They’ve got to give up all the excuses they’ve been using for lackluster fundraising, and just do whatever it takes to raise money. It’s a real shift in attitude.

FRC: What is the one most helpful thing nonprofits can do to position themselves to getting fully funded?

SR: Make fundraising a priority. In fact, it’s the first step in the system and the first chapter in the book. If people don’t make fundraising a priority, they aren’t going to get the results they want. Simple as that. Making fundraising a priority involves time management and priority management, but also attitude management. It involves shifting your perspective and looking at the countless opportunities that are out there for your nonprofit, instead of focusing on the lack.

I believe so strongly in this, that I’ve offered the first chapter in the book as a free download on my website! www.getfullyfunded.com/get-fully-funded-books.

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Fundraising Myth: If we build it, God will fund it

Marc A. Pitman — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:30:41 +0000

I get the opportunity to work with a lot of faith-based organizations. I love helping them get excited about raising money and showing them that others in the Bible did too.

But I’m amazed by a persistent cop-out so common among Christian causes, I’m adding it to my “Fundraising Myths” category.

The cop out is: this ministry is so important, God will fund it. Or more to the point:

If we build it, God will fund it

It sounds wonderful and faith filled, doesn’t it? And there’s even Scripture about God supplying our every need to back it up. But listen to this fundraising education from Paul in Chapter 9 from his 2nd letter to the Corinthians:

So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

As it is written:
“They have scattered abroad their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

In another place, I talk about this being a letter to encouraged a lapsed pledge. Today, look at the agricultural metaphor Paul uses: sowing and reaping.

Sowing and reaping takes work

A farmer can’t just create a field and then say, “We’re trusting God to bring in the harvest.” While I’m sure he prays for God’s provision, the farmer still needs to

prepare the field for seed,
sow the seed,
tend to the seed (weed, fertilize, etc)
then harvest it at the right time (which maybe different depending on what is being grown)

Farming takes work. So does funding your ministry.

You need to research your cause and your prospects, engage them and get to know them, and you have to ask them for money. Even after that, you have to tend to the relationship by expressing your love and gratitude, showing donors you see them as whole people, not mere ATMs.

I’d encourage you that if God called you to the ministry you’re doing, or to the minisitry you are on the board of, then He’s called and equipped you to fund it too.

We’re His hands and feet

Don’t worry, many others have done it before you. I wrote and article on stories of fundraising in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures. It’s also now a 6-day reading plan at YouVersion.com.

People need the work that you’re doing. And that work deserves to be funded. But funding takes work too. Working for funding is a crucial part of your ministry. And like so much of ministry, God is pleased to do it through us.

Yes it takes prayer, belief, and trust in God’s provision. But it takes focused hard work too.

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How to find new donors

Marc A. Pitman — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:02:45 +0000

Every so often, like last spring, I get calls from potential clients desperately hoping I will give them donors. It’s like they think I have some sort of “magic Rolodex” that I’ll offer them, a list of people anxiously looking for worthy causes to give to.

I’ve never found that Rolodex. Fundraising is a long game of building relationships and proving your impact. There are billions of dollars that will be given away this year. But you have to earn it. It takes work.

Part of the work is doing your mission incredibly well. That’s the fun part. The other part is doing the work of funding that mission. And for the vast amount of charities I work with, that funding is from individual donors.

A couple months ago, I asked my colleagues: What do YOU say when asked “Where do you find donors?”

There are close to two dozen comments. I was relieved (but not surprised) to see that the answers were similar to what I was saying. The answers were more or less variations on: work out from your inner circle and keep building connections.

One reply that came to me via email but didn’t make it to the LinkedIn post was from Simone Joyaux. She wrote:

“Ah yes, the constant question. People asked me that yesterday in Italy at the Festivale del Fundraising. I always say:

First, people pay attention to what interests them. They do NOT pay attention to that which does not interest them. The job of fundraising is to find those who are interested in your particular cause.

Second, do NOT trespass on your personal and professional relationships. You know what interests your friends – and that may (or may NOT) be a cause that you cherish. Your job as a fundraiser and as a board member is to adopt as a lifestyle listening to others, finding out their interests, sharing yours, and building links as appropriate. Do NOT ask people to give money because they like you.

So that’s my summary! And this is a long and sometimes fun and sometimes tedious process.”

Fundraising isn’t about winning the lottery. At least sustainable fundraising isn’t. It’s about building relationships and discovering new friends and funders.

In the responses, I was dismayed to see that we nonprofits can treat major donors with the same unrealistic, desperation-motivated expectation of having a magic Rolodex. Ruth Ann Harnisch said:

“I agree, Marc – as a donor who has given some major gifts, I’m often treated as if I’m stingy for not turning over that mythical magical Rolodex you reference.

Or as if I must surely have a treasure map to the secret pile of donor money.

Or as if all of my friends have millions of discretionary dollars just sitting around waiting for a good cause to appear.

When people ask me where they can find donors, I ask, “If you are having so much trouble getting support from your current stakeholders, clients, donors, directors, and their circles of friends and associates, why does the organization deserve to exist?”

The world is full of great causes, great ideas, great needs. Not every nonprofit can attract enough support to continue operations. Them’s the grits.” [emphasis added]

Them is the grits. But rather than letting them be depressing, use them to spur you on to revisiting the basics of:

Listening more

Remember that old saying of having two ears and one mouth? This week, try listening to others twice as much as you talk about your cause. See how many more people find you interesting as you get interested in them.
Focusing on your family

Are your current stakeholders donating? If not, go to them and practice step 1: Listen. Find out why not. Be prepared to have a thick skin. Some of the feedback may be hard to hear. But it will be worth it if you cause is going to have a shot at existing over the longterm.
Asking your donors to introduce you to others

Not in the cloying, “you’re holding out on us” way Ruth described, but in a way filled with gratitude for their support. Most won’t ask their friends for you. But many will be willing to host a gathering to introduce your cause to them.

That will get you started. Be sure to read all of the answers to “Where do you find new donors” over at LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/answers/non-profit/non-profit-fundraising/NNP_FUN/835452-8616660.

I’ve reopened the question so feel free to add your thoughts as well!

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You’ve gotta focus

Marc A. Pitman — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:39:55 +0000

I’m currently teaching a college course on internet marketing. This week I’m really pushing them to define their target market.

Most of them are trying to say, “Really, my market is everybody.”

Are you doing this with your fundraising?

If you are, “marketing to everyone” is a sure way to fail.

Here’s what I posted in the class forum:

You’ll find, when you market to “everybody” you end up reaching nobody.

The more focused your message can be, the more likely it will break through all the noise.

The great thing, if you do focus, others outside of your demographic will
1. be as likely to hear the message as they were before
and
2. be far more likely to refer your ideal demographic to you!

To get clear on their target market, I’m pushing them to identify:

the age
gender
marital/life stage status
neighborhood
income level
number of kids
and interests

Then I want them to give the person a name.

Do you agree? Let’s have a conversation in the comments below.

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3 New (fiscal) Year Resolutions

Marc A. Pitman — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:04:40 +0000

Happy New Year!

Yes, I know it’s not a “new year” to everyone. But a substantial majority of FundraisingCoach.com’s readers ended their fiscal year last week. So in that spirit, here are three New Year Resolutions to help you make the next 12 months more productive and fulfilling.

Resolve to say “thank you” more often

We humans love hearing the words “thank you.” Try it. You’ll often see people stand a little taller. Smiles creep across their faces. A sense of peace come over them.

To get you started, I did a quick thank you to fundraisers video last week. In fact, you might want to play with video. A year ago, my friend Jon Swanson sent me a quick video thanking me. It is one of the most thoughtful things I’ve seen. (He used a Flip and posted it privately so only a person with the link could view it.)
Resolve to stay educated

Fundraising professionals should be up-to-date with the best research to help fund their causes. In a recent post, Tom Ahern ponders why so many fundraisers aren’t trusted by their bosses or boards. After all, a hospital CEO wouldn’t tell the clinical director of a medical unit how to do the technical aspects of her job. Why is it that fundraisers aren’t held in that same regard?

One reason is we’re so busy with the process of raising funds, that we’re not taking time to keep up with the research and the literature. Stephen Covey calls that “sharpening the saw.” We need to periodically take time to sharpen the saw. When we do, we find our work getting done much more quickly and with less effort.

I recently heard Simone Joyaux tell board members to be asking fundraisers what they’re reading. As a professional, each fundraiser should have an answer. What would yours be?
- What blogs do you check in to?
- What emails are you signed up for? Enewsletters? Movie Mondays?
- What fundraising and marketing books have you assigned for yourself this year?
- Are you reading the Chronicle of Philanthropy?
This isn’t meant to overwhelm you. This is for your benefit. That way, when you say, “We need to have a PS on this letter” and your board or ED says “no.” You can cite articles, eye-motion studies, and research that says, yes you need a PS. That the PS is the most important part of your letter. Being able to show them the statistics helps show them that you are the professional. And it will raise more money for your cause.

Last month, I wrote an article on ideas for ongoing education for fundraising teams. Feel free to start there.
Resolve to ask more

Asking is the reason people give. So ask more often. Ask more creatively. Ask different people.

Studies consistently show that if you mail the same letter to the same group of people multiple times, you will get more gifts than if you simply mail it once. Why not experiment with a letter a month? Just test it. Or commit to asking every donor, “Who else should we be involving?” Or having your board members host cocktail parties.

What if you committed to doing something you didn’t like at least once a week? Don’t like the phone? Try it each week. (Here are some phone calling tips to help you.) Don’t like handwriting appeals? Schedule some weekly time to do it.

Whatever you do, resolve to asking more.

Those are three resolutions I recommend. Even if this isn’t a new fiscal year for you, it’s ok to make resolutions mid-year.

What resolutions would you add?

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Fundraising interview on The Pulse Network

Marc A. Pitman — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 20:39:23 +0000

Can’t view the video? Go here: http://thepulsenetwork.com/technology/new-england-xpo-for-business/butch-interviews-marc-pitman/

Last month, I was with Chris Brogan’s Human Business Works team at the New England Business Xpo. I had the chance to sit down and talk with Butch Stearns, the COO of The Pulse Network.

In this fast-paced, 5-minute interview, we talk about fundraising, 501 Mission Place, and even the International Bowling Expo!

Enjoy!

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Where do you find new donors?

Marc A. Pitman — Wed, 18 May 2011 01:32:47 +0000

I love LinkedIn Answers! Answering other people questions is nice. But I love seeing people’s answers to questions I ask.

I’m currently asking What do YOU say when asked “Where do you find donors?”.

You see, I work with a lot of start-up nonprofits. And many, many of them seem to think I have a “magic rolodex” of donors just itching to give away their money. So they ask me, “Where do I find donors?” But they get frustrated when I say, “You give. Then ask, who do you know? Ask them for a gift and then ask who do they know? Then ask them for a gift and also ask who they know.”

It’s like I’m somehow letting them down. Similar to when people ask how to get donations but get frustrated when I tell them they’re going to have to ask.

But the answers over on LinkedIn are quite refreshing. See them for yourself over at: What do YOU say when asked “Where do you find donors?”

And while you’re there, share your answer!

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FundraisingCoach.com » 1. Research

Google+ for Nonprofits at BlogWorld Expo in LA

Top 10 Blog Posts in 2011

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

An interview with Get Fully Funded author Sandy Rees

Fundraising Myth: If we build it, God will fund it

If we build it, God will fund it

Sowing and reaping takes work

We’re His hands and feet

How to find new donors

Listening more

Focusing on your family

Asking your donors to introduce you to others

You’ve gotta focus

3 New (fiscal) Year Resolutions

Resolve to say “thank you” more often

Resolve to stay educated

Resolve to ask more

What resolutions would you add?

Fundraising interview on The Pulse Network

Where do you find new donors?