Fundraising For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Getting Started with Fundraising
Chapter 1 Fundraising Continuously During Economic Fluctuations
Looking Ahead and Planning for Revenue Ups and Downs
Creating a contingency plan for the continuation of services
Preparing your board and staff for organizational survival
Coping with staff reductions and shrinking budgets
Finding partner organizations and revenue sources
Making Revenue-Producing Changes
Whittling down your mission
Paring your services (or pairing up to provide them!)
Nurturing the donor-organization relationship
Turning to cost-effective processes
Touting Your Successes and Building Supportive Relationships
Telling your story well
Engaging people who care
Developing relationships with key businesses and funders
Doing Your Best to Bring In the Dollars
Preparing Now for When Things Start Looking Up
Laying the groundwork to take advantage of an economic recovery
Moving forward with hope
Giving from a belief in abundance
Creativity and the power of collaboration
Weathering the storm
Chapter 2 Embracing Fundraising with a Passion
Sparking Fundraising Action
Remembering why you signed on
Helping your donors catch the spark
Talking the fundraising talk
Building on Passion in the Nonprofit World
Competing for dollars
Keeping your organization going
Maximizing Social Media Visibility
Chapter 3 All About Attitude: Fundraising Issues and Ethics
Inspiring or Selling: The Fundraising Debate Continues
Living with the stigma
Combining sales and ideals
Adhering to the Ethics of Fundraising
Finding organizations with ethical standards
Familiarizing yourself with the fundraiser’s credo
Breaking Down Fundraising Myths
Myth 1: It’s all about the money
Making money is the whole point
Sharing concerns and a willingness to help is the main goal
Myth 2: You lie to get what you want
A white lie for a good cause is okay
Slick may sell, but authenticity wins the day
Myth 3: Your donor owes the world something
It’s about time the rich started giving to the poor
The best donations benefit both the giver and the organization
Chapter 4 Winning with Words: Your Case Statement
Stating Your Case
Understanding what the case statement is and how you use it
Getting started with your case statement
Making the Case Compelling
Developing a Case Statement: A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: The mission: Why are you here?
Getting a clear view of your mission
Seeing how a fictional nonprofit defines and refines its mission
Step 2: The goals: What do you want to accomplish?
Step 3: The SMART objectives: How will you reach your goals?
Step 4: Programs: What exactly do you provide?
Step 5: Governance: What’s the anatomy of your board?
Step 6: Staff: Who are the people behind your services?
Step 7: Location: Where do you live and work?
Step 8: Finances: Is your organization financially responsible?
Step 9: Development: What will you do in the future?
Step 10: History: What successes are you building on?
Giving Life to an Outdated Case Statement
Sharing Your Case Statement
Formatting your case
Putting the case statement to work: From paper to online posts
Chapter 5 Organizing Your Cheerleaders: Board Members and Volunteers
Seeing the Big Picture: How Boards and Fundraising Fit Together
Understanding the board’s duties
Knowing how your role fits with the board’s work
Teaming with the Board to Advance Your Cause
Helping the board help you in fundraising
Balancing the attraction of high-profile board members
Guiding Your Board through Tough Decisions
Slating and prioritizing your issues
Knowing when to use reserved funds
Figuring out when to launch into unchartered waters
Helping your organization find clarity in challenging times
Recognizing the True Value of Volunteers
Seeking volunteers
Establishing a relationship of mutual respect
Training your volunteers as fundraisers
Making use of baby boomers: Retirees as volunteers
Chapter 6 Creating a Fundraising Plan
Drafting the Perfect Fundraising Plan
Starting with the case statement
Identifying your goals
Building a needs statement
Assessing your existing resources
Determining what you need
Setting your financial targets
Putting the all-powerful giving pyramid to work
Getting started with the right methods
Understanding the different fundraising methods
Creating a method comparison worksheet
Discovering fundraising markets
Avoiding Plan Busters Like the Plague
Budgeting Your Fundraising Efforts
Making sure you include everything in your budget . . . but don’t overbudget
Figuring out the cost of raising money
Turning Elsewhere for Assistance
Knowing when to outsource
Using affordable and functional fundraising software
Part 2 Identifying Potential Donors and Rallying for Their Support
Chapter 7 Mining for Donors
Finding Your Stakeholders
Recognizing Your Bread and Butter: Individual Donors
Understanding donor levels
Identifying potential donors
Doing Business with Corporate Donors
Finding Foundations That Care
Asking Your Board All the Right Questions
Where did you forget to expand your donor base?
Whom did you forget to ask?
Checking Out Potential Donors
Pursuing promising prospects
Finding the silver lining with unlikely prospects
Researching the Internet Way
Keeping Track of Your Organization’s Donors and Their Contributions
Creating an effective donor information form
Keeping good donor records
Maintaining Confidence: The Issues and Ethics of Handling Personal Data
Chapter 8 Meeting Your Donor with Grace and Grit
Evaluating the Importance of a Visit
Preparing to Meet Potential Donors
Examining the Giving Relationship between the Donor and the Organization
Showing donors the value of their gifts
Getting more than money from your donors
Checking out what motivates giving consistency
Considering Your Donor’s Context
Engaging potential donors with limited means (for now)
Connecting with affluent donors
Meeting reluctant retirees on their level
Cultivating the Initial Donor-Organization Relationship
Chapter 9 Cultivating Major Givers
Seeking a Major Gift Today for Tomorrow
Finding the Holy Grail of Fundraising: The Major Gift
Planning your way to major gifts
Reviving your pool of current donors
Targeting your major gifts
Cultivating new and existing donors who have a lot to give
Cultivating major donors in seven steps
Building a giving club
Recognizing Major Donors for Their Contributions
Meeting your donors’ expectations
Providing donor recognition
Chapter 10 Making the Major Gift Ask
Pushing through the Fear by Focusing on the Greater Goal
Accepting that you have to talk about money
Understanding that no doesn’t equal failure
Remembering that you’re a donor, too
Checking Out Your Attitudes about Money
True or false: Money is an exchange mechanism
True or false: Money is the root of all evil
True or false: Money can’t buy happiness
True or false: Money talks
Choosing the Right People to Make the Ask
Teaming up for dollars
Flying solo
Developing the Mechanics of Asking
Recognizing the equitable exchange
Using the tools of the trade
Knowing the donor
Checking out each step of “the Ask”
Moving Beyond No
Rating Your Yes-Ability
Following Up after “the Ask”
Chapter 11 Writing Winning Grant Proposals to Reach Your Fundraising Goal
Getting a Grip on Grants
Identifying Different Grant Givers
Choosing the Right Project to Be Funded
Starting from the ground up: Seed money
Expanding your reach: Program funds
Building for the future: Capital campaigns
Laying the Groundwork for Grant Seeking
Turning to your board for support
Developing a grant proposal writing strategy
Finding the Right Funder
Starting your search for funders
Using local sources first
Working your way away from home
Digging deeper to find the right grantor
Inquiring about Letters of Inquiry and Grant Guidelines
Getting Down to Business: Writing the Proposal
Creating a comprehensive cover letter
Providing an overview with the executive summary
Introducing your idea
Sharing your organization’s history
Stating your program’s needs
Outlining program goals, objectives, and evaluations
Detailing the program budget and budget narrative
Explaining your leadership, staffing, and location
Including the necessary extras
Following Up on Your Proposal
Putting a Positive Spin on No
Seeing Your Grant as a Relationship
Part 3 Sharing the Organization’s Story and Building Its Brand
Chapter 12 Connecting for Potential Donor Awareness: Sharing Your Story
Thinking through Your Communications Strategy
Evaluating your communications costs
Considering your communications options
Crafting a communications approach
The list! The list! Pull out your donor list!
Printing Only What You Need
Showing progress with an annual report
Taking the Direct (Mail) Approach
When direct mail works: Asking current donors to give again
When the most direct mail is email
Figuring out what to send
To Call or Not to Call
Making your callers the good guys
Knowing your no-call responsibilities
Working the phones with a positive attitude
Chapter 13 Projecting Your Organization’s Image in the Media
Getting Positive Media Exposure for Your Organization
Realizing what the media can do for you
Making the first contact
Coming up with story ideas for the media
Working in Sound Bites: PSAs
Looking Good on Television
Seeking airtime on the small screen
Preparing for a television interview
Remembering on-air cues
Taking Advantage of Print Opportunities
Making yourself quotable
Fixing mistakes in print
Leveraging Online Coverage
Posting your story everywhere
Filling a need for news with blogs and articles
Crisis Control: When Media Attention Is Unwanted
Getting the crisis under control fast
Drafting a disaster control plan for board approval
Chapter 14 Social Media Networking to Build Potential Donor Awareness
Getting Started with Social Media
Surveying the basics of social media
Identifying who uses social media and what they can do for your organization
Building a Community of Stakeholders Who Care
Feeling all a-Twitter
Connecting to past, present, and potential stakeholders on LinkedIn
Sharing the love on Facebook
Maximizing branding with Instagram
Understanding What Your Social Media Users Want
Visibility and voice: Here we are!
Engagement and opportunity: Let me help
The freedom to choose: I want it my way
Taking the Plunge into Social Media
Making sure your messages work together
Tracking and evaluating results
Creating credibility and security in social media
The Big Dilemma: To Ask or Not to Ask?
Chapter 15 Perfecting Electronic Communications
Making the Case for Email
Being Smart about Email Campaigns
Figuring out who should receive your emails
Knowing what to say
Writing an email that gets the results you’re looking for
Using email to build your donor relationship
Using email to find volunteers
Writing an email that gets the results you’re looking for
Avoiding Email Mistakes
Don’t use email to spam
Don’t be a sloppy emailer
Understanding the Power of E-Newsletters
Catering to your donors’ interests
Creating your e-newsletter
Adding multimedia pizzazz
Automating e-newsletter delivery
Keeping your readers mesmerized and engaged
Chapter 16 Ramping Up Your Website
Seeing How a Website Helps with Fundraising
Putting Your Website to Work for Your Organization
Evaluating your website
Building credibility for your organization
Adding Content and Keeping It Fresh
Putting your contact information front and center
Including information that saves time
Spreading the work around
Using existing resources
Linking to content on other websites
Considering the value of online media
Attracting Visitors to Your Site
Showing up in search engine results
Getting linked by other sites
Collecting Donations Online
Chapter 17 Spotlighting Your Brand Online
Knowing Your Branding Basics
Assessing Your Brand
Tweaking your brand
Developing brand strategies
Blogging Your Way to Funds
Figuring the cost of blogs
Building your brand with an effective blog
Publishing Online to Boost Your Branding and Credibility
Getting published
Creating good online content
Joining Online Communities: Discussion Groups
Checking out nonprofit discussion groups
Promoting yourself through discussion groups
Partnering Online through Affinity Programs
Connecting with People through Association and Special-Interest Sites
Part 4 Engaging Donors with the Right Campaigns
Chapter 18 Organizing, Implementing, and Celebrating Your Annual Fund
Understanding the Basics of Annual Funds
Designing Your Annual Campaign
Setting your goals
Timing your annual fund
Assembling your team
Choosing the team leader
Putting your team in place
Creating a successful team
Choosing your fundraising tools
Meeting face to face
Making personal calls
Writing personal correspondence
Sending email
Sponsoring special events
Going door to door
Using direct mail
Using social media to spread the word
Getting on TV and radio
Rating your organization
Putting the Plan in Place
Understanding your approach: Donor research and planning
Choosing your materials
Recognizing the five signs your plan is falling flat (and what to do about it)
Evaluating (And Celebrating) Your Annual Fund Drive
Planning for the Next Annual Campaign
Chapter 19 Planning a Successful Special Event
Seeing How a Special Event Benefits Your Organization
Planning, Planning, Planning!
Putting together the best team
Selecting an event
Deciding the when and where
Setting expectations
Budgeting for the special event
Setting a timeline
Organizing an Online Event
Using webinars to inform and persuade
Chatting online with celebrities
Following Up after the Big Event
Measuring goodwill
Evaluating the event’s outcomes
Saying “Thank you!”
Gathering event lessons for next time
Chapter 20 Asking for the Big Bucks: The Capital Campaign
Gearing Up for the Big Campaign
Exploring Capital Campaign Types
Building bricks-and-mortar campaigns
Checking out endowment campaigns
Putting together project campaigns
Running combined campaigns
Selecting a Champion
Staging the Campaign
Testing the waters: Campaign feasibility
Setting your goal
Identifying lead gifts and challenge gifts
Going public
Following up with your capital campaign
Debriefing everybody
Chapter 21 Securing the Big Three: Major Gifts, Planned Gifts, and Challenge Grants
Making a Perfect Match
Deciding on the major gift amounts for your organization
Getting to the heart of the major giver
The give-and-take in a major campaign
Corporate giving and cause-related major gifts
Valuing the relationship: Stewardship in action
Creating a major gift strategy
Preparing for Planned Gifts
Getting the gift that keeps on giving
Differentiating planned giving from other types of giving
Timing is key: Knowing when to start
Gearing up for planned giving
Starting with your board
Creating a plan for planned gifts and choosing gifts for the plan
Marketing the plan to the giving public
Making Money Go the Extra Mile: Challenge Grants
Understanding how challenge grants work
Managing a challenge grant
Chapter 22 Tapping into Corporate Givers
Understanding the Attitudes behind Corporate Giving
Making a difference in the community
You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours: Cause-related marketing
Finding the Right Corporations for Your Organization
Using the local community hook
Focusing on where the CEO’s heart lies
Finding out what serves the company’s interests
Approaching a Corporate Donor
Researching the corporation ahead of time
Knowing your value to the donor
Putting together your presentation
Following up in a businesslike way
Chapter 23 Building and Growing an Endowment
Endowing the Future
Understanding what an endowment is
Deciding whether you can (and should) build an endowment
Building an Endowment
Getting your board to buy in
Explaining the value to donors
Making an endowment part of your overall fundraising effort
Managing an Endowment
Providing oversight and establishing policies
Seeking professional help to manage endowment dollars
Part 5 The Part of Tens
Chapter 24 Ten Fundraising Resources for New Nonprofit Organizations
Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
BoardSource
Donorbox
Qgiv
Springly
DonorPerfect
Bloomerang
Personify WildApricot
Double the Donation
Grant Writing For Dummies
Chapter 25 Ten Snippets of Powerful Fundraising Communications
“How about a little good news?”
“Would you like to watch the birth of a baby panda?”
“Hi, Ms. Scott. I just left a meeting where we were discussing . . .”
“I recently visited the program you sponsored. Very inspiring! Can I show it to you when you’re available?”
“Now, how can I help you?”
“Research shows that giving is good for your longevity.”
“You have no idea how much impact your last gift made for our organization and the clients we serve!”
“More people go to zoos today than go to all sports activities combined.”
“Seven out of ten of our city’s families use our organization’s services in their lifetime.”
“Hey, I just received this great sculpture! The new wing of the Eric Moss Historical Museum is finished!”
“Cute cat!”
Index
EULA