Fund Development
Non-profit donor development: how to create the romance and relationship
Donor development is like building any other relationship; it takes an investment of time, talent and resources. Today’s donors have many options and many causes in which to invest their resources. Donors are consumers or customers for all intents and purposes and they will give their business to the organization that gives them the biggest bang for the buck. That is why we cannot do anything less than earn their trust and confidence.
Successful donor development requires Connection, Communications and Celebration. So how does the understaffed, under-trained and under-equipped nonprofit make this happen? How does the “change-the-world” entrepreneur™ find the time to devote such attention to fewer than 20% of the organization’s donors? And how does the Board focus on what appears to be a high maintenance group?
The solution is a very intentional focus between the Board of Directors and the operating executives: more macro-governance in exchange for less micro-management by the Board. This does not at all remove donor development from the Board, but establishes clearer lines of focus. The “change-the-world” entrepreneur™ becomes the Chief Development Officer, with the primary responsibility to develop the strategy for the organization.
The Connection Strategy:
Discover – the source of donors (the evolution of the internet)
- Donors have matured in the use of the internet
- Donors expect informative and functional websites
- Donors now come from all corners of the globe
Develop – the initial contact material
- Donors expect clarity and professionalism
- Donors expect a quick reply to inquiries
- Donors expect to see creativity in attracting new donors
Deploy – the organization’s uniqueness
- What make your organization different from others who provide similar services?
- What is your organization doing to collaborate with other nonprofits?
- What is your organization doing to establish your identifiable brand?
The Communication Strategy:
Discover – how to cultivate the compelling stories
- What are the stories that convey the mission of the organization?
- What are the stories that impact the culture you serve?
- Study the marketplace for latest trends
Develop – the effective way to communicate to different donor levels
- Formal letters, handwritten notes
- Social media, e-mails
- Website updates
Deploy – establish a consistent communication schedule
- Do not let internal issues distract from communication
- Do not let budget constraints change your plan
- Do not let bad news stop communication.
The Celebration Strategy:
Discover – who do you need to celebrate with
- Know your database
- Know your community
- Know your collaborating organizations
Develop – how to standout from the crowd
- Utilize the latest in technology
- High visual impact
- Demonstrate the value of donors dollars
Deploy – engage first, fund-raise second
- Engage all levels of the donors
- Engage the organization staff
- Engage the organization’s Board of Directors.
The three strategies to Connect, Communicate and Celebrate will give you the steps to create the romance with your donors and enable the relationship to go beyond a single charitable contribution. The action item connected with the above strategies will bring an integrated approach to building the sustainable relationship with your donors.
Your organization will overcome the typical industry constraints that are internal vs external to be successful in donor development. Your intentionality with coordinating executive, finance and operations will bring your organization to enjoy the appeal of the romance and the benefits of a healthy relationship with donors.
Nonprofit impact: How do you know your nonprofit organization has actually impacted the culture?
Every nonprofit organization has been created to address a social cause or respond to a compelling need. The vision and mission statement articulate the purpose of the organization. The strategic plan outlines the steps to get from the current to the future. The financial statements and budgets keep score on the funding, the accountability communication plan keeps all of the stakeholders informed of the progress and the detailed matrix reports keep track of how many have participated in all of the programs.
But there is one very big question generally not addressed: Have you changed the DNA of a culture? Put another way, “Have you permanently changed the way they think with their brain and the way they feel with their heart?”
While every purpose-driven organization needs to meet certain goals and objectives, measured by various matrix and measurement tools, the social entrepreneur needs to also consider the “social change” aspect of their mission. This is not as measurable in many cases as the success of matrix and measurement tools. Perhaps the social impact is the “by-product of success” of all of the above.
As an example, let’s look at an after-school program five and ten years after a student’s completion of the program and ask the question, “What have the participants done after program completion?”
• How many students have gone on to secondary education?
- How many students have gone on in the field of education?
- How many students have turned to help others in their educational needs?
• Who are the current leaders of the organization?
- Are the same founding leaders in place?
- Are the leaders products of the program?
- Are the organizational leaders from the culture being served?
• Who have become the primary funders of the organization?
- Are the same funders carrying the vision?
- Are any of the funders products of the program?
- Are the organizational funders from the culture being served?
• What is the public perception of the organization?
- Has the community been brought into the vision?
- Have the people completing the program been brought into the vision?
- Has the vision been adopted as theirs, from the culture being served?
While the topic of cultural change or social impact is not very easy to define or measure, these are the nuggets every non-profit wants to capture, the facts that will set one organization apart from the rest. These are the facts that will give compelling evidence that a particular nonprofit is worthy of the investments of individuals, the community and any other funders.
Many organizations can look back and see in their mind’s eye the outstanding individuals who have gone on to success as a result of the program. Not many can show a trackable path of success for the majority.
Here are three sure-fire ways to document social impact and cultural change that will change the future of your nonprofit organization.
- Create and maintain a trackable method of each participant from the day they start in the program.
- Create a written survey of 10 (or fewer) questions to be given to program participants every three months.
- Create a semi-annual town-hall open format of the community served to solicit their input.
The social impact and cultural change of a community served will generate substantial funding to establish endowments and bring the organization into perpetuity. Nonprofits that are successful in documenting such social impact and cultural change will become truly sustainable.
