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| | A Message from Atul Tandon |
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Meeting of the minds with Major Markets and key RD VPs
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July 2010 was an interesting month for the United Way system. Two important meetings took place: the Executive Resource Development Institute Meeting in Boston (July 13-15) and the Major Markets Meeting in Chicago (July 14-15). Several key points bubbled up in both.
1) We need to stop the loss of donors to United Way.
2) We need to re-engineer the workforce.
3) Community Impact colleagues need to be actively engaged in developing products and gift opportunities for donors.
Also, it was clear that both groups are pleased with the tools and resources already developed by UWW and the tools in the development process. These tools are:
-United Way Life Endless opportunities are ahead of us. It is very important that we move forward to Recruit, Retain and Grow our donors. I believe that our tools and resources will aid in doing just that and local United Ways will flourish.
-Atul
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Major Gifts & Planned Giving Staff Advisory Council meet in Alexandria | |
by Kathy Parker
Manager, Investor Relations, UWW
On Tuesday, July 27th to Thursday, July 29th, UWW's Individual Giving and Operations, Endowment & Planned Giving teams hosted their annual face-to-face meeting with the Major Gifts & Planned Giving Staff Advisory Council in Alexandria, VA. This council presents an annual Expert Exchange forum for invited major gifts and planned giving professionals to share specific best practices, learn about trends in the industry and hear from outside experts in the field. Council members had an opportunity to share best practices with some of the brightest minds in the system along with adding to our collective wisdom and re-invigorating veteran staff with new ideas and new-found energy.
The Expert Exchange provides UWW an opportunity to share how our national strategies, tools and resources can help them in their local community, as well as address challenges and provide solutions for issues faced in their communities. In addition to providing advice and counsel, Council members also serve as UWW learning course facilitators, conference presenters and mentors to others in the field. There is great value in our shared learning and we look forward to sharing with everyone some ideas generated from our Expert Exchange. Special thanks for Jacquie Hall, VP of Major Gifts, Mile High United Way, for her great leadership in chairing our Council for the last two years.
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Swimming and Fundraising: Same game, different name |
by Bentley Marane
Major Gifts Officer/Exec Dir., Planned Giving, UW Metropolitan Atlanta
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I've been swimming since I was eight years old and I always swim two to three times a week. I am on a masters swim team called the Killer Whales. That's different from a high school or a college team. In the masters program, everyone is older than 21. I am ranked 11th in the United States in my age group (65-69) for the One Hour Swim. In May, I competed in the Masters National Swimming Championships at the Georgia Tech pool (site of 1996 Olympics) and took medals for 6 out of 8 events. I really enjoy swimming and equally enjoy my job.
So, what is the best career advice I would give to someone who is just starting out in Major Gifts fundraising? And how does it relate to swimming?
Major Gifts fundraising is not for the faint of heart and neither is being a Masters swimmer! Success depends on a person's ability to continuously practice the fundamentals, all the while adding BHAGs (big, hairy, audacious goals.) You can't just make a few swims, splash around in a backyard pool and accomplish anything. You have to be consistent and persistent in order to build stamina and strength. Both of these descriptions apply equally to fundraising.
Swimming: 1st step: Plunging into the water at 5:45 a.m. as many times a week as you can drag your body out of bed. 2nd step: Stay focused on your stroke technique. Pay close attention to your breathing pattern or counting the number of strokes per lap.
Fundraising: 1st step: Showing up, making the appointment and getting in the same room as major donors, 3-4 face to face appointments per week. 2nd step: Remember first impressions are lasting impressions. When you meet a major donor, talk to him or her directly, paying close attention to their areas of interests. Remember what is mentioned and follow-up, taking advantage of opportunities to connect on a personal level.
You never know what connections they have that may lead you to a larger major gift and a more committed donor. Read more...
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Ask your Loyal Contributors! |
by Louise Kenny
Director, Loyal Contributors and Tocqueville Legacy Circle, UWW
Julie Capaldi, CPO at the United Way of Pickens County, SC was facing a drop of $50,000-$80,000 in their annual campaign. Then, on the last Friday in May, out of the blue, she received a call from a local family foundation with a "proposition" - raise $25,000 in new money by June 30 and they would match it.
Julie cancelled her vacation. She immediately made some calls and raised $5,000. She then told the story at a leadership donor thank you event and raised $2,000 more. But she still needed $18,000.
She then solicited their United Way Loyal Contributors through direct mail and received an unbelievable 75% response rate! She raised $11,000 from their Loyal Contributors!
The final result? Julie raised $36,000 and received the $25,000 match, for a total of $61,000!
The moral of the story? According to Julie, "In my years of fundraising I have never encountered a challenge match or grant. The research doesn't lie. It's your long time donors that will support you and they really love to be a part of the SOLUTION. It was incredibly motivating, even worth missing vacation."
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To everything churn, churn churn | |
Do you know what your churn rate is? Have you run your data through the Churn Tool? As a system, we've lost 3.8 million donors between 2003 and 2008. The average churn rate for metro 1 United Ways amongst leadership givers is 25%. We are losing 1 out of 4 donors each year!
Now is a great time to run your data through the Churn Tool so you can make changes that will impact this year's campaign.
 The Churn Tool can be found on the churn page on United Way Online. Just copy and paste your donor data into the tool and the Churn Tool will automatically code all your donors by a specific behavior. Then consult the Churn Matrix to find suggestions to help with each of the coded behaviors. Do you have a large number of lapsed donors? Consider personalizing a "we want you back" letter to try and win them back. Do you have a large number of donors whose gifts are declining? Try clarifying what they gave last year and ask for an increase this year.
If you have questions about the tool or how to interpret your results, please let me know. | |
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What does it take to GUARANTEE your United Way's future? |
Director, Loyal Contributors and Tocqueville Legacy Circle, UWW
Well, it takes a lot of things. A commitment to achieving your community goals. A culture and mindset to look outward to the community to engage a wide range of constituencies in working together to reach these goals. Committed volunteers to give, advocate and volunteer...and work with you to extend their influence and invite others to join them in their commitment.
Speaking of committed volunteers, did you see the July 28 webinar about volunteers leading their United Ways in building Tocqueville Legacy Circle programs? If not, please access the archived version.
These four volunteers - Jack Cross from Atlanta, Dan Kirby from Sioux Falls, SD, Pete Kirkwood from Tampa and Michael Blake from Albuquerque - are visiting long time Tocqueville Society members to invite them to perpetuate their annual Tocqueville gifts. This is a unique opportunity to listen to volunteers talk about how they are making this happen. You might want to share it with prospective volunteers who might work with you at your United Way.
If you would like a shorter "testimonial," you can access a video with Bill McBride from Tampa talking about why he perpetuated his gift or a video with Pete Genz from Atlanta talking about why he is involved in this work as well. | |
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Boomers or Bust
by Ed John
Vice Pres. IN/IR Operations, Endowment & Planned Giving, UWW
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Over the next 20 years some 70 million Boomers will be turning 65 and retiring. They will be leaving the workforce, some relocating to new communities, and many disappearing from our donor ranks. Most of the Boomers are currently in their prime earning years and represent a high proportion of our Tocqueville and Leadership donor ranks. The generation that follows is smaller, some estimate 15% to 18% fewer people, and will not be of sufficient size to replace the ranks of our boomer Tocqueville and Leadership donors. This "demographic churn" is a real challenge...but also a wonderful opportunity.  First, research indicates that Boomers are among the most receptive to the idea of making a planned gift. Much more receptive to the idea than the generation they follow. Second, our Tocqueville and Leadership Boomers are easy to identify. Even if we don't have age information in our data base, we can make educated guesses to identify Boomers. Then identify those Boomers with whom we have the best relationships. Loyal Contributor information can also be helpful in determining the Boomers who love us the most. Third, initiate a conversation with these Boomers asking if they would ever consider perpetuating their annual gift. They can do this through an outright gift, United Way Life, or a deferred gift arrangement through a retirement plan or in their estate plan. Research shows that individuals who make planned gift arrangements continue to make annual gifts throughout their lifetime...and at robust levels. So, asking Boomers to endow or perpetuate their gifts is not just a planned giving strategy....it is one of the best annual gift retention and growth strategies you have available.  | |
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Fundraising is the gentle art of teaching the joy of giving.
-Hank Rosso |
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Kye Fox and the "Calling for 2-1-1 Act " |
by Linda Paulson
Dir., Strategic Mkts, UWW | |
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Kye Fox | |
Kye Fox and the National Women's Leadership Council has made the passing of the "Calling for 2-1-1" Act a key advocacy priority and has called on Congress to pass the bill. Your members of Congress are home for August recess, so please remind them to tell their Leadership to bring S.211 or H.R.211 to a vote in September. Read Kye's article in The Huffington Post. | |
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