Build Your Fundraising Capacity!
Working closely with staff and boards, Janet Levine Consulting will help you increase fundraising capacity and build sustainability. Our philosophy is one of collaboration, where together we develop and implement comprehensive programs that fit the needs and resources of your organization. Call or email today for your FREE 30-minute consultation
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GET GRANTS!
A comprehensive and easy-to-follow guide to writing winning proposals that will teach you to:
--Assess your organizational readiness for grant funding
--Develop programs that are fundable
--Turn those programs in successful grant proposals
--Find appropriate funders |
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Greetings!
My husband, the engineer, is a gadget guy. He loves gizmos, devices, tools. I, on the other hand, tend to be more minimalist. Less is generally better in my world. But then, every so often, I am reminded about the value of having the right tool, gadget, gizmo.  Like, right after we came back from London, I came home to him unpacking a new coffee grinder. As I had what I thought was a perfectly fine coffee grinder, I told him to repack this one immediately and return it. He ignored me.
So what else is new?
I told him it was stupid to buy things we don't need. Like the 5 ice cream scoops, because it took him that long to find one he liked. Or the 3 can openers. Who would have thought that there was such differences in manual can openers? And don't even get me started on the stereo.
After he was finished ignoring me, he told me to "just try it." The coffee grinder. I rolled my eyes, but we've been together for 25 years and I know when I am defeated. So I tried it. It was quiet, it ground the beans. I wasn't expecting much else. And then I made the coffee. What can I say? It was almost a religious experience.
So I get it. The right tools will make a huge difference in your results. For fundraising those tools include a compelling case statement and a plan. You'll also need:
- A broad and diverse funding base
- A relatively large prospect pool
- A way to continuously grow that prospect pool
- Numerous cultivation opportunities
- A strong stewardship program
- A board that understands its fundraising obligations
- Someone who will orchestrate all fundraising activities
Having the right tools will improve your fundraising-but only if you use those tools correctly. My coffee grinder has 10 settings for grinds. According to the specialty coffee advisor, "<T>he tricky thing about how to grind coffee is that it must be ground specific to your preferred brewing method." In other words, the tool must match your needs. For fundraising, too often the need is defined as a dollar amount. I would argue that committed donors, passionate volunteers, a mission that matter, and results that make a difference are all far more important.
Knowing exactly what matters is what makes the difference. Then you can identify the right tools-and with those, it is only a matter of practice until it all is perfect.
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Need help in increasing your fundraising capacity or getting your Board to participate? Help is here. Email me or call 310-990-9151.
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Creating a Policy Focus for Your Board
Mitch Dorger is the principal of Dorger Consulting. He is a specialist at improving organizational effectiveness, particularly nonprofit organizations. He can be reached at mitch@dorger.com or 626-255-5832.
Consultants who write about the best practices for boards of directors highlight the three primary areas where boards should focus their attention: vision and strategy, policy determination, and oversight. In my experience, the hardest of these for boards to actually handle is determining policy and maintaining a policy focus.
A few years back when I was still a chief executive officer, I led an effort to get my board to establish and document the policies that were needed to govern the organization. What existed in the organization at the time were two things. The first was a series of oral myths that were passed down from chairman to chairman that we referred to as "Old Spanish Customs." In most cases, no one knew why these customs existed or even if they were still appropriate.
The second thing posing as policy was a series of standing operating procedures. You know - "We've always done it that way." No one was critically examining these practices to see if they needed to be modified or even abandoned to meet the realities of the times. There were very few actual policies in place.
When I talked to the board about creating a policy focus, there was some confusion about what policies are and what they are not. They are not "Old Spanish Customs" or existing practices. Instead, they are well thought-out direction from the leadership of the organization telling the operational managers of the organization how the future activities of the organization should be carried out. Policies can come in a variety of forms including bylaws, organizational policy manuals, and other policies adopted by the board. Things that are notpolicy are day-to-day board decisions, non-mandatory guidelines or suggestions, or operating practices.
So why have policies? The simple answer is that clear, concise and current policies improve the overall management of the organization. The collection of these policies describes the acceptable bounds for management action. By having these documented, not only does the board know what it is saying to the operation managers, but it speaks with one voice - avoiding a problem that many organizations have with multiple sources of policy guidance. Moreover, most managers appreciate operating in an environment of clear policies because they know the boundaries of the executive authority while at the same time having room to use their own judgment and experience within the bounds of the policy limits.
When developing the policies for an organization leaders should consider five criteria for developing effective policies. First, the policy should not be situation specific. I remember one board member several years ago who said something like, "We don't need policies, every decision the board makes is policy. That's all we need." Not true! Most board decisions are not policies, they are situation specific judgments based on a unique set of circumstances. ( READ MORE)
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Helping Your Donors Plan Their Giving
Planned giving is traditionally the primary method organizations use  to build endowments. Strong endowments allow organizations to weather bad financial storms and build for their future. They are long-term investments; gifts where the amount contributed is put into an investment fund generally in perpetuity. And while endowments help organization build for the long-haul, they actually help to also build longer-term relationships with those endowment donors. As an added bonus, it has been my experience that a strong planned giving program also increases and strengthens an organization's annual giving.
The planned giving program should involve a number of giving vehicles:
- Outright gifts of cash and stock
- Real estate
- Bequests
- Life Insurance
- Charitable Trusts
- Retirement plans
- Real property
While the details of the various planned giving vehicles can be daunting, it is not necessary for staff or volunteers to know the legal and financial intricacies. What is necessary is to have an understanding that these vehicles exist, which would be of interest to what prospect groups, and who are the experts that you can call on. (READ MORE)
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Building a Successful Fundraising Program
When I was Dean for External Relations at a community college, I managed 9 programs and had 22 staff members-only two of whom were managers. This meant that for 7 of the nine programs in my portfolio, I was the manager as well as the Dean. My days, therefore, were crowded with...what else?...meetings, and fundraising was that city on the hill far, far in the distance. I asked my president to PLEASE either free me up to work with my foundation board and fundraise, or allow me to hire a development director. He, of course had a better idea-"Let's get together with Steve Sample (then president of USC) an find out how HE fundraises."
I worked at USC for years; I knew why they were such a successful fundraising powerhouse, but my boss did not believe me. That is cautionary tale # 1. Tale number 2 is that when we met with President Sample, he was very articulate about what it takes to raise money-and he had no magic bullets, which annoyed my president. My president had been hoping to hear about the one thing-preferably something that didn't involve him-that would ensure that we could raise a lot of money with a minimum of effort and resources and which, by the way, would cost us exactly nothing. Good luck!
I spent nearly 20 years working primarily in higher education-both private and public institutions, research universities, community colleges and finally as VP of Advancement at one of the CSU's. In my practice, I work with a lot of different kinds of nonprofits. What I've learned over time, is that there is a commonality within organizations that are successfully raising major gifts:
- Successful fundraising starts at the top
- There is a well-resourced development department, and leadership is clear about the value of the development department.
- Development must sit at the table with programs and administration. They need to be a team-teamwork is really necessary for fundraising to succeed.
- The development director MUST be not just invited to be at Board meetings but be on the agenda for every single meeting.
- Successful fundraising programs, have the support of the board-and the willingness of the board to participate in all aspects of development
- Those boards who get regular training AND individual coaching are truly successful.
So-a CEO who leads, a board who is enthusiastic and well trained.,enough staff to train, manage and facilitate the board and the CEO's fundraising efforts. What else? (READ MORE)
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- Are your fundraising results down?
 - Board members bored?
- Are you thinking about a campaign?
- Or perhaps you need individual fundraising coaching!
Whatever your capacity building needs, Janet Levine Consulting can help.
Send me an email or give me a call at 310-990-9151 to schedule a free 30-minute consultation.
I look forward to meeting with you.
Sincerely, 
Janet
Janet Levine
Janet Levine Consulting
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