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!
I've always been a person who has learned more from failure (or at least the possibility of failure) than from success. My greatest  fundraising lesson came mercifully early in my development career when I almost turned a potential large and loyal donor into a one- visit experience.
That she was a generous and wise philanthropist was my saving grace.
She was the widow of a corporate executive I had done a lot of work with. His company was a big donor to my institution and I had finally approached him for a personal gift. His fatal heart attack ended that.
Several months after his funeral, I called his widow and invited her to lunch. She accepted.
The lunch was lovely. At the start, I asked her how she was doing and what she was doing. She told me that she had decided to renovate her Palos Verdes home. We talked about the renovation through our entrée and into coffee, until she firmly put her coffee cup down.
"You don't do this a lot, do you?" she asked not unkindly.
To say I was taken aback would be an understatement, but truth be told, I really didn't. I was the director of corporate relations and that was a role where I felt very comfortable. I understood how to find the needs and connect the various parts of the corporation with our faculty, our students, our administration. I "got" the business piece of it. But I clearly didn't get this personal relationship stuff.
She set about to teach me.
Learn what I learned in the article, Lessons Learned.
But before you get to that, I'm really excited to have an article by Amy Schiffman of The Giving Tree Associates. Amy is an amazing trainer and wonderful consultant who is going to explain why we are STILL talking about Annual Campaigns.
And Sherri Morr will be sharing with you what she has learned over many years of job searching in the nonprofit sector.
While I've still got your attention, do have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
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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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Why We Won't Stop Talking About Annual Campaigns
Before founding The Giving Tree Associates in 2008, Amy Schiffman was Director of Development at Ida Crown Jewish Academy, where she managed capital, annual, corporate, foundation, major gift, endowed and planned giving programs. With over 20 years in the nonprofit sector, Amy has helped her clients raise tens of millions of dollars.
Yes, last year (ok, maybe more like the last 3) no one would stop talking about "stewardship". And the 3 before that it was all about "cultivation". This year we at Giving Tree Associates are spending a heck of a lot of time talking to our clients about the "Annual Campaign Plan". You know why? No one has one (a plan). Not even the big, robust charities with dream development teams. AND - we are all confused about the definition! Sometimes we walk in the door and annual campaign = direct mail appeal. Other times, it means the annual gala dinner. Frequently, it means anything but the big dinner. And still other times (and I mean every once in a while) a nonprofit uses the term to refer to any fundraising that occurs during the course of the fiscal year that benefits the operating fund. And then we breathe a sigh of relief. Yes...we mean that annual campaign.
The annual campaign is the effort that an organization makes every year to raise unrestricted funds to support ongoing business operations. It is often the first and most reliable campaign that an organization establishes for operational purposes, and it is highly recommended that organizations devote considerable time and resources (including strategy work) to its annual campaign from the very beginning.
An effective Annual Campaign opens doors for an organization. The regular correspondence required allows the organization to stay in close touch with its supporters, who make up a growing database of proven donors to tap for capital and endowment campaigns in the future. Most longtime donors to an organization make their first pledge of support via an annual campaign request. The annual campaign is almost always the longest running, most predictable method for raising unrestricted funds, and should never be suspended, even in years when soliciting larger, one-time donations from the same pool of supporters through capital or endowment campaigns. (READ MORE)
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Lessons Learned
What a Major Donor Prospect Taught me
As I was saying......
So there I was, having lunch with someone who had great capacity, an inclination to support my organization...and much experience with philanthropy. Clearly more than I did at that point. And as I went about our first cultivation meeting all wrong, she decided to help me make it right. Here are (some of) the lessons I learned:
 Too often, we take the dictum that "fundraising is all about relationships" too much to heart. We need to understand the nature of those relationships and develop them appropriately.So the first thing she taught me was:
1. You are fundraising
Yes, we want to build relationships, but above all, those relationships are focused on fundraising. That was, perhaps, the greatest lesson I got from my prospect.
After talking with my prospective major donor about her home remodel for over an hour, she put her coffee cup down and gently explained to me that really,she had friends with whom she could talk about this stuff. I was there to help her make a significant gift to my organization, and it was this role I needed to focus on.
So yes, a little chit chat--but the emphasis is on the word little. Then move directly into the purpose for which you are meeting. Depending on where you are in the cultivation cycle, this could be:
- A qualifying meeting--is this prospect a serious candidate for the size of gift you are seeking and for the purpose for which you are hoping to get support?
- Strictly a cultivation move--we've ascertained that you can make the gift we are hoping for, and are interested in our project or program, but you still need more information
- A solicitation meeting, where we are hoping to move you from interest to investment.
2. You are not the prospect's friend.
Well, you may be--but the important thing here is that you are not asking for support because he or she likes you. You are giving them an opportunity to support something that matters greatly to them. SO take your friendship hat off and put on your fundraising/board member/executive/program manager hat on. And engage our prospect from whichever vantage point fits you.
3. Be very clear about what you are hoping for.
If it is a specific program, know the details. If you will be working with the prospect to design something, be sure that you understand what you can and cannot promise
When I met with the prospect I mentioned, I had no clarity of what I wanted--just a hope that she would like to memorialize her husband with a gift. For how much? To do what? she asked. I couldn't answer, which made me look foolish and worse--unprofessional. (READ MORE)
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Getting a Job, But First Understanding the How
Sherri Morr is a nonprofit consultant with many years in the field. Contact her at smorrinc@gmail.com
I've looked for a job for a few years off and on and have a few reflections that might be helpful to others also engaging in the job search. Recently I have read a few articles about development staff looking for new jobs and not feeling very successful. One in particular that struck me was a candidate who felt the interviewers had barely looked at his cover letter, or resume. I understand chemistry, style are very important for sizing up an applicant, but how do you ask questions beyond, 'tell me about yourself' if you have not looked at the back up material. In my own case a lot of people know I accompanied a well known TV star to Israel. That is what they ask me about. Details they say, give us some funny stories.
I have interviewed and hired many people during my career. Several still work at the same organization for which they were hired 20 years ago. The process was perhaps 2 interviews, and then they were hired. I did not procrastinate thinking what if there was someone better out there. I hired the best candidate of the pool who had the experience & qualifications and the right style. Now on the other hand, today, some online job ads take the process a lot more seriously. At least in the application process. They require 3 or 4 writing samples, a completed questionnaire, cover letter, salary history, references, and oh yes a resume. I think it's an organizational test with the thought... if the candidate can do all this, surely they are competent and qualified to work in our company. (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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