My top takeaways from AFP's international conference in Boston last week...
Keep The Change | March 2016
 A monthly shot in the arm for your fundraising
Hello! And welcome back... 

This time last week, I was at the Association of Fundraising Professional's International Conference, which was conveniently (for me!) held in Boston this year.
 
It was three days of information-overload and I wanted to pass along some of my favorite tips, tricks, and takeaways. You'll see from the list that the conference covered a wide range of trends and topics. I'll be delving into many of these more in future newsletters. So stay tuned for that!
 
In the meantime, I hope you find these as helpful, inspiring, and funny as I did.
 
Thanks for reading!
Tina
Tina Cincotti
Funding Change


36 Tips to Be a Better Fundraiser, from AFP's International Fundraising Conference 

Assuming I could remember or track it down, the person who deserves credit and, in some cases, the name of their session follows in parentheses.
  1. "Enhancing the donor experience is the only way we are going to grow philanthropy." (Adrian Sargeant)
     
  2. We have to get back to a place where things don't feel like they happened in a mailhouse or were produced by a robot. We need to make our communications feels like they were hand-touched by a human being. (Shannon Doolittle, The Future of Fundraising)
     
  3. Asking is like painting. It's all about the prep work! (Anne Melvin, Secrets of Successful Solicitation)
     
  4. Stories aren't enough to connect with donors. You need a concept or a hook. You need a big idea to catch the reader's senses and emotions. (Stephen Pidgeon, Copy Clinic) 
     
  5.  "A lot of charities could be mistaken for egotistical maniacs." (Tom Ahern, "Loverizing" Your Donors)
     
  6. Major gifts fundraising costs 10 cents on the dollar. Grantwriting and events cost 20-50 cents on the dollar. (Amy Eisenstein, You Can Raise Major Gifts!)
     
  7. Why donors leave... (Steven Shattuck, Retaining Digital Donors) 
  8. Why donors stay... (Steven Shattuck, Retaining Digital Donors)
  9. Relationship building is not the same as information sharing. If you're not measuring the quality of your relationships with donors then you're not doing relationship fundraising. (Adrian Sargeant, Relationship Fundraising)
     
  10. "The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action and reason leads to conclusions." (Stephen Pidgeon, Copy Clinic)
     
  11. Resources spent on development must be seen as an investment. And that investment often outperforms the stock market. Here's one case study... (David Whitehead, From Overhead to Impact)

  12. If you ask someone for a gift and they say, "No," ask at least three follow-up questions. You need to understand their objections and know what they're thinking in order to respond.  (Anne Melvin, Secrets of Successful Solicitation)
     
  13. On average, mid-level donors are 1% of donor file but give 34% of income. They represent a significant block of money, commitment, and loyalty. But they get almost no attention.  (Mark Rovner, Midlevel Donors are Sweeter than Christmas)
     
  14. Tenure matters when it comes to raising major gifts. For every additional year on the job, development folks raise 6.5x more in major gifts. Do everything in your power to keep good development staff! (Amy Eisenstein, You Can Raise Major Gifts!)
     
  15. Infrastructure matters. Organizations with better infrastructure are more successful than those with poor systems. (Andrew Watt, From Overhead to Impact)

  16.  "Culture eats strategy for lunch." Your strategy and processes must support a donor-centered culture. Every process must be assessed by its impact on the donor experience. (Denisa Casement, From Ireland With Love)
     
  17. A 3-minute "thank you" call will boost first-year donor retention by 30%. (Steven Shattuck, Retaining Digital Donors)
     
  18. Some donors don't want or need a relationship; they just need good service. (someone brilliant, Relationship Fundraising)
     
  19. A checklist for assessing if your copy is any good. Can you answer these questions? (Stephen Pidgeon, Copy Clinic) 
  20. Women apply for jobs when they meet 100% of criteria; men apply when they meet 60%. "Don't wait till you tick all the boxes."  (Sarah Durham, Women, Leadership, and Fundraising Career Advancement)
     
  21. "Most boards need to be taken out and spanked." (Adrian Sargeant)
     
  22. Invest in immersive experiences for donors. Bring the donor to the beneficiary or bring the beneficiary to the donor. Photos are good; video is better. (Rachel Muir, Relationship Fundraising)
     
  23. Ask your donors -- "If you had the power to change one thing in the world, what would you change and why?" (Mohit Pramamnik, Midlevel Donors are Sweeter than Christmas)
     
  24. Fear and refusal to invest in overhead has serious consequences. (Andrew Watt, From Overhead to Impact)

  25. You can't fundraise if your organization doesn't have a strategic plan. How can you raise money if you don't have a clear vision for where you're going? (Marc Pitman, Future of Fundraising)
     
  26. Close the loop and leave with a clear next step if the donor says anything but YES! (Anne Melvin, Secrets of Successful Solicitation)
     
  27. Monthly giving programs -- all organizations should have one! Here are some of the reasons why... (Harvey McKinnon, Monthly Giving) 
  28. "It's Boomer time!" Boomers are the primary source of charitable income and will continue to be for the next 10-15 years. Gen X is up next after that. Don't get distracted by the buzz about millennials. (Mark Rovner, Future of Fundraising)
     
  29. What's your development team's time worth? Calculate it!  (Denisa Casement, From Ireland With Love) 

  30. There's danger to not taking risks just as much as taking risks. Boards and Executive Directors don't take into account the risks of continuing the status quo. (Adrian Sargeant)
     
  31. When you know what your donors want and send them the communications that they ask for, you move from being an intrusion to being an invited guest. (Rachel Muir, Relationship Fundraising)
     
  32. If you lose confidence when asking, your prospect will too. Don't drop your eyes and watch your body language. (Anne Melvin, Secrets of Successful Solicitation)
     
  33. "If you have a degree in English, don't write copy." (Stephen Pidgeon, Copy Clinic)
     
  34. After an organization has been around a while "a crust of good taste sets in and deprives the organization of oxygen needed for change." (Roger Craver, Rebels With Causes)
     
  35. "Set one career or life changing goal for yourself each year. Then do something every day, week, and month to get you there." (Amy Eisenstein, Women, Leadership, and Fundraising Career Advancement)
     
  36. Organizations need to redefine failure. Failure is when you don't learn from unsuccessful innovation. (Adrian Sargeant) 

June_webinarFree webinar coming soon...
(well, sorta)

In partnership with 4Good, I'll be offering a free webinar on June 22nd at 1pm eastern. Register now!

After the Gift: How to build a satisfied, loyal donor base
With nationwide donor retention rates hovering around 40% year after year, it's clear that donors aren't happy with the way most nonprofits (possibly your organization!) are treating them. This webinar will explore the reasons why donors often stop giving to your organization and how you can change that. You will learn what donors expect when they donate and how you can meet those expectations. Be prepared to receive lots of concrete strategies for increasing the number of donors who continue giving to your organization year after year.

It's free to attend and you'll get a recording of the session if you register. So sign up even if you can't attend live!

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"Who are you again?"

Pic of Tina
A fund development expert with a passion for social change, Funding Change founder Tina Cincotti gives organizations the skills, tools, training, and confidence they need to raise more money from their supporters.

She specializes in building individual donor programs; improving donor relations and donor communications; writing newsletters, annual reports, and solicitations; coaching staff new to development; and motivating boards to be more engaged in fundraising.  

Are you looking for consulting, coaching, or training help? Email me and let's talk!

Tina Cincotti | Owner | Funding Change 
[email protected] | 617-477-4505
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