Circumstances such as natural disasters, sudden public acclaim or an unexpected large bequest can thrust your organization into the spotlight, heightening public awareness and, perhaps, resulting in an extraordinary number of gifts from new donors. As terrific as that sounds, such unexpected volume can present a unique set of significant challenges and opportunities.
Remember the story of the boy in Holland who noticed a hole in the dike? Fearing a leak could flood the entire town, he shoved his finger into the hole, potentially avoiding a major disaster.
May 27, 2009, UKFundraising — A new report into philanthropy in Ireland indicates that it is not inevitable that major giving will decline during the current recession and an unprecedented fall in the paper wealth of many of Ireland’s highest net-worth individuals.
Though we're in a recession, philanthropy is alive and well. The key to weathering the downturn is having a solid fundraising program with diversified sources of giving.
Let’s pretend for a moment that you are the proud owner of five franchise fast-food restaurants around town. All five of your restaurants — let’s call them Uncle Jeff’s Greaseburgers — faithfully follow the famous Uncle Jeff’s formula. The menu, marketing and décor are exactly the same. For reasons you haven’t yet figured out, Uncle Jeff’s No. 3 generates twice the revenue of any of the others. Month in and month out, restaurant No. 3 is pouring revenue onto your bottom line. What does a smart franchisee do? One thing I’m sure you won’t do is make big changes to Uncle Jeff’s No. 3.
“[To make a ‘human case’ for your mission when approaching major donors], you must know your ‘product.’ That is, you must be familiar with the aims of your organization, who it serves, how it affects people’s lives, and you must have a real sense of your prospects’ needs, wants, hopes and ambitions. “Attempt to identify one or two possible projects that match what you believe are your prospect’s interests. Then, after gaining support for your organization’s overall mission, present these projects, document their need, and show the benefits that will result if either or both are funded. “Be sure the projects are challenging,
[Chris Carnie is founder of Factary, Europe’s only consultancy focused on strategic funders — major donors, foundations, companies and government. It operates from bases in Spain, Belgium and the U.K. At the 27th International Fundraising Congress, which took place in the Netherlands last week, Chris and colleague Martine Godefroid presented a session titled Major Donors — The Personal View. Here, he presents a synopsis of that session.] It’s hard to start a major-donor program if you don’t know what a major donor looks like. That’s why we invited a philanthropist and an advisor to philanthropic families to give us their personal views at last
A few years ago, one of my clients requested rush research on a prospective donor. The client, a development officer at an independent school, explained that the headmaster was planning to meet with a parent to ask for a gift. He believed that the prospective donor had the capacity to make a $300,000 gift, but the development officer thought the number might be higher.
“You only get one chance to make a first impression.” It’s important to remember that when you submit a grant proposal.
The proposal frequently is an agency’s first contact with a potential funder, so a lot rides on your written request. We’ve identified 10 common flaws found in proposals. Eliminate them, and your grant applications will be more competitive.
Perhaps I’m dating myself by conjuring the age-old axiom about the most important subjects in grade school being the three R’s of Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. But in today’s frantic pace of fundraising, a new trio of R’s easily emerges and takes center stage. First and foremost are RELATIONSHIPS. The essence of the fundraising process, no matter what the methodology, are the relationships we build. Many of us honed our ability to build donor relationships via our own relationship with one or more mentors. I personally can thank so many key individuals in the nonprofit sector for fulfilling that role for
