Blackbaud

Prospect research is most effective when you have the information you need when you need it. Sounds obvious, right? But it implies that an organization knows what information it really needs. The type of information needed depends on the prospect’s stage in the solicitation cycle. There are three stages within the solicitation cycle: the identification stage; the cultivation stage and the solicitation stage. 1. Identification of capable prospects is among the most important responsibilities of prospect research. At the identification stage, you only need to have clear evidence of major-gift capacity — expensive property or significant stock holdings, for instance. It is not

In its white paper “RFM: A Formula for Greater Direct Mail Success,” Charleston, S.C.-based nonprofit software services provider Blackbaud posits that by using a database of donors’ giving histories to do RFM analysis, organizations can increase gifts and reduce costs.

Blackbaud recommends the following tips for nonprofits interested in setting up RFM measurement.

Do you need to raise public awareness in order to serve your organization’s mission? Do you need to maintain public funding for your organization? Do you protect or fight for social issues important to your organization?

Everyone in an organization’s annual-fund program has the potential to give a planned gift. It’s up to organizations to build an information base and marketing strategy that can identify these donors. This according to Lawrence Henze, managing director of Blackbaud Analytics, who addresses the topic in a whitepaper titled, “Making Planned Giving Work for You.” Five tips Henze recommends to reach out to planned-giving prospects are: 1) Keep your message simple. Messaging should be clear and concise and should focus on one type of planned gift at a time, Henze writes, as bequest prospects are different from annuities prospects, and so forth. He also

Relationships with your constituents are built on respect, trust and communication — qualities realized when you demonstrate that your organization is worthy of supporters’ time, energy and money. As nonprofits embrace the Internet’s power, e-mail is emerging as an increasingly important communication tool. Nonprofits that learn the communication preferences of their donors and prospects will have the advantage when competing with similar organizations for donations.

We all remember our favorite teachers: those men and women who shaped our lives by giving us the encouragement we needed to feel good about ourselves, to try harder and achieve more. These are priceless charitable gifts that last a lifetime. So why are teachers largely ignored by fundraising groups?

Privacy Policy Must-Haves Nov. 8, 2005 By Abny Santicola, FundRaising Success When it comes to privacy, the gathering of the data isn't the issue. It's what's done with the data that's controversial, says David Lamb, prospect research consultant for software and services provider Blackbaud Analytics. Lamb says the way for organizations to deal with this is to be upfront about what they are doing with donor information by creating a privacy policy. "There are a lot of organizations -- nonprofits -- with privacy policies on their Web sites that I think are terribly inadequate. If you just Google 'privacy policy' or 'donor privacy'

Keeping Privacy Top of Mind Nov. 8, 2005 By Abny Santicola, FundRaising Success Beth Givens, founder and director of San Diego-based Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer information and advocacy organization, says nonprofits should be very privacy conscious. Some things nonprofits should have in place to ensure donor privacy include: Background checks. Any individuals in the organization who have access to personal and financial data should have background checks done on them. Training. "I think staff members should receive training in privacy and security protection, and they should also sign a confidentiality clause," Givens says. "Something in which they promise that they will safeguard

So the race is run, and the party’s over. Your walkathon, golf tournament, masquerade ball or dance-off raised thousands of dollars and introduced hundreds of people to your organization.

Now what? Sure, it’s time to start planning next year’s event. But even more importantly, many fundraising pros agree, it’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to get the people who gave at the event to keep on giving.

When you assess the sophistication, innovation and e-commerce prowess of Web sites in the nonprofit sector, it’s hard to accept the fact that e-giving accounts for only 1 percent to 2 percent of all funds raised by U.S. charities.

Not so long ago, online fundraising simply meant being able to accept credit card donations through a Web interface.