Getting Started With

Major Gift Fundraising |Basics & More™

Week Three: Direct Mail and Major Gifts ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! BasicsandMoreFundraising.com Pamela Grow















Copyright 2015


Introduction .................................................................................3 Your direct mail program ............................................................4 When is a donor is ready to move up? .........................................6 Monthly Giving and Major Gifts .................................................8 Creating a major gift direct mail package ....................................9 Is that all? ...................................................................................10 Action steps ...............................................................................11 Resources ..................................................................................12 Articles and books ...............................................................................................12 Webinars .............................................................................................................12

Notes ..........................................................................................13

Introduction Welcome back to Getting Started With Major Gift Fundraising |Basics & More™ In our Week One module, we covered some of the basics your organization needs to have in place to develop a truly successful major gifts program, from the top down. We talked about developing a culture of philanthropy, and creating the processes within your organization for making every donor feel like a major donor. If you’ve made a practice of setting aside one group of donors -- for example those giving in excess of $1000 -- for "special treatment," and sending postcards, or worse, not thanking the rest of your donors, it’s time to rethink your practices.

!

What did you learn from Jeff Schreifels' opening story in the recorded training, The Seven Pillars of Building a Successful Major Gift Program? Are you genuinely listening to your donors? Remember, donors really do want a relationship. And for lasting results, the relationship is more important than the gift.

!

I can tell you my own story of working with one organization with a high profile, exceptionally well-connected CEO. During her two year tenure, she successfully brought in a large number of major donors. But when this CEO was eventually fired by the board, the donors went with her. You’re aiming for long-term success.

!

In Week Two, we covered how to create a plan for getting your board members more involved in fundraising. Have you divided your board into the go-getters, the followers, and others? Have you clarified what constitutes a ‘major donor’ for your organization?

!

Remember, as you read through the class materials and bonus guides, if you have any questions about what you are learning or how it applies at your nonprofit, please don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] and I’ll get back to you with answers and ideas as soon as I can.

!

!

!

Your direct mail program ! In my own 14+ years as a fundraising professional, prior to consulting I worked in a number of jobs, ranging from development associate, to development director, to communications director. And in those positions, I’ve raised countless ‘major gifts,’ from as small as $1,000, to up to $250,000 with consistent regularity.

!

Now it’s time for my confession: I have never conducted a face-to-face ask.

!

“What?” I can hear you asking. “How did she manage to have such success with major donors without a face-to-face ask?”

!

That is the power of a solid direct mail communications plan.

!

Are you familiar with the standard Donor Pyramid? If you’re at all familiar with direct marketing, the Donor Pyramid is based on this simple premise in marketing: “Onestep selling is very difficult.”

!

How true!

!

Yet we expect every appeal letter to a new prospect to bring in a big fat check. We expect that by slapping a “donate now” button on our website, the online dollars will begin to flow in. We expect that somehow we’ll accumulate major donors without putting in the work of bringing them up the ladder of engagement! We launch our first email newsletter and expect our subscriber list to snowball purely by osmosis … and we expect those subscribers to donate!

!

When you’re growing your core base of individual donors, you’ll find that you always experience greater success by creating steps – and lowering your barriers to response way, way, way down...to enable you to capture the most prospective friends and supporters possible.

!

By creating a multi-step process – think of it as a funnel – you’ll begin to create a system where your prospect actually feels that he is choosing you (I refer to that as Lifetime Donor Attraction Fundraising) – rather than you pursuing him.

!

What does your organization’s communications calendar - your funnel look like?

!

To make it as simple and straightforward as possible I want you to begin to think 12 touches a year. I can hear you now! “I don’t have the time to ‘touch’ my supporters 12 times a year! I’m lucky to get one appeal out every year.” Relax. Once you get the hang of the 12 touch-a-year-system, you’ll learn how easy it can be to repurpose content that you already have and make it fresh again. Remember, your donors are your friends. You wouldn’t just reach out to your friend once a year to ask for money, would you?

!

Think of your direct mail program as a pipeline to major donors.

! ! ! !

When is a donor is ready to move up? The best time to make friends is before you need them. Ethel Barrymore

!

Major gifts never happen because Oprah Winfrey suddenly decides out of the blue to write you a check. Your major donors will come from the pool of genuine, trust-based relationships you have already built up.

!

A strong direct mail and multichannel communications plan will take you there.

!

Think about the process: • A new donor makes an impulse gift of $50 after seeing a social media post, • Your organization followed up with a heartfelt phone call, • Followed by warm thank you letter,

!

• Followed by a Welcome package containing an invitation to join your monthly giving program.

The donor now joins your monthly giving program with a gift of $35 a month ($420 a year). When you've stewarded that donor with a coordinated, thoughtful plan, moving her up to a greater gift becomes a simple process.

!

It bears repeating: Shift your focus from money to building lasting relationships and the money will follow.

!

!

"One of the greatest challenges nonprofits face is that most don't have a solid mid-level fundraising strategy that is critical to building the foundations for increased giving. Too often organizations leap from an annual $25-$100 giving range to a major gift range of $1,000+, making no effort to slowly build and increase the relationship the donor has with the organization."

!

Jean Gorel, CFRE, Director of Development Minnesota Medical Foundation

!

Remember earlier, when we mentioned a minimum of 12 touches a year? My Simple Development Systems Members reach out regularly to tell me about the difference communicating more - and asking more - has made to their organization’s individual giving program.

!

Simply increasing your number of direct mail (and email) appeals from once or twice a year to four to eight times a year will increase both donor engagement and dollars raised.

!

As a regular donor starts to increase her giving, and begins to straddle the line between your annual giving program and your major gifts program, segment these donors out and begin to give extra touches such as:

!

• Use hand-addressed envelopes for appeals • Always use first class postage on your outer envelope • Write longer, more detailed letters (or use a long hand-written Post-It note for a personalized approach) • Periodic calls to say thank you, ask if the donor has any questions…engage

!

• Campaigns created just for them. Perhaps a mini-capital campaign or special match.

Are you worried about asking too much? Don't be. For some true inspiration, listen in on this Simple Development Systems podcast where Food for the Poor Executive Director Angel Aloma talks about how his organization increased their asks to an astonishing 27 per year. The key is making your donors feel special.

Monthly Giving and Major Gifts What single tool creates a better prospect pool for planned and major gifts? If you said monthly donors, you’d be right! There’s a reason I’ve been preaching the benefits of monthly giving since 2008 -- it’s a win-win for both your organization and your donors. Some of our Simple Development Systems members have $100 a month monthly sustainers in their databases.

!

If you already have a monthly giving program, review your data. Do you have members who have increased their giving? Been members for two, three, five years? If you don’t have a dedicated monthly giving program, consider starting one. You’ll find resources at the end of this module.

! !

Creating a major gift direct mail package Can you really raise $1000+ gifts by mail? Absolutely. But it takes a special approach (often one that’s best undertaken by a professional firm with experience in this type of fundraising), and a real understanding of where your donors are in the cultivation process. The resulting direct mail package often looks more like the personalized proposal used for major gift fundraising than the standard fundraising appeal letter you’re used to. In the package, you’ll be inviting your donors to invest in a special project, at a level that’s higher than their previous gifts.

!

The results can be nothing short of astonishing. In his book, Raising $1000 Gifts by Mail, Mal Warwick relates how a regional activist organization sent just 889 letters to selected donors. This small mailing produced income of $59,450. That is impressive. But even better: gifts averaged $2,123! And the cost of the mailing was 14 cents per dollar raised.

! ! !

!

Is that all? At the beginning of this module I shared my experience of raising major gifts without a direct face to face ask. When I’ve told that story with other consultants, they’ve often remarked “Those are the best kinds of major gifts!”

!

Well, yes...and no. I’m always striving to be the best fundraiser I can be and now, in retrospect, I can’t help but think: “But what if I had asked? What if I had met my $250,000 donor? How much greater would the gift have been? More importantly, what kind of relationship could we have had with the donor?”

!

In next week’s module, we’ll be guiding you through The Ask...And After. To get you prepared, I’ve included two special bonuses with this week’s training. The first is the recorded Simple Development Systems Webinar, Shy, Introverted and Successful, where Brian Saber of Asking Matters leads you, step by step through:

!

• How to manage your anxiety so that you can actually get out and ask • how to choose prospects based on your own personality • How to prepare for a meeting so that you're confident • How to take the first step and set up the meeting • How to conduct the meeting AND make the ask • And that all-important follow-up.

!

Although Brian tailored this presentation to introverts, regardless of your personalitytype, you’ll benefit from this thoughtful plan.

!

I’ve also included a stand-out presentation to my membership program. Earlier this year Fundraiser Grrl, Rory Green, presented to my membership group a delightful, thoughtful webinar that is one of my favorite trainings to date. Be sure to set aside an hour this week to view Conversations That Change the World: How to Talk With Your Donors.

Action steps 1. Take a look at your organization’s communications calendar. • How can you communicate more with your donors? • How are you moving donors up the ladder of engagement? 2. Who are your most loyal donors? • What kind of plan can you create for them? 3. Review your database with an eye to moving up donors who may have given $25, $50, $100 -- but have given every year. 4. Set aside two hours this week to watch the recorded webinars located in the Resources section found below. Post your thoughts about these two trainings on our Facebook page.

! ! !

Resources Articles and books

!

Direct mail yields major gift donors. The Agitator. Major Gifts and Direct Response… What Do You Do? Answering the age old question: should our major donors still receive our direct mail? The Veritus Group. The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to Raising $1,000 Gifts By Mail. Mal Warwick It’s Not JUST About the Money. Richard Perry. Jeff Schreifels. Interview with Angel Aloma | Simple Development Systems Podcast Every Gift Matters | What do major donors and monthly donors have in common? Monthly Giving | The Basics & More course

! Webinars

! Fundraising for the Shy and Introverted, featuring Brian Saber Password: saberwebinar0414y

!

Conversations That Change the World: How to Talk With Your Donors (Rory Green) Password: greenwebinar689v

!

! ! !

Notes