In Fundraising, Asking is an Invitation
Donors are asking where God is at work. As a fundraiser, your job is to point donors to the work God is doing—and invite them to join.
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Donors are asking where God is at work. As a fundraiser, your job is to point donors to the work God is doing—and invite them to join.
Read MoreTalking about family generosity is a ministry to donors. Nonprofit fundraisers can strengthen donor relationships by asking good questions.
Read MoreWhy that already-infamous report about the 2022 decline in charitable giving doesn’t signal the end of days for your fundraising success.
Read MoreYour donors can expand their capacity to give through non-cash asset donations. Is your nonprofit ready to say yes to an asset gift?
Read MoreTell donors about opportunities to save tax and give more.
Read MoreLooking for major donors to invest in your work? Don’t forget to invest in current donors, too. Read 4 ways to strengthen those relationships.
Read MoreWhat builds a lasting donor connection? Show appreciation. Here are 4 ideas to build a strong donor connection—beyond thank you notes.
Read MoreThe Signatry works with nonprofit leaders to strengthen their development strategies by helping them engage in major donor conversations, including conversations about noncash contributions. We talk a lot about noncash gifts and we want to be sure our impact partners understand the significant opportunities available. Noncash charitable contributions can benefit both the donor and the recipient. What does “noncash” really mean? When talking about noncash contributions, we mean wealth outside of the checkbook. This can be anything from stocks to cryptocurrency to real estate and business interests. The Signatry’s team has experience managing all of these gift types. God owns it all and has entrusted it to donors’ care and stewardship. He wants us to hold everything we have with open hands. Isn’t cash king? Net Worth Breakdown | Giving Breakdown In a word? No. 90% of America’s wealth is in assets other than cash. Only 10% of our wealth is in the checkbook. Yet, 80% of giving happens in cash, and only 20% of charitable investment is given from the larger, noncash bucket. There is an enormous opportunity to help donors think differently about how they give: even their noncash assets could become part of their generosity plan. How can a nonprofit work with major donors? Nonprofit leaders are uniquely positioned to connect God’s resources and His work. That often starts with education. Donors don’t know what they don’t know. Before talking through the details of an asset gift, donors need to better understand the work the organization is doing and where their gift is going. A big vision, clearly expressed, serves as a catalyst for transformational generosity. When donors are engaged in the work and excited by the vision, development officers can share the opportunity to give differently and more generously. Here are some ideas to consider in your donor conversations: Start planting seeds. Include noncash contribution options on your donation page. Share the opportunity in your newsletter and your email footer. Discover more verbiage ideas in the Asset Gift Based Referral Language Guide. Share the opportunity. Look through your donor list for business owners. Begin to ask them questions about the business: What does your business do? What do you and your family like about it? You’ll find more questions in our Noncash Asset Fundraising Guide. Don’t overthink it. You don’t have to be the technical expert. Consider The Signatry your partner for complex, noncash contributions. We have attorneys and accountants who can help guide the donor through the process. Nonprofit and ministry organizations are doing the most important work there is. From Bible translation and evangelism to education and health care, the work matters, and it is worthy of all the generosity tools available. Transformational gifts have transformational impact.
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Read MoreTelling Your Story the Right Way We are all familiar with the cell phone commercial from Verizon: “Can you hear me now?” “Can you hear me now?” But usually,…
Read MoreThe Christian school my son attends is doing a capital campaign. At a donor event, I listened to the head of the school review where the school had been and…
Read MoreHave you been out to dinner lately? Isn’t it fun to sit in a restaurant and have someone else prepare your food, serve it to you and do the dishes? My husband and I…
Read MoreAs the school year wraps up and my oldest daughter graduates, I find myself reflecting on all the schools she has attended. I am particularly thankful for the role many…
Read MoreI started my career in sales with a Fortune 50 company. I sold consumer goods to grocery and warehouse managers, working with top tier products in high demand. The grocers…
Read MoreDecember could be called the month of generosity. Many dig into their pockets to give to charity. From the dropping of a few dollars in the Salvation Army buckets at…
Read MoreOctober is my favorite. Changing leaves, cooler weather, football, and hot cider make me smile. It is also a bonus that fall décor only involves a few pumpkins and candles and…
Read MoreI am a farm girl. Well, that may not be completely accurate. I grew up on a family farm in rural Missouri, where my dad and grandpa raised livestock and grew…
Read MoreIf your inbox is like mine, it is full of subject lines like “Surviving COVID-19”, “Leadership in Crisis” and “Connecting in the Age of Social Distancing”. It is true; we are all…
Read MoreThe number of nonprofits has more than doubled since 2002. When you take into account the stagnant giving and impact of the 2017 tax law, we find ourselves in an…
Read MoreMinistries have been entrusted with a calling to serve their communities and God’s Kingdom and challenged to fund that work effectively. Major donors, entrusted with God’s resources, are a crucial strategy for any non-profit development effort. All donors play an essential role in ministry support, but nearly 90% of donations come from approximately 10% of donors. Thus, creating a major donor plan is crucial to the success and sustainability of your organization. Do you have a major donor plan? If so, does it include all the key components? Here are a few tips to get started or to evaluate your current efforts. Identify potential major givers. Determining who believes in your mission and who has the capacity to give is a crucial first step. You’ve heard me say before that ministry development is the connection point of God’s work to His resources. Begin your major donor efforts by looking for those with the capacity to give and evaluate their alignment with your mission. A good starting point is to leverage your leadership team and board members. You board may be well connected to individuals who are willing and capable of becoming a major donor. These individuals may include business owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers, corporate executives, as well as many others. Generous people and potential major donors are all around us. Understand their needs Once you’ve decided who your potential major givers are, learn about them. Get to know their story. What causes do they care about it? If they’ve already given to your cause, why do they give? Listen well. This will set the stage for a conversation that will speak to their interests and how they relate to your needs. Provide a personalized approach Cultivating major donors is a relational investment. Face to face meetings are preferred to phone calls, emails, or letters. In-person meetings show you care and are willing to invest in relationships. This helps you understand what programs a potential giver may align with best and gain insight into what they care about most. Creating a communication strategy that extends past the initial gift will continue to earn their trust and loyalty in the future. Create a clear call to action Don’t forget the ask. Often if an individual is willing to meet, they are prepared to take the next step of giving, but only when there is a clear call to action. When you create a call to action, be very clear where the gift is going. For example, you can say, “Would you being willing to give a gift of X amount of dollars to help us with _____?” You can fill in the blank with the project your organization’s needs. Give a detailed follow-up. Plan how you will personally thank your donor after the gift is received. Once a donor has given an initial gift, follow up by sharing the impact of their contribution. This personalized approach will prove to encourage a long-standing relationship that benefits you and your major donors. Cultivating major donors is a significant endeavor. Remember this is a process; don’t get discouraged. Stay in contact with prospective donors. Perhaps this isn’t the right time for them, but a year later maybe. Remember, this is about relationships, and those take time to build, foster and grow.
Read MoreEvents are powerful in building relationships, awareness, and loyalty with your donors. Whether it is a banquet, retreat, golf tournament, or an auction –– events can be a great tool to dramatically grow your support. Plan. An effective event has a strategic purpose, measurable objectives, and a clear outline of the steps needed to achieve your goals. When determining your purpose, it is essential to define your objectives. Are you hosting a fundraising event? If so, how much money do you want to raise? Having a clear understanding of your goals positions your organization to select the best steps to effectively meet them. Engage. The key to a successful event is personal engagement which leads to transformation. Real change happens when your audience begins to move beyond the transaction of giving and focus on the broader experience. Emphasizing the heart and mindset of possible change, and not just money will impact their hearts and partnership is likely to follow. By inviting guests to join in the mission and play an active role in problem-solving, they will see themselves as a part of the story – one where they can be the hero. Review. It is no secret that events require a lot of work. After it is over, you will most likely want to stop thinking about it altogether! But, this is when the real developmental work begins. Measuring your ROI (return on investment) is imperative for planning future events. The data you gather will offer deeper insight into your event expenditure and better understand how it impacts your bottom line. Follow Up. Saying thank you to your volunteers, donors, and sponsors goes a long way. Continuing to engage your donors into the problem they are helping solve rather than a merely transactional receipt, will benefit both your organization and those who support it. And don’t stop with a thank you letter. Call them, engage them, meet for coffee. Get to know your donors! An event is just the beginning of what can be a great donor/ministry relationship!
Read MoreDonor advised funds are making the news. An October 3, 2018, Bloomberg article chronicles their rise. More than half of the top ten charities in the country are donor advised…
Read MoreWe all see things from our own perspective. Donors do too. They see through their own lens of experience and perspective. To communicate effectively, strive to meet your donors where they are and provide answers to the questions, they may not realize they are asking. Donors often ask themselves “How does this impact me?” “What’s in this for me?” “What if this were me?” Providing answers to these questions will connect your donors to your mission. Below are a few important questions to begin thinking along these lines. How do donors help your organization succeed? What difference does their support make? What is the impact of their donation? Who are the donors helping? There are many heroes in your organization already: volunteers, board members, clients who make a brave choice, employees, etc. However, your donor-facing communication isn’t the time to sing their praises. Consider how your communication makes your donor feel. Do they feel empowered? Do they feel angry about the injustice that is happening? Do they feel they can help? Communication with your donors should be focused on them. Make the donor the hero of your story and the impact will be powerful. The key is to minimize your organization and center your communication on the donor and the client. You can accomplish this by making small changes in your language. For example, Will you help feed the hungry in our community this week? or Because of you, we were able to feed the hungry in our community. (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a great example of this with their “because of you” campaign) Invite donors to participate in your efforts, don’t guilt them. It is important to avoid the implication that your donor should do something, but rather focus on the idea that they can do something. Fundraising is about waking up an army of heroes to join you in your mission. It’s about inviting people in by letting them believe in their own power. By simplifying your message, you invite the donor to be the hero. You offer them an invitation to take action and join your cause.
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