Creating A Donor For Life and Beyond!

One hard and fast truth when it comes to fundraising is that you can't fake sincerity. Oh, don't get me wrong there are lots of professional fundraisers out there who have developed a good poker face. But the truth of the matter is people want to be treated like people not like a cash register. Cha Ching!

Some people honestly think if they could just figure out which buttons to push the drawer will pop out and all they have to do is reach their hand in and get the cash they need. Rest assured those same people would skip getting the loose change but only think about the bills.

If you really want to understand the people you are trying to convince to give to your cause then you need to step back and ask yourself, what are you as a fundraiser and nonprofit offering the donor?

Creating a donor for life and beyond is possible, but you must first get the thought out of your head that you will achieve instant success. Realize like most worthy endeavors this is a long gradual process. Again, donors are not scratch and win tickets!

So how does one begin? First as an organization you need to realize your appeal is limited and it impossible to be universally liked. Also, you'll be expected to compete with many other distractions that are constantly changing in the life of your donor. While you might not personally care about this that does not negate the truth of the matter.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." John Donne - Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1623), XVII

We as individuals would like to think we can operate in our own little bubble and not have to worry about what goes on around us. However, no matter how wealthy a person might be we are all affected by the ills of society. In general we have concerns and sometimes fears. This reality can often be the bridge to nonprofits that are trying to address such needs. In some ways donors are the light switch that you find is either turned on, sending the much needed electricity through your nonprofit, or they are turned off and disengaged all together.

In order to determine the flow of electricity nonprofits need to be mindful of the meter. It is amazing now many staff members of nonprofits and boards of directors find themselves in a blame game. How often have you heard the phrases often said in a panic: Donor's aren't responding to our requests! I know the economy is bad so that must be why donations are down.

While I asked this question earlier I would like to again call your focus and attention to the question below. Read slowly and let it sink in this time: As a fundraiser and nonprofit what are offering to the donor?

Are you offering a chance of a lifetime, to change the life of an individual? Or instead, are you asking for mere operational money?

While nonprofits might be good at helping people they are often poor students of understanding basic human nature!

The best sales and marketing staffs in the world understand the human nature and intuitive relationship they must offer their customer i.e. in your case the donor.

Many folks have heard the old sales axiom: You are selling the sizzle not the steak! While any food will do to stop hunger, why do you choose a specific restaurant? All cars can provide you the basic transportation to get you from point A to B but why are you so focused on getting an SUV? It's time to buy light bulbs, but are you really buying the GE light bulbs or do you really only care about knowing that when you again turn on the switch the light pops on!

There are people who have made a profession to be "food artist" or "hand models." This is all done for one purpose and that is to create a perceived relationship between a product or service to a potential buyer.

So, Mr. or Mrs. Nonprofit I would like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Donor. Let me tell you a few things you need to know about these important people. Unlike in the for profit arena, donors typically are not buying products or services from nonprofits, yet there is expectation that goes far beyond just a simple acknowledgement. They want to know that whatever dollars they choose to give you will be treated with honor and respect and used wisely.

The time after a donation is the most critical moment for any nonprofit. The donor has made the first step in starting a relationship with a prospective nonprofit.

Most nonprofits unfortunately fail to understand that when a donor makes a contribution they are not just giving dollars but are in fact transferring a level of trust to the recipient. This concept of trust is quite interesting and universal. At the core of this transfer is a strongly held belief by the donor that something worthy will come about because they chose to respond to either a call for action from the nonprofit or were self motivated to give to respond to a need that was perceived.

While donors might initially be attracted to the nonprofit by a passionate appeal, this connection will fade fast unless there is a plan of action to follow up and let the donor know the difference their contribution made.

This "action plan" is not one letter, one phone call, one face to face contact. If you want to build a lasting relationship you have to be willing to spend time to get to know your donor first as a person and individual.

Oftentimes nonprofits categorize donors as if they were grades of beef. Their reasoning tends to revolve around a logical mind set believing that it is more profitable and their best use of time to spend more time with donors of means than with donors who could not afford to give as much. Most nonprofits, therefore, are found roaming the countryside on a constant preverbal "buffalo hunt" with every other nonprofit going after that same big buffalo. Yet, I have never come across any community that is overrun with large population of donor buffalos.

Instead I can't help but realize that we are ignoring a truth that has been given to us in the Christian story of the Widow's Mite. If you are not familiar with the story let me share it with you:

Mark 12:41-44 41 "And he sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury: 44 for they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."

So do you really want a donor for life? What types of individuals are you seeking to find and why?

If your focus is only on the money but not the donor commitment then you have lost a great deal of perspective in your process of fundraising. In order to find someone willing to make a life long commitment, however, nonprofits need to also have the realization that this type of relationship is in fact a two way street.

If honestly graded the vast majority of nonprofits would not be given a passing grade on their ability to not just find donors but to retain them.

Everyone wants a generous donor, well guess what, donors want a generous nonprofit too!

Providing feedback and information to all donors is critical if a nonprofit expects to receive future gifts. Likewise it is also important that staff members share their time and personal commitment story to the donor about their enthusiasm.

We all know staff members are paid to do their job and there is nothing wrong with this. However, donors have little respect for individuals when they think the people running the organization don't honestly care about the cause they are pushing.

Creating a donor for life and beyond by way of a planned gift is more than one person's job, but that of the entire paid staff and volunteer board. Meeting this challenge head on quickly separates nonprofits that just strive to be good to those that aspire to be great!

Planned Giving

Many times nonprofits fall into basically two distinctive camps when it comes to talking about planned giving.

First you see small nonprofits with limited staff and budgets that are totally consumed with running their organization and raising the money. They simply don’t feel like they have the time to devote to something that on its face seems so nebulous.

The second type of nonprofit organization is one that is bigger possibly better funded but more than likely does not have one person who is just devoted to only fundraising but it is the job of several which obvious includes in large part the board of directors. Even in this organization planned giving and creating an endowment appears to be more of an after thought versus something that is in the forefront. Instead of thinking about funding that might strengthen the future of the nonprofit they focus solely on what they can see directly in front of them by way of their annual campaign.

If the organization is more motivated many times you see an effort on their part to offer seminars to “help the donor” with their estate planning. The assumption here is that the donor has no other help. While I’m sure this effort helps the proverbial little old lady in the shoe I can only give this organization a C+ for at least addressing the topic of “planned giving.” In my opinion this is not the best motivational tool to encourage someone to give. In fact, when I receive a note from a university or other agency inviting me to a seminar to hear someone I have no knowledge of or have never established a level of trust with, I get more than a little irritated.

I recently read that 70% to 90% of all planned gifts to charity are made with the charity having no knowledge until after the donor’s death. So much for thanking your donor, huh!

So how can this change and who is the best to guide you on his journey? First while I am sure there are a number of well qualified consultants I would like you to give each one a little test. Ask them if they themselves have made a planned gift! If so ask them to tell you about it and why they made it. If they tell you, no, then I’ll let you decide.

It is one thing to tell you what you should be doing and another to have actually done it. I am happy to report that long before I became a consultant for nonprofits I began my philanthropic career at an early age. Giving was both taught by example as well as in actions taken after making an effort to get involved and feeling a sense of responsibility to help others.

By the way as a consultant that does almost all pro-bono work I’m not trying to get more business. Trust me, I’m already busy!

Anyway, I currently have several planned gifts funded by insurance policies. While many organizations might shy away from this type of gift because the giver can always choose to stop paying the premium, I started at a young age so it was something I felt I could afford to do. I realized back then that long after I was gone it would have a lasting effect and impact on the lives of others.

I wish I could tell you that in my case the nonprofits involved did all the right things and were active in keeping me involved, but that would be lying. The fact of the matter is the planned gifts I made were self driven.

A few facts nonprofits need to understand. First less than half of all Americans have a will and the ones that do only 8-9% include a gift to charities. The good part about that percentage is that once a charity is included 97% of the time they will remain in the will.

So how does one go about actively finding that individual who might be willing to make that planned gift?

The answers, while quite simple, are ones that need to be thought about as you review your donor database. People who make a planned gift “care” about the organization as a whole. This level of caring is something that is not often studied or talked about but is something you as a nonprofit need to develop with each and every donor you meet.

You need to make sure that when someone gives to your organization you have some method of establishing that that gift has a greater sense of purpose.

We all at some point have written a check for a utility bill or phone bill. You know the feeling you get seeing the figure owed and thinking about what you paid last month, looking at your balance in your check book and writing the check. Even if you now are doing all these transactions online, unless it is automatic draft, you still have a certain thought process.

The worst thing that can occur to a nonprofit is when a donor makes a donation in the same rote, lifeless automated response. When this happens there is little joy in making a gift. Much like helium birthday balloons with a slow leak, eventually there is nothing happy about it at all.

Coupled with the sense of caring about your organization is another deep rooted emotional response a donor has is the need to do something special.

We all understand what it means to have someone go out of their way to do something nice for you. Not because they have to but because they want to. In this same spirit of openness the donor seeks to share a literal part of their self with the organization.

Sadly most organizations are so self absorbed that if someone truly does care to that level it is missed completely by the leadership. Even if the board or staff recognizes that this person is really special to the organization often times there is a lack of response as a way of just saying thanks for being there.

Many nonprofits, especially those that really don’t understand what giving is all about, incorrectly think that “rich people” want to give to a nonprofit because something is in it for them like a tax deduction. While no one likes to pay more taxes than they have to 65% of the time a gift to charity in a planned gift is NOT for estate tax reasons.

Lastly, I have said this many times and it is worth repeating.

People give to people first before they give to the organization.

So, get out of your comfy office and go visit your donors. Spend some time getting to know them! But let me warn you first, if your motivation is only because you’re thinking about a gift and not a friendship then realize that your will not be able to hide your insincerity, so don’t stay long.

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email or visit my website at: www.nonprofitexpert.com