best practice

5 Ways Fundraising is Like Baseball

June 23, 2015 By Benjamin Mohler

Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too. – Yogi Berra

As I entered my current role at Eastern Kentucky University, I knew it was important to lay the groundwork for the new team. To do this, we took a trip to the Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds. During the trip we explored baseball as a metaphor to understand the profession.

Consider these five ways that fundraising is like baseball. For your own use, some team discussion questions are provided at the end of each section. Please share any comparisons you have seen from your time in the “field.”

1. There’s no shame starting in a farm league

You can observe a lot just by watching. – Yogi Berra

Entering the profession usually starts in the trenches. Learn the ropes by watching more experienced players. Slowly get playing time.

Similarly, fundraisers typically start out as a development assistant or in annual fund. These roles have the responsibility of lots of travel—with relatively few major gift asks AND lots of phone calls and writing. These roles are both important. They force you to learn the importance of fundraising theory through repetition and practice of the fundamentals. Professional practice will reinforce proper mechanics… which will eventually be replaced by experience and success.

How did you start in fundraising?
How did that early experience shape your work today?

2013 AFP International Conference on Fundraising [Preview]

April 6, 2013 By Benjamin Mohler

Before I register for the AFP International Conference the first thing I consider is, “what do I hope to gain from this trip?”

You see, for me this annual conference is more than a smorgasbord of best practice examples and how-tos. I view the conference as a way to recharge my batteries, renew my resolve, refocus my understanding, and hone my professional practice.

I use the conference as a way to reconnect with sector leaders and reinvest in newcomers to the profession. The conversations that take place between sessions and after dark are as valuable as the materials presented in educational sessions.

Well, now I’m on the ground in San Diego and here are some things I thought about on my journey here.

First, it is important to be informed and connected the duration of the conference. This year, in addition to the mobile version of the conference website, you will have a new tool at your disposal: the AFP ICON App for Blackberry, Android, and iPhone.

A great feature of the AFP ICON App is the ability to select sessions that are of interest using the category view, then switching to the schedule view to narrow down your daily plan. Sometimes I like to select two sessions for some time slots in case my first choice was not exactly what I anticipated based on the description.

Second, when I select sessions, I set a strategy to achieve a specific goal. In past years I have chosen sessions that would help me with a specific work project on the horizon. Other years I would plan my conference to meet key sector leaders to build a cadre of trusted mentors. A couple years ago I was working on a book manuscript so I attended sessions that would give me broader understanding for that topical area. I recommend downloading the handouts for your sessions the day before in case you don’t have a wireless signal or are unable to locate wifi.

Third, as you craft your conference experience and develop a plan of action here are things to consider.

What kind of sessions do you want to attend? (topical, skill-level, specific speakers)
Who do you want to meet? (new friends or trusted colleagues)
What vendors should you interact with? (looking for a new service or an upgrade, this is the time to hear what options are out there)

To remain connected the duration of the conference I recommend downloading the conference app, getting on Twitter, and most of all… get outside your comfort zone with social media. But don’t forget to connect in the analog mode as well. This year, I am focused on reconnecting with folks I have lost touch with the last two years and the majority of these individuals are not on Twitter, so the annual conference is the best opportunity I’ll have all year.

Have a great conference.

4 Problems With Giving Tuesday & How to Address Them

November 27, 2012 By Benjamin Mohler

Today #GivingTuesday will be trending on Twitter and filling Facebook news feeds. It will also be prominently featured on both new and traditional media outlets. In general terms, this is a good thing. It puts the ideas of charity and philanthropy into the main of public discourse. However, unlike Black Friday or Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday has a few challenges that, left un-addressed, will doom its long-term success.

Cyber Monday and Black Friday are attractive to consumers because retailers give added incentives to purchase goods on those days. Even though many of the deals and discounts offered can be had for less other times during the year, the abundance of deals makes shopping on this day ideal for those that have been on the fence in making a large purchase and need an extra push to open up their pocketbooks.

The four problems with Giving Tuesday are that:

Many non-profits don’t offer any extra incentive for donors to act compared to any other day
Outside of the actual donation, non-profit requests don’t make meaningful linkages back to the season of giving
Aside from leveraging the increased media attention with increased requests, organizations don’t make it any easier for donors to take action compared to other days
Unlike Black Friday “doorbusters” and Cyber Monday “coupon codes,” #GivingTuesday gifts will not have any more impact than normal

Here are ways to address these issues for your organization so you can rise above the fray on #GivingTuesday, and make the donor experience necessary, memorable, sustainable, and impactful.

1) Many non-profits don’t offer any extra incentive for donors to act compared to any other day

If your goal is simply to get more of your existing supporters to give on a certain day, then don’t change anything. However, if you want to use #GivingTuesday as a way to increase the size of gifts from current donors and the total of new donors, then you need to give a compelling reason why giving on this particular day is critical.

This “urgency of need” should exist in your case statement. When appealing based on immediacy, your #GivingTuesday appeal is more likely to give donors an incentive to give out of necessity. Make sure to communicate why a gift today is more critical than the same gift tomorrow. If this element does not exist in your case for support, go back and revise it. If you use #GivingTuesday to communicate the necessity for a immediate gift, then you will see larger gifts from current supporters and a larger occurrence of new donors.

2) Outside of the actual donation, non-profit requests don’t make meaningful linkages back to the season of giving

The holiday season gives us an excuse to do something nice for others. Often this takes the form of giving gifts to those closest to us. The motives for charitable giving are similar to these interpersonal exchanges, however most non-profit models put a wall between the donor and the impact of their gift. Non-profits can address this on #GivingTuesday in two ways.

First consider your program and infrastructure for honorary and memorial gifts and make improvements to make these types of gifts more robust and meaningful for the donor as well as the honoree. Doing so will help your donors use #GivingTuesday to share what you are doing with others in a personally meaningful way.

Second, strengthen the connection between donor and impact. This approach will appeal to Generation X and Millennials, who exhibit a desire to have a more direct connection between gift and impact. Both exercises will use #GivingTuesday as a way to increase the audience of potential donors and make the value of your mission more memorable for your supporters.

3) Aside from leveraging the increased attention with increased requests, organizations don’t make it any easier for donors to take action compared to other days

Since #GivingTuesday is largely a Internet-based giving movement, your online giving infrastructure will see increased traffic and the potential to lose well-intentioned donors increases. Before launching your #GivingTuesday appeals, make sure visitors to your giving portal will not be burdened with complicated forms, processes, or options.

Donors should be able to quickly visit your site, make a donation, be given a choice for follow-up communication preferences, and the opportunity to designate the gift in honor of a loved one. That’s it. Consider building a specialized page just for #GivingTuesday gifts so other page elements don’t distract donors from the main reason they visited your site in the first place… to make a gift. You can always offer opportunities for deeper engagement through the stewardship process as you build a sustainable relationship with new supporters.

4) Unlike Black Friday “doorbusters” and Cyber Monday “coupon codes,” #GivingTuesday gifts will not have any more impact than normal

This is perhaps the biggest difference between the days designated for for-profit and non-profit sectors. Since giving is on the mind, a day designated for giving may make others more likely to take action on this particular day. #GivingTuesday can be used as an opportunity to do two things that will have a long-term impact.

Use #GivingTuesday not as an excuse to find new donors, but as a reason for existing supporters to share with others the importance of your organization and why they give in support of it. Make available collections of media that your supporters can easily share such as info-graphics, video shorts, donor stories, stories from those touched by gifts. Basically, use #GivingTuesday as an opportunity to let your supporters tell the story of the organization. You provide the tools, they provide the time and audience.

Take a page out of the book of retailers. Embrace the consumer mindset of increased “bang for the buck.” Use today to issue a challenge to recent donors to make another gift with increased impact. Leverage #GivingTuesday as an opportunity to promote your existing or new matching gift programs. This could also be a prime opportunity for you to encourage donors to take advantage of corporate gift matching programs.

Thoughts on Future and Current Board Members

May 30, 2012 By Benjamin Mohler

According to the old adage, “you are what you eat.” I believe that the same holds true for what we read.

When ever I am asked to serve on a search committee or take part in interview sessions with job candidates I often include a question about reading habits, preferences, or guilty pleasures. Sometimes I ask if they have a favorite author or magazine, what book they most recently finished or what is on their nightstand. There really is no right or wrong answer. What their answer does is tell a lot about who they are and what they value.

I believe that nonprofit organizations should be selective in who they tap for board service and make the process competitive. To this end I strongly believe that nonprofits should interview potential board members.

While interviewing candidates for board service, try including a question that seeks to gain insight on what they have read or are reading with regards to board service, governance, fundraising, or volunteerism. A conversation of this nature may illuminate gaps in understanding or it may uncover a potential resource for the organization’s current board members.

If the former is true, it may prompt you to make reading recommendations for the potential board member to seek out before being considered for board service placement. If it is the latter, you may have a new board member than can champion best practice, excellence, ethics, governance, or any number of issues relevant for transforming the culture of your existing board or taking them to the next level.

If you are limited in your ability to add new board members, but want to encourage a culture that seeks out authoritative sources to help inform the board governance role, you may want to consider some other options. Give a board member an article, blog post, or book (either physically, or on loan through an e-reader). Ask them to summarize the text at a future meeting. If you are looking for ideas for potential resources try one of the e-book samplers from Wiley/Jossey-Bass:

NTEN 2012 Free e-Book Sampler – Includes chapters from four books on technology and the non-profit sector including – 101 Social Media Tactics for Nonprofits: Melanie Mathos and Chad Norman, Building Nonprofit Capacity: John Brothers and Anne Sherman, Everyone Leads: Paul Schmitz, The Future of Nonprofits: David Neff and Randal Moss

AFP 2012 Conference e-Book Sampler – Includes chapters from recent additions to the AFP/Wiley Fund Development Series including – Fundraising and the Next Generation: Emily Davis, A Fundraising Guide for Nonprofit Board Members: Julia Walker, An Executive’s Guide to Fundraising Operations: Christopher Cannon, Breakthrough Nonprofit Branding: Jocelyne Daw and Carol Cone, The Nonprofit Development Companion: Brydon DeWitt, and Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing: Michael Rosen