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2011 AFP NC Philanthropy Conference

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AFP NC Philanthropy ConferenceIt’s my pleasure to have been invited to present at the 7th Annual AFP NC Philanthropy Conference in Durham, NC on August 11, 2011.

My session, International Perspectives to Inform Our Best Practices, explores the context for philanthropy and charity for international cultures such as those in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

By understanding these unique cultural perspectives, fundraisers are able to incorporate a diverse approach to their fund development efforts stateside. This should result in improved donor interaction, regardless of target donor demographics.

For your reference I am happy to provide a copy of the presentation handouts (PDF) referenced during my session at 3:15 p.m. on August 11, 2011. The session is located in the Crown Room of the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham, NC.

How to Build a Philanthropic Plan

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Over the past several months I have been participating in the mentoring program with my local chapter of AFP. The majority of the meetings with my mentee have focused on helping her articulate a case for support and building a philanthropic plan for the organization’s integrated strategic plan.

To extend the value of the work done with my mentee to others looking to improve their strategic planning skills, we will  spend the next several weeks breaking down the parts of a philanthropic plan. The philanthropic plan typically consists of five basic parts. These parts build on one another as your plan progresses to give your strategy clarity. The early sections give detail so that the latter sections can concentrate on providing a concise road-map of actionable items to achieve your development goals.

As with grammar, these parts are listed below to simply to provide structure and a general guideline, but rules are made to be broken (provided you understand the rules and the reason for them). These parts include:

  • Organizational Context – mission, vision, history, values
  • Philanthropic Environment – fundraising resource audit, SWOT analysis
  • Philanthropic Goals – strategic, financial, timetable
  • Philanthropic Strategy – cases for support (audience, case, and implementation)
  • Benchmarks – staff performance metrics, strategic, financial

Next: Organizational Context

How Long Will it Take You to Raise the Money?

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All too often well intentioned staff or board members will come to you, the seasoned fundraising professional asking for help securing funds for a need not originally in the strategic plan and more specifically, the integrated development plan.

These requests are usually for last minute programs, non-budgeted expenses, “silver bullet” fundraising events, and my personal favorite consultant fees… upfront payment for somebody promising to write grant requests.

When these requests come across my desk I’ll typically ask these questions:

Is the (insert urgent need here) worth alienating the donor most likely to fund the request? Not usually. If you have been properly cultivating and stewarding your donors you might have somebody interested in helping with urgent needs. If this is true, be sure to link the funding need to your mission and provide a clear case for support that resonates with your donor’s personal interests.

Why wasn’t this in our original budget? Usually last minute financial needs are not considered in the original budget because they are not essential to your ability to satisfy the organizational mission. If the emerging need is critical for organizational success, ask yourself (and the board) “what can we cut from the planned budget to fund this unplanned item?”

If we pay upfront for somebody to write grant requests, how do we keep them accountable for meeting performance benchmarks? You can’t. Staff performance should be built into the strategic plan and should be reviewed by the board at least quarterly. Adding staff or consultants to the payroll without clear performance expectations, and which are paid irrespective of performance sends a terrible message to the remainder of the organizational staff being held accountable by the strategic plan and proper board governance.

So when I’m asked “how long will it take you to raise the money?” I typically respond that it will take anywhere between four months and a year. This range varies depending on how the specific item relates to organizational mission, strategic plan, integrated development plan, budget priorities, board oversight, and donor linkage, ability and interest.