The following are reflections on various fundraising topics.
November 14, 2014
Ethics
There will be situations that deal with legal or ethical
standards in the nonprofit sector. Ethics are usually personal views and values
that guide an individual in making the right decisions in a certain
situation. Situations tend to be more
grey than black and white. In a
nonprofit, a policy on ethics can be very helpful to guide the organization in making the right decision. An ethical fundraiser
will ensure that the nonprofit keeps the donor’s intent in mind and use the
donor’s donation correctly to ensure that the trust exists between the donor and the organization. Once the trust is lost
between the donor and the organization it is very hard to build it back. A
fundraiser will ensure the donor’s information is kept private from the public.
This means making sure files are secured and not easily accessible to others
and knowing how far to research an individual’s personal life.
There are legal standards to keep in mind within nonprofits.
There are three duties on boards; duty
of prudence, loyalty, and obedience. Duty of prudence requires that board
members to act in good faith and diligence. This requires board members to make
thoughtful decisions regarding financials, including fundraising. Having a
committee that focuses on fundraising is one example of a board practicing duty
of prudence. Duty of obedience requires that the organization and board makes
sure that the mission is carried out legally. Duty of loyalty requires that
board members do not act in a way that could harm the organization. These
duties are set to ensure that there is no conflict of interest which is a staff
or board member receiving personal financial gain. One way to ensure that this
does not happen in an organization, it to have rules set in place in the
ByLaws. Conflict of Interest can occur. For example if a board member is the
CEO of a bank and the organization decides to do all of their banking with that
specific bank it could be seen as conflict of interest. But if the organization
can argue that this bank is the best for the organization’s needs it might not
be considered conflict of interest.
Fundraising practice and conflict of interest is overseen by the IRS
through the 990 forms. They ask questions and information on “board if
directors, conflict of interest policies, charitable figs, and other data” (pp.
415).
Knowing how to be ethical and knowing legal information,
will prepare myself to be a professional fundraiser in the future.
November 7, 2014
Stewardship
The chapter on “The Practice of Stewardship” written by
Enright and Selier, which can be found in the text “Achieving Excellence”, made
me realize that stewardship is more than just day to day fundraising activities.
The chapter explains that most nonprofits think that stewardship is the thank
you letters, acknowledging donors, reports, outcome measurement and gift
receipts. I would agree to this; this is
what I thought stewardship was. In all reality, stewardship is way more than
just the day-to-day operations of fundraising; it is more grass root than that;
more of a spiritual thing.
“Stewardship is holding gifts in trust for the public good
and serious regard for this trust is the soul of stewardship” (Enright &
Selier, 2014, pp. 268). So stewardship for nonprofits through fundraising is
creating that trust they build between the public or donors and the
organization. It is requiring nonprofits to be thoughtful about the gifts they are given. For fundraisers who understand
and take the stewardship seriously, will help donors to make decisions
regarding the best ways to give. This concept was referred to as discernment; taking
time to think, reflect, and meditate before making a decision.
Those who give larger gifts are actually making an
investment in the organization. The donors want to see the impact or outcomes from
their gift. Stewardship is guiding donors to makeing a philanthropic investment that will impact the nonprofit therefore leading to
a long lasting relationship. It is the
fundraisers job to make sure the organization uses the donor’s funds and
invests them positively.
October 24, 2014
Annual Fund
The Annual Fund is a comprehensive plan
that provides support to the contributed income for the organization. The
purpose of an annual fund is for an organization to have constant communication
offering accountability and transparency. A successful annual fund occurs after thoughtful planning and building those relationships with current
donors and future donors.
I typically understood Annual Funds
through direct mail solicitation, typically at the end of an organization’s
fiscal year or around the holiday season (when people are feeling the most
generous). These letters are less personal to the donors, which makes it harder
for the organization to make a case to that specific donor to donate money.
Some key things to think about when writing an annual fund letter is be
quantitative and qualitative, discuss why your organization is unique and why
their cause is significant. These
letters are telling donors this is why we are doing this, how we are doing
this, and what we are doing. There are different ways to solicit funds for
the annual fund plan, which for some
reason, I never thought of doing. In the text is suggests doing face-of-face
solicitation, solicit through media outlets, phone calls, door-to-door, or
special events. An annual fund does not have to use only direct mail. The
annual fund plan needs to have a clearly thought out plan with a timetable that
tells each individual in the team what tasks they will be doing. “The annual
fund is the most effective strategy to invite, involve, and bond the
consistency to the organization”. It is another way or tool to build
relationships with individuals to aide the cause of your organization.
October
3, 2014
Successful
Organizations: Planning & People
You start with the “Why” not the “What”.
TedTalk, by Simon Sinek, “How Great
Leaders Inspire Action,” discusses a leadership model that inspires great leadership
within an organization. The “Golden Circle” Model, explains that most people
understand “what” they are doing in an organization. Only some people know “how”
they do the “what”, but very few people know the “why” they do the “what”
within the organization (See Chart Below). This explains why some organizations
inspire and why some don’t. The “why” is the purpose, the cause, or the
belief, it explains why does the
organization exists. Businesses or organizations think inside out from the
Golden Circle, while most other organizations, and think outward in. If we
share why we are inspired to do what we are doing, then most people will follow
and share the same passion as us. People buy “why” you do it, not “what” you
do.
This inspirational talk goes along with
what we have been covering since day 1 of classes. Fundraising is not about the
money or what we are doing, it is about the cause and the “why” of the
organization. When someone shows they are passionate and inspired by a cause,
it is easy to get other people to share the same passion. The "what"
is the actual proof of what you believe. We need to inspire people to give.
September
26, 2014
Fundraising Basics
Fundraising starts with examining
the case. The “The Fundraising Cycle” chart found in the text, “Achieving Excellence Fundraising” really
opened my eyes as to what all takes place in the planning and
process of fundraising. The actual “ask” or solicit a gift is at the very end
of the cycle. This process is continuous and never ending. Once a donor gives a
gift, the relationship between them and the organization needs to stay
consistent.
When choosing the right potential
donors there are three criteria that needs to be considered:
1. “Linkage to the organization”
2. “Ability to give gifts at the
level being sought”
3. “Interest in the work of the
organization”
These three criteria and the
fundraising cycle really defines the actual “process” and “duties” of a
professional fundraiser. It is important to note that during the fundraising cycle
volunteers have to be involved. The professional fundraiser isn’t always the
person who does the ask. Peer-to-Peer fundraising is sometimes more effective
than the person who gets paid to raise funds. A donor is more likely to give to
a loved one, a colleague, friend, or family member than to a professional
fundraiser because “people give to people”. This allows for the organization to
tap into new networks through their volunteers.
Fundraising starts with a case or
the cause, not a need. You need to have cause for people to support the
organization.
Adventures of Fundraising
Philanthropy has been around for
centuries. It started during the 15th century with the reformation.
Martin Luther left the Catholic Church and then he created a community chest.
This community chest was there to serve the public. People put money in the
chest and people were able to receive money from the chest. From there, philanthropy
has continued to grow to Henry Ford, the Rockefellers, and many more.
When I talk about philanthropy I
do not mean the money individuals give and accept some kind of incentive in
return, as we see today with the tax deductions for donations. Philanthropy is
a voluntary action for the public good. Voluntary action for the public good is
one of the hardest concepts for modern day nonprofit organizations to wrap
their minds around. The nonprofit’s responsibility is to serve a social
purpose, that is the agreement they made when receiving their 501(c) 3 status
with the government.
The reason why many nonprofits
have a problem understanding the idea of serving a social purpose is the idea
of patronage. Patronage is private financial support grounded in individual
objectives. We see this with huge donations from individuals to support a cause
and that person then receives huge tax deduction and whole bunch of other
recognition. Nonprofits need to not just focus on the individual, but on the
social good to be financially healthy. In order for nonprofits to be secure
financially, they need to serve the community so the community sees them as a
vital asset to the community. It is time to focus back to the original concept
of philanthropy.
September
5, 201
You Like Fundraising More Than You Think
In the past couple of the weeks, the
“Ice Bucket Challenge” for ALS has been all over the news. The ALS has received
over $100 million dollars in donations that they were not expecting. Now the
ALS Association’s board needs to figure out what do with the large influx of
donations while keeping the donor’s intent in mind. There are positives and
negatives to the “Ice Bucket Challenge” for the ALS Association because people
are more aware of ALS than before, the ALS Association is able to tap into a
new demographic that they were not able to reach before. This social experience
is shifting how fundraising can operate not just for ALS but for other
nonprofit organizations. The problem with this challenge is that the ALS Association
was not expecting the large influx of donations requiring the board to act
quickly to find ways to use the funds properly and to thank the donors in the
appropriate time. The ALS Association now will have to find new, exciting ways
to keep their new donors engaged and involved with ALS so they do not lose too
much funds for the next fiscal year
There needs to be money behind
the mission, which is why fundraising is so crucial in nonprofit organizations.
Fundraising helps connect what people value to the organization’s values to
create long-lasting relationships and support.
To help find ways to connect people’s values to the organization there
are best practices in fundraising to follow and understand which the following
are:
1.
People
give to People
2.
The
organization needs to have a compelling case
3.
People
need to be passionate about what they are giving to
4.
People
need to have trust in the organization to keep the donor’s intent with their
donations
Fundraising helps bring the mission of
the organization into action. It is about building relationships and helping
people find ways to be involved with what they are passionate about.
Fundraising is more fun when you think about developing relationships rather
than just the money.
September 19, 2014
Let’s Talk
Numbers
When
it comes to accepting donations or sponsorships it is important that the gift
matches the nonprofit’s mission and values.
While
completing the exercise in class on the nonprofit that my group will be
focusing on this semester, I really had to think about making a case for an
organization that is financially healthy. I never thought about what I would
say to a donor who thinks we do not need funds because the organization has
enough. Our organization, Monterey Bay Aquarium, I thought be an easier sell
for funds rather than an arts organization. The public is more educated about
the purpose of conserving the oceans and animals rather than conserving the
arts. If I had to make the case for
funds in a financially, healthy arts organization, I would explain to the
potential donor the importance of preserving the arts in our culture.
This
exercise made me think back to the discussion of Ravinia accepting or not
accepting the donation from a casino. If Ravinia accepted the donation to
sponsor a classical music concert, they were afraid their reputation would be affected
and then they would lose their current audiences because the casino’s values
did not match Ravinia’s values. If I was put in that situation, I would have
accepted the donation from the casino to sponsor a concert. I think accepting
the donation would have allowed Ravinia to tap into a new demographic for their
concerts which could lead into more donations and support. But while accepting
the donation from the casino, I would present sponsorship levels; showing what
Ravinia gives in return for a specific level of a gift. This way, the casino
would not get any special treatment or receive more recognition than other sponsorships at the same level. If the casino is not happy with what they would
get in return for their gift, then the casino would probably not donate to
Ravinia.
Numbers
are tough, but the numbers make the nonprofit existence possible.
