The STOP List

 Nonprofit  No Responses »
Jan 092012
 

Broken down systems slowing you down? Try a Stop List for 2012.

I’m a sucker for New Year’s Resolutions lists, even though I rarely make them myself. There’s something so hopeful about them, as if by simply writing down the things we hope to do, we can make our lives better.

I often wonder, though, if the things we wish we were doing really are the most important to focus on. Perhaps it would be more helpful to make a list of things we’re doing that we should strive to STOP doing. So with that in mind, here’s my list of bad fundraising habits that you should banish in 2012.

STOP promising the moon.

When the pressure’s on, it’s hard not to make any promise you can in the hopes that you’ll be able to come through. But aiming for the stars when you’re traveling in an old jalopy is an exercise in futility.

Make your goals realistic and achievable for where you are right now. Small successes lead to bigger successes. And if you can build on those successes, you’ll be able to promise the moon when you can actually deliver it.

STOP playing it safe.

This might seem like the opposite of the above, but I think the two go hand-in-hand. When you’re promising more than you can deliver on one project, you’re forced to play it safe in other areas to compensate.

The best way to have a successful year is to try new things, reach out to new people, engage new experts, and test, test, test.

STOP wallowing in your mistakes.

We all make mistakes. But dwelling on them doesn’t make you better, it makes you more paranoid. Embrace your mistakes, and find the nuggets of wisdom that come from them.

STOP downplaying your successes

Normally, I’m not a fan of those who toot their own horns, since far too often, those who talk about how hard they’re working are just that: all talk.

But if you have a successful fundraising event, help craft a winning direct mail package, or convince a donor to give more than she’s given in the past, make sure you share those successes with your board, your volunteers and your staff. Hold those triumphs up as examples of what can be done…and challenge your people to beat them.

I’m going to work on these things this year, and I challenge you to develop your own Stop List for 2012.

 Posted by Richelle at 3:14 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Lessons from a Soccer Fundraiser

 Uncategorized  No Responses »
Oct 102011
 

I have two daughters who play soccer with the local youth soccer organization. It makes for some action-packed weeks in the fall and the spring!

It also puts us in line for every fundraiser the soccer organization conducts — team photos, individual photos, MLS and college team partnership promotions and ticket sales. Most of the time, I’m happy to participate and feel glad to be contributing to sports programs for kids in our community.

But the other day, I received an email from someone affiliated with the soccer organization demanding that each parent on my older daughter’s team purchase two tickets to a local university soccer game, chiding those who had not yet contributed.

Now, as it happens, we’d already purchased tickets for our family through our younger daughter’s team. I explained that to the representative who emailed me back saying, “Okay, you’re fine then.”

Whoa, whoa, whoa! I know this person is almost certainly a volunteer, but somebody with the soccer club needs to give their volunteers a lesson in donor relations!

So let’s examine what went wrong with this Ask and figure out how it could have been done better.

The Offer

The first email we received about this particular fundraiser contained no details, just a vague mention of the need to purchase tickets to a soccer game at the university. I didn’t know who was playing the game — was it our kids? Or the university team? Or an exhibition game for our local MLS team? I didn’t know when the game was scheduled. Would we even be able to attend if we did purchase the tickets? And how was the money raised going to be used by the club?

The Ask

I know that no fundraising professional out there would demand a gift. But do you train your volunteers and program staff how to ask for donations? It’s all too easy for a volunteer to take a simple request that each family buy two tickets and turn it into extortion. Make sure they understand that donations are voluntary. And no one should ever be chided for declining to participate.

The Thank You

And of course, every donor should be thanked, genuinely and promptly. Tell them what their contribution means to the organization. Do my tickets to the university soccer game help pay for club equipment? Or scholarships for budding soccer phenoms in need? Make sure I know that up front and remind me when you say a heartfelt “Thank you.”

Don’t let anyone in your organization — staff, volunteer or friend — inadvertently create ill-will as they try to help raise money. Drill in the importance of treating donors with respect and gratitude, and you’ll see donations rise.

 Posted by Richelle at 12:11 pm  Tagged with: , , , , ,

What Nonprofits Can Learn from Netflix

 Nonprofit  2 Responses »
Sep 192011
 

I read the email from Netflix Co-Founder and CEO Reed Hastings this morning with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. A lot of people have summed up the new changes, which include dividing the company into two entities, with Netflix responsible for streaming video, and the new unfortunately named Qwikster responsible for DVDs. Despite Mr. Hastings’ emotional admission that he “messed up”, his statement remains almost as tone deaf as the one he made earlier this year when he announced controversial new price structures.

Which is why I think the Netflix debacle holds a great lesson for nonprofits.

A lot of nonprofits have had to reinvent, restructure and reassess over the last few years of economic turmoil. Some have cut back on donor newsletters and magazines, others have laid off staff, sold assets, and consolidated services. A lot of the time, you can get away with making big changes without informing donors. But when financial or other concerns force you to make big public changes, how do you communicate that to your loyal donors?

Not like Netflix.

The big mistake the Internet media company made wasn’t raising its prices or splitting its business — or even lacking “respect and humility”. It was not understanding what its customers liked about the service it provided.

When I read Mr. Hastings’ statement, I wondered if anyone in the PR department actually uses the Netflix service. Customers flocked to Netflix because they could get DVDs and streaming content. They saw the company as a content-delivery service with multiple avenues for delivering that content.

But the company saw itself differently. Where customers saw one service, Netflix saw two (DVD and streaming) and decided to charge for each. Which they probably could have gotten away with pretty easily had they made moves to separate the services in customers’ minds before they announced the big price hike. (I have no words for the new Qwikster service. WHY are they making it harder for people? Why?)

The lesson: You must listen to your donors. Know how they perceive your organization, what they like and what they don’t like. See where their goals and your goals meet and where they diverge. If you must make a change you know will be unpopular, see if you can steer your communication efforts so that your donors will understand where you’re headed and why.

You’ll always get complaints, and most of the time, that’s good. It means your donors are paying attention.

But if you understand where they are coming from, you can communicate your changes more effectively, and avoid the kind of controversy — and mass exodus of once-loyal supporters — Netflix has enjoyed the last few months.

 Posted by Richelle at 3:41 pm  Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Whoops! Recovering from Mistakes

 creativity, Nonprofit  2 Responses »
May 052011
 

Cheesecake Disasters

Mistakes get a bad rap. Sure, everybody likes to talk about learning from mistakes, and there are many, many old sayings encouraging us to shrug off our mishaps.

But I’ve spent a lot of time in meetings devoted to deconstructing every step of a mistake — how did this happen? Who did what? Who can we blame?

It’s usually clear what happened within five minutes of reviewing the error, but the meetings almost always ramble on for another 45 minutes, assigning blame, shaming the people who messed up, and ensuring that everyone present will be hitting the hooch later on and sighing, “What a day!”.

I am all for self-reflection.  Knowing how you got from point A to Disaster Ave. can be a valuable exercise. You can bet I have learned to double-check the latches on my springform pans since the little Thanksgiving mishap pictured at left.

And while I didn’t love cleaning out the oven, I did enjoy the scent of pumpkin cheesecake that wafted through my house every time we cooked anything for three weeks afterwards.

That’s why I love mistakes. They take you in new directions, give you insights you may not have gotten otherwise, and fuel creative solutions.

Several years ago, a client I was working with made a mistake in their segmentation that resulted in a whole bunch of people who had asked not to receive direct mail getting a special appeal. From an organizational perspective, it was a big mess-up. A few people called up, mad as all get-out that their wishes had been ignored. A few other generous souls gave to the appeal anyway.

The organization sat down and decided to contact the affected donors, thank them for their dedication, apologize for the error, and explain the new procedures that would ensure the same mistake was not repeated. They also gave the donors the opportunity to start receiving communications from the organization again, and several took them up on it.

As a result of the original mistake, they did lose a few donors. But they also streamlined their segmentation process, cemented the support of other donors, and had an invaluable opportunity to connect with a group of donors who had been virtually ignored.

Next time somebody (metaphorically) drops the cheesecake in your organization, go ahead and have the meeting. Figure out what happened and why it occurred. But spend the next 45 minutes talking about what you learned from the mistake and what opportunities opened up because of the error. At least then the drinking will be celebratory.

 Posted by Richelle at 1:06 pm  Tagged with: , , ,