Originally published here: Top 6 Reasons for Having a Board Retreat this Year

Does your organization hold an annual retreat for board members? And, if you do have an annual retreat, is fundraising on the agenda?

Why Have a Board Retreat?

Here are 6 no-nonsense reasons to have a board retreat this year.

1. Fulfill your mission.

The reason your organization exists is to fill a gap in the world. Your board is an instrumental part of that process. Your board should be engaged and involved, and occasional meetings just aren’t cutting it. It’s time to regroup, reconnect, and recharge.

2. Reenergize and reengage your board.

Be sure to include a “mission moment” and reignite the passion for the mission in board members. Have a client speak, read a letter from a grateful patient or parent, show a short video, etc. Anything to remind them of why they are there.

3. Review roles and responsibilities.

Provide a board member expectation worksheet and ask each board member to sign it. Expectations of your board members should include attendance at meetings, making a personal donation, serving on at least one committee, acting as an advocate for your cause, and helping with fundraising. Also, have board members do a self-assessment of how they did during the previous year

Originally published here: 4 Steps to Raise More Money AFTER Your Event

Did you know that much of the money made from a truly successful fundraising event is made after the event is over?

Although I'm in favor of a fundraising event earning a lot of money from sponsors and attendees, fundraising events are also excellent cultivation opportunities.

Attracting New Donors

Think about your last event. Were there any new faces? People who had never been to anything at your organization before? I hope so. Every good event should serve as a portal for new people to see your organization for the first time. Friends of board members, perhaps? Or a sponsor that filled their table with friends and colleagues?

Assuming you've brought in new prospective donors, you have a short window of time to reach out to these individuals while your event is still fresh in their minds. If you're successful, you can raise even more money as a result of your event.

After-Event Fundraising in 4 Easy Steps

1. Start at the event

Have a cultivation plan in place. Be sure to collect contact information from everyone who walks in the door – especially if they are a guest of someone else. Assign staff and board members to meet and greet specific attendees. Have them ask if they can contact the attendee following the event.

2. Follow up after the event

Within one week of the event, have staff and board members reach out to those people they connected with at the event to schedule follow up conversations. This can be done in person or by phone. This is a great opportunity to get new people engaged. Ask open ended questions, such as how they felt about the event and the organization. Would they be interested in getting involved (volunteering) and how?

3. Send thank you le

about 9 months ago

Originally published here: An Essential Resource for Nonprofit Beginners

Are you new(ish) to the nonprofit world?

Do you ever wish there was a comprehensive guide to nonprofit organizations that covered the basics?

Do you need a place to turn when you have a quick question about fundraising, leadership or management?

The Best Book for Nonprofit Beginners

Although I wouldn’t call it the “bible” for beginning nonprofit professionals, the book I'm about to mention is pretty darn close. CharityChannel Press has just released their newest book:

You and Your Nonprofit: Practical Advice and Tips from the CharityChannel Professional Community

This 400 plus page tome is a collection of short articles by over 40 experts in the field, on a wide variety of topics related to nonprofits today. It’s targeted for beginners in the field – those who have been in for 10 years or less. Articles cover the basics and will get you off to a great start, as well as answering the many burning questions you have.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm happy to report that I have two of my own articles in this special book and I receive a small commission on sales made through this post. But I wouldn't promote it if I didn't think it was a super-valuable resource.

Topics range from board management, to volunteer recruitment, to program evaluation, to cultivating big gifts, to online fundraising and

Originally published here: Do You Have a Winning Fundraising Team?

Fundraising is a team sport. Whether you win, raising lots of money for your cause, or lose depends a lot on who's on your team and how you play together.

Creating a Winning Team

Do you have a winning fundraising team? Consider your teammates and their skills.

Your Executive Director

Do you have an executive director who is committed to fundraising? Are they part of the process and understand their important role? The executive director should be the face and visionary of the organization. He or she should be meeting with donors on a regular basis and developing relationships with them.

Members of Your Staff

Do you have fundraising staff members? Whether you are a staff of one or several development professionals, it is important that everyone does their job and more. Nonprofits don’t function with the attitude “that’s not my job.” Everyone pitches in before a big event, a major ask, a pending grant deadline, etc.

Your Board Members

Do you have dedicated and passionate board members? Have you provided fundraising training and specific expectations? Are they involved in the process? Do you have 100% participation? To get the absolute best from your board members, follow these 8 simple steps to recruit and retain great board members. I also recommend reading Boards: The Secret to Successful Fundraising.

Is Anyone Accountable?

The single most powerful tool I’ve found to keep a development team on track and successful is accountability.

Whenever I about 10 months ago

Originally published here: 4 Super Easy Processes for Raising More Money

I’m currently working with two organizations that will each raise significantly more money once they improve the way their respective offices function.

What can you do to improve the way your office functions? Here are four super easy processes that you can put into place right away.

Team Meetings for Accountability

Have a weekly development team meeting for accountability. In any office it’s often easy to be busy, but not productive. And it’s no different in a development office. The best way to stay productive is to be accountable to someone else.

Your development “team” can be made up of anyone in your office who works on fundraising. Ideally, it would be the executive director and development staff, but if there’s no development staff then it can be the executive director and the administrative assistant. A willing board member can also be part of the team.

Your meeting is a short one (15 minutes) and only has two agenda items:

1. What ask or solicitation did we make last week (how did it go and is there any follow up that needs to be done)?
2. What ask is coming up (who is responsible to make certain that it happens)?

A Stewardship Plan

Have a stewardship plan in place. Who is responsible for generating and sending thank you letters in your office? How much turnaround time is there before they get mailed? Do they sit on the executive director’s desk for days or weeks waiting for a signature or personal note? Does anyone make thank you calls or send thank you emails?

One of the biggest indicators of whether or not a donor will make a subsequent gift is whether or not they are about 10 months ago

Originally published here: Fundraising Results: It’s Not the Economy, It’s You

Do you think your fundraising results are terrible because of a poor economy? If so, think again. Many organizations are raising more money than ever before.

The Winners and Losers

Those organizations that are investing in development efforts are seeing a significant return on their investments. They're the winners. It should come as no surprise then, that those that are cutting development budgets (and staff members) are the ones who are seeing declining results — the losers. Is your organization a winner or a loser?

How to Become a Winner

Here are some ways to increase your fundraising results, no matter what the economy is doing.

Ask Your Donors for Gifts

Are you sitting at your desk waiting for the phone to ring with a donor on the other end? This strategy may have worked five years ago, but now it’s the people who are out meeting with donors and asking for gifts that are reaping the rewards. How many people did you ask for a gift this month?

Be Grateful and Responsive

Are you properly thanking your donors? Do you have a formal stewardship program in place? Are you sending thank you letters (not just receipts), making thank you calls, thanking people in person? And, letting them know how their donation was used and the impact it made? This is so important in terms of receiving future gifts and increased future gifts.

Build Lasting Relationships

How many friends have you raised for your organization this year? Are you introducing new people to your organization? What are you doing to about 10 months ago

Originally published here: How to Create a Development Plan that Catapults Your Fundraising

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Are you doing anything differently this year to raise more money for your cause? The key is to actually have a development plan. Here are the most basic steps necessary to create your own development plan. These steps will get you moving in the right direction, but creating a highly effective development plan isn't easy. There are many details that can make or break your plan.

Creating a Development Plan to Raise More Money

There are four basic steps for creating a development plan to improve your fundraising.

1. Create a Baseline

Analyze what you've done in the past. What did you do last year to raise money?

• Grants - How many grants did you apply for, and receive?
• Events - How many fundraising events did you have? How much did they cost and how much did they raise? How much time and effort did they take?
• Mailings - How many bulk mailings did you send, both traditional and electronic? How many people did each solicitation go to? How many responses did you get from each mailing? What was the average gift?
• Asks - How many individuals did you solicit?

2. Create Goals

Ask yourself the following questions:

• How much money do you want to raise?
• What resources will you need to raise that amount?
• What is the gap between the amount you're currently raising and how much you want to raise?

3. Determine What to Change

Figure out what's been working versus what you need to change. Consider the followi

Originally published here: Attention Funders and Fundraisers: Capacity Building is Key

Think big. Think long term.

That’s the message of today’s post.

Are you changing the world (or your corner of it, at least) by fulfilling your mission?

How are you making sure your organization is GROWING?

• I’m tired of nonprofits cutting development positions and not providing training for staff and board members. It is short-sighted and detrimental to long-term fundraising efforts.
• I’m tired of foundations that only fund programs, providing only funding that is so restrictive, that the charities that they claim to be helping end up bending over backwards to fit the mold the foundation has set.
• I’m tired of donors who only want to give in ways that won’t really help your organization. A common example is when a donor wants to start a new program when you can’t even support your existing ones.

What Does it Take to Grow?

It takes guts.

Today, I’m asking you to stand up and start educating your funders and your bosses about supporting what you really need, especially development efforts so you can fulfill your mission.

My life’s work is to help you achieve your life's work: to heal the sick, curb hunger, stop child abuse, preserve the environment, empower women, provide and enhance educational opportunities, and so much more. I do this by helping organizations raise more money and therefore come closer to fulfilling their mission.

Without adequate resources, you won’t be able to achieve your mission. It's that simple.

No-Nonsense: It's Time to Take a Stand

Today’s message is entirely no-nonsense (my strong

Creating a Development Plan to Raise More Money

1. Create a Baseline

• Grants - How many grants did you apply for, and receive?
• Events - How many fundraising events did you have? How much did they cost and how much did they raise? How much time and effort did they take?
• Mailings - How many bulk mailings did you send, both traditional and electronic? How many people did each solicitation go to? How many responses did you get from each mailing? What was the average gift?
• Asks - How many individuals did you solicit?

2. Create Goals

• How much money do you want to raise?
• What resources will you need to raise that amount?
• What is the gap between the amount you're currently raising and how much you want to raise?

3. Determine What to Change

• Will you have the same events?
• What new foundations can you apply to?
• How many new cultivation activities will you have?
• How many individuals can you solicit?
about 11 months ago

The Winners and Losers

How to Become a Winner

Ask Your Donors for Gifts

Be Grateful and Responsive

Build Lasting Relationships