In This Edition:

• After Madoff: Charities Still Picking Up The Pieces
  
  
• Fundraising ...
  A little planning goes a long way
  
  
• Professional Development ...
  Being a fundraiser means never having to say you’re sorry
  
  
• Marketing ...
  7 media ideas for your campaign

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After Madoff: Charities Still Picking Up The Pieces

As the initial shock and awe subsides, the huge dollar figures swirling around Bernard Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme have become clearer, and while they might be a bit smaller than originally feared, they’re still big.

The Associated Press tallied some $30 billion in losses to the Madoff scheme. Meanwhile, Yeshiva University estimated its initial investment with Madoff was $14.5 million, according to Bloomberg News, after early indications of having $110 million with Madoff Securities by way of Ascot Partners.

To read the complete article click here...

Fundraising ...
A little planning goes a long way

When you pack for a trip, you might fall into one of two categories. Are you the person who needs multiple bags for a weekend trip and argues that you need winter wear for a tropic location, just in case? Or, are you the person who always forgets the essentials -- like a toothbrush or socks?

If your campaign planning follows your packing habits, “The Just Enough Planning Guide: A Roadmap to Help Nonprofits Reach Their Campaign Goals” developed by Spitfire Strategies and the Communications Leadership Institute outline nine steps to essential campaigns:

1. Confirm that a campaign is possible. Don’t start a campaign if you don’t have the time, expertise or the people to handle the job. Undertaking a campaign without the resources will doom the results from the beginning.
2. Set a clear, measurable goal that is achievable. Try to avoid ambiguous or impossible campaign objectives. For example, wanting to improve your school system is great. Placing concrete measurements, like increasing graduation rates by 20 percent in 10 years, can help track goals and give your campaign a target.
3. Chart your course. Look at different ways of achieving your campaign and choose the way that makes the most sense for your organization.
4. Anticipate conditions. There can be bumps in the road, but analyzing what can get in your campaign’s way will help you anticipate situations before they become road blocks.
5. Know how to make headway. Outline what will help you reach milestone goals with acknowledged deadlines.
6. Prioritize your target audience. Look at the people you want to be talking to and what they need to know to get behind your campaign. 
7. Put a public face on your campaign. Brand your campaign so it’s identifiable for your audience and speaks simply to your mission.
8. Operationalize your campaign. Plan out what you need to do daily to hit your targets.
9. Stay on track. Evaluate snags immediately. Don’t wait until the campaign is over to learn from mistakes. Remember that planning helps, but being flexible when unexpected situations arise can help your campaign stay on course.

Professional Development ...
Being a fundraiser means never having to say you’re sorry

There are times to be sorry -- like that time you were impersonating your mother-in-law while she was standing right behind you. Or when you forgot your significant other’s birthday -- again. Those situations call for apologies.

But you should never feel sorry for fundraising, according to Timothy Winkler, CEO of Winkler Consulting Group in Charleston, S.C. “To go out and to have an apologetic tone when you are asking really sends a mixed, conflicted message to the people you are talking to,” said Winkler. He explained at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for Nonprofits why you shouldn’t put a ‘sorry’ in your ask:

• People don’t just hear “sorry.” What you say and what donors will interpret may be different when you quickly follow up your ask with an apology. “The secondary message behind what you are communicating to those folks is ‘our mission really isn’t that important. Our mission really isn’t that urgent. Our mission isn’t a priority -- there are other more important things you should be focusing on,’” said Winkler.
• Times are tough. Everyone knows that the economy is in the pits. Your donors don’t need you to remind them of that. That’s what news reports are for. When you ask like the donation is a burden, it will feel that way to the donor.
• Communicate the need. Statistics have played out again and again that donors still give during economic downturns. Donors need to feel that your mission is worth their discretionary dollar – so make your case for giving as strong as ever.
• Be confident. “It’s a subtle tone and attitude, but it makes a huge difference in your effectiveness in raising that money,” said Winkler. Like a bad cold, lack of confidence can spread from person to person. Let your donors catch your enthusiasm for the mission.
  

 Marketing ...
7 media ideas for your campaign

The news media can help get the word out about your organization – if you know how to reach them. Press releases can inform journalists and editors about your organization and hook them for a story. But you should know what kind of news makes it to print before sending out a press release, according to Janet Rice McCoy, assistant professor at Morehead State University, and Jeanette Drake, associate professor at Kent State University, at Blackbaud’s 2008 Conference for NonProfits. So what are journalists looking for?

• Timeliness. It’s great to find out about a Halloween fundraiser -- but not in April. Call journalists and find out how much time in advance they need story ideas.
• Magnitude. Will your information effect five people or an entire state?
• Impact. Journalists want to know what will happen. If you miss a fundraising goal, do you just shrug your shoulders and try again next year? Or, will it keep you from feeding 100 people? Let the journalists know what numbers mean to your organization.
• Human interest. Numbers only get so far. People want to read stories about others. See if a constituent or donor would be willing to talk about what the organization did, or does, for them.
• Celebrity. TMZ isn’t the only media outlet that loves celebrity. Known names can help make headlines -- and sell papers.
• Proximity. Not all news is national. If you are a state or regional nonprofit, try to tailor news to what will happen in specific communities. If you are a local nonprofit, make sure you explain how things will hit home.
• Novelty. Everything in your organization may be exciting to you, but another fundraiser will not lure journalists -- or readers. Try to find a new spin that makes your events note-worthy.

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