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Editor’s Note:
The NonProfit Times, and the editorial staff members
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be getting alerts to feature stories and breaking news, in as
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Paul
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Editorial
Director |
5 Keys To Optimizing Your
Fundraising Format
For some, it’s a blanket
in a box. For others, it’s a sheet of name labels, or a
personalized greeting card. And for many charities, it’s
the old-fashioned letter in a closed face envelope.
These days, fundraisers have a
dizzying array of direct mail formats available. But what kind
of format to use – and to who, and when – is not
always an easy decision. The plain truth is, there is no
“one-size-fits all,” silver bullet format approach
that works for any charity, or to any audience. And because
every strategic challenge is different, your format choices also
must be flexible.
To read
the complete article click here... |
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Management ...
6
capability questions to ask
Identifying the key positions in any organization can go
a long way to helping that organization fulfill its
mission.
In
his book You’ve Gotta Have Heart, Cass Wheeler,
former CEO of the American Heart Association (AHA), relates how
the AHA went about identifying the positions that would have the
most impact on the three capabilities that were deemed to be
most important to the organization: fundraising, volunteer
guidance/ management and strategic talent
management.
These were the three top items in a long list that
included advocacy/influence, public/media relations,
training/development and others.
To
determine those capabilities, the organization asked the
following questions:
-
How
important is this capability in terms of achieving our strategic
goals?
-
To
what extent would this capability represent a distinct
difference/advantage compared to other
nonprofits?
-
What impact would this
capability have on customer perception of the value of
programs/products/services?
-
What
is the current level of performance for this
capability?
-
If
this capability is underperforming, to what extent would a
significant upgrade of talent in this area have an
impact?
-
Imagine you have 100 investment points to distribute
across each of these capabilities. Where would you invest to
yield the highest return?
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Human Resources ...
Recruitment and
retention is not enough
Across the globe, employers
are concerned that they are faced with a workforce that is aging
and a talent pool that is undereducated, un- or under-motivated
and showing shortages in many critical areas.
These problems pose challenges
for almost everyone, but they can be especially critical for
nonprofits, which usually operate with smaller staffs than
for-profits and rely on energetic, dedicated
employees.
Recruitment and retention
programs can help address the problem, but by themselves they
are not capable of solving it.
Jeffrey Akin and Brenda
Worthen, in their essay “Managing the Impending Workforce
Crisis,” which appears in the book Capturing the
People Advantage, argue that five specific practices will
help organizations develop platforms capable of addressing
emerging talent demands in a sustainable way.
-
Redefining knowledge
management. Knowledge embedded in IT often can’t adapt or
grow to meet changing needs. Knowledge resides in people, not
technology.
-
Fostering flexibility. This
can come in the form of cross-functional or cross-business unit
career mobility, job sharing, part-time work, flexible work
schedules, etc.
-
Supporting transparency.
Just as clients want to know what is going on, talented people
want their organizations to share information that could affect
their careers.
-
Decoupling resources from
locations. Although globalization can create instability, it can
create a more stable supply of talent.
-
Breaking down silos.
Organizations must abandon structures that rationalize the flow
of information up and down the chain of command. |
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You can create more
lucrative corporate alliances with help from the Cause Marketing
Forum Annual conference May 27 & 28 in Chicago
Learn more
at www.cmfconference.com | |
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Fundraising ...
6 mistakes when
negotiating with donors
A successful gift negotiation
doesn’t begin and end with a donor saying
“yes.” Your negotiation objective should be to align
the donor’s vision and your organization’s mission,
according to Shaun G. Lynch, president of SGL Philanthropic
Services in St. Lazare, Quebec, Canada.
Lynch explained the six
negotiation mistakes you should avoid at the 46th annual
Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) international
fundraising conference in New Orleans:
-
Neglecting the
prospect’s issues and objectives. You have your objective
-- to ultimately get a gift. But what about your potential
donor? Listen to what your prospect wants and then craft a
proposal.
-
Letting donation amounts
bulldoze other interests. Focusing too much on the dollar signs
and not on relationship building can potentially impact the
negotiation.
-
Letting positions drive out
interests. You and your prospect probably have two
different donation amounts in mind. Bridge that gap by
understanding what your donor wants. Ask questions and listen to
the answers.
-
Searching too hard for
common ground. Look for opportunities in your prospect’s
different interests.
-
Failing to correct for
skewed vision. Understand that your offer may have shortcomings.
And realize if you go into a negotiation with preconceived
notions about how your prospect will act -- you might be setting
yourself up for a self-fulfilled prophecy.
-
Neglecting “Best
Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement” (BANTA). Many
fundraisers see leaving a negotiation without a gift as a
failure. But Lynch explains that ignores the prospect’s
interests and the organization’s other opportunities, such
as making the offer to a different prospect or asking for the
prospect to solicit
others. |
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