Fundraising Tips

But first do your research. You’ll have narrowed down your search by looking through a funding directory or a funding website and have identified the trust as one likely to consider your cause or project. You’ll know about their history, their patterns of grant-giving and the amounts they give. You’ll have looked at their website to learn even more.

Once you’re armed with all this knowledge – call them. Talk about your organisation and what you’re trying to achieve in terms of outcomes; ask them what types of project they would be most likely to support and what would be a reasonable amount to ask for. Pick up any little snippets or tips that will help you in completing the application form.

And now, having significantly increased your chances of application success, you’re ready to complete the application form.

Most fundraisers sourcing trusts from a book naturally start from the first page and work through the alphabetical listings.

You can increase your chances of fundraising success by opening the book towards the end and working backwards; or increase your chances further by using www.trustfunding.org.uk and let the search engine match the trusts to your criteria.

Want to double your chances of getting that grant? Read the eligibility criteria. Then read them again.

It may sound simple, but research carried out by the governmentfunding.org.uk team last year showed that over 50% of applications to central government departments were unsuccessful because they failed to meet the basic eligibility criteria. By making sure your organisation and the work you are proposing is absolutely 100% eligible for funding you are instantly doubling your chances of success.

In some cases that may be more difficult than it sounds, especially with statutory programmes using a language all of their own to describe their funding programmes. If you are not sure, or need clarification, get in touch with the funder and check - it's as much in their interests as yours that your application is relevant. A five minute phone call could save you hours, or even days of work on an application for funding that no matter how good it is, won't be successful.

Special offer: Organisations subscribing to governmentfunding.org.uk before 30 April 2008 get a free and updated 40 page “Government Funding” chapter from The Complete Fundraising Handbook. Find out more at http://www.governmentfunding.org.uk/Page.aspx?SP=316

by Amy Rosser, Project Manager for DSC's governmentfunding.org.uk

“My Granddad is divine compost because he has grown these good things in his children and grandchildren. It is because we teach these things to our children that they will in turn teach them to theirs; the impact is eternal.

How do you incorporate this within your fundraising message? By making sure that you show how generosity ripples outwards. Do not stop at saying a donation will take a homeless person off the streets. Talk about what they will do when they are off the streets. Who will they meet and what will they do? What acts of goodness will they now be able to do?”

This article is by Jonathan Farnhill and is an extract from his book, The Porcupine Principle. Download the full chapter below.

There are indeed ‘born’ fundraisers who simply go out and ask people for money, often with spectacular and continuing success – you have probably come across one or two of them. But they are few and far between and you do not have to be one of them in order to raise lots of money.

Fundraising programmes fail nearly always for the same reason – short term pressures have meant that fundraisers have simply not got around to putting in the fundraising time.

They are probably funded by short-term grants, or by unsatisfactory service agreements with statutory agencies. They knew that this was leaving them in a vulnerable position but the pressures of coping with day-to-day needs of their beneficiaries have overwhelmed their plans to change this situation.

And then, too often, they find they have left it too late and are facing an immediate crisis that funding, seldom a short-term activity, cannot resolve for them in the time available.

The good news is that those who have indeed formed a reasonable fundraising plan, and then put the necessary time and resources into implementing it, nearly always succeed. I hardly ever meet people who say that they have tried asking people for money, but they have said ‘No’.

Extract from Effective Fundraising: An informal guide to getting donations and grants (£12.95) by Luke Fitzherbert. Buy now
The text is the resource for DSC’s training course, Effective Fundraising I. Register now

‘Making the ask’ is, at its heart, nothing more than asking potential donor for funds. Done properly, it is an effective method of raising large funds for organisations. Done badly, it not only doesn’t raise funds but also wastes the good will of individuals and harms the potential of the organisation to do its work.

By far and away the greatest problem encountered in meetings between a fundraiser and potential donor is the reluctance of askers to actually ‘make the ask’! All too often, a pleasant conversation ensues – about the organisation and its merits, the project in question, the potential donor’s relationship to the organisation, the donor’s family and business life – but, tragically, an actual ask is often not made.

In preparing and rehearsing for the meeting, the key designated asker should have practiced saying and must now deliver the following (or similar) words:

“Would you be prepared to join us in supporting this project to the level of xxx,xxx?”

If askers fail to deliver on this key responsibility, all else is lost.

The response – “Silence”

After the ‘ask’ is made, the askers must await a response, in silence! All too often in key asking circumstances, askers deny themselves the prospect of obtaining a major gift by not waiting in silence for a response. They will continue to talk about the project, or worse, start to suggest reasons why it might be inopportune or inappropriate for the potential donor to give. In other words, they start talking the potential donor out of giving. Silence prevents this possibility.

Excerpt from Quick Guide: Making the Ask £5.00 by Frank Opray. Buy now

By John Baguley

1. The Pareto principal
80% of your income can come from 20% of your supporters. Learn who they are, develop the relationship, and approach them for more until the ratio comes true.

2. ‘My friend the fundraiser’
People tend to give to people, not organisations. They give to help end suffering, so in your fundraising bring them as close to the victims as possible but become their friend in the process, and build up the relationship for long-term giving.

3. ‘Thank you!’
Always say ‘thank you’ and say it promptly. It is common courtesy and shows respect for your donors and gratitude for their generosity. If you do not say ‘thank you’ you do not deserve another donation. Thanking people helps to cement your friendship. Do not try to get out of it.

4. How much?
Always let people know how much you would like them to give. It makes them feel comfortable and makes you look competent. If there is no indication of the amount you need people worry that they may be thought foolish for giving away a lot, or mean for giving just a little. Whilst they deliberate the immediacy goes out of your request, and you may lose the donation altogether.

5. Testing, testing, testing
Until you test, you do not know. You can have a hundred theories about your fundraising programme and your donors, but until you actually run one idea against another you do not really know which one works. It is easy to do in some cases, such as direct mail, and harder in others, such as advertising – but it is essential in all cases. Always try to learn something each time you carry out an idea, and always test ideas on the smallest statistically relevant sample possible.

Principles 6-10 appear in Successful Fundraising by John Baguley, £16.95 available from DSC. Buy Successful Fundraising

John Baguley is delivering the opening plenary at DSC’s Fundraising Conference on 27 October 2008. Register now

1: Be proud to be a fundraiser

Our efforts enable good works to happen. Everywhere throughout the world the voluntary sector is growing and increasing its contribution to improve the lot of the human species and to make the world a better place in which we live. Fundraisers play a significant role in this, for without us voluntary action wouldn’t happen. We provide the resources that fuel philanthropy. Without our contributions the great machine that is the voluntary or nonprofit sector would grind to an ultimate halt.

So we should defend and promote fundraising, but only when we can do so with hand on heart. We should be our own fiercest critics, to ensure that we constantly strive to refine and improve what we do.

2: Believe passionately in your cause

As a fundraiser you must believe passionately in your cause if you are to have any chance of communicating that passion and commitment to others. Never be ashamed or embarrassed by your passion or afraid to show it in public. On the contrary be proud of it. When backed by the actions it inspires, passion such as this is the only thing that has ever changed the world for the better.

3: Be honest, open, truthful

Shouldn’t need saying this, but it does. Donors expect fundraisers to be consistently and scrupulously honest; they have the right to do that. They will repay you harshly if they feel you have let them down. More than on most other professions(except perhaps the police or the clergy), donors expect to be able to rely on what fundraisers tell them. Other members of the public may be less trusting, and this is both a major problem and an opportunity for us.

4: Be faithful

Always stick to your promises. Let donors see that you are honorable and trustworthy. Stand by your organisations mission, and don’t compromise what it stands for.

5: Be prepared to take a (calculates) risk.

The cautious, heads-down culture of nonprofits these days doesn’t engender runaway fundraising success. We seem to think risk is bad and that playing safe is good, that being different is wrong and being the same as everyone else is right. To stand out is to draw attention to yourself. Perhaps people now prefer imitation to innovation. But it's only if we are prepared to take a few carefully weighed and well calculated risks that we are ever likely to see real breakthroughs.

6: Be respectful of donors, and show that respect even when they are not present.

The unwelcome but increasingly widespread use among non –profit supporters and even fundraisers  of that unflattering term 'chugger' should lead us inevitably to examination of the terms fundraisers often use to describe their donors. Respect from the organisations they support is something most donors automatically expect. But that respect doesn’t always follow, Fundraisers, I find, frequently refer to donors and other supporters in terms that might not be able to help their aspirations of building lasting, mutual beneficial relationships.

When we write our fundraising letters we should always imagine we are writing to our mother or someone equally close and vulnerable for whom we’d rather die than offend. And when we gather in our conference halls, seminars, and workshops, we should picture in our minds a group of our donors standing at the back of each room, listening intently to our proceedings.

Nothing we say or do should confuse or offend them or make them feel in any way uncomfortable. In the same way as we should respectfully regard our donors we should also picture our beneficiaries, the people our cause exists to help. Such images should not just influence how we behave, what we say, and what we do, they should also inspire us and remind us that when we talk about donors and others we should always show due respect.

This includes showing respect in the labels we stick on donors, the terminologies and titles we use to describe them, singly or in groups. I’ve always railed against the term lapsed donors, for example. It sounds almost biblical, like fallen women. How dare they lapse, these people? Worse still are the terms some fundraisers apply to various segments of their databases. I’ve heard otherwise nice, polite fundraisers refer to groups of their donors and former donors as the residue, the leftovers, the dead pool, and the sediment.

How would you like to be thus described? I rest my case.

• Respond to new needs as they emerge. You are at the front line of social provision. The needs you identify today will be met by the established services of tomorrow.
• Two heads are better that one. Get together with colleagues to bounce ideas around. Or just wallow in a warm bath!
• Start with your current work, your current projects. What are the next steps? How could things be done differently or better? What new needs are emerging from what you are doing and what can you do about them?
• Ask your current, previous and potential users. What do they think about the situation now and in the future? What would they do in your position?
• Also, keep as eye on the “marketplace” – see what others are doing. Get hold of other organisations’ annual reports. Look at the emerging social business sector. Keep in touch with social trends, emerging fashion and fads.
• Write down ideas as soon as you have thought of them, however half-baked or ill thought-out they appear. If you don’t, you’ll forget them. If you do, you can develop and refine them over time.
• Bring in outsiders who have no preconceptions. This can provide a degree of “lateral thinking” which will be useful. You know how the buses or the health services should be run, so it is a good bet that outsiders can teach you a thing or two. Stop thinking about what you can do and about “all the problems and difficulties”. Develop a positive can-do attitude to your work and your organisation.
• Go back to basics. Forget what you are doing now. What might you be doing in an ideal world to deal with the problem or need? Look at your organisation’s objects or purposes as enshrined in the founding documents and think about what you would do if you were starting from scratch.
• Somewhere, there is an idea which is just right for your organisation, which will be easy to raise money for, which will enhance your credibility and public image, and which (hopefully) will solve all your financial problems…for ever!

From Writing Better Fundraising Applications by Mike Eastwood & Michael Norton, available for £14.95 from www.dsc.org.uk/publications

If you don’t have all the skills listed above, don’t be disheartened. See below for some helpful tips to improve your fundraising performance:

• assess your strengths, so you concentrate on doing the things you are good at;
• learn what skills you need to acquire, and set about obtaining the necessary training or experience;
• find ways for compensating for your weakness by getting others to help.

Read about these fundraising skills in The Complete Fundraising Handbook for £22.95 by Nina Botting and Michael Norton.

Recession undoubtedly makes life for charities much harder. People and companies feel worse off and have less disposable income to give to charities. Previously reliable legacy income is certain to fall as the value of assets decreases.

Even grant making trusts, which exist to do good by giving money away to excellent causes, suffer from falling income and asset values and find themselves able to do less to help.

Fundraising in a recession is back-to-basics time. Remember, you are not asking for money for yourselves. You should feel proud, not embarrassed when asking people to support a good cause, recession or not.

Nonetheless, there are some key points to observe when fundraising during a recession. Work across each discipline in fundraising and develop a strategic approach for each.

Consider for example:

• How wealthy people may react to approaches at a time of recession
• How GMTs are affected by recession and how their giving patterns may change
• How the general public may change their reactions to direct response fundraising approaches through the mail, by phone, face-to-face and by the web during a recession
• How companies are likely to change their responses to charitable approaches for donations and sponsorship
• How charities should adjust their trading through shops, mail order and the web during times of recession
• How to protect your charity’s legacy income in the longer term, whilst recognizing shorter term downturns

Anthony Clay will present Fundraising in a Recession, a one-day workshop revealing how to successfully target these groups during recession. Register now

Companies continue to receive many unsolicited or inappropriate appeals for support and sponsorship proposals. Whilst many bring this upon themselves due to a lack of clear guidelines for potential applicants, this should not be seen as an excuse to conduct blanket mailings.

Sponsorship is a term that is widely misunderstood yet signifies a commercial exchange and so there must be clear benefit for both parties. Download this FREE Sponsorship resource which helps you to understand the basics and find all the information you need.

One of the findings of the report ‘An Evaluation of Corporate Community Investment in the UK’ [pdf document] published by the Charities Aid Foundation, was that companies support a relatively narrow set of causes and issues that have not particularly changed over time. Coupled with a survey which found the biggest frustration charities face in attempting to work with companies to be limited access to decision makers, means it is vitally important to do your research thoroughly.

Further information on how to successfully approach businesses for support is given in the ‘Applying to companies’ section of DSC’s Guide to UK Company Giving 2009/10, £50, published next week. Unless there is some clear link with a company, or your project is clearly within its defined areas of support, you should NOT be applying.

We would also recommend that you download a copy of ‘Charities Working with Business’, which gives a good overview of the issues involved in undertaking a relationship with a company and is published by the Institute of Fundraising.

Guide to UK Company Giving 2009/10 by John Smyth includes details of around 500 companies in the UK that give a combined total of £400 million in cash donations to voluntary and community organisations. Published next week, the guide is available from www.dsc.org.uk for £50.

Your first step is to identify companies and individuals who might have what you need. You can ask your colleagues or friends for suggestions or do some simple research, using business directories or going through business networks such as the local Chamber of Commerce. [DSC’s new Guide to UK Company Giving 2009/10 lists 490 of the biggest corporate givers and offers tips on securing in kind support.]

For things such as used office equipment, it’s best to approach larger companies, as they are more likely to replace their equipment on a regular basis. For donations of products you might approach the manufacturer, the wholesaler or a retail outlet. As a rule of thumb, the further back in the chain you go, the less it will cost them to donate it to you.

Usually, the higher up in the company the person is the better. But remember, there is also a ‘back door’. For example, if you are looking for wood offcuts from a timber supplier you could formally ask the Managing Director (front door); or you could ask the Yard Manager to let you take some wood away (back door). Either way, the point is to ask someone who is able to make the decision – whoever that person is.

Once you know whom you are going to ask, it is far better to contact them in person or by telephone (unsolicited letters are often ignored or thrown away). That way you are more likely to get an immediate decision. If you telephone and they ask you to write in, then do so, but remember to follow up with a phone call a few days later. You may need to be persistent to be successful. When you ask, remember to do the following:

• State your request, giving good reasons why you need the gift in question and explaining how important it is for your work. Tell them that you expect to get a lot of good publicity and that you will ensure that people get to hear about their generosity. You can also point out that a gift in kind is much cheaper than and easier option than a donation.
• Be positive and enthusiastic – a good telephone manner is really important, so if that’s not your strong point ask somebody else to do it.
• Have a fallback position in case your would-be donor says ‘No’. For example, you might say ‘…but if you have last season’s model, or damaged goods that would be fine for us.’ Or ‘…if you can’t donate it, would you consider giving us a discount – say fifty per cent?’ Or ‘I’m really sorry you can’t help us, but do you know anyone who could?’ You could then telephone that person saying you’re ringing at so-and-so’s suggestion.

Extract from Collins need to know? Fundraising (£9.99) by Michael Norton. Buy your copy now

1. Give details of any unforeseen circumstances
Where relevant, try and show how the circumstances you are now in could not have been foreseen (for example, illness, family difficulties, loss of job and so on).

2. Ask for a suitable amount
Ask for an amount that the trust is able to give. Most trust grants are under £300, and local charities often give much less.

3. Give clear, honest details about any savings, capital or compensation
Most trustees will consider the applicant’s savings when they are awarding a grant, although sometimes this does not need to affect trustees’ calculations.

4. Remember each charity has different deadlines for applications
Some charities can consider applications throughout the year; others may meet monthly, quarterly or just once a year. Very urgent applications can sometimes be considered between the main meetings.

5. Mention applications to other charities
Explain that other charities are being approached, when this is the case, and state that any surplus money raised will be returned.

6. Make sure the appropriate person submits the application
Some trusts specify that they wish the application to be made directly by the individual and others request that the application is submitted via a third party.

7. Offer to supply references

8. Complete the trust’s application form if there is one

9. Be honest and realistic, not moralising and emotional
Too many applicants try to morally bribe trustees into supporting the application, or launch tirades against the current political regime. It is best to confine your application to clear and simple statements of fact.

10. Be as concise as possible and provide sufficient detail
Give as much relevant information as possible, in the most precise way. For example, ‘place of birth’ is sometimes answered with Great Britain, but if the trust only gives grants in Liverpool, to answer ‘Great Britain’ is not detailed enough and the application will be delayed pending further information.

11. Write neatly and clearly; do not use jargon
Tips on how to make an application from the new edition of The Educational Grants Directory 2009/10, £50, by Alan French and Jessica Carver. Buy now.

Organising an event can be a wonderful way of raising money for a good cause. The following are the main decisions you will need to make:

• Do you want to organise and event? And why do you want to? Organising one event a year can bring the staff, board and volunteers together and create a sense of solidarity for the organisation. It can also raise money, bring in new supporters and get publicity for the work of the organisation. So if you are starting to fundraise, you might decide to organise one event, and to do something quite modest initially which you feel you are capable of doing. But decide what you want out of the event; set yourself clear objectives.
• What sort of event? This is an important decision. What you decide will be affected by your ambitions, your audience, your skills and any opportunities that present themselves.
• What do you need to do next? A first step might be to get together a small working group or committee under the leadership of one person, and give them the responsibility for running the event. They will need to produce a plan, a schedule, and a budget. Responsibilities will need to be shared by the group (planning the event, getting sponsorship, selling tickets, publicity, dealing with legal matters and permissions, finances, etc.). The chairperson will need to coordinate everything and make sure everyone does what they are responsible for satisfactorily and to schedule.

Extract from Getting Started in Fundraising, £7.40, by Michael Norton and Murray Culshaw available from www.dsc.org.uk

 I asked a group of fundraisers who were approaching charitable foundations to telephone them after they had received a letter of rejection to find out why they had been turned down, and to see whether there was any possibility of their application being reconsidered or whether there was anything else they might apply for.

What was interesting was how many eventually succeeded in getting a grant. If you are a donor receiving hundreds of applications, there is a tendency to say ‘no’ as an immediate response to any request. It is far harder to say ‘no’ to someone who feels that they have a good project which you really should be interested in and who has the courage to come back and try to enter into a discussion with you.

What to do if you are turned down

• Telephone to try and find out why they decided not to support you this time.
• Ask about the possibility of submitting another application.
• Discuss what you are doing and try to find out what aspect of your work they might be interested in supporting.
• Ask for a meeting, so that you can put your case in person.
• Suggest that they come and visit your project to see the excellent and exciting work you are doing.
• Tell them that you will keep in touch and that you will send them regular information on your work and news about progress.

Extract from the new edition of the Worldwide Fundraiser’s Handbook, £24.95, by Michael Norton.

1. Keep the facts at your fingertips
   Make sure that all the information you will need about your organisation and about the project is readily available. Back up your argument with facts and figures; don’t just make assertions.
2. Build your credibility
   Get yourself and your organisation known in the grants world, develop effective public relations, get (good) publicity for your work. Don’t underestimate the value of just meeting donors informally and chatting. This is often when the best fundraising is done.
3. Develop grant-winning ideas
   Some ideas and projects are so good that they have no difficulty in being funded. Think about your work and see if there are ideas or projects which will more easily win a grant.
4. Sort out your fundraising strategy
   Think about how your organisation is to be funded over the next few years, whether this is realistic and what you need to do to put your organisation’s funding on a secure basis. Think about how you intend to attract funds for the project immediately and on a continuing basis (if the project is to continue).
5. Research and identify likely grant prospects
   Avoid the scatter-gun approach. Make carefully targeted approaches at a few funders rather than writing a circular letter to anybody and everybody. Cross-reference your ideas and projects with likely funders, matching their interest to your needs. Also, be sure you know which budget the money is coming from. For example, if you are approaching a company, you could be looking for support from the donations budget, corporate PR, marketing or personnel department, or even its employee or voluntary committee. Your approach will need to be adapted accordingly.
6. Write a good proposal
   Write a clear and succinct application, making a really good case for support.
7. Manage the application process
   Decide how and who is to contact the funding source, whether a formal proposal should be put to them right away, whether a meeting or visit could usefully be arranged, and how you can bring more influence to bear on the decision-making process. Also, should you be the person making the approach? Would it be better if it came from someone else? A colleague might have more established contacts with the funders, or a prestige trustee or supporter may have more impact.
8. Say ‘thank you’
   If you succeed in getting a grant, note any restrictions or obligations on your part and make sure you comply with these. Say ‘thank you’ immediately.
9. Keep in touch
   Maintain contact with those who are supporting you (obviously), but also with those who are not (where you feel they are or should be interested in your work). Report on your successes and continue to build your credibility with them.
10. Go back
    Ask those who have supported you for further support next year or the year after – they have already demonstrated that they like you and what you are doing. Go back to those who have turned you down – if you feel that they should be interested. Persistence can really pay. Note any reasons given for rejection. It may be worth finding out whether there is a chance of reapplying and trying to fix up a meeting to discuss your proposals further.

Extract from A Practical Guide to Writing Better Funding Applications by Mike Eastwood and Michael Norton, £18.95, published by DSC.

A major grant-making trust suggests:

“A thoughtful and honest application always stands out in the crowd! Tell us clearly what the problem is, and how your project will do something about it. Give us relevant facts and figures, please don’t use jargon, and don’t be vague. You don’t need to promise the moon, just tell them what you can realistically achieve.

Your budget should show that you’ve done your homework and know what things cost.

A thoughtful and honest application isn’t a hurried and last minute dash to meet our deadlines with something dreamt up overnight. It is a serious and sincere attempt by your organisation to use its experience and skill to make a positive difference where it is needed.”

Extract from the Youth Funding Guide, £35, by Denise Lillya.  This guide is part of series offering specialist fundraising advice and funding sources for youth, sports, government and the environment.

By Lisa Parker, Chief Executive, The Nationwide Foundation.

When I first started work in grant making over 10 years ago, I found one of the hardest tasks was declining grant applications.  Rarely have I seen an application that was not for a deserving cause.  So saying no is not an easy decision and nor has it become much easier over the years.

The Nationwide Foundation, like many funders has limited precious resource, but seeks to deploy this for maximum benefit.  Before being able to set funding criteria, all funders need to be clear of their own strategies and know why they are choosing to support particular work.  To do this, we undertake research on social issues, identify gaps where support for people in need is lacking and look at how we can achieve long term benefits.  

As most charities will know, the usual reason for grant applications being declined is the limited budget available.  It is simply the case that funders receive grant requests far in excess of their budgets.  Over the years, I have seen applications become stronger than ever. 

So what can applicants do to maximise their chances of receiving a ‘yes’?:

• Try to understand the funders’ strategy objectively, to determine if your work falls in line with its aims.  If it does, the better chance your application has.
• If you are unclear about whether your work might fit the funding criteria, speak to the funder to determine if it is worth applying.  If they say no, follow this advice and bear in mind that the person who spoke to you could well be an assessor.  Your time would be better spent on an application to a different funder.
• Does the work you are requesting funding for meet your constitutional objects?  Will it achieve public benefit in the way your organisation is permitted to?
• Check the financial accounts you are submitting (or ask someone who knows about finance to do this for you).  Do your reserves appear unusually large or your accounts show any negativity which could appear risky?  If so, include a note to explain why.  Don’t hope these areas may be missed or not reviewed carefully.
• Consider that your answers to every question on the application form are likely to be scored to ensure fairness and objectivity.  Ask someone not familiar with your work to read the application for you to check it makes sense and that each answer is a strong one.

As a registered charity, The Nationwide Foundation aims to help other charities as best we can and limited budget is our most common reason for declination. There are only a small number of other reasons why we decline applications and these are provided within our funding guidelines and on our website, to help applicants avoid them before they submit their applications.

Unfortunately, like many funders, we simply do not have the resource to tell every unsuccessful applicant exactly why they were declined. However, this approach enables us instead, to turn around small grant applications in usually less than eight weeks, which we know charities greatly appreciate.  

Funders would love to be in a position whereby all worthy applications were accepted and their pot of money was endless, but sadly this isn’t the reality.  The best advice for fundraisers is to research which is the right funder for your work and then create a high calibre and clear application. Best of luck!

By Gill Jolly, Director, Achieve Consultants Ltd

When I was a child, on Boxing Day or shortly afterwards my mother used to make me write thank you letters for all the gifts I’d received even to the great aunt who yet again had sent another box of boring handkerchiefs.

Perhaps you’re like me and waiting for a thank you at the moment……….we’ve recently had Christmas and whilst I’ve had some thank you’s for presents I’m still waiting to hear back from two nephews and a God-daughter.  Part of me wonders. ‘did they get the gift?’ but in one instance I know definitely as it was a cheque and it’s been cashed!  What would they think if at next Birthday/Christmas they didn’t get something from Auntie Gill – would they realise it is because I’m sitting here in the middle of January feeling a little annoyed?

The same is with fundraising, how many times do people not support you again because they felt annoyed with the response or lack of it from the charity they donated to.  Whenever I’ve conducted any sort of follow-ups with ‘lapsed donors’ on behalf of clients I’ve been working with, one response I hear time and time again is:  “I was never thanked/I didn’t feel valued or appreciated/the response wasn’t appropriate that I received”.

Donor care or stewardship as it’s often referred to (plain good manners I tend to think!) is about making sure you say ‘thank you’ in an appropriate way.

A few things to think about are:

• Do it speedily
• Make sure the letter is not the same one as last time
• Use the same communication media the donor used to make the gift
• Who signs the letter?
• Read the letter/communication and try and personalise your response
• Can your letter be handwritten
• Give the donor an idea what you are doing at the moment and how their gift may help

Looking after your donors is vital and the thank you is the first part of securing your next gift.  Who knows what it will lead to….I received a very nice bequest when my great aunt of the boxed hanky fame died.  In her will she stated that I was the only great niece/nephew she was leaving anything to in recognition of the lovely chatty letters she always received from me!

By Gill Jolly, Director, Achieve Consultants Ltd

Are you good at telepathy?  Many people involved in fundraising think they are!  Unless you have these special brain abilities how do you know what your donors and supporters want?

There are lots of things that as fundraisers we need to know about our supporters to make us more effective and to enable the donor relationship to continue in the long-term:

• How do they want to be contacted?
• What is their preferred way of giving?
• How often do they want to be contacted/give?
• Why do they support you?
• What do they want in return?
• Would they like the opportunity to be more involved with your charity?
• Etc

These are just a few things we would love to find out.

Fine we can do research on our donors, both before they give and once we have them.  We can look for trends and commonalities.  However the real way to build a firm and lasting relationship is to talk to them whenever possible – either individually or as a group so that you can find out things from a donors perspective.

We all make assumptions but that tends to be based on our own personal perceptions and views of the world and our charities work.  However, is that much good if you are a single 25 year old who likes to go clubbing every weekend and is in a house-share with friends when your typical donor is of the opposite sex, has their own property, is 68 and worried about their old age?

It may not be that easy to talk to every donor (from a practical or financial perspective) but do think about how you can do this to get their views and feedback as well as to strengthen the relationship.

Aim to have a thank-you call to a range of supporters whatever the size of their gift – you’ll be surprised how much they appreciate it.  Many people think a phone call is cheaper that a letter – we all know that it’s not but let's make the most of the false perception.

Have a thank-you event for supporters and get chance to speak to some of them on an individual basis

Have a focus group made up of a number of supporters so they can get info from the ‘horses’ mouth’

Talk to your volunteers – they are donors and many will give you their thoughts and views freely

You’ll be surprised what you find out that will make your fundraising much more effective both in the short as well as the long-term.

By Gill Jolly, Director, Achieve Consultants Ltd

I’m sure you, like me, are a donor to charities as well as working for them to increase their funding. I must admit that I’m always looking to make sure that my gifts are tax effective. When else do we get the opportunity to tell the government what we want to do with the tax we have paid?

Whenever I pick up any literature from a charity which is requesting a donation I check to ensure that they are using the ‘Gift Aid it’ logo. This has been available for charities to use for a considerable number of years now and I’m surprised that many organisations still aren’t using it. People who regularly donate to a range of charities will be used to seeing it and recognise it immediately. Some charity literature doesn’t even mention Gift Aid nor give you the opportunity to make your donation under Gift Aid.

What a waste…they are throwing away an additional 28% of the value of the donation.  Many donors who are aware of Gift Aid will be of a similar opinion – if they don’t need the additional 28% then they must have enough money already!!

Some charities have got a little confused since the standard rate of gift aid dropped from 22% to 20% and think that they are only claiming back 25% of the value of the donation. I read an interesting article in a supporter newsletter of a national charity only the other day who had made this mistake. In the article they talked about what they could do with the additional 25%. Fine, yes the value of the tax equated to 25% of the donation but there is an additional 3% transitional relief which is currently available until the end of the 2010/11 tax year. This means that since the standard rate of tax dropped (great for tax payers) charities have not lost out – they still get the equivalent of 28% which is made up of 25% from the tax side and 3% from the transitional relief.

Do ensure you are encouraging donors to gift aid donations and make the most of the 28% that you can get back through Gift Aid. Also do bear in mind that you can claim back Gift Aid retrospectively on donations currently that have been made in the last 6 years. Be warned however that from the new 2010/11 tax year you can only go back 4 years.

It’s also worth remembering that if the donor is a higher rate tax payer, they claim back the difference between standard and higher rate tax that has been paid on their gift – this means that they can give you more in the first instance!

There has been much debate in the charity press over recent months about changes to Gift Aid to make things simpler, e.g. higher rate tax payers giving the full tax paid to the charity, as research shows that many are not aware that they can claim something back. I wonder what a change of government or hung Parliament would do about this. As we approach the election, we can only wonder what will happen to the transitional relief at the end of the 2010/2011 tax year.

Whatever happens, as things currently stand make sure you don’t miss out on this valuable contribution and increase the value of the donations you receive by 28%.   

By Gill Jolly, Director, Achieve Consultants Ltd

Writing this in the middle of all the electioneering is an interesting time.  No matter which party wins or if we end up with a hung parliament one thing is clear, there will be cuts in statutory funding.  ‘Value for money’ will take on quite a new meaning; if a voluntary sector organisation delivers a service or gets funding for a specific project or piece of work, statutory funders will be looking for it to be ‘cheap’.

This provides us with many quandaries.  As a great believer, and advocate of full-cost recovery, I can hear many organisations screaming that if they do full cost recovery they won’t get the work/contract.  We need to be careful in the sector that we don’t under-sell ourselves and our work nor at the same time price ourselves out of the market.

I feel that it is essential that we continue to work to a full cost recovery model but then think about whether or not we pass the full costs on or aim to have several income streams to fund aspects of our work.  

In order to do this many organisations will have a challenging time and will need to think beyond grants and diversify their income streams. 

Having all an organisation’s funding eggs in one or two baskets is a totally folly so the sooner organisations start to diversify more will survive into the future. To do this, organisations must also properly resource fundraising and not just have it as a tag on to an already busy role.  When this happens, fundraising is always lower down on the priority list and other things crop up on a day-to-day basis which take time away from fundraising. 

Fundraising is not instant and it takes time to build up and then manage and maintain relationships.  Going back to the egg analogy, which comes first chicken or egg?  We need funds to provide a service so we need to make this a key part of our organisation's work.

Diversifying income streams may mean that fundraising is less cost efficient but at the same time the income generated will not all be restricted thereby making it more valuable to an organisation and outweighing some of the disadvantages.  

The DSC runs a course on ‘Fundraising Beyond Grants’ – the next one takes place in September.

By Gill Jolly, Director, Achieve Consultants Ltd

Charitable legacies are a decision made in their lifetime but only activated upon a donor’s death!  Therefore we need to influence people before they die to think about legacies as a way of supporting our work.

However the first obstacle is to persuade people that they should have a will.  It’s amazing that two thirds of the population don’t have a will!  There are a couple of famous sayings that spring to mind:

‘There’s nothing more certain in life than death and taxes’ and ‘Where there’s a will there’s a way’.

If we take the former first... people don’t have a will for a range of reasons, a couple of these being:  ‘I’ve nothing to leave’ and ‘my wife/husband will get it anyway when I go’.  

A will isn’t just about money it’s about what happens when you die as well as what happens to your possessions (your estate) including any money.  If someone dies intestate (without a will)  then it causes a great many complications for those left behind and often the deceased has more than they thought especially with pension schemes, life insurance policies, etc. 

Things then don’t get distributed necessarily in the way that people would expect and it can be quite amazing the distant relatives who come out of the woodwork!  The government also may end up getting some if not all the estate.... and we all pay enough in taxes to them when we are alive so why let them have more when you die!

No taking the second phrase, if there’s no will then there’s no way that a charity can benefit from someone’s estate on their death.

Therefore our role in securing legacies – or ‘gifts in people’s will’ as research tells us is how people react best to this - is first of all to encourage people to make a will and then to think of us once they have made arrangements for family and friends.  

Many charities engage in ‘silent’ fundraising i.e. securing funds from statutory bodies, the lottery funds and grant-making trusts and foundations.  One advantage of charities undertaking ‘traditional’ fundraising activities such as collections, running raffles, holding events, etc is that they are also giving out the message loud and clear that they are a charity and that you need money.  Silent fundraising gives people the impression that you have enough money...!

Also if you never mention on your literature, website, in letters, in talks and presentations etc that you need money and that a gift in a will is one way of supporting you people may think that you ‘don’t do legacies’ and they may leave money to another organisation that they have seen publicity around supporting them with a gift in this way....

Therefore securing income from legacies doesn’t mean you have to spend loads of money promoting this but think about all the ways you communicate with people and see where you can include a legacy message.

The Fundraising Fair run by the DSC in October has several sessions to help you consider this area in much more details.  Watch this space...

By Gill Jolly, Director, Achieve Consultants Ltd

"A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."
Harvey Mackay

"Success doesn't come to you - you go to it."   
Marva Collins

There is a way to do it better – find it."   
Thomas A Edison

Three interesting quotes which are well worth bearing in mind when considering running an event for your organisation. 

The key to successful events is having a plan.  You know that other appropriate famous saying: “fail to plan, plan to fail”.

Most of the time involved in putting on an event is the planning.  Then comes the event itself and then so many people are then so busy they are then off planning their next activity or event but HOLD ON...

In order to maximise from the event you need to ensure you carefully plan what you need to do after the event to follow-up with the participants, your supporters, your data, the media, etc as well as undertaking a thorough post mortem immediately afterwards but also a further evaluation at a later date for instance when you have had chance to contact all your participants or when all the money has come in. 

One of the first things to do after an event (besides counting and banking the money!) is to thank everyone for their involvement – your colleagues, our committee/volunteers, your sponsors and the participants).  The latter is so important as this is a chance to build or continue a relationship with them.

Before the event the first bit of planning is thinking about why you are going to hold the event and what you want to achieve – and do think about the short, medium and long term... Then set clear, SMART (specific, measureable, achievable, realistic, timed) objectives which will then give you the basis for monitoring and thinking of contingency plans and evaluating the event at the end.

DSC also publishes a number of books which will be useful too: The Complete Special Events Handbook, QuickGuides: Special Events, QuickGuides: Events Planning and Organising Special Events.

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

Sat watching the British Grand Prix coming from Silverstone recently, made me think that as Fundraisers we feel we are often on a F1 Circuit racing ahead to complete one thing, finish it and then move on to our next fundraising activity. However, sometimes we need to put the brakes on and take a bit of time having a ‘pit stop’ to maximise what can come out of the activity we’ve just completed before racing off to our next one...

Therefore once the chequered flag waves you past the finish post don’t just start trying to get in pole position for the next race. Take time to think about what you’ve achieved; what didn’t go as well as you’d hope and try to understand why? Then consider all the things that did go to plan and worked but take that on to the next stage and ask how could you get even better.

I find that as fundraisers we are good at evaluating activities that didn’t go well and then scrap them.  Sometimes it is well worth giving them another go having made some tweaks and modifications because of what was learnt from the post-mortem.  Then with things that did work well, again we need to take some time to undertake a thorough evaluation both at the end of the activity and a few months hence to see what spin offs there have been as a result of what we did e.g. did you get more people onto your database, did gift aid activity increase, have people supported you again within a few months – either in the same way or by another fundraising method?  

I’m a big fan of getting a flip chart on the go with two columns – the heading on the left hand side should be ‘what worked well’ and list everything that worked well.  The right hand side column should be headed ‘even better if...’ and go though each of the points on the left and think how they could be improved...

Then next time you’ll have an even more successful activity, raising you more money and building on what you’ve achieved to date...and who knows you could be the next world champion!

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

No doubt as you travel around the country you see the awful reminder of where someone has lost their life on the roads as flowers are placed at the site of an accident.  On the outskirts of my village, it’s now over 3 years since a local teenager was killed on a double bend in a tragic accident.  On anniversaries of her death, birthday, Christmas, etc a variety of flowers and other things (a stuffed penguin last Christmas) get attached to the warning triangle on the approach to the bend where she went off the road. 

There seems to be a need, part of the grieving process bereavement counsellors would say, to do this sort of thing.  Many charities have turned this into something much more positive.  A donation to a charity is a very special way to remember the life of someone close such as a relative or friend.

Most charities are happy to receive a one-off gift in memory of a loved one but do utilise the emotional attachment and give people an opportunity to use supporting a charity close to them or their loved one by providing the chance of setting up a Tribute Fund which will help raise funds for you and keep a close involvement.  This also has the added benefit in that it can also be part of a grieving process for the people concerned.

Setting up a Tribute Fund can be a simple and positive way of remembering.  So what exactly is a Tribute Fund?  It’s usually part of a way of remembering someone who has died and each tribute fund bears the name of a loved one that someone wants to remember and any one can donate into or raise money and pay into tribute fund.

In memoriam related giving remains one of the most under-developed areas of charity fundraising. Often trustees, in particular, find its effectiveness difficult to grasp. This valuable fundraising tool is habitually neglected and under-resourced within fundraising departments and frequently dismissed as 'too intrusive'.  Yet is a beneficial tool to both raise funds and for donor care and the on-going involvement of donors in the longer-term. It is an incredibly powerful, delivering important income for the charity and a valued focus for grieving supporters when charities get it right.’

A successful in memoriam programme has the potential:

• Increase net revenue and supporter members
• Inspire greater donor loyalty and affinity
• Recruit new donors
• Reach out to and engage a younger group of donors
• Support and drive major donor relationships
• Generate legacy pledges

It is essential to remember that in memoriam and tribute giving is not about your organisation. It's about people and the things that really matter to them. As a result of this exceptional donor care is key working in this incredibly sensitive area of fundraising. One of the easiest ways to start is to give people the option to donate in memory of or honour of, and make this known on your website, in newsletter and in a leaflet – both general about ways people can help and a specific one about memorial giving and Tribute Funds.

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

Last month’s tip was around Tribute Funds so this one carries on along the same theme a little (i.e. death!!) but also widens it somewhat in terms of appealing to people for donations in lieu of ’something’.

For many years some people who haven’t wanted lots of flowers at a funeral have encouraged people who otherwise would have given flowers to make a donation to a charity. In memoriam related giving is a beneficial tool to both raise funds and for donor care and the on-going involvement of donors in the longer-term. It is incredibly powerful, delivering important income for the charity and a valued focus for grieving supporters when charities get it right.

A successful in memoriam programme has the potential:

• Increase net revenue and supporter members
• Inspire greater donor loyalty and affinity
• Recruit new donors
• Reach out to and engage a younger group of donors
• Support and drive major donor relationships
• Generate legacy pledges

It is essential to remember that in memoriam giving is not about your organisation. It's about people and the things that really matter to them. As a result of this exceptional donor care is key working in this incredibly sensitive area of fundraising.

One of the easiest ways to start is to give people the option to donate in memory of or honour of, and make this known on your website, in newsletters and in a leaflet.  Also developing a relationship with funeral directors is essential to maximise the full potential of this method especially if a local/regional charity.

Do also try to ensure you have details of people who donate and aim to gift aid donations given in this way whenever possible to add an extra 28% to the value of the gift.   Besides traditional ‘In Memory’ gifts on the death of someone, or ‘in lieu of flowers’ as it’s often referred to, we can widen the scope of ’in lieu’ giving. 

Recently my in-laws celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary and as my mother-in-law said with regards to people coming to a party we were organising for them, “I don’t want people binging a lot of tat and things I’ll just have to dust!’.  They are not alone and many people who are celebrating an event such as a wedding anniversary, a marriage, a civil partnership, a special birthday, a retirement, etc, would be willing to nominate a charity to receive donations in lieu of presents. 

Do make sure you promote this as a way of supporting you as many potential donors would otherwise think that you don’t do ’that sort of thing’.
Ensure you capture the donor names and address details so that you can thank the individuals who donate as well as the person/people who chose your charity in the first place as this is a great way to recruit new supporters whilst also maximising on the gift aid potential.

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

So many fundraisers see the activity they are about to run to raise funds for their organisation as a process of getting from A to B and just set off without any clear plan.

Planning enables us to do so many things – like save time and money, think about the best way to do something, involve other people, build team working and ownership, enable other people to know what you are doing, etc. Unless you have a brilliant satellite navigation system you don’t set off on a car journey without planning a route, deciding which is the quickest, shortest or most scenic route!  This impacts on what time you need to leave but also enables you to think about detours you may want to make along the way.

It’s also frightening when asked if they have a plan many fundraisers say ‘it’s in my head’ or ‘I’ve done this loads of times before so I know what I’m doing..’ Having a carefully thought through and written down plan enable you to ensure that you achieve what you set out to do. 

The process of planning can also help you to identify what else, other than your primary objective, can you also achieve.  Factor these things in when you set your objectives (and yes I can’t say that word without thinking S.M.A.R.T i.e. specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed) then it saves you even more time in the long term and help you to maximise on the return on the expenditure and effort you put into the activity.

10 things to include in a plan for a fundraising activity

1. What do you want to achieve & how much money do you want/need to raise
2. What are you going to do
3. How long will you need to do this (i.e. before the activity)
4. Who will you need to do the activity – and what other resources will you need
5. Who is your target audience and why will they take part
6. What’s your message and is it strong enough to motivate people to get involved
7. Is there any laws/regulations or fundraising good practise you need to take into account
8. What will happen, when and by whom
9. How will you ensure you keep on track to achieve what you set out to do (milestones/monitoring points and contingency plans)
10. Evaluate so that you can learn for the future

Have fun...

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

Communication is a key role for fundraisers and communication takes many different formats... including both verbal and written forms.  

But communication isn’t just a one-way process – one key part of communicating is listening.  This is all well and good when communication face to face with one individual whether we are street fundraising, selling raffle tickets or asking for a major gift, we can listen to what the person being approached is saying back.  

However, it’s not just about what they actually say is it?  We need to consider other factors:

• How quick do they reply – if it’s too quick did you ask for too little?  Do they just want to get rid of you? If they take too long, did you give them enough information?
• What do they say – is it a yes, no or maybe (and the door is left open for you to go back and re-approach in the future)
• What about their body language – do they look startled, do they seem negative, etc?

What about if the ‘ask’ isn’t face to face?  We can still listen.  For example, if carrying out a direct mail appeal we can ‘listen’ back to a number of things:

• How quickly the responses come back
• What level of support are people giving – one of our tick box levels or are more people ticking the other and giving more/less than the suggested amounts?
• How many complaints do you get?
• Are complaints via phone, letter or e-mail?
• How many ‘gone aways’ do you get – how accurate/up-to-date was your database?
• How many ‘remove us from your database’ responses do you get?

These are all factors we listen to in order to help us evaluate the success or otherwise of our appeal.

We also need to match the communication method to the target audience so that it’s in a format they feel comfortable with.  There’s no point trying to text people like my mother, who whilst is a computer user, hasn’t much time for mobile phones and only switches it on when she wants to make a call and has no idea how to receive or send a text.  Whereas people like my 22 year-old nephew, there’s no point writing to him, to get in touch I either need to ring his mobile, text him or go on Facebook.

How a case for support is presented and communicated will have a major effect on its likelihood of success.     There are a range of methods of communicating with donors which include:

• Radio
• Telephone
• Letter
• E-mail
• Website
• Social media e.g. Twitter, Facebook, etc
• Face-to-face
• Presentation
• National/local press
• Journals/publications
• Direct mail, etc

Each of these will be appropriate to a different audience or fundraising technique.   As a fundraiser, you will need to select the most appropriate method based on a range of options and should consider:

• Cost
• Target audience – who, how many?
• What have we done before?
• Accessibility
• Availability of resources (skills, time)
• Contacts
• When and where?
• Time available
• People available
• Editorial coverage, etc

Do make sure you get your message heard and that way you increase your chances of success...

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

Communication is a key role for fundraisers and communication takes many different formats... including both verbal and written forms. 

What is a presentation?

This can be described as a one-way communication, for a set period of time and to achieve a desired aim.

When planning and preparing your presentation (which are two essential elements to a successful presentation) it is useful to remember:

“ ……it’s not what you say but the way you say it….”

A variety of surveys of audiences listening to presentations all result in similar findings to the following breakdown:

• 50 %    How it is said
• 30 %    Body language
• 12 %    Visual aids
• 8 %      Content.

Retention factor

If you are lucky, the ‘retention factor’ of most humans is approximately 40% and they can listen effectively for no more than 20 minutes!  Long drawn out speaker beware!!

Fear and Nerves

In many surveys about attitudes, stress, fear, etc.  ‘public speaking’ rates often higher than some of the usual perceived difficult situations and is in the same league as bereavement of close family member, breakup of marriage, etc.

Many people, when questioned, will also say that they are fearful of making speeches.  Ask many a bridegroom or best man.  Most fear however, is based on incorrect interpretation of physical signs:

• shaking (increase of adrenaline)
• sweating (increased temperature)
• breathing quickly (increasing oxygen levels).

These really are just signs and symptoms of the fact that the body is preparing itself so that you will perform well under stress.  It may be useful to know that any athlete before a competition goes through exactly the same emotions and physical ‘symptoms’.  Therefore, next time you experience some of these symptoms which you have previously interpreted as fear, interpret them correctly.  To interpret them as signs of fear is irrational.

It’s no wonder you are feeling nervous and apprehensive – you’re a fundraiser and the result of your presentation could mean a cheque with lots of zeros on it – or not depending on how well you present.

Come along to the DSC’s new course next year on ‘Inspirational Fundraising Presentations’ to find out how to succeed.
 

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

Many charities have special programmes to cultivate and look after major donors but there is often great debate on what constitutes a major donor?  For some organisations it is someone who has given more than £500 whilst for others it is someone who has given in excess of £10 000.  However, how many times do we consider our volunteers when thinking of major donor care (and I don’t mean targeting those volunteers who may have the ability to give a large sum of money)?

Consider the value of the time that is given to your charity by volunteers especially the fundraising volunteers and committees.  How much time would it have taken a staff member to achieve what they have and think about the direct results, which can easily be calculated, in terms of the income they have generated on your behalf?

Many volunteers, when the above has been taken into account, would easily meet, and usually surpass, the criteria for someone who is a ‘major donor’.  ....And how do we view them?  Very often they are thought of as a ‘pain in the neck’!

Fundraising volunteers need to be recruited, inducted and supervised in order to ensure your charity gets the maximum benefit from them for the investment being put into them.  It’s important to consider what resources will be invested because if this does not happen then the maximum benefits won’t be achieved.  Investments and resources cover many aspects but for most, one of the main investments is time, as volunteers, like staff, need to be managed and supervised.  You may also need to consider what tools and other resources they will require to do the tasks expected of them.

For many new fundraisers managing volunteers can be a challenge as can be supervising other staff involved in the fundraising process such as administrative support, etc.  Often fundraisers are just expected to take on these aspects of the fundraising role without any support, guidance and training themselves.

Some key considerations when working with volunteers and supervising staff are centred on understanding a number of things including:

• What motivates people in general and, in particular, those you are working with?
• What are they looking for from the role?
• What expectations and aspirations do they have?
• What do we want/need from them?

In addition, it’s useful to think about the following areas:

Communication: listening to the needs of individual and trying to match them; saying thank you and meaning it; giving proper induction and training at the start and ensure any new training needs are met; two way communication is essential.

Management: allowing time; ensuring you have the resources; setting targets jointly; reviewing targets and roles; having clear role descriptions, including times, location, tasks, line management.

Expectations: on both sides, needs to be a match of needs and needs may change.

Clarification of roles: charity needs to be clear how volunteers can be used and to match volunteers to the roles; be clear before recruiting;

DSC is running a new course to help; it’s called ‘Managing Fundraisers and Fundraising Volunteers' and will run in April and October this year.
In future tips we’ll come back to the topic of major donors (but of money!) if you got excited about the title of this month’s tip....

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

As money is becoming tight across many traditional areas of fundraising there is a great deal of interest in getting individuals to give large sums of money.  Philanthropy amongst the wealthy is certainly alive and kicking but careful consideration needs to be given to mounting an appeal along these lines.  

Charitable organisations need to assess the feasibility of a capital appeal/major gift campaign as an appropriate fundraising technique for their organisation.

Why is this assessment so important?

To initiate a Capital Appeal/Major Gift Campaign without properly weighing up whether the resources of your charity, its image, its constituents of support and its cause are appropriate to this method of fundraising, is to invite disaster.  

If the Campaign is unsuccessful a charity can find itself with an uncompleted project; high level donors and volunteers who are seriously disillusioned (and who may even have to have their donations returned if the fundraisers cannot raise the total sum to complete the project); and staff within the charity who may feel an acute lack of confidence arising from the unsuccessful initiative.

How does the Charity make the decision to run a Campaign?

 There are key questions which need to be answered by the organisation from a strategic and management perspective, before the decision can be made:

• What do you need the money for?
• Is the money you raise to fund one project or several?
• Are they the kind of project(s) that would appeal to major donors?  
• For a major gift appeal to succeed the projects need to have an importance/uniqueness/element of special interest which will be attractive to major donors and potentially the public e.g. building a day centre is appropriate; decorating one may not be.   
• Can the project(s) be 'packaged' in a way that makes them suitable for an Appeal?
• Is the timing of the project compatible with that of an Appeal?  
• There needs to be enough time to raise at least half the money needed before work commences on the project so that fundraising is not going on for something that is already completed.  
• If a number of projects are involved, there needs to be an umbrella for them, which will give the Appeal some identity and focus e.g. an anniversary or a major new direction.

Managing expectations

This is also key when considering a Campaign as Trustees and others seem to think it will happen instantly and money will be rolling in.  Most people can understand that if you start work on promoting legacies then the results won’t be instant but seem to find it difficult to transfer the thought!  You don’t meet someone for the first time and ask them for a large sum of money within half an hour of meeting them just because they are wealthy.  The number of times I’ve had a Rich List waved at me and been told, ‘fundraising is simple, we just write to these people’!

It’s a person to person ask and time needs to be taken to:

• Understand the prospect
• Find out their interests and aspirations
• Discover how much they may be willing or have the ability to give
• Find out who is the right person to ask them – and usually this will NOT be a fundraiser
• Understand what they may want back in return for the gift

This type of fundraising can be extremely fruitful and help build long term relationships.

The DSC runs a number of courses on this subject and can offer bespoke in-house training too.

When you give information about your organisation you are making a case for support...basically you are telling them why you need support and why they should be the one to do this.  Therefore it is essential that you make this message thoughtful and honest so it stands out from the crowd.  You need to tell potential supporters what the problem is, and how your project will do something about it. Give relevant facts and figures, and ensure you don’t use jargon or are vague. You don’t need to promise the moon, just tell them what you can realistically achieve.

What you put together as your key message shouldn’t be a hurried and last minute dash to meet a deadline with something that you dreamt up whilst you made a cup of tea! It is a serious and sincere attempt by your organisation to use its experience and skill to make a positive difference where it is needed.  This needs to be reflected in your message. So start off by thinking about who you are and what you do – your mission and vision statements may help with this.  

Then consider the problem you are trying to solve and how you know that this is a real problem.  What evidence do you have to support this?  Back up your argument with facts and figures; don’t just make assertions.  Think about the real problem – not that you don’t have enough space or you need a project worker.

Why are you best placed to solve this problem?  Do think about your past experiences and your successes to date to help with this.  Can anyone support this?  A case study is one way of doing this or a quote from someone or an organisation with clout and credibility would help.  However be warned, make sure your communication is focused on the donor and the beneficiary - basically about the individual and the impact their support would make, not about the organisation in too much detail.

Tell the potential supporter how they can help and how their help will make a real difference and change people’s lives.  Remember that people give to people first so concentrate on the people aspect of what you do, not about bricks and mortar.

Finally, and having said all that, be clear and succinct – don’t waffle!

DSC provides a number of publications and training courses to help you get your message right as this is an essential area of fundraising – take a look at the two different ‘proposal writing’ courses as well as the publications directory for a range of books which will help.  Bespoke in-house training can also be arranged.

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

In the age of some suggestive car stickers I think there should be one that says ‘good fundraisers do it with a smile on their face!’  We need to feel proud and privileged to do the role we do and this should come through to our donors. 

How many times have people been shocked when you mention that you are involved in fundraising and make comments such as “I don’t know how you can do that – it’s just like begging?”

I was startled recently when talking to someone fairly recently in a charity about the changes in statutory funding who said that they weren’t prepared to go to other sources as it was her client groups right to get funded from statutory sources and anything else was begging and she wouldn’t to do it.

If we feel ashamed and embarrassed to ask potential donors to support our cause then this will be reflected in how we communicate with them.  Self-fulfilling prophecy immediately comes to mind – you feel like a beggar you become a beggar and communicate your message in a very negative, down-beat way. 

Let’s turn self fulfilling prophecy to the positive; instead of thinking about asking for money, help or support, we really need to think of fundraising as a process where we invite people to help and get involved in making a real difference and a positive change to lives (or whatever the charity is aiming to achieve but usually it impacts in a positive way on people’s lives). 

We certainly are not beggars and we are in a unique position to enable donors to achieve many things through their support – just think of all the various donor motivations when understanding what they will get back in return for their involvement.....  So don’t let anyone tell you fundraising is begging or another analogy that’s often used, “it’s like selling only you have nothing they get nothing in return”. 

As fundraisers we have the chance to give many many things in return. Next time you are approaching a donor whether face to face, on the phone or in a written communication think positives and SMILE as it will be reflected in the words you use and your body language.  Carry this thought on too not only when you ask but when you thank and when you update your donors on the changes they have helped bring about.

So when I’m next involved in recruiting a fundraiser I’m going to be adding to the person spec: “a positive attitude and a person who smiles lots!!!"
 

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

This is a cry fundraisers often wail!  It sounds a bit basic but if this is you, try keeping a time log of how you are actually spending your time and you may be very surprised!  So often a fundraiser's role is very diverse but we sometimes need to give our time more focus so that we do actually achieve things we set out to do and save some time along the way.

Time is something that once it’s lost we can’t get it back so try and use your time more effectively.  Identify time wasters – this can be people and/or tasks.

E-mailing is fantastic but people can become a slave to it.  Also sometime people pick up the wrong message or take offence to something you write in haste – would a phone call have been better in the first place and avoid all that? 

• Get training – auto reply, out of office, confirm / decline meetings & appointments, file management
• Make a routine of it
• Be proactive in planning action & avoid being reactive. Assign time to check emails
• Consider: is this the right method of contact?

Other time management tips:

Setting Priorities

To help determine the tasks we must address in the order in which we must address them, we must put them in priority order.

The 1, 2, 3 Method of Prioritising:

Priority 1    “MUST DO”
These are critical items.
What makes them critical?

• Management directive
• Important fundraising requirement
• Opportunities for advancement/success
• Needed to complete the next stage

Priority 2    “SHOULD DO”
These are important items but they are not essential and do not have critical deadlines

Priority 3    “NICE TO DO”
These are items which may be interesting to pursue but if required may be eliminated or postponed

Always remember that priorities change over time.  Due to a change in circumstance for example, a priority 3 item could become priority 1 tomorrow, or a priority 1 could become a priority 3.  In order for you to effectively use your time you must constantly review your priorities.

Analyse Your To-Do List

Your to-do list is your task inventory.  Review each item for:

1. Necessity
Scrutinise each task to be sure it is necessary.  All too often we continue to do things past usefulness (e.g. monthly reports where information is no longer used)

2. Appropriateness
Who should perform the task (i.e. appropriateness to department and/or skill level)?  Reassignment of work beneath your skill level helps you and the organisation

3. Effectiveness
Is this a task you should be doing now, positioned against your priorities and goals?

4. Efficiency
Once satisfied you are doing necessary, appropriate and effective work, ask:  “Is there a
better way?”  Look for faster methods, better procedures.

5. Delegate
Is this a task that can be delegated?  So often we hold on to things we either like to do or feel that no-one else can do it.  You may have a small team (even just you!) but do remember the valuable work volunteers can do in a fundraising environment and think are there things you are doing that a volunteer could do – if so delegate to one or recruit a volunteer who can do these things.  This will then free you up for more valuable tasks that need your specific fundraising skills.

Both the ‘Managing Fundraisers and Fundraising Volunteers’ and ‘Leading and Managing Fundraising Teams’ courses run by the DSC will help you to get more out of your time and the time of the fundraisers you are working with.

As we are in the big build up to summer many fundraisers find this a key time in terms of chaos, hassle and feeling frazzled as there’s so much to do... does this sound familiar?

Just get a cup of coffee, sit down and spend a few minutes thinking about how you are spending your time.

Are you being proactive rather than reactive?  Do you spend lots of time responding to requests made of you rather than doing the things you had intended?  If so, why is this?  Are they functions of your job or were you just the easiest person to pass the request to?

Do you block time out in your diary to carry out major activities so that you meet deadlines? Do you allow tasks to be completed in advance of the deadlines so you have extra time as a contingency if the task takes longer than anticipated?

Do you plan your main activities so you have a project plan knowing what tasks need to be accomplished and when?  When doing this do you put yourself down for all actions?  Is it possible to delegate to someone else?  If not, why not?  Is this an opportunity to recruit some volunteer help to assist with your workload?

It may be that you are delegating actions to others but you end up having to re-do these!  If so, think about how you brief the other person whilst you also consider if they need training in order to do the things you request.  If they don’t do what you ask is it that they don’t see this as their role or is it that they don’t have the ability to do the things you ask?

 A time audit is a great way to first deal with how you spend your time, so for a week jot down what you do and how long it takes then consider the above. 

Do invest time in planning so that you know what you should be doing rather than panicking as you realise things still need to be done and you are running out of time.  Also this gives you the time to involve others as you can’t always expect others to drop what they are doing to help out in a crisis.  There’s a sticker you sometimes see around in offices, etc which is so true and it says “Don’t turn your lack of planning into my crisis”.  In a real emergency, on the whole, people will help you out but if this happens on a frequent basis then people start to see it as your way of working.  Also consider this in reverse, no doubt you will help a colleague in a crisis but if they have one every few days/weeks then you start to withdraw (or should do!).

The DSC provides a number of publications and training courses to help with personal effectiveness as well as Managing Fundraising Staff and Volunteers.  Bespoke in-house training can also be arranged.  

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

It may be your organisation has an overall aim and in order to achieve it a certain amount of money is needed.  However, do you have a route map to take you there or is the current fundraising strategy several years old, doesn’t reflect the current funding environment or wasn’t developed to deliver the current financial needs of the organisation?

Many people feel overwhelmed when starting the strategy process.  If this is the case, consider the three basic planning questions:

1. Where are we now?

2. Where do we want to go?

3. How are we going to get there?

Several quotes come to mind when thinking about development of a fundraising strategy....

“Sound strategy starts with the right goals”
Michael Porter

We need to know what we want/need to achieve so if we go back to our three planning questions this relates to question number two.  As we are thinking about a fundraising strategy this element will obviously have some financial objectives but whilst this is the main goal there should be other ones relating to helping the money to come in... these may include things such as: increasing the amount of gift aided donations by 20%, diversify the income streams so that the organisation isn’t guilty of having all eggs in one basket, etc. e.g. develop at least three new income streams within year one.

“Nothing is terrible than activity without insight“ 
Thomas Carlyle

It is important to have a snapshot of where we are now i.e. question one above to help us take an informed view about what we should be doing in the future.  Therefore it is important to undertake a range of analysis as part of the strategy development process:

• Internal analysis [e.g. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT), etc]

• External analysis [e.g. Political, Economic, Social, and Technological (PEST), Sociological,Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical (STEEPLE ), etc]

• Competitor analysis (what are others around you doing?)

• Market analysis (challenges assumptions people are making internally)

 “The essence of a strategy is choosing what NOT to do”
Michael Porter

This relates to question three above; rather than having all eggs in one basket, is your organisation guilty of trying to do a bit of everything without considering a number of points which relate to the fundraising mix? Useful things to think above when reviewing/planning the range and balance of future income opportunities are:

• Low Risk Income Stream(s)
• Cost Efficient Fundraising
• Acceptable to Organisation
• Realistic Implementation
• Restricted vs. Unrestricted

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results”
Winston Churchill

Does your strategy have milestones and measurements; does it state how and when you will evaluate the results?  What action will you take if you are not on target or, much better, how will you celebrate success?

.... And finally,
“You can have the greatest strategy in the world but what’s the point if no-one cares”
Patrick Dixon

Once you have developed and written your strategy you need to share it with everyone, get it accepted by the organisation and ensure it is supported by people throughout the whole organisation.

The DSC runs a range of courses to help equip people to undertake strategic planning or alternatively, why not use one of the DSC’s consultants to help you though the process.

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

As the summer draws to a close, the leaves turn colour and the nights start to draw in people start to think about things on the horizon .... Christmas is still some time away, work may be less challenging or non-existent and people want a new challenge.  This is an ideal time to recruit volunteers to help with your fundraising.  Either as a fundraising group in their own right or to help you carry out the tasks you need to undertake (but often don’t have the time to do).

Internships are a special kind of volunteering that many charities and individuals are considering.  Internships enable people to gain valuable skills and experiences whilst also contributing to the effectiveness and workload of their host organisation. 

Many think of interns as new graduates but do think wider – some people wanting to change careers see this as an opportunity to try out something else and also get some valuable experience to use in an interview.  Also an internship is ideal for someone who has lost their job and been made redundant as it gives them “something to get their teeth into” as well as new experiences whilst the benefit to you and your charity is that you harness their skills on a distinct project.

At the start of the process you need to consider a number of key points:

• Do you have the time to recruit, induct, manage and feedback to an intern?
• Does your office have the space to host an intern?
• How long do you want an intern to spend with you and what hours will they do?

If you are flexible about this, then it is worth making clear in any recruitment adverts. If not, then it is best practice to outline the length and terms of the internship up front.

In terms of the recruitment process you need to think of this as you would when recruiting any member of staff.  Have a very clear idea of the role and what you want the person to achieve.  Put together a role outline and person specification for the role? If nothing else, this will help you to outline how an intern can both help you get through your workload whilst also gaining skills and knowledge through the experience of interning with you. This will also help you to be consistent when you are sifting applications for the role.

Best practice is to have a formal equality and diversity policy document in place, to which you can refer if any applicants raise questions on these issues.
It is best practice, and always fairest to advertise through a range of routes for interns.

The standard route is to use niche job boards including great sites like www.charityjobs.co.uk, and there are also ways of advertising to a wider, more diverse audience – including using cross-sector jobs boards.

Once recruited you need to induct them into the organisation and their role.  You need to plan this in advance of the starting to ensure you maximise the effectiveness of the intern and also so that you as an organisation maximise the most of this very valuable resource.

Consider:

• Make sure you can give an intern a good mixture of work to do. Some admin work should clearly be expected, but mix this up with some project or research work.  Ideally aim for the intern to work on some of the issues they are interested in while they are with you.

• Think about what opportunities outside of core work there are for the intern. For example, you may introduce them to the latest projects and campaigns, let them sit in on funding meetings and phone calls, accompany staff on press interviews, go to some networking events, etc.

• Have a nominated person who will be responsible for managing the interns’ workload. Having both line management procedures and a mentoring or ‘buddy’ system for an intern is good practise.

• Think about the tasks you give to an intern. You never really know the abilities and initiative an intern has until they start working for you. Whatever tasks you give an intern, try to make sure you are not giving them things to do that will increase your workload or that of your colleagues.

You can train interns to perform a number of routine tasks, allowing them to manage their own workload.  By mixing routine tasks with more exciting work, an intern can really contribute to the smooth running of the organisation as well as develop skills and experience that will benefit them in future.

It is usually worth giving interns a small, distinct project which will involve writing their own briefings, doing research, and managing their own time. This means that on really busy days, when there just isn’t time to keep setting an intern work and managing what they’re doing, you can ask them to work on the project and they are still doing something rewarding and useful.

Make sure you have regular (ideally weekly) catch ups. This will help you to make sure that your instructions have been understood, that the intern is happy, doing productive work and hopefully still awake. It also gives you a chance to give constructive feedback to the intern, and pick out any areas where they may need some additional support.

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

Communication media is vast and easy but lots of methods do tend to keep us at arm’s length from our donors and supporters.  I love e-mail and it’s great that I can contact people when I or they are on the go and at various times of day and night.  Other social media methods also enable us to do this too.  But here comes the big question, ‘when did you last speak to a donor’?  

I was shocked when recently running a training course when I asked this question and people looked at me as if I was living on the moon!  When a cheque comes into the office with a few zeros on the end I can imagine the reaction – there’s lots of celebration whether it’s from an individual, a trust, a corporate or another type of donor. 

Whilst you are in that high state of excitement then I suggest you pick up the phone and share your celebrations with the person who has helped you.  Even a trust administrator or person in a statutory body will be delighted to get that call.  Share your delight and let them know that you are really pleased that they felt able to support you and how it will make a difference.  It could then be the start of a great relationship or a way to further develop an existing one.  

Now just for a minute think about an individual donor; some of us hate it when charities ring to either ask us to support or try to get us to upgrade an existing regular payment.  Just think of the benefits of thanking and starting the on-going relationship by telephone!  At a later date, the person being called won’t be so defensive or negative because you’ve telephoned.  It’s often interpreted that charities only ring ‘when they want something’.  

Don’t worry I’m not advocating that you pick up the phone every time someone gives you £5, but do randomly call your supporters and not only people who give large amounts. Thank them, tell them how grateful you are and how it will help - you’ve now started a much more personal relationship with them. 

You will be amazed at the difference it will make.  It also gets round those people who say they don’t want you wasting money sending a thank you letter; you and I know that a letter is a far cheaper way of communicating but on the whole the general public thinks a phone call is cheaper.

Go on give it a try and don’t let your donors think you’ve got a sore throat and lost your voice!

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

The skills a good fundraiser needs are many and varied.... once you think it through in detail and list the skills needed you will realise that a good fundraiser is an exceptional person.

Key skills include:

• good people reading skills,

• interpersonal skills,

• marketing,

• financial acumen,

• empathy,

• the ability (and willingness) to ask,

• persuasiveness,

• tenacity,

• confidence,

• ability to deal with rejection,

• good admin, organisation and time management skills,

• flexibility, opportunism,

• imagination, creativity and lateral thinking,

• enthusiasm, passion and commitment,

• trustworthy,

• good time management,

• multi-tasker,

• researching

• excellent communication skills – written oral – and listening is part of communications!

Hope you’ve not stopped reading and gone away to slit your wrists because I’ve not finished yet.....  Well I did say that a fundraiser was a very special breed of person who may be paid or carrying out the role in a voluntary capacity.

If you don’t have all the skills listed above, don’t be disheartened. Help is at hand:

• assess your strengths, so you concentrate on doing the things you are good at;

• learn what skills you need to acquire, and set about obtaining the necessary training or experience as many can be learnt or developed;

• find ways for compensating for your weakness by getting others to help – opps did I mention teamwork as a good skill to have as well as the ability to work on own initiative?

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

Many organisations are involved in Silent Fundraising – some of you will no doubt be wondering what this is and are you missing out on a valuable income stream for your organisation.  However I’d like to put it the other way round – if you are involved in only silent fundraising you may be missing out on vital money for your organisation!

My definition of silent fundraising is: fundraising that results in income being generated from grant makers, other funders and contracts and is low-profile in terms of many people don’t know it’s happening.  For some organisations income generation is all about one or two people sitting filling in forms whether it’s a tender for a contract or a bid or proposal for some grant funding.  This often results in enough funding to keep the organisation going or expand into new projects but it’s dangerous in so much as all the funding eggs (and the organisation’s funding skills) are just in one or two baskets making it very vulnerable to changes in the funding environment.  The other big down side is that people don’t know that you need money as you aren’t publically raising it and ‘shouting’ that you need money!

For many people ‘traditional’ fundraising methods are viewed as high intensity and low cost effective methods.  However if you get volunteers and others involved in fundraising on your behalf then you are raising the profile of your organisation, raising the awareness of the fact that you need money and also raising money.  If you just do ‘silent’ fundraising people don’t know that you need money so don’t think about your for an in memoriam donation or a celebration gift, a legacy or put your name forward to be selected as charity of the year in their company.  Nor do they nominate you to benefit from funds their Rotary or other community group has raised. 

Basically by having things such as street collections, raffles, recycling, shops, payroll giving promotions, events, mailings to individuals, etc  you don’t get the benefits of people being aware that you need funds.

So think about your fundraising; is it ‘silent’ or does your strategy give you a good funding mix so that you can balance some of the highly cost-effective methods that often generate just restricted funds with some of the other forms of fundraising that often may seem to generate less in the short term but can help generate more in the medium and long term as well?

By Gill Jolly, DSC Trainer and Director of Achieve Consultants Ltd

Not that long ago you were probably celebrating the arrival of 2012 by partying, watching Big Ben strike midnight or popping open a bottle of bubbly whilst also deciding what your New Year’s resolution was going to be?  Was it a personal one, a work one or both?  Are you sticking to it/them?  You may have decided not to bother as you tend to break them.  

Whatever, can I suggest that you make a resolution to do some more thinking in 2012...? We really don’t do enough of this as we’re so busy just doing what we tend to do and not asking ourselves various questions such as:

1. Why am I doing this?

2. What will it achieve?

3. Is there a better way to get the same results?

4. Could this be done differently and save time or money or both?

We’re often on a tread mill and just do things as we’ve always done them or how the person before us did these things but just STOP, take a big deep breath and ask yourself a few questions and do some thinking and then decide how you will proceed.  It may be you continue in the way you have been doing but it may be you make some changes and achieve some better results...

Take up the challenge and do some more thinking - you may surprise yourself!