Annual giving is the lifeblood of nonprofits,
providing unrestricted support for administration, new initiatives and program
opportunities. Recently several clients
asked us to help them strategize on ways to build annual giving. Here are some
highlights of our recommendations:
Set a separate line
item goal for Board giving in the annual budget
Establish a campaign to kick off the new fiscal year by setting a goal and soliciting Board members first. Adopt the philosophy that the Board demonstrates their support before seeking contributions from the community.
ü Report results for Board
giving as a line item in the budget.
ü Solicit Board members
through a personalized approach.
Ideally, schedule personal visits by the Executive Director and
Board President with each Board member.
ü Prepare a personalized
letter from the Board President to leave after each visit. The letter will acknowledge previous
financial support, ask for a specific suggested contribution (or a gift range)
at least equal to the last year’s gift and, when appropriate, higher than last
year’s contribution.
ü During the appointment seek
feedback from each Board member on their role and contribution to the Board
for the coming year.
ü If personal visits aren’t
feasible, send personalized letters and assign follow-up calls to each
Board member by the Board President or members of the Development
Committee.
ü Define what constitutes a
major gift and develop a program to increase the number of donors at that
level. One method is to use the highest
average gift level of your top 5% donors.
Set a goal to increase the number of donors at this level.
ü Map out a series of
interactions or “moves” to educate, cultivate and strengthen relationships with donors to turn
them into major givers. Identify nine
to twelve donor interactions during the year, including mailings, newsletters,
press releases or articles, special reports from the Executive Director,
invitations to visit your program and solicitations.
ü Personalize appeals to this group and discuss
the
impact of the donor’s gift and the organization’s
plans for next year.
Strive to receive several gifts per year per donor
ü Develop multiple annual
opportunities for your donors to support you, including appeals for an annual
gift, end of the year support, matching gifts, support for special
organizational programs, honor or memory gifts and/or special events.
Study your monthly gift reports
ü Utilize the capabilities of
your database to analyze annual fund performance and patterns of giving of your
individual donors. Build upon
successful programs and pay attention to what your donors are responding to through
their gift patterns.
Use Gift Clubs to encourage and focus giving
Recently,
The Family Tree, a statewide child abuse prevention organization in
Baltimore, MD, initiated its Tree Top Council for corporate donors and the
Silver Oak Circle for individual donors giving $1,000 or more annually. Both of these clubs’ brand identity is being
developed through a distinctive logo and stationary that builds off of The
Family Tree’s logo and brand. Special
invitations to join the club, exclusive events, and an annual volunteer
chairman contribute to the clubs’ growth and success.
ü Establish gift clubs at
realistic, attainable levels that are appropriate for your organization.
ü Offer several clubs for mid
level donors, major donors and other prominent natural constituencies (for
example: corporate, student, planned giving).
ü Give meaningful names to
your clubs. Look for names linked by
places, historic event, projects, interests or closely associated individuals.
ü Invite your donors and
supporters who qualify financially to become Founding members before you
launch your appeals to build the clubs to your general donor base.
ü Plan a strategy to build
clubs over 2-3 years.
Using Gift Tables to Build Annual Giving
Gift
tables or gift pyramids are blueprints used to reach a predetermined
fundraising goal. By using a gift table
for annual giving, an organization focuses on building the top gifts and
moving people up to higher levels to reach the desired goal. The table below graphically illustrates that
the gifts at the top make the difference!
An example of a gift table to raise $200,000 from individuals,
foundation, and corporations for annual giving:
Gifts |
Level |
Total |
Cumulative |
|
Gifts |
Level |
Total |
Cumulative |
|
Event |
$50,000 |
$50,000 |
$50,000 |
|
6 |
$5,000 Gift Club |
$30,000 |
$165,000 |
|
1 |
$30,000 |
$30,000 |
$80,000 |
|
12 |
$1,000 Gift Club |
$12,000 |
$177,000 |
|
1 |
$25,000 |
$25,000 |
$105,000 |
|
40 |
$500 |
$20,000 |
$197,000 |
|
3 |
$10,000 |
$30,000 |
$135,000 |
|
250 |
<$500 |
$2,500 |
$200,000 |
The
McConnell Consulting Group has associated with Richard “Dick” Barrett, founder and President of
Barrett Planned Giving. Barrett
encourages organizations of all sizes to consider planned giving programs as an
untapped fundraising resource. He is
the co-author of Planned Giving Essentials Revised Edition: A Step by Step
Guide to Success, a comprehensive planned giving guide. He can be reached at www.barrettplannedgiving.com or
follow the link from our website.
Client News and
Activities of Our Principals
The McConnell Consulting Group was recently selected
to manage a capital campaign for L’Arche community homes in Washington,
DC for mentally disabled adults and their caregivers; conduct a Feasibility
Study for a Campaign for the Carlos Rosario International Career Center,
Washington, DC; and manage a campaign for the Maryland Food Bank,
Baltimore, MD.
Nan
McConnell
was recently elected to the Board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She also serves as President of The
Consultant’s Consortium, a Washington-based group of area consultants, formed
to further their knowledge and improve services to clients. Deborah Peeples will be
presenting to the Association Foundation Group on campaign
readiness. She will cover topics that
evaluate an organization’s readiness to launch a major fund raising drive for
endowment, program and capital projects.
The monthly meeting will take place March 20th.
The McConnell
Consulting Group
2120 L St NW Suite 200
Washington, DC 20037