All Things Annual Giving

Creating an Effective Phonathon Program

Ph Phonathons remain one of the most effective means of acquiring and renewing small to mid-range annual gifts.  They can be particularly effective in increasing participation and average gift size.  Callers must be well-trained and should be specifically focused on the clear goals of the campaign.  Time must be available to engage non-donors, and those close to the existing constituency.         

Training:  A results and expectations matrix should become a part of training for a phonathon program.  Before calling, volunteers should be able to demonstrate that they can effectively use the ask matrix appropriate to the donor’s largest past gift, a case for support, and a sheet of the most common objections and replies to objections.

Wealth Screening: Researching the Giving Community in Your Own Database

By Andrew J Thompson, Publisher

Donor research for wealth screening can be tremendously problematic in any nonprofit organization.  The challenges of the task include:

Identifying Prospect Segments: Depending on the size, type and longevity of your organization, you will find anything from a very few to very many donors who have made minimal contributions in the past, but are excellent candidates for higher tiers of giving in the immediate future.  Yet, identifying these prospects is among the most important piece of effective donor screening.  So it is incumbent upon the team responsible for these results to come away with the right segments of prospects, matched against the tiers of giving needed to be successful in your development campaigns.

Using the Best Sources for Your Research: Any easy mistake to make in screening donor targets is

Philanthropic Advisors Becoming More Important to Donors

Posted from http://www.gifthub.org...by Phil Cubeta

Bank of America commissioned The Center on Philanthropy at University of Indiana [sic - Indiana University] to do a survey of wealthy donors. About 700 responded. Results were compared to a similar survey done in 2006.  I am proud to say I served with some leading lights on a panel to guide the study's questions. One of the most striking of the survey's findings is this:

Major shift in the source of charitable advice. One of the most striking differences between findings from the 2006 and 2008 studies is the dramatic increase in donors’ use of legal and financial professionals to help them make charitable giving decisions. Our 2006 study found that donors relied on non-profit personnel (41.2%) and their own peers (35.9%) more than any other source for advice in this area. Our 2008 data finds accountants (43.2%), attorneys (41.7%) and financial/wealth advisors (32.6%) to be among the leading sources of charitable advice.

Successful Annual Giving Programs for Health Care

Annual Giving is the underlying foundation for all successful development programs. 

This is as true in health care, for academic medical centers, and other nonprofits. Great annual giving work is a team effort. So, plan on sending or bringing your development team to a seminar on Successful Annual Giving Programs.

Here's an opportunity to get special bonus discount for group registrations.

 

• What: Successful Annual Giving Programs for Health Care
• When: February 2-4, 2009
• Where: Hilton Houston Plaza/Medical Center
• Who: Annual Fund Officers, Directors, gift planning officers, key volunteers.

Looming Economic Crisis Dominates Annual Giving News

A weak economy and its effect on annual giving programs, continues to dominate the headlines and news stories relating to fundraising through annual fund efforts.

Creativity and Motivation Counter a Negative Econony
By Jason Fisher
Phonathons are a unique animal in the world of higher education fundraising. Along with being the dominant donor retention and donor acquisition tool, they are also the most suitable medium with which colleges and universities can ...
On the Line...with Jason Fisher - http://phonathonblogger.typepad.com/ontheline/


Churches see drop in giving
Dallas Business Journal - Dallas,TX,USA
“Everyone is kind of holding their breath this month of December” because as much as 30% of total annual giving to worship centers comes in the last month, ...

Annual Giving Campaign Planning with Purpose

Annual giving programs come with a unique set of challenges.  Especially when preparing and planning an upcoming campaign, there is a premium on a governing framework of concepts that should be kept in mind in creating the right message and gameplan.  We commend the following for your own thought:

Trust Donors' Desire to Give to Your Cause: Seeking charitable donations is, despite rumors to the contrary, quite different from attracting sales in a for profit company.  This is especially true in difficult economic times.  But, at any time, people buy for different reasons than they give.  They also invest for different reasons than they give.  Understanding donors charitable motivations is at the heart of any successful effort to raise money in the nonprofit arena. 

Know the Value and the Burden Accompanying Annual Giving: The annual fundraising effort drives database management, donor segmentation, and then major gift development and planned giving.  In short, it is the functional engine for all fundraising activity of the organization.  While it's not expected to raise as much as major gifts will, it carries with it the burden of providing new prospects by sifting thorugh the mountains of data that can be accumulated via an annual fund campaign. 

Our Economy's Impact on Charities

The economy not only hurts our quality of life but the lives of others who depend on charities and community based non-profits. Since the government has limited the amount of assistance to those needy, charities have been rallying to keep doing the work of good Samaritan...But how will they stay afloat when all of us are drowning in debt ?