Fundraising: Why You Should Treat Your Volunteers Like Major Donors

Time is Running Out - Seats Still Available for My Seminar on Community Engagement this Weekend! 

Get thousands of dollars worth of samples, templates and instructions for how to tell your story in a way that inspires people to want to help, be clearer about what you need and how people can help, and genuinely cultivating relationships for the purpose of securing EVERYTHING you need to achieve your organization's vision for the future!

Plus learn how to think from a place of abundance instead of scarcity.  All the resources you need are right in front of you.  You just don't know how to see them, and you don't know what to do next if you do see them.

DATE:  Come to sessions on Saturday and/or Sunday PLUS networking on Friday night at the Zen on Seven

COST:  PAY WHAT YOU CAN OR WANT!

REGISTER:  Email Deb at dlukovich@alineaconnect.com
or call 414-803-3229

LOCATION:  Historic Hotel Metro in downtown Milwaukee

Today's Blog Posting:

Why You Should Treat Your Volunteers Like Major Donors

I just cringe when I hear nonprofit staff people complain about their volunteers.  Sometimes they complain that volunteers are unreliable, showing up late or not showing up at all.  Many times, they complain about young people because "they think they're all that."

I think it's amazing that anyone volunteers their time for a cause that resonates with them, and to me, if you're not getting what you want from a volunteer, IT'S YOUR FAULT!

Many organizations spend lavish amounts of money on "major donors," a direct implication that the size of your gift correlates to the appreciation you will receive.  It's kind of like a class system within philanthropy.

We all know that a volunteer who takes the time to read to a child an hour per week is having an immeasurable positive impact on that child's present and future life, but we really don't show our appreciation in a way that reflects that impact.

Yes, you need resources, but when it's clear that your agenda is to raise money, you are actually limiting the resources you are attracting because you are coming from a place of scarcity and need.

An Amazing Story of the Power of Genuine Relationship Building 

Did I ever tell you the story about when Pat Molter was tempted to NOT take the time on one particular day to talk to her volunteers about the impact they were having?  Thank goodness she resisted that temptation.  Read on. . .

Pat Molter is the most amazing ambassador for many faith-based nonprofits in Milwaukee, some of which she actually helped found.  She's so effective because she really doesn't have an agenda other than connecting with people.

This is an amazing story.  This was a couple years ago, and Pat was working part time (well, being paid part time) as the liaison for House of Love, a group home for teenage girls who cannot be adquately served by the traditional foster care system.  At that time, House of Love had purchased a four-unit apartment building so they could maintain support of the girls who aged out of the foster care system (a whole other conversation about why anyone would ever think throwing at-risk 18 year olds out on the streets would ever have a good outcome).

Anyway, House of Love saved up to purchase this apartment building.  Unfortunately, it was in pretty bad shape.  On this particular day, Pat was helping other volunteers clean the inside while another group of volunteers was working on the garage.  It was disgusting, full of drug needles, bugs, filth, etc.  Pat explained to me that she almost wanted to throw up, and by the end of the day she just wanted to go home and take a shower.

But Pat had always, always made sure to take time to go talk to the volunteers.  Not just to say thank you, but to share the real meaning of their contribution.  To share the familiar story of the girls they were helping.  Stories of rape by relatives, physical abuse, fatherlessness, expulsions from schools, lack of hope and lack of unconditional love.

Well, on this particular day, as usual, she was sharing the House of Love story with a group of mostly men who seemed to be close to retirement age.  Two weeks later, she got a call from one of them.  He said, "Pat, I haven't been able to sleep since you spoke with us.  Until last night that is, when God told me I should make a donation to House of Love.  And God even gave me a number."  As Pat shared this story with me, she said she was so excited, because she thought maybe they would be getting a $5,000 donation, and this was thinking big, as House of Love had never even gotten a $1,000 donation from an indidvidual.

The man asked to come deliver the check in person.  When he met with Pat, she almsot fainted as he presented her with a $50,000 check - YES $50,000, the exactly amount they needed to replace the roof of the apartment building.

It turns out that this gentleman and his wife had been abandoned in their youth.  They were pretty much middle class folks who had worked hard all their lives, and it seemed like a GIFT TO THEM to be able to make this donation to House of Love.

The Moral of the Story

I share this because it's ALWAYS TRUE that the most amazing gifts come out of the least expected situations.  It's like planning for a gift actually gets in the way of the gift.  That's what I mean by NOT having an agenda, and instead focusing on being truy curious about other people.

The second lesson is NOT to make assumptions or judgments about people.  When a volunteer graces you with their presence - that's how I look at it - they are "dipping their toe in the water."  How you treat them will determine what you will receive from them.  YOU JUST NEVER KNOW who they know or what their true situation is.

Your intent should be to genuinely care about and be curious about other people first.  If you do that, you will find an emotional connection.  But don't be attached to an outcome.  It doesn't matter if they're interested or not.  You have just shared your story with another human being, and you just never know what might happen down the road.

As always, try this and let me know what happens.  If you really, really take my advice, you might experience something that feels like a kind of miracle.

Passing Along Information About My Seminar Could be a Gift to a Nonprofit, School or Church You Care About 

If you enjoy my blog postings, please consider helping me out by encouraging organizations that could benefit by my philsophy and turn-key approach to attend my seminar this weekend.

Thank you for your support!

Deb

Fundraising - Engaging Board Members

Before I share with you How to Get Your Board Members to be Walking Billboards for Your Nonprofit, School or Church, I want to remind you about my seminar the weekend of March 21st.

I'm taking everything I've learned and developed over the past 10 years of working with schools and nonprofits and I'm teaching it to 75 people - I have lots of seats open!  HELP ME FILL THEM. If you're not interested, please let others know.

I will teach folks a new way to think about resource development (money, student enrollment, community partnerships, building awareness), then share the knowledge you need to put these concepts to work, and then give you a big binder and electronic versions of tools and templates you can use (case statement, elevator pitch, student enrollment strategies, communications tools like Facebook, website, flyers for anything, scripts, applications for grants, and much more).

The cost for my seminar is: PAY WHAT YOU CAN OR WANT and attend one or both dates as well as join us for networking.

Click here and request registration paperwork or hit the BUY NOW button on my blog.  To learn more about what I'll cover and to read or hear testimonials from some of my clients, visit my website or my You Tube Channel.

Now, on to sharing my secrets for inspiring your board members to be walking billboards for your organization.

Understanding How to Inspire Your Board Members to be Active Ambassadors

 FIRST - It's About Confidence

Are your board members out there tirelessly promoting your organization?  I guarantee you don't really know the answer to this question.  Whenever I do a seminar for board members, and I ask them, "How many of you are confident and comfortable sharing your organization's story?" only one-third of the hands go up.  Your board members are the guardians of your organization, but most of them are NOT PROMOTING your organization.  Here's the thing though.  They will never admit it because they think they should know how to do this.

Over the past 10 years of working with nonprofits, schools and churches, I've learned that there is a lot of guilt on boards.  It's crazy, because here are people who volunteer outside of their jobs and families to offer their time, support, money and advice to a cause for which they have much passion.

They get onto the board often with little training and orientation and you can tell they're ready to get to work.  After a few meetings of soaking in everyone else's wisdom and perspectives, they are really feeling ready to go.  But then after a few more meetings, many board members begin feeling unsure about what to actually do to help outside of attending meetings and blessing the budget and activities of the director.  Eventually, many of them begin to feel ineffective and like they're not making a contribution.

What often happens on the other end - the staff end - is the director begins to make assumptions about a lack of commitment to the organization.  I have found that this just is not the case.  Through many board engagement projects and confidential interviews with board members, I have found the issue to be one of a lack of direction, training and tools than anything else.

A Real Story - Connecting Youth, Inc. (Milwaukee)

A few years back I was brought in by the executive director of a small nonprofit called Connecting Youth who needed help engaging the board in the organization's work after quickly growing operations.  This awesome organization is a group home for teens that can't be adequately served in foster care.  After my first meeting with the board and staff, even I fell under the spell of making assumptions about whether the president of the board was committed.  I really thought to myself, "This person is probably going to have to leave."

When we started clarifying the organization's mission, developing a compelling vision for the future and outlining three clear priorities and a committee structure to achieve them, you could just feel the difference in energy and motivation.  As part of our project, I asked the board members to personally invite some folks to an information session for the purpose of recruiting some additional board and committee members.  While just five people came, all five jumped in and got involved.  The really awesome story is the professional woman who was invited by the board president not only recruited her daughter to serve on the board (she had marketing expertise), she mailed in a $1,000 check after just that one meeting.  This was a HUGE donation for them.  With some clarity and tools, this board president was really able to share the story and make connections.  

Another Real Story - Eastbrook Academy (Milwaukee)


My last posting about board engagement is one of my most popular blogs.  I thought about this again recently as I started working with my new awesome client, Eastbrook Academy, a school that has one of the most amazing stories ever.  This school started 16 years ago with just a K4, K5 and 1st grade, and this year their first high school graduating class will graduate from college.  They have a 100% high school graduation rate, 100% college acceptance rate, PLUS they are racially and economically diverse, with one-third of their students qualifying for free and reduced lunch and a large portion of their students coming from wealthy suburbs paying private tuition.  Families that choose to go there state that they don't have to choose between diversity AND student achievement - THEY GET BOTH.

Anyway, this school is kind of shy about promoting itself.  They have quietly known that they are doing something really awesome, and their recent accreditation brought accolades from the accrediting association.  But they're still kind of shy, and it's my job to tell them how awesome they are and to teach them how to engage the rest of the world in their amazing story.

In the short time I've been there, there are already getting more results just by encouraging them.  They just held their annual event, which had been on a downward trend for various reasons.  Three weeks before the event, I provided the board members with a script and they signed up to make some personal calls to invite people to come to the event.  That made all the difference.  When the board president went to his company for sponsorship, he said all he had to do was write down some of the achievements of the school and the company said yes right away.  They exceeded their goal!

SECOND - Two Tools for Building Confidence

A past board member of Eastbrook Academy admitted that one of the reasons he left the board was because he didn't know how to share the story.  I'm so glad he admitted that.  You can have all the passion in the world, but if you don't know what to say, then you don't share.

There are three tools that really help your ambassasdors share the story:

1. Professional Case Statement.  Click here to go to my first blog posting about developing case statements. 
2. Elevator Pitch.  Click here to go to my blog posting about developing an elevator pitch. 
3. FAQ (frequently asked questions).  This is another great tool to have available to consistently address common questions that come up.  Click here to send me an email for a sample of an FAQ document.  

THIRD - Professional Nagging and Support Bring Credibility

Years back I read something about all the research that was done on all the millions companies spend on professional development programs for their employees.  Unfortunately, the research showed that most of that money was probably being wasted because there were no long-term changes in behavior and results.  The research did however identify the difference in what did bring lasting results and that was followup and support.  

We all intuitively know that changing behaviors and habits is really, really difficult.  We know that the majority of people who want to lose weight end up putting it back on, many people who try to quit smoking don't succeed until many attempts.  Just think about how unrealistic it is to expect people to expertly manage their time after going to a weekend seminar.  Or expecting harmony in the workplace to go up after sending employees to even a six-week program on how to have difficult conversations.  Without the followup and support from a manager, real change is unlikely. 

So even when you provide your board members with a beautiful case statement and elevator pitch, likely not much will happen - even though they're all motivated and excited about their new tools.  They may have every great intention, but when they get out there your board members will get stuck.  And remember, they won't tell you - they're too embarassed.  

I recommend these three follow-up steps to build the confidence and ensure your board members become active ambassadors for your organization.  If they do, you will definitely see new results.  

FIRST - Build in time to report back to each other on how it's going.  You could add a regular agenda item called "Community Engagement" or "Relationship Cultivation" or "Sharing the Story."  During this time, board members can share their experience of using the case statement and elevator pitch and what results they're experiencing.  How many new people have they shared the story with for example.  I like to actually add a little competition to the mix.  Set a weekly goal for the board members when it comes to sharing the story with new people.  

SECOND - Capture all new relationships in a tracking.  Your board members should know that when they have a meaningful conversation with someone that they are to ask them if it's okay to contact them in the future or put them on the mailing list (this is in the elevator pitch).  This contact information should be passed along to the person who is in charge of the relationship tracking so there is immediately a next step for this relationship.  To get a sample elevator pitch, click here and send me an email.    

THIRD - Celebrate success to build more confidence.  I can't believe how often organizations downplay their successes.  My client just exceeded their goal for an event, and the email that went out from the fund development director was very professional and detailed, but it did not scream - WE EXCEEDED OUR GOAL!  The fact that the board members actively made personal phone calls was something that was new and their efforts resulted in more tables being sold at the event, more attendees and a brand new donation!  THIS IS AWESOME!  Celebrating your successes is important for lots of reasons, but most importantly for helping your board members know that THEY MADE A MEANINGFUL CONTRIBUTION.  When they see that, they will be happy to do it again.  

Your board members are your most important tool for inspiring others to get involved in your organization.  I often remind organizations and board members that it's NOT the job of the fund development director to raise money.  It's her or his job to drive the fundraising plan and to empower as many people as possible to share the story, make connections and cultivate relationships.  The organizations that take this to heart have more donors than they can handle.  

As always, I love to hear your own success stories.  

Please consider coming to my seminar or helping me promote it.  I've got a week and a half to fill my 75 seats.  With a price of PAY WHAT YOU CAN and a guarantee that you'll receive inspiration and knowledge and materials worth thousands there are lots of organizations that can benefit. 

Deb 

  

Fundraising - Maximizing Results from Special Events

Before I share with you 5 steps that will GUARANTEE better results from your events, I want to remind you about my seminar the weekend of March 21st.

I'm taking everything I've learned and developed over the past 10 years of working with schools and nonprofits and I'm teaching it to 75 people - I have lots of seats open!  HELP ME FILL THEM.  I will teach folks a new way to think about resource development (money, student enrollment, community partnerships, building awareness), then share the knowledge you need to put these concepts to work, and then give you a big binder and electronic versions of tools and templates you can use (case statement, elevator pitch, student enrollment strategies, communications tools like Facebook, website, flyers for anything, scripts, applications for grants, and much more).

The cost for my seminar is: PAY WHAT YOU CAN OR WANT and attend one or both dates as well as join us for networking.

Click here and request registration paperwork or hit the BUY NOW button on my blog.  To learn more about what I'll cover and to read or hear testimonials from some of my clients, visit my website or my You Tube Channel.

Now, on to sharing my secrets for getting more out of your events.

5 Steps to Getting More Out of Your Events

This time of the year isn't just for spring training; it's also the time of year many nonprofit organizations host special events to raise money and build awareness for their good work.

I've never come across an organization that couldn't get more out of their events.  Here are 5 things to consider in order to maximize the results you can achieve through your upcoming event.

#1 - Determine the Purpose of the Event.

Do you have a written strategy for your annual event?  Rarely do I come across a nonprofit with a written plan for what exactly they want to achieve through the event.  Without specific objectives for what you want to achieve, there's no direction for all the steps that come next.  Without an exciting vision for what you want your event to look and feel like, too much attention gets focused on
logistics.

Often, a nonprofit will state that their goal with the event is to raise money, but then when I ask them who is on the invitation list and who actually comes, it's their volunteers, families of students or other constiuents.  Typically, this scenario is not going to help you maximize revenue generated by the event. However, if the objective of the event is to recognize volunteers, show off student work or build relationships among internal stakeholders, then this invitation list makes sense.  See what I'm saying?

Either objective is fine, but if your objective is to raise money, then your invitation list needs to look different.  Maybe you still want to have an event for volunteers and families; then do that.  But don't expect to raise a lot of money, and then when you don't, feel badly about the event.  Judge the results of the event based on your objectives.

BOTTOM LINE:  SET CLEAR MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES FOR YOUR EVENT.

RESOURCE:  CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A SAMPLE EVENT STRATEGY PLAN.

#2 - Decide Who You Want to Attend Your Event. 

You probably send invitations out via regular mail and email to everyone on your list, including donors, people who receive your email, constituents and others.  They just do what they did last year.  Instead, start by answering this question:  "Who do we want to attend our event?"  Just by asking that question, your list is going to look quite different.  When I worked with the Interfaith neighborhood Outreach Program on their event, I asked them, "Who do you think SHOULD be there?  Who should know more about you?  When they thought about their invitation list in this way, they came up with lots of people they had never thought about before.  Instead of just inviting everyone you have an address or email for, be more strategic and start with the objective you set above and then generate a list of people who will help meet that objective.

BOTTOM LINE:  INVITE THE PEOPLE WHO WILL HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR OBJECTIVES.

#3 - Engage Staff, Volunteers and Board Members in Generating the Invitation List.

People look at me a little funny when I tell them, "The role of your fund development director is NOT to raise money."  But it's true.  If everyone in your organization is looking to the development director or coordinator to raise money and put on events, you will definitely NOT maximize your results.  One person is just one person.  Instead, look at your fund development director as the DRIVER or FACILITATOR of your resource development plan.  Her or his role is to empower as many other people as possible to share the story, make connections and open doors.  Once those connections are made, it's her or his job to help decide what to do next in order to cultivate that relationship.  The volunteer or board member that made the connection may continue to be involved or may not.

Anyway, when it comes to events,  once you've set your objectives, allow your board members, volunteers and staff members to brainstorm who they know and respect that matches the objectives.  In addition, have them look at the attendance list from the last few years and identify with which attendees they have a connection.

#4 - Personal Outreach is What Inspires People to Come. 

Typically, nonprofits will use the strategies with which they are most comfortable.  When it comes to getting people to their events, they rely on mailed and emailed invitations. For your own events, you probably have some kind of hard mailing list and email list.  On the list are people who receive your newsletter, donors and constiuents.  You send out your invitations about four to six weeks ahead of time and then you excitedly wait for the rsvp's to come rolling in, and when they don't come in as fast as you had hoped, you begin to feel that pit in the bottom of your stomach.  You feel anxiety as you check the mail each day leading up to the event.  Am I right?

You can do your own research to confirm that mailings are not the best way to engage people.  People want to attend an event because they feel like their presence is meaningful, and the best way to make people feel important is through personal outreach.

Then have everyone (board members) assign themselves to personally reaching out to their people.  They will likely be nervous about doing this, so provide some language or a script to give them the confidence.  In the script include the language that if people are not able to attend, to ask if they would consider making a donation to help the organization reach their goal.  Then set a deadline like 48 hours to complete the outreach, which can be done via live conversation, voicemail or email.  The objective of the calls is to inspire people to want to attend or make a small donation toward the event.

BOTTOM LINE:  YOUR RSVP'S WILL GO UP DRAMATICALLY WITH PERSONAL OUTREACH.

RESOURCE:  CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR YOUR BOARD MEMBERS AND VOLUNTEERS TO USE. 

#5 - Events Are About Cultivating Relationships, Not Just Promoting the Organization. 

Usually, much attention will be paid attention to all the logistics before and during the event.  As I mentioned above, focusing your attention on getting the right people to your event and then personally reaching out to them to inspire them to come will already increase your results.  Don't breathe your sigh of relief yet though.  Your work has just begun.

Once you know who is coming to the event, review the list with your board members, staff members and key volunteers and inspire them to see themselves as ambassadors of the organization.  Their job at the event is to personally welcome people and share their passion for the organization.  Their job is to genuinely be curious and learn more about them and then to report back after the event.

While many nonprofit staff members are just happy for an event to be over, it is important to schedule an event debriefing meeting within a week following the event to discuss what worked well and to share all the amazing experiences that were had with attendees.  The purpose of the event was to continue building relationships with existing supporters and to inspire new supporters.  There are so many juicy things you will all learn about people that will give you clues about how to continue to build the relationship.

People who took the time out of their busy lives to spend an entire evening at your event often are open to getting more involved, especially right after their enjoyable experience.  As you talk about the various attendees, think about what they may have in common with each other.  Then think about what might be a good way to build on their experience at the event.  If they've never taken a tour, this is a perfect next step.  If you have several who have never taken a tour, you might want to consider inviting them to attend one or two tours to experience your mission for themselves and to learn more about your top priorities for the next year.  It's just another opportunity to share and let them know what you need to achieve your vision.

BOTTOM LINE:  THE END OF THE EVENT IS THE BEGINNING OF MORE STEPS TO CULTIVATE RELATIONSHIPS.  

RESOURCE:  CLICK HERE TO REQUEST A COMPELLING TOUR GUIDE. 

I GUARANTEE that looking at your events in this way and taking the steps above will increase your results.  And I'd love to find out what happens when you try this approach.  Good luck with all yoru events this year!

Deb