What You Really Need to Know Now
About Fundraising
California Library Association
Conference
November 11, 2011

Kevin J. McArdle Consulting
Perez Company

Introduction Exercise

 Fundraising – Ready or Not?
 Fundraising Players
 Fundraising Trends
 “Get Ready” – Understanding the Basics
 “Get Set” – Preparing for the Personal Ask
 “Go” – Soliciting the Gift

Background Discussion
What Great
(or Not So Great)
Fundraising
Experiences
Have You
Had?

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Courage
Strategic Plan
Supportable Cause
Political Support
Support Group(s)
Volunteer Corps
Leadership
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Staff Resources
Organization Structure
Current Donors
Policies & Procedures
Technology
Budget Resources
Communications Tools

www.mcardleconsulting.com

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Pros
Raise $
Improve Services
Grow Community
Support
Develop Teamwork
Strengthen Political
Support
Expand
Communications
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Cons
Competition for $
General Fund Risk
Donor Challenges
Staff Time Required
Other Services Suffer
Budget Risk

Summer Reading
Program
Sponsored by McDonalds
Circulation Desk
Presented by Bob Jones Family Foundation

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Elected Officials
Library Board of Directors
Library Foundation Board
Friends of the Library
Development Staff
Library Director
Library Staff
Library Volunteers
Fundraising Professional

181 Public Library Jurisdictions
81(45%) Have Registered Public Library
Foundations
1,116 Public Library Outlets
452 Friends of the Library Organizations

 Develop Vision  Solicit Gifts
 Provide Direction
 Make Connections
 Establish
Relationships
 Make a Personal
Gift
 Steward Donors
 Oversee Finances
 Enhance Public
Image

 Train & Motivate
 Set Up/Manage
Data
 Create Plan(s)
 Conduct Feasibility
Studies
 Research
Prospects  Clarify
Responsibilities
 Write Proposals
 Identify Structural
Changes

Blackbaud’s Top 10 - 2010
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Donor Pools Will Continue to Change
Proving Value Will Become Even More
Important
Fundraisers Will Acquire New Skills and an Entrepreneurial Spirit
Social Media to Become Even More
Important
Peer to Peer Fundraising Will Continue to Grow

Blackbaud’s Top 10 - 2010
6.
7.
8.
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Donor Stewardship Will Become Even
More Important
Increased Government Regulations Will
Have an Impact
Move From Broad Donor Management to
Single Supporter Database
Relationships Will Still Rule
The Right Balance of Online/Offline
Presence Will Be Critical

www.mcardleconsulting.com
Where Philanthropy is Headed in 2011

Fundraising Challenges

 It is very important to do
 It is very difficult to get yourself to do it
 You share this feeling with everyone else
 You will feel great you did it!
 If you don’t do it, it won’t get done

Fundraising Reality Checks

The Real Costs of Fundraising
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Staff Costs
Equipment Costs
Facility Costs
Marketing Costs
Lost Revenues
Time and Effort
Other?

Effort vs. Reward Matrix
High Net Potential
($25,000/Year and up)
Low Net Potential
($5,000
–
$24,000/Year)
Major Time Commitment Minor Time Commitment

Effort vs. Reward Matrix
High Net Potential
($25,000/Year and up)
$
Low Net Potential
($5,000
–
$24,000/Year)
X
Major Time Commitment Minor Time Commitment

The Power of Personal Asks
Fundraising Special Event
6 Volunteers each spend 2 hours/week for 10 weeks = 120 hours invested.
Event success = $5,000
Personal Asks
6 Volunteers each identify 10 Donor Prospects and spend
2 hours cultivating and asking each = 120 hours invested.
If successful receiving minimum $500 gift from 7 Prospects each = $21,000
(plus 60 new supporters)

 “It can just be a Friendraiser.
”
 “We can probably get that donated.”
 “These events basically run themselves.”
 “Getting donors is the easy part!”
 “At worst we will break even.”

Role of Special Events

Successful Fundraising

The Ideal Fundraising
Solicitation
“The right person asks the right person at the right time, in the right way, for the right amount and for the right reason”

Key First Steps To Planning
What Do You
Need Funding For?
Who Are Your
Supporters and
Support Groups?
How Can You
Motivate and
Recognize Donors?

Key First Steps To Planning
What Do You
Need Funding For?
Who Are Your
Supporters and
Support Groups?
$
How Can You
Motivate and
Recognize Donors?

Anatomy of a Fundraising Plan
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Case Statement
Fundraising Goals
Schedule
Program Plan(s)
Gift Chart
Organizational Chart
Job Descriptions 
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Solicitation Plans
Special Event Plans
Donor Recognition
Branding & Marketing
Budget
Policies & Procedures
Volunteer Handbook
Resources

Fundraising Purposes
 Build a New Facility
 Start a New Program
 Create an Endowment Fund
 Support Participants
 Sustain Operations

Fundraising Campaigns
 Capital Campaigns
 Special Campaigns
 Annual Giving Campaigns
 Membership Campaigns
 On-Line Giving Campaigns
 Planned Giving Campaigns
 Special Events

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Mission
Vision
History
Current Services
Current Needs
Plan for Addressing Needs
Financial Information
How Donors Will Make a Difference
Opportunities for Donors

Workshop Exercise
Identify Purpose for a Special
Fundraising
Campaign to
Raise $25,000

Plan Branding and
Communications
 What’s a Brand?
(Everyone has one)
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It is your organization’s image
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It is your public’s experience
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It is your public’s expectations
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It is strongest when it’s consistent

Plan Branding and
Communications
 What can a strong Brand do?
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Set your organization apart in the public’s mind
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Reinforce your core values
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Build loyalty and affinity among constituents
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Save money and effort

Plan Branding and
Communications
 Strong Brands are
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Simple to understand
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True to your organization. They’re Honest!
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Unique to you. No one else can make a claim to it.

Plan Branding
 Find out how your brand is currently perceived by your best constituents/supporters
 Create communications that support the brand statement
 Identify what your strengths and unique qualities are
 Share what the Brand stands for with all internal stakeholders
 Create a Brand statement that will support your organizational goals
 Communicate the brand

www.mcardleconsulting.com
Your Brand: What it is and Why it Matters

Plan Communications
 Identify media that your desired audiences pay most attention to
 Print Ads
 Out-of-home (billboards, event venues)
 Transit Ads (inside and out)
 Web, email and Social Media
 Direct Mail
 Radio
 Television (costly)

Plan Communications
 Research which media are best suited for you to communicate with
 Establish your budgets
 View communications as investments and lifelines, not luxuries
 Set realistic benchmark goals and quantifiable returns for your communications

 Donors have rights
 Donors are our Partners
 Relationships are the key
 Donor stewardship = sustained giving
 Competitors are distrust, uncertainty and confusion
 Most effective technique is to Ask for it
 Face to face = 5 to10x direct mail amount
 It is hard to say no to your face

Understanding Donors

Understanding Donors Exercise
Who Do We Have the Most
Successful Donor
Relationships
With…and Why?

Donor Sources
 Individuals
 Foundations
(Corporate,
Community & Family)
 Corporations
 Local Businesses
 Non-Profits
 Government

Thoughts About Donors
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 People give to people
(not paper)
People give to people they know, like and trust
 People give most where they are most involved
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Fundraising is ultimately an exchange
 Donors want to associate with winners
Donors hate to be “sold to”
 Donors must be shareholders to the cause
 Bottom line for donors is
WIFM
 Each donor is different

Why Donors Give…
 To engage in issues that matter deeply to them
 To see, encourage or complete change
 To leapfrog processes and get faster results
 To give back to the community where their assets grow
 To ensure that others have what they have come to value, and did not have earlier in life

Why Donors Give
(continued)…
 To better their communities through enhancement of resources
 To guarantee the continuation of ideas and institutions they value
 To attain lifelong (and beyond) recognition
 To affiliate with others having like values and interests
 To be perceived as someone making a difference

6 Truths About Donors
Fundraising Success Magazine June 2011
#1 – Giving is mostly emotional and irrational
#2 – Giving is personal
#3 – No. 1 and 2 are really hard to change
#4 – Giving makes people happy
#5 – Giving is a social act
#6 – These are sweeping generalizations

Why Companies Invest…
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Public Relations/Marketing
Increase Market Share
Expand Customer Base
Expand Resource Pool
Make Helpful Connections
Achieve Influence
Build Partnerships
Improve Quality of Life

Types of Individual Donors

Types of Donors
 The Supportive Donor
 The Altruistic Donor
 The Donor Who Needs to be Recognized
 The Donor Who Needs to
Belong
 The Appreciative Donor
 The Political Donor
 The Peace of Mind Donor
 The Sense of Security
Donor
 The Mortality Donor
 The Spiritual Donor

Donor Motivation Exercise
What Type of
Donor Are You?
What Motivates
You to Donate?

Methods of Fundraising
 Face to Face Asks
 Grants
 Planned Giving
 Presentation Receptions
 Special Events
 Phone Campaigns
 Direct Mail
 Electronic Solicitation

Changing Giving Trends
Fundraising Success Magazine October, 2010
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18-24 Years – 41% mail &
61% online
25-39 Years – 44% mail &
54% online
40-54 Years – 57% mail &
38% online
55-69 Years – 77% mail &
25% online
70+ Years – 71% mail &
11% online

Multi-Channel Solicitation
Target Analytics 2011 Study
 Majority of gifts still through direct mail
 Increasingly common for new donors to give 1 st gift online
 Online acquired donors tend to give much larger gifts than mail acquired
 Online acquired donors have lower retention rates than mail acquired
 Importance of multichannel solicitations

Multi-Generational Approach
Fundraising Success Magazine July, 2011
 Baby Boomers are 50-65 Years Old
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75 Million People
Completing Major Life Expenses
Still Earning Money
Prime Giving Age
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Focus Attention on Major Gifts, Planned Gifts, Monthly Giving
 Generation X are 34-49 Years Old
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Far Fewer People – Less Donors
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Financial Pressure to Deliver
Many Not Married and More Diverse
They Expect to be Involved
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Communications Requires Adjustment
Build Relationships With Them Now
 Generation Y are 33 Years Old and Younger
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70 Million People
Reach Higher Earning in About 7 Years
Even More Diversity
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Tremendous Future Giving Potential
Develop a Strategy for Engaging Them Today

On-Line Fundraising Tools
 Web Sites
 Emails
 E-News
 Social/Viral Media
 QR Codes

On-Line Fundraising Tools
 Web Sites
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Very effective for providing lots of information
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Great for getting initial donations or inquiries
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Do provide content in interesting, bite-size amounts
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Do optimize the site for Search
Engines to rank higher
Don’t get caught up in a flashy site

 Web Sites

On-Line Fundraising Tools
 Emails
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Use some of the great tools with tracking and templates that are available
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Allow for special messages
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Use HTML text, not just images
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Avoid spammy words, or emails with big single images
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Always get permission to mail!

 Email

On-Line Fundraising Tools
 E-Newsletters (eNews)
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Great for ongoing relationshipbuilding with contacts who are email-responsive
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Allows for more content than a short, single focus email
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If you start eNews, commit to a regular schedule of publishing

 E-Newsletters

On-Line Fundraising Tools
 Social Media
 Twitter, Facebook, others
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Effective when news and alerts are maintained regularly
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Require consistent care and feeding
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Use to cross-reference to your website
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Monitor and manage the conversations

www.mcardleconsulting.com
Promote Your Fundraising Event With Social Media

On-Line Fundraising Tools
 QR Codes
 Interactive tool lets you make a static communication interactive
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Can link to website, email web video, even make a phone call
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Use to extend the dialog and interaction
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REMEMBER: the linked item will be viewed on a small smart phone screen!

www.mcardleconsulting.com
Using QR Codes to Reach the Busy, Mobile
Consumer

On-Line Fundraising Tools
 Use Best Practices
 Track your website traffic
 Track your email opening rates and where respondents go on the linked web pages
 Track and test, adjust and track again
 Use a cyclical improvement process of execution, tracking, assessment and execution

Steps to Fundraising Success
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Fundraising Software

“Who Do We Know That
Can Help Us?”
“Who is Passionate About
What We Do?”
“Who Can We Help With a
Partnership?”

Prospecting and Cultivating
Dr. Ann and Don Nicepeople
 Involved in community for 5 years
 Active volunteers who like working behind the scenes
 Faithfully attend social functions
 No kids
 Have donated a few hundred dollars to the cause in the past
 Not very well known

Donor Identification Exercise
Identify 3-5 Prospective
New Major Donors
Within Each Category
“Who Do We Know That Can Help
Us?”
“Who is Passionate About What We
Do?”
“Who Can We Help With a
Partnership?”

 Research everything possible about prospects
 Determine the best contact person
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 See the world from their view
 Understand how they see themselves
Sense their attitude and plan accordingly
 Develop an individual solicitation plan
 Develop an individual giving goal
 Foster (cultivate) the relationship

Donor Prospecting Exercise

 Who Knows Who?
 On-Going
Relationships
 Donor “Ownership”
 Prospect Master List
 Cross Cultivating

Preparing Your Prospect

 Befriend them
 Make social calls
 Solicit their opinions
 Send a personal message
 Send cards on special occasions
 Ask them to volunteer
 Invite them to activities

Donor Cultivation Exercise
List Specific
Ways We Can
Cultivate and
Grow Our
Prospects

Cultivating
Mary and Larry Retired
 Community members for 45 years
 5 kids went through the programs years ago
 Used to be active, not much anymore
 Retired with a significant retirement
 Beautiful country club home
 Million $ benefactor to hospital
 Have not donated to this cause before

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Cultivating
Fred W. Confidence
20 year community member
 Very generous contributions to many visible charities. Not much hands-on work
 Known for having his name on sponsor signs at local events
 Local civic building named after him
 Lots of articles in the newspaper on his charity donations

Individual Prospect Planning
Exercise
Develop an
Individual
Prospecting and
Cultivation Plan for One of Your
Real Life
Prospects

Most Important Challenge…
Making the Appointment

Making the Ask

Elements of a Good Case
 A Problem
 A Solution
 An Amount
 Urgency
 Proper Context
 Evokes
Emotional
Response

“Our Project” Case Exercise
 The “Problem”
 The Solution
 Amount
 Urgency
 Context
 Emotion

“Imagine that you are strolling through Pasadena on a pleasant evening. Suddenly a car comes out of nowhere. The rest is a blur.
Your spouse calls 911, an ambulance is there in a flash. Sirens blaring, you are rushed to
Pasadena Hospital, which has been serving you and your family for generations.
But this time, you are turned away.”

 Build rapport
 State the goals
 Uncover prospect’s needs and interests – ask questions
 Present the Case
 Ask… (for a specific amount)
 Stop talking and listen!
 Deal with questions
 Close and give thanks
 Obtain a donor form
(don’t leave one behind)

“Making the Case” Exercise
Tell the Case
Story for our
Project

“Elevator Story” Exercise
Give a 20
Second
Elevator Story for our Project

“Making the Ask” Exercise
Make the Ask for our Project

5 Possible Responses

Following Up After the Ask

Effective and
Responsible Care of our Donors

Donor Stewardship Exercise
List Specific
Ways We Can
Be Effective
Stewards With
Our Donors

Tips for Effective Stewardship
 Call and/or send thank you right away
 Keep Donor informed
 Invite Donor to activities
 Ask Donor to volunteer
 Ask Donor for advice
 Track all Prospect and Donor contacts

Remember!
Ongoing Donor Stewardship Creates a
Strong Foundation for the Future

Common Fundraising Mistakes

Common Fundraising
Mistakes
 Failure to prepare
 Asking too early
 Asking for too little
 Not asking for a specific amount
 Talking after you make the Ask
 Apologizing for asking
 Lack of closure and follow up
 Leaving a donor card behind
 Not asking face-toface

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Case Statement
Brochures/Flyers
Annual Reports
Sponsorship/Gift Chart
Displays/Photos
Prospect List
Sample Letters
Stationary
Note Cards
On Line Tools

Presenter Contact Information
Kevin McArdle
Kevin J. McArdle Consulting
872 Clearwater Court
Walnut, CA
Office (909) 260-6892
Email kevinjmcardle@aol.com
www.mcardleconsulting.com
Carlos Perez
Perez Company
1988 E. Rancho Culebra Drive
Covina, CA
Office (626) 483-2275
Email carlos@perezworks.com
www.perezworks.com