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May 6, 2010
Getting the Best Results from Your
Fundraising Communications
Joseph Sanders
Vice President
Grenzebach Glier and Associates
Vince McGrail
Senior Director of Marketing Communications
The Ohio State University, Office of Development
Chief Challenges
of Fundraising Communications
•
Focusing on institutional priorities
•
Articulating a clear, consistent, and compelling case for support
•
Integrating vision, strategy, urgency, and human stories
•
Synchronizing communications objectives and timetable with
development objectives and timetable
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Most Common Pitfalls
in Fundraising Communications
•
All tactics, no content
•
All stories, no context
•
All money, no benefits
•
All “transformation,” no real change
•
All communications, no development
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How Can We Communicate More Effectively?
•
Advancement professionals must make essential connections between
fundraising and communications:
– Message: Connect the institution’s goals, fundraising goals and
donors’ interests
– Strategies: Use communications channels that donor segments use
and trust
– Execution: Coordinate calendars and tactics between development
and communications
•
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In short, we plan and manage
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Grenzebach Glier and Associates
A Simple Fundraising Communications Plan:
The Five Steps
Step One:
Choose Messages that Support Goals
•
Connect institutional strategic direction to fundraising goals
•
Use core messages to communicate your fundraising goals
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Tests for Messages
•
Do they:
– Present your institution’s greatest opportunities and needs (over the
next X years)?
– Make these opportunities and needs matter to your institution’s
supporters (alumni, parents, friends, grateful patients, patrons, etc.)?
– Show which of these opportunities and needs can be met only with
philanthropic support, and why?
– Help philanthropic prospects perceive the benefits they will create
for people, society, or themselves by making a gift?
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Why are These Tests Important?
•
Many studies for all types of institutions show that some percentage of
your best prospects think your institution is worthy of their gift but does
not need it
•
Many prospective donors are less interested in what they can do for your
institution than what they can do to make a difference through your
institution
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Example of A Strategic Goal
and Core Message
•
Fundraising Goal: Secure $20 million to strengthen research and
generate intellectual property
•
Core message: Private investment now will determine whether State
University extends its leadership in programs that create a healthy
economy benefiting all citizens
•
Private support will:
– Create new enterprises
– Help established industries to modernize and thrive
– Engage faculty and students in economic development
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No Strategic Direction…?
•
Problem: My institution does not have a strategic plan or clear direction.
– Solution #1: Focus your messages on opportunities and benefits
• Example: [Your hospital] is working to assure the best, most
advanced healthcare for the people of our region… Only the
investment of gifts can assure the best, most advanced
healthcare for you, your family, and your neighbors… The people
of our region deserve the best.
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No Strategic Direction…?
•
Problem: My institution does not have a strategic plan or clear direction.
– Solution #2: The “Our Time in History” approach
• Example: When their time came, each generation preserved and
strengthened [our] College for the next. Their gift to us was born
in love for a time and place in their lives when they grew in their
intellects, hearts, and souls. We now join them in communion,
the inheritors of their gift and their Quaker faith in our inner light.
This is our time in history.
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Four Ways to Make It Matter
1.
Why Your Gift is Important to Others
–
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“Instead of comparative rankings as the driving force, let us focus on
achieving strategic results aimed at improving the common good:
from finding cures for cancer, to educating globally savvy students,
to spreading new technology across the state.”
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Four Ways to Make It Matter
2.
Why Your Gift is Important to Society
–
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“Most important, the new building represents an investment in our
shared future. It is an investment in Iowa, whose citizens depend on
BVU for teachers of science and mathematics, and whose employers
depend on the quality of the education its graduates have received.
It is an investment in the future of our society, which will demand
service and leadership to master scientific challenges.”
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Four Ways to Make It Matter
3. Why Your Gift Matters to You
–
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“Donors who join the Garden in support will reap the satisfaction
that they have sustained a place of singular beauty, cultivated
understanding of the relationship between humans and the
environment, and hastened the victory of science over ignorance.”
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Four Ways to Make It Matter
4.
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Why Every Gift Makes a Difference
–
One Incredible Difference
–
For example, your gift allows BYU to:
•
Explore ways, using internet technology, to offer online courses
to 250,000 or more students around the world, expanding
access to BYU education beyond the physical limitations of
campus
•
Invite up to 20,000 additional students to enjoy the BYU "oncampus" experience through the spring/summer enrollment
•
Hire undergraduates to assist with major research projects,
uniquely preparing them for future work and study
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Step Two:
Define Audience Segments
•
Work with Development to prioritize and sequence audiences
– Volunteer leaders
– Faculty/employees
– Alumni/patrons/grateful patients
– Friends/family members
– Foundations and corporations
– Business, government, and community leaders
•
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Look for important segments within larger segments
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Step Three:
Set Strategies by Audiences
•
•
Tie core messages to communications strategies for each donor
segment, such as:
−
Grateful patients
−
Younger alumni
−
Parents
−
Patrons who are not donors
Example of a strategy:
– Capitalize on alumni/patron/parent events to roll out targeted core
messages
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Step Four:
Select Tactics
•
Prioritize tactics to capitalize on the most trusted sources of information
for most people: other people they know
•
Examples of tactics:
– Talking points (elevator case) for interpersonal communications
– Internal communications within your institution
– Volunteer preparation and briefings
– Speeches and remarks for events
– Print materials, electronic productions, and Internet postings
– Media relations
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Example of A Communication Tactic
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ACTIVITY/TOOL
Campaign Brochure
Purpose
To promote the campaign for those
who will not receive a campaign case
statement
Target Audience
Faculty and staff, alumni and friends
who attend University events; small
gift donors
When
Beginning of campaign public phase
Responsibility
Campaign Communications Director
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Step Five:
Execute
•
Match your tactics to audience segments
•
Plot tactics across time to synchronize with development opportunities
(make a timeline)
•
Create a budget
•
Develop assignments
•
Meet deadlines and measure results
•
Maintain the flow of ideas between development and communications
as you work the plan
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Helpful Tips
•
Internal communications come first
•
People donate because of relationships
•
Personalize communication
•
Capitalize on familiar, existing channels
•
People who get involved make bigger gifts than people who watch:
support engagement!
•
What and how you communicate after the gift determines success in
getting the next one: that’s stewardship
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Grenzebach Glier and Associates
The Ohio State University:
Knowing your Audience – Implementing the Plan
Giving Update to Ohio State Impact
• Former Donor Publication Giving Update
– Same basic design and content for 15 years
– Focus on recent major gift activity, stories with focus on major
donors with donor supplied photos – grip and grin
– Four color glossy, 16 pages, tabloid
– Approximately 65,000 circulation
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Giving Update – Focus on Major Gifts
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Market Research: Goals
•
Recognition and inspiration
•
Audience perceptions and attitudes
•
Insight for strategic decisions
•
Design questions: paper/photos/emotion
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Online Donor Survey
•
Most did not read – just skim then pitch
•
Only 6% had been in Giving Update
•
76% said it did NOT inspire them to give
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Donor Survey Comments
• “It may actually have the reverse effect of making others think
their gift will not make a difference since it's not in the millions.”
• “I feel my contributions are too small, in comparison with what
you report.”
• “I am unable to compete and it makes me feel inadequate.”
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Focus Groups
•
Facilitated by outside professional research company
•
Major donor group and Presidents Club group of readers
•
Disconnect between content of publication and its readers
•
Those in major donor group ($100K in cumulative giving) still did not
identify as donors who would be in this publication
•
Wanted to know more of the impact of their philanthropy and giving in
general, the word “impact” was used repeatedly
•
Expressed interest in seeing more creative and engaging ways to present
data or accomplishments
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Strategic Decisions from Insight
•
Create a publication that focuses on impact of giving Ohio State Impact
•
Not internally driven with sole focus on recognition
•
Speaks to a wider donor audience, and strikes a balance between
recognition and inspiration
•
Has feature focus in each issue – prepares the audience for the
upcoming campaign, importance of campaign priorities, and will inform
audience of campaign progress
•
Coordinated with central communications and alumni association –more
aligned with University message
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A Fresh Design and a New Impact
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Graphical Presentation of Information
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A Focus on Impact
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Results and Next Steps
• Overwhelmingly positive response from first two issues – internal
leadership, leadership volunteers, and donors
• Short follow-up surveys after each issue for constant feedback
opportunity and improvement
• Conduct a large readership survey in the future
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Grenzebach Glier and Associates
The Ohio State University:
Implementing a Communications Strategy
A Plan to Help Students in Need
•
Students First
– Introduced in December 2008 by President Gee
– A University-wide initiative designed to ensure continued access to
education for Ohio State students
– Provided additional financial aid, emergency loans, and tuition
assurances to help students stay in school
•
Students First, Students Now
– The fundraising initiative to support students
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Students First, Students Now
•
$100 million dollar fund-raising goal
•
31 Individual unit goals to create the $100 million goal
•
Focus on all student support
•
January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011
•
Will impact thousands of Ohio State students
•
From Annual Giving to Major Gifts
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Communications Goals
•
Educate constituencies on the need to support Ohio State students and
educate them on benefits to students and the University
•
Attract first-time donors, enlarging Ohio State's base of support
•
Motivate donors and prospects to higher levels of giving
•
Recognize and steward donors to build their loyalty and ongoing
support for Ohio State after the initiative
•
Strengthen cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship in advance of a
comprehensive campaign
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Tools and Tactics
•
Identity and initiative overview pocket folder with custom unit one sheet
overviews for unit personalization
•
Internal communications to educate and provide tools
•
Web presence
•
Videos - online with push from e-mail and social media
•
Advertising
•
Direct Mail
•
Publication feature
•
DVD direct mail test with major gift focus
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Creating the Identity
• Putting the focus on students
• Simplicity and efficiency
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Pocket Folder
General overview –
can be used for proposals
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Unit Customization
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Unit Customization
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Online Presence
giveto.osu.edu/studentsfirst
connecting from osu.edu main entry
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Video
•
Teamed with outside production company – much of the coordinating
and producing oversight done by staff
•
Eight student videos created – photo and video shoot were done at
same time to cut costs
•
One per month posted on YouTube – pulled on site – and pushed out via
monthly e-mail to all Presidents Club donors, Connect e-newsletter, and
Social Media
•
President Gee intros dvd of all eight student videos for test mailing for
follow up with major gift focus
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Advertising in University Vehicles
Extend awareness
to various segments
Drive to Web
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Annual Giving – Direct Mail
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Feature Focus in Donor Publication
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Partnering with Central Communications
Using established
communications vehicle
to build awareness and
drive Web traffic
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Watching Traffic
• Analyze paths to site and within site
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Fundraising Results through March
• $62,328,665 through March 31, 2010
• 62% of Goal at 50% of timeframe
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Four Points
1. Understand your audience and use it to guide decisions
2. Plan the work and work the plan
3. Partner with others to help drive the message
4. Use channels that are already available
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Grenzebach Glier and Associates
Questions?