FUNDRAISING 101:
The Basics
Presented by John Howard
February 27, 2008
Where are we going?

Section 1: Laying the Groundwork
 About John Howard
 Why Fund-raise?
 Whose job is it?
 Attitudes needed for success
 General Principles
 Money-making vs. fund-raising
(development)
Where are we going?

Section 2: Bringing in the Dough with
Money-making Projects
 Overview
 Specific types of money-making projects
 Benefits and Drawbacks
 Building Ownership through involvement
 Case
Study – Peoria Heights P.L.
 Short Break
Where are we going?

Section 3: Building Long-term Funding
through a Development Approach
 Overview
 Understanding Donors
 Asking for Money
 Library Annual Fund
 Major Gifts & Memorials
 Planned Gifts
 Capital Campaign
Where are we going?

Section 3: Building Long-term Funding
through a Development Approach
(continued)
 Recognition and Acknowledgment
 Do you need development staff?
 Role of the Library Director
 Creating a plan for fund-raising
 Summary – Where to go from here
Why Fundraise?

You tell me – why are you all here? 
Why Fundraise?
To
 To
 To
 To

offer new services
offer existing services better
better fulfill your mission
make your community a better place
We don’t Fundraise…
To pay the bills
 Because we need something
 Or else!

Who is Responsible?


Ideally, a highpowered group of
community leaders so
devoted to your
library that they will
offer time, talent and
treasure
Reality – multiple
answers

Board, friends,
volunteers, staff may all
be involved
Attitudes Needed for Successful Fundraising
Unshakable conviction in the value of your
library
 Belief that people are willing to give
 Belief that, even in bad times,
wealth exists in your community
 Willingness to step outside
your comfort zone

Why is your library important…?

Elevator Speech – short statement that
you could share while riding in an elevator.


No more than 2 sentences
No more than 50 words
Important Rules of Thumb

The best gifts are win-win propositions


Have donors thank YOU
People tend to repeat pleasurable
experiences and avoid painful ones

Help donors to enjoy their gift
How you acknowledge the last gift
determines whether you get the next
 Never beg – create partnerships
 Good planning precedes good fund-raising


The $10,000 question
Fundraising vs. Moneymaking
Moneymaking:
Engaging in
activities that will
create a profit
that will be used
to support your
library
Fund-raising:
Creating longterm
relationships
with people
interested in
your
organization,
and letting
them invest in
your library
Types of Moneymaking Projects
Examples
Used Book Sale
Bake Sale
Cookbooks
Book bags
Coffee
Community garage
sale
Types of Moneymaking Projects
Benefits:
Low pressure
Easy to do
Depending on product, may raise
$$ from people unaffiliated with
library
Unthreatening way to involve
volunteers
Drawbacks:
Relatively low profit potential
Possibility of losing money
Competition with local
businesses
Types of Moneymaking Projects
Benefits:
Low cost with donated prizes
Straightforward
Depending on prize, may raise $$
from people unaffiliated with library
Drawbacks:
Varying profit potential
For best results, need a
sizable sales force
Requires researching and
following local laws
Types of Moneymaking Projects
Examples:
Luncheons/dinners
Musical or Theatrical Performances
Golf tournaments
Dances
Festivals
Trivia Nights
Types of Moneymaking Projects
Benefits:
Can be FUN!
Drawbacks:
Good way to build visibility for
library
Can be LOTS of Work
May be built around the
interests/skills of your volunteers
Can be high stress
May give opportunity to share
library’s “story”
Need good attendance to make $$
Very dependent on timing
Small to moderate $$
potential until established
Volunteers
Voluntary involvement in your
mission moves volunteers from
interest to involvement to
ownership
CASE STUDY
Taste of Peoria Heights
Marsha Westfall
Peoria Heights Public Library
Building Long-term Support
through a Development
Approach
Primary Goal: Long-term,
mutually beneficial relationship
with community members
Overview of the Development
Approach
1. Identification
2. Cultivation
3. Solicitation
4. Acknowledgment
5. Cultivation
6. Solicitation with upgrade
Understanding Your Donors

Why do donors give?





Personal belief in
project/organization
Gratitude – “I have
been served”
Guilt
Recognition
BECAUSE THEY WERE
ASKED


PBS
Drake Univ.

Donor Life-Cycle






Prospect
Customer
Annual Gift
Major Gift
Ultimate/Planned Gift
Donors/Volunteers/
Donor-Volunteers
Asking for A Gift

Levels of effectiveness (Best to worst)







Peer asking peer face to face
Non-peer/staff asking face to face
Peer asking peer via telephone
Non-peer/staff asking via telephone
Personalized customized letter
Personalized customized email
Bulk Mailing
Asking for A Gift

Best gifts happen when the right person
asks the right person for the right gift at
the right time

(Not very common)
REMEMBER YOUR ROLES
 Demonstration
 Practice opportunity

Types of Fundraising Activities
Types of Fundraising Activities
The Annual Fund is the foundation/basis for
development style fund-raising.
Through the Annual Fund, donors are identified then
brought along through the donor lifecycle.
The Annual Fund includes a combination of inperson, events, telephone and mail activities, along
with significant acknowledgment activities.
Any library can run an annual fund.
Types of Fundraising Activities
Types of Fundraising Activities
A capital campaign is a focused, high visibility shortterm effort to raise significant dollars, usually over a
3-5 year period
Capital Campaigns are most often held for building
projects
Capital Campaigns are most effective when they
grow out of an annual appeal, but they can be an
effective way to jump-start an appeal
Capital campaigns are expensive and labor-intensive
Types of Fundraising Activities
Types of Fundraising Activities
Ex-resident leaves Monticello library $2 million in his will
MONTICELLO - A few years ago, Allerton Library director Lisa Winters received a
thank-you note from a woman who she had helped with her research."At the end she
said, 'My friend, Max is going to leave you something,' " Winters said. "I thought:
He's going to leave us his books."
Winters later received a phone call from Tom Finseth, a close friend of
Max Hency, a former Monticello resident, who told her Hency was leaving the library
a large donation in his will. Just for fun, Finseth asked her, "What would you
consider a large donation? "Winters, who has worked at the library for 29 years,
knew exactly what would constitute a sizable contribution."I said $1,000," Winters
said. "We have had several gifts a little over $1,000, but I don't recall anything more
than that."
Max Hency, a retired Navy commander who graduated from Monticello
High School in 1941, left more than $2 million to Allerton Library. The library
received the first installment of $1,990,000 in January and is expecting to receive
another, much smaller check in the future.
"Overwhelming is the best word to describe it," Winters said.
Types of Fundraising Activities
•The largest gift your library will ever get is likely to be
a planned gift
•Although some gifts are made during the donor’s
lifetime, most are made at the time of the donor’s
death, when they no longer need the money
•There are people ready to make planned gifts to your
organization right now
•Donors without children are particular prospects
•Many planned gifts take time to ripen – years of
volunteer involvement or gifts to the annual fund lead up
to the provision for a planned gift
Recognition and Acknowledgment

Acknowledging and recognizing gifts well
leads to more gifts

Thank, but don’t just thank. Involve the donor
Creating some basic policies is important
 Websites give us an entirely new and
exciting way to recognize gifts
 Don’t be afraid of your donors

Creating a Plan for Fundraising

What does your library need to do to
move forward?

What will it cost?
Set a goal for coming year
 Choose activities to reach that goal


MM, FR or both
Start a team
 If necessary, start small
 Build on your successes

Getting the Help you Need
Alliance Innovation website resources
 Working with a paid consultant
 Hiring development staff



Train, train, train
Further workshops



Capital Campaigns (Annual Fund?) - April 30th
Planned Giving – June 25th
By request as availability allows
Summary

Attitude is the most important thing





“My library is important and deserving of
support!”
“There are people in my community very
willing to support my library!”
“We can successfully move our library ahead!”
“There is money out there for the asking”
“What does not kill me makes me stronger”
Thanks To:
Genna Buhr
Lee Logan
Jillian Rebmann
The folks at Peoria Heights
Kitty Pope and Lori Bell
My wife and family
And all the little people who helped make me great…