Yearly Archives: 2009

Advocacy: Dying on its own or is the Economy Killing it?

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By Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE

In two separate incidents in this short work week, two clients that previously had significant advocacy components of their mission have come to Achieve seeking counsel on their advocacy efforts.
The two organizations are in completely separate industries of the nonprofit sector; one a disability services organization and the other a substance abuse organization.
Both came with nearly the same challenge: advocacy has been an important part of our past, but it does not pay the bills; and now with the economy in its current state, many of our “advocacy memberships” are not being renewed.
It was enough of a coincidence to spark the question, “is the economy killing advocacy or was advocacy already dying its own slow death?”
 I’m not sure we’ll know the answer until after the economy fully rebounds, but I do know that traditional “membership” organizations are also currently struggling with the current state of the economy. In fact, Achieve has been asked to assist some traditional membership organizations over the past few months who have been pondering the question of whether membership alone is enough anymore, and if not, what the role of philanthropy should be at their organization.
Only time will tell if advocacy is a thing of the past.
About the blogger: Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE, serves as Consultant & Director of Client Development at Achieve, LLC. Nick can be reached by phone at 317-637-3000 or via email at nparkevich@achieveguidance.com.

An Early Christmas Gift: Property Taxes

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By Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE

In case you missed it in today’s The Chronicle of Philanthropy, nonprofit organizations in one Indiana County are receiving an early Christmas gift from their local taxing authority: property-tax bills. This measure or one similar in nature has been brought before the Indiana General Assembly a number of times now, but St. Joseph County has now enacted levies against “profit-making” properties owned by nonprofits.

These measures obviously come at a time when both government entities and nonprofits are struggling financially; with some organizations closing or considering mergers. With nearly 2 million nonprofit entities registered in the U.S., the sector has been a growing target for taxing bodies.

There is no question that nonprofits benefit from public goods and services just as much as any other tax-paying entity. The question is whether the benefit in tax revenues derived by taxing nonprofits is worth the potential harm that comes—from the taxes, user fees, or whatever else you want to call it—in forcing organizations to redirect revenues away from their mission?

I think I feel a lawsuit coming!

Visit the article in today’s The Chronicle of Philanthropy here.

About the blogger: Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE, serves as Consultant & Director of Client Development at Achieve, LLC. Nick can be reached by phone at 317-637-3000 or via email at nparkevich@achieveguidance.com

How Do I Get More Involved?: A Donor Engagement System

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By Derrick Feldmann, CEO of Achieve

How many times have you heard this statement from a donor?  This is a crucial donor engagement moment and how you respond will determine their level of commitment to your organization in the future.
If this was a business, we would be dying for this kind of moment.  The moment when a customer would say to a company; tell me what more you can give me in order to be more involved with the brand.  But for the nonprofit, we often take the statement of involvement for granted.
Most organizations will respond with typical volunteer opportunities.  This includes volunteer projects where they interact with the beneficiary.  This is a wonderful first step for engagement.  If they have not experienced your work, this is where you should begin.
But what about the donor who has already volunteered and wants to be more involved.  How do you respond?
This is where it gets a little tricky.  For most organizations, donor engagement stops after volunteering.  There is a not a graduated system in place that offers donors deeper and more meaningful engagement in the organization.  This kind of engagement goes beyond ongoing participation as a volunteer.  It is a system of engagement that builds upon their interest and uses their skills and assets to advance the organization.
In order to develop the system, you must first consider the kind of donor you are working with.  Typically we see donors fall into these categories:  Transactional Donor, Volunteer Donor, Network Donor, and Design Donor
Transactional Donor:  As a donor, their involvement is peaked through their financial contribution.  They respond to fundraising calls for support and enjoy hearing about the great the work of the organization.  From a distance, they are supportive in nature and will provide help when asked by the organization.
Volunteer Donor:  As a donor, they contribute financially to the organization and volunteer their time and expertise.  They volunteer to help the organization deliver its services and programs in the community.  Their level of engagement is based on the organization’s ability to offer meaningful volunteer programming to serve beneficiaries.
Network Donor:  This donor contributes financially and actively involves their personal/professional network in the organization.  This donor is a great evangelist for the organization – spreading messages to potentially interested supporters.  Their level of engagement is based on the momentum created by the organization and the potential new opportunity or project the organization is pushing.
Design Donor: This type of donor is interested in designing solutions to organizational challenges. From new program approaches to entrepreneurial earned income strategies, the design donor’s interest is peaked when the organization offers opportunities to help craft new directions. Their level of engagement is based on how open the organization is to outside influences.

Considering Direct Mail? Then Consider These Helpful Hints

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By Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE 

A successful direct mail program can be the cornerstone of a comprehensive development process. Effective direct mail appeals are fully capable of acquiring new donors, maintaining current donors and upgrading donor gifts to new levels of giving.

However, creating an effective direct mail instrument can be an expensive and lengthy process; sometimes requiring years of testing and refinement of the instrument and an ongoing thorough evaluation of recipients.

Consider some of these best practice strategies for direct mail fundraising appeals:

Strategy

  • Timing is critical, as it can invigorate donors to give or confuse them, depending on what other fundraising activities you’re already doing.
  • Develop a profile of the appropriate direct mail recipient. By ensuring that only appropriate recipients receive the appeal, it can reduce the cost of the mailing and improve the success of the appeal. Sending it to the appropriate recipients can also help continue to build the relationship, whereas it may confuse the relationship with other donors.
  • Determine appropriate next steps (before you send the mailing) to continue building the relationship with a donor, once they respond to the mailing.
  • Depending on the total number of pieces sent and the time spent to pull the mailing together, consider either utilizing volunteers or contracting with a direct mail vendor.

Carrier Envelope

  • The outer envelope is very important! Consider the following practices:
    -  Closed-faced envelope (not a window envelope).
    -  Live stamp, although depending on the number sent, you may be able to send
    utilizing a non-profit stamp for a significantly reduced postage rate.
  • Hand-addressed envelopes are a nice addition for increasing the open rate of mailings, but are not cost and time effective for most organizations. The next best option is a printed envelope and finally a printed label applied to the envelope.

Letter Components

  • Black and white printing is adequate and provides the appearance of good stewardship of funds to donors; as compared with full-color printing on expensive paper.
  • Draw the reader into your mission by providing “action photography” of your mission at work.
  • The letter should be signed by a recognized staff member; or better yet, a volunteer from the community, who can independently attest to your mission.
  • The length of the letter is not as important as ensuring there’s enough white space. It’s ok to spill onto the back of the letter or to a second page. In fact, research indicates that in some cases, longer letters work better.
  • Be sure your text is not just focused on the past, which is a great way to connect or re-connect with supporters, but does not look forward at what you have planned for current and future participants.
  • Tell a story.
  • Describe what the donor’s gift will do (i.e. $50 will buy a child without a coat, a winter coat).
  • Include the traditional components of a successful direct mail appeal. In fact, research shows that a reader will review a letter in the following order:
    -  Review of graphics and photography
    -  Date on letter, to ensure that it is current.
    -  Addressee block; the recipient will look to see if it was addressed specifically to them; or a general letter to “friends” or “supporters”; which will receive a lower response rate than if it was personalized as “Dear John:” or  “Dear. Mr. Smith” depending on the organization’s and the signers’  relationship with the donor.
    -  Review of signers’ names (who signed and what is the quality of the signature is it real, printed, etc…).
    -  Post Script; recipients will read the P.S. before they read the content of the letter. The P.S. should sum up the letter and include an invitation.
    -  Bold, underlined and italicized fonts will be read before the entire content of the letter. Many effective direct mail solicitations include the “ask” in bold, underlined or italic fonts.
    -  Include a specific ask. If renewing, the most effective ask offers the donor’s last appropriate giving (either for this fund, this appeal, or the entire past year) and asks for a specific amount, based on that history.

Reply Device

  • Include tax-deduction language on the reply card
  • Order the gift amounts from highest to lowest (i.e. $1,000, $500, $250, $100, Other; instead of $100, $250, $500, $1,000, Other).
  • Collect additional information such as email and phone number
  • Describe what gift will do, if not included in letter (i.e. $50: your gift will provide a winter jacket for a child)
  • Contact information/ website for your organization on reply card
  • Under very few circumstances, should you pay for return postage.

Evaluation

  • Evaluate the success of the mailing, based on at least the following criteria:
    -  Number of pieces sent
    -  Number of responses
    -  Percentage response rate (number of responses received,
    divided by total number sent)
    -  Cost of mailing
    -  Amount raised
    -  Cost to raise a dollar (cost of mailing, divided by funds raised)
    -  Number of new donors
    -  Number of renewed donors
    -  Number of donors who upgraded their gifts
    -  Constituency (to determine most likely source of donors; i.e. parents)
  • Many organizations “test” different approaches in a single mailing or continue to refine the mailing to test different approaches the following year.

About the blogger: Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE, serves as Consultant and Director of Client Development at Achieve.  Nick can be contacted at nparkevich@achieveguidance.com or 317-637-3000.

Momentum – Donors Need To Experience It

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By Derrick Feldmann, CEO of Achieve

As a donor, it is extremely difficult to support organizations where there is a lack of momentum.  Momentum is the ability for an organization to create a series of actions, activities, and coordinated steps that drive towards a defined goal.

Organizations will often lose momentum when there is a singular focus on the short term.  Organizations will also lose momentum when they are not clear about direction or the ability to express that direction with donors.  As a donor, it is very hard to support potential growth, new opportunities, or even bigger impact if you don’t understand where the organization is going.

As you think about momentum and donors, consider the following:

Define the Course:  Define a course for the organization that goes beyond fixing the internal issues you face.  Let donors understand why the course you have defined for yourself over the coming years is imperative and the resources (all resources - not just money) it will take to make it happen.  In essence, what is happening in your issue’s space that you must address and how are you going to respond.  Create a story that sums up the essence of your reason for the direction.

Internal Challenges – Fix Them:  Donors expect that as an organization you will run well and steward their gifts appropriately.  Fix the internal issues you have before embarking upon any initiatives.  Your execution will depend on your ability to leverage your infrastructure.   When talking with donors, describe how you have changed and prepared for the new course/direction.  Let them understand some of the nuts and bolts of how you operate so they can grasp your capabilities.

Create Recognizable Actions:  After defining the course, create recognizable actions that donors can witness and participate to experience the momentum you are creating.  These are simple activities and opportunities that provide the donor with the ability to touch, see, and talk with the people served or the stakeholders involved.

Remain Consistent:  With messaging, both internal and external, remain consistent.  Do not create donor confusion because you have multiple messages.  As an organization commit to the course fully, keep the message strong, and ensure that at all levels (board, volunteers, staff, constituents) there is a clear understanding of the direction.

Think about the organizations you support each year.  Would you give more if they exhibited the momentum discussed here?