Exciting Change On The Way

Please note that the Getting Giving Blog will be moving within the next few days to a new web host. This includes a new design and some other goodies. What does this mean for YOU? Well, hopefully nothing BUT just in case. . .

I will change all the RSS and email subscription feeds at the same time, probably over the weekend. I'm no web programmer, but from what I have read and tested, this can be done without you even noticing it. BUT if you get a strange double-feed for a day or two I hope you'll excuse it as I work out the transition. It'll be back to normal as quickly as I can get the hostnames and feeds to resolve themselves and all the other thing-a-ma-boppers do what they do.

Until then, remember there's only 23 days left in 2010, so get back to work processing the piles of gifts arriving at your organization!! Thank you again for your understanding!

Exciting Change On The Way

Gifts of Real Estate - Even In Today's Market

Today's guest post is written by John Wilhite, a specialist in working with gifts of real estate, land and personal property. This is the first of a short series over the coming months. I can barely handle the simple process of refinancing my home, so if you have any specific questions about this topic I recommend contacting John directly at wilhite_j@sbcglobal.net - he'd be happy to reply.

-----

When somebody mentions real estate as a significant giving opportunity for a nonprofit, your first reaction might be to say “You have to be kidding! The only comments I hear about the real estate market are bad!”

And you’d be wrong.

There remains significant potential for real estate & land gifts in the United States today.

• American home ownership represents value in excess of $21 trillion, with nearly $10 trillion in equity for homeowners.

• US individual tax returns for 2007 (the most recent year available) show charitable contributions of real estate & land of almost $6.0 billion.

Yes, real estate values have gone down, but not to zero. If your organization isn't talking to donors about gifts of real estate & land you are missing a valuable opportunity on many levels.

• Real estate & land can add an additional vehicle for a donor to make a gift. Many fundraisers only discuss gifts of cash & stocks.

• Speaking with a donor about this topic shows the donor your organization’s willingness to find ways to receive non-typical gifts.

• Potential donors may learn of many additional ways to support an important organization with a gift larger than they might think possible. Everyone wins in that situation.

• Discussions between the fundraiser and the donor often lead to information regarding the donor’s other assets. This helps the organization understand what the donor is trying to accomplish with the gift and may lead to future sizable contributions.

Gifts of real estate are more complicated than many other transactions, so check with the person in your organization who handles these gifts and learn more about how you can enable your donors and prospects to make a difference with a gift they may not have considered in the past. You might be surprised by how many options there are!

Gifts of Real Estate - Even In Today's Market

Is it Just Me?

Is it just me, or does the new Apple MacBook Air commercial remind you of the original Girl Effect music of 2008? I know there are only so many generic piano background music options, but every time I see the commercial I can't help but think somebody in an ad agency had TGE music in their head during the creative process.

Visually, they have nothing in common. But listen to both and tell me they aren't cut from the same cloth! No complaints here, just pointing out something that has been bugging me for a few weeks!

Apple MacBook Air Commercial

The original Girl Effect video

Just some food for thought. . .

Is it Just Me?

Giving, Not Taking

I didn't write today's post. Mark Rountree sent it in as a guest-blogger because he felt so much passion about the topic. I wish I could claim it because it's fabulous, I agree with every word, and it even has a Halloween theme! What more could you want?!?
------
It’s Halloween season and I’m awash in nostalgic memories of long-ago evening tours of my hometown neighborhoods, costumed by my mom, pillowcase in hand and eager to capture the coveted candy bars (what, hard candy? Ugh). Hey, I wasn’t a perfect 9 year old, but I did know that ours was a small town back then, and I had better say Please and Thank You or my parents would hear about it.

If you’re like me, all these years later, I sit with my bowl of candy and wonder if any of today’s 9 year olds will approach the door with even a semblance of courtesy. And while we’re at it, I don’t see good old-fashioned civility in a good many 19 year olds either. Not to get all Andy Rooney on you, but what’s with the social skills of kids who are The Social Networkers, and who in the heck thought ear-buds were a good invention? How in the heck are they going to hear me telling them to say Please and Thank You? It seems that many members of the youngest generation have permanently plugged into iPods, iPads & X-boxes, and lost their ability to relate sociably with living, animate objects. Like parents or professors.

That’s why I was taken with a recent article in the New York Times that talked about an unfortunate, ugly turn in the evolution of university fundraising: College seniors who bully their peers with near-extortion in order to reach too-ambitious class-gift goals. Apparently it’s getting ugly out there, with a few campuses caught with student-generated “dishonor” rolls that, rather than applauding donors, are instead “outing” the non-givers to class campaigns. Fundraising consultant Robert Sharpe worries that “when asking becomes demanding, then giving becomes taking.” Here’s the link:

Students Feel Pressure To Donate - The New York Times

I’ve been involved with countless college annual fund campaigns—with my own alma mater, my past employers and my clients. In the last few years, I’ve witnessed an ominous escalation of dubious tactics to drive alumni giving rates, thanks in large part to the (thinly justified, undocumented) college “rankings” that have hypnotized college administrators (you can read recent rants about this in Getting Giving). It’s certainly true that young alumni giving rates can be boosted by urging pre-alumni (aka “seniors”) to give before they graduate. But annual fund staff are increasingly under the gun with declining revenues and and unsatisfactory US News rankings, so they understandably feel pressed to push student leaders to recruit their classmates for pledges. It’s time that the adults took charge of this situation.

What’s got lost in all this commotion is the underlying responsibility to first and foremost create a culture of philanthropy among students. Every generation—but especially this generation--needs our help in learning how to listen, how to empathize, and how to act charitably toward each other and toward their world. No one who is bullied into a $20 gift has learned anything about charity. One of my favorite ‘thinkers’ in this area is Katherine Fulton, who noted in her last TED Talk that the primary Webster’s definition of ‘philanthropy’ ( “goodwill to fellowmen; active effort to promote human welfare...”) says nothing about money.

This Halloween, I’m thinking hard about how, in college fundraising at least, we can use fewer tricks in order to treat our students to some real lessons in giving, not taking.

Mark Rountree is Senior Consultant & Partner at
Ashley & Associates, frequent reader of the Getting Giving Blog and an all-around good guy.


By the way, here’s a clip from Fulton’s TED Talk:

Giving, Not Taking

Nut Cases!!??!?!

OK, I'm not off the DCCC mailing list yet and THANK GOODNESS! I would have missed this amazing e-solicitation from James Carville!

Kudos to the person who writes this stuff. I rarely am both disgusted with and in love with the same person at the same time, and that's how I feel about the copywriter of this one! And, if you can get beyond the political stuff and look closely, there's quite a bit to be learned about the fine art of solicitation in this one. It pretty much covers every base.

(NOTE: Click the letter below to see it a bit bigger and a lot clearer!)




Who knew the Democratic party was in such a pickle? If you can't get them $28,949 by 5:00 PM today, it seems like the power will be shut off at campaign headquarters! Oh, the humanity!! I assume that means the Democrats are out of business and "Sarah Palin's favorite extremists" will take over the country! People will be shooting bears from airplanes in your backyard!!!!!!!!!

I'm not commenting on the politics, really I'm not -- I'm just amazed at the letter itself. Amazed. Frankly, the entertainment value alone might be worth a $5 contribution for me!

I also like the 'tea party nut cases' line. Hysterical.

Democrats, Republicans, Tea Party, as we near election day you're all becoming nut cases!! And I enjoy watching from the sidelines.

Nut Cases!!??!?!

Bye Bye to Political Emails!

I hope you're sitting down, because I have a surprising fact for you: A bunch of money is being raised online these days. Yes, it's true! And a big chunk of it is going to a wide variety of political parties and candidates for public office. Again, amazing stuff you probably didn't know already.

But of course you knew that. In fact, if you're like me, you've probably been asked hundreds of times why you don't raise a billion dollars online like candidate Obama did a few years ago. Thank goodness for the whole 'texting for natural disasters' thing - it gives folks something new to ask about!

I'm all for doing what it takes to succeed, and with November's election just around the corner it's an important time for political fundraising. . .

BUT IS 29 EMAILS IN SEPTEMBER REALLY NECESSARY!?!?!?

Like so many others, I signed up early for both the Obama and Clinton campaign social media onslaughts. I won't get into any political reasons for this, but at a professional level I wanted to learn more about how they were using social media, email and any other technologies to deliver their message and generate support.

And I've regretted it ever since.

29 emails in one month is just the tip of the iceberg. September was the first time I counted, and I bet there were other months with the same or even more. I get emails all the time, and it seems I'm really popular with the biggest names in the business!

• Nancy Pelosi seems to really like me, I get a bunch of stuff from her.

• Jon Vogel, Executive Director of the DCCC must spend hours a day writing email!

• James Carville - a personal favorite, I just wish he'd come to dinner with me instead of sending email. I'd be entertained for hours.
  

• Even Bill Clinton and Al Gore wrote to say hi!!!!
  

I am, by no means, a political junkie. I likely fall into a category that would be called 'political cynic' and I'd be hard pressed to name more than a handful of candidates or highly contested races that CNN covers every day. You'd think I could, given the volume of email I receive from just about every democrat you've ever heard of.

What can I tell you from reading the emails? Basically, every republican is evil, they're out to get you, and if we don't buy more advertising or whatever else is needed they'll take over congress and ultimately life will be awful.

To be fair, I bet if I were receiving republican emails they say exactly the same thing about the democrats.

People ask what the "right" number of letters/calls/emails is every month or year, and I always say there isn't a magic number. It depends on many factors, and every nonprofit is different. Personally, I don't think 29 is the number. It feels like WAY too many to me.

Then again, I am not my donor.
And I'm not theirs either!

There are some pretty smart people working for these organizations and it must be working on some level. But for me, I finally felt overwhelmed and unsubscribed. I bet I'm not alone.

Bye Bye to Political Emails!

Girl Effect - The Sequel!!

A couple of years ago, the fine folks at The Girl Effect produced a video to raise awareness about the worldwide problem of girls living in poverty. In short, they want the viewer to realize that by helping girls early, the downstream effects are exponential. It's a powerful video, and one of my all-time favorites.

I was pleased this week to see that they've released a sequel. Like most sequels, in my opinion, it isn't as good as the first but it still merits a 'thumbs up' review in my book. Think Empire Strikes Back vs. Star Wars - solid effort, but a lot to live up to. I will say this, the more I watch the new one, the more I like it. It's also better LOUD! So I may revise my thoughts on which is better in the future.

I'd love to know your thoughts - I think you'll love them both. See below.

Girl Effect - The Sequel!!

AMEX Asks Gleeks to Volunteer

The American Express / TakePart Members Project has teamed up with the hit television show 'Glee' to encourage self-proclaimed 'Gleeks' to do something good. This effort is another in a recent wave of television tie-in promotions with various nonprofits and related organizations.

By the way, if you don't watch Glee, you should. Enough said on that.

Some of the videos feature Glee's evil cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, and they'll make even the non-Glee-watching-unfortunately-missing-one-of-the-best-shows-on-television people laugh. Even better, the videos may convert a few couch potatoes into volunteers for their favorite cause.

The Members Project started in 2007 with the simple belief that "Everyone can help change the world for the better, one step at a time." The partnership between TakePart and American Express is motivating people to take action by getting involved, spreading the word, volunteering or providing financial assistance to a variety of projects. Fundraisers take note: there's a lot to be learned from the cross-promotion, use of social media and good old-fashioned marketing savvy.

Take a minute to watch one of the Glee videos below, and if you'd like to see more you can visit the American Express YouTube Channel. Or to see the Glee videos AND some other great examples of nonprofit videos, the GettingGiving YouTube channel has several for your viewing pleasure.

Enjoy!



l

AMEX Asks Gleeks to Volunteer

How did I miss this!?!

I admit that I love slideshare.net - it's a terrific place to research various topics and see what presentations are out there of interest. Of course you can't receive the full benefit of hearing the presenter, but in many cases you can get great information even though you weren't in the room. Be careful, though, you can easily lose an hour (or six) browsing!

And yet I missed this.

I love all things Disney, and have done several presentations about Disney culture, creativity and their fantastic customer service. All can relate to the work of fundraising professionals. The whole topic fascinates me, and the fact that I hadn't seen this presentation in the past is beyond explanation.

It's been on Slideshare for THREE YEARS and I didn't see it before today? Insane.

The word 'best' is overused, and I'm as guilty as anyone of that, but for now I'm declaring this the BEST. SLIDE. DECK. EVER. I love it.

Roy Blumenthal, you are a genius. Thank you for this, it made my day!

Disney Institute -- Lessons In Leadership And Customer Service Cropped

View more presentations from Roy Blumenthal.

By the way, in addition to the amazing creative quality of this presentation, it's full of important information. I just returned from visiting the Mouse himself and owe y'all a post on The Disney Way (I actually owe you one from last year too) and this may motivate me to get started on it.

How did I miss this!?!

Do Fundraisers Give?

I was asked recently by a loyal GettingGiving reader if I had any data on how many fundraisers support their own nonprofits. It was a great question, and I have to believe the percentage is extremely high, but I had no data to back that up.

So I consulted my research assistant, Mr. Google. He's usually very reliable, but this time he wasn't able to provide an answer. Admittedly, Mr. Google only performs well when I figure out how to ask the question, so the data may be out there and I'm just not finding it. If you have any information on this issue please let me know. . . I would love to share it with the GettingGiving community!

It's long been a belief in the fundraising world that those of us who ask should also give. We may not give as much as our most generous supporters, but we should give. Something.

We often tell our volunteer peer solicitors that they should make their gift first. We explain that it will make them more comfortable if they can feel confident that they, too, have made a gift. If asked, they can honestly reply that they are giving because they believe in the mission of the nonprofit. If not asked, they can offer the information proactively and ask the prospect to 'JOIN ME!" by making a gift of their own.

The same is true of professional fundraisers. I'd say that most of us truly believe in whatever nonprofit we work for, and if we don't perhaps it's time to look for another job. If you don't believe enough to make a gift of your own, it's exceptionally hard to sit across from a prospective donor and explain why they should part with their hard-earned money. It's hard to 'act' passionate about the cause. If you're acting, they'll know it!

I don't believe every fundraiser should be required to support their nonprofit, but I do think they should want to support it. Maybe not with $50,000 or $5,000, but certainly with with a gift they feel comfortable with given their particular financial situation.

I'd love to know if a study has been conducted on this topic. And I'd love to compare the success rate of fundraisers who believe in and support their nonprofit compared to those who don't.

I'm willing to bet it DOES make a difference.

Do Fundraisers Give?

They're Here!

The 2011 US News and World Report college rankings are here. Well, they're online at this point with the magazine set to hit newsstands August 23. I won't dwell on this issue any more than I have in the past (see the blog post below about playing the participation game) but I would recommend visiting The More Donors Blog to see an interesting analysis of the data for the past few years.

One other thing - the methodology was changed in a very interesting way this year. . . with the addition of a metric related to the perception of high school guidance counselors. I understand that perception is reality and all, but are we really going to rate colleges in a national magazine based on what guidance counselors 'perceive' to be the best? I would think they, more than anyone, understand that the best college is different for each individual student. But that's somebody else's soapbox.

They're Here!

Here Come the Participation Rates!

I've got some exciting news for you! On August 23, you can rush out to your local bookstore and purchase the latest "America's Best Colleges" edition of US News & World Report! If you've got $20 to spare, you can even subscribe online and get it about a week earlier. I'd love to know what percentage of online subscribers are college administrators and annual giving professionals.

In honor of this special event, I'm re-posting a Getting Giving article about the participation rate game. If you're in an environment where the participation rate gremlins appear this time of year, I thought you might like a few talking points for the inevitable discussions you'll be having in the near future.

The Participation Rate Game - You Can't Win If You Play!

NOTE: This was originally posted August 23, 2009.

This was a big weekend for colleges and universities around the nation as the annual "America's Best Colleges" issue of US News & World Report hit newsstands late last week. I'm betting more than one annual giving director has spent time this weekend looking at the numbers in print or online. The annual participation rate extravaganza is officially underway!!

Let me start by making my thoughts on the participation rate metric clear: I hate it. Hope that was clear enough. I'd use stronger wording, but I don't want to get an 'explicit' tag on the 'getting giving' blog.

Annual giving folks in higher education are all very aware of the participation rate metric. They may feel pressure to focus on it if their president/board/supervisor thinks participation rate is important to the success of their institution. In some cases, it's truly 'do or die' and in others it's simply another issue to remain aware of. For those that have the 'do or die' type of pressure, it's likely their strategy is greatly impacted as a result. And usually not in a good way.

The bottom line is that those who chase participation rates are often making strategic decisions that damage their overall fundraising efforts in both the short- and long-term. Some methodologies may be considered cheating the system or, at the very least, walking a fine line between right and wrong but I'll not be the judge of that. I have great sympathy for those who find themselves in a situation where decisions are made to make a number look good in an annual magazine issue. I can see why they do what they do. I'll just share a few examples and how these strategies are detrimental to the efficiency and effectiveness of our programs. I'll assume you all know enough about participation rates to jump ahead a bit.

So, on we go to 'The Participation Rate Game 101 - Two Common Methods to Look Good in US News"

Method #1 - Reduce The Denominator
How can you increase your participation rate without increasing the number of donors to your institution? It's simple really - just decrease the number of solicitable alumni you have to report! 100 donors from a population of 1,000 alumni is a 10% participation rate. Find a way to rid yourself of about 200 solicitable alumni and suddenly you have a participation rate of 12.5%. You're a hero!

You can't do that can you?

Of course you can, it's done all the time!

• You can reduce the amount spent looking for lost alumni in the nondonor and even lapsed populations. Geeze, who wants to find a good address for somebody who might not ever make a gift? Of course, it's possible they aren't giving because we haven't reached them, but why take the chance by asking them? It might bring the participation rate down if we knew where they were!
  

• Try coding those same folks 'no contact' and determine them not to be solicitable as a result. Of course, then you'll never reach them. They'll never give. But again, they're not a problem in that pesky denominator anymore!

• Perhaps the elderly non-donors are especially problematic. Again, you might want to code anyone who graduated prior to a certain year as 'no contact' since you can't teach an old dog new tricks. You might not want to mention this to your planned giving department - they'll likely miss out on some pretty good marketing opportunities to that group. Then again, they don't have to worry about participation rates do they?

I'm all for allocating resources wisely, and there are valid reasons not to solicit certain populations each and every year based on predictive models, historic giving patterns and more. But a strong annual giving program wants as many solicitable alumni as possible. They fight like dogs to keep up with alumni who move, to find good contact information for everyone, and to at least have the opportunity to receive a gift from as many potential donors as possible. For those who aren't the best populations, you might not solicit them every year but by keeping the option open you have the chance to eventually bring them on board as loyal and consistent donors in the future. It's a sad day when the strategy is to eliminate them from the denominator to help the participation rate today when it may negatively impact your fundraising efforts tomorrow.

Method #2 - Increase the Numerator (At All Costs)
With those same 1,000 alumni, taking your number of donors from 100 to 150 raises your participation rate from 10% to 15%. That's better than Method #1, but the strategy to get from 100 to 150 donors may end up backfiring on you.

• You could overwhelm your population with enough mail to keep the USPS operating at a surplus next year. Everyone can get 20 mailings per year and eventually they'll give something just to get you off their back. If you've got the resources, you can buy yourself a pretty good participation rate. Might not build many good friends that way though. The long-term negative impact might want to be considered.
  

• You can always let your alumni know that 'it isn't about the money, it's about the participation rate' and hope they'll give $1 or $5 because that's what you ask for. You might tell them you are just hoping to 'get them on the books to help the rankings' and any gift will help. Then again, 'for the participation rate' isn't the best case for support is it? I wonder if those donors have the same positive feelings about their philanthropy as they would if they were doing something important like helping deserving students get a great education?!?
  

• You could also give gift recognition credit to your donors' third cousin twice-removed and their half-brother if they're alumni too - then you get three donors for one gift! I'm not even sure who my third cousin twice-removed is, but I'm sure they'd appreciate a note of thanks for my generous support! Maybe all three will renew next year too!
  

I once had a friend who claimed he could get you any participation rate you wanted, but he might have to bankrupt you in the process. Chasing donors at any level, at any cost, can do just that. In addition to using limited resources to buy donors, have you ever computed the real cost of having that donor? From data entry of the initial gift to gift receipts, stewardship pieces, and renewals, it's likely more than that $5 you're asking as a 'token gift'. Do you really want a bunch of donors that actually help you lose money every year they renew?

It's also important to remember that your renewal rates on small donors are usually much lower than for those making larger gifts. You may spend a fortune to acquire that $5 donor, spend some more stewarding them, and find that only a very small percentage ever give again. Now what!?!

The whole purpose of the annual fund is to generate much-needed support today while building a pipeline of potential major-gift donors for the future. Buying small-level annual fund donors doesn't achieve either of these goals and wastes precious resources in the process. Those resources could be utilized much more wisely stewarding your current donor population, acquiring donors with potential for the future, and actually helping (rather than hindering) your bottom line.

These are just a few examples of how programs work to increase their participation rate. There are many many more ways. Some are just bad strategy. Others are downright dishonest. Almost all are wasting both human and financial resources chasing a number that really doesn't mean much of anything.

By the way, it's important to remember that participation rate is only 5% of the US News formula. It's the smallest variable. That's right. . . 5%. Since it's such an insignificant part of the rankings, maybe a better strategy is an annual fund that generates the support needed to work on other aspects of the US News formula. Scholarships that help recruit the best and brightest students. Faculty support and research funding that attracts the best and brightest faculty. All those things that make an institution truly better come from fundraising programs that keep their eye on the prize. The impact on rankings might be greater when the institution is provided the resources it needs to improve in those areas that matter rather than focusing on making a random number increase year after year.

If that isn't an option, I'll just give you some good news to hold you over until the next issue of US News & World Report. . . . it's still early in FY10. There's plenty of time to get that participation rate up for next year!!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the Getting Giving blog to receive new posts in a reader or via email.

Here Come the Participation Rates!

Lebron's Missed Opportunity

Like much of the world, I waited for the big Lebron James news today. I don't really care about the NBA but I enjoy anything that creates a carnival-like atmosphere. Miami. Can't blame him. But that's not what this post is about.

It's about a missed opportunity.

I visited lebronjames.com shortly after the decision as I was curious to see what he had to say on his website. And I was surprised to see a big DONATE button at the top.

What, he doesn't have enough money? He needs contributions too? I suppose it's hard to survive on hundreds of millions of dollars these days and he's gonna need a BIG yacht in Miami!!!

Well, I clicked the link to see where it would take me, and the result was a paypal giving form for his foundation.

I have no idea what his foundation supports or why I should contribute. There was no info on the main site and nothing on the online giving form. Nada.

I'm betting quite a few people visited his website today. I don't think many people from Cleveland would have been willing to give, but others might have considered it if they believed in whatever it is he's trying to do with his philanthropic efforts. Opportunity lost.

I realize the main page was probably changed today for the big announcement, but if King James is going to ask us to give, he might want to consider a basic case for support in the future.

Just a thought.

Lebron's Missed Opportunity

Happy New Year!

If you work for an organization that operates on a traditional July 1 to June 30 fiscal year, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I've got good news and bad news for you.

The good news is that you'll find out very soon just how your year ended. Are you up? Down? How's that participation rate looking? You've done your work for FY10 and if the check isn't already in the mail or in your lockbox, there's not much you can do about it. Perhaps a few more gifts will come in online today, but for the most part you can relax. Your work is done.

The bad news is that FY11 starts tomorrow, all your metrics have reset to ZERO, and you have a million things to do RIGHT NOW!

Or maybe not.

June 30 is always a special day for me. I get to hit the 'reset' button. Try it!

I have some rituals I'd like to suggest:

• Take your 'to-do list' and set it aside. Make it clear that it's an OLD to do list. It's time to start over.

• Take everything on your desk and move it to the floor. Every file, every report, every envelope, EVERYTHING. This might be a good time to dust off your desk while you're at it.

• Clear out your email inbox too. Either respond, delegate, or delete. For those very special items that have carryover into 2011, we'll give a bit of flexibility, but mostly you want a clean slate.

• Get out a clean 'to-do list' (paper, electronic, whatever you choose) and transfer ONLY the really important items from your old list to the new. Anything that is a true 'must do' moves over to the new list. Everything else goes away with the old list. If you hadn't done it yet, and it isn't important, you probably shouldn't focus on it anyway.

• When you're done with the new list, put everything back on your desk one item at a time. Review everything before you return it, however, and decide if it deserves to be there. Again, this is a good time to delegate or destroy. If it makes it back to your desk, it likely deserves a spot on your to-do list as well. I hope your desk looks less cluttered than it did before.
  

• Next, on a clean sheet of paper, write down the 3-5 things you're most proud of in FY10. What really worked. New strategies, new programs, etc. Do the same for what DID NOT work or that you struggled with.
  

• Close your door, turn off your phone and spend the rest of the day thinking about that sheet of paper and what you NEED to accomplish in FY11. What are your top goals? Where should your focus be? STARE AT THE WALL AND THINK. You don't get enough time for that.

• Just before you leave this afternoon, check that to-do list again. How does it match what you've been thinking about? Are there quite a few items that are just busy work? Are there items that don't fit the 'focus on this' category? If there are, delegate or delete again.

• Finally, make a pledge to yourself that you will maintain focus in FY11. You'll spend your valuable time on the right things, rather than just keeping busy. This is a promise to yourself. Say it out loud. Don't be shy. LOUDER!
  

• Go home. Don't take any work with you tonight. Play with the kids, read a book, watch TV, mow the yard. Spend tonight thinking about how your work-life balance could be improved.
  

Tomorrow is a new day. The beginning of a brand-spanking-new-year. Hopefully, if you've done a good job of determining your focus and deleting the messy to-do items that really don't impact your work, you can start the new year on-track and promote a good work-life balance for yourself. If you keep focusing on the right things, you'll also do BETTER work while you're at it.

The first few weeks in July are easy. Sticking with it for the whole year is the hard part.

Happy New Year!

Much Ado About Nothing

Thanks to @directintel for tweeting about this interesting campaign from the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. I thought it was worth sharing - the video is below, and the link (above) will take you to the campaign website for information and more videos.



On a somewhat related note, I have given up on the quest to find the video referenced in my last post. If you're still looking, the $25 gift bounty is still waiting, but I need to give the Google machine a rest!

If you haven't already, be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the Getting Giving blog to receive new posts in a reader or via email.

Much Ado About Nothing

The Conference Dilemma

This is a strange week for me. Normally I'd be attending one of my favorite conferences but, due to budget constraints and some other issues, I'm not.

At the same time, about 50 yards from my office my organization has an open connection to the IFC Online International Fundraising eConference. I can drop in on live interactive sessions from some of the biggest names in the business. It costs less than $300 and everyone on the team can come and go for sessions that interest them.

I hope this isn't a sign of where my conference life is headed. I value the human interaction available in 'traditional' conferences quite a bit. Meeting peers, sharing ideas, breaking bread. Some of the most productive time at conferences happens when nobody is clicking thru their PowerPoint. Even better, I've met colleagues who stay in touch and share ideas for years and years and years.

However, if those who coordinate conferences don't figure out a way to make them more appealing and affordable, I'm afraid the days of the national conference will be long gone. People will stay closer to home, save their funds, and invest mostly in professional development via internet connection. It's hard to justify flying 2,000 miles, spending several thousand dollars, and find only a handful of peers on the other end who've done the same. I'd hate for speakers to talk to empty rooms!

So how can we avoid this?

*Conferences need to be relevant. The subject matter must be well defined and the speakers of a national caliber. Know the audience. Actually, know the intended audience and if others attend and later say the content didn't meet their needs, that's their problem. Don't penalize those who chose the right conference from the start or they won't come back either.

*The conference should be 'as advertised' - there's nothing worse than having a senior-level conference that provides entry-level information or vice-versa.

*Conference fees have gotten out of hand. Choose reasonable locations with good hotel rates, easy access, and reduced costs. I need value from the experience, I don't need lobster. I understand the value of a 'cool' city to drive attendance, but substance should be more important than style. $900 to register and $300 a night just isn't going to compete with the online conference world.

*Plan ahead. On average, I receive invitations to most conferences about 2-3 months in advance. That simply isn't enough time. Busy professionals have trouble finding 2-hour meeting slots in that range. I don't need every single detail, but I do need more information earlier.

*Don't sell me. Too many consultant and vendor presentations annoy me. If a vendor is going to speak, make it crystal clear they're not to sell ANYTHING. And if they do, don't invite them back. I think our vendor-partners have amazing insight and ideas to share and I also understand the value of their sponsorship. I want to hear from them as speakers and attendees owe them the respect of stopping by their booths and learning about their products in return. But too often the line is crossed in their presentations.

*Finally, strive for size. Times are tough, and the value many attendees receive from a conference is directly proportional to the number of attendees. More people = more networking = more good ideas. As attendance shrinks, so does the value of the conference. It's a cycle that only ends when the last person decides he/she doesn't want to attend alone.

Online conferences are valuable and they add to the professional development arsenal available to all of us. But I hope it won't be our only option in the future!

The Conference Dilemma

Help, please!

I recently received an email from a GettingGiving reader asking for some assistance and I need your help. I've been wearing out the Google search engine for a couple of weeks now, and it's getting personal. I HATE not being able to find something on the web, and I'm quite stubborn so I'm pulling in the GettingGiving cavalry. Here's the part of the email that applies to the search:

I’m trying to find a video that I saw about a year or so ago. The video features a guy in a bar who is trying to pick-up a woman. The guy represents a ‘fundraiser’ and the girl represents a ‘prospect’ - so the ‘pick-up’ is really about the guy trying to get the girl to make a gift. The video is full or irony / humor because the guy’s language indicates that he only sees / knows the woman as a collection of general bio/demographic information (that he’s gotten from his less-than-perfect database). The woman quickly realizes that the guy is not treating her as an individual - and is turned off by the crude attempt. The video is a great lesson in the importance of knowing your prospects and engaging them as individuals.

My first thought was this video, which was close but not the one he's looking for:




The mystery continues. I'd love to help this gentleman out, so I'm offering a bit of an incentive. If you're the first person to send me an email with a link to the video I'm looking for, I'll make $25 contribution to the nonprofit of your choice. Send your links to jlindaue@gmail.com - I'll relay the link and when he tells me we've got the right video, I'll make the gift.

You also might reduce my insanity in the process!

Help, please!

Quote of the Day?

Penn State (otherwise known as The Pennsylvania State University) went public recently about "For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students" which will raise $2 billion by 2014. I know many of the good folks at PSU and wish them well.

Normally this wouldn't make the blog as billion-dollar campaigns have become commonplace and, while it will be a well-run campaign, I wouldn't find anything interesting to post about it. Until I read an article about the announcement event at statecollege.com.

At the event, Joe Paterno (he's been the Penn State football coach FOREVER) delivered a quote that has become one of my favorite quotes ever:

"The good news is, we've got the money.
The bad news is that it's in YOUR pockets!"

Only people like JoePa can pull that off in front of 1,000+ alumni and friends.

I love JoePa.

NOTE: I've been told there have been variations of this quote used by others, but I bet JoePa delivered it better!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the Getting Giving blog to receive new posts in a reader or via email.

Quote of the Day?

Are You Ready To Be Attacked?

I love stumbling across interesting items on the web, as it lets me claim 'web surfing' as a productive use of my time. In a recent search for some other extremely important information, I found the Air Force Web Posting Response Assessment flowchart. See, I TOLD you I was being productive! It was shiny and new and I found it both interesting and the impetus to start the process of formalizing a similar response plan for my workplace.

I won't ramble on about this, as when I looked for a cleaner copy of the flowchart I found that it's only new to me. You've probably seen it before, as it's been around the block a bit and several others have written extensively on this topic. Google 'Air Force Response' and you'll see what I'm talking about. To summarize them all: You need a plan. Now.

Ok, maybe I'll ramble just a bit, I can't resist. Maybe you're like me and haven't seen it either.

From the recent feud between Kevin Smith and Southwest Airlines (they thought he was too fat to fly, he attacked them publicly on Twitter for days on end) to reader commentary entered after an article is posted on a blog or newspaper's website, the internet and social media takes the complaint letter to a new level. Accurate or not, if it's on the web anyone and everyone can read it, forward it, or comment on it. Even worse, they might hear only one side of the story, believe it, and absorb it as fact before you have a chance to react.

HINT: Click the graphic to print or re-size for people with normal eyesight.

Gone are the days of receiving a complaint letter or e-mail and having ample time to consider how or if you want to respond. You can't spend hours (or days) writing a thoughtful response letter to the editor when an article is being commented on right now. You may find yourself with the need to decide how to respond and what to say within minutes (or even seconds) and there won't be time to determine your philosophy. If you take the time to develop a strategy in advance you'll be in a better position to react quickly.

The Air Force's flowchart is a great example of how you might start to formalize your response procedures. They've taken the time to determine what types of posts they'll respond to, how they'll respond, who to involve, and more. It's a good start for any communications team and it might just save your reputation some day.

I invite your comments. I'll consult my flowchart and decide how to respond.

Are You Ready To Be Attacked?

GG Blog for the iPad (and iPhone)

Apple continues to release information about the iPad and its compatibility with iPhone applications. From everything I have read, the GG Blog app will work on the iPad at the time of its release. If you've been living in a cave, that's this Saturday for the first lucky iPad owners!

If you're being visited by the good folks from UPS on Saturday and are looking for FREE applications for your iPad, look no further. Simply search for 'GG Blog' in the App Store and you can read GettingGiving.com on your shiny new iPad within minutes!

GG will remain available for iPhone of course (search GG Blog in the iPhone App Store) and if the iPad version isn't up to snuff, I'll consider a new iPad-specific version.

Unfortunately, I'm waiting until the end of April for the 3G iPad to arrive. I may hug the UPS person at that point. So until then, if anyone does get a chance to use GG on the iPad send me a note to tell me how it looks.

GG Blog for the iPad (and iPhone)

Lose Their Trust, Lose Their Support

All too often we focus on what our donors can give us and, as a result, forget to think about what we can give them. I'm not talking about coffee mugs, t-shirts or other trinkets. I'm talking about giving donors confidence that their gifts are being used exactly as they specified. It takes an enormous amount of trust to hand somebody a large sum of money in return for an agreement that it will be used exactly as promised. All the legal documentation in the world won't matter if your donors can't trust you.

The trust a donor places in a nonprofit extends well beyond the 'letter of the law' or the words in a gift agreement or other materials. It's also about the spirit of the agreement. We owe our donors our best work when it comes to stewarding their support now and in the future. Anything that erodes the trust of our donors will have a lasting effect on the ability to raise funds in the future, and that goes beyond explaining that 'technically' the donor's gift agreement was followed.

This post started forming when I was told recently of an organization's plans to conduct a solicitation that, in my opinion, risks undermining the trust of its donor population. I won't get into the details, but while the strategy behind the solicitation would have met the 'letter of the law' threshold, I felt the end result would cross a line and cause donors to second-guess the organization's commitment to following donor intent. I was asked what I thought of the idea, and I can assure you my answer was more strongly worded than this blog entry!! A word of warning: if the word 'scheme' ever enters the conversation, the idea is usually a bad one.

In this age of extreme scrutiny of both corporate and nonprofit organizations, anything that blurs the lines of honoring donor intent should be avoided at all costs. The responsibility that comes with administering funds on a donors' behalf is one that should be taken quite seriously at all times. Anything a nonprofit might do that undermines its integrity isn't worth the long-term damage to relationships that could result. Not to mention, it's just wrong.

I'm reminded of those situations where a large corporation promises to give all proceeds from sales on a given day (or of a certain product) to a particular cause. When you read the fine print, often you'll see that the amount will be no more or no less than $xx,xxx. So really, the purchase has no effect. A gift will be made regardless of consumer behavior. In that example, it's not the NPO's fault, but rather a situation where the advertising by the corporation isn't exactly honest. It's great publicity for all involved, but the gift was going to happen no matter how many widgets were sold. I'd prefer they just say 'We're giving $20,000 to this organization because we believe in it." I don't like being tricked into doing anything. But that's just another rant I could start.

Nonprofits do great things every day - we feed the hungry, provide shelter for those in need, finance educational opportunities for the best and brightest and on and on and on. Tell your story and find donors who are willing to support your mission. Show them how their gift made a difference. Be transparent. Give them specific examples of how you fulfilled your end of the deal, and they'll give again. Tricking them into supporting things they aren't interested in or fail to use their contributions as they wish, and they won't.

And then they'll tell others not to, either!

Lose Their Trust, Lose Their Support

Getting Giving on the iPhone: There's an app for that!

I warned you in my very first post. I'm a nerd. A certified nerd. And now I'll prove it to you.

There is no rational reason whatsoever for me to build an iPhone app. I need one just like I need another hole in my head. But nerds are curious people, and while I have neither the time nor the energy to learn a new programming language to build an iPhone interface for the GettingGiving blog, it seemed like a fun idea. And then I heard about the folks at appmakr and how for a relatively small amount of money, they could build a simple iPhone app and would publish it in the Apple Store for me. I was smitten. And now when you visit the app store and enter 'GG Blog' in the search field, there it is!

So now you can have a free application on your iPhone to read the GettingGiving blog, see the LindauerOnline twitter feed, and carry lists of recommended readings and websites that are of interest to fundraising professionals. Did I mention it's free?

You likely have no more reason to download the 'GG Blog' app than I did to make it, but if you're like me and you love the free apps, why not? When you're stuck in the airport or at a doctor's appointment, you can get your fundraising fix right on your iPhone.

I still recommend following GettingGiving by RSS Reader or Email subscription (which you can do at the top of this page) but the app is pretty cool too, especially since it's FREE.

Instructions for finding the iPhone app:

1. Open 'App Store' on your iPhone
2. Select the search function at the bottom of the page
3. Enter 'GG Blog' in the search box
4. Touch 'SEARCH'
5. There it is. Touch the 'GG Blog' logo and then download it

I look forward to hearing from those of you who download the app. Any feedback is always appreciated!

Getting Giving on the iPhone: There's an app for that!

Recommended Reading

From time to time, I read something that I feel is an important work for fundrasers to read. I'll mention it, and maybe even give a few highlights or thoughts about the work itself. This time, I'll do half of that. . . .

If you haven't already, Seth Godin's Linchpin is a must-read. Even better, it's available in Kindle format if you are a Kindle person. I won't comment on the book, as I'm only 90% complete, but so far it's amazing and you should read it. Now. It's not a fundraising-specific book, but it is "a work of art" fundraisers can benefit from.

(Seth's blog is also wonderful, and can be found at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/)

On an unrelated note, I couldn't put more words into the blog today anyway, as I'm still suffering from the defeat the Saints put on my Colts last night. Congrats to the people of New Orleans, and thank you to the Colts for a fun season. There's always next year!!

Stay tuned later this week for a big announcement. Well, really not that big in the grand scheme of things, but something that will make you shake your head a bit and think "Why do I need that!?!?" right before you click your mouse :)

Linchpin. What are you waiting for?

Recommended Reading

Can You Replicate Think Week?

Much has been written about Bill Gates and his bi-annual 'Think Week' exercise. If you've not heard of this, Bill takes a couple of weeks a year to get away from it all. During this time, he reads papers, proposals and other materials that he otherwise might not have time to devour during his busy schedule.

In my 'dream world' I see Bill calling his pilots, telling them to fire up the G-V, and he heads to a luxurious mansion on a remote private island where he stays in his hammock alternating between reading, cat-naps, and just gazing at the ocean thinking about how to make his next billion. In reality, it's said he only allows one caretaker to join him at a small secluded cabin, he works 18 straight hours a day reading 100+ papers and drinks a kidney-killing number of diet soft drinks. I like my dream world better.

While most of us have neither the time nor the money to replicate Bill Gates' Think Week, we do face the same problem: Information Overload. Our day-to-day jobs include too many meetings, to-do-lists that need completing and several fires to put out daily. We have little time to think and read. Even less to explore new ideas and research new opportunities. Instead of moving forward, we tread water daily.

In case you were wondering, that's not a good thing. We need time to step back and think about the future. Our organizations will only move forward when we regroup and take considerable time to organize our thoughts about what we want to accomplish and the best ways to get where we want to go.

Several years ago, after first learning of the 'think week' exercise, I tried a 1-day 'think day' experiment and loved it. I rented an inexpensive hotel room (on my own dime) for a night, took a bunch of stuff I was working on and checked in. I didn't leave until the next day at noon, and spent my time doing nothing but reading and thinking. My caretaker was the pizza delivery person who brought my dinner, and I drank more than a few 2-liters of Dr. Pepper. It wasn't a hammock on the beach, but it was an enjoyable experience. I need to do that again.

My happy medium today is a box that sits under my desk labeled 'Travel Stuff' that sits filled with a wide variety of materials. In the box you will find presentations that have been given by others, interesting blog posts, magazines like Fast Company and CASE Currents, a few books, random memos and proposals and many pieces of paper of varying sizes with ideas, notes, and concepts written on them in my horrible handwriting. Everything in the box was, at one time, considered important enough to read or think about but not time sensitive enough to warrant immediate attention. When I have anything that fits the 'Travel Stuff' category I either throw it in the box or email links or documents to my assistant to put them there for future travel.

Every time I leave town, I take a handful of items from the 'Travel Stuff' box to read on the plane, at the airport, when dining alone or in my hotel room. Travel often provides downtime I wouldn't otherwise have. Rather than waste that time, having a go-to selection of important reading materials available to throw in my briefcase at a moment's notice gives me the opportunity to read and think about things without the normal office distractions. On those rare days with few meetings and little to do, I can also dip into the materials. Some materials are then forwarded to appropriate members of my team with my scribbled thoughts, some spark follow-up meetings, and some hit the circular file.

I highly recommend going away to a beach and thinking in a hammock. But until then, consider creating your own 'think box' system for those brief trips or other times you might have to ponder the world without distraction. You might find the most productive time you spend is when you are actually doing nothing at all.


Note: I won't go into the technical details, but another great technology I use to facilitate this is Instapaper - a tool that lets you save web pages for reading later. It's great for the iPhone, as you can read the page on an airplane in the 'airplane safe' mode. And it doesn't kill as many trees.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you SUBSCRIBE to the Getting Giving blog to receive new posts in a reader or via email.

Can You Replicate Think Week?

Professional Development For Any Budget

Tomorrow I'm off to Chicago for my favorite professional development event of the year. I hesitate to call it a conference, and at times I'm not even sure it's a meeting. It's more of a convergence of some of my favorite people in the business. In fact, this year it's been coined a scrum. You should try it.

Every year, a small group of annual giving professionals from similar programs gets together in Chicago to share ideas, look at trends and pick each others' brains. We initially gathered because we participate in a common benchmarking group, but it's safe to say we would continue this practice regardless. We enjoy each other and respect our various opinions too much to miss an opportunity to gather. We actually get together twice annually, but this is the meeting has the looser format. And it's probably the better of the two.

Part of the meeting is facilitated by a consultant, part is not. We have a basic agenda of topics submitted by the attendees, but it's really an 'organic' meeting. We go wherever the discussion takes us. Outsiders might consider it to be the ultimate exercise in digression. However, if they paid attention, understood the purpose and opened their minds to the discourse at hand, they'd find a very productive and informative meeting. They'd leave with a notebook full of ideas. They'd feel recharged and ready to return to their offices to put those ideas to work. And they'd have quite a bit of fun, too. I often wonder what the new members of our group must think for the first hour or two. My best guess is 'what have I gotten myself into!?!' but it doesn't take long for them to become active participants. And by the end they're looking forward to next year.

With today's economic conditions, it's sad but true that organizations are cutting back on professional development of all types. The days of the formal conference in an exciting city are often distant memories, replaced with a discounted book from Amazon and perhaps a webinar or two. These are great, but nothing beats substantive face-to-face interaction with peers.

If you're saddled with budgetary constraints and unwilling or unable to invest in professional development, you're not alone. You might consider an ad-hoc gathering of professionals from similar organizations in your area or region. You don't need expensive conference fees, fancy presentations or luxurious surroundings - just good people, good ideas, and a shared purpose. Find an out-of-the-way hotel, share the cost of the meeting room (or find another similar venue) and stay for at least 2 days. Your only significant expense is the hotel and your experience will be worth that many times over. I do recommend getting away from the office and spending the extra money to spend the night. Getting away means getting away even if you're only 5 miles from home. If you want to take the next step, consider bringing in a facilitator. He or she can help guide the conversation and bring new annual giving ideas into the group. This would add an expense, but if shared among the participants it doesn't amount to much.

I'm fortunate to have made so many great friends in this business, and I very much look forward to this seeing many of them this week. We speak on the phone often, but the magic really happens when you put us all in one room. I may eat too much and stay out too late, but it's worth it. You should try it sometime.

If you're on Twitter, be sure to follow me and also look for the #TAG2010 hashtag. Perhaps you'll see some interesting activity and even an opportunity for an afterhours meetup!

Professional Development For Any Budget

You Asked For It

I've had a couple of folks ask me what happened to follow-up on my 'Pay It Forward' post back in September. That post referenced an interesting article about the impact David Robinson (NBA) superstar has made through his philanthropy and led me to discuss my philanthropic goals. You can find the original post in the September 2009 archive at the GettingGiving.Com Blog.

Beginning in September I set out on a mission to 'act more like an involved donor' and become more thoughtful about my support. I'm sure most of us who write smaller annual giving checks don't give much thought to their giving philosophy, but as gift size increases so does the research, soul-searching and analysis of various nonprofits. There is a big difference in your outlook when you are writing a $10 check than when you write a $1,000 or $10,000 check. I'd say the same is true as you get into $100,000 or $100,000,000 but I haven't had that pleasure. Yet.

The main goal of my endeavor was to do a better job distributing my personal philanthropy. Think 'focused giving' rather than 'sprinkle a little here and yonder.' There was, however, a fascination with the process as I wanted to learn more about the thoughts and tools one would use to really investigate the options, and what I 'felt' along the way as I made my final decisions. No research could provide me with that feeling. While "I am not my donor" I am a donor and that experience can't hurt.

I initially created a long list of criteria (which I seem to have misplaced) and I'll do the best I can to outline the big ones below along with my answers:

• National, Regional or Local (I chose local. I want to help close to home)
• Environment, education, arts, food/shelter (Ended up with a hybrid education/shelter)
• Must be able to see concrete examples, see that I made a difference (Done.)
• Must trust nonprofit (Done.)
• Must trust nonprofit's staff/leadership (Done.)
  
• Financially secure nonprofit, reasonable expenses, etc. (Done.)
• Must understand mission, long-term goals of nonprofit (Done.)
• Can I clearly define success of the organization (Yes.)
• Can I volunteer and/or participate somehow (It's an option, not now maybe later.)
• Will a gift of my size make an impact in a meaningful way? (I think it will.)

My list was much more detailed and comprehensive, but you get the idea. It actually may have taken more time and energy to make the list than to answer the questions.

In the end, I knew I was already making significant contributions to my alma mater and this fulfilled my interest in education. Issues of poverty/shelter/food throughout our country are probably next on my list and I decided to focus my research there.

Utilizing a combination of Google, Charity Navigator, Guidestar, NetworkforGood and some others I looked for nonprofits whose mission closely associated with my goals. There were many you've heard of, many many many more you've not. It was almost overwhelming to see how many nonprofits are dedicated to this mission and the amazing number of different strategies they employ to address the issues. But I can't support them all.

I had originally thought location didn't matter, but by the end I was convinced I wanted to stay close to home. This helped reduce my options significantly (thankfully) and as I looked at the final few, it became clear what I needed most to make a decision.

Give me a good website! I need to learn more about you, your mission, your philosophy, your successes, your challenges. Make it easy for me to get the information I need and present it in a way I can understand it. Show me your progress. Make it easy to see your financials.

I need contact information! Give me a staff listing so I can call somebody if I have a question. Not just a 'contact us' form with no name, no numbers, no nothing.

Make it easy to give online! I didn't make a gift online, but I'm an annual fund geek so of course I looked around! Sometimes it takes an advanced degree to figure out how to use an online gift form. I don't have that kind of time.

Show your passion! If you don't believe in your organization, why should I? I want to read it in your stories, see it in your photos and, above all else, I want to hear it when I talk to you. Show your excitement about what you do and the impact you're making. Your enthusiasm is contagious!

Prove yourself! I was surprised that I needed as much 'proof' as I did that an impact was being made. I needed to see photos, hear real stories and be convinced that my gift would translate into some better outcome. Don't just say it's making an impact, prove it.

Respond! You don't have to answer the phone on the first ring or reply to my email within a few minutes, but do not blow me off! I had two different nonprofits ignore phone calls. That's right, I called out of the blue and left a message saying I wanted to learn more about their organization as I was thinking about making a gift. And they didn't call me back. That simply amazes me. Needless to say, I didn't call back either.

There are many more, but those six really stood out because my experience highlighted the lack of many to do these things well.

In the end, I chose a nonprofit I was already familiar with, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County. Their mission is solid, their success evident. My gift will make a difference to them and the the lives of many. I can see the results. I can feel good about my investment. That's important to me.

I've been a Habitat supporter before, but not at my current level. The smaller gifts were transactional but now it's an investment. I studied the 990's, explored the website and had personal conversations with the Executive Director and a couple of board members. I went to an event at which I was able to meet a Habitat Homeowner. I treated it just like I would any other significant financial transaction.

If I had to identify one single variable that helped make my decision easier it was the personal interaction with the people I spoke with, especially the Executive Director. It's easy to see her excitement, passion and dedication. I can trust her. I believe my gift will be used appropriately and I know she is making decisions she believes are in the best interest of the organization and the people it serves. I didn't need hours and hours of her time, but if I had, she would have happily shared information and answered as many questions as I could come up with.

As you think about your organization, your processes, your customer service and your people, how would you have looked in this situation? If a prospective donor was thinking about making a gift to a nonprofit like yours? If they were 'investigating' you and others alike to make a final decision about the allocation of their philanthropic dollars?

They're looking. How will you look to them?

You Asked For It