It's Time for Pause

After more than three years of weekly blogging, as well as more than 225 posts, your fundraising FlashPoints is pausing publication. 

It's time for a break to ensure the posts maintain current value for you and all the great work you do for your favorite nonprofit. 

In the meantime, feel free to browse through the posts through the menu buttons on your right. There is also a search function in the lower center of this blog. Most of these posts and fundraising ideas are geared towards small nonprofits that do not have paid staff people. 

If you have ideas for future blog topics or fundraising focus areas you are not finding elsewhere, please submit those ideas here.  

Until then, you are wished ample inspiration and passion as you continue your fundraising and mission advancement in 2014. Cheers!

Giving Keys: A Focused Nonprofit Story

Today's post shares with you more about an inspiring, focused nonprofit that effectively combined mission work and meaningful merchandise. 

I received my first one of the Giving Keys from a dear and thoughtful friend after going through a challenging time. 

This Los Angeles-based nonprofit employs people looking to transition out of homelessness to make bracelet, necklace, knuckle ring and iPhone case keys. The keys have inspiring messages on them, like "Dream" and "Love." Custom brief words may be chosen, too. All key proceeds support the mission of Giving Keys.

But the inspiration does not stop there.

Once you receive a key, the idea is that you are to give it away at some point to someone in your life who needs the message on the key.  I gave mine ("Strength") to another friend going through her own challenging time. I have also enjoyed giving keys to additional loved ones and hearing about their journeys.

Congratulations, Giving Keys on finding a focused way to move your mission forward, again and again. 

How might your nonprofit become more focused and self-perpetuating in 2014?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/richard-g/

Do your fundraising efforts reflect your expectations?

Recently, I learned of an interesting comparison of fundraising efforts and expectations. 

A donor and active volunteer has a general interest in animal nonprofits and an community issues nonprofit. On the whole, she's been more active with the latter.

An animal nonprofit recommended to her by a a friend recently sent a holiday mailing with seven inspiring stories of animal lives saved, each ending with a thanks to her for making the saving possible. There was an incidental mention of a 1:1 matching gift campaign in this holiday communication.  

The community issues nonprofit asked the donor via email to commit to soliciting 30 contacts she hasn't been in regular communication with as part of a large endowment campaign. Apparently a major volunteer commitment doesn't even merit a phone call. This ask came on the heels of another email requesting "dues" from this donor and others like her, implying an obligation to give. Neither email communication contained any information on how gifts would be used.

In summary, this donor felt a huge disparity between fundraising efforts and expectations among the two organizations. She felt appreciated by the first organization and dismissed as not worth any effort but expected to give much by the second organization.

Guess which nonprofit received the donor's year end gift given in lieu of family Christmas present exchange?

As 2014, approaches, take a look back at your fundraising communications. Do your fundraising efforts reflect your expectations?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/qisur/

Online Giving: For Your Nonprofit in 2014?

Giving Tuesday was December 3 this year. The results, as tracked and published by Blackbaud offer some possibilities for all nonprofits to consider as they plan their 2014 fundraising. 

• The average 2013 online gift on Giving Tuesday was $142.05, up from $101.60 in 2012. 
• 3,800 US nonprofits saw their 2013 Giving Tuesday donations collectively rise 90% over 2012. 
• $19.2 million in donations were processed by these nonprofits on December 3, 2013 ($10.1 million in 2012) 
• Online giving during the October, November and December is believed to account for 40% of overall totals for this fundraising channel each year. 
• Online giving is producing stronger results than online retail and Black Friday this year. 
• According to the Blackbaud Index, overall charitable giving is up slightly in 2013 over 2012.

How do the results for your nonprofit compare?

If you don't already have one, can you set a goal of offering online giving on your website by the 2014 holiday season?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artisrams/

Have You Written Down the Answers to Your 2014 Fundraising Questions?

Now is a great time to capture in writing the answers to your nonprofit's 2014 fundraising questions. 

Once you have the questions written down, they will provide a great framework for tracking your progress, reporting and discussing throughout 2014. 

Those questions include:

• What is your mission?
• How are you going to communicate that message?
• What is your 2014 fundraising goal?
• What tactics do you plan to use? They may include:
• Direct mail 
• Special events, like a community meal or a walk-a-thon
• Regular, personal visits that include asks to key contacts and established supporters
• Online giving 
• Grants

• How will you use the funds you raise?
• How will you communicate your results to your supporters? 

Once you have these answers written down, get to work on making your goals happen.

What questions would you add to the list above?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/clarkstonscamp/

What options are there to test drive your nonprofit?

Recently, we've been going through a painstaking process of car buying. It's time to update our oldest vehicle. Our vehicle purchase planning steps have included lots of online research, conversations with friends about vehicles and dealerships, and of course, a few test drives.

For us, test driving has literally become where the rubber meets the road in terms of narrowing down the vehicles of interest. After test drives of just a few miles, we've both eliminated vehicles from consideration and added possibilities to the list as we looked at similar cars since we were on the lot anyway. 

The experience got me to thinking: could your nonprofit offer more opportunities to test drive involvement with your mission?

It feels like there are never enough human resources to move your mission forward. Those who are already involved, like you, can be at risk for burnout. Large scale commitments like serving on your board of directors or chairing your special event can feel overwhelming to those not already intimately familiar with the good work you do. 

As you look towards 2014 for your nonprofit, consider: 

• What aspects of the work you do are the most inspirational? 
• How might you invite others to experience these inspirational aspects in easy, low time commitment, "test drive" style ways? 
• Who are three people you will invite to test drive your nonprofit in 2014?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/inhabitat/

DonorPath: Another Resource Route for Your Nonprofit

Is your nonprofit ready to tackle a new project, fundraising campaign, or just take things to the next level? 

DonorPath offers service matchmaking based on the specific needs surrounding wherever your nonprofit is at and where you want to go. 

The collective fundraising experts and team members at DonorPath have raised more than $1 billion for nonprofits and helped engage 17 million people with worthwhile organizations. Does that sound like a network you might like to leverage?

You may watch a brief YouTube video about another nonprofit, Rock for Kids, who took fundraising to the next level with DonorPath here:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CllSEVDj10

You may schedule a demo or setup a trial account to start to explore the DonorPath services available to you here: https://app.donorpath.org/enroll

Another blog with regular fundraising topics available from DonorPath may be found here: http://blog.donorpath.org/. 


Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewdevalle/

Is Anything Slipping Through the Cracks for Your Nonprofit?

Recently, I heard a firsthand account of a wonderful opportunity slipping through the cracks at a very volunteer-driven nonprofit.

Someone who's been regularly connected to this nonprofit approached one of its representatives at an event. This person explained to the nonprofit representative that she would like to connect soon regarding a gift she and her husband would like to make, with a significant corporate match opportunity that was only available for a limited time. 

The nonprofit representative assured this person someone else would be in contact soon. As of this writing, three weeks have passed. Neither the nonprofit representative spoken with nor the person mentioned in the conversation has yet to contact her. With the match, this represents a lost gift of $1,000!

Volunteer driven nonprofits face massive challenges and limitations. Volunteers at these nonprofits deserve to be celebrated even more than they are. 

However, it's important to keep an eye on what might be slipping through the cracks in the midst of those challenges and limitations. 

As the year starts to wrap up, it might be valuable to have a critical conversation among your fellow nonprofit team members. Is there anything you have let slip through the cracks in 2013? 

How can follow through, or whatever the slipped through the cracks, work better in 2014?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/redfernstudio/

What's your nonprofit's service experience?

Recently, I had a stunning service experience. In short, Lauren Wiser and the team at Left Bank Books in St. Louis Missouri are incredibly helpful and customer focused. They were prompt, offered several options for me to connect and beautifully met a deep personal interest of mine. I highly recommend working with them! If you'd like to learn more about what these thoughtful folks have to say, you may visit their blog here. 

The experience got me thinking: what is the current nonprofit service experience?Although answers to that question will vary wildly across specific nonprofits. What follows are some ideas and thoughts for small nonprofits to raise their service bar:

• Who are your most electronically connected board members or Who is attached to their smart phone? If they're not already, would these team members be willing to promptly respond to emails that come in through your website, Facebook page or other online presence points?
• How many options do you offer people to connect with you? Since not everyone is or likes to be online, at what phone number can someone reach your organization for more information?
• How are your follow through skills? If those interested in your organization pose questions, do you get back to them with confirmed answers?

Prompt response, options for connection and and follow through skills are the key elements to me of any worthwhile service experience, be it nonprofit or any other format. 

Worthwhile service is a key building block for effective fundraising. Great service recipients are potential future donors.

What is the service experience of those looking to connect with your nonprofit? How could it be event better?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foundanimalsfoundation/

Obligation or free choice?

Currently, the book I am learning from is The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. It's a straightforward and worthwhile read that offers relevant examples from a number of industries to challenge current thinking, or at least my thinking that time management needs to be at the center of what I do. 

In the book, the authors quote Viktor E. Frankl, a psychologist who survived Nazi concentration camps and wrote Man's Search for Meaning, which was first published in 1959. Frankl's writings include the idea, "What man actually needs is not a tension-less state, but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task." 

This point got me to thinking about which volunteer and donation experience have given me the greatest joy. They are not the experiences my parents or anyone else wanted me to have, or the experiences where I have had incidental involvement due to a sense of obligation. They are the experiences I have freely chosen! 

Sure, some of those experience have including striving and struggling. But in the end, free choice has given me great joy. 

I intend to carry the message through of free choice to future fundraising and volunteer efforts.

If the options are obligation or free choice to invest in your nonprofit's mission, what option do you choose? What option to you want to experience?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/koonisutra/

For Further Reading: Power Questions

Andrew Sobel and one of my favorite fundraising authors, Jerold Panas, offer an outstanding book for anyone in full time or volunteer fundraising: Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business and Influence Others.

Building relationships for your business start with thought-provoking, deep questions that keep the focus on those you are meeting with. These questions help you dive deep and ensure a mutually respectful and appreciative relationship in both directions.

In this book the authors quote a seasoned executive who says, "I can always tell how experienced and insightful a prospective consultant, banker or lawyers is by the quality of their questions and how intently they listen. That's how simple it is."

Simple? Perhaps.

Common? Not yet.

This book goes on to offer hundreds of examples of excellent, open ended questions that help you deepen any of the key relationships in your life.

Have you picked up the book yet?

Have you started reading?

What do you think?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/easygiving/

Death, Taxes and 990 Filings

In a 1789 letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, Benjamin Franklin wrote, "..In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." 

Today, I would add another element to that centuries old quote: 990 filings. 

Is your nonprofit a Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-recognized 501 (c) (3) organization? Being a registered nonprofit in your state is not the same thing as being an official tax exempt nonprofit at the federal level. 

Assuming your nonprofit is IRS-recognized, are you filing your 990 forms each year? Doing so is as absolute a requirement as filing your own income taxes each year. It is not optional. There is no grace period. This simply must be done. 

Since so many nonprofits are run entirely by volunteers, is this hard to remember? Sure. However, the nature of your nonprofit (all volunteer versus paid staff) does not change the requirement that the proper paperwork be filed each year to maintain your status.

Recently, one very well meaning treasurer of an all volunteer nonprofit received a postcard in the mail reminding him of the availability of electronic filing of his organization's 990. He thought this mailing would come annually to remind him to get the filing done. The mailing was one time to announce the IRS transition to simpler filings for smaller organizations. Because the annual 990 filings were not done, this organization may have to go through an extensive and complicated process to re-apply for nonprofit status. 

This does not have to be your nonprofit's story. Simply set a remind to make sure your form 990 is properly filed by the 15th of the 5th month following the end of your fiscal year.  For example, if your fiscal year ends with your calendar year, your 2013 990 is due by May 15, 2014.

If your annual gross receipts are under $50,000 per year, you may find more information filing your Form 990 electronically here. For other organizations, visit www.irs.gov and search on the term 990 in the upper right hand search box.  

What works well for your annual filings for the small nonprofits you are associated with? 
 
Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/numberstumper/

Improving Listening: Baseline for Better Fundraising

Successful fundraising is interconnected with effective listening. The most successful major gift fundraisers have hundreds of stories of how they listened the gift. 

Listening is hard. The difference between typically speaking speed and our brains' capacity to understand creates the first gap. Distractions only add to the complexity. 


How do you develop listening skills to be more effective in your fundraising, and, by extension, in moving your mission forward? A few online resources for your consideration:

1. A Developing Listening Skills video from Cambridge University Press ELT. 


2. A blog post from Gaily Perry: A Fundraiser's #1 Skill: The Lost Art of Listening. 


3. A blog post from Vanessa Chase: Why Listening Trumps All Else in Fundraising. 


4. Tips for Active Listening are available on the Mind Tools website. 


5. Rick Goodfriend offers practicing better listening thoughts on this YouTube video. 


What are your favorite listening tips?


How has applying listening skills moved your mission forward?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/baejaar/

Ideas for Your Nonprofit's Online Content

Last week's post explored the importance of video and and ideas for a basic online presence to move your nonprofit forward, using the backdrop of a recent Google study. Once you apply those ideas, how do you avoid "low content," or having nothing to share?

Content topics for your nonprofit's online presence may include:  

• A story from a beneficiary of your nonprofit about how the impact of the received support
• A story from a volunteer for your nonprofit about they he or she gives of available time to your mission
• A story from a donor about why he or she feels supporting your organization is a worthwhile investment
• Your mission statement 
• A summary of your recently completed projects
• Information on your upcoming projects, to give donors a sense of what a gift would help do if they made one today  
• Your Form 990 filed annually with the IRS. Instead of making someone researching your organization go to other publicly available sources for this information, why not make it easy in the interest of transparency? 
• Any opportunities for involvement: what are the three most valuable things someone interested in your organization could do today to help you move your mission forward?
• Your meeting minutes and other reports or updates. Transparency breeds trust

What content additions do you have to this list?

What nonprofit content do you recall from your time online this week?
Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/with/4855136300/

Online Donor Patterns: Is Your Nonprofit Prepared?

Google recently released a study to its nonprofit clients of online donor behavior. The study findings include results of a survey completed by 982 people, as well as analysis of online behavior of more than 2 million people who agreed to the tracking. 

The findings indicate some general patterns, including:

• Video plays a tremendous role in capturing online attention. 
• 75% of donors start research of charities they consider gifts to online. 
• 40% of survey respondents conducted nonprofit research on their mobile phones.

Given the wide proliferation of nonprofits online, how does your nonprofit start such a presence without budget or significant available time among volunteers? Some ideas to consider include:
1. Setup a free blog on www.blogger.com or another platform. Post updates on your activities. Try setting a goal of one post per month as you get started.
2. Consider creating a channel for your organization on www.youtube.com. Post links to your videos on your other online locations. 
3. Create a Facebook page for your organization and invite your friends to join it.For more information on the steps involved in creating a page, click here. 
4. If this isn't the right time to add online donations to your mix, consider adding a Contact Us portion to each of your posts where a live person would provide prompt information on how your organization might receive donations (mail, in person pickup, etc.) 

What online patterns are you seeing?
What tools are you using to respond to those online patterns? Share your ideas in the comments section below.

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/z428/

Have you scheduled your nonprofit's 2014 retreat?

We all need to find our ways to effectively retreat from the day to day demands of the world, recharge and refocus. 

For my husband, one way he retreats is to take his motorcycle for long rides. One way I retreat is to explore drawing projects, something I have not done often enough. Our retreats are taken away from our regular work and family demands. Our retreats allow us to reflect and try to be more effective in our lives and careers in the future.

Making time for a retreat is equally important for your nonprofit. 

Your retreat will be most effective if you find a quiet location away from the regular demands of your mission to truly 

How will you effectively move forward with the great work you do in 2014 if you don't set goals and define what progress looks like?

Here are some resource ideas for making your retreat for 2014 planning great: 

• William Moran of the Moran Company offers an excellent Nonprofit Board Retreat Agenda in his Resource Library here. 
• You may replay a Chronicle of Philanthropy discussion on How to Hold a Great Board retreat here. 
• The Canoe Group offers six suggestions to stimulate value at your next board retreat here.

An equally important success factor in your 2014 retreat is incorporating reports on your progress at each 2014 board meeting.

Have you scheduled your retreat yet?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stella12/. At Applewood Estate in Flint, Michigan, on retreat with the AAHC Board.

IRS Tools to Apply for Nonprofit Status and Stay Exempt

Are you thinking of applying for federal recognition of nonprofit status for your group? 

The Internal Revenue Service  (IRS) recently released a review version of its interactive Form 1023. the standard used to apply for federal nonprofit recognition, which falls under Section 501 (c) (3) of the tax code.  The review version is available through September 20, 2013. 

When the full version is released, it will start the process of electronic submission. Anyone who has printed the small book required of the current paper submissions knows this is a nice step forward. 

If you will be submitting a 501 (c) (3) application on Form 1023 soon, be aware for your planning purposes that the IRS is currently reviewing applications submitted over one year ago, so it will be some time before you hear on the status of your application. 

The IRS also recently released a 37 minute video overview course about applying for Section 501 (c) (3). This video will help you prepare for the application steps and the ongoing requirements of federal nonprofit status.

A third tool offered by the IRS is of benefit to current and prospective 501 (c) (3) organizations. Titled Life Cycle of an Exempt Organization, this website section provides many links and details about the intersection points between your nonprofit and the IRS.

Nonprofit IRS setup and ongoing compliance is a critical first step towards effective fundraising efforts for your organization.

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/afagen/

Are You on Autopilot With Your Supporters?

Recently, I heard a first hand account of a story that gave me pause to watch for an unintended risk in nonprofit work.

A friend was contacted by a political campaign who just opened up operations for a long-out campaign, consistent with the trend that running for office is starting earlier and earlier. 

The new staff member who contacted her was polite and positive. This person asked for an easy entry and involvement point, which she declined, citing personal circumstances. Overall, the interaction was positive. 

Despite these positives, she left with a sense of disappointing "auto pilot" mode. The assumption was made in the call that she must again be supportive of the candidate. There was no confirmation of her continued support or request for her input on the call. Her support was assumed as being on auto pilot, despite the years that have passed since the last campaign.

This approach is a good fit for a large volume of activity demanded by political campaigns. However,

Is the nonprofit community on auto pilot with established supporters? 

Is your nonprofit on auto pilot when it comes to conversations with your established supporters?

When was the last time you communicated with an established supporter, just to check in and not ask for anything?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/curveto/

Donor Testing: How Would Your Organization Score?

In July 2013, two Midwest donors (a married couple) chose a nonprofit topic/mission close to their hearts to send "test" donations as they considered increasing their philanthropic investments. 

They combined their own online research and the recommendations of trusted friends who are active volunteers in this area and chose four nonprofits doing work in their area of interest. The selected organizations were three all-volunteer groups and one organization with paid staff.

They mailed test donations of $50 to each organization. All gifts were unsolicited.  Included with the mailed donations was an email address to offer a lower cost communications option.

In one month's time:

1. One organization (an all-volunteer group) sent a letter that replicated the donors' contact information as submitted, expressing gratitude and explaining said use of funds within one week.

2. One organization (the staffed group) sent an equally prompt postcard with pictures and cute copy that used the donors' names incorrectly, and made no mention of intended use of funds.

3. One organization promptly cashed the check but did not acknowledge the donation in any way. 



4. One organization did not cash the check, but did receive it upon follow up. 

In her excellent book Donor Centered Fundraising, Penelope Burk shares observations from extensive donor survey work.  She and the Cygnus team discovered donors want:

• Prompt, personalized gift acknowledgement.
• Confirmation gifts have been set to work as intended.
• Measurable results on gifts at work prior to being asked for another contribution. 

Although the jury is still out on the long-term impact of this test, so far, the first, all-volunteer organization mentioned is the only one to make a strong, positive impression with their new donors and pave the way for future gifts.

If your nonprofit received a test gift, how you score?

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonathancharles/

Learning by Giving: A Foundation Worth of Your Review

The Learning by Giving Foundation was created by a team of the nation's leading philanthropists, including the Buffet family, to encourage individual giving and the wonderful learning process that comes with it.

The mission of this worthwhile, unique niche philanthropic organization organization is a worthwhile read. 

The Foundation recently hosted an online class called Giving With Purpose that united thousands of students of all ages and backgrounds to discuss the value in focusing and analyzing one's individual giving. The course included insightful video interviews with Doris Buffet and Warren Buffet, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Soledad O'Brien who discussed their personal philanthropic goals and motivations. News coverage about this course may be found here.

You may sign up for their next free online course here.

The Learning by Giving Foundation also has a presence on YouTube.

If connecting on Facebook is your preferred method, you may connect with the Learning by Giving Foundation here.


Other ways to connect with the Learning by Giving Foundation include:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn 
• Google Plus 

How are you learning by giving? 

Photo credit above: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cpjobling/