What's the First Step for Using a Consultant in a Major Gifts Fundraising Campaign?

As someone who has worked both sides of the desk — from development director and vice president of a university and as a major gifts and capital campaign consultant — I have used consultants and now am one. Frequently we get asked to come in to do feasibility studies for clients to help get their major gifts campaign up and running.

But, this isn't the first step like every one thinks it is.

Our first job, your first job, is to create an urgent, compelling case for support. Engage your local consultant for a day a month (or more if you've got to move quickly) to bring fresh eyes and perspective to the story of your organization's impact on the community. Create a great case statement first (both in outline form with graphic elements and a 2-page executive summary).

A great case used in a feasibility study, a planning study, a philanthropic market research study will generate more donor engagement, more potential gifts, and more fundraising volunteers.

Tom Wilson
Author, Winning Gifts

Permanent Link: What's the First Step for Using a Consultant in a Major Gifts Fundraising Campaign?

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Campaigns Without Walls

Presentation at PSI, International Conference for Adventist Fundraisers

One of my clients, John Korb of Adventist Medical Center, and I just presented this session about raising $6.2 endowing the chaplains at John's hospital. We raised $6 million of endowment through a combination of 5-year pledges and planned estate gifts.

This case history of major gifts fundraising without a building to use as a focal point was challenging. But, also highly rewarding as the chaplains were so essential to the mission of the hospital. We had great responses from physician giving; established a cumulative major gifts society at $25,000 and a planned estate giving society. Both of these giving clubs will be used in the future.

If you're interested in a copy of the presentation, please e-mail me at tom.wilson@winninggifts.INFO.

Tom Wilson
Author, Winning Gifts

Permanent Link: Campaigns Without Walls

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2008/06/campaigns-without-walls.html

A Different View of Helping the Poor

Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize by creating the Grameen Bank for microfinance loans to poor people as a way of eliminating poverty.

In USA Today, he advocates a new type of business, social business. With the goal of making money by helping people, Yunus thinks this concept transcends charity and corporate social responsibility. "A social business must operate in the marketplace and earn the support of real customers who pay real money to buy a real product. At the same time, a social business has a social cause, not just a financial goal."

In one case Yunus partnered with Dannon to produce a yogurt for the poor children of Bangladesh.

This concept may be a way for major gift donors to partner with nonprofit organizations to make a sustainable difference that has a business plan beyond just asking for contributions forever. A challenging and interesting concept.

Tom Wilson
Author, Winning Gifts

Permanent Link: A Different View of Helping the Poor

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2008/06/different-view-of-helping-poor.html

Gates Foundation Insights

Too many people want to approach the Gates Foundation to solve all of their nonprofit fundraising problems.


An excellent article in The Wall Street Journal interviewed Melinda Gates about how the Gates Foundation sets giving priorities. She noted that while they are the biggest foundation at $60 billion, this number is dwarfed by the $60 billion the state of California spends on education each and every year and the $29 billion spent by NIH. So they have to be selective. They want to help the maximum number of people per dollar. Right now their efforts focus on malaria and HIV/AIDS.

Leverage is a key component of the Gates Foundation strategy: "What is the catalytic role that a foundation can play in the world? . . . how can we bring others along into these problems we are working on -- the U.S. education system; gigantic global health issues; work against poverty, what we call global development. Ultimately to solve those problems it's going to take governments. But what can we do that a government can't do? We can take risks with our money that a government can't."



Tom Wilson
Author, Winning Gifts

Permanent Link: Gates Foundation Insights

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2008/06/gates-foundation-insights.html

Building Their Reputations

Corporate philanthropy is an oxymoron. I've found that corporate giving is really enlightened self interest.

Giving U.S.A. data, Giving U.S.A. Foundation, indicates that corporate giving is only 4% of all philanthropy in America (2006 data). A recent article in INC. Magazine reinforces this concept. A article reported on research conducted by acounting firm Grant Thornton found that private companies "do charitable things because they want to be good citizens and build their reputation in the community." The article reports that recruitment and retention as one of major factors in why they give back to the community.

Sandra Waddock, a Boston College professor notes; ". . . academic research in recent years indicates that there is at best a neutral relationship between giving and profit."

Tom Wilson
Author, Winning Gifts

Permanent Link: Building Their Reputations

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2008/06/building-their-reputations.html

How to Get Financial Advisors on Your Side

We had a great discussion this week with some of the volunteers for one of my clients. The topic was getting financial advisers to help in fundraising.

One key volunteer had just retired after a 35 year career as a financial adviser. He reminded us that financial advisers are measured in their job success in terms of assets under management. So if you want a donor to make a large gift, many times the adviser is hurt by the donor moving $100,000 or $1 million.

Bob suggested that our charity, who is seeking endowment dollars and offering planned estate gifts in combination with major cash gifts, to meet with the financial advisers to recommend charitable trusts and unitrusts where the trustee status would be maintained by the donor and the management of the assets by the financial adviser. Our charity would still be the charitable remainder beneficiary.

Ideally, even after the donor passes away and the trust is dissolved, we could offer financial advisers the opportunity to continue managing that asset within our endowment fund.

A very interesting win win proposition for financial advisers.


Tom Wilson
Author, Winning Gifts

Permanent Link: How to Get Financial Advisors on Your Side

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2008/06/how-to-get-financial-advisors-on-your.html