Sustainable and Comprehensive Fundraising

Sustainable & Comprehensive Fundraising – highlights of a presentation from Kent Dove

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

In July 2009 Kent Dove, long-time fundraiser for the University of Indiana, presented an AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) Webconference on sustainable and comprehensive fundraising. Mr. Dove is author of several books including Conducting a Successful Major Gifts and Planned Giving Program (Dove, Spears, and Herbert) and is serving as special assistant to the president of University Indiana as he prepares for retirement later this year.

Here are some highlights for major gift officers

• In reviewing where the University of Indiana is going with their fundraising, Mr. Dove noted they had “a campaign with a working goal of $1 billion.” I liked the working concept as a good definition of the quiet phase goal of a campaign (which can go up, down, or be confirmed prior to taking the campaign public).
• He stressed a sustainable, fundraising model for the lifetime of the donor. Again, a great concept to encourage us to go for the right gift over time, not the quick gift to meet this year’s annual fund goal, or this campaign’s target.
• What’s the organization’s business model? Fundraising can’t do it all. What earned income sources do you have? What role is government funding playing? How can endowments provide resources over time?
• The distinction between transactional fundraising (special event and corporate) and relationship fundraising. Go for the relationship, it's about people.
• In reviewing 18 years of giving records at the University of Indiana they found that “every year” donors were 9 times more generous; donors who gave 9 times during those 18 years were 4 times more generous. So get people giving and shoot for an 80%-plus renewal rate.
• You’ve got to have a planned giving program. If 15% of philanthropy comes from planned gifts, you can’t afford not to play the game.
• Traditional campaigns are still effective, but less so if they’re continuous. Give your donors a break.
• Have a mission-focused, donor-centered fundraising program.
• Find out who’s got deep interest and passion about your mission.
• Make sure your case is donor centered – how your organization benefits the community. Test your case with donors, listen, adjust, keep shopping your case.
• Volunteers in fundraising are important – they need information, education, and training on how to fundraise. Don’t have them do the work of staff. Keep them focused on opening doors, debrief them after meetings, and follow up to make sure the work gets done.
• Watch for income giving versus asset giving – the big gifts will come from asset donors.
• Database – get donors cell phone numbers, they are more permanent than home phone numbers; get email address; and age.
• For annual fundraising – mix and match techniques, don’t worry about timing.
• Help the donor form a mental image of your organization and its impact, help them see their gift in action.
• Enroll top caliber volunteers to provide leadership, demonstrate role model gifts, and open doors to key prospective donors.
• Stewardship is important – one research study showed a higher retention rate after thank you phone calls compared to just thank you letters.
• Do a signature event, not just a special event.
• Metrics around giving are important – total giving, average gift, # of donors.

What you’ve just read; and what I’ve just completed here is an exercise in “reflective learning.” After taking notes during the Webconference, this rewriting of what was important to me enables me to reflect and think back upon what I heard. It deepens my listening and my learning.

I encourage you to do this after every learning experience . . . be reflective.Write blog post content here

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