Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 3 of a series)

Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 3 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Suzanne's question that started this series of articles also asked: "What salary ranges can be expected to have this kind of return?"

See part 1 and part 2 for the full discussion of the return. Basically, I suggested break even in the first year (or 2 to 3 times return of expenses for a star); 3 times expense return in the second year, and 5 times in the third year.

So, to answer Suzanne's question.

First, don't hire a rookie. The casualty rate of first time fundraisers is 50% in the first 18 months. Look for somebody with 3 to 5 years of experience and an "impact" resume.

What does that mean?

Not duties, but rather impact statements such as "increased annual major gifts club membership by 40%" or "boosted renewal rate for multi-year donors from 80% to 95%." How does their resume indicate they are an impact player?

Salary range -- benchmark salaries in your local area and with your type of nonprofit organization. Don't think too low. It's not just hiring the person, it's retaining them over time. Especially if you have a star. $70,000 to $90,000 is not unrealistic at all. Remember you're making an investment in the program, not incurring an expense.

This article was the third of a series. See articles 1 and 2 below:

• Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 1 of a series)
• Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 2 of a series)

Permanent Link: Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 3 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/major-gift-officer-productivity_22.html

Counseling Wealthy Families on Philanthropy & Life

Counseling Wealthy Families on Philanthropy & Life

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Thayer Willis, a fellow Oregonian, comes from a family of wealth. She became interested in how wealth families interact generationally, how they teach philanthropy to themselves and future generations, and how they can become healthier at life.

She holds a masters in social work degree, has written a book, Navigating the Dark Side of Wealth: A Life Guide for Inheritors, writes a quarterly newsletter, The Navigator, and can be found at her website by clicking here.

She has a great quote in her latest newsletter: "There is another kind of fortune to be made in the near future, and this one grows outside the financial realm. It is the true family wealth that is created by pulling together in a tough time, healing relationships, supporting each other, and developing human and intellectual capital in the family."

I always enjoy talking with Thayer and reading her work. She has such insights into people of wealth. It helps me to partially understand my major gift donors.

Permanent Link: Counseling Wealthy Families on Philanthropy & Life

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/counseling-wealthy-families-on.html

Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 2 of a series)

Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 2 of a series

by Tom Wilsom Major Gifts Guru

In part 1 we talked about fully loaded fundraising costs to determine major gift officer productivity -- add salary to benefits plus equipment and training expenses. You may need to add secretarial support costs and rent in some cases.

Knowing all of this, here is a chart that indicates the Cost to Raise a Dollar (CTRD) and ROI (Return on Investment) for a $50,000 a year salaried major gift officer ($67,000 fully loaded)

I recently worked with a client to develop a three-year fundraising strategic plan. We called for 3 new staff and showed their duties and a chart like this one to the hospital CEO. He was enthusiastic and is going forward with the staffing plan. He was pleased we proved it was a worthy investment.

This article was the second of a series. See articles 1 and 3 below:

• Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 1 of a series)
• Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 3 of a series)

Permanent Link: Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 2 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/major-gift-officer-productivity_26.html

Fundraising in California (1st Quarter 2009)

Fundraising in California (1st Quarter 2009)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

I just got back from my AFP Capitol Chapter presentation and some client work in Sacramento. Here’s what I found there.

Sacramento is being visited by Oprah and European news reporters as the homeless capitol of the U.S. Things are really tough in their housing market and of course with the whole California state budget.

One of the people at my table at lunch noted their traditional donors have been commercial real estate developers and they are really hurting right now so there giving is down. Another fellow who lives in Sacramento but works for a major charitable organization in San Francisco came to the meeting and told me one of his traditional $100,000 a year donors won’t let him visit. She can’t help right now and he needs to be patient.

One person reflected that their investment committee had felt the market was at the bottom in early January so they invested $100,000 in the stock market. They’ve lost 87% of the value since then.

Another told me that their $1 million endowment fund which is pretty new is down 40% and their accountants want the organization to pay back the endowment to make good on the donors’ restrictions to endowment (in some states this is the law).

A statewide group based in Sacramento noted their annual giving program is as strong as ever. They’re watching but so far so good. Their staff is working hard to keep everyone engaged during this tough year.

Permanent Link: Fundraising in California (1st Quarter 2009)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/fundraising-in-california-1st-quarter.html

Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 1 of a series)

Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 1 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Suzanne emailed a good follow-up question to one of my earlier posts on Major Gifts Officer Productivity.

"I've read several of your articles online and found them very helpful. I was particularly intrigued by your major gifts officer expectations. For your table in the earlier post, were you speaking just of salary or of total cost of fundraising?"

The earlier article had a chart that you can access by clicking on the highlighted article title above. Basically, it said that in year one you should cover salary, year 2 three times salary, and year 3 five times salary.

You should be using a fully loaded "salary" that includes benefits, equipment costs, training costs, etc. For example: a $50,000 direct salary would be fully loaded by adding 30% benefit costs (each organization will have a different factor, check with HR or your CFO), average of $2,000 a year for equipment, training, memberships etc. to bring to total cost to the organization to $67,000.

If your organization uses activity based cost accounting, then you may need to prorate rent, office supplies, secretarial support on top of this. But the $67,000 is a good start.

This article was the first of a series. See articles 2 and 3 below:

• Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 2 of a series)
• Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 3 of a series)

Permanent Link: Major Gift Officer Productivity Question & Answer (part 1 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/major-gift-officer-productivity.html

Fundraising in the State of Washington 1st Quarter 2009

Fundraising in the State of Washington 1st Quarter 2009

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

I recently had coffee (Starbucks of course) with Mark McCampbell, director of development for the Seattle Symphony. Mark is still in his first year on the job. Here’s what he told me about fundraising in Seattle and Washington state.

“With a fiscal year starting 9/1, this year we are 10% ahead of last year."

“December was fantastic – last year we raised $500,000, this year $1 million. And, we hit our targets for $500,000 in January and again in February. We were worried we’d get a falloff in giving at the start of this calendar year, but so far so good. We have great loyalty with our donors.”

What’s happening to others in Seattle? “Some of the other arts organizations are hurting and I think everyone is being careful with their strategies right now. We’ve noticed a trend away from holding large-scale galas and auctions, so we’re planning our strategy accordingly, and focusing more on major gifts than on events.”

His advice: “Don’t be paralyzed. Get out there and talk to donors and find out who’s ready to give. Some people were invested differently and weren’t hurt in the downturn. My job is to tell people that there is hope and opportunity and that the Seattle Symphony is one of the best orchestras in the world. I love meeting with people.”


This is just one data point from the state of Washington. Please add your comment or send me an email to give supporting or different viewpoints.

Permanent Link: Fundraising in the State of Washington 1st Quarter 2009

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/fundraising-in-state-of-washington-1st.html

Cultivating Donors in a Tough Economy

Cultivating Donors in a Tough Economy

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

If you're in Boise this week, please join me at the AFP Idaho annual meeting where I will be speaking about Cultivating Donors in a Tough Economy.

The 3 keypoints covered in the presentation are on the graphic above.

This is a new presentation for me. It draws upon a lot of my experiences with my book Winning Gifts and the speaking engagements and consulting trips on have been on in 2009 -- from Virginia, to Washington state, to California, and of course my home state Oregon.

Permanent Link: Cultivating Donors in a Tough Economy

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/cultivating-donors-in-tough-economy.html

Focus on Bequests in Bad Times

Focus on Bequests in Bad Times

by Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

For months I've stressing to clients that in these tough times major gifts of six and seven figures are going to be hard to land. Donors need time to sort out the economy and let their assets regain some of their value.

But, bequest decisions need to be made every day. No matter what the value of your assets, when you die you're gone and the assets need to go somewhere.

If a donor is retired, considering an immediate gift is even tougher, there's no way to gain back lost asset value except wait for the market to come back. You can't earn any more, you just have to wait.

So, talk to retired major gift donors about bequests. If you can't help us today, help us tomorrow when you're gone.

A recent article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy reinforced this concept brillantly. The Nature Conservancy noted that since the beginning of their last fiscal year (7/1/08) bequest notifications have increased 24%. Check out The Conservancy's planned giving website section by clicking here.

Permanent Link: Focus on Bequests in Bad Times

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/focus-on-bequests-in-bad-times.html

Corporate Giving in Tough Times (an update)

Corporate Giving in Tough Times (an update)

by Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

The longer I'm in the major gifts fundraising business, the less I feel I know.

A recent article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy noted that corporate giving through outright grants and special events support would be lower in the future, cause related marketing should increase 3% over this year to $1.6 billion.

That reductions make sense, but an increase in cause related marketing?

David Hassekiel, president of the Cause Related Marketing Forum, was quoted. I didn't even know that there was a Cause Related Marketing Forum. Their website can be viewed by clicking here. There is a lot of great information on this website about past cause related award-winning projects and advice on how corporations should proceed with cause related marketing.

The Chronicle story noted that: "Starbucks did a year end 2008 promotion where five cents of every Product Red gift card would go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Turberculosis, and Malaria. The first two weeks of the promotion raised enough to pay for 1.4 million doses of antiviral medication."

All of this is amazing in a down economy. But, I guess as I think about it, they are talking about a Winning Gifts strategy -- through cause related marketing the corporations sell more projects and the charities get money for their projects.

Permanent Link: Corporate Giving in Tough Times (an update)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/corporate-giving-in-tough-times-update.html

Listening to a Donor: Bill Gates (part 2 of a series)

Listening to a Donor: Bill Gates (part 2 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Here ares some other interesting tidbits from Mr. Gates first annual letter as posted on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website.

"The common sense of the business world, with its urgency and focus, has strong application in the philanthropic world. I am sure I will make mistakes in over-applying some elements from my previous experience and will need to adjust. For instance, the countries where Microsoft does business are far more stable and have a lot more infrastructure than most of the places where the foundation does its work. . . ."

"When Melinda and I first started our giving, in the late 1990s, our focus was on reproductive health rather than childhood deaths. . . .We were surprised when we saw a newspaper article in 1998 showing that only a few diseases cause most childhood deaths and showing how little money was being invested in creating and providing vaccines for these diseases. . . .improved health is critical to getting a country into the positive cycle of increasing education, stability, and wealth. When health improves, people have smaller families and the government has more resources per person, so improving nutrition and education becomes much easier. These investments also improve health, and a virtuous cycle begins that takes a country out of poverty. This was a huge revelation for Melinda and me. It is why we expanded our focus from reproductive health to all of the major infectious diseases."

Reading these quotes and far more on the Foundation website begins to provide insights into the weatlhiest donors on the planet. They want to make a difference and they have studied the issues. Never forget that one reason most wealthy people have the money is they are extremely bright and curious.

Click here for the first article in the series: Listening to a Donor: Bill Gates

Permanent Link: Listening to a Donor: Bill Gates (part 2 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/listening-to-donor-bill-gates-part-2-of.html

Endowment and Planned Giving Campaigning

Endowment and Planned Giving Campaigning

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

If you're in Sacramento, California this week, come join me for a presentation on comprehensive campaigning.

How do some of these universities come up with a $600 million campaign? A billion dollar campaign?

They count everything.

• Annual fund during the 5 to 8 year duration of the campaign

Building project(s)

Endowment projects

Planned estate giving including irrevocable and revocable gift instruments

At my session on March 11 I'll talk about endowment camapigning and its challenges and the importance of including planned estate giving in every campaign.

Don't be scared by the terms planned gifts or deferred gifts. 89% of all future gifts are by way of simple bequest. Every major gift officer can learn the basic terminology and start marketing basic planned estate gifts such as wills and IRA residual benificiary status.

Planned estate gifts have always been important in comprehensive campaigns. Now, with this economic downturn and giving uncertainly planned giving is a must for every major gifts shop. People still need to determine where their assets go when they die.

Permanent Link: Endowment and Planned Giving Campaigning

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/endowment-and-planned-giving.html

Listening to a Donor: Bill Gates

Listening to a Donor: Bill Gates

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Every time you can listen or read about a donor's values. Grab the opportunity. It gives you insights into other donors.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently ran an article excerpting items from Bill Gates first annual letter. Here are some highlights. For the full letter go to website for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

• 2009 giving to increase to $3.8 billion inspite of the 20% loss of their assets


• The Gates Foundation will close 50 years after the death of the last of the three current trustees (Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett)

Gates reflected on his retirement from Microsoft and move to part-time foundation work. He notes three things that kept him engaged at Microsoft.

• 1) "There was an opportunity for big breakthroughs—including changing computers from being expensive and only for big companies to being inexpensive and empowering to individuals with a wide range of great software for almost any task. I wanted a personal computer with great software for myself and everyone else."


• 2) "I thought my skills would let me help create a special company that would be part of a whole new industry. I felt I belonged in the software business, having thought about the engineering and the business possibilities maniacally from age 13."


• 3) "The work let me engage with people who were smart and knew things I didn’t. The day-to-day work always involved new problems and new ways of drawing out the best efforts from other people. We were always taking risks—some of which didn’t pay off and some of which did."

There's a lot more about their giving philosophies, but I found his personal values fascinating. This letter will be the first of his annual letters. Melinda Gates will appear in videos.

Wouldn't it be great if more of your major donors communicated like this.

Click here for the second article in the series: Listening to a Donor: Bill Gates (part 2 of a series)

Permanent Link: Listening to a Donor: Bill Gates

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/02/listening-to-donor-bill-gates.html

Fundraising in Nebraska

Fundraising in Nebraska

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

I’m working on a hospital campaign for a new patient tower in Nebraska. I get to visit once a month for a couple of days.

What’s the fundraising scene in Nebraska?

So far so good. People are cautious right now and worried about what may happen. But, in talking with two small business owners who are on our campaign cabinet this week they both said business is doing just fine. In fact, one said they had gotten in a big order and are scrambling to get it filled.

Another volunteer said his mother, who is in her late 80s kept worrying about her stock portfolio so a few years ago he put almost everything in tax exempt bonds. She only lost $9,000 on one stock certificate he hadn’t converted. So she’s just fine. Her friends? Many have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and are very worried.

The volunteers on our campaign are willing to move forward. We got a $10,000 physician’s gift last month and another doctor talked to the development director and me this week about an endowment gift. Another couple last month started exploring how to make the hospital the residual beneficiary in their IRAs.

Major gift officers in Nebraska – what would you add?

Please comment.

Permanent Link: Fundraising in Nebraska

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/fundraising-in-nebraska.html

Higher Education Fundraising in Tough Times

Higher Education Fundraising in Tough Times

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Two recent articles, one in The Wall Street Journal and the other in The New York Times, highlighted fundraising challenges for higher education.

Fiscal year 2008 higher education fundraising (most fiscal year ends are June 30th, some August 31st) went well – $31.6 billion was raised, a record year. Of the 1,032 institutions who responded to a recent Council for Aid to Education survey, the top 20 received 27% of all gifts with Stanford University leading the way for the 4th year in a row at $785 million.

Stanford’s endowment fund was $17.2 billion on August 31st. The endowment fund which provides 28% of Stanford’s $3.5 billion budget is expected to decline at least 20% this year. Annual giving only provides 5% of the budget (of course that’s $175 million).

2009 is off to a rough start with many colleges and universities predicting a decline in giving. Probably worse than the nearly 4% decline in 1975 when hyper inflation was plaguing the country.

Permanent Link: Higher Education Fundraising in Tough Times

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/03/higher-education-fundraising-in-tough.html