Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 3 of a series)

Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 3 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Notes from an AHP International presentation (9/09) from David Woodruff,

Executive Director and COO for Development for Massachusetts General Hospital

Campaign Progress

Mass General’s fiscal year end is 9/30 and they project final FY 2009 results at $235 Million bringing the campaign to $824 Million. While they had a great year, they know next year will be tougher and they have set their projections lower (please see an earlier blog post about one of their lead gifts by clicking here).

Woodruff commented: “With this campaign the Hospital is recognizing the power of philanthropy. With some 8 figure gifts leadership now understands philanthropy can be transformational.” Major gifts for us are $100,000 to $1 million; principal gifts above that.

The campaign started with 70 staff in 2005 raising $110 Million that year. The staff is now at 110 staff – 30 major gift officers lead the work (this includes corporate and foundation fundraising staff).

No government research funding or earmarks are counted in the campaign.

The biggest growth in 2009 was principal gifts of 41 million or more but they expect 2010 will see more annual gifts, mid range should be good next year.

For MGH the normal pledge is 5 years with some principal gifts structured out for up to 10 years on a case by case basis.

Campaign counting – Duke had a good example of campaign counting. MGH used some of their ideas and borrowed others from CASE guidelines. Planned gifts do count.

$750 million building, 25% to be fundraised, $75 M for naming rights

They found only 1/3 of our departments were getting HIPAA authorization signoff forms, but those that did were raising more money. So they made this uniform so we could raise money in every department.

I found the gift table interesting. It started at the $100,000 level. 1,000 gifts of $100,000 or more are needed. They use a 4 to 1 prospects per gifts model. The gift table starts with prospects needed, then gifts needed, gift range, subtotal.

This post is part of a series. To read the other posts in the series, please click the links below:

• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 1 of a series)
• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 2 of a series)
• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 4 of a series)

Permanent Link: Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 3 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/inside-story-on-15-billion-capital_29.html

Defending ROI of Major Gift Officers

Defending ROI of Major Gift Officers

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

"I am wondering if you know if there is any 'standard' or data that supports industry ROI for gift officers in their 1st through 5th years? I am in the position of defending the ROI of my gift officers to my Trustee Board, but do not know what the readily acceptable number would be, depending on their years in the position. Thanks for the help." DN

I posted an earlier series of articles on this issue. Click here to go to that series of posts.

However, the old standard is out. We used to say that a MGO should pay for themselves by the end of year 1; 3 X by year 2; and 5 X by the end of year 3. Or, you may get a star that can produce 10 times their salary and benefits.

One of my colleagues had taught her institution that her team could make about $1 million per staff member. While she had a great 2008-09 and raised $75M, their target was $125M. So, in spite of the tough economy she had to lay off 50 people.

Times are different now which makes the old standard benchmarking less valid.

I do have one hard and fast rule – after 1 year the new staff person has got to be covering their salary and benefits. They still may need to flower in the future but they can’t be a drag on the system.

Also, before you defend your staff too quickly, really think deeply about each person’s productivity. How is your overall office doing compared to last year? How is each person doing from a year ago? Who is always out of the office making connections and filing contact reports? Of course you need to measure dollars, but monitor activity.

Don’t fall into the trap of defending everyone if in reality you have 1 star, 2 solid players, and one weak person. You should admit any weaknesses in your staff and share how you are coaching for improvements.

If your major gift officers are working on organizational committees, subtract this time from the 125 prospects they should be shepherding. Or, ask your boss to let the MGOs out of committee work so they can focus on raising money.

Now is also a great time to audit how much the staff is dedicating to special events? Everyone may have to work twice as hard to raise the same money this year.

Finally, is everyone filling out contact reports to document all calls? The team may need to strategize next moves for each prospective donor. You may need to decide if a particularly prospective donor is worth further cultivation. The less experienced the staff person is, the more of this coaching they will need.

I hope something here is helpful.

P.S. Remind everyone that even a 3X return is really good. What other investments can your organization make that results in 67% return – certainly not the stock market.Write blog post content here

Permanent Link: Defending ROI of Major Gift Officers

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/defending-roi-of-major-gift-officers.html

Advice to a New Major Gifts Officer (part 1 of a series)

Advice to a New Major Gifts Officer (part 1 of a series)

by Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

I've been reading your blog for about a month now with much interest. I was recently hired by a mid-sized nonprofit to run its major gifts operation. Although I've worked in development before, I have never held this particular role, and I'm both excited and nervous to get started.

I'm writing to ask you for any advice you might have for a new major gifts officer. As I understand it, my first task is going to be to get to know our current major donors. But how will I proceed with new donors? I hope you have some tips. Thanks for your site and your time.

N.T. from the East Coast, USA

This is a fun question and takes me way back in time. Good luck on the new job. Here is how I would start.

You’re right in thinking you should start with your current major gift donors. Determine what a major gift is for your organization – is it $1,000, $5,000, or what?

I’m a champion of establishing a basic, annual giving major gifts club. Or if you have, totally re-engineering it.

Pick just one entry-level giving amount (with higher amounts recognized by level and/or color). Use one gift club name to brand the club and focus staff energy to build community and identity for gift club members. When I was a university vice president I went so far as to re-title the staff coordinator of the club “Executive Director” of the Presidents Club. This made a lot more sense to the club members than development officer.

What should your basic entry level dollar amount be?

One way to check this is to look at the top 25 gifts to your organization in the past year. Work top down – how many gifts at each level starting with your largest gift first. You should be able to determine a pattern as to where you could set up an annual major gifts club program.

Here’s an example of some data:

• 1 – $25,000
• 4 – $5,000
• 3 – $2,500
• 12 – $1,000
• 6 – $500

This gift patterning is tough to call. You could set a major gift club at $500 with 26 members. I probably would call it at $1,000 with 20 members. But, you could consider $2,500 with 8 members.

To check your instincts go back to the gift histories of these same top donors. How stable is their pattern of giving? For example, if you think $1,000 is the right answer, how consistent have the 20 donors giving at that level this year been in the past? If you’re seeing good stability in the gift histories, then you’re on the right track. If on the other hand, you see only periodic giving at this level and in fact most giving at $500 then the $1,000 may be too aggressive. If you see many years of higher giving and that this year is actually low, then the $2,500 gift club level makes more sense.

This article is part of a series. To read the rest of the series, please click the links below:

• Advice to a New Major Gifts Officer (part 2 of a series)
• Advice to a New Major Gifts Officer (part 3 of a series)
  
  

Permanent Link: Advice to a New Major Gifts Officer (part 1 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/advice-to-new-major-gifts-officer-part.html

Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 2 of a series)

Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 2 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Notes from an AHP International presentation (9/09) from David Woodruff, Executive Director and COO for Development for Massachusetts General Hospital

After establishing their historical credentials, the next step of their case preparation involved evaluation of the elements of a potential campaign.

• What are the forces at work now or in the future that will impact the financial stability of the hospital?
• What are the needs that can be addressed by philanthropy?
• Does evidence demonstrate that fundraising is possible?
• Is a campaign necessary?
• What opportunities could be realized through a campaign? Or lost if one wasn’t done?

The campaign focused on facilities & technology, investments in key clinical and research programs, recruitment, and retention of the best clinical and research staff, and global outreach. The will of leadership was critical to get the campaign moving forward. The 8-year, comprehensive campaign includes:

• Research endowment $100M
• Unrestricted $100M
• Education endowment $50 million
• Facilities $300 M
• Program $950M

They expect unrestricted giving to be the biggest challenge and have started an annual giving program to help boost these efforts across all departments of the Hospital.

This post is part of a series. To read the other posts in the series, please click the links below:

• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 1 of a series)
• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 3 of a series)
• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 4 of a series)

Permanent Link: Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 2 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/inside-story-on-15-billion-capital_18.html

Washington Fundraising Training The Win Win Ask and Listen for Success

Washington Fundraising Training: The Win Win Ask & Listen for Success

by Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

I will be lecturing to a communications class at Walla Walla University in the State of Washington on November 4, 2009. If you’re in the southeaster Washington area, you’re welcome to join the class from 2 to 4 pm for The Win Win Ask.

Later that day at 7 pm I will do a community presentation on Listen to Win. Following this session will be a book signing for Winning Gifts: Make Your Donors Feel Like Winners (Wiley & Sons 2008).

This is my second visit to campus to teach a class. I hope you can join me for this event. For more details on how to attend these free events, please send me an email.

Permanent Link: Washington Fundraising Training The Win Win Ask and Listen for Success

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/washington-fundraising-training-win-win.html

Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 1 of a series)

Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 1 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

At the 2009 AHP (Association of Healthcare Professionals) International conference in San Francisco I got the change to hear David Woodruff,

Executive Director and COO for Development for Massachusetts General Hospital provide an insiders progress report on their $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign. Please note this is not the official goal of the campaign but rather a working target. They plan to go public in 2010 and are still calibrating the final target amount.

Mr. Woodruff provided insights on they have gotten to this stage of campaigning. Campaign counting started 10/1/05. They hope to reach their goal by the end of 2013. They track progress quarterly. Their fiscal year end is 9/30 and they project final FY 2009 results at $235 Million bringing the campaign to $824 Million.

Massachusetts General Hospital has 23,000 employees and is the largest Medical Center in Boston. Woodruff noted that Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) will be 200 years old in 2011. The bicentennial became the driver for the campaign. As they celebrated 200 years of history they knew they had to tell the vision for what was going to happen in the next century, the 3^rd century at MGH.

They started with a one page summary of their 200 year history which showed tremendous acceleration of clinical and research excellence in the last 60 years.

This post is part of a series. To read the other posts in the series, please click the links below:

• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 2 of a series)
• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 3 of a series)
• Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 4 of a series)

Permanent Link: Inside Story on a $1.5 Billion Capital Campaign (part 1 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/inside-story-on-15-billion-capital.html

Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 5 of a series)

Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 5 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Here is a continuing article from the San Francisco 2009 AHP International (Association of Healthcare Professionals) annual meeting. These gems were gleaned from Sandra Henningsen who presented a session on Maximizing Your eMarketing Success for Major & Planned Gifts.

The participants in the session got into a stimulating discussion about the use of video on the Internet. How much money should you spend? What type of production values should you use?

I was particularly interested as I have produced 18 videos in VHS and DVD format over the years. I serve as executive producer and interviewer and have found them to be the most powerful ways to make your case statement come alive to prospective donors.

Everyone stressed the importance of using motivating stories to enable donors to motivate other people. If you show a video segment an your annual gala, put a version on the Internet.

One of the younger people in the room wondered if a quick handheld video would be okay. While a handheld camera is less steady, it may seem more real to people. Lower production values make it more authentic.

My sense is higher production values are important with older donors who are used to television quality versus a more free wheeling “Blair Witch Project” format that younger people are used to.

One of the AHP staff responded that she was capturing video of the conference for posting on YouTube since their site couldn’t accommodate the video yet. She was using a $300 camera for basic video work. But, she strongly suggesting buying a high-end $150 boom microphone as people are more forgiving of video quality if the sound comes through clearly. Don’t count on the camera’s built in microphone to do the job well.

Keep patient and donor testimonials to 5 minutes or less.

All of this discussion on video content really got me excited. When we do our video work for campaign movies we’ll tape someone for 15 to 20 minutes to end up with 2 or 3 sound bites for the final product. I like to have 5 to 7 people in the 8 minute video to get a variety of perspectives. With this session, I got the great idea of doing multipurpose editing. Once we’re done with the major overview piece, we can go back and edit 3 to 5 minute solo testimonial for each of interviewees to let people capture more of their thoughts on the Internet. Usually we get so many good quotes that it’s heartbreaking not to use all of them.

And, of course, use YouTube to share videos of your organization. They have an entire nonprofit section and you can put links to your videos from your eNewsletter and website.

This article is part of a series. To read the rest of the series, please click the links below:

• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 1 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 2 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 3 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 4 of a series)

Permanent Link: Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 5 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/using-internet-to-increase-major-and_11.html

Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (Section 3, part of the Q&A series)

Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (section 3, part of the Q&A series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Here’s why it is important to do a feasibility study before a campaign and why most fundraising consultants refer to the study process as “philanthropic market research.”

As a follow up to the study process, once the organization has accepted our philanthropic market study report and campaign plan, we suggest inviting all study participants (anyone who has come to a leadership briefing, sent in an engagement survey, or participated in an interview) to come to a report-out session. We suggest offering 2 or 3 optional times to be flexible enough for good attendance. The consultant presents a summary of the report findings. Then the organization announces their plan of action – going forward with a campaign at the recommended goal amount (sometimes modified because of the study report). We use this opportunity to recruit leadership one more time. The reality of a strong, clear campaign plan encourages more people to offer to help.

The report out meetings are effective. Prospective donors are usually pleased to learn the organization listened to them and respected them through the study process.

Several years ago I hired a retired university vice president to do some work on studies with me. Vic was a great fundraiser and had been through 35 years and 4 capital campaigns at a variety of colleges across the county. His campaigns had been successful even though he hadn’t done a philanthropic market study for them. After being involved with the process a couple of times, he felt that a study helps guarantee success and that his colleges could have raised far more money if they had gone through this process. He became a believer.

So, yes, go through a study process to prepare for your upcoming campaign. It forces you to make your case, engagement donors early, find the fundraising volunteers that will ensure success, and put in place the resources needed to win.

#

This article is part of the Q&A series. To read the other articles in the series, please click the links below:

• Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (Section 1, part of the Q&A series)
• Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (section 2, part of the Q&A series)

Permanent Link: Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (Section 3, part of the Q&A series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/is-feasibility-study-really-needed-for_08.html

Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 4 of a series)

Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 4 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Here is a continuing article from the San Francisco 2009 AHP International (Association of Healthcare Professionals) annual meeting. These gems were gleaned from Sandra Henningsen who presented a session on Maximizing Your eMarketing Success for Major & Planned Gifts.

eNewsletters – these can be effective ways of communicating with prospective major gift and planned estate gift donors. They can include stories of donors, news articles about your organization, and links to staff “welcoming” web pages. Be sure to include links to further information on your website and to a PDF of your longer, print newsletter.

I was intrigued by the information about a staff welcome page. Sandra suggested putting the lead gift officers at the top of the page with smiling pictures and also including any staff that donors may interact with – receptionists, other major gift officers, etc. Some website use an optional video greeting as well to help break down barriers and make the staff more real and approachable.

Send eNewsletters to your existing list and let them know they can opt out at any time. Most will stay in.

There is a trend to eNewsletters as they are relatively inexpensive and very “green;” no paper or postage. The speaker noted Blanchard Valley Health Foundation invited people to the opening of their imaging center through their eNewsletter.

You can also announce planned estate giving seminars by eNewsletter and then link to the professional speakers and their photos on your website. Again, this breaks down barriers to communicating with advisors who will complete donor gifts and provides your professional advisors with good visibility to potential clients (a win for everyone).

A personal note from a client experience – they went to an eNewsletter format and it was great. But, they stopped doing a traditional newsletter. I recommended they do both because we were missing 35% of the emails from our target audience of 70 and older prospects. Maybe 10 to 20 years from now we can go all electronic, but not yet. Keep using multiple platforms to reach the most people.

This article is part of a series. To read the rest of the series, please click the links below:

• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 1 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 2 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 3 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 5 of a series)

Permanent Link: Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 4 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/using-internet-to-increase-major-and_07.html

Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (section 2, part of the Q&A series)

Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (Section 2, part of the Q&A series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Here’s why it is important to do a feasibility study before a campaign and why most fundraising consultants refer to the study process as “philanthropic market research.”

To prepare for the leadership briefings (focus groups) requires that an outline case statement be prepared. This forces the organization’s leadership to think through campaign priorities and to practice presenting it to a friendly audience. We generally recommend 4 to 6 briefing sessions to involve your best 50 to 100 donors. For one group we ended up having 22 leadership briefings involving more than 300 people all over the state of California.

Another great study technique is the use of an engagement survey. This is a simple way to reach out to the next level of prospects. We generally ask organizations to send the engagement survey to the top 5% to 10% of their donor file. This is a much larger group of people than the 40 being interviewed or the 100 in the leadership briefings. You send out the case outline used in the leadership briefings with a one-page (front and back) survey form and a return envelope. We’ve used both regular mail and email. It’s fun to see who pops out of the woodwork. For one organization we sent 16,000 emails and got nearly 2,000 responses. Another group discovered a $500,000 donor that wasn’t on anybody’s radar screen.

One of the most important questions we ask during the interviews is: “Will you work on the campaign in some way?” This helps us to recruit campaign leadership throughout the study process and to present a volunteer organization based upon findings of the study.

We also use the study interactions with a client to help determine what resources the organization will need to win the campaign. One of the major reasons for campaign failure is over-reaching on the goal and under-resourcing the staff. Your organization must play to win.

The final study report, the campaign plan, is also a great educational tool for your volunteers and administrators. An outside voice is helping show the path to campaign success.

The other value of this campaign process is the outside, independence of the consulting team. If the emperor has no clothes, they’ll tell this to the consultant where they may hesitate to tell the staff. It’s a giant listening exercise.

This article is part of the Q&A series. To read the other articles in the series, please click the links below:

• Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (Section 1, part of the Q&A series)
• Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (Section 3, part of the Q&A series)

Permanent Link: Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (section 2, part of the Q&A series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/is-feasibility-study-really-needed-for_06.html

Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 3 of a series)

Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 3 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Here is a continuing article from the San Francisco 2009 AHP International (Association of Healthcare Professionals) annual meeting. These gems were gleaned from Sandra Henningsen who presented a session on Maximizing Your eMarketing Success for Major & Planned Gifts.

To reach your target audience of 60+ year olds for major gifts and planned estate gifts be sure to use senior friendly web design. Realize that:

• Vision is less precise
• Colors are more difficult to see (primary colors preferred)
• High contrast is important (black & white or blue & yellow)
• Navigation must be easy
• Substantial white space is a must
• Use short paragraphs
• Link to features, eNewsletters, PDF files quickly (seniors will do only 3 clicks through a website)
• Make sure your philanthropy page is on the home page of your hospital in a visible, top of the page location
• Use similar layouts and colors to your print materials
• Use clear backgrounds so its easy to read
• Minimize flashing images
• Use only one or two large fonts

You may have to go to your institution’s website design staff to get special dispensation for a senior-friendly philanthropy site. Sandra has had organizations make and be granted this special request.

You can find good examples of this type of senior-friendly design on the websites for Eisenhower Medical Center, Blanchard Valley Hospital Foundation, St. Joseph Medical Center, Carle Foundation Hospital, Fred Hutchinson Research Center, and the University of Hawaii Foundation.

This article is part of a series. To read the rest of the series, please click the links below:

• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 1 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 2 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 4 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 5 of a series)

Permanent Link: Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 3 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/using-internet-to-increase-major-and_05.html

Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (part of the Q&A series)

Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (part of the Q&A series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

Great question. Thanks to Ann in California for submitting it.

Here’s why it is important to do a feasibility study before a campaign.

First, most fundraising consultants have stopped using the language “feasibility” and are using some variation of “philanthropic market research.”

Feasibility is really a leadership question. If you have a critical need and must move forward, then you should have a campaign. Instead, think of the study process, the interviews, and leadership briefings (participative focus groups) with your best donors as part of a philanthropic market research process with the goal of listening to your donors to help develop a realistic plan for your campaign.

• How big should the goal be?
• What projects resonate with donors?
• Who are champions for each project?
• What staff and infrastructure investments will be needed to win the campaign?
• How long should the campaign be?
• Are there are enough volunteers to insure success?
• What training do the volunteers need? The staff? The management team?

If it takes six (6) calls to secure a major gift, using the philanthropic market study process motivates donors to attend a leadership briefing and then participate in a personal interview. This means your organization can complete two steps very quickly. The data gathered during these two interactions are like gold during the campaign. We use both occasions to recruit volunteer leadership.

This article is part of the Q&A series. To read the other articles in the series, please click the links below:

• Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (section 2, part of the Q&A series)
• Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (Section 3, part of the Q&A series)

Permanent Link: Is a feasibility study really needed for a nonprofit capital campaign? (part of the Q&A series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/is-feasibility-study-really-needed-for.html

Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 2 of a series)

Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 2 of a series)

By Tom Wilson Major Gifts Gu

Here is a continuing article from the San Francisco 2009 AHP International (Association of Healthcare Professionals) annual meeting. These gems were gleaned from Sandra Henningsen who presented a session on Maximizing Your eMarketing Success for Major & Planned Gifts.

Ted Hart, ePF Founder, “Charities should approach the Internet as a communication and stewardship tool first and a fundraising tool second.”

A participant in the meeting from North Carolina indicated they had a pet therapy program. Each animal had its own webpage and was actively fundraising for the program. This led one of their owners to put a planned estate gift in place to endow the program.

Sandra, our speaker, announced that her firm gives an eMarketing award to their clients. This year Eisenhower Medical Center won because they got two significant gifts through eCommunications – one was $500,000. They hope to meet this donor soon.

The benefits of Internet eMarketing are 24/7 access, interactivity, and immediate information. In tracking web use, a lot of activity takes place after midnight.

However, realize that website expectations are high and dynamic. People want new content, interactivity, video, and easy navigation

This article is part of a series. To read the rest of the series, please click the links below:

• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 1 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 3 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 4 of a series)
• Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 5 of a series)

Permanent Link: Using the Internet to Increase Major and Planned Gift Fundraising (part 2 of a series)

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/using-internet-to-increase-major-and.html

Fundraising Training Feedback AFP Nebraska

Fundraising Training Feedback AFP Nebraska

by Tom Wilson Major Gifts Guru

I want to thank the AFP Nebraska Give & Gain fundraising conference organizers Meg Johnson and Joanne Harse for their hard work in organizing our sessions.

Here are some of their kind words to me after the conference:

"Thank you so much for making our AFP Give & Gain Conference 2009 a huge success! Your professionalism, warmth, great story & wealth of knowledge & experience were a perfect match for our audience. To top it off, your excellent book will continue to reinforce all we learned plus provide more great tips for succeeding in the critical field of fundraising."

"Many, many thanks for the great information. Folks had positive comments and many shared that they needed a 'spark' to get them re-energized . . . and you were just what they needed at the right time! It was a great pleasure working with you."

Permanent Link: Fundraising Training Feedback AFP Nebraska

http://majorgiftsguru.com/2009/10/fundraising-training-feedback-afp.html