Steps to Successful Development, Part II

Louis D. Brandeis

Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, 1916 - 1939

 "We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both."

Last month, we shared numerous fundraising strategies, from planning to mobilizing your resources. This month, let us look at additional strategies to help you make the most of your development efforts:

1.       Publicize. Announce all your fundraising activities, events, and annual appeals. Explain the goal, the need, and how to donate or get involved. Be sure to name the leadership. Use media, personal letters, newsletters, etc. to reach as many people as possible.

2. Raise. Assign each event and giving program a start and end date. Keep an up-to-date, accurate database.
3. Report. Provide regular updates to plot success and challenges as they arise. Make sure donors are aware of the importance of their gifts. If a fundraiser is a community event, quickly get the results to the local media for publication no later than 10 days after the event.
4. Evaluate. Analyze why a goal was met or why it was not. Over time, you will learn what about your mission is most important to the community and donors and what needs careful thought and revision.
5. Celebrate. Even if an accomplishment is small, everyone involved should share in it. People like participating in success and will stay with you. From thank-you letters to parties, celebrate every success you have.
6. Maintain. Keep in touch with donors and event participants. Use newsletters, annual reports, a speaker’s bureau, and other avenues to gain continued support and expand your volunteer and donor base.

For more information and support in implementing your development strategies, please call us at (302) 530-6806 or visit us at www.macintyreassociates.com  We look forward to working with you.

Arts in the Community

We at MacIntyre Associates are working with a wonderful local arts organization- The Oxford Arts Alliance in Oxford, PA. It has been an important part of the Oxford arts and culture scene since 2008. Their gallery is located in downtown Oxford and provides a place for monthly exhibits, music and a variety of art classes in multiple media, summer camps, movies etc. One of my favorites is their Artisan Gift Shop with all items produced for sale by local creative individuals. You get the idea.... the arts are flourishing in this area, developed and run by local leadership.

Check them out at their website www.OxfordArt.org or stop by the Gallery 38 South Third St. in Oxford.

A great example of local initiative which provides a wonderful opportunity to expand arts and cultural experiences as they build bridges with other community activities and resources in the Oxford area.

See you out and about! 

Steps To Successful Development

The Mending Wall 

(excerpt)

Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
 And to whom I was like to give offence. 
Something there is that doesn't love a wall, 
That wants it down.  
by Robert Frost

As you develop your fundraising strategies and activities, this checklist should prove helpful: 

 1. Plan. Build a campaign that is integral to your strategic plan. It should bring you closer to achieving your mission and vision. Set a monetary goal for every initiative.

 2. Involve. Your leadership should own the plan, with the Board, staff, and major supporters taking part in shaping it. Their enthusiasm will build support because they are your primary ambassadors to the community.

 3. Create. Develop a key message, and repeat it in all your fundraising campaigns. The message should connect the value you deliver with your rationale for development activities.

 4. Test. Validate your message with a small group of supporters. Take their comments seriously, and adjust your message as necessary. Establish a financial goal for each activity, and understand your indicators of success.

 5. Target. Identify a spectrum of donors appropriate to each activity: individuals, companies, and foundations. Examine your database and expand where necessary. Solicit small and medium-size gifts that enable as many people as possible to support your efforts. Modest gifts can increase over time as your relationships with donors mature.

 6. Secure. Leadership gifts from your Board, previous donors, and senior staff should be pledged before any campaign goes public. The amount is not as important as the participation level.

 7. Mobilize. Find people in the community, beyond the Board, to serve as a core volunteer base for promoting your goals and contacting potential donors. Provide them with training, specific tasks, and rewards.

This is a good starting point, and remember to look for Part II of this article next month. For more information and support in implementing your development strategies, please contact us at (302) 530-6806 or visit us at www.macintyreassociates.com.  

February Recipe - Winter Salad 

This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten. Her vegetables were slightly different and she didn't add the apple/Chinese pear. I think it's yummy and tastes so fresh you have hope for spring. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup each of julienned red/green cabbage, arugula, Brussel sprouts.

• Amounts can vary but should be in equal proportion

Handful dried cranberries

1/3 cup thinly sliced pear

Oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper for dressing

Shaved parmesan to taste.

With a glass of white wine and a fire this is a perfect lunch.

Arts in the Community

Getting to know Ryan MacPherson, the new Development Associate at OperaDelaware. 

A healthy arts scene in a community is often a good sign that there is a thriving economy too.

We are in an area blessed with a plethora of musical performances, staged plays, special cinema screenings, art exhibitions and pop up concerts and activities too numerous to mention. There is always somewhere to go and something to see.

As you can tell OperaDelaware (ODE) is my personal favorite, even if I can't read a note of music. To be transported into a world of magic lifts my heart and spirit every time. Their Spring Festival in 2016 drew critical praise.

In fact, the Washington Post noted "it's worth the trip". This was for the staged east coast premiere of the forgotten Opera Amleto  by Franco Faccio based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Maybe you saw the "Essere" (to be) signs all over the place? This year the spring festival features Rossini in all his glory. Check it all out on the ODE website: www.OperaDE.org.

I urge you to find a favorite arts organization and support them with attendance and donations. The arts give us additional perspectives and we can all benefit from them.

See you out and about! 

"Thank you, Donors"

Nonprofits, your year-end appeals are over, and I sincerely hope they were successful. Now is the time to be mindful of saying "thank you" to donors so they know that you are truly appreciative. In all cases, think of yourself as the donor and follow your best instincts.

I love lists, so here is one with tips on thanking donors.

Remember that timeliness is a virtue.

All thank-you letters for donations made in December should be written and mailed before the end of January. Within 30 days, is my mantra.

Mind your spelling. Misspelling a name is a cardinal sin. I'm appalled at the times I write a check or register for an event to find my name spelled Bonnie, not Bonny, on a thank you or nametag. Check carefully; it's how donors spell their name, not how you think they spell it. While you are at it, make sure the names in your database are spelled correctly, too. P.S. - Organizations that misspell my name don't usually get another donation.

Personalize the salutation. "Dear Friend" doesn't work. The donor took time to write the check, so recognize the effort and use the name they use. Also, do not say "Dear Ms. S. Jones;" say "Dear Susan." You can do better than lifting the name from a spreadsheet column.

Don't be boring. Boring letters are not read, so avoid a long introduction. Get straight to the point: What will happen because of the donation? Refer back to why you asked. Keep the introduction short and service-focused. 

Acknowledge special requests. "We will keep your gift anonymous" and "Your gift will go to the swimming program as requested" are two examples. The donor knows that you heard them. Keep notes like this in your database for future reference.

Focus your thank you on the impact of gifts. Refer to why you asked and be specific about getting started on the program or initiative to which the appeal is targeted and the difference it will make. If part of the gift will go to the endowment, stress how important this is to effective stewardship.

Provide contact information. Donors will want to know whom to contact if they have questions, if there's an error, or if they want to make an additional gift...you never can tell. Giving an email that says "info@myprogram.org" is totally unacceptable; give the contact information for a specific person at your organization.

An Alibi Engagement Study found that 21% of donors say they were never thanked for their gift. This is a cautionary tale for donor cultivation if I ever heard one. For further information on this or other development strategies, please give me a call at (302) 530-6806.

9 Important Rules for a Successful Annual Appeal Letter – Part II

While the purpose of your annual appeal is to raise money, it is also to solicit and cultivate individual donors. These donors become the backbone of support for your organization’s maintenance and growth as they will ultimately represent 80% of the source of donated income. The following suggestions are meant as a guideline. Your board and development committee are encouraged to add to this outline given their knowledge of the community.

• Timing – Hold your annual appeal the same time each year. Consider tying the timing to a significant milestone. Once established, keep the timing consistent. Many annual appeals are held at the end of the calendar year as individual donors are rounding off their annual tax deductible contributions. This is unnecessary and does not always guarantee a higher return. 

• Purpose – Each year, identify a specific need that the annual appeal will support. It can be any activity that supports the strategic plan. Be sure to fully explain it in the “ask” document. It is also advisable to give donors the opportunity to contribute to an endowment fund. For example, you might state that a certain portion of each gift goes to the endowment to ensure that the organization continues to carry out its mission.

• Goal – Establish and clearly state a monetary goal for each annual appeal. Documentation of need can be attached to the letter. In any year, it is perfectly fine and even encouraged to celebrate the success of previous campaigns. 

• Challenge Gifts – Before you go to the community for an annual appeal, solicit the board and several significant supporters. Mention the gifts from your own agency resources, family, or friends as a percentage of the goal raised in any solicitation. 

• Database – Previous donors, vendors, tenants, community partners, and other supporters identified by the Board will form the beginnings of a database. Have your development committee spend time identifying names to be added to the database. 

• Solicitation Packet – An appeal letter, a return card and envelope, and an information piece about your organization are standard to a solicitation. Names gathered from return cards can be used for growing the database, inviting people to special events, and mailing newsletters and activity updates. Contact information requests should always include email addresses.

• Appeal Duration – The development committee should determine the appeal’s length. Most appeals peak between 45 to 60 days. 

• Acknowledgements – Acknowledge all gifts as soon as possible; best practice is within 48 hours of receipt. You can use a form letter, but have it personally signed by the board president or development committee chairperson. Carefully check the spelling of every name from a check or return card.

• Publicity – Publicly announce the campaign’s success. This builds ongoing community credibility and gives a sense of appreciation to those who worked on the appeal.

We can suggest additional strategies to help you produce a more effective annual appeal. Call Bonny Anderson at (302) 530-6806 today to boost your rate of positive responses. Visit our website for more on how we help.

Recipes and Cooking Hints: Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Speaking of comfort food who doesn’t remember this…simple and still great time after time.
Ingredients: 

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 14/15 oz. can pineapple(chunks, rounds ,or crushed, it doesn’t matter).
• ¼ c. butter
• 2/3c. brown sugar

1. Prepare cake mix according to directions****use pineapple juice from can with water to make up the amt. of liquid calledfor in the mix
2. In an oblong baking dish melt brown sugar in butter in a 300 oven; mix well to cover bottom of baking dish.
3. Spread drained pineapple over brown sugar/butter saving juice for cake mix
4. Pour cake mix over pineapple and bake according to box directions.
5. Remove from oven and invert to have pineapple on top and to let sugar drizzle through the cake.

Yum…..

7 Important Rules for a Successful Annual Appeal Letter – Part I

Are you conducting an end-of-year annual appeal? If so, you need to plan now. Here’s how to get prospective donors to open the envelope, read the contents, and take action.

Mind your mailing list: Is it up-to-date with current information? Did you verify that all names are spelled correctly? Do you update your list regularly?

Make a great first impression: Do you want the addressee to recognize you? Look at the solicitations you receive—what impressions do they leave?

Maximize the P.S.: Believe it or not, 90% of recipients read the P.S. first! Put your most important message in the body of the letter and in the P.S. 

Avoid Eye Strain: Today, a 14 pt. font is the minimum. Don’t make the reader squint.

Ask more than once and make it reader-centric: Don’t wait until the last paragraph to make your request. After all, the ask is why you are writing. Reminders of what their donation will achieve should be sprinkled throughout. Here are some ideas:

·        “you make it possible”

·        “can’t do it without you”

·        “please join me”

Make sure you have defined the “it.”

Write like people talk: Read the letter out loud to someone. Is it coherent and does it flow? You are not writing Moby Dick; you are making a 21^st century appeal for funds.

Follow up: After you write your thank-you notes and send the IRS letter, you need to tell donors what you did with their money. This is part of ongoing cultivation and communication.

We have many specific strategies to help you write a more effective annual appeal letter. Call MacIntyre Associates today at (302) 530-6806 to boost your rate of positive responses. We’re here to help. Visit our website.

Recipes and Cooking Hints: Orzo Salad

This is a great dish for a buffet or as a side dish. Easy to make and fun to prepare with children. The vinaigrette is key to the taste. The flavors are complex so don’t omit the basil and mint.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 ½ c. orzo
• 1 15oz. can garbanzo beans
• 1 ½ cups of mixed grape or teardrop tomatoes, split
• ¾ c. chopped red onion
• ½ c. fresh basil leaves
• ¼ c. fresh mint leaves

1. Bring stock to a boil, cook orzo for about 7 minutes, until done but firm (al dente). Stir frequently. 2. Strain and let cool slightly.
3. Mix in vegetables and herbs.
4. Add vinaigrette to coat lightly.
5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Vinaigrette:

• ½ c. red wine
• ¼ c. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1 c. olive oil
• 2 tsp. salt
• ¾ tsp black pepper

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender adding olive oil last and slowly with machine running on low speed. Check for seasoning.
2. Warm orzo will absorb vinaigrette so reserve some to add before serving if needed.
Salad is best if made several hours before serving.