HGAFundraising’s Post

#Nonprofits Did you know millennials’ giving motivations are tied to their strong social consciousness and how they see themselves as philanthropists? When a nonprofit has thoughtful answers for tough questions, it can both help educate a prospective donor and help foster a more personal relationship. How does your nonprofit answer these questions: 🎯 How do you measure and report on the effectiveness of your programs? Do you have any plans to change or improve your evaluation process? 🎯 What are the main obstacles that stand between you and your mission, and how do you plan to overcome them? 🎯 Do you regularly have the resources to cover your budget? Why or why not?

#Nonprofits Did you know millennials’ giving motivations are tied to their strong social consciousness and how they see themselves as philanthropists? When a nonprofit has thoughtful answers for tough questions, it can both help educate a prospective donor and help foster a more personal relationship. How does your nonprofit answer these questions: 🎯 How do you measure and report on the effectiveness of your programs? Do you have any plans to change or improve your evaluation process? 🎯 What are the main obstacles that stand between you and your mission, and how do you plan to overcome them? 🎯 Do you regularly have the resources to cover your budget? Why or why not?

🕵️♀️ Hidden contributions are gifts we need to be able account for in our budgets. I once worked with a devoted nonprofit fundraiser who, out of love for the mission, covered his own travel expenses. His intention was beautiful – a personal gift to the cause he believed in so deeply. However, when he transitioned to a different role, the organization faced an unexpected challenge. The true cost of the position had been underestimated, making the budgetary transition more difficult.This situation highlights an important lesson: we need to honor and record all contributions, including those made by our dedicated staff and volunteers. What are some of the Hidden Contributions at your organization that you might need to capture? Want to capture the hidden costs of your budget? Uncover yours and get our FREE Hidden Costs Revealer Worksheet: https://lnkd.in/gRrYeAqW #NonprofitEmpowerment

1. A Love Money Donor Will Ask You Questions About What You Want To Do Curiosity about your process and plans is not just a part of due diligence for donors, or a demand for accountability at every stage of a project. Their ongoing support ought to come with genuine interest in your work, and that means questions, sometimes, or even mostly, with no other motive than to understand. You can be proactive and communicate regularly with donors via newsletter, social media, or personal messages, to satisfy that curiosity and create a sense of mutual trust. 2. In A Love Money Relationship, Donors Integrate Your Words Into A Larger Picture Of The World You know how couples start to pick up on each other’s phrasing and peculiar phrases? Love money donors will be similarly influenced over time, as they take your work in. Your work will inspire and excite them. It will give them new perspectives, helping them to see the world more clearly, and perhaps even more kindly, and their words will reflect that. Take your words and yourself seriously around love money donors, because they certainly will. 3. Love Money Donors Will Not Attempt To Mentor You Without Your Consent When people get excited about a project and are figuring out how they can be involved, their searching can sometimes come with unsolicited advice. Hell, they may even just misread the situation and think that you are asking for advice when you are not. This is just part of their learning process. We will talk more later about one of the golden rules of fundraising, which is “when you want money, ask for advice,” but let’s not deal with that now. There is a big difference between offering advice and... Check out the rest of the post here: https://lnkd.in/gm7P8kS3 #nonprofit #fundraising #donorrelationships #SKblogs

Giving Tuesday is just as critical for the rest of the 1.8 million nonprofits that operate in the US. The sheer number of organizations competing for donors’ attention makes for an incredibly tough environment for nonprofits to play in. Today is all about coming together to support the causes that make a difference. Whether you give your time, money, or voice, every effort counts. Learn more about the impact of Giving Tuesday and how you can participate. 💙 It’s Giving Tuesday, Here’s What You Need To Know https://lnkd.in/daBwiUzB #GivingTuesday #GiveBack #CommunityImpact Elevate It Now®

The dumbest reason to choose a board member: THEY LOOK RICH. I see it all the time. A small nonprofit gets connected with someone that they think has a lot of money. Then comes the problem... they invite the "rich" person to join their board. No idea how much they care. They've never given a gift. No real knowledge of the potential board member's ideology, capacity, or generosity level. Now they're on the board. Yikes! It's very possible that person you thought looked rich is just a huge spender, massively in debt, and gives away almost no money every year. Don't ask someone to join your board when you first meet them. Get to know them over time. Ask for a gift. See how they respond. Don't ask someone to join your board so that they'll be more likely to give. Ask people who are already all in on your mission to join your board. #OneVisitAway #nonprofits #philanthropy #MajorGiftMillions P.S. Just a few more spots left to save big on Major Gift Millions before I reach 500 students enrolled. Use the code SALE at checkout.

Have you come across a grant that asks for support letters? Was it as easy as asking a trusted nonprofit to send one your way? Probably not. Support letters are one of the many regularly required attachments that require time and attention. Today we’re walking you through the steps of this often-overlooked aspect of proposal development. Join the conversation today: https://bit.ly/3ZlFlf3

Struggling to find meaningful ways to honor your donors and their loved ones? Many nonprofits find it challenging to show appreciation in a personal and impactful way, which can affect donor retention and loyalty. Creating a special connection and recognizing the significance of their contributions is essential for fostering long-term relationships. Givecloud’s tributes feature allows your supporters to make donations in honor or memory of someone special. This not only fosters deeper connections but also adds a personal touch to their giving experience. Celebrate their contributions and create lasting legacies that inspire others. By offering a meaningful way to honor loved ones, you can enhance donor engagement and strengthen your community. 💝🌟 #TributeDonations #HonoringDonors #Givecloud

3 metrics to identify top donor growth prospects in the next 5 minutes. (Use these to identify your most effective fundraising actions) Get a list of all past givers and filter by three categories. 1️⃣ Most recent gifts 2️⃣ Most gifts 3️⃣ Largest gifts These are your Recency, Frequency, Monetary metrics. The top individuals in each list, and expecially the ones who appear near the top on multiple lists are the relationships you want to cultivate by yesterday. But today will work too. :-) Go be with them, hear their life story, know and be known, invite them in for a tour, ask them about their kids, ask about their personal vision, join them in their home for a meal. By drawing them close, you offer them not only an avenue to make a difference in a cause they already care about, but also a rare chance in today's world - the chance for authentic connection. Basic? Sure. But too many small nonprofit leaders only have a few hours a week to dedicate to fundraising. This one step towards making sure those hours are well spent.

I don't have all the answers…most of us don't…often time, fundraising success comes from just showing up and doing the fundamentals, and IF you do that consistently, you're going to book meetings, secure some gifts, and hit your goals… I'm not saying it's just a numbers game because you and I have seen colleagues who send many emails and make tons of calls, but they are still not hitting their goals. You have to do the fundamentals right: 1. Identify the right people (several in the organization or community) 2. Have a relevant project applicable to them 3. Reach out via multiple channels and craft the communications properly 4. Ensure you don't give up after one attempt…if first you fail, dust yourself off and try again. Now, this simplified process doesn't lead to a donation every time. No practice I'm aware of does. But it sure feels good when it works.