Nonprofit Fundraising: Success vs. Productivity for Nonprofits
Nonprofit Fundraising: Success vs. Productivity for Nonprofits
Every nonprofit executive is painfully aware of the challenge of fundraising. You’ve got to raise the money, but the more you raise, the more you need to raise. What worked last time might not work this time. And donor fatigue is growing. Although the specific challenges faced by major charities may seem different from those faced by struggling grass-roots organizations, the same rules apply: nothing happens that doesn’t require the spending of money, somewhere. So the time has come for nonprofit professionals to pay attention to productivity, as well as to volume of income. Here are seven simple tips to get you focused on productivity. Start raising more money today – while spending less to do so.
Tip #1: Fundraising time is expensive. REALLY expensive. One hour of fundraising time likely costs more than $1,000 in opportunity value. That's an expensive asset. If your fundraising team invests its hours in unqualified prospects or unproductive activities, the cost of those hours goes up and up. Use them wisely.
Tip #2: Know who's "right" for you. Invest those expensive hours in high-potential donors and prospects. An 'ideal donor profile,' or Donor Scorecard, will provide a benchmark to your team, so they know which opportunities justify their time. Base your ideal donor profile on past and current successful relationships. If the prospect is a poor match, don't put too much time into the effort.
Tip #3: Lose early. If you can't win at a reasonable cost, then it's best to lose early. Encourage your team to walk away from underqualified opportunities. Their time is too valuable to waste. Congratulate team members who "de-select" underqualified donor prospects.
Tip #4: New prospects cost more than current donors. Before you run around looking for new donors, cultivate the ones you've got. It takes less time, it costs less, and it enhances those valuable relationships. As the relationships deepen, those important donors become a source of leverage, making your job easier and more productive.
Tip #5: Current donors are not enough. No matter how well you maintain current donor relationships, new-donor acquisition is a must for growth. Make sure your team balances its time between new-donor acquisition and current-donor relationships.
Tip #6: Bring some science to the art of fundraising. Great fundraisers are artists. But it's tough to establish predictability and consistency without some science in the mix. Create a process framework that promotes analysis of performance metrics. Track and analyze performance relentlessly with an eye toward productivity.
Tip #7: Choose metrics carefully - not too few and not too many. If you only measure 'dollars in the door,' you can't improve performance or efficiency very well. But if you measure too many things, you and your team will drown in data. Choose a few metrics that give strong insight into growth trends and efficiency.
Nonprofit Fundraising Success vs Productivity for Nonprofits - To learn more about this author, visit Ellen Bristol's Website.
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Is "success" the same thing as "productivity"? Not when it comes to fundraising organizations. "Success" usually means high levels of income or gifts. "Productivity" means producing desired levels of income at controllable costs, ensuring that income is consistent and predictable, and managing the effort with efficiency. Here are a few tips to help you assess and improve the productivity of your nonprofit's fundraising efforts.
Every nonprofit executive is painfully aware of the challenge of fundraising. You’ve got to raise the money, but the more you raise, the more you need to raise. What worked last time might not work this time. And donor fatigue is growing. Although the specific challenges faced by major charities may seem different from those faced by struggling grass-roots organizations, the same rules apply: nothing happens that doesn’t require the spending of money, somewhere. So the time has come for nonprofit professionals to pay attention to productivity, as well as to volume of income. Here are seven simple tips to get you focused on productivity. Start raising more money today – while spending less to do so.
Tip #1: Fundraising time is expensive. REALLY expensive. One hour of fundraising time likely costs more than $1,000 in opportunity value. That's an expensive asset. If your fundraising team invests its hours in unqualified prospects or unproductive activities, the cost of those hours goes up and up. Use them wisely.
Tip #2: Know who's "right" for you. Invest those expensive hours in high-potential donors and prospects. An 'ideal donor profile,' or Donor Scorecard, will provide a benchmark to your team, so they know which opportunities justify their time. Base your ideal donor profile on past and current successful relationships. If the prospect is a poor match, don't put too much time into the effort.
Tip #3: Lose early. If you can't win at a reasonable cost, then it's best to lose early. Encourage your team to walk away from underqualified opportunities. Their time is too valuable to waste. Congratulate team members who "de-select" underqualified donor prospects.
Tip #4: New prospects cost more than current donors. Before you run around looking for new donors, cultivate the ones you've got. It takes less time, it costs less, and it enhances those valuable relationships. As the relationships deepen, those important donors become a source of leverage, making your job easier and more productive.
Tip #5: Current donors are not enough. No matter how well you maintain current donor relationships, new-donor acquisition is a must for growth. Make sure your team balances its time between new-donor acquisition and current-donor relationships.
Tip #6: Bring some science to the art of fundraising. Great fundraisers are artists. But it's tough to establish predictability and consistency without some science in the mix. Create a process framework that promotes analysis of performance metrics. Track and analyze performance relentlessly with an eye toward productivity.
Tip #7: Choose metrics carefully - not too few and not too many. If you only measure 'dollars in the door,' you can't improve performance or efficiency very well. But if you measure too many things, you and your team will drown in data. Choose a few metrics that give strong insight into growth trends and efficiency.
Nonprofit Fundraising Success vs Productivity for Nonprofits - To learn more about this author, visit Ellen Bristol's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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