Issue 47
April 18, 2006

NEWSNOTES is a monthly email newsletter published by NEW. It includes items of interest to the nonprofit community in Washtenaw County and the surrounding areas, as well as resources available at NEW. NEWSNOTES is proud to celebrate its fourth year of publication, with delivery to over 590 subscribers every month! We welcome your feedback and suggestions!

NEW would like to recognize the generous support of its Community Partners:

Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation DTE Energy Foundation
Borders Group, Inc. The James A. & Faith Knight Foundation
Ford Motor Company Fund The Power Foundation
Pfizer Global Research and Development  

IN THIS ISSUE

LEAD STORY
FEATURED ITEMS
REGULAR FEATURES
NEWSNOTES Resource of the Month

The Ask:
How to Ask Anyone for Any Amount for Any Purpose.

Laura Fredericks has written a step by step guide for "making the sale."

Learn more about this title through ResourceConnect, NEW’s free online database of resources for nonprofits.

LEAD STORY

How to Give Your Donors What They Want

by Tim Kersten*

Is your non-profit self-centered?

Many charities are. They think too much in terms of what they want to communicate to their donors instead of what their donors want and need to hear.

Like it or not, your donors only care about certain aspects of your mission—and only if it is presented to them in terms that touch and move them personally. If your nonprofit engages in what I call institutional self-talk, you'll have a hard time improving either acquisition or retention.

So, what do donors want? Here are a few guidelines you'll want to follow in shaping your communications strategy:

  1. Donors want to feel appreciated. This means your fundraising communications should be saturated with gratitude for your donors' support. Tell them they are wonderful, warm, thoughtful human beings who have a heart of gold for caring about your charity and the people or cause you serve.
  2. Donors want to feel involved. That doesn't necessarily mean marching on Washington, D.C., or volunteering their time, though some donors are so inclined. Most donors simply appreciate the opportunity to sign their name on a bookmark they return, along with their gift, to encourage a needy child on her first day of school. Or sign and return note of encouragement placed on a homeless person's meal tray at a rescue mission. Involvement devices like these almost always lift a direct mail fundraising package's response rate.
  3. Donors want to be recognized. This can take many forms. Cultural institutions often publicly list donor or member names in a public display. Other charities list donor names in newsletters or websites. Adding recognition opportunities to a direct mail package is a good way to lift response.
  4. Donors want to help solve problems. Many organizations are afraid or too proud to frankly talk about problems they face. But donors appreciate a charity's honesty and love to be the hero by helping to solve the problem with their gift. It makes them feel important so don't deny them that opportunity.
  5. Donors want to help people. Too many nonprofits focus on programs or abstract principles. Donors want to help people—especially themselves or their loved ones. That's why, when you write your next fundraising letter, you should do all you can to connect the mission of your organization to your donor and her needs and interests.
  6. Donors want to feel more than think. Few would admit to this. None of us wants to believe we wear our emotions on our sleeve. But the truth is that connecting with a donor at a deeply emotional level—even to the point of moving her to tears—is almost guaranteed to strengthen her connection with your organization and yield financial reward for your charity. How do you do this? Tell stories that tug on the heartstrings. There's nothing quite as effective as conveying your organization's mission through the words or experiences of somebody who has been helped by your charity. That's one of the things donors want most: real, tangible proof that their gift made a difference in one person's life.

Obviously, your fundraising letters, newsletters and other communications need to contain information about your charity. But it should always be presented in a way that puts the needs and interests of your donors first. In other words, great direct response fundraising starts with the fundraiser asking, "What do our donors want? What are her needs? What does she care about? What touches her heart? What makes her feel good about supporting our mission?"

If you ask questions like these—and answer them well through well-written and appropriately designed fundraising communications—you will raise more money, retain your donors for longer periods of time, and hopefully keep your board happy with your performance. Job security is a wonderful thing!


*Tim Kersten is Senior Vice President/Executive Creative Director at the Grizzard Agency. Reprinted with permission.

Additional Resources:

FEATURED ITEMS

Special workshop: Governance as Leadership

Monday, May, 22, 2006, 9:00 a.m. – noon
Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building
4800 E Huron River Dr, Ann Arbor
Cost: $75. Register online and save $5

A special workshop in May, Governance as Leadership, will feature a top consultant from BoardSource, the respected source of information on board issues. Michael Daigneault, an expert on governance, ethics and strategic planning, will teach how to look at nonprofit governance in a new way. The Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Michigan Nonprofit Association and NEW are co-sponsoring this special event.

Mr. Daigneault will urge board members to govern not as managers, but as leaders. Governance as Leadership takes a look at the three modes of governance—fiduciary, strategic and generative—that, when combined, enable effective trusteeship. With a focus on generative thinking, the most neglected work of a board of directors, you will learn how to generate important decisions about mission and strategy, how to solve problems and find your true purpose—becoming leaders!
As well as being a senior governance associate consultant for BoardSource, Michael Daigneault heads up DeLeon & Stang, CPAs’ Advisory Services, which provides a wide range of clients with state-of-the-art and cost-effective management, governance, Sarbanes-Oxley, fraud, and ethics services. He is currently serving as the Ethics Officer for the United Way of the National Capital Area.

Take advantage of this visiting specialist to get your board thinking in new ways. Register online and save $5.

Leadership2Go: The Dynamic Duo Part 2
Executive Review and Compensation - Show Me the Money!

Friday, April 28, 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Washtenaw United Way, 2305 Platt Rd., Ann Arbor

Executive Directors and their board chairs won’t want to miss The Dynamic Duo Part 2, Executive Review and Compensation – Show Me the Money! The session will focus on compensation, evaluation, and creating a report card for both executive and board chair performance. Hosts for the morning will be two terrific “duos"—Susan Katz Froning and Paul Saginaw from NEW and Sabrina Keeley and David Parsigian from the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce.

While both executive directors and board chairs are asked to participate, only executive directors need to register. The $15 fee per duo includes a continental breakfast.

Library News

The featured resource this month, The Ask, is just one of the new titles in the Borders Group Nonprofit Resource Library at the NEW Center. Browse the complete list of new acquisitions available to borrow. Visit the library any week day from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Suggestions for new titles are always welcome.

The new 10.0 version of FC Search is due to arrive in early May. This definitive, searchable database of foundations and corporate giving programs can find potential funders and their profiles with just a few mouse clicks. Contact Ann Gladwin (734-998-0160 x 218) to reserve a spot at the computer. Library staff can research potential funders for you for a modest fee.

National Volunteer Week April 23- 29 2006

National Volunteer Week is about thanking one of America's most valuable assets – our volunteers – and calling the public's attention to all that they do to improve our communities. The Points of Light Foundation sponsors the week and offers a toolkit to help you honor your deserving volunteers.

NEW would like to publicly thank our dedicated board members.

Here at NEW, we sing the praises of our own Clark Kent, one special super volunteer Mike Smerza. Mike, who is beginning his 10th year with NEW, has donated many hours each week, facilitating the communication between staff and the database, as well as maintaining our website. Mike tackles any request with intelligence and good humor, although his head is a funny shape from banging it on the desk so much. Thank you Mike! We’re indebted to you!

Those of you who coordinate volunteers, or wear that hat just a fraction of the time, are welcome to be part of Washtenaw Association of Volunteer Coordinators (WAVC)—an informal group that meets five times a year to share ideas and network. Please contact April Pickrel, to have your email added to the list. The next meeting will be a potluck lunch on Thursday, May 18. Contact Ann Gladwin (734-998-0160 x 218) for details.

Find volunteer program management resources at ResourceConnect.

Bob Lyons Community Leadership Award

Cleary University is now accepting applications from nonprofit organizations in Washtenaw and Livingston counties that wish to nominate deserving volunteers for the 2006 Bob Lyons Community Leadership Award.

The annual award honors the memory of the late Bob Lyons, an outstanding community leader in the Ann Arbor area and a strong supporter of Cleary University. A formal presentation of the award to the volunteer and a cash gift of $1,000 to the nominating organization will be made at Cleary University’s annual Founder’s Day dinner in October.

Information and applications are available from Cleary University’s Development Office; the deadline for submitting applications is June 16. For more information, contact: Janet Filip, Director of Development and Alumni Relations (517 548-3670, ext. 2228).

Declaration for America's Nonprofits

The Nonprofit Congress is an unprecedented initiative of the National Council of Nonprofit Associations to unite America’s diverse nonprofit organizations, especially the small and mid-size charitable organizations that comprise almost 80 percent of the nonprofits in the US.

On October 16 – 17, 2006 approximately 500 nonprofit delegates will gather in Washington, DC to identify the key issues for nonprofits, and create a policy platform for the sector. The information on which they base this collaborative work will come from information gathered through Town Hall meetings held throughout the country this spring and summer.

Individuals and organizations can get involved by signing the initiative’s Declaration for America’s Nonprofits, participating in a local Town Hall meeting, attending the national meeting in October in Washington, DC, and by providing input online through discussion forums and a blog on the Nonprofit Congress website.

Funder of the initiative are the Nonprofits’ Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC), the Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance, Risk Retention Group (ANI-RRG). and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. You are invited to voice your support for the work of America's nonprofit organizations by signing the Declaration for America's Nonprofits.

Champions in Action Program

Charter One Bank Foundation and local station WXYZ-TV 7 are looking for a nonprofit that deserves recognition for its contributions to the issue of homelessness. Their Champions in Action Program will reward a deserving nonprofit with $25,000 as well as promotional and public relations support. The application deadline is July 7, 2006. Find eligibility requirements and more information on their website.

Learn About Planned Giving

The LEAVE A LEGACY® program of the Planned Giving Roundtable of Southeast Michigan invites attendance at their annual Development Day: Wednesday, May 17 at The Fairlane Club in Dearborn. Panels of experts will cover such topics as ‘Working Collaboratively With A Donor’s Financial Advisors To Secure Gifts’ and I

It is suggested that attendees be nonprofit development officers, executives and trustees, planned giving specialists, attorneys, accountants, and consultants. LEAVE A LEGACY® members may attend free of charge; the fee for others is $35 for a half-day (including lunch) or $50 for the whole day.

To RSVP or get more information, contact LEAVE A LEGACY® (810-678-8514)

Forums on the "Stop OverSpending" (SOS) Proposal

Michigan voters are being asked to sign an initiative petition called Stop OverSpending (SOS), which would put a rigid spending formula into the state constitution. This proposal is modeled on Colorado’s so-called “Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights” (TABOR) that was adopted in that state in 1992. It is possible that this proposal will be on the ballot for the November elections.

Register for free to attend one of the two forums to learn more about this initiative and the impact TABOR has had on the people of Colorado.

- Monday, May 8 in Lansing, 10 a.m. - noon
- Tuesday,May 9 in Farmington, 10 a.m. - noon

The forums are hosted by the Michigan Nonprofit Association and the MNA Metro Detroit Partnership, and are co-sponsored by the Michigan League for Human Services. Contact the Michigan Nonprofit Association 517-492-2400 with questions.

Technology: Using Social Networking Applications

Social networking applications such as Friendster and My Space are very popular, especially with the younger generation. The question: “Is there a use for social networking applications in the nonprofit workplace?” Join an online discussion on social networking happening at the TechSoup forums for two days only, April 19 and 20. Learn:

  • What do we mean by Social Networking applications?
  • How do you promote your organization’s services through a social networking application?
  • How can an online social network help your organization find volunteers and raise funds?

You will come away with practical tips, models, resources, and tools for bringing the collaborative technologies of social networking applications to your own organization. It’s free and there’s no need to register.

The MasterMind Series Continues

Fundraising guru Kim Klein will speak on “Building Your Individual Donor Base” in 3 different locations on 3 successive days in May. Klein will share her experience with small grassroots organizations, providing information to help you work smarter to raise more money. Topics will include identifying donors, how much to ask for, when to ask, who should ask (and how to get them to do it) and—most importantly—how to build on the donor base. Register by April 20 to get a reduced rate.

Monday, May 8 - Detroit
Tuesday, May 9 - Grand Rapids
Wednesday, May 10 - Petoskey
The Mastermind series is sponsored by Michigan Association of Community Arts Agencies.

Fund Development Class at Lawrence Tech

Lawrence Technological University’s Center for Nonprofit Management will offer a graduate nonprofit class this summer. The course, entitled Comprehensive Fund Development for Nonprofit Organizations, earns credit toward the Certificate in Fund Raising Management (CFRM) from Indiana University.

The course will be held on five Saturdays, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. May 20; June 3, 17 and 24; and July 8 at Lawrence Tech’s Southfield campus.

Those who don’t wish to pursue a graduate nonprofit management degree can participate as noncredit seminar students and earn CFRM credit. A bachelor’s degree is required. The cost is $600 plus text.

For more information, contact Jerry Lindman (248-204-3095) Director, Center for Nonprofit Management, College of Management or visit their website. Information about Indiana University’s professional fund-raising certification can be found here.

Reminders

REGULAR FEATURES

Nonprofit Bulletin Board

Visit NEW's Nonprofit Bulletin Board to post and view notices about free resources, fundraising opportunities, and other items relevant to the southeast Michigan nonprofit community.

Events Calendar

Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau calendar of events. E-mail Nick Miller to request a password to submit an event.

 
 
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