I know, I know… I am going to start working on doing more of the things I recommend. So, I am now on Facebook. Please go like my page if you have a minute.
I need 25 likes in order to get my web link, and I would appreciate your help.
Thanks!
Author: Bridget L. Brandt
Fun Year End Team Building or Party Idea
When you open yourself up to others you can build stronger relationships, here is a fun Mad Lib that you can do at a party or for a year-end team building event.
2013 Year in Review Mad Lib
“In 2013, I finally chucked my (embarrassing closet lurker). I’ll never tell how long I’d had it. The most delicious thing I ate in 2013 was (OMG-SO-TASTY meal). Last year, (name of your bud/mom/guy) was my biggest fan. Thanks, boo! Because I rocked (fab accomplishment), in 2014 I will treat myself to (Kimye*-level indulgence). Too bad the song(your personal favorite song) can’t start playing when I walk into a room. The nicest thing someone said to me last year was (great compliment). My happiest nonprofit moment was (sappy selfless moment.) I was scared when I (feat of strength/bravery). But I did it anyway, and I felt so (teary-eyed emotion). Next, I want to (activity). This year, I will reserve more time for (feel-good priority) and less time for (lame waste of time). Gotta get myself in gear.”
Take-away: Open up to others to find more about yourself. Here are my answers!
Bridget’s 2013 Year in Review Mad Lib
“In 2013, I finally chucked my collection of old t-shirts. I’ll never tell how long I’d had it. The most delicious thing I ate in 2013 was Brick Mac & Cheese, soooo yummy. Last year, Michelle Hensel was my biggest fan. Thanks, boo! Because I rocked growing the chamber membership, in 2013 I will treat myself to vacation somewhere warm. Too bad the song Hit Me With Your Best Shot can’t start playing when I walk into a room.
The nicest thing someone said to me last year was that I was the meanest nice person they had ever met.
My happiest nonprofit moment was helping connect nonprofits in our community to each other and potential donors.
I was scared when I started this new position,
But I did it anyway, and I felt so AMAZING to see it grow by 653%!
(Adapted from Self, January 2012, Pg 22).
Next, I want to enjoy it!
This year, I will reserve more time for ME and less time for COMPLAINERS AND WHINERS.
Gotta get myself in gear.”
Taking Advantage of Christmas
December is the nonprofits time to shine, and while it seems wrong to “Take Advantage of Christmas” that is exactly what every nonprofit should be doing.
In 2012, it was expected that the average American would spend $854 on gifts for friends and loved ones. It should come as no surprise that the average cost of gifts is so high. With advertisements for big sales everywhere, there is a greater chance for overspending. According to an article released by MSN in December 2011, American parents planned to spend an average of $271 per child on Christmas gifts. One in 10 parents said the plan was to spend over $500 per child. While this is just an average, American families can definitely spend an astronomical amount of money on Christmas gifts.* Also not surprising according to a national survey, 70% of Americans would welcome less emphasis on gift giving and spending.
And here are a few more interesting facts (yes, there is a point to all of this):
- Middle-class Americans give a far bigger share of their discretionary income to charities than the rich. A report by The Chronicle of Philanthropy showed that households that earn $50,000 to $75,000 give an average of 7.6% of their discretionary income to charity, compared with an average of 4.2% for people who make $100,000 or more.
- In a survey by Ask Your Target Market, 57% of respondents said they were donating to charity in some way over the holiday season. Of those who do, 46% said they make a monetary donation directly to an organization, 64% donate to a third party like a bell ringer or a store that collects donations for a charity at checkout, 24% buy gifts for people through a mitten tree or adopt-a-family program, 63% donate items like home goods or nonperishable foods, and 22% donate time by volunteering.
- The average person makes 24% of their annual donations between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, according to research from the Center on Philanthropy.
I could go on all day with these, but the point wouldn’t change. You should capitalize on the season! Since we are right in the middle of the season I am asking you to think about what your organization could be doing right now that would help move your organization forward.
For example, I know a therapeutic riding center that is doing horseback tours through a trail of lights at their center. This is a great fundraiser, it brings people to the center, and gives them a chance to share what they traditionally do for the community. In addition, it gives parents a chance to create an experience that is not about a gift, it happens at the perfect time of year, and it targets the middle class. This year in just a few evenings, they will raise more money than they do at any other event all year.
So, my challenge for you is to take a look around in your community right now. Does your community have a Santa breakfast, a trail of lights, a holiday stroll, etc…? Where could your organization fit into the season and further your cause?
Take-away: Set up a team meeting next week to brainstorm. Now is the perfect time to be thinking about what you could have been doing and start preparing for next year.
Rise of the Nonprofits
We know how valuable the nonprofit sector is to the economy, our communities, and the people we all serve, but that story is sometimes hard to tell. I have found that the best way to communicate important messages is through an interesting story and great facts. This series of infographics does just that. Check out The Rise of the Nonprofit Sector.
Take-away: Share just one of these great facts today. Together we can all show the world, just how important our sector is!
Great Affordable Fundraising Video Ideas
We don’t all have big video budgets. Boohoo!
Seriously, boohoo. In a perfect world all nonprofits would have unlimited marketing budgets, and the opportunity to broadcast the good work they do.
Sadly, we don’t live in a perfect world…we live in a “let’s make it work” kind of world.
So, let’s make it work! Here are some ideas for videos that you can do for free, or very inexpensively.
1. Be clever!
2. Use free resources!
3. If you don’t have the time or skill, use an inexpensive resource. I had this video made using a contractor from the website Fivver. It cost me $5!
Take-away: Great video is great, but good video is better than no video. Make a video for your nonprofit today. Keep it short, keep it simple, and don’t forget your call to action.
Share what you do here!
5 Simple A+ Gala Tips
For many nonprofits the annual gala is the biggest fundraiser of the year. I have been to many gala’s and each one seems a remake of the last, but every now and then one stands out from the crowd. What makes some gala’s worth more than others? And what makes some more memorable than others? The difference is always in the details, and some of those details are fairly easy to implement.
Here are a few ideas for creating a stand out event, that are inexpensive and effective:
1. Show Me the Way– There is nothing more frustrating than paying a lot of money for a ticket to an event and then not being able to find your seat. Have volunteers greet guests and show them to their table. It is an easy way to start the evening off right. During the trip to the table volunteers can share why you are there, what you are planning to do with the funds raised, and how successful you have been with prior years monies.
2. Breeze On By– Create a simple check-in and check out process for your silent auction. Insure that you have enough volunteers to man both stations. You certainly don’t want guests waiting in a long line to check out during the best part of the event or right before they leave the event. Pre-register guest so that they can be charged while they are at the event without having to wait in line. Then have them simply pick up any winnings on the way out.
Photo Booths are a fun way to make a gala event memeorable.
3. Make It Fun– Do something fun and memorable. Photo booths are popular right now and they are a great example of adding fun to an event.
4. Surprise and Delight– I like to make sure that each event I do has an element of surprise. For example, you could purchase keepsakes for each guest, or have a stash of extra drink tickets to pass out during the event (of course, you planned it all along, but the guests don’t know that.) Maybe a guest appearance by a local celebrity. FOMO is a very contagious disease. (FOMO-Fear of Missing Out)
5. Follow-up– I once had the donor of an auction item ask me for a receipt when I picked up the item. Of course, I happily gave it, but I mentioned that after the event everyone would be mailed a receipt. She kindly replied that everyone told her that, but almost no one ever delivered them. Be sure and send hand-written thank-you notes and receipts.
Take-away: What are you doing to make your gala an A+ event?
Galas are very time intensive events, if your organization is making an investment in hosting one, make sure you make it worth it.
Year End Fund-raising: Secrets From Those in the Know
Today, I had the great pleasure of speaking at the Utah Society of Fundraiser’s in Salt Lake City. A flight delay and a few travel hick-ups later we had an amazing session.
As we all know, the best tips and advice don’t come from “experts”… they come from those that are doing the campaigns day in and day out.
I have taken the liberty of compiling my top learnings from the professionals at today’s session. They are not all about year-end fund-raising, but they do all tie together because as we all know the success of our year-end campaign ties very closely to the success of our program.
1. CRM. The ability to analyze, mine, and share data is so important. I know it is a challenge to get everyone on the same page, but the benefits of one database far outweigh the challenges of implementation.
2. Tell a great story. Really work on solidifying your story. Think about what happens when your nonprofit ceases to exist. Do people die, do people starve, do people lose their jobs due to lack of education??? Share the realities of your story.
3. Share your impact. Hand in hand with the reality of your organization is the impact you are making. Is it that 85% of the children in your program find good homes, is it that your organization has provided 2000 free nights of hospice care, or is it that you have provided 27 scholarships to single moms? No matter the impact share what you are doing in a meaningful way.
As promised, here are the slides I shared during our class.
Take-away: Don’t let this year’s campaign season pass you by. Get out there and start sharing your story and raising some funds for your cause.
Loyalty Goes Both Ways
This is an article published in the Nonprofit Times, based on my talk at the Bridge Conference this summer.
Before Bridget Brandt got pregnant, she was a nonprofit’s dream volunteer. She did every event and fundraiser she could for Big Brothers Big Sisters, and was a Big Sister three times.
Then she had a baby and didn’t have time to volunteer. Messages from BBBS were nothing but positive and happy for her…and then she never heard from them again.
“They didn’t ask me to volunteer, give money, come to events, nothing,” said Brandt, president and CEO of the Greater Leander Chamber of Commerce in Leander, Texas.
After relating this story to a crowd, a representative from BBBS came up to her and said she was appalled at Brandt’s treatment. Still, Brandt never heard from the organization again.
Her message to attendees of the 2013 Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising: Don’t treat your supporters like BBBS treated her.
“Face reality: Maybe our baby is ugly,” was Brandt’s first tip. She meant that you should acknowledge that your organization is not perfect and might, in fact, have serious barriers to obtaining donor loyalty.
Make sure your staff and volunteers know for what you are raising money. Brandt recommends putting a fact sheet together ahead of the event that tells your organization’s mission, what’s happening at the event, what the event is raising money for, how the money will be used, contact information for board members and staff, and perhaps an attendee list. “It’s saved me more often than not,” she said.
Websites need to be donor-friendly. Brandt cited Cygnus research that showed donors want a website to show organizational impact (80 percent of respondents), success stories (74 percent), short details about the organization (71 percent) and brief financial statistics (43 percent). “Use video and graphics, create interaction, get the donor involved, don’t have a boring donation page and make sure there’s one click to donate,” said Brandt.
The most active days for viewing video are weekdays, peaking on Wednesdays, said Brandt. Friday, Saturday and Sunday have the highest engagement in terms of average minutes watched. Remember that the next time you plan on posting a video to your organization’s website. Brandt recommended powtoon.com to create free videos, and fiverr.com, where “you can find just about anything for $5,” she said. Post videos on your site and on YouTube, which will help with Google search rankings.
Keep videos short — about 15 seconds — and have a call to action in the video. “Tell people what you want them to do,” said Brandt.
Brandt’s number one tip is to handwrite thank you notes. “I know it’s a challenge,” she said. “You’re busy. It doesn’t matter. It’s the best thing you can do for loyalty.” No one has ever said, “Stop thanking me,” said Brandt.
Other tips Brandt shared included:
- Stay in touch. Send newsletters; even if they’re unread. They’re a great way to keep your name awareness high.
- Use technology to help. Marketing automation can help track donors, avoid duplicate entry and increase efficiency.
- Be where your donors are and that means get social. Brandt recommended using HootSuite to automate your social media, and using PowerPoint to create infographics.
- Stalk donors. Set up Google Alerts for major donors, board members and employees.
- Test, test, test. Try Headline Analyzer to rate your email subjects. NPT
Repost: How to Avoid the December Barrage
The article below is a repost from The Chronicle of Philanthropy. It is a great article with data that I plan to use for coming presentations. Sarah and I are of the same opinion, year-end fundraising is fantastic, but well thought out campaigns designed to stand out from the crowd are going to be the next big thing. Check it out below or here.
How to Avoid the December Barrage
By Sarah Frostenson
Nearly $1 out of every $5 raised online comes from a donation made in December.
But Steve MacLaughlin, director of Idea Lab at Blackbaud, says that’s largely because most charities send their pitches that month, not because donors deliberately plan to give in December.
Why it’s worth sending appeals in other months: “With online giving, it’s going to become a big problem if everyone is flooding everyone’s inbox within the same period of time,” says Mr. MacLaughlin. “It will not have positive results. Organizations are much better off diversifying fundraising strategies throughout the year.”
Proof that appeals sent other times can work: Many colleges end their fiscal years in June and send lots of spring appeals seeking donations before July 1. That’s why the second-best month for online fundraising for education groups is June, Mr. MacLaughlin says.
The Bridge Conference
I am very pleased to have been selected to speak at The Bridge Conference in DC. For those of you not able to attend or for those of you that like to take notes on the slides, my presentation can be found here.
Take-away: See you at Bridge.
P.S. Special thanks to Abila for sponsoring my attendance and allowing me to share this great content with the Bridge attendees.
Donor Experience 101 