The truth is that there is no one-size fits-all formula. For every solicitation, the donor, the project/purpose, and the circumstances will be different. The larger the ask, the more complex the process of landing on the right donation solicitation amount will be. For example, capital campaign gift size evaluation will be much more challenging than determining the appropriate donation solicitation amount for an annual request.

Based on several decades of experience leading advancement programs for three higher education institutions and now as a fundraising trainer/consultant for a wide range of nonprofits, here are ten touchstones to guide your thinking when wrestling with this tricky question of deciding the size of requests.

1. Passion for the mission, project, and cause tops everything else. I know the first impulse is to think about the wealth of the donor prospect, but just because someone is wealthy doesn’t mean that they are philanthropic, have a genuine interest in your project, or could be cultivated to have such an interest.
2. Money follows time. The more time that the donor prospect gives you to get better acquainted with the mission, leadership, stories, and especially the impact of the nonprofit, the more likely they are to make a more robust commitment. This is the crucial phase we call cultivation in which the objective is to forge a personal and emotional bond between the donor and nonprofit.
3. First gifts are typically modest and commensurate with capacity. This is in the spirit of kicking the tires before purchasing the car. This lets donors observe how the nonprofit uses their funds, and reports on results. We call this phase stewardship, and nonprofits need to genuinely and profusely acknowledge and express gratitude for generosity.
4. Who is soliciting the gift? This should be leaders of the nonprofit, and better yet, a representative who enjoys a close relationship with the donor. It makes all the difference that the solicitor has made a stretch gift themselves to give them credibility in challenging the donor prospect to also stretch the amount they are being asked to consider.
5. Larger gifts usually require multi-year pledge periods. Unless they are incredibly wealthy, million and multi-million-dollar gifts are seldom paid as one lump sum. These pledges might run for three to five years or so.
6. Recognize that donors can make much larger commitments from their estates than from their wealth and income. An effective strategy can be blended gifts combining current and deferred resources from estates.
7. Don’t be afraid of under asking. I might be different from other consultants in this regard, but I firmly believe you can consider the first gift as almost a cultivation move. If requested funds are donated promptly, you steward the donor as if they’d made a much larger gift. If you point to sterling results achieved with this first gift, you will be in a strong position to return within a reasonable amount of time to make a much larger request.
8. Where does the request fit in with overall campaign or other fundraising goals? Show how the gift will provide momentum and strengthen the nonprofit’s position to solicit other philanthropic leaders.
9. What is the donor’s liquidity and financial flexibility? Not all wealth is the same. Very affluent individuals might have long-term and timely commitments and obligations to other causes and family members. This is another place where multi-year pledge periods might open doors.
10. Emphasize urgency. Why is it so critical that gift dollars be given now, and not later, and larger amounts are so strategic? This comes back to the case for support and vividly dramatizing how the request and each dollar will touch, improve, and save more lives.

Again, there are no magical formulas. But the door to major gifts and even million-dollar and multimillion-dollar gifts has never been so open. America has about 1,000 billionaires and 25 million millionaires. Some may live next door and surprise you with the modest lifestyles they lead. Some may already be in your database and have been loyal donors over the years. The dominant drivers of generosity are how their personal dreams, values, and priorities to forge a better world align with the mission of your nonprofit. Your job is to proudly tell the stories of your nonprofit’s impact and nurture genuine and lifetime friendships with those you request gifts of all sizes.

How does your organization determine your donation solicitation amount? Let us know in the comments.

The post 10 Essential Tips To Determine The Right Donation Solicitation Amount appeared first on Bloomerang.

Dear Charity Clairity,

My boss thinks we should get more funding through DAFs. But my understanding is most of these donors give through these vehicles to preserve their anonymity and not be bothered by constant solicitation, email messaging and the like. I don’t really know how to find these folks and, even if we could, I’m not sure how this will help us if we can’t directly connect with and cultivate them over time. Any tips?

— How to Work with Anonymous?

Dear How to Work with Anonymous,

You’ve begun with a widely-held, yet largely untrue, assumption.

In fact, the majority of DAF donors do not want to be anonymous. This means you absolutely can cultivate them, just like you would with any other donor. So, you should be doing everything within your power to leverage more of this giving (I’ll get to some tips to do exactly that in a moment).

First, let’s look at some data to debunk the anonymity myth.

In their white paper “Anonymous Giving Through Donor-Advised Funds” (January 2022) the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) reported that, of the 2,256,033 total grants made in 2020 from donors through the big five DAF sponsors (Fidelity Charitable, National Philanthropic Trust, Schwab Charitable, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and Vanguard Charitable), only 4.3% of those gifts were given anonymously.

This jives with my own anecdotal research talking with nonprofits who receive these gifts. They report being able to discover the identity of approximately 95% of their DAF donors!

So, if donors don’t give through DAFs to hide their giving from prying eyes, why do they do it?

Reasons for giving through a DAF primarily fall into these categories:

1. Donor had a windfall; want to preserve some of this money for philanthropic purposes.
2. Donor wants to contribute non-publicly traded assets many nonprofits are not equipped to receive directly (e.g., crypto, private stock, restricted stock, and limited partnership interests). This is BIG. For example, 66% of gifts to Fidelity Charitable in 2021 were non-cash donations.
3. Donor wants professional investment or advisor services to assure their philanthropy has the most impact possible.
4. Donor needs a tax deduction this year, and like the flexibility of being able to recommend grants over a period of years (in which they may take the standard deduction).
5. Donor likes the convenience of a centralized philanthropic account.

Given these truths, what can you do to become a magnet that attracts more of this money?

One thing you can do is help your donors who may fall into any of these categories set up a DAF. For example, if you’re talking with someone who tells you they want to make a pledge, that’s an opening to discuss ways they can give that will offer them personal and financial benefits. A DAF is one such method; there are all sorts of other opportunities as well (you might simply direct them to your “Ways to Give” page). They’ll appreciate the information, and maybe begin to consider ways they can give even more than they were considering! They may even tell you they already have a DAF, and your reminder to them will prompt an immediate or larger gift because the money is already set aside for charity.

Other things you can do include:

1. Meet with local DAF sponsor organizations. Let your community foundation know you exist and you’d love to work with them to further their DAF donors’ interests.
2. Provide comprehensive up-to-date information to Guidestar-Candid. Many DAF sponsors share this nonprofit profile information with their donors.
3. Partner with marketing to promote giving through alternative vehicles, always letting donors know you’d also appreciate them informing you directly of their gift. You can do this on your:
   1. website
   2. direct marketing appeals
   3. donation landing pages
   4. reply devices
   5. blog
4. When you’re not sure who the gift is from, do some sleuthing. Sometimes simply examining the accompanying paperwork that comes with the check will reveal the answer. Or you may be able to search your database for a gift of a similar amount from the same DAF sponsor at this time last year. Or maybe you have a major donor who generally gives at this time, but has not done so yet? If so, call the donor and ask if this gift is from them!
5. Report back on impact, both immediately and through the year. DAF gifts come from an investment, and folks need regular reports on how their investments are doing. Just because the check came from their DAF, and not from the donor directly, is no reason for you to ignore the fact that saying thank you is just about the most important thing you can ever do!

The truth is DAF donors prioritize philanthropy. That’s the real reason they created a philanthropic wallet! They’re all about philos (love) and anthropy (humanity), and they want to extend that love broadly to make an impact today. Unlike private foundations, DAFs give their money away relatively quickly: 38% of the dollars donated are gone within a year, 74% is distributed within five years.

Being human, DAF donors generally want to see some of that love reflected back. That’s where you come in. When you make DAF donors feel good, they’ll be inclined to give to you again. As with any other donor, your job is that of a philanthropy facilitator. Fundamentally, you’re in the happiness delivery business.

The best way to work with your DAF donors? The same as you’d work with any other donors.

To your success,

— Charity Clairity (Please use a pseudonym if you prefer to be anonymous when you submit your own question, like “How to Work with Anonymous” did.)

How do you cultivate DAF donors? Please let us know in the comments below.

The post [ASK AN EXPERT] If Donors Giving From Donor-Advised Funds Want Anonymity, How Do You Cultivate Them? appeared first on Bloomerang.

Generosity is the heart of fundraising

Just because someone is wealthy doesn’t automatically mean they’re generous. But generosity is the key to unlocking the funds you need to propel your mission forward, and finding donors who have both wealth AND generosity is the secret to successful fundraising.

This article will show you how to identify the right donors to focus on, how to nurture them, and how savvy fundraisers can find them in their existing data.

Identifying the anatomy of generous donors

A generous donor embodies a trifecta of qualities: they’re ready, willing, and able to give.

READY signifies an active and engaged connection with your cause—an individual attending events, responding to communications, or even dedicating time through volunteering, showcasing a palpable enthusiasm for your mission.

WILLING spotlights their history of financial support for your cause. These donors have already shown a commitment to your organization through their previous contributions, displaying a genuine belief in your mission through their financial contributions.

ABLE emphasizes their wealth—specifically their financial capacity—to contribute meaningfully. These individuals possess the resources or wealth necessary to make substantial donations that significantly impact your cause.

When you find someone who embodies the readiness, willingness, and ability to give, you’ve discovered a potent force for advancing your cause—a passionate supporter with the qualities to effect transformative change. And savvy fundraisers know that focusing on these donors first can unlock your fundraising potential with less effort.

But how do you spot generous donors, especially if you’re stuck using spreadsheets or outdated systems? That’s where Bloomerang comes in.

Bloomerang simplifies the process of pinpointing potential generous donors. Predictive Giving Insights, included at no additional cost, automatically analyzes every record in your database and then spotlights ideal donors without complicated steps or complex coding.

Predictive Giving Insights is comprised of two ratings: Engagement and Generosity. Together these two measures can give you a good idea of how they can contribute to your organization. And with a little nurturing, they can bloom into an even more valuable force that can move your mission forward.

Segmentation and personalization: The secret of savvy fundraisers

Categorizing your donors into segments and then tailoring your strategies and communications can maximize engagement, retention, and contributions. To make it easy, Bloomerang provides pre-built templates that let you segment and prioritize who to focus on with just a few clicks, so you don’t have to be a data expert. Segmentation and personalization are the secrets that savvy fundraisers use to amplify engagement, retention, and contributions, paving the way for personalized interactions that build stronger connections between donors and your cause.

But not everyone in your database is going to be ideal. And that’s okay. Categorizing your donors into segments like the ones below and then tailoring your strategies and communications to them can help you maximize engagement, retention, and contributions.

Effective fundraising often involves categorizing donors and tailoring strategies to suit different segments to unlock hidden potential. This can enhance engagement and contributions. Consider these four donor categories:

• Ideal Donors (High Generosity + High Engagement): Treat them like VIPs! They already love your cause and give generously. Prioritize them for meaningful updates, impactful projects, and major gift solicitations.
• Prospective Patrons (High Generosity + Low Engagement): They’re big givers, but the flame needs fanning. Find ways to ignite their passion. Invite them to volunteer events, share personalized impact stories, and offer opportunities for deeper involvement. You might witness a meteoric rise to Ideal Donor status.
• Passionate Champions (Low Generosity + High Engagement): These aren’t just donors; they’re your cheerleaders! Channel their enthusiasm by engaging them in advocacy, volunteer opportunities, and peer-to-peer fundraising. Their dedication can inspire others to contribute, and who knows, they might surprise you with a larger gift down the line.
• Disengaged Defectors (Low Generosity + Low Engagement): Don’t give up on them just yet. A heartfelt reconnection email, a personal update on their past contributions’ impact, or a simple “thank you” can ignite their connection. You might be surprised by how a touch of appreciation rekindles their support.

Remember, segmentation isn’t a one-time exercise. As your donors evolve, so should your strategy. By analyzing their behavior and adjusting your approach accordingly, you’ll unlock a world of fundraising possibilities.

Sticking with the same old approach might feel comfortable, but it comes at a hidden cost: missed opportunities.

Consider Bloomerang an investment in your fundraising efficiency—your own data-powered assistant, identifying the donors most likely to give generously and helping you prioritize your outreach. The results? Less time chasing cold leads, more resources for meaningful engagement, and ultimately, the unlocked potential to fuel your cause to new heights.

Take the first step in finding your most generous supporters

Take a step toward a more informed, generosity-focused fundraising strategy. By taking advantage of Bloomerang Predictive Giving Insights, included as part of your subscription, your organization can unlock the full fundraising potential of your data, shifting from broad prospecting to building meaningful connections with those most likely to support your cause significantly.

How does your organization find and steward generous donors? Let us know in the comments. 

The post The True Key To Unlocking Giving Is Generosity appeared first on Bloomerang.

Some donors can cost a great deal to acquire, and then only make one gift before lapsing.

As fundraisers, we have a responsibility to raise money efficiently, investing our time and resources prudently.

For example, it wouldn’t be efficient to try to reach a big fundraising goal by asking everyone to give a small amount. We don’t want everyone to give a small gift. We want the people with the capacity to make major gifts to make them.

There’s a fundraising story about Bill Gates receiving a telemarketing call from a young student alum asking fellow Harvard alumni to donate. Interestingly, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard after three semesters and never graduated. Even more interesting? Bill’s reply to the young student. He gave an enthusiastic yes and then asked how much other folks were giving. When the student replied that “most people were giving $500” Bill replied, “Great, I’ll give that amount as well.”

That $500 may be a large gift to some, but it’s not a large gift to Bill Gates.

In fundraising, you want the people who can give the largest gifts possible to make them.

Jerry Panas, who wrote the number one selling fundraising book to date, Asking, once said, “Your goal as a fundraiser is to get the largest gift possible, in the shortest amount of time possible, to the greatest joy of the donor.”

But how?

Where can you find your most generous donors and prospective donors?

And how do you know how much to ask for?

Where to look for your most generous donors

If you’ve ever read the book The Millionaire Next Door, then you may realize you could have very wealthy people in your records who don’t appear to have massive wealth.

They don’t drive fancy cars or live in mansions. Their net worth may surprise you because they live a very modest lifestyle.

How can you find these ‘diamonds in the rough’ who may be hiding out in plain sight?

What if you knew more about their generosity, how philanthropic they are, and what causes they hold dear?

Get to know your donors’ giving habits

Bloomerang bakes Predictive Giving Insights into the platform. Having these insights available for all your donors enables you to tailor your communications and engagement strategy specifically for that prospect or donor, deepening your philanthropic relationship.

How useful and advantageous would it be to have your donors’ motivations, giving preferences, and wealth at your fingertips as you prepare for a visit or ask?

Imagine how efficiently you could use this data to build both major and mid-level portfolios.

Instead of coming to work wondering which donors you should focus on, you’d have a system that brings hidden gems to light that you might otherwise have missed.

Ask for the right amount every time

How stressful is it to visit a donor not knowing how much to ask for?

Knowing what they’re giving to other causes and how engaged they are with you can help you ask the right donor, for the right amount, for the right project every time.

Thanks to Bloomerang’s DonorSearch integration, you have access to the Online Suite of Tools to find new donors.

You can also use the ProspectView Research tool to look up historical records of charitable and political giving by individuals, foundations, or businesses, to help move a prospect giving to similar causes to become part of your donor family.

ProspectView Research tool makes it easy to prepare for one-to-one conversations and increase the likelihood of securing gifts at the right level by understanding their interests, values, and giving capacity.

You can use the Marketing List tool to segment your audience based on past giving, wealth, and demographic data to perform targeted prospecting campaigns within your Bloomerang email tool. If you don’t have email addresses, you can add an email append to match constituents’ names and mailing addresses with their current email address.

One-size-doesn’t-fit-all

One of the most common mistakes small and medium-sized nonprofits make is having a one-size-fits-all ask string and reply device that isn’t tailored to the person receiving the appeal. You need to tailor the ask string based on their generosity. It’s a critical part of your strategy to upgrade donors. Inviting all your constituents to give the same ask amounts can cost you generous gifts and leave large sums of money on the table.

Adding DonorSearch Prospect View to Bloomerang means you can easily build segments for campaigns, enabling you to target groups of prospects for a first-time gift, mid-level donors for an upgrade gift, or lapsed donors with a smaller gift to win them back.

What’s most valuable by far, however, is that you can finally have the major gift portfolio of your fundraising dreams—filled with major gift donors and insight into their generosity.

How are you finding your most generous donors? Leave a comment below. 

The post How To Find Your Most Generous Donors appeared first on Bloomerang.

Myth #1: “Volunteers are already giving us their time so we shouldn’t also ask them for money.”

Wrong! 85% of volunteers donate to the nonprofits they volunteer for.

Myth #2: “If they wanted to give, they would have done so already. Clearly they prefer to just volunteer.”

Wrong! Volunteers are 66% more likely to donate financially to the organization they support than those who don’t volunteer their time. Bottom line: the only way people can know you need support is to ask them!

Myth #3: “Volunteers are not generous with their dollars, just their time.”

Wrong! Volunteers are more generous with their giving than people who don’t volunteer! They give almost twice as much to charity as non-volunteer supporters.

So, what’s the key lesson here? If you aren’t asking your volunteers to give, you’re leaving money on the table and depriving people who love your cause of feeling the joy of helping it thrive. That’s right—you’re depriving them of joy because giving is the neurological equivalent of winning the lottery! When we give, our bodies release feel-good neurochemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin and reduce cortisol, the stress hormone.

Most Volunteer Directors I hear about do everything they can to suppress their volunteers from receiving any appeals. Meanwhile, frustrated Development Directors tire of trying to convince them otherwise and give up.

There’s a better way. The greatest diplomat in all this is one thing: data.

With a more complete view of your volunteer’s generosity, you could get everyone on board to embrace inviting volunteers to give.

How to use data to find the major gift potential of your volunteers

Imagine being able to click a volunteer’s name in your database and see not just how many hours they’ve given to your cause, but also even more information about their giving.

How nice would it be to know more details about their generosity and giving potential?

Even better, Bloomerang customers can use DonorSearch to identify volunteers with high potential to be major donors—without upsetting the Volunteer Director.

Volunteer ideas to reveal major gifts potential among volunteers

Even if you don’t have the benefit of Bloomerang all-in-one volunteer management and DonorSearch wealth screening tools (or even if you do!), there are lots of great opportunities to create volunteer opportunities for volunteers that reveal major gift potential.

For example, one Boys and Girls Club brought together a group of volunteers they believed to have high net worth to sit on a “scholarship review committee” reading summer camp scholarship applications. The volunteers found saying ‘no’ to so many deserving kids was simply too hard. So, each person on the committee made a major gift to fund summer camp scholarships.

Think about opportunities at your nonprofit to engage potentially high net-worth volunteers in opportunities like these—where they see both the need and the financial lift it takes to meet it. Their generosity might surprise you!

The post What Is The Major Gift Potential of Your Volunteers? appeared first on Bloomerang.

The volunteer-to-donor pathway

At the heart of this transformation is the understanding that volunteers are not just helpers; they’re potential donors. GWU Hospital, with its 140 volunteers working 29,000 shifts a year, faced a challenge many nonprofits encounter: efficiently managing this resource and harnessing their potential as donors. This is crucial, considering that, on a national level, one in four Americans volunteers, and there’s a significant overlap between volunteering and donating—85% of U.S. donors also volunteer.

See an overview of volunteers, as well as data about individual donors.

Emily’s transformation: A volunteer’s journey to philanthropy

Enter Emily, a fictional yet representative example of the many volunteers who make this transition. Emily’s journey at GWU Hospital began during her college years. Initially volunteering to gain experience in the healthcare field, she found herself deeply involved in the hospital’s community-centric mission. Emily’s weekends were dedicated to assisting patients and supporting staff, establishing a strong connection with both.

Over time, Emily also established a strong connection with the hospital. She witnessed firsthand the profound impact of medical care on individuals and the community. This experience wasn’t just about giving time; it was about understanding the workings of a healthcare institution and the critical role it plays in society.

Now in her fifties, she has not only provided hands-on help but also developed a deep understanding of the hospital’s needs. It was this deep understanding and commitment that led her to an important decision. After discussions with the hospital’s Development Chief and CEO, Emily chose to amplify her impact by becoming a major and legacy donor, directing her contributions to areas like medical equipment and outreach programs. These donations were not just financial transactions; they were a testament to the deep connection she felt with the hospital’s mission.

More than just money: Emily’s impact on GWU Hospital

Emily’s story highlights the diverse value volunteers bring to an organization. To the CEO, she offers a unique perspective gained through her volunteer experiences. Her direct interactions with patients and staff provide invaluable insights into the patient experience, a bridge to understanding the real impact of the hospital’s services. Emily’s feedback has helped shape strategies to meet community expectations and enhance patient care. Her presence and enthusiasm also have an uplifting effect on the staff, contributing to a positive work environment.

For the Development Chief, Emily’s transition to a donor has become a powerful narrative for fundraising. The Development Chief has featured Emily’s story in newsletters, inspiring other volunteers and potential donors. Her understanding of the hospital’s challenges, gained through her years of volunteering, provides the Development Chief with a unique perspective, and helps to inspire more effective fundraising campaigns.

Emily’s story is a great reminder of how volunteering can evolve into a deeper level of support, showing that the journey of a volunteer can lead to impactful and long-lasting contributions.

A technological solution

The key to unlocking this potential? A robust volunteer management system. GWU Hospital ultimately switched to Bloomerang Volunteer. “GWU Hospital used an alternate volunteer logistics management system that unfortunately fell short” commented Gini Douglas, the supervisor of the volunteer program. “Our processes, applications, communication, volunteer onboarding, and scheduling were all manual and extremely time-consuming.”

Bloomerang helped the team at GWU Hospital streamline administrative tasks and build stronger connections between volunteers and the hospital.

Read more about GWU Hospital’s story here.

Building bridges between volunteers and donors

The journey from volunteer to donor depends on a number of factors—the individual’s connection to your organization, the impact of their volunteer experience, and the effectiveness of your fundraising and donor cultivation efforts. With 81% of donors attending nonprofit fundraising events, it’s clear that integrating volunteer and donor management is more than just a good practice; it’s a necessity.

The story of Emily and GWU Hospital is a powerful reminder of the potential in every volunteer. Recognizing and nurturing this connection can lead not just to more donors but also to more engaged and committed supporters who truly understand and champion your cause.

What’s your experience with building bridges between volunteers and  donors? Please let us know in the comments below.

The post Building Bridges Between Volunteers And Donors: Emily’s Story appeared first on Bloomerang.

Because major gifts are so large, it requires time and dedication to cultivate and acquire more of these donations. In this guide, we’ll cover the need-to-know information and steps of creating a major gift fundraising strategy, including:

• What is a major gift?
• Why are major gifts so important for nonprofits?
• 7 steps to start a major gift program
• Major gift fundraising tools

Let’s start by reviewing the basics of what these key donations are.

Additional resources for major gifts fundraising

A strong major giving program will serve your nonprofit for years to come. Taking the time now to build relationships with major donors will be worth it in the long run when you can not only retain their support but encourage them to spread the word about your organization, bringing new supporters on board.

If you’re looking for additional support for soliciting major gifts, check out these resources:

• Major Donors: Who Are They And Where Do You Find Them? Identifying potential major donors is critical to maintaining a healthy major giving program. Use the tips in this guide to find more prospective major donors.
• The 9 Best Nonprofit CRM Solutions (Updated for 2023). Major donor relationships are built on data and your CRM is where you store this information. Check out this buyer’s guide.
• Effective Donor Management: 7 Best Practices for Nonprofits. Earning recurring support from major donors relies on your ability to manage major donor relationships. Review these seven best practices to understand how to manage major donors effectively.

The post Maximizing Major Gifts: The Ultimate Guide to Raise More appeared first on Bloomerang.

 
What do you do when a donor lowballs you and gives way below their capacity and passion for your mission? How do you turn a $20K into a $300K gift in one conversation?
 
How do you raise a $1M gift in 30 days in 2 conversations? How do you upgrade a donor from $50K a year to donating $350K a year and opening up their network to you and your team in 2 months’ time?
 
We will walk through real-life client case studies on leveraging their strengths in fundraising, asking for more, and engaging supporters and board members to raise 6 and 7-figure gifts in record time.
 
Join us for this actionable workshop if you’re ready to stop settling for less and step into bold, clear conversations with ultra-high-net-worth individuals already in connected to your work.
 
Learning Objectives:
 
• Get the tools and language to lead mission-aligned donors to their best gifts

• Prioritize your time for the highest and best use, focusing on 10x opportunities

• Leverage non-liquid assets in conversations as a win-win for you and your supporters

• Elevate the way your donor sees you as a leader and your organization

• Raise six-figure and 7-figure gifts like the big dogs do
 

The post 3 Winning Tactics To Raise $500K From Individuals by December 31 appeared first on Bloomerang.

The challenge for nonprofit leaders is to place realistic boundaries on this request. Precisely how much more time is needed? A month? Until later in the year? Or cynically, until “the 13th of never?”

And what precisely does the donor prospect need to accomplish and discover during that extra time to give them confidence in their gift?

Key Tactics to Overcome Common Fundraising Objections

Over my career as an advancement executive for three institutions of higher education, and now as a fundraising trainer/consultant for a wide range of nonprofits of all different sizes, missions, and locations, here are my collective thoughts on dealing with this common and tricky challenge.

1. Typically, reluctance to a solicitation falls in these four major categories:

• Credibility of nonprofit and/or project
• Credibility of leadership
• Amount
• Timing

2. Open and candid discussion is essential to get to the heart of the matter and learn what is really on the donor’s mind.

Laura Fredricks, J.D., The Expert on the ASK, reminds us that, during a productive meeting, the donor speaks 75% of the time, while the nonprofit representative speaks only 25% of the time. This calls for heightened skills of active listening. The fundraiser must make every available minute count as they tactfully guide the discussion to obtain meaningful information and insights.

3. Concerns over the credibility of the nonprofit and its leadership are likely the most difficult to overcome.

Has the nonprofit experienced difficulties in the past? If so, how are they reassuring both current and prospective donors that changes have been made to address these shortcomings? You don’t want to allow outdated or misinformation to get in the way of a gift.

4. Always remain positive.

In all instances, express sincere appreciation for the most valuable gift of all — the donor’s time. If they are requesting research, facts, and other information that you don’t have readily available, assert your commitment to get back to them in a timely fashion with the answers. View this as a strategic advantage that keeps the door open and invites you to reconnect with the donor.

5. Always be specific as possible on time frames.

When the donor prospect asks for more time, ask for a concrete date/time. You want to frame your question as, “Would it be convenient for us to get back together on such and such day, such and such time, and at such and such place?” The donor prospect will let you know what works best for them. Be sensitive to their preferences.

6. It is always best to meet face-to-face, if possible.

But during the pandemic we learned that major gifts could be obtained via video-conferencing. If video-conferencing expedites the next meeting, it might be well worth going for it.

7. Cash flow and liquidity is a concern for everyone, even the wealthiest among us.

Individual philanthropists like corporations and foundations have budgets and timelines to respect. Make sure you know concretely from them when that better time is to ask and expect decisions.

8. Closely related to the timeline is the amount.

Your strategy might tie these two together and explore a pledge period in which the donor pays a major gift over a mutually agreed period. Typically, the larger the gift, the more time is needed to pay it.

9. Never forget that people can make gifts several times larger from their estates than from their income and current wealth.

Explore the possibilities of blended gifts that combine cash and deferred components.

10. Your trump card is typically the urgency of the problem you’re trying to solve.

Giving now, not later, will touch, improve, and save more lives. More than just sharing the numbers, put faces on the figures and provide personal stories of who will benefit now, not later, from the immediacy of the gift.

This is a challenge that has perplexed nonprofits for decades. But know there is a growing array of new funding vehicles and solutions such as Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) that are playing an increasingly significant role in American philanthropy. In the end, the nonprofit and donor prospect must find common ground that allows a shared philanthropic vision to move forward meeting everyone’s criteria.

The post Here’s How To Deal With This Common Fundraising Objection appeared first on Bloomerang.

What is a donor-advised fund?

A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is an account where a donor can deposit assets for donation to charity over time. The donor gets a tax deduction for making contributions to the donor-advised fund. A sponsoring organization like The Jewish Communal Fund, Vanguard, Schwab, or Fidelity manages the account; the donor recommends how to invest the assets and where to donate them. Technically, once assets are deposited into a donor-advised fund, the sponsoring organization has legal control over them. But as long as the donor chooses a charity that’s recognized by the IRS as a U.S. charitable organization, the sponsoring organization will usually use your charities of choice.

Here are a few strategies you can use to identify potential donor-advised fund donors:

1. Donor surveys and communication

Consider conducting donor surveys or outreach campaigns to your existing donor base. At least one survey annually is a best practice, but consider attaching surveys to each of your donor thank you letters. Ask donors if they have a DAF or if they utilize any specific financial institutions for their charitable giving. This information will help you identify donors who might have DAFs. Be sure to record what you find directly into the donor’s record in your donor database.

2. Host charitable giving briefings

Either before or after the workday, invite a prominent financial advisor to speak and share tips on charitable giving and tax efficiency. The speaker should cover how donor-advised funds can provide more immediate income tax deductions for donors, as well as potentially reduce capital gains taxes and estate taxes. Promote the gathering as an “invitation only” event. Broadcast the event online either as a video or phone conference as well as in person. It’s highly likely that many of the attendees either already has a DAF or is considering establishing one.

3. Publicly available information

Donor Advised Fund holders can search for charities to support by tax ID number or by name. Make sure your tax ID number is visible on your website so those donors can use it to recommend a grant to you. It also helps to make sure the name you do business as matches the name you have registered with the IRS so it’s easy for donors to find you when searching by name.

4. Research and data mining

Conduct prospect research on individual donors to gather information about their giving patterns and affiliations. Because private donor held DAFs are usually not made public, you must look for indicators such as previous grants made to your organization or publicly available information on their philanthropic activities. This research may provide insights into whether they have a DAF. A word of advice, not all prospect researchers know how to profile which donors are likely to have a DAF so be sure to ask about their abilities before hiring one.

5. Partnering with DAF sponsors

Collaborate with DAF sponsoring organizations or financial institutions by establishing relationships and open lines of communication. By fostering partnerships with these entities, you will make them aware of your important work, and they in turn may share that information with their account holders. Perhaps they will invite you as a guest speaker to one of their events where DAF holders are present?

6. Network and referrals

Leverage your existing relationships with donors, board members, and volunteers to inquire about potential DAF donors. They may have knowledge of individuals who are actively utilizing DAFs for their charitable giving.

Remember that DAF donors have the discretion to remain anonymous, and not all DAF donors may choose to disclose this information. Respect their privacy and focus on building relationships with donors based on their interests and philanthropic goals, regardless of whether they have a DAF.

What’s your experience with identifying donor-advised fund donors? Please let us know below.

The post 6 Strategies To Help You Identify Donor-Advised Fund Donors appeared first on Bloomerang.

 
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