Philosophy of Fundraising

I am not sure where this came from or how long it has been hiding on my computer but I thought that it was worth dusting off and sharing. Yes it is North American but read past that and understand the principle and I am sure it will be worthwhile.
'Fletch'

J. F. Smith Group's Philosophy on Fundraising

Fund-raising is a team effort – it takes every person in the development office working together to achieve your goals and objectives.

Formula for Success:

BP + CS x E = SBasic Principles plus Common Sense times Effort equals Success.

Basic Principle #1 – Always ask for a specific dollar amount. This is the greatest mistake made in fund-raising today.
Basic Principle #2 – Major on the majors – do not major on the minors. Try to stay focused on prospects who have the inclination, ability, and willingness to support your organization.
Basic Principle #3 – People who are involved in your organization tend to become committed to it and the dollars follow their commitment. Therefore, individuals, companies and foundations who are identified as major prospects should first be invited to become involved in Your organization’s programs or committees.
Basic Principle #4 – Your solicitation success rate increases with the number of preliminary meetings you have prior to making the “ask”.
Basic Principle #5 – Volunteers are essential to your overall fund-raising success because they duplicate your efforts and volunteers give more than non-volunteers.
Basic Principle #6 – Never make a solicitation request without written (proposal) justification.
Basic Principle #7 – Development officers should be evaluated on the number of contacts, solicitation requests and dollar amount of proposals presented – not on the amount of money they raise.
Basic Principle #8 – Stewardship is necessary if you are going to cultivate and build a relationship with a previous or current donor.
Basic Principle #9 – The first gift a person, company or foundation makes is generally their smallest gift.
Basic Principle #10 – Development officers should always carry the President or Board Chair on major solicitation calls. Prospective donors always want to hear from the decision makers.
Basic Principle #11 – There is no shortage of money – just a shortage of great big bold ideas (projects) where the prospective donor feels his/her contribution can make a difference.
Basic Principle #12 – Always “sell” what the prospective donor wants to “buy”.

Second things next

Engage the Spirit

An organisation needs to offer each employee the opportunity to ‘bring their passion to work’. To in some way enable the employee to say of their work ‘This is who I am and this is what I do to make a difference in the world’. This is possibly the most difficult aspect of developing an effective organisation. Where each employee feels that their particular skill is recognised as part of the whole, and wants to contribute to the whole. Is this something that you can put in a job description?

In another country I knew a fundraiser who every time I met him he would proudly tell me how much money he had raised. He expressed great pride in what 'he had achieved'. Now we all know, and most Fundraising HR Consultants live by the motto that you can learn all about a fundraiser by asking the question "How much money have you raised?" Is it really that simple, or complicated, and have we as fundraisers fallen into that trap as well?

A few years ago I heard the American Fundraising Guru, Kent Dove, talking about who do you hire for your fundraising staff. Something that many fundraisers ned to know and he was really fantastic. He didn't say that you need to employ a fundrtaiser who has raised a lot of money, nor did he say that you need to employ fundraisers who have had lots of experience in lots of different organisations. He indicated that there are three things you look for in employing new staff.

You look for Integrity, inteligence and enthusiasm.

I was once quoted as saying 'there is no rocket science in fundraising'; and I am sure that there are rocket scientists somewhere in the world who are saying that there rocket science is not as complicated as fundraising, but Kent dove gives us a new look at fundraising qualities. It is vitally impoortant to learn as much as we can about the poracticalities of our profession, but we would do better to do all we can to engage the spirit of the fundraiser to the organisation.

Success in Fundraising is not just about getting people to give you money, but I see it as more about capturing their soul, so that they feel as passionate about our organisation as we do. Thats when success kicks in.

First things First 2

Owning the Profession

The second aspect of a successful fundraiser or a fundraising department is a strong commitment to the profession. Much has been written about the benefit of professional organizations have in the fundraising mix, and it is sad when people always seem to put into the category of ‘What do I get out of it?’ style of question. As a career choice I have been tremendously fortunate in to a degree in that I am able to choose what I do. Possibly from many years of experience but also because I look at my career as an active choice. I am not a fundraiser because it is the best paid job in the world. I am not a fundraiser because I love the sound of the Ching-Ching of the cash register, It s because I am committed to my organizations goals and I am committed to my profession. There are many organizations who actually run on donated funds and without our profession would not be able to be of benefit in the community.
So for me the two prongs of for future education is a passion for the profession and a deeper commitment to the organization. If you can put those two things in place then your career will take on a new dimension and your fundraising will become more effective.

First things First

In all fundraising organizations there need to be more than just a ‘fundraising department’. I have often said that for fundraising to be effective it needs to be a whole organization culture rather than just a single department. However there are lots of things that are needed to be an effective fundraising department.

Owning the Business

This is basic. Raising funds for the sake of raising funds is an empty experience akin to simply working to get a pay check. I know that it happens and that very few of us actually look in the Bathroom mirror in the morning and say I am really looking forward to going to work today, even though it is a great ideal. Likewise it is an ideal situation that enables us to actually be focused on what our organization does and to have that as our primary focus within the realm of what we do. “I don’t raise funds I enable our frontline support staff to do what our mission statement says we do”. I once worked at a hospital where some of the research was funded by us actually developed a new treatment for a particular condition, it was a world breakthrough and we, in fundraising, took great pride in saying ‘WE’ were part of the team that did it. And … the researchers at that particular place were happy to acknowledge that without the funding from the fundraising department it would not have happened and so it really was a ‘we’ experience.

A fundraising department that is separated from the bottom line of what we are raising funds for becomes a ‘Pawn brokers shop’ and all we do is money-raising. Once you have become engaged with your organizations mission you have gained one of the two vital components of becoming an effective fundraiser.........

Getting started

I have recently started a new job and there is a very real, and new excitement about what I do; fundraising. I have been doing it for a number of years and have really enjoyed it. Some of the people that I have had contact with are not on my Christmas list and there are many people who just simply do not know what are some of the basics.

The first thing that needs to be fully understood is that fundraising is possibly one of the ultimate careers where people are literally at the heart of what we do. Currently there is a fetish among people who are employing fundraisers to ask the question 'Can you do the Ask?' It is almost like asking the question 'Can you boil and egg?' or 'Can you make toffee?' So many people have a kindergarten view of what fundraising is all about and just simply miss out on the fact that it really is about developing relationships between the Organisation and the person who has the potential to support. A more intelligent question is 'Can you develop good relationships with people?' Then we are starting to begin the romance with the person who may, just may, become a supporter, donor call them what you like but they are the most important people in the fundraisers career.

In my new post I have a CEO who is so committed to fundraising that he has done a significant amount of study and been to courses and will soon have a diploma of Fundraising and he is very keen that this be an organisational success. I am going to update this blog every week so that I and the fundraising staff can begin to develop a team that can make our work a success for the work that our charity is involved in.

It is never about the money or the fundraising program it is all about the work that we do and the service that we provide. If we can absorb that into the fabric of our fundraising we will do well,

Watch this space.....