WealthEngine

Using social media in your nonprofit can be a daunting task. Instead of shying away from it, nonprofits should use social media to promote their organization, its mission, and especially their events. In our webinar on “Leveraging Social Media for Nonprofit Events” our presenters provided strategies, tactics, and resources for using social media to ensure the success of nonprofit events.

Ritu Sharma, Co-Founder & Executive Director of Social Media for Nonprofits and Laura Coltrin, Senior Category Marketing Manager of Eventbrite discussed the event ticketing lifestyle and using several different social media platforms to promote events. 

There is a wealth of information out there about the wealthy.  The 7^th Annual Knight Frank's Wealth Report is no different.  It is a fascinating look at High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWI).  Knight Frank’s Wealth Report shows the world's wealth will grow by 50% over the next decade.  One point before continuing, Knight Frank defines a HNWI as someone with $30 million or more in assets.  Keep this in mind when reading their report – your definition may be different.

Some of the key findings:

• HNWIs grew by 5%, globally, in 2012.
• Asia and Latin America will have the fastest growth in wealth creation in the next 10 years.
• London and New York are still the top destinations in the world for wealthy individuals.
• Classic cars have enjoyed the biggest uplift in value over last 10 years, measured against other key collectable assets, such as fine wine and art, in Knight Frank’s Luxury Investment Index...

We all know the finest prospects are those who align themselves with your mission, have great wealth and donate:  the perfect trifecta for a donor.  However, when shopping for new prospects, how do you know who will meet this criteria?  There are three methods to help you gather new data and information about potential prospects: wealth screening, peer screening and predictive modeling. 

By using multiple data collection strategies, you create an efficient prospect pool.  And these methods are proven.  You have to use the tools available to you to maximize your gifts and streamline the process.  In a WealthEngine survey, 92% of all organizations, responding, indicated they use some proactive research practices. This figure leapt to 100% among high-performing organizations and 65% of these high-performing organizations use all three techniques. 

Please join Dave Chase of Chase Solutions at the Concord Hospital in Concord, NH to explore best practices in prospecting for major gift donors. 

Sponsored by WealthEngine, Best Practices in Major Gift Prospecting has been designed for chief development officers, major gift officers, prospect research and advancement services professionals who are looking for ways to ramp up their prospect research program to meet philanthropic demands.

More information about the seminar is available here or email davechase@donorresearch.com for the program flyer.

Registration includes Continental breakfast and lunch on site.  Please note that seating is limited, so register today!

In their UK Giving 2012 publication, the Charities Aid Foundation and National Council for Voluntary Organisations found that UK charitable giving has decreased over the past year.  This trend, along with decreasing governmental support, has increased the urgency to identify new donors and increase donations from existing donors to fill the resulting gap.

Across the fundraising community, conversations are being held with regard to the best methods to find new prospects, such as searching for individuals in wealthy postcodes, with significant job titles, and even with certain pertinent terms in their house name.  The expectation is, of course, that such individuals may be more likely to give at significant levels...

In these times of higher costs and shrinking donor prospects, it’s extremely important to manage your current donor relationships.  Your best donors are your current donors.  That’s not to say you should let your prospecting go.  Instead, it means you need to keep a high-touch with your current donors, while you are out prospecting for new donors.  Don’t fall into the common trap of thinking that a regular donor will always be there for you.

How to Keep in Touch

You need a plan.  This plan is a nurturing and promotion plan.  You want to retain your current donors and encourage them to increase their gifts (as they are able!) You also want them to network on your behalf...

We all need a plan. Whether in our personal or professional lives, we all need a plan. Fundraising is no different. Our recent webinar on 6 Easy Steps to Creating a Written Fundraising Plan covered setting goals, action plans and ways to keep your plan on track. Keep in mind that the key word is “written.” It’s not a true fundraising plan unless it’s written out and not just in your head. As stated by Sandy Rees of Get Fully Funded, “the fundraising plan is a blueprint for success.”

Before beginning your plan it is important to determine how much money you want to raise. Make sure this is a specific dollar amount and not simply a goal of “raising more than last year.”

Look at your organization’s historical data from the past two years. Look for trends to see what’s been working and what hasn’t been working. When looking at what might not be working for your organization, try to understand why it isn’t before deciding not to continue with it.  

So, what are the “six easy steps”?...

Sometimes, when a catch-phrase is obvious, it becomes a bit of a cliché.  Everyone banters it around, with various different meanings and it can get easily dismissed as a fad.  However, ‘donor-centered’ is more than just a catchy slogan.  Instead, it’s a key to maintaining your funding.

In Cygnus Applied Research’s Landmark Donor Study, they asked “What would cause you to remain indefinitely loyal to a particular cause, while increasing the value of your contributions over time?” 

That gets right to the heart of the matter doesn’t it? 

If you type “fundraising goals” into Google, you’ll get over 11 million results in less than half a second.  Wow!  That’s a bit overwhelming.  What makes sense?  And whose advice will net results?  You want a simple yet accurate way to make a plan.  You have important work to do!

Setting your goals

Out of all those websites in your search results, one of the recurring views is setting SMART goals.  What does SMART mean?

Are you tired of playing “pin-the-tail-on the donkey” with your marketing? 

Do you send every marketing and fundraising appeal to everyone on your donor, client and/or prospect list and hope you reach enough responsive prospects?   Do you struggle to find new prospects who have an interest in your cause?  Do you dream of being able to target the right message to the right subgroup?  Or increasing your response rate while lowering marketing costs?  If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, you are not alone.

Every nonprofit wants to market their products, services and/or mission efficiently and effectively, but few have the resources they believe are needed to make substantive changes in approach.  Sure, the Salvation Army, the Red Cross and the United Way can purchase sophisticated prospect lists customized to their unique needs. But what about the local food bank, nonprofit theater, or free clinic?