SAILING INTO THE SEASON

Chicago is living up to its Windy City name. Christopher Columbus* may have stayed home on a day like this. So, too, many nonprofit organizations are staying close to shore in philanthropy land with no plans to let out the sails during the balmy days of October, November and December. For many charities, donations made in the crucial end-of-year fundraising season make up a disproportionate share of the money they receive for the entire year ­– in some cases as much as 60%.

The pressure on fundraising professionals is obvious. This recession is most similar to that of 1974 -- and it took three years for donations to return to the same level. Knowing that, nonprofits need to concentrate as much on strategic fundraising as they do on programs and service delivery to carry out their missions. The same old appeals and shop worn messages may negate their efforts in the current climate.

If that is the case, what are the best ways to articulate your program and your need? What are the best ways to deliver the message for major donors, special events, direct mail, telephone and online appeals? You cannot afford to leave these questions unanswered and leave money on the table. Call me if you want to learn how to increase your opportunities or if you need an additional hand on deck this quarter: 847.227.7174.

*“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

WONDERING AND WAITING

Will Roger said, "Even if you're on the right track, you can still get run over if you're not moving." There is a lot of wondering and waiting going on in the nonprofit world right now. Some pretty big organizations that have enjoyed amazing ROI in the past have gotten cold feet. Anticipating that asking more donors for more money won’t be successful, they have chosen to ask for less and/or to ask less often. They’ve reduced development staffing; donor communications have suffered. Fear of failure can become a self-fulfilling prophecy!

People want to help 'causes' they believe in; so why are many nonprofits waiting to see what happens with the current economy and will re-think fundraising in 2010? We are facing the fourth quarter, traditionally the period when the lion’s share of income is generated. As I said a year ago in this blog, " Practical and tactical decisions will have more influence on resources than the economic downturn." It is important for leadership to focus on the path that leads out of the cramped habit of self-defeatism. My suggestions:

1. Don’t cut back on your fundraising efforts. If you can stick with your original budget, but do more with less, test your tactics to see what’s working. This is what will keep your organization before those who can still support your efforts. Disappearing from view can have disastrous long-term effects.
2. Retaining the supporters you already have should be the major focus, rather than more expensive acquisition and recruitment programs. For every $6 charities raise in new dollars, they lose $5 through donor attrition.
3. Not everyone has lost money in this economy. Solid prospect research gives volunteer solicitors a clear picture from which to work. Employ tried and true mechanisms to move your supporters "up the ladder" to increased giving.
4. Don’t diminish donor communications. Invest in massively improving the donor experience. There are creative ways to convey messages at less cost, like e-communications and social media. Even those donors who have to withdraw support for economic reasons will return when times are better -- if asked.
5. Stay positive. Take a can-do attitude with staff and volunteers. Be transparent about your organization's plans for these times. Otherwise, employees can become anxious, affecting performance, and donors won’t contribute.
6. Call your current supporters to thank them for their past support. Have conversations. Be empathetic to those in need. Find out if stakeholders have new ideas or access to new sources of revenue. You never know who can help, if you don’t ask.

Let action rather than reaction guide your fundraising. Call me, if you need help: 847.227.7174

LAWS OF DISRUPTION

Larry Downes introduced me to the wonderful world of the worldwide web. As a talent volunteer at the ACLU, he would tweak software to my needs and show me how to stuff information into a machine and, more importantly, get it back out again in any configuration I wanted. He gave new meaning to the term “computer dating”.

Larry, author of the business bestseller, Unleashing the Killer App, has a new book coming out next month, The Laws of Disruption: Harnessing the New Forces that Govern Life and Business in the Digital Age, in which he explains how, 10 years after the start of the internet revolution, the increased speed of new technologies is at odds with the plodding pace of the law. Whether it’s privacy or fair use or digital copying of out-of-print books, “[T]he inability of rules optimized for an analog world to keep the peace in the digital age has paralyzed much of the legal system”. Larry offers nine principles for a new legal foundation, built on the unique economic properties of information, to form the Laws of Disruption. A “Fast-Forward” section at the end of each chapter offers guidance for policymakers, business leaders, and consumers. This is truly a work in the public interest.

Parenthetically, with tongue in cheek, Larry has suggested Microsoft protect itself from the litigation thrown its way by buying “a small country, and structure the deal as a reverse merger.” Owning Micronesia, for example, could provide protection from anti-trust litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act!

As Paul Nunes of the Accenture Institute for High Performance says of The Laws of Disruption, “…not knowing the laws of disruption for companies in today’s rapidly digitizing world could prove fatal.” This caution applies to nonprofit organizations and institutions as well.

International consultant, fellow at Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society (the other CIS) and my expert on all things internet, Larry is the guy who understands where Kryptonite is buried in the web. Read this book!

END OF SUMMER CAMP

Last week my neighbors, Mark and Kim, and I went to a rollicking town hall meeting on health care hosted by Rep. Jan Schakowsky – signs waving outside; inside tales of heart wrenching experiences, some booing, some debate over what was in “the bill”. I wondered who had the burden of proof here – audience members wagging pages copied from somewhere on the internet or the Congresswoman with the bill in her hand?

Like summer camp, that is behind us.

President Obama’s speech to Congress last night was an example out of John Gardner’s In Common Cause: “It is precisely in the political forum that free citizens can have their say, trade out their differences, and identify their shared purposes.” We may get more out of this process than health care reform. Through discourse and bargaining, rather than partisan bickering, we may come to a shared purpose and restore a sense of community and compassionate relations between people – the essence of public interest.

John Gardner was Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare during Pres. Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. He was also President of the Carnegie Corporation and founder of Common Cause and Independent Sector, as well as founder of The White House Fellowship and The John Gardner Fellowship at Stanford and Berkeley.