3 TIPS IN THIS ECONOMY

Today, I sat in the audience at the Union League Club listening as Illinois leaders outlined continuing grim details of cuts to public funding for government programs. Without a doubt, the most compelling part of the morning was when the Secretary of Human Services told personal stories. Those of us in fundraising know how enormously influential stories can be -- billions of people around the world follow religions based on stories that are thousands of years old. Stories open people’s hearts and their wallets.

What are the stories your organization has to tell? What are the best ways to get them across? And, how much more time do you have to tell them before your doors close?

Imagining a worst case scenario, what are the top three fundraising tips you would give in today’s economy? After some stewing and brewing, mine would be:

1. Concentrate on existing and regular donors.

2. Diversify your sources of income -- be creative.

3. Take a long hard look at your expenses. (Sometimes a tough economy forces us to make the decisions we should have made a long time ago to make our offices more efficient.)

What do you suggest?

Direct Mail Gets Smarter!

In May, 2011, the United States Postal Service will be rolling out its next generation of mail delivery services – Intelligent Mail Barcodes (IMB) -- the "USPS Automation Initiative" for direct mail with advanced information technology. We've come a long way! The following information provided by Mike Jais of Graphics Plus.

By using the new Intelligent Mail Barcode, direct mail will now have the benefits that come with online tracking. From the moment a piece leaves your mail house to the moment it reaches your prospects, it will be connected to the USPS network via a unique barcode and this information will be available to you. What does this mean for marketers? Analytics! You will now have the power to test different types of direct mail media and obtain a detailed measure of the response. You will be able to learn more about your prospects and improve your targeted marketing. Use of the IMB will provide additional benefits:

• Improved delivery efficiency and less undeliverable mail while at the same time updating your mailing list


• Address changes for First Class Mail (while in the system!)


• Predictable mail piece delivery dates


• Uniquely identified mail, enabling end-to-end tracking of mail


• Savings by having access to all available postal discounts!

Envelope window sizes will change to accommodate the IMB code.

For more information, contact Mike Jais, Graphics Plus, 630-968-9073,

www.gpdelivers.com

Foundation Management

File this under "The more things change, the more they stay the same." The Council on Foundations’ Foundation Management Series: Governance & Administrative Expenses, 2010 Edition is out. The report is intended to help independent and family, community, and public foundations “benchmark their board composition against peers.”

No surprise here: The majority of foundation board members in 2009 were white, male, and over 50.

Some key demographics:

- Respondents indicated that 62 percent of board members are male.
- Approximately 75 percent of board members are over age 50, followed by 18 percent who are age 40 to 49. Family foundations reported the largest share of board members under age 40 (16 percent).
- Eighty-five percent of board members are white, with African-Americans comprising 7 percent, Hispanics 4 percent, and Asian/Pacific Islanders 2 percent.
- Some 16 percent reported having at least one lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender board member.
- Twenty-nine percent reported having a written board diversity policy.

Other interesting information:

- Median administrative expenses as a share of qualifying distributions for 234 responding staffed foundations in 2008 totaled 15.8 percent.

- Less than one-quarter of foundations compensated their board members in 2009. Larger foundations—those holding at least $250 million in assets—were more apt to provide compensation to some or all of their board members. Independent foundations were far more likely to provide compensation (58.7 percent), while only a handful of community foundation respondents reported compensating their board members (1.4 percent).

BOARD FUNDRAISING PLANS

Board members are a key to success. They are the best means for nonprofit organization to build stronger relationships with supporters, attract new donors, and raise money. Involving board members in fundraising, however, can be like herding cats.

In collaboration with Michael Divers, now Chief Development Officer at CancerCare in New York City, I developed a board member Individual Fundraising Plan form covering the main fundraising food groups: personal giving, major giving, events, prospecting and cultivation.

An Individual Fundraising Plan form makes expectations clear. It offers a structure to link board members’ time and talent to existing fundraising programs and needs. The design is specific to the board member. The form and the conversation surrounding its creation offers each board leader options for participation, playing to their strengths in personal giving, fundraising, cultivating donors and increasing an organization’s visibility. It is a means to commit to what they can and WILL do each year to raise funds. The form also makes it easier to track results of board fundraising activities and to acknowledge meaningful support. If you would like a copy of the IFP, email

Kathy@publicinterestfundraising.blogspot.com