AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES

Thursday July 30th, 2009

PRINCIPALS OF FUNDRAISING

SHABINA BAHLSTEPHANIE HENSONKATIE NORTON

INTRODUCTION

• SHABINA BAHL– Director of Development (major gifts, board and

program management)

• KATIE NORTON– Associate Director, Friends of Johns Hopkins

Medicine (annual giving, direct mail)

• STEPHANIE HENSON– Interim Director, Department of Donor Relations and Development Events

DEFINING ANNUAL GIVING

• Gifts on an annual basis

• Annual gifts = current-use, unrestricted, sustaining, under a certain threshold

• Acquiring new donors, repeating, and upgrading gifts

• Bottom of the fundraising pyramid

GIVING PYRAMID

PURPOSES OF ANNUAL GIVING

• Consistency and flexibility

• Pipeline for major gifts

• Mode of communication

• Engagement and stewardship

ANNUAL GIVING:PLANNING

• What are your goals?

• Who is your audience?

• What is your budget?

• What is your case for support?

ANNUAL GIVING: SOLICITATION

• Direct Mail

• Phonathon

• E-Mail / Online Giving

• In-Person Asks

ANNUAL GIVING: TESTING

• Factors to test in Direct Mail: – Package– Envelope: Window, Teaser– Postage– Front-end Premiums, fulfillment

premiums– Letter signer and copy– Ask amounts, payment options

ANNUAL GIVING: EVALUATING

• Result analysis

• Know what to expect

• Appeal codes

• Donor feedback

• Peer benchmarking

MAJOR GIFTS

• RESOURCE ALLOCATION– What do you need to run a successful major gifts

program?– How to hire GREAT major gift officers

• PHILANTHROPIC PRIORITIES– Who is in charge– What is realistic

• BOARDS– You cant live with them, but you can’t live without them!

MAJOR GIFTS

• IDENTIFICATION– Pipeline development

• CULTIVATION– Listen with your heart – Respond to what they said, not what you wish you heard! – Timing is everything

• SOLICITATION – Right person, at the right time, for the right request– Oh no! They said NO. Now what?

SUCCESSFUL STEWARDSHIP

• Customized

• Allows donor expression

• Brings the donor and institution together

• Shows spending as agreed and prudent management

• Create year-long plans– Number of touches– Pre-planned

institutional activities

• Incorporate variety

• Coordinate schedules

STEWARDSHIP COMPONENTS

• Acknowledgments/Letters

• Financial reporting

• Gift clubs

• Special events

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS &LETTERS• Determine letter thresholds

– (Chair, Dean, President)

• Should NOT contain the amount of the gift– Separate from tax receipts

• Should be personalized to the gift and the donor

• Determine the correct timeframe for delivery– Acknowledgments: 2-5 business days– Letters/reports: annual

• Ensure correct data– Amounts– Documentation– Transparency

• Annually updated templates

• Donors expect clear financial reports

FINANCIAL REPORTING

GIFT CLUBS

• Run like effective volunteer boards

– Member knowledge

– Donors engaged in your mission and advance the threshold of their giving

SPECIAL EVENTS

• Establish goals and a budget

• Determine your audience– Personalization

• Dovetail with institutional events

• Theme and “moment” variety

• Correct branding, media coverage, government officials

• Record all that you do

THE MORE THE MERRIER

• Allow a donor to tell their story– One-sentence quotes can be effective as an

entire article– Asking permission to tell the story is in

itself powerful stewardship

• Use all of your institution to reinforce messages

WHY DO WE STEWARD?

• To nurture identification and cultivate

• Cyclical deepening of relationship with the institution

• When it’s time to create the ultimate gift, your institution will come immediately to the donor’s mind

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!

SHABINA BAHLSHABINA@JHU.EDU