Making Visits

PREPARED FOR (ORGANIZATION’S NAME HERE)

Month Year

ENDOWMENT BUILDING

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Objectives

Discuss the work done to date

Revisit the constituent wheel

Understand the solicitation process

Role-play practice sessions

Create a calendar for visits

2

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

In your workbook

Leadership team material

Resources for donor engagement

Sample “leave behind” material

Tracking tools

3

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

What we’ve done so far

Learned about endowments

Established a campaign goal

Developed our story

Prepared a campaign timeline

Sources of gifts

Legal requirements- Permanent- Prudent investment- Investment maintenance

Endow Iowa

Planned giving(and legacy societies)

4

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

What we’ve done so far

Learned about endowments

Established a campaign goal

Developed our story

Prepared a campaign timeline

We identified the needfor your endowment…

And you set a goal of:

$XXX,000

5

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

What we’ve done so far

Learned about endowments

Established a campaign goal

Developed our story

Prepared a campaign timeline

We identified:

•What you do

•Your impact

•Your funding story

•An invitation to join

6

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Identifying your donors

Who are your constituents?

What connects them to your organization?

Who are the best prospects?

Who makes contact?

7

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Connecting with your donors

Common values

Linkage to mission

Board connections

8

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

One important question

Have you given or pledged?

100 percent giving onthe part of the board of directors is critical to the success of this campaign.

9

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Making contact

Step one: write a letter

Step two: follow up with a phone call

Step three: make a visit date

10

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Making contact: letter

Reconnect

Introduce your organization

Alert recipient that you will be callingto schedule a visit

11

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Making contact: phone call

Call the donor prospect a few days after sending the letter

Preparation and practice are key

12

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Making contact: visits

1. Look at your organization from the donor’s point of view

2. Discuss the four-step solicitation process

3. Preview the materials that you will have for your meeting

4. Role play a visit/solicitation witheach other

What we will focus on:

13

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Framing the visit

1. What do people need to know and believe in order to get involved with our nonprofit organization?

2. What are the barriers to people getting involved with our organization?

3. Once people decide to get involved, what action do we want them to take?

4. What will be different as a result of peoplegetting involved?

Pre-visit questions

14

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Donor solicitation sequence

1. Opening remarks

2. Share your organization’s story

3. Introduce and discuss endowments

4. Ask for support

Four steps

15

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Solicitation: step one

Thank person for meeting

Staff introductions

Find commonalities

Opening remarks (5 minutes)

find commonalities that you or your organizationshare with the prospective donor

PURPOSE

16

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Solicitation: step two

What you do

Your impact

Funding story

Specifics about your endowment

Share yourorganization’s story (10 minutes)

17

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Solicitation: step three

Bring subject of endowment into conversation

Ask questions; learn about theprospect’s interest in endowments

Introduce anddiscuss endowments (15 minutes)

18

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Solicitation: step four

Ask: “What questions do you have?”

Ask for support of the endowment campaign

Response will be yes, no or maybe

Thank the person for his or her time

Ask for support (10 minutes)

19

If the answer is maybe, don’t leave without scheduling a date to follow up.

TIP

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Supporting materials

Donor Flyer

Pledge Form

Donor Tracking Tool

Donor FAQs

20

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Donor flyer, pledge form and FAQs

Donor flyer: a one-page overview of your campaign

Pledge form: help donors put their commitment in writing

Donor FAQs: brush up on the answers to commonly asked questions

21

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Assigning calls

Workbook:

Donor Tracking Tool

22

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Making visits: role play

23

Donors Askers Observers

Review the four framing questions or objections you might raise during the visit

Review the solicitation sequence Watch and listen to the solicitation call. Observe:•What worked well•What did not work well•How the Askers handled questions (if any)•Use of the story

Decide whether you will say yes/no/maybe

Write down your talking points

Brainstorm what questions and objections the donor might have

Write down what materials you would bring to a visit

After role play, provide feedback to the rest of your group.

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Fishbowl exercise

1. What worked well

2. What did not work well

3. How the askers handled objections

4. Use of the story

24

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Practice, practice, practice

Make sure you are wellprepared to make donor visits.

25

ENDOWMENT BUILDING: MAKING VISITS

Session recap

What we’ve done so far

Steps of making contact

Solicitation sequence

Supporting materials

Role play, exercises, practice

Assign calls

26

Making Visits

Thank you.

ENDOWMENT BUILDING