February 14, 2011

Just when you thought it was safe to put away Form 990 nightmares, a new one looms. Stephen Fishman, in his book Every Nonprofit’s Tax Guide, warns of the possibility of harassment, not by The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) but by individuals or groups.

As Fishman notes, these people, often political or ideological opponents, might be trying to disrupt an organization’s operations by creating a large volume for requests.

The IRS imposes severe penalties on organizations failing to comply with disclosure rules, although it does allow organizations to apply for a determination of harassment. The signs of a harassment campaign, according to Fishman, include:

• A sudden increase in the number of requests;
• Multiple requests from the same person;
• Requests made through form letters; or,
• Requests containing hostile language.

If you believe that your organization is being harassed with a deluge of information requests, Fishman suggests doing the following three things:

• Record the name, address and date of every requester. Organizations may disregard requests for copies in excess of two requests from the same individual at the same address within 30 days.

• Keep written requests on file. These enable you to see if a form letter is being used and can provide evidence to the IRS.

• Record the number and frequency of requests. This enables you to document any sudden increase in requests or any extraordinary requests.

Is the post script merely an afterthought -- or is it the most important part of a communication? If you’ve said everything important in the body of your communication, why bother to do it again? 

According to Lindy Litrides and Del Staecker at Coremessagink in Lancaster, Pa., here are four reasons your fundraising mail needs a P.S.:

* People read it -- often first. It’s a fact. After reading the salutation and their own name many people jump straight to the P.S. They want a summary statement and are expecting to see one.

* People read it last. After all, it is a Post Script. Some readers do read it as designed, so it’s a good place to restate your key message point and ask again for support.

* It forces you to be clear and precise. The exercise of writing a good P.S. improves the quality of your entire message.  Plus, it provides one last opportunity to persuade.

* It’s another opportunity to ask. Asking is okay. That’s why you’re communicating in the first place.  And, yes, asking again is okay, too.  In fact, it’s expected and often guides the reader to your response mechanism!

So, remember to write a P.S. when communicating to donors and prospects, especially when asking for a gift or a response of any kind.  A good P.S. often works as hard as a good response device in inspiring action.

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Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their world-saving, democracy revitalizing, tree-hugging, hunger-easing cause. Calls to action. They can generate great results, or they can be nothing more than calls to inaction.

At the Social Capital 2010 conference in Washington, D.C., Kathy Rogers of the American Heart Association (AHA), Jennifer Niyangoda of the American Red Cross (ARC), Ryu Mizuno of the U.S. Fund for Unicef and Holley Darden of Social Capital discussed having success in the marketplace via call-to-action campaigns. The inner workings of such campaigns demonstrate that successful ones have five guiding principles.

The guiding principles are:
* Desired consumer actions: Simple + Tangible. (Example from The Nature Conservancy: "Plant a billion trees. One dollar. One tree. One planet.")
* Research. Know what motivates your target audience to give at point os service (P.O.S.). The ARC tested five phrases to learn that the exhortation "Do more than cross your fingers" would work.
* Lift only comes when “The Village” is promoting and activating around a singular campaign. The AHA promoted "Go Red for Women" at a variety of online sites, from Macy's to Jiffy Lube.
* Authentic brand fit is critical. The U.S. Fund for Unicef put promotional ads on Pampers.
* Stick with it.