May 9, 2011

Many nonprofits publish content to develop stronger relationships with their donors. Increased trust with donors will open new doors for planned giving opportunities.

According to Angelo Licursi, director, client services at Paradysz in New York City, a growing trend among nonprofits is publishing on- and offline mission-based content for acquisition and cultivation efforts. 

Within acquisition, more nonprofits are turning to back-end premium offers as a way to acquire donors. That has led to increased use of published content as a way to enhance the offer. For example, AARP in Washington, D.C., bundles its AARP the Magazine and AARP Bulletin newsletter with other back-end offers. The Arthritis Foundation in Atlanta increases its membership appeal by offering a free drug guide with a subscription to its Arthritis Today magazine. Membership to The American Diabetes Association in Alexandria, Va., includes a buyer’s guide for purchasing diabetes supplies, a subscription to Diabetes Forecast, and recipes for healthy eating.

Newsletters can be an effective way to create urgency for fundraising needs or inform donors that the organization is a good steward of their investment in the mission, said Licursi. The St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, Mont., provides updates on projects such as the groundbreaking of new dormitories. Larry Cunningham, Major Gifts Director said, “Our newsletter is our report card back to the donors…we receive feedback from major donors on the articles.”  
   
Other nonprofits have used publishing as a platform to inform the public on the importance of their mission. Feeding America has released two extensive research studies in 2010 and 2011 “Hunger in America 2010” and “Map the Meal Gap,” according to Licursi.

These studies educate the public about the growing presence of hunger in America and detail food insecurity rates for each county.  Distributing this content online and via social media raises awareness for Feeding America and its mission; engaging new audiences and opening the opportunity to receive financial support from individuals that might not otherwise donate through traditional fundraising efforts.

A Great Recession and a national mindset that appears at times to be a larger version of “birther thinking” has caused many nonprofits to keep trying to do more and more with even less.

It goes on and on.

Kelly Frank and Craig Golding, CPAs and partners at accounting firm JH Cohen, in the firm’s in New Jersey and San Diego offices respectively, offer four tips to help organizations deal with continuing financial pressures. They also urge that responsibility for this preparation must become ingrained in an organization’s culture.

* Review best practices. As with many for-profits, nonprofits are increasingly influenced by members or donors calling for more board oversight and governance. This is commonly achieved by the implementation of certain best practices. For example, consider establishing a separate finance committee that has a charter to review financial forecasts and possible variations within them.

* Don’t just budget; continually plan. One in five chief financial officers report that by the time a new year begins their budgets are already outdated. Utilize a continuous planning model.

* Embrace nontraditional, low-cost means of communication and staffing. Don’t hesitate to use the Internet to cut costs. Non-traditional and free means of communication such as Twitter and Facebook can significantly increase public awareness and understanding of a nonprofit’s cause.

* Consider strategic partnership or mergers. Great opportunities can present themselves this way.

Risk Management ...
6 goals to making risk ‘fun’

“Risk” is a word that can send many nonprofit managers screaming into the night. Just getting things from one day to the next and fulfilling the mission are burdensome enough, but risk management?
Rather than shy away from the idea of risk, or the managing of it, Melanie Lockwood Herman, executive director of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center in Leesburg, Va., encourages nonprofit managers to think of goals for risk management.

Here are her suggested six simple goals to consider and adapt for risk management:

* Take time to explain the “why,” as well as the “what.” Misunderstood policies are unlikely to be followed closely. Explaining the rationale for policies is an inexpensive way to increase the likelihood of consistent application.

* Examine risk from a new perspective. Consider whether you are seeing risk from a range of perspectives: the boardroom, supervisors, office or field staff, volunteers, even those whose duties involve following, not developing, policy.

* Simplify. In an effort to make policies comprehensive, they are sometimes made more complex. But, adding complexity could add risk to the mix.

* Fight fear. Fear often has a paralyzing effect. It’s better to face fears with practical strategies designed to increase the resilience and agility of the organization.

* Remember to train. The economic downturn led many nonprofits to forgo staff training, but doing this can lead to disaster down the road. Re-commit to hands-on and skills training.

* Resolve to get your board “on board.” There is no time like the present to strengthen governance practices.

Getting them. Keeping them. It never ends, does it?

Actually, getting and keeping donors requires different strategies at different giving levels.

Speaking at the DMA 2011 Nonprofit Conference, a panel that included Cathy Jenkins of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Priscilla Ma of Smile Train and Ron Bell of Target MarkeTeam and moderated by Catherine Tavarozzo of PVA, discussed high-value premium conversion.

Such donors pose a greater challenge because the high unit costs in renewal require a very active file. Donors under $15 typically cannot be maintained with a high renewal structure. And, high-value premium acquired donors are typically unresponsive to lower-value premium approaches, such as labels or notepads.

One solution was a conversion package immediately following acknowledgment. The high-value package should be different from the initial acquisition package. This weeds out lower-responding and lower-dollar new donors who probably will not be profitable for the organization.

Following are two organizations’ examples.
The Kids Wish Network tried a conversion package with a T-shirt. The results were:
* Over a 12-month period, the conversion approach (with follow-up) had a 27.1 percent immediate response rate, with a $14-$15 average gift.
* First-year retention rates approached 50 percent.
* Renewed donors have very high multiple gifts.

The St. Bonaventure Indian School sent a fleece blanket package. The results were:
* The 12-month results showing a 21.6 percent immediate response rate, with a $17 average gift.
* First-year retention rate of 48 percent.