The Ritter Group

Guest Blog Post: Yvonne Hundshamer

Yvonne Hundshamer is the founder of Blue Grotto Inc., a Minnesota business that works with organizations to document culture and values, celebrate milestones and articulate vision. As a corporate history and culture consultant, she has directed both the research and project management on client projects including: 3M, Despatch Industries, Medtronic and National Car Rental. Before becoming a self-proclaimed ‘corporate anthropologist,’ she spent six years in the communications office of Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson.

Guest Post: Fundraising Thoughts from a Financial Advisor – An Interview Part 2

By Yvonne Hundshamer

Please click here to read the part 1 of this post.

Each time I hear you speak about Allodium’s nonprofit clients, I am impressed with your proficiency and knowledge of the nonprofit field. How have you built that expertise?

Our financial advisors have extensive experience working with both individual and institutional investors.

Individuals are philanthropic, and they think about giving. Nonprofit institutions think about donors and receiving. If you can look at it from both sides of that same coin, you understand the connections between donor intent and a nonprofit’s mission.

When those align, that’s when a nonprofit gets gifts. In my twenty years of financial experience, I know that the really big decisions individuals make, they make based on their core values. Organizations, similarly, are driven by a mission and set of core values.

An individual investor who has taken care of their priorities – put their kids through college, taken care of their retirement – may then turn their attention to charitable giving. They get very values-oriented, and become increasingly thoughtful about how an organization fits their values before they make major gifts, whether through planned gifts or campaign contributions, like a capital campaign.

How can a nonprofit be more strategic about their development efforts?

Personally, I am very planful and strategic. So, things like planned giving make a lot of sense to me. Estate planning makes a lot of sense to me, retirement planning makes a lot of sense to me.

We have seen a trend in development – nonprofits are becoming more knowledgeable about the importance of planned giving and that donors want to do more than simply write a check.  So the idea of estate planning, and planned gifts and trusts, is becoming far more important

It is all about planning. Investors make plans. They make estate plans, retirement plans, etc. They think ahead five or ten years and make plans. Organizations need to emphasize the strategic planning element of their development efforts, and how that dovetails with donor values.

Why do you think values are so important to the development-philanthropy relationship?

Donors make decisions based on their values. The larger the financial amount, relative to their financial situation, the greater likelihood it will be a values-based decision.

If you asked me for $100 for your organization, I might give you $100 because I’m trying to be nice to you. But, if I have to decide how to carve up a $10 Million estate between three organizations when I die, I’m going to think about what three organizations are the most important to me and my life, and what I want to leave as a legacy. Those are going to be values-based decisions, not seat-of-the-pants decisions. They will be very values driven.

People tend to go to their core values when they are forced to make hard decisions. In periods of stress or duress, you’re going to revert back to your core values. And there are different sets of values that drive people’s decisions.

You’ve talked about converting that $100 donor into a significant or a lifetime donor. What do you think nonprofits can do to help make that conversion in their donor base?

I think the most important thing is for organizations to develop a relationship with donors – relationships that enlighten the donors about how the organization’s mission dovetails with the donor’s core values. The better that the organization can get at that enlightenment of the donor, the larger the gift they can achieve. Or the larger share of the wealth from that donor.

It’s all about enlightening the donor about what the true mission of the organization is, and connecting it to the donor’s core values.

Nonprofits also have an opportunity to demonstrate their own strategic map to donors– for growth, or a narrowing of focus, for improvement or delivery of service, even fundraising strategies. Donors of large gifts want to know that you, too, are being strategic in your stewardship of their gift.

Sometimes it’s a chance to more deeply engage a donor in the organization. One organization I think does a good job is St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN. They often invite alumni to give counsel on a specific issue. For example, if they want to build a new library, they include donors in the discussion on their approach to launch such a major capital campaign.

Getting donors involved in that strategic planning process engages them more deeply with the organization, and reminds them how much they value the organization and its mission. Increasing their commitment to the organization philosophically will inevitably increase their commitment to the organization financially.

David Bromelkamp is President and CEO of Minneapolis-based Allodium Investment Consultants, an award-winning independent investment advisor. Contact him at 612.230.3702; dbromelkamp@aicria.com.

As the recession eases it will be time to consider rehiring staff members. Which one will make the most difference to the bottom line? I suggest you make room for a major gift officer. Here’s what s/he can do for you:

1. Keeps up to date. Stays abreast of legal and technical developments in the
different vehicles of major giving through workshops, seminars, conferences
and publications; remains conversant with the organization and the field of
service in  general.

2. Provides general information on major giving. Initiates informational mailings
to friends; responds to inquiries; speaks to interested groups.

3. Identifies prospective donors. Determines where to spend time to the best
advantage; researches respondents to mailings or those who come to the major
gift officer’s attention through referrals or direct inquiry. Maintains an effective
record system and an efficient follow-up procedure to ensure that all contacts
receive appropriate attention.

4. Develops the prospect’s interest and commitment. Patiently but persistently
cultivates the prospect through correspondence, phone calls and personal
visits, both by the major gift officer and other officers and volunteers.
Answers the prospect’s questions, keeping the prospect mindful of the organization
and its programs; gains the prospect’s friendship and trust.

5. Determines the feasibility of various contribution options. Elicits information
about the prospect’s assets and needs and chooses the most appropriate option
available; considers the major gift program as a part of the total development
picture and remains open to the possibility of deferred as well as current gifts.

6. Prepares the ask. Commits the plan to paper in a manner that is both convincing and understandable to the prospect, and the prospect’s agents if
necessary.

7. Closes. Discusses, clarifies, and possibly modifies the plan to meet the
prospect’s approval; gains the prospect’s endorsement.

8. Ensures that arrangements are properly executed. Oversees and initiates
arrangements through the proper business office channels and communicates with the prospect about them.

9. Maintains the commitment of the donor. Ensures that the donor retains
confidence in the college and in the wisdom of the decision to make a
major gift; keeps the donor informed of developments at the organization
keeps the donor open to the possibility of another gift or referrals to
other prospective donors.

A pretty good return on investment! When searching for a gift officer it may help to use a seasoned fundraising professional to help you find one or interview your prospects. From my personal experience it is very helpful to hire a consultant to mentor a new major gift officer.

When talking about nonprofits and the use of social media the focus is often around fundraising. This is valid given that nonprofits are businesses and they need revenue just like for profit businesses. Unfortunately focusing on fundraising with social media can lead people away form the basic premise of how social media is used, to build community. If a nonprofit does not know how to build community on social media, or does not focus on that goal they will not find success in fundraising through social media. This is the same concept as a business that focuses solely selling their products or services and not on building a community. People will ignore you, turn you off and choose not to follow you and you will not be successful in reaching your social media goals in your business for profit or non profit alike.

Here are some simple tips I have picked up along the way that can help anyone build community on social media:

1. Talk more about others than about yourself or your cause. A lot more! Like 10 times more about others. Seriously quite talking about yourself all the time or your cause because people will tune you out.
2. Look for people that you can follow who have similar cause interests as your nonprofit.
3. Create a blog that offers something that others will find valuable. If you are a nature nonprofit than create a blog about nature, getting outside, tips for staying active, etc. If you are a nonprofit that provides job training, perhaps your blog focuses on advice for career building. Be creative and think about how you provide value to others. What can you give them.
4. Ask questions. Everyone likes to feel important, so ask meaningful questions of the people who follow you. Those questions should not only focus on your nonprofit mission, but can be broad or very specific about simple things like computers software, service providers, etc.
5. Look for opportunities to promote what your followers are doing. Events, blog posts, good news, etc. When you promote others they will want to promote you.
6. Track and Monitor what people are saying about your general cause and your nonprofit through Google Reader & Google Alerts. You can find conversations happening throughout the social web and become a participant in what is being said.
7. Ask to meet people in real life to discuss the conversation deeper. These meetings should be scheduled with people you think could be strategic to the growth of your nonprofit or who have shown interest. You are not meeting to ask for money or volunteer time, just to get to know the person and establish a real life connection. Once you meet it will increase your connection online and will hopefully increase their interest in your organization offline too.
8. Use hashtags, search for relevant hashtags and follow hashtags that are relevant to your cause. Talk to people who are having discussions about your cause. For more information on hashtags click here.
9. Invest in a social media strategy. Bring a professional to the table to help you plan a strategy that makes sense to your organization. A social media marketing plan is a tool that every nonprofit should invest in. Planning will make a difference.
10. Comment on blogs. This is a great way to get known in the social web. You should keep track of where you are commenting and follow up as the discussion continues.
11. Help connect people who would benefit from knowing one another. Social media is just like networking in real life. If you connect two people who benefit from knowing one another believe me they will remember you and your organization.
12. Ensure your online presence is neat, professional, clean and consistent in all places. Your website should be your hub and connect people to all your other social networks. Invest in your website. Invest in your digital presence. This is the future and it is here now! Don’t leave your web design to a volunteer or amateur. Your website is the go to place for all communications. Make sure people feel you are professional, organized and worth investing time, money and energy in.
13. Produce good content. Have keyword research done and make sure you think of your messaging and create content that is consistent with both. People like to share good content and when they share something you say it will help grow awareness about your organization.
14. Be willing to keep learning new things. Social media is a new frontier and you need to constantly be willing to attend webinars, seminars, social media meet-ups and other events that you can learn from. You need to be following blogs that talk about social media and understand what is happening in this ever-changing landscape.

These tips apply to all businesses, whether non-profit or for-profit. You have to engage in the social media, be active and interact with other users. If you simply create a Facebook page, Linkedin profile, Twitter account or other social media account and you don’t do anything to engage with the other users you will fail. Social media is not about pushing a message about yourself out, it is about interacting with others, finding people who have similar interests and sharing your interests. So jump in, engage and be social…your community is waiting for you.

I have worked for many years in different fundraising roles such as development director, vice president of development and nonprofit fundraising consultant. Through this time I have helped raise more than $250 million for nonprofit causes. What’s the secret to raising money, it’s simple. Ask! Yes asking is the key to raising money. If you do everything else necessary and fail to ask, you will fail to reach your fundraising goals.

There are many ways to ask. The most effective also tend to be the most time consuming. And so we mix and match the ways in which we ask, depending on the evaluation of our prospects. Here is my list of ways to ask for donations (I have ordered the list from most to least effective based on my personal experience):

1.    Personal visit by a team of an enthusiastic volunteer and a staff member with important linkages to the prospect
2.    Personal visit from a knowledgeable, enthusiastic volunteer who is known by the prospect
3.    Personal letter with a telephone follow-up from a volunteer known and respected by the prospect
4.    Personal letter from a volunteer who is known and respected in the community
5.    Personally addressed and stamped appeal letter
6.    Personal phone call with a letter follow-up
7.    Fundraising benefit event
8.    Cause-related marketing
9.    General direct-mail, email and social media appeal
10.    Door-to-door canvass
11.    Impersonal telephone call
12.    Media appeal, i.e., public service announcements

How you ask will depend on who your prospect is, how much you are asking for and the resources of your organization. The most important thing to remember is to Ask. How should you ask using these different methods? This is a great topic for my next blog post in this series of Asking For The Gift. Do you have any other methods to add to the list? I would love to hear your thoughts below.

It is a new day at the Ritter Group! We have launched this new website and blog to showcase our services for you.

For the past ten years we have operated as a sole proprietorship. Today we are a partnership, linking 30 years of nonprofit leadership and fundraising strategy with the new technology of interactive communication.

The resulting system promises not only success in reaching today’s goals, but positions your organization to meet tomorrow’s challenges as well.

From this exciting mix, our blog is born as a place to talk about nonprofit stuff. Yes, stuff! Simple as that. We are going to share tips, ideas and advice about best practices. We hope that you will join us and share your experience as well. We have a wealth of knowledge in nonprofit advancement and interactive communication, and look forward to sharing it with you to get the conversation going.

We hope you will bookmark our blog, email it to a friend/colleague or add the RSS feed to your reader and stay connected. We hope for your feedback, including topics you would like us to cover in the future. Would you like to be a guest blogger? Please drop us a note!

We are looking forward to getting to know you and hope you will be a regular visitor.

Our best,
Greg (@Greg_Ritter) and Nicole (@SocialNicole)