News & Articles

How to convince your board it’s raining on a bright sunny day

August 31st, 2011

By Sean Triner
First published by Fundraising and Philanthropy Magazine in July 2011

According to Givewell of those charities that declare their assets, 65 have more than $500,000 in their bank account, with a total of $3,722,530,136 between them.

Why do charities have these assets? $3.75bn is a lot of money. Much of it is tied up in property.

There is no doubt that owning a building outright is going to save money on an annual basis. Basically, no mortgage or rent.

Several reasons are given for why charities have large assets other than property. According to a recent article in the Age, the McGrath Foundation banks all three years salary for each nurse it takes on, ensuring that the service will be provided independent of the charities’ performance.

But often the reason many charities keep large reserves are for a ‘rainy day’. Reserves give a charity security.

What many boards don’t understand is that good fundraising can also offer stability. Of the top 50 charities by fundraised income, 26 have assets less than one year’s worth of fundraising income. These low asset charities are unsurprisingly dominated by INGOs (international non government organisations) – charities like Oxfam and World Vision whose work is carried out predominantly abroad.

Boards are usually populated by great volunteers with diverse backgrounds, but very rarely are they from a strategic fundraising background. Some may have been involved in fundraisers – balls, events or making donations themselves – but they are rarely acquainted with fundraising mathematics.

The bottom line is that the most stable, ongoing growth driver that outstrips property values, rent savings and classic investment strategies is a well managed individual fundraising strategy with classic direct mail and phone donors, regular givers (recruited by face to face and other means – don’t rely just on face to face donors) and bequest management.

Your classic donors, as well as providing income, are more important to you as a pool for bequests, major donations and regular givers. Your regular givers should be recruited using multiple techniques – at least face to face and mail/ phone conversion of classic donors.

Here is an index based on benchmarking data plus estimated returns over the past five years. It is easy for you to adjust the returns to reflect your own investments.

Your job as a fundraiser is not just to fundraise, it is also to give your bosses the tools they need to help your do your job. That main tool is data.

Seven steps to convince your board that releasing assets for fundraising investment – before a rainy day – is usually a good idea

1. Make sure that you know and understand what you want funds for – do you really want to have an income two or three times your current income in five years. What would you spend it on?

2. Think long term. More non-emergency money has been donated to charities in Australia through bequests than regular giving or appeals in the past. But the best bequest prospects come from your giving database.

3. Make a choice. Either fundraise, or don’t. But don’t meddle in the middle it is pointless.

4. Get the data. Look at Pareto benchmarking and research on asset bases and fundraising income from Givewell. Every time they have a query or barrier, answer it with data, not opinion. Demonstrate that solid, stable income growth comes from solid, stable investment in fundraising.

5. Show that during times of stress such as an economic crisis, corporate and events fundraising are very vulnerable, normal donor approaches are stable but regular giving keeps on growing.

6. Model your potential. Build proper models, based on real data and factored by how ‘sexy’ your organisation is; what is it’s appeal to the public?

7. Get someone from outside to speak with your board, someone from a charity that has taken the leap and gone for big investment or someone with access to the data – or both. I have spent a serious part of my life this year presenting alongside CEOs, CFOs and fundraising bosses to boards and finance committees. They really need to be informed with the truth.

Keep plugging away. It could take a year or two to convince them.

If you do want me to have a chat with your board, CEO or finance committee then of course I would love to, though it does need arranging well in advance – I am doing a lot of it at the moment.

Sean Triner

Posted in Fundraising Appeals, Pareto Talk | 1 Comment »

What makes a great telefundraiser?

August 30th, 2011

By Dan O’Shea

Telefundraisers have become a vital part of any Charities program.

What makes a great telefundraiser?

Passion and expertise. But they are not skills that we are simply born with – sure, we can be given a set of directions, a script and a subject to talk about, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we know how to inspire or encourage others to donate or help us with our cause or campaigns.

5 areas that I believe make the biggest impact

  • Effective Scripting – are your fundraising conversations interactive or are they lectures? Are you using your case study to your best advantage? Is the tone and feel of the wording ‘on brand’ and conversational?
  • Effective Objection handling – you must always acknowledge your supporter’s objection before you can try to address their issue and turn it around to a “win”. Know your 5 top objections and prepare your callers with ways to overcome each of them. This is vital to give them the confidence to achieve results.
  • Emotional Intelligence and good communication – if you don’t communicate your passion and the urgency of your proposition, you cannot expect your supporters to feel inspired and compassionate.
  • Listen, listen, and listen. There is no point asking donors questions if you do not listen to their answers! This is what builds rapport and lets your supporter know that you value them as individuals. Use your active listening skills to show the supporter you are giving them your complete attention.
  • Always include Donor Care elements regardless of the outcome of the call – this is critical in developing and retaining long term supporters, even if they don’t give this time.

I love to work with calling teams to help them enjoy their conversations and elicit the best results possible so that more money can go the organisation’s beneficiaries. Here at Pareto Phone I deliver training and motivation sessions all the time as I know that the more you invest in your callers, the more skills they will develop.

If these training programs sound like something you would be interested in, we would love to hear from you. Please contact my colleague Sara on (07) 3015 4044 or via email.

Dan O’Shea
Head of Call Centre, Pareto Phone

Posted in Pareto Phone, Pareto Talk | No Comments »

Can a killer curry improve your bequest program?

August 8th, 2011

By Sean Triner
First published by Fundraising and Philanthropy Magazine in July 2011

Lunch with the head of fundraising at a major Australian charity had to be an Indian curry. Like me, this fundraising boss is English-born and we exiles do love our curry. Fish and chips were usurped by curry as the British national dish a very long time ago.

What better way to spend a beautiful Sydney winter day than munching an eggplant madras, playing poppadom geography* and talking about … death.

This charity gets a lot of money from bequests. My friend told me that about two thirds of these bequests were unknown – people who didn’t seem to have any connection with the charity.

So, should it be spending more on marketing bequests to the ‘general public’? A good point and a good question. Initiatives like ‘Include a Charity’ and ‘Make a Will Week’ are certainly pushing that way, and it is good for the sector that they exist. But what about general marketing spend for bequests?

On a curry-spotted napkin, we ran through a little thought experiment.

Curry-fuelled fundraising conundrum

A large charity received 400 bequests last year. This was a normal year, and the bequests were worth an average of $50,000 each, meaning a bequest income of $20 million. Of these bequests, only 150 (just over a third) were ‘known’ to the charity, perhaps as donors or volunteers. So, about $12.5 million came in from unknown people.

At first glance, it would not be an unreasonable approach to divide spend – say one third – for targeting the organisation’s own database and two thirds onto the wider public.

But let’s think this through. We have a finite budget (never enough, of course) and need to spend that wisely. Wisdom in marketing manifests itself through targeting, so we need to target people more likely to write a will and, put crudely, realise that gift sooner or later.

Age is the obvious place to start. Older people are better bequest prospects. People tend to change their will just before they die.

And, of course, we should target people who are more likely to put us in their will.

Skip the next four points if your head hurts or it’s too early for maths:

1. In the example above, it seems at first glance that non-donors are more likely to leave a legacy, but let’s just think about that. The charity has 200,000 donor records on the database.

2. Around 138,000 Australians die every year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Of those, 400 mentioned this charity in their will. That means about one in every 345 that died put this charity in their will.

3. The average Australian is 37 years old. Looking at the charity donor records, people on that database are on average 50 years old, so they are more likely to die sooner. Let’s assume that they are twice as likely to die in the next decade.

4. That means of my 200,000 donors, I can assume that 2,752 died last year. Of those, 150 put my charity in their will. That is one in 18.

In other words, someone who has donated to my charity is about 20 times more likely to put that charity in their will.

With such a difference in expected success, and easier methods to communicate to them, it makes sense to target those in your database first.

If you are in a relationship with someone, you can also work with them to make sure they put a residuary or percentage of estate in their will for you. These types of bequest can be ten times more valuable.

Do the madras math

My conclusion is that when you see something really obvious and use it to make strategic or even tactical decisions, think it through first. Look at the data and do some maths. You could be making a mistake.

By the way, I used Australian Bureau of Statistics to do most of this work, but came across a great site where you can see how long you have left. All things being equal, I should now make it to 14 April, 2051.

I am just putting in an appointment in my diary – I hope the run up to that day is interesting, but not as deadly as Roy Batty’s (Rutger Hauer) “Time to Die” in Bladerunner.

*Rules for poppadom geography: Break the poppadom into bits and see if you can spot the outline of countries and states. France is always there, and usually Argentina and Tasmania, too.

Posted in 'The Agitator' Articles, Bequest/Legacies, F&P Magazine | No Comments »

Encountering Grief

July 27th, 2011

By Sara Mansfield

I promised you last time that I would tackle another aspect of speaking with bequestors and prospects via the telephone – encountering grief. Many of us fundraisers encounter grief from bereavement or from a shocking diagnosis quite frequently. Although, this advice is not just limited to talking to bequestors or the bereaved parties of the bequestors, but can hopefully help with handling any conversation of this nature. I hope that this will help you as much as it has helped me and the callers in our dedicated fundraising call centre in Brisbane.

1. Grieving is a normal healing process

It is interesting that the one thing we are certain about in this life is that it will end, yet when that happens we are never prepared. Emotionally we just don’t seem to be well equipped to deal with such a loss, we either fall apart or head straight for denial. But, in reality, falling apart or going through denial is all part of the normal process of grieving. Grief is a normal, healthy response to loss and we need to understand how to best deal with it in order to provide comfort to someone who is grieving.
Regardless of the type of loss, there is a natural process of grieving. Understanding the nature of grief and bereavement gives you the insight that will enable you to help someone else cope. The more you understand about the basics of the grieving process, the more you may be able to help them:

  • It is normal and necessary to experience intense emotional sensations in order to heal properly
  • Feelings of guilt, embarrassment and anger are part of the restorative process.
  • Each person grieves differently.
  • There is no set timetable for bereavement.

As a matter of fact, loss can come in many forms. As devastating as the death of a loved one can be, any life altering experience can trigger a sense or feeling of loss that will trigger the same sense of grief and will send that person through the same stages of grief as experienced through the loss of a loved one.
Other losses might include the loss of one’s health or the health of someone you care about, or the end of a relationship, such as a marriage or even friendship. Healing from a loss involves coming to terms with the loss and the meaning of the loss in your life.

The most important thing you can do when you speak to someone who is recently bereaved or diagnosed with an incurable illness, is simply just be there for them.

You might not know exactly what to say or what to do, but that’s okay. Don’t let your discomfort get in the way when you want to reach out to a person who is grieving or upset. Be willing to push past the awkwardness and be honest and straightforward. Know that you don’t have to solve their problem; simply provide a listening ear.

Many of us have no idea what to say or how to handle the situation. It is difficult to know what words you should say to comfort someone grieving. I think it is natural to feel uncomfortable and unsure in this type of situation. We have so much fear wrapped up around death or any kind of loss in our society that it is difficult to know how to handle our own emotional response much less know how to support another person who is grieving. But, here are the ways that I have identified that can help us be there for a supporter who is coping with loss.

Do

Act Naturally – You may not feel comfortable but the more uncomfortable you let yourself be, the harder you are making it for the grieving or sick person. Let go of the discomfort and truly put yourself in the moment to listen to the caller.

Be prepared for and allow the caller to talk about their grief and how they are feeling. Try to listen without offering advice or interruption other than empathetic encouragers.

Show genuine concern if the caller seems open to it – your empathy and understanding is important to them.

Be mindful of how difficult holidays and weekends can be for the bereaved.

If you recognise that the grieving caller is very distressed and may be experiencing depression, gently ask them if they have considered bereavement counselling to help them work through their emotions.

Do say…

  • I am so sorry
  • I am so sorry for your loss
  • I don’t know how you feel and can only imagine how terrible it must be for you and you have my deepest sympathy.
  • It’s ok if you do not feel like talking right now. Just know that I am here to listen whenever you are ready. You can call again if you would like to talk
  • Talk openly and sensitively about the person who died if discussed

Don’t

Use probing questions – allow the conversation to be directed by the caller and for them to share what they choose to.

Ask questions about the circumstances of the death or loss – you can ask about the person who has passed on, but not how it happened.

Don’t say…

  • “I know how you feel.” Truthfully, you don’t know how they feel – no one does – whether you have been through a loss before or not. Don’t be surprised if they turn around and say, “YOU don’t know how I feel; no one knows how bad I feel!”
  • “You should.” or “Time heals all wounds.” “Oh, it’s not that bad.” Or “You’ll be ok.” Or “Things will go back to normal before you know it.” Or “It will get better.” Grieving people know this intellectually, but in their heart, they may feel so lost and alone. Offering trite advice or quick solutions can just end up frustrating and upsetting the grieving person. Also, these statements tend to minimize the loss and could upset the grieving person and they may even feel frustrated and angry with you in particular.
  • “Don’t cry.” It is uncomfortable and painful to hear someone cry, but they need to do it – telling him or her not to cry is embarrassing for them and probably impossible and does not support the natural grieving process that needs to occur.

Consider…

Having a list of accredited bereavement counsellors for referral

Having a list of accredited palliative care services, groups and information resources that you can direct people to.

Posted in Bequest/Legacies, Pareto Phone, Pareto Talk | No Comments »

Why you should stuff in more stuff

July 22nd, 2011

By Sean Triner
This article was first published by F&P Magazine in May 2011

Kids who constantly ask questions can be tiring sometimes. Why is that man running? He’s exercising. Why are bananas yellow? I have no idea. Where do babies come from? Ask your mother. Most of us were like that but eventually got on adults’ nerves so much we inevitably stopped. Not me. Although I now know the answer to two of those three questions, I am still asking questions.

Last month I was across the Pacific Ocean at the AFP International Conference on Fundraising in Chicago. It was a great learning opportunity and I claimed to my mum that I was Bill Clinton’s warm up man since I presented just before him, but I learned lots at the mini conference held afterwards as well.

Some of the problems we have in Australia are the small volumes available to us for testing, our ridiculously high postage costs and high print costs. In the USA, they have much larger volumes, cheaper postage and low (very low) printing prices, partly because of the volumes. This is handy for us if we are lucky enough to get hold of their test results. It is my experience that the trends from testing in the US tend to apply in Australia too, something colleagues in Italy, Belgium, Spain and Canada have also found.

The mini conference concentrated on acquisition, and there were plenty of tips for improving responses on offer. Many were tactical, some really technical and some challenged creative. But tweaking these things had a lower impact than one fundamental change: putting more items in the pack.

Take it to the limit

Back when I was learning about direct mail, I was taught that adding more product testimonials increases response rates for commercial direct mail. I was taught to keep stuffing more testimonials in until the postal weight limit is reached – that is, when the post would otherwise go up in cost. Then, look to see if you can get away with a thinner, lighter paper stock so you can get even more in.

It would appear that this applies to charity mailings, too. Instead of testimonials, these items can be memos from the field, diagrams explaining how donations are used, children’s drawings and so on.

For example, last year I worked on a major overseas charity’s tax appeal, and their high-value donor pack contained at least nine items and performed fantastically. Other successful packages for other charities have been of a similar size.

Other than the main letter and response coupon, other items you could put in the mail pack include: memo from field, example ration card, diagram of a defective heart, explanation of how gene therapy works, map of where work is happening, diagram of a new building, photo of the equipment needed, testimonial from donor, testimonial from beneficiary and more. If in doubt, put them all in.

Better return on a bigger outlay

In these cases, the increased cost is enormously outweighed by the increased revenue and usually the return on investment (ROI) is better, too. This always seems to be the case with warm appeals – that is, appeals sent to people who have donated before. But does the logic apply to acquisition? The answer is – to quote fundraising expert Mal Warwick – it depends.

The more stuff you put in acquisition packs, the better the response and average donation. This is a clear trend which I saw illustrated on huge volumes in the USA, with only occasional exceptions. The most amazing example was a premium pack with 16 pieces packed into a C4 envelope – big enough for unfolded A4 paper. It was tested against a pack with seven pieces.

The results were extraordinary:

Pack Response Rate Average Gift
7 piece pack 4.84% $18.55
16 piece pack 7.05% $18.38

On American volumes and postage costs, the big pack provided a much better ROI. Please note, as per my previous Agitator column, ROI is a terrible measure for overall fundraising programs and not a good indicator of overall success. It is the best measure for acquisition, however.

Does it work Down Under?

With lower volumes and ridiculous postage rates in Australia, it could be that the ROI doesn’t work as well for 16 pieces but, then again, our average donations tend to be higher. The answer will only be found from testing.

In the meantime, I strongly suggest that for your acquisition you test putting more into your best performing pack. If it is a premium-based pack, just try more premiums. If it is not, then try adding more, relevant support material.

For your warm tax appeals, do the same. If your budget doesn’t allow for addition of extra pieces then simply mail fewer people. You will make more from mailing fewer people a better (read: more expensive) pack.

One question I still don’t know the answer to, and it’s not just the annoying child inside, is why does direct mail work better when you put more stuff in the package? Mum, do you know the answer?

If you do test this sort of thing, I’d love to hear your results.

Posted in 'The Agitator' Articles, F&P Magazine | No Comments »

Are you punching below your weight?

July 15th, 2011

By Sean Triner
First published by Fundraising and Philanthropy Magazine in June 2011

I have had a fascinating month which includes analysing the best acquisition direct mail results I have seen in Australia. One charity managed to average 7.5% response rate on cold, bought lists (no swaps or co-ops). This was on a mailing of 40,000, so is statistically valid for rolling out. The ‘worst’ list got over 5%, and the best over 10%.
For context, 1% is what a charity may normally expect from a mailing.

When it comes to acquisition, return on investment (ROI) is the best measure. ROI is not at all a good measure of a charity’s overall fundraising performance (net is the best), but with acquisition having limited lists and higher costs, it makes sense to aim for the best ROI on your limited acquisition budget. This charity is making an ROI over 1.0 within a few months on acquisition. In other words, they are mailing brand new people on a large scale and making an instant profit.

This charity is a small organisation. If it rolls out to its full potential, it can go from a couple of thousand donors to 30,000 in just a few years. It will be a serious contender. To do that, it must invest a lot of money, but with results like this it is getting a quick return. This is unusual for acquisition, but it got me thinking.

A closer look at nonprofit investments

I had a look at Givewell’s record of investments by charities, which shows the total investment portfolio declared in charity annual reports. It makes for interesting reading. In the latest report the two Salvation Armies combined (Southern and Eastern) declared assets of $663 million and were number one when considered together. Not surprising, hospitals and other charities that own lots of buildings were up there in the top ten.

I then overlaid charities where I knew their investment portfolios and were in the Pareto Benchmarking project. I was then able to make relative estimates of how much they were spending on acquisition, based on the number of donors they were recruiting.

I found an amazing spread. It was clear that some charities were investing massive amounts on acquisition in proportion to their investment portfolio and income. Not surprisingly, they were also experiencing above-average growth over the last few years.

What was more amazing was that some charities were spending a tiny fraction of their investments in fundraising. For example, one charity with between $150 million and $200 million in investments appears to be spending at most $1 million per annum on acquisition.

As safe as houses

I understand that for many of these organisations with huge investments, a lot of that is tied up in property. Property has advantages, of course. Outright ownership means no mortgage interest payments (charities should be able to get 6-8% per annum at the moment), and potential capital gains. Of course, mortgaging a property still allows the charity to gain the same capital growth.

But since many of the properties owned by charities are used by them, they are unlikely to realise that capital to provide services in the next decade or so. The average capital growth from property from 1980 to 2010 was 8.4% and there is no doubt the market has slowed down. So, even if they did sell a property and not buy another, they could expect perhaps 5-10% per annum over the next five years. This provides an ROI of about 1.4.

Money in non-property investments might be increasing at between 7% and 11%, as large charity portfolios tend to do well.

Invest in fundraising

On the other hand, investing in a combination of cash donor recruitment, regular giving recruitment (including face-to-face) and a proper program using phone and mail to ask normal donors to make automatic regular gifts can provide an ROI of between 3.0 and 5.0 over five years.

With those numbers under our belt, let’s imagine our charity as a business. The business has to generate profit over the next five years. But, instead of shareholders, that ‘profit’ can be spent on essential services. So, the charity should do what it can to maximise that profit in the long term.

How does fundraising fare against property or investments? Let’s compile those numbers into a simple chart, using the same reference point – five year ROI


Of course, it takes a lot of work and skill to get the fundraising program up and running. I am not a financial advisor and my numbers are very general, so please consider investments carefully.

Also, the fundraising figure needs to consider the impact on staff and their space. You would need somewhere to put the staff, salaries to pay them and pay interest, if you mortgaged a property to raise the funds. Even so, you have to be pretty unlucky at fundraising to not beat the return you get from property over five years.

Know your investment portfolio

Fundraisers: check out your charity’s reserves. Do you actually know what is there? It’s important for nonprofits to have reserves to help with cash flow and ensure services are delivered and staff paid during financial downturns. You may be surprised to find out, however, that there is a lot of money there and the brilliant people on your board or finance department making decisions on investments have simply never looked at fundraising in this context.

If you have already conducted tests that demonstrate the power of fundraising, for example indicating an ROI of more than 2.0 over the next five years, then I really urge you to seriously consider fundraising as an element of your investment portfolio.

But, not all organisations are equal, and money makes money. The more you spend on fundraising, the better your ROI should be.

A charity with great public appeal such as kids with cancer or guide dogs is going to get a better ROI on public fundraising than a young offender rehabilitation program or an obscure disease research organisation. Even so, those two organisations – if they have reserves, an endowment or property – should seriously consider using the money to grow public fundraising.

For those charities with no money to invest, I suggest you consider funding your growth through one of these four sources of income:

1 – A board member who has the money and passion to set a long-term strategy in place.
2 – A major donor with the same means and motivation.
3 – Divert a windfall bequest.
4 – Stop doing events or anything else with a weaker ROI.

Posted in 'The Agitator' Articles | No Comments »

How many times to mail?

July 4th, 2011

By Sean Triner

Last week the UK Fundraising Group on LinkedIn began a thread about how often to mail people.

So how often should you mail?

At Pareto we look at data and try to work out what the optimum communications program should be to maximize lifetime value from donors. Donors are very expensive to get on board, and it is imperative that you look at your data to maximize return on that initial investment.

The most important factor for whether someone will give to you is whether they gave to you previously. Then, the most important variables are how recently and how many times. The more recent someone gave, the more likely they are to give again.So, mailing, emailing or phoning more often means that you are constantly communicating with donors more recently, and therefore more likely to get gifts from them.

Also, the biggest cause of attrition is not giving for a while (!). Fewer communications mean that the gap between giving is greater. If you don’t communicate very often your attrition goes up, not down. Unless your communications are not very good.When it comes to asking donors for a monthly gift we also note that there is an optimum time. It does vary slightly, depending on cause, channel of solicitation etc but it is always going to be within a couple of months of a gift.

Four to six weeks is the right place to start. We are not alone with this approach, anyone else who measures life time value and optimum ‘conversion’ timings finds the same answer.

And this does not appear to vary between countries. We took that learning from data in the UK and applied it in Australia to find the same. Analysing data across other countries gives us the same result.This approach is not aggressive, and is not subjective or an opinion. It is maths. Across any given data set, increasing communications tends to increase the lifetime value of that data set. Not just short term income, but overall giving.

Managed well it should also increase your number of bequestors.Jeff Brooks of the best fundraising blog, Future Fundraising Now advocates at least thirty asks per annum. That seems a lot, but he says that he has never seen increasing the number of asks decrease the total value given.The limit on the number of communications is likely to be forced on you for internal reasons – your capacity to produce multiple communications.

Also, increasing the number of asks is likely to increase total given, and increase retention but each time it also increases costs and reduces the amount given on that occasion. Consequently an initial increase in ROI as you go from say four to eight communications will reverse and you will probably begin to see a decline as you go from say eight to sixteen.

Even so, net income is the best measure – not ROI – from warm mailings to your own donors. It is better to raise $700k at a cost of $300k than $500k at a cost of $100k. More donors, more security, more room for error, more legacy potentials etc = more money in the end.

Posted in Fundraising Appeals, Sean Triner Blog | No Comments »

New Donor Diagnostics

June 29th, 2011

By Andy Tidy

Wouldn’t it be nice if when you recruited a new donor, you knew how much they would be worth in the long term? All donors are not equal, and they don’t behave as if they are, so identifying their differences and adjusting the program they receive accordingly, is the key to maximising net income and achieving the best long term return on investment.

The question that needs to be addressed is ‘what are the metrics that need to be monitored that will allow you to see as early as possible how valuable a donor, or a group of donors, will be and how they should be treated?’ Depending on your recruitment mix, these will vary.

Regular Giving Recruitment

For regular giving recruitment, the key performance indicator that needs to be monitored is attrition. Three month, six month and twelve month attrition will identify any issues there may be in the short and medium term. For a long term view, it needs to be measured over two, three or four or more years. Attrition is usually represented as a percentage of recruited donors but there are other ways of looking at the impact attrition has.

The average number of payments made by donors who stop giving is a useful comparator. For example, if the attrition of your regular giving recruits is heavily skewed to the first few months, then you will get fewer payments per lapsed donor than if the attrition is more evenly spread out over the year. This will have the effect of increasing the amount of “lost income” – defined as the difference between the expected income from a regular giving recruit (12 times the monthly value) and the actual amount received. The lost income amount provides a tangible financial value to the attrition.

Upgrade likelihood is another metric that will contribute to long term value, monitoring the proportion of active donors that have upgraded, and the value of the upgrade allows you to monitor the contribution your upgrade program makes.

The last element you need to consider for RG recruits is their propensity to make additional contributions. This is usually in the form of a response to a cash appeal. The recruitment channel is usually the main determinant of whether a regular giving recruit will also make cash gifts, but there can also be variation by list source, payment type, age and other variables.

Once these metrics have been calculated, the next step is to look into any underlying variables that influence them. These will include channel, age, payment method, agency (if Face to Face), DM list and gender. Monitoring and slicing by these factors will allow you to pick up any sub groups that are over or under performing, and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Cash Recruitment

When we look at a cash recruitment program, the metrics that need to consider are different.

Second gift rate is usually the first that is measured. As per attrition for regular givers, this can be looked at after three, six and twelve months. What needs to be measured, along with the second gift rate, is the value of the second gift as this will be a key factor in the long term value of the new recruits. Donors that upgrade on their second gift are flagging to you that they have the potential to donate more – looking at the asks these donors receive will help maximise their long term value.

Along with second gift rates and value, the number of subsequent gifts per year will be a driver of long term income. Those recruits that respond to multiple appeals in the year following acquisition will go on to be some of you best donors.
The proportion of new cash donors that convert to regular giving will vary depending on your strategy – testing of the best approach is ideal if you have enough recruits.

Ongoing Costs

The final element in any assessment of the long term return from acquisition is costs. The recruitment cost is fixed at the time of acquisition, but the ongoing costs can be controlled. By looking at the performance of the new recruits using some of the metrics outlined above, it is possible to quickly ascertain which donors justify the extra expenditure – such as donor care – and which groups of donors need to be cost managed.

Cost management of donors is particularly important if the recruitment contains large volumes of low value one off recruits. These donors need to be given the opportunity to make additional gifts, but by keeping an eye on their net contribution we can make sure that the program as a whole is not compromised by their poor return.
In the same way, monitoring the return from upgrade, additional cash asks and reactivations to regular givers will ensure the net return is maximised.

Creating reports to look at the performance indicators above, when combined with campaign analysis of the initial acquisition, will allow decisions about acquisition and donor development strategies to be made promptly and therefore profitably.

If you need assistance with recruitment analysis and planning, we’d love to help you out. Give us a bell on 02 8823 5800 or email us at canyouhelp@paretofundraising.com.

Posted in Acquisition, Data Insights, Face to Face, Fundraising Appeals, Major Donors, Regular Giving | No Comments »

International Fundraising Congress: The Netherlands is place to be this October

June 29th, 2011

The IFC is the world’s leading conference on fundraising. It attracts around 1,000 participants from almost 60 countries, and is renowned for its outstanding learning and networking opportunities.

Hundreds of delegates from Australia, including quite a few of us here at Pareto Fundraising, have attended the IFC, due to its high relevance to the Australian fundraising arena, the advanced knowledge that delegates acquire and the exchange of best practices.

There is no other conference where you’ll be in a room with so many senior fundraisers from around the world. The outstanding program of Workshops will help you get creative with your fundraising, showcase new ideas and give you the right skills you need to effectively raise money for your cause.

Visit www.resource-alliance.org/ifc/australia now!

The IFC offers an all-inclusive registration fee.

Unlike many training conferences, the IFC fee is all-inclusive, offering exceptional value for money. The all-inclusive delegate fee includes:

  • Hotel accommodation (for 2 or 3 nights)
  • Breakfasts, lunches & evening meals
  • Entrance to congress social and networking events
  • Return coach transfers between airport and conference centre
  • Shuttle buses between the conference centre and satellite hotels if staying off-site at specific times throughout the event
  • Access to post-congress documentation on the IFC’s password protected delegate archive.

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS FOR AUSTRALIAN DELEGATES

Early bird discounts of £60 have been extended for Australian delegates and this offer now ends on 1 July.

You can also get an additional £60 (approx US$100) group discount for 5 persons or more from the same organisation. So don’t delay and let the let the early bird slip away!

Click here to register and get your special discount!

Here are just some reasons to attend:

  • Learn from the world’s best speakers tackling your topical issues – we have some great new speakers, such as AJ Leon (USA) joining some of IFC’s most popular speakers from previous years including Chris Carnie (Spain), Bill Toliver (USA), Bernard Ross (UK), Karen Osborne (USA) and Roland Csaki (Hungary). And our very own Sean Triner will be there running an interactive masterclass on storytelling as well as hosting one of his infamous comedy debates!
  • A fresh new program– with a revised track structure to help you tailor your learning even more, new Great Debates presenting different perspectives on issues affecting all fundraisers and an enhanced Masterclass program.
  • Learn from the best in national fundraising from around the world – with delegates and speakers from around the world. You can exchange ideas, learn from each other’s experience and hear best practice in national fundraising from top speakers.
  • Join the exciting social program – including a first-timers networking session, The Resource Alliance Global Awards for Fundraising ceremony, the networking dinner, and of course our fantastic gala night party. The IFC is a social and networking experience you will never forget!

    • For more information about what’s on, check out the IFC 2011 Conference brochure, or click here to view the latest confirmed sessions.

    Visit www.resource-alliance.org/ifc/australia to take advantage of the early bird discount, which closes on 1 July.

Posted in International Fundraising Congress 2011 | No Comments »

Checklist for bequest calling

June 29th, 2011

By Sara Mansfield

  • Do you call your supporters from time to time?
  • Are you a sole fundraiser, responsible for all levels of supporter relationships?
  • Are you a new bequest or major donor relationship manager?
  • Are you a senior manager that is required to make personal calls to bequest or major donors?

If you answered yes to any of the above, you may be interested to hear about my recent experiences on behalf of one of our clients.

I was commissioned to make highly personalised, relationship building calls to a small group of identified bequest prospects. My task was to help their extremely time-challenged sole fundraiser sift out the confirmed bequestors from the maybes and from the nos.

I had a whole lot of fun and some fantastic, inspiring conversations and I re-learnt some lessons – the most important of which was the preparation and planning that needs to take place before you make the call so that it can be as personalised and specific as possible. Being prepared really does help you to build rapport and move the relationship with your donor to the next level.

Here is my 3 part checklist for getting properly prepared:

1. Prepare to get to know your supporter

  • What is their name? How will you address them? (Most people in the older generation prefer to be greeted formally, rather than using their first name – if they feel otherwise, they will tell you.)
  • Where do they live? What is the weather like there today – are there any local nuggets of info you can use to help build rapport? Have you been there?
  • When did they start giving to you?
  • What recruitment method was used to get them on board?
  • What has motivated them to give – which appeals? Is there a specific area of your organisation’s work that inspires the supporter?
  • When did they last give?
  • How much have they given in the last 12 months?
  • Are they a volunteer, patient or committee member, as well as a donor?
  • Have they ever written to you or called, prompting there to be notes on their record?
  • Have they expressed any preferences – e.g. mail once a year, don’t mail receipts etc
  • Have they told you anything else such as via a survey that they will expect you to know when calling them?

2. Prepare yourself

  • First impressions are very important; you have (research tells us) 4 -6 seconds to make a positive impression.
  • The initial impact you make is within your control and takes conscious effort
  • You are an ambassador of your organisation
  • They will be pleased to hear from you, by and large
  • Relax and be natural
  • Smile – it truly can be heard in your voice
  • Be enthusiastic and passionate about your organisation – it is infectious
  • Remember their name and use it slightly more than feels natural but not every other sentence
  • Be positive (never say “I was just calling” or “I don’t expect you’ve had a chance to think about your bequest yet”)

3. Prepare your call

Take some time to think about what you want to say, what you want to know and how you are going to fit this into the call. Are you at the early stages of a relationship and you want to ask them to consider a bequest or are you some way down the track and would like to get them over the line to a confirmed status.

  • Always start with a big thank you for their support, time or interest
  • Recognise their past support, most recent support and be mindful if they have expressed any preferences
  • Always check if it is a convenient time to speak, if not agree a time to call back and keep to it.
  • Update supporter on how their money is helping – tell them something new that your organisation is working on or something that will have a lasting and long term benefit to the community
  • If the call is a fundraising ask, make the case for further support
  • Make the ask – clearly and confidently
  • May I ask, is leaving a gift in your will something you are still considering?
  • May I ask, have you have prepared your will yet?
  • What would you like me to do to help you with this?
  • When checking details, use phonetics to check spelling and read back to confirm accuracy with supporter.
  • Re-confirm any actions you or they will take and leave the opportunity open for another follow up call or for a visit
  • Always finish with a big thank you – regardless of the outcome of the call

Finally…

Many new fundraisers or bequest officers tell me they worry about talking about death with their prospects. This is an understandable concern, but it may reassure you that in my experience I have never had a situation where talking about the possibility of a charitable bequest has upset anyone. Obviously you couch your request in context – ‘I am sure Mr Donor, that you will be taking care of your loved ones in your will, I was wondering if you would also consider including as well, with a donation that keeps on giving to the lives of others beyond your own lifetime’. I know that you all know how to be respectful – stick to your personal codes whilse recognising the responsibilities of your role, and I am sure you will get the balance right.

I would love to hear your experiences – positive and negative and I will follow up this article next time with some tips on how to deal with grief when you unexpectedly come across close bereavement when building relationships via the telephone.

Posted in Bequest/Legacies, Pareto Phone | No Comments »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »