125 Best Practices and Great Ideas: Philanthropy and Fundraising Consultants for Non-Profit Organizations

125 Best Practices and Great Ideas - Page Two

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We establish pen-pal partnerships between children, our volunteers and corporate sponsors to generate awareness, prospects and connections.
-Carleen Rhodes, CFRE, Minnesota Children's Museum (St. Paul, MN)
We solicit previous memorial donors in May and June for Mother's Day, Father's Day and Memorial Day. We plant a flower garden in their memory on our campus.
-Dave Foubert, Otterbein Homes (Lebanon, OH)
Use a data sort to identify highest-potential donors or constituent giving over time and more recently
-Dorothy Witte, Illinois State University (Normal, IL)
We have more than 400,000 members. We challenged each one to donate $1 as a fundraiser and also to build our donor base.
-Chad Sorce, Young American Bowling Alliance (Greendale, WI)
Do not be intimidated by technology.
-Kimberly Brown, Cho-Yeh Camp and Conference Center (Livingston, TX)
Our first annual Gala Committee was comprised of newer philanthropists.
-Ann Tubbs, Vera French Foundation (Davenport, IA)
For gifts received via e-mail, follow up beyond just an e-mail reply. Don't rely just on e-mail. Get on the phone. Call them and say thank-you. It often turns it into a bigger gift. It allows you to connect.
-Robert Crandall, CFRE, American Baptist Churches USA (Valley Forge, PA)
Retreats are a strong means to train, motivate and strengthen board members
-Gwyn Lister, CFRE, Accelerated Income Methods (Corte Madera, CA)
Continually read up on current philanthropic trends.
-Jon Nelson, Salvation Army (St. Paul, MN)
Use board in major donor cultivation, expanding resources and tapping into their connections.
-Stacey Dickson, Harvesters (Kansas City, MO)
Acknowledge donations within 48 hours.
-Ellen Ayoub, Ayoub & Associates (Las Vegas, NV)
Make certain all departments communicate and run information past people to ensure there are no concerns, changes or surprises.
-Barbary Buoy-McCray, Catholic Relief Services (Baltimore, MD)
Use creative voice mail…and have fun…to generate response. Put humor into your voice (and maybe a little guilt: "you don't call…you don't write…). It dramatically increases return calls.
-Suzee Johnston, Advancing Philanthropy (Overland Park, KS)
Endowment covers operational costs.
-Josef Natale, United Way of Southeastern New England (Providence, RI)
We were able to get former legislators to talk to the current legislators and Congress members to help us bring in government money. The former legislators know all the right people, still want to be involved and are happy to help. People don't ask them for much any more…and they still want to be of service. They can be good lobbyists and supporters.
-Jessica White, Jessica White Associates (Indianapolis, IN)
Capture as much information as soon as possible to avoid database-related problems.
-Diane Creed, American Diabetes Association (Tarrytown, NY)
Keep your head down and swing slow.
-Bill Thomas, Creative Funding Resources (Brookhaven, MD)
Take a best practice/success from the past, add variable twists, refine and reintroduce. Success builds success.
-John Velde, Pearl & Associates (Peoria, IL)
As a thank-you to donors: We selected a resident (the organization is a residential center for mentally handicapped individuals). We did a booklet on her life at the center. It featured scenes of her and her roommate, them at the movies, etc. We sent it to donors so they could "see" whom they were helping. We also sent a framed plaque that allowed donors to name the scholarship for one year (in the name of a loved one).
-Cathi Johnson, The Baddour Center (Senatobia, MS)
We work with two companies that liquidate corporate products and/or assets. We get about 10 cents on the liquidated dollar to help feed the poor here and abroad.
-Jane Kelley, Gift Angels (Jonesburg, MO)
Invite donors in for visitors' day. Posters and pictures are placed around the office that visually tell the organization's story. Visitors are shown a seven-minute video. A core member oversees the tour and gives a testimonial of why they have committed to one year as a mentor and/or tells success stories related to how they've touched the life of a child.
-Pamela Joy Pratt, City Year (Detroit, MI)
We encourage a "word for the week" that the staff directs.
-Bradley Hoopes, Water Street Rescue Mission (Lancaster, PA)
For database analysis, we look for three types of donors: active, current and lapsed. Our strategies for addressing these people are based on their needs. The active people have a continual, ongoing relationship with us and we work hard to maintain that. Our current people are those who have not given in the past two years. For these, we send specialized mailings quarterly to keep them informed and spark their interest in the institute.
-Unsigned
An article recently ran following a public-awareness event. I sent copies to donors no longer living I the area, letting them know what our organization was up to…and remind them of their relationship with the organization.
-Virginia Stallworth, Memphis Child Advocacy Center (Memphis, TN)
Where should the development director stand in the photo with a donor? Immediately to the right of the photographer. It's not about YOU…it's about THEM!
-Mary Wuller, Visitation Academy (St. Louis, MO)

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To read Hartsook Companies' Best Practices monograph from the Association of Fundraising Professionals' 39th International Conference, visit ASR Publishing.

To contribute your own best practice, please e-mail tami@hartsookcompanies.com.