Check
out this sampling of articles from recent
issues of Successful Fund Raising Newsletter...
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Boost Your Annual Fund
Try this annual fund strategy to increase giving among greater numbers of donors:
In your fiscal year’s third quarter, send an “appreciation” letter
to current donors updating them on your annual fund totals and thanking them
for their valuable support. Then invite them to share an enclosed “over
the top” list of budget needs (and return envelope) with a friend
or associate, explaining that, if your nonprofit is fortunate enough to meet
its annual fund goal, additional gifts received by year end will address those
special funding needs you have identified.
--------------------Homegrown
Efforts--------------------
Client Challenge Creates Opportunity for
Annual Campaign
How can you challenge your donors to add
more funds to your annual campaign? When
a young client brought a homemade apple pie
to radio personalities running
the annual radiothon for the Make-A-Wish
Foundation® of the Mid-South (Memphis, TN),
she had no idea how much support she would end up generating for the campaign. Off
the cuff, the personalities posed a challenge: What if the young chef — a youngster
who had her wish granted by the nonprofit — sold her homemade pies
for $500
a piece? The child took that challenge and
easily sold more than 20 pies. The
pie challenge has become a regular part of
the campaign, with approximately 10 pies
being sold, raising enough money to grant
the wish of a child every year.
Source: Liz Larkin, President/CEO,
Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South,
Memphis, TN.
--------------------Effective
Online Tools--------------------
Show Donors the Money (and
Where it Goes)
Anything you can do to show donors how
their gifts make a difference will increase
donors’ confi
dence and make them more
likely to give in the future. Colleen
Townsley Brinkmann, chief
marketing offi cer, North Texas Food Bank
(Dallas,
TX), says a website illustration helps
show donors where their food and financial
donations go. Visitors
to the organization’s website
simply click on “Donate,” then “Food” to
find the
link to the graphic chart, “Follow
Your Donation.” Shown
below, the graphic illustrates how food donations
benefi t 917 feeding and education
programs in a 13-county area.
The page also helps educate donors and
others about the work of the food pantry,
which Townsley Brinkmann says is paramount: “We
were having trouble getting
people to understand we’re not a cozy,
little
food pantry — we’re a distribution
agency.
(And) by helping us you are helping tens
of thousands
of people.” The
page averages 754 hits per month.
Source:
Colleen Townsley Brinkmann, Chief Marketing
Officer;
Mark Armstrong, Senior
Manager-Internet and New Media, North Texas
Food Bank, Dallas, TX.
