A kinder, back-to-basics approach to donor relations amounted to a 30 percent increase in contributions for D.C.’s Heritage Foundation.

By Margaret Battistelli Gardner

MINING FOR GOLD

Here, in no specific order, are some recommendations from Carsten Walter, director of membership programs at the Heritage Foundation.

1. Don’t schedule prospecting. “Last year, a lot of people didn’t prospect. We mailed a million pieces in the last quarter of a down year. There was no competition; we scored big.”

2. Never stop testing. Heritage tested its monthly giving program for 15 years, with no great success. Two years ago, it was bringing in $5,000 a year. But then the foundation “found a format that worked,” and it now brings in $750,000 a year.

3. Don’t forget the back-end analysis. “Many organizations don’t look at the life value of a donor. Are there giving patterns that might red-flag someone with potential? They don’t look at renewal rates. Is there a warning in there that they’re not approaching people the right way?”

4. Constantly ask yourself “Is this moving our mission forward?”

5. Don’t be afraid to be challenged.

6. Stay true to your mission statement.

7. Treat donors like human beings, not like accounts.

It’s a stunningly perfect, late-summer day in the nation’s capital, and Carsten Walter is doing his best Homer Simpson impression — though maybe not on purpose. The affable, animated Walter slaps the heel of his hand against his forehead, rolls his eyes and explains how certain “duh moments” play into his work as director of membership programs at D.C.’s venerable Heritage Foundation.

The Heritage Foundation

What: A conservative public-policy research organization — a “think tank”

Where: 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE, Washington DC 20002-4999

Phone: 202.546.4400

Fax: 202.546.8328

E-mail: info@heritage.org

On the Web: www.heritage.org or www.townhall.com

The Mission: “To formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values and a strong national defense.”

The Figures:
187 employees
$75 million endowment
$28 million annual operating budget

What It Does/Doesn’t Do: “We do not support nor oppose legislation. We’ll say ‘Here are nine reasons why HR 17 is bad, but we don’t tell people to vote against it. We educate people on policy.” — John Von Kannon, vice president and treasurer

The Issues: tax cuts, welfare reform, the privatization of Social Security, school vouchers, judicial confirmations (or lack thereof)

The Major Success: “We spent a good part of the 1990s redefining welfare reform. We helped the public see welfare not as a race issue but as a means for helping people have self-value and getting the economy working again. We framed the issue and, the third time around, [President] Clinton signed it. He looked at the poll numbers. The American people wanted it.” — Carsten Walter, director of membership programs