Meet Your Mission

Children are starving, but the show must go on. And if you're raising money to support a symphony, how do you convince donors that they should not only give to your cause — perhaps in lieu of helping hungry children — but also feel good about it?

Or what if you’re a Christian organization? How do you get through to people who don’t share your faith or who feel that government, not the church, should be funding the services you provide?

Or perhaps you represent an organization working to educate people about a disease that’s not easy to talk about or is downright disgusting. Or a cause that doesn’t lend itself to cute mascots, clever copy or heart-wrenching images.

The fact of the matter is that, no matter the cause, every mission faces its own challenges. In our special section this month, two consultants talk about their experiences in the realms of politics and public television, and other fundraising professionals offer a look behind the scenes at their organizations and missions. We’ve not touched on every possible mission, and you might not find your specific obstacles here. But we do hope you’ll find some useful insights.

One thing you’re sure to find, however, is that even though there’s a broad spectrum of missions in the nonprofit universe, there are more things that unite than separate them — especially when it comes to fundraising challenges.

Every organization, be it large or small, local or global, new or old, is wrangling with many of the same issues. Chief among them is the Internet and its vital, burgeoning role in giving. With new organizations emerging every day, the issue of competition also is huge. As is brand recognition. And accountability and stewardship. So another happy result of this special section turns out to be that you should find some comfort and, more importantly, hope in the knowledge that you’re not alone as you chug along in your efforts to make the world a better place. — MB

PUBLIC TELEVISION

Fighting the Good Fight
BY TOM HURLEY

When Patty Starkey of KSPS in Spokane looked into a camera and implored
viewers to phone in a pledge 25 years ago, she was asking for a little extra “pin” money for station projects. By 1980, KSPS, and more than 300 other PBS stations, had attracted more than a million individual contributors and support from major corporations. Little did she realize that by 2006
individual contributions would be her station’s largest source of funding.

Public television was in its infancy and had a huge mission to fulfill — to provide the informational, educational, cultural and innovative programming that commercial networks wouldn’t. Born in the last days of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society,” the grand plan for public television in 1967 called for generous government funding and the old-fashioned notion of strong, local broadcasting stations.

Now the chief development officer of KSPS, Starkey still is responsible for bringing educational television to viewers in eastern Washington, but in vastly different political and media landscapes.

On a seemingly regular cycle from the late ’60s on, public television has run afoul of most GOP administrations that have accused PBS and its stations of left-leaning editorial content. Richard Nixon drew first blood when he threatened to pull all federal funding when PBS aired the Watergate Hearings. In his first State of the Union speech, Ronald Reagan said that citizens, rather than government, should fund the arts, including public television. In the ’90s Senate Majority Leader Newt Gingrich suggested that public television was unnecessary with the proliferation of new cable channels.

Yet polls conducted by groups of all political persuasions continually give public television high marks for balanced programming. The most recent Roper study says that Americans view public television as the nation’s most trusted institution.

Still, Starkey worries that the hundreds of cable channels available to her viewers are swamping her innovative programs.

“Our biggest problem is we don’t have the dollars to promote our programs,” she says. “We’re still the best-kept secret on the dial, but somehow we’ll make do as we always have.”

Therein lies PTV’s dilemma and opportunity. While the commercial competition has evolved into relatively few media conglomerates, PTV remains fiercely decentralized. While the national networks are busy cross-promoting their own broadcast, cable and Web channels, independent PBS stations survive on a market-to-market basis. All this has caused local public TV stations to be very aware of their viewers and donors.

Individual stations, which are responsible for their own funding, are coming up with new ways to make a splash among viewers. Kelly McCullough, director of marketing and development at Arizona State University’s KAET, for example, sees the future of public television tied to bonds with other local nonprofit organizations.

“No other television outlet celebrates arts and culture the way PBS does,” according to McCullough, who has engineered win-win deals with groups such as the Phoenix Symphony. “Our local symphony performs before an annual audience of 300,000 listeners. We can attract that many viewers in a few hours. But together we co-produce events that will bring our audiences together.”

Local promotion and fundraising have evolved into PTV’s primary source of revenue. According to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the federally chartered group designed to distribute government funds, local fundraising makes up 49 percent of the average station’s budget.

Nationally, the future of public television will be driven by political and technological events that the industry is only partly able to control. For local stations, the future remains in the hands of generous viewers and businesses who tune in for programming that’s just a bit different from anything else they can see on television.

Tom Hurley is president of the not-for-profit division of DMW, a full-service direct-response advertising agency with offices in Wayne, Pa., St. Louis and Plymouth, Mass. Contact: 774.773.1200 or thurley@dmwdirect.com.

POLITICS

Gotta Grasp the Moment
BY NANCY EIRING

Political fundraising is unique to traditional, nonprofit, cause-driven fundraising. It has a deadline — an election — and an identified enemy — the opponent. These factors make it somewhat easier. But campaigns go through peaks and valleys, highs and lows. And that makes political fundraising more challenging. Factors such as the media, polling, ads and the issues also affect how money comes in the campaign’s door.

Twenty years, even 10 or five years, ago people didn’t have as many news outlets as there are today. We live in a world with a 24-hour cable and Internet news cycle. This means staying one step ahead of the news cycle and having your fundraising be in the “moment.” You have to anticipate these moments and seize them. And because of technology, your donors and activists expect you to be there.

Channels such as online and telemarketing allow you to have time-sensitive messages that you can get to the donor quickly. Direct mail doesn’t. Because donors can be in any of these mediums, you must integrate messaging. Strategize all communication channels with a coherent message. Direct mail should have the over-arching message, and telemarketing and e-mails should bring the “expiration date” message.

What once was used to identify and target voters now is being used to target donors. Modeling and donor segmentation will maximize income and identify potential new donors. And quantitative and qualitative research will help define key fundraising messages as well as allow the targeting of messages to audiences and channels.

Political fundraising is a balance of giving people an inside view without giving too much away. And with the news cycle being what it is, you have to realize who your donors are — well-educated and in the know — and treat them accordingly. Political fundraisers understand the need to respond to attack ads, or create a field plan for “get out the vote” work, or even to buy pizza for the volunteers. If you do it right, you can speak to the state of the campaign, what needs to be done and what the donor can do to help.

Anyone who’s done political fundraising knows the pressure to raise money is high, regardless of where you are in the polls. But it’s more difficult to raise money for a candidate who has strong poll numbers. The message is essential: “Always be prepared.” And if your candidate’s poll numbers are in the wrong direction, it’s, “Get candidate X’s positive message out.”

Either way, those messages get tired fast. Campaigns are borrowing from nonprofit fundraising techniques, online and offline. Many are taking advantage of mail techniques such as oversized packages, urgent-grams and overnight packages to stand out in the mailbox.

There’s always pressure to raise money, whether you’re a campaign or a nonprofit. The challenges faced in either can be overcome. You just have to anticipate, test when you can and be prepared to react quickly.

Nancy Eiring is a fundraising consultant and the former national director of grassroots fundraising for John Kerry for President Inc. and the Democratic National Committee. Contact: nancyeiring@msn.com.

EDUCATION

Bigger Goals, Smaller Budgets

Pamela Mauldin is the director of the Marietta Fund at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. The fund is the foundation of all philanthropy at the college, providing financial aid, student services, faculty development and student internships, and more. One of the more specific issues she faces stems from the fact that Marietta is a liberal-arts college.

“There is increased public scrutiny around the value of the traditional liberal-arts education,” she says. “[But] a well-defined mission statement, aggressive strategic plan and an empowering vision from the president quickly dismiss any doubts of the importance and value of the liberal-arts degree.”

Sounds easy enough. But what about other issues? Here, Mauldin talks
about her most pressing challenges.

FundRaising Success: What are your toughest fundraising
challenges?

Pamela Mauldin: First, there’s higher expectations. Just as in all jobs, each year goals increase. As college enrollments increase, budgets need to keep pace. So the sword is double-edged:

• Goals are used to bridge the gap between the cost of educating a student and the amount of tuition being paid; but

• goals must be reached with equal or fewer resources than the year before.

Then there’s shortage of staff. Fundraising staff tenures continue to shorten as the demand for experienced, educated professionals increases. The time, energy and expense of running one position search after the other takes its toll, especially on small fundraising shops [as many colleges and universities have]. Institutions are being forced to prioritize their need for fundraising staff to focus their efforts on filling the positions most needed while redefining current job descriptions to balance the workload of position vacancies.

FS: What needs to be done to overcome them?

PM: Cost per dollar raised needs to come into play while determining goals. What’s the right amount to spend on raising a dollar for your institution? Too high and you’re not as efficient as you could be; too low and you’re holding yourself back.

Professional development and training will help transition fundraising staff up the ladder to fill open development positions. Internal promotions, as well as creating partnerships within your faculty, will help fill some of the need for personal solicitors and front-line fundraisers.

HUNGER

What’s Uncle Sam Got to Do With It?

Steven Miller is the director of development and membership at Bread for the World, a nationwide Christian movement that seeks justice for the world’s hungry people by lobbying decision makers in the United States. Its unusual mix of faith and politics helps it to stand out among the crowd of hunger-focused organizations vying for donor dollars.

“Bread for the World builds on the significant effort of Christians across this country. Millions are involved in prayer and worship, direct-feeding programs, learning about hunger and poverty, and financial contributions that improve individuals’ lives in this country and around the world,” Miller explains. “The one additional effort that’s missing — and where Bread for the World adds value to all of their other efforts — is to change policies that affect hungry people and efforts on a broad and, hopefully, more
permanent scale.”

But among volatile issues, religion and politics — even individually — top the list. So when you combine them, you run the risk of alienating potential donors who have issues with politics, or with religion, or with the two cuddling up side by side, even for a good cause.

“Bread for the World is committed to changing the political will to ... reduce and, ultimately eliminate, hunger. Many people in the broader society share this vision and hope,” Miller explains. “A major problem is the divisive political environment in our country and the absence of strong leadership to address these life issues for millions of people.”

FundRaising Success: What are your toughest fundraising
challenges?
Steven Miller: Perhaps the most difficult is the explanation of Bread for the World’s mission. Volunteers who do fundraising for us consistently say how hard it is to convey that government plays an important role in ending hunger. Direct-feeding programs demonstrate immediate results. Lobbying to end hunger can get tied up in the messiness of politics, and the gratification of success is often delayed. The challenge of presenting a concise, engaging case is a big one.

Another challenge is the subliminal separation of church and state in this country. Many people aren’t quite sure that public-policy advocacy and faith are connected. However, once someone “gets” it, they’re overwhelmingly loyal and generous and active.

FS: What needs to be done to overcome them?
SM: We try to personalize the message and present compelling stories of the results that extend beyond the policy or appropriations victories. An increase in poverty-focused development assistance is more than an increase in appropriations. It is education for women that results in empowered lives and less hunger. It’s an HIV/AIDS clinic built in a remote village in Africa. It’s better trade policies and programs that allow small farmers and craftsmen to improve their income through increased trade opportunities.

ANIMAL WELFARE

First a Kitten, Then the World?

Aileen Walden is the member services director at the Best Friends Animal Society, a Kanab, Utah-based organization dedicated to leading a “kindness revolution that transforms the way we relate to the animals, the environment and to each other.”

“The state of our culture is reflected by the way we treat our most vulnerable,” Walden explains. “By focusing on the welfare of the companion animals in our society and, indeed, on all animals, we can create a more compassionate society. As a result, we can elevate the way that we relate to our fellow human beings.”

But while few can deny the heartstring-tugging appeal of a pup in need, BFAS wants to go further by relating animal protection and compassion to a healthier, happier society for humans too. And that’s where things get tougher.

FundRaising Success: What are your toughest fundraising
challenges?
Aileen Walden: It can be difficult for people to understand the importance of caring for companion animals and offering them the care and compassion they need to live happy lives. People don’t understand that ill treatment of the animals and animal overpopulation have a direct impact on the health and welfare of communities and are indicative of pathologies that lead to violence and other crimes against each other. There’s also a lot of competition among the many animal welfare organizations.

FS: What needs to be done to overcome them?
AW: We need to more effectively educate the public on the positive impact that proactive programs to end pet overpopulation and animal cruelty can have on communities both culturally and fiscally.

Animal welfare is an ongoing concern, but like most organizations with compassion-based missions, BFAS is feeling a surge of interest from post-Katrina America.

There is some greater awareness of the need to consider the welfare of animals as a result of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort,” Walden says. “[But] momentum could quickly disappear if we don’t make an effort to keep animal-welfare issues in the public’s awareness.

HOUSING

Thinking (and Praying) Big

Mark Crozet is the senior vice president of development for Habitat for Humanity International, the Americus, Ga.-based home-building organization that counts the Christian faith as its backbone. Recent natural disasters that have left thousands of people homeless throughout the world have helped focus international attention on Habitat and its work.

“Habitat is realizing unprecedented interest right now, focusing on the practical help we bring to those in desperate need — hurricane and tsunami victims. As people engage with us, they realize through experience the impact and transforming nature of our work (both for themselves and our homeowners), and that simply accelerates the enthusiasm and reach of the mission.”

And it helps that Habitat is one of the most widely recognized and respected nonprofit organizations in the world. But that doesn’t mean funds flow freely into its coffers. Its mission is huge, and Habitat has found that it relies heavily on partnerships with corporations and other nonprofit organizations to make its program ollars go as far as possible.

FundRaising Success: What are your toughest fundraising
challenges?
Mark Crozet: Scale — the global need for housing is in the billions, and trying to get to a size of operations that meaningfully impacts on that need is a challenge.

Also, systems and communication. As a 100-country operation, we have all the challenges of a global corporation without the budget and processes to implement solutions.

FS: What needs to be done to overcome them?
MC: We have to develop synergies with our NGO partners and leverage our corporate partnerships to address global needs.