Integration Through Understanding

Integration Through Understanding

Dec. 13, 2005

By Abny Santicola

When it comes to fundraising, it's tempting for an organization to simply put its cup out and focus on its own need -- the need to raise funds. But long-term, successful development plans focus more on how giving can fulfill the needs of both an organization's constituents and donors themselves, according to Linda Ireland, co-owner of St. Paul, Minn.-based business and marketing consulting firm Aveus.

"The best experiences happen when there is an understanding clearly of what an organization needs from each of its stakeholders and what it can provide," Ireland says. "The goal is not to raise the most dollars -- it's to solve the most problems."

But that's just step one, she says. Step two involves paying attention to the chronology of a donor's experience as you develop e-mail or direct-mail campaigns and coming up with an ideal "map" of what you want his experience to look like.

"Imagine if you had a map on the wall of the single most important tangible thing that should happen and the most important intangible thing a [donor] should feel at each step in that chronology, kind of like a conversation," Ireland says.

To create the map, imagine what you would want a hypothetical conversation with a donor to sound like at each step of the way -- from when he learns about you for the first time, explores you, decides to give, and then becomes resolute about your cause. Consider what you want to happen when he talks about your organization with friends, family and colleagues.

Translate the map concept into direct-mail, e-mail or telephone strategies using what each medium does best. For example, the Web is good at presenting detailed information, while e-mail is good at generating interest. The key to shaping how (by what channel and message) potential donors are going to hear about you is understanding what issues you are addressing for them. For example, Ireland says, a donor might give to an organization that fights cancer because someone close to her died from the disease -- a far different motivation than a corporation that gives as part of a corporate strategy.

Linda Ireland can be reached by visiting http://www.aveus.com