Donor Relationship Management

Gail Wilson-Giarratano prepares for a grilling when she asks for money for Girls Inc. of the Capital Region, a youth program for inner-city girls in Schenectady and Albany.

Gone are the days when corporate donors wrote checks for the “nice” programs or the “cute” girls, said Wilson-Giarratano, the nonprofit’s CEO and its chief fundraiser.

The recession has left corporate donors with less money to give, and they are scrutinizing charitable requests with a keen eye. Now, more than ever, return on investment weighs heavily in determining who gets what.

At the 2010 Bridge Conference in National Harbor, Md., last Wednesday, Tony Elischer, managing director of Think Consulting Solutions, said fundraisers should focus on the third “R” — rewriting, as in rewriting how you think and how you fundraise. To do that, he proposed looking at fundraising as four babies — brave baby, baby and the bathwater, looking to the future baby, and fully managed baby — in his keynote presentation, “Futurology 2010: Focus, Determination & Transformation."

When a donor makes his or her first gift, he or she may not realize it, but you’re hoping it’s the first step of a long journey of support for your cause. It’s your job as a fundraiser to take first-time donors through that journey and present them with opportunities to extend and deepen their support.

The days of organizations standing on a mountaintop and broadcasting their messages for the world to consume are rapidly evaporating. No longer is control solely in nonprofits’ hands, no matter how much they wish it was. To truly succeed in raising funds and solving the world’s problems, nonprofits must work in concert with networks of social changemakers — passionate individuals and organizations, among others.

There is a lot of talk these days about the importance of relationship building for successful fundraising, marketing and communications — especially in the online world. But what if you're a terrible relationship builder? What if you're actually better at alienating prospects and supporters than you are at drawing them into your orbit? Here are seven signs that you're a relationship wrecker.

It's lurking. It's close. And it's deadly. It forces hundreds of nonprofit organizations out of business every year. It robs even more organizations of their resources and leaves them foundering, unable to fully accomplish their missions. It destroys the careers of 
hundreds of hardworking and idealistic people.

During the first-ever FundRaising Success Virtual Conference & Expo held on May 20 (and available on-demand until Aug. 24), FS columnist and creative director at TrueSense Marketing Jeff Brooks provided 25 good ideas and even one bad one for fundraisers. Here is a rundown of his ideas from his session, “Feel the Power!”

What if there were no new donors? That was the first question nonprofit veteran Roger Craver asked in his presentation, “Where It’s At! A 12-Step Program to Get You to Tomorrow,” at the first ever FundRaising Success Virtual Conference & Expo held last Thursday (and available on-demand until Aug. 24). Craver, founder of DonorTrends and editor of TheAgitator.net, said that is the reality today — with declining acquisition rates, rising acquisition costs, declining retention rates and declining income playing factors.

Whether a patient comes in for a gall-bladder operation or to have a baby, the routine remains the same for staff at Sharp HealthCare hospitals in San Diego. The front desk checks insurance records to make sure the bills get paid on time. Nurses take vitals and tag their charges with a bar-coded wristband. And behind the scenes, fund-raisers scan the assets of each patient -- to find out whether they're "megarich," "wealthy" or merely "comfortable."

While the folks checking in don't know it, the nonprofit hospital chain is hunting for prospective donors. Armed with powerful data-mining software, staffers screen admissions records to find wealthy patients who've shown prior interest in the hospital. Those who make the cut may enjoy a bedside visit from a "patient-relations director" who offers perks like free parking passes for visitors.

Donors give because they want to give, want to help your mission, not because they want some grand award or a parade thrown in their honor for their good deeds. However, donors are human, just like the people your organization helps. And people have the need to feel appreciated. That's why acknowledging your donors — thanking them for their generous gifts and support — is so important. If donors don't feel appreciated, they may get turned off and lend their support to another worthy cause.