Joanne Oppelt Meaningfully Involves Major Donors is an article on how to engage community leaders in your efforts to raise money. It is about building a fundraising campaign of, by, and for the people. Joanne Oppelt is a Major Gifts Ramp-Up Counselor with Development Systems International.
THE FOLLY OF EVENT FUNDRAISING
So often, nonprofits raise money in a vacuum. The role of community volunteers is to help plan and execute events. They find venues, organize guest lists, secure speakers, design invitations, choose swag, decide tablecloth and napkin colors, pick menus, and so on. In other words, their task is to throw good parties.
Typically, the results of such efforts are that you raise a few thousand dollars, recruit one-time donors, barley pay for the event itself, and burn out your staff and volunteers. That’s not a high return on investment. The return on investment of fundraising event, in fact, is about fifty cents on the dollar, not including labor. In other words, you are lucky to break even accounting for your direct expenses. Once you add in staff and volunteer time, most fundraising events lose money.
Instead, give your fundraising volunteers meaningful work for which they are passionate. Get community leaders excited about what you are doing in the community. Build a group of committed champions who will carry your message far and wide.
PEER LEADERSHIP
You must have a strong cadre of trained community volunteer peer leaders to achieve success. Recruit volunteers who enjoy interacting with others, support your cause, and don’t mind talking about money. Give them meaningful work. Let them implement your campaign plan. We call this group of people your campaign cabinet.
Cabinet members are peer leaders who are passionate about your cause. Choose advocates who are well-respected, influential, positive, determined, committed, and will make a significant, early gift to the campaign to be part of your leadership team.
These peer leaders are of the community and vested in its wellbeing. They promote a solution to an issue they care deeply about—a solution you share with them in your case for support. They make things happen.
This is meaningful work. You are not giving your fundraising volunteers tasks to complete to meet a single night’s goal, but an opportunity to change the world through their good work.
INVOLVING PEER LEADERS
There is a huge amount of information in your case for support. As soon as you have an executive summary of your case document, start testing your case. You want to know that your plans make sense to other people.
Make sure that your case is complete and whole. Ask host committee prospects, campaign cabinet prospects, and major donor prospects for their feedback. Ready them to say to you asking for a financial gift. As the adage goes, “If you want advice, ask for money. If you want money, ask for advice.”
Start testing with staff and board members—your nonprofit’s inner circle. Then, use your case summary as a recruitment and cultivation tool. Identify early community champions to test it. By testing your case as soon as possible with community philanthropists, you are:
- Getting your community’s philanthropic leaders involved early in your campaign
- Laying the groundwork for populating your host committee and finalizing your campaign cabinet
- Securing guests to your non-fundraising awareness event and signature ask event
- Acquiring volunteers to help you follow up after your non-fundraising awareness event
- Identifying campaign leadership prospects
- Procuring early campaign commitments
WHY PEER LEADERS?
People passionate about your cause believe in and stand behind what you’re doing. They understand the urgency and importance of your campaign. When you present them with your case document, they ooze enthusiasm. Their excitement is infectious. They are your best cheerleaders and most avid supporters. They will motivate your donors to support your campaign.
People of influence are powerful. They project authority. Their behaviors are impressive. At the same time, they are persuasive and understanding. They are effective at what they do. They listen to others and incorporate what they hear into their plans of action. They are wise. Donors pay attention to what they have to say.
Connected people can open doors for you. They have a broad network of business and social contacts. They enjoy being in relationships with others. They know everyone, and everyone knows them. You know a person is connected when you hear their name in conversation again and again. Leaders who are connected know how to form relationships. Donors respond to them.
WHO ARE YOUR PEER LEADERS?
Your cabinet members must be well respected and above reproach. You want your ambassadors to be held in high regard. Recruit volunteers who are open, honest, and authentic in their communications. Well-respected people tend to respect others. They are polite. They are good listeners. They avoid interrupting and do not cause disturbances. They will lend credibility to your campaign.
Make sure your volunteers are determined. Determined people are persistent and don’t take no for an answer. To them, failure is not an option. You will have ups and downs during your campaign. Covet people who ride out the trying times. They don’t give up. They will ensure your campaign succeeds. They will engender confidence in your donors.
Ask people who are positive and have a can-do attitude to serve on your campaign cabinet. These volunteers see the glass as half full. You want your fundraisers to be optimistic. People with sunny dispositions see the good in others. They bring out the best in people and appreciate what they offer. Donors enjoy their company.
Joanne Oppelt Meaningfully Involves Major Donors
Everyone needs a hero they admire. You want your cabinet members to be one of them. You need your fundraising leaders to model the behaviors you desire from others. The community will be watching your campaign leaders. It will assess their level of commitment to the campaign. Cabinet members set examples. Their job is to make major gifts that set the tone for the campaign. As inspiring champions, donors will want to imitate them.
People described as committed know their priorities and stick to them. You want peer leaders dedicated to your cause and committed to reaching the campaign goal. You need to be able to count on your cabinet members to do the work necessary for the campaign to succeed. You need them to make time for you in their busy lives. They will participate in strategizing, making phone calls, visiting donors, soliciting gifts, and showing their appreciation. You must be able to depend on them. Everyone will be thankful for a well-run, on-schedule campaign.
At the end of the conversation, ask your new peer leader, “Who else should I be talking to? Who do you know would be interested in a project like this?” Then, meet with those people. Grow your list of connections from what you have. You will be surprised how many of your new connections are wealthy.
VISIT HERE TO MEET JOANNE OPPELT AT A 2-DAY MAJOR GIFTS RAMP-UP EVENT
Screen your leadership prospects for wealth. Note their personal, business, and community networks. Look at who champions your case and effectively shares it, exciting others. Determine how well respected they are. Ascertain how influential they are. Assess their leadership skills. See if they follow up on what they say.
Meet with your prospective leaders in person. Explain the responsibilities they would be undertaking. Have job descriptions. Include a timeframe for the campaign. Reassure them that the campaign is being professionally conducted. Let them know what they can expect.
YOUR CAMPAIGN CHAIR
The most important person in your cabinet is your cabinet chair. Leadership is crucial. We have seen valiant efforts that should have been successful fail because they did not have the leader they needed to meet their goals.
Simply put, your campaign cabinet chair organizes fellow fundraising volunteers to visit donor prospects to generate donations. The chair oversees the cabinet’s work and acts as a campaign ambassador to the community. They are committed to the campaign. They are determined to be successful. They lead by example by making a large, early gift. They courageously approach others. They are the people who, if they were to ask you for a gift, it would be hard for you to say “no.”
Identify your chair by testing your case document with your and your agency’s connections. As soon as you have your case for support landed create a one- to two-page summary. Then, start asking for feedback. Cast your net far and wide to your:
- Personal network
- Donor linkages
- Community relationships
- Organizational linkages
- Foundation relationships
- Corporate contacts
You want a well-heeled philanthropist to chair your cabinet. Choose your chair carefully. Wait for the right campaign chair to emerge. They can be found at:
- Non-fundraising awareness events
- Home receptions
- Cabinet member connections
- Local and national fundraising campaigns
- Local and national nonprofit boards
- Local and national corporate boards
If a prospective chair declines your request, ask them to help you recruit someone else. They may be interested in the position but face family or business difficulties or unavoidable time constraints. If you’ve done your research, built a strong foundation of trust, and excited them about your campaign through your case statement, they will be willing to assist you, even if they cannot chair your cabinet. At the very least, consider them a major-gift prospect.
MEANINGFUL VOLUNTEER WORK LEADS:
It pays to involve peer leaders in meaningful work. They spread your message to others. They make things happen. They help garner the donations you need to scale your effort and solve a pressing community issue.
Is not about throwing a good party. It is about building a fundraising campaign of, by, and for the people that leads to changing the world.
Joanne Oppelt Meaningfully Involves Major Donors was first posted at Development Systems International
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Joanne Oppelt has spent over thirty years in nonprofit sector helping large and small nonprofits alike. She has worked across multiple areas including the arts, child welfare, disabilities, early childhood education, maternal and child health, mental health, public health at-risk youth, and more. She has trained thousands of fundraisers and authored or co-authored more than twenty books on fundraising and nonprofit development. Joanne’s extensive background with such a side variety of 501(c)(3) organizations Ha enabled her to have a specialized insight into understanding the challenges nonprofits face both internally and externally. Her years of working in the nonprofit sector have given her the gift of knowing exactly what it takes to run successful fundraising campaigns that are not only completed on time, but also cone in under over goal. Joanne holds a B.A. in education for Bethany University and a Masters in health administration form Wilkes University, where she graduated with distinction. She has devoted her life to helping organizations she’s had the privilege to be involved with and impact the world in a significant way.
