Achieve is a consulting firm focused on serving organizations with new and emerging development programs.
Achieve offers a host of free resources and templates in the Achieve Resource Library and through monthly webinars.
The purpose of this group is to convey meaningful content about best practices in fundraising, board relations, strategic planning, and nonprofit management.
Achieve offers a host of free resources and templates in the Achieve Resource Library and th
Mission Area:
Best Practices
Location (county):
Web
Created:
Monday, 28 December 2009
Group type:
Open
Anyone can join and can view this group.
Private
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Check out the most recent Achieve webinar "Conversations with Donors" recording for free at www.achieveguidance.com/page/conversations
Here's what one attendee said about the webinar:
"Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the webinar today. Your presentations were very impressive to me. After 20 years in the nonprofit system, I can honestly say that was one of the most impactful, succinct presentations I’ve experienced."
The Emergency Fundraising Appeal: Is it Worth It? By Derrick Feldmann, Achieve CEO
This week I have seen four emergency fundraising appeals for support. Given the state of the economy over the last several years it is no surprise some organizations may be on the brink of closure.
Organizations make emergency calls to the public and their donors to keep them around. Although there may be short term gains with raising cash quickly, the long term sustainability issue comes into question. At the heart of an emergency call for support is a nonprofit with a business model that is flawed, a lack of a donor base to support the need, and/or no community buy-in to believe the organization should be the recipient of philanthropic dollars. Even if there is a valid need, the community may not believe the need is important enough to be the recipient of support.
This type of appeal does not give the donor confidence. Here is why:
1. Perception and Reality: When an organization is doing what we call “one-sided fundraising” they only focus on the positives. This is some of the great spin we hear about in brochures, websites, and typical public relations activities. To donors, there is a perception that the organization is healthy and vibrant. Because the organization has not been transparent, it is a shock to hear an emergency appeal given because this is the first time they have been forthcoming about the financial situation.
2. Cautious: We interview donors for feasibility studies and new donor acquisition. As one donor said recently, “I may give to an emergency but if they continue to cry wolf I am gone.” Your donor will be more cautious about their gifts because how many of us want to support organizations who may go out of business?
3. Board Leadership: Where is the board in this situation? Most donors will question where the board has been and wonder why they have not acted before now. Did they not understand the issues, were they not informed of the financial situation, and how come they did not act when they saw trouble on the horizon? Donors give to organizations because they believe in leadership. It is hard to believe in organizations when the board allowed it to get to a state of an emergency. As a donor said in another recent interview, “I do not believe that board is right for them. Why did they not move quicker and be more involved in raising the support?”
If you see trouble on the horizon, act now. The emergency appeal may be a shot in the arm you need, but when the side effects wear off you are still left with reality.
A Side of Thanks with my Gift, Please... By Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE
What do our donors want and how do we ensure that we're meeting their needs? If they have to request thanks and appreciation from you, then you're probably not meeting their basic needs. You say, well of course that makes sense.
But, does your organization's culture and processes tend to leave donors with the feeling that your status as a nonprofit brings you a feeling of entitlement to community support? Unfortunately, so many nonprofit staff and our board members subtly settle into the thought that being a nonprofit somehow means we are "entitled" to a community's support of our mission as opposed to earning their support.
Much of today's monologue stems from a consistent theme that we as consultants witness on a regular basis: a donor or community representative bestows a gift upon an organization and the organization completely fails to express its genuine appreciation and in many cases misses the opportunity to even say "thanks."
At its most basic level, the process of fundraising includes at a minimum four components: -Donor Identification -Cultivation -Solicitation -Stewardship
Where we often see mistakes made is in the approach organizations take in jumping from identification to solicitation as fast as possible and then moving on to ask the next donor that's been identified. While you may win a few of those, the organizations with some of the strongest resource development programs find a way to fulfill today's immediate financial needs, while building long-term, more meaningful relationships with donors.
I'm guessing that the continued relationship began with an authentic "thank you." When an organization asks me how they can strengthen their relationship with their existing donors, I often ask them whether they are tired of saying "thank you" to their donors yet; and if the answer is no, I say start there. You'll be amazed at the results.
About the blogger: Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE, serves as Consultant & Director of Client Development at Achieve, LLC. Nick can be reached by phone at 317-637-3000 or via email at nparkevich@achieveguidance.com.
Considering Direct Mail? Then Consider These Helpful Hints
By Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE
A successful direct mail program can be the cornerstone of a comprehensive development process. Effective direct mail appeals are fully capable of acquiring new donors, maintaining current donors and upgrading donor gifts to new levels of giving.
Read the rest of this article at: www.achieveguidance.com/blog/considering-direct-mail-then-consider-these-helpful-hints
Groupthink: One of the Deadly Sins for Nonprofits?
By Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE
On January 28, 1986, Americans were shocked as they watched the Shuttle Challenger explode only 73 seconds after launch. That grief turned to anger when it was disclosed that a group of engineers decided in a group setting that it would be ok to launch the shuttle even though the outside temperature was at least 15 degrees colder than any previous shuttle launch; and well colder than the temperature required for the fuel tank “o-rings” to work.
How did they come to this decision? They locked themselves into a room and with tons of pressure both inside and outside that room, and convinced themselves that the “o-rings” would heat up with the ambient temperature of the launch process. They even knew exactly how long it would be for the “o-rings” to reach operational temperature. Does any of this sound familiar to your board meetings? As passionate organizations, we’ve often “drank the kool-aid” as the saying goes and can easily convince ourselves of “what’s best.” When in fact, we know full well that the decision we’re about to make has a high degree of potential failure.
What’s more, we often see board members make recommendations or decisions that they would not make individually, or in their own business/ professional life.
Welcome to the world of “groupthink.” When I recently confronted an Executive Director about the rampant groupthink occurring in her board meetings, she offered a response that I should have seen coming, but was still caught off guard. She said something along these lines: “We’re a nonprofit. We’re doing things nobody else wants to do, so even if we make mistakes along the way, the people we serve are still better off.”
And therein lies the problem. She’s not only drank the kool-aid as well, but she’s been drawn completely into the groupthink process and refuses to think objectively about how much more the organization could accomplish and instead has settled for mediocrity.
Think bigger, avoid groupthink, and refuse to drink the kool-aid. You, your board, your organization, your mission, and ultimately those you serve will be thankful you avoided this potentially deadly sin.
About the blogger: Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE, serves as Consultant & Director of Client Development at Achieve, LLC. Nick can be reached by phone at 317-637-3000 or via email at nparkevich@achieveguidance.com.
Concerned about growing to meet the needs of your mission, without experiencing mission creep? Watch Achieve's most recent webinar addressing exactly this topic at:
www.achieveguidance.com/video/2009-12-08 11.01 Growing to Meet the Needs of Your Mission.wmv
