Nonprofit Radio for April 14, 2017: Subtle Steps To The Ask

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My Guest:

Gail Perry: Subtle Steps To The Ask

I invited Gail Perry back live after we rebroadcast her in March because I was reminded how much energy and simple smarts she has. For this show, she shares her strategies to prep your donors for successful solicitations. From her home in Raleigh, NC, she’ll be on Facebook Live and I’ll be on Periscope. Gail’s book is Fired Up Fundraising.

 


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Hello and welcome to tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent. I’m your aptly named host. Oh, i’m glad you’re with me. I’d get slapped with a diagnosis of maya clinic dystonia if you moved me with the idea that you missed today’s show subtle steps to the ask invited gail perry back live after we re broadcast her in march because i was reminded how much energy and simple smart she has for this show, she shares her strategies to prep your donors for successful solicitations. Gayle’s book is fired-up fund-raising we are calling in from her home in raleigh, north carolina, and we’re on face and more on facebook live and periscope to get to that in a second sarrantonio take two non-profit radio on stanford social innovation review. We’re sponsored by pursuing full service fund-raising data driven and technology enabled, you’ll raise more money pursuant dot com, and by we be spelling super cool spelling bee fundraisers. We the spelling dot com so today’s show is on periscope through me i’m at tony martignetti and there’s i’m turning to periscope if you want to join us on periscope, check me out. At tony martignetti and we’re also on facebook live jail perry that’s fired-up fund-raising page on facebook is over here on her phone facebook so join us for a live video, anyone nasco or, um or fake work-life and i am really pleased teo excited, please. A lot of things to be in jail. Perry home. She is an international fund-raising consultant, you know, speaker, trainer and philanthropy leader. She was a frontline fundraiser at the university of north carolina at chapel hill. And over her thirty years she has helped loads of organizations grayce hundreds of millions of dollars, her book is fired-up fund-raising turn board passion into action published by wile e. And you will find her at dale perry dot com she’s also at deshele perry and see gil perry i waive attorney is just such an expert, and he knows the fund-raising business inside an outward so, so much fun to be talking. Shop with him today school and thank you for having me for a beautiful woman. Raleigh um, yeah, thanks so much. You know we’re a little steps the ask what do you see as the sort of the problem? Why? Why? Why is it worse us talking for an hour, about subtle steps to the well, you know, the ask is so the moment of truth for fundraisers and people bungle asked, i think more often than they make them successfully and lots of times i don’t know if you’ve ever been asked for a gift, and it was it felt like an affront like people just came out and blurted it out, and you’re going book, you know, i have felt like that more than once i got my way do not want donors feel like it’s in a front yard, a different level of giving a beautiful side streets on oh my god, you’re with these ideas are blooming and yes, values are blooming right now. Alright, your level of giving yeah, i mean, i’m still on the clock, but it’s still like asking is tough and it’s offered and it’s done so poorly and and you’re not going to be successful if you make your donor go, but you know their ways tiptoe up to the donor and you want to feel the donor right every step of the way to make sure you’re spending the right time with the right person and that your donor is is going down this pathway, there’s literally a pathway to take your donors on so that your donorsearch gets a point where they can say i’d love to help. You have going to help you. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Dahna says, how can i help you? We have done a good job of cultivation, so we’re making some mistakes in the preparation of the abilities of the subtle steps to yes, you ask. Okay. Okay. You like to talk to you in your actual steps? You like to talk about getting permission? Yes. Permission for the way you should never you should never surprise a donor with with a nasco dahna needs to know the ask is coming. I mean, look, a lot of us have been invited. Teo askem, it is like a luncheon, you know? And somebody asked you to fill their table. And you think this is gonna be nice? Get benched and learning about this? Non-profit and you said there and you were pitch to light with a hard ass staring at the pledge card. And you’re asked for, like, ten minutes to look at the pledge card thing. About what you can do and it’s it’s. Not a good idea. It ticks off donors, i think, to be surprised with an asking from the front and also the larger donor. You want to find out the donor’s really ready to discuss asking with you were discussed a gift with you and all these little steps are you? You gently put an idea on the table and you find out donor-centric sted and then you’re discussing the idea. And then you ask certain questions and all of a sudden bingo there’s your ass. So it’s not like this question that happened out of the blue and let me let me tell you a quick story way your city. I was coaching a young woman who was raising money for community college in manhattan, and she had a great relationship with this alumni couple and very social. They’re very happy. She loved hanging out with this couple and she took them to lunch and she asked them for gift of fun, front of scholarship and they were stoned. They were stunned. They probably fell out of their chairs. They had they were thinking they had a social relationship and that she was doing this for fun. And so my young friend missed some of the subtle steps. Tio remind the donors that she is a fundraiser and that her job is really the match. The boners, up with their interest at the organization aboutthe total, non secular, and people are. People just don’t know how to do it way. Don’t want to make your donor fall out of the chair. You know, we don’t want to do that, okay? So the first step it’s a couple minutes before we take take a first break way wantto make sure that the people are we’re talking to will we call them prospects? I don’t like think that’s offgrid potential donor potential does a little or like very clinical. Yeah, potential donors if we’re gonna be on that. So you want to make sure your potential donors are qualified? Yeah, first of all, let’s talk about qualifying a potential donor or a prospect to use some technical language that may not be coos. You. You you qualify a donor and you do two things you determined that they have the interest in your cause that can be developed and they have capacity to give. So qualifying your donors is a journey you’re always looking for cues. You gas your donor here’s some here’s, some questions that’s your donor to determine capacity. What do you do in your spare time? Tell me about your work. You know, you tell answer. Don’t tell you about their work and all of a sudden they say i manage a hedge fund fund-raising you do in your spare time, you know, ski the ski around the world the alps and the rockies, you know, the donors will tell you these things, and they are accused about a donor’s financial capacity, and one of my friends is fun right before hospital, and she says, navid, you’re out of the hospital. Do you plan to travel? And if the donor says, oh, yeah, we’re going to go around around the world cruise now that i’m well, she knows she has the prospect, at least with capacity, and if the donor’s says no, we’re driving the rv down to florida and we’re going to camp out for a little while. She knows that this person is not gonna be a prospect for a major gift, so you want to determine capacity and their loss of different ways. But i’ve written a lot of my block gil period dot com about screening on doing research on prospects to find that capacity. Okay, so there’s, just one topic, right? And we’re gonna come back to the sea and back to pass because i have more questions to ask you about. Yeah, that was more organic way don’t telling you. Yeah, but there are other ways, and you’re a part of that which is the interest, yeah, so we going for our first break right now, and when we come back to court, i’m going to keep talking. Ron, we’re live on facebook at fired-up fund-raising page, and we are live on periscope at twenty martignetti stay with us, you’re tuned to non-profit radio. Tony martignetti also hosts a podcast for the chronicle of philanthropy fund-raising fundamentals is a quick ten minute burst of fund-raising insights published once a month. Tony’s guests are expert in crowdfunding, mobile giving event fund-raising direct mail and donor cultivation. Really all the fund-raising issues that make you wonder, am i doing this right? Is there a better way there is? Find the fund-raising fundamentals archive it. Tony martignetti dot com that’s marketmesuite n e t t i remember there’s a g before the end, thousands of listeners have subscribed on itunes. You can also learn maura, the chronicle website financer, p dot com fund-raising fundamentals, the better way. Around a break right now. Welcome back to big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent of your aptly named host marin gail perry’s home raleigh, north carolina i have to live with love a time way, got multiple channels live were not only we’re not only streaming live that st louis, missouri with us, tampa, florida hello, live this love to you st louis and tampa woodbridge, new jersey watching latto listening live uh, to the livestream we’ve got ireland and then we have something called uk, so i don’t know if that’s also ireland or it could be england or wales. I don’t know, but island live up to you. Yeah, marin and was on with some facebook labbate maria pompel cool love fremery simple, yeah, yeah, we’ve also got somewhere united states somewhere besides st louis in tampa and ah, woodridge, that could be maria simple. So live listen love already who’s listening live right now by the podcast podcast i can present for those you’re gonna catch it on the podcast when it comes when you close in on their own schedule. Over twelve thousand people now live through itunes, stitcher hot day player, other other smaller podcast platforms, so pleasantries to the podcast listeners and of course, i remember you, pally infections could be a bayonet in that station, this year’s throughout the country am fm stations throughout the country. Thank you. Affections, affections for am and fm sustainers wherever, whatever time of day and whatever day just patient fits. Not probably you into your schedule into its schedule. I’m glad you’re with us. You know that somehow you’re listening on that station. And this is the number of a radio dot com with tony martignetti and gail period case you’re joining late. You can take you during some periscope or facebook live late non-profit radio. We’re talking about the subtle steps to the asking where you are in paris, home in raleigh. Okay, wait. You have qualified potential donor there are talking to andi. You give examples, do it zoho kind of person says with applications would like suppose it doesn’t come that easily to us way have the opportunity to be meeting a person, uh, about research from our people will be able to help us. How else could be? Oh, yeah, we determined. Yes, well, if you’re trying to get ready to ask a donor of course, what we’re trying to do is figure out if they’re qualified and we want to determine interest level and capacity to give. So when you’re looking at capacity prospect research online is they go mama and you can simply google your donor or goethe linked in lincoln is a really interesting story because you can you can find out who is connected to the stoner, and sometimes you can find that board members have connections to donors. So online resource is maria simple is with us and she’s, the online prospect research guru ourselves? Yes. Your primary at the prospect finders gotta give her a set out. She’s our prosecutors contributed a a very big proponent of using living. Yeah, research. Yeah, yeah. And then there are other sources. Might be my favorite way to qualify. A prospect is toe ask around about the prospect. I like to do something called screening sessions and i just wrote a blogged about screening sessions a couple weeks ago. The agitator blood picked it up. Yeah, way. Yeah, yeah, a lot of attention. Rather praise with cerini sessions with black i thought i’ve done it got died and gone to heaven. I’d reached the pinnacle of my overtired market fremery including anything about what’s appropriate and what’s kind of yes in non-profits yes, but a training session is when you have a short list of donors and you go than each name and you discuss these names or potential donors or prospects with another person or with a small group of people and it’s a delicate conversation because some people are not comfortable talking about this, but not your usual out on your friend’s basically, well, i believe with usually people who are donors to an organization and their leaders that the organization, they no other major donors, they want to help you bring these people in and it’s like fund-raising strategy generally willing, well, it that you want to find out, and also i have a friend i’m coaching and major gifts right now, and she said that she’s been instructed to call a donor and say, would you please engage in a priority prospect review with me? And that sounds intimidating, but instead, if you said with human brainstorming about some potential donors with me, that is a different way and you get a different response, so i didn’t think that a lot of how we are about our work makes a big difference about how what kind of reaction we get. We’re very formal and like, ooh, this is awkward. People are going to be formal and awkward back, but if we’re casual like your casual day, we’re casual casual about fund-raising it’s, easiest, doable people will feel like it’s, not so intimidating to write durney agree, the’s, no way to determine a prospect capacity. I have to say, there is. The weather is so beautiful here. That girl had our doors wide open when i came in and there’s now flying house with helicopter bugging, right, isn’t he had seen it before. Dale has a five. I don’t activate it online, but rob your your helicopter in the background on spray. Ok, um, wait, well, we’re trying to get prospect interest in our organization generally wear and what these questions to ask it’s always nice to have questions if you’re fun, right to ask, how did you come to be a donor? I’d love to hear your story and then they start talking about it and you go tell me more fascinating what happened next, you know? So you’re drawing i from the donor, their story opening, you know, and look, you may have a social service, somebody i was doing a weapon on this topic yesterday, and somebody said, well, we’re we’re not a hospital or university, we are about a women’s shelter. How can we ask today? And this is what you said to a donor then how did you come to be to be a donor to us? Tell me about your interest in domestic violence, you know? And the person can reveal what they want to reveal. I mean, i’ve never been in a battered situation, but i have a deep love and breaking my heart for women who go through that and i want to give to this cause because i believe in it, but no but fundrasing have never asked me why i care about it, you know? And i think we make a big mistake. Fundrasing because donors have a story and they have a passion and they want to like, they want to share it with people, but fund-raising has never asked. So if you wantto determine if your prospects interested or if you want to grow their interests, get them to tell you their story about what, how they’re connected to your organization, there you next-gen yeah, no, really we’re going to clear meyerhoff clarence he’s great, you know, i’m going to live in the studio next friday and we’re talking about donorsearch, torrey, i got you got strategies for getting getting a fine point, getting into details and not wrong, but in those nearly cool detail that makes a story very special daughter story, yes, so wear that. Yeah dankmyer mamatoto fired-up fund-raising go to prospect research guru to and she’s done a lot of weapon or what? That’s what tony luna’s just said hello hey, tony he’s about the pearl s buck foundation oh, cool, really wonderful, wonderful were going to say, i’m sponsoring a child with probono flandez schnoll what will you do the job? Well, they engaged me for board retreat and then for some consulting, and they showed me these pictures literally you can look at a kid and choose to sponsor them, you see their stories, and for thirty dollars a month, you can spot them. And tony luna was dahna webinar on your old movie let tony tony boot just joined on tiny only just joined the literary tony way. We’re doing a weapon on donorsearch shoretz and unneeded, tony, and he told us story and it made me cry, and i went to a website and a and a familiar enough with their work and recited it, and so i’d already been warmed up, so to speak made the commitment, right? Tony, i can’t see your comments anyway, but thanks for joint, you’re amazing fund-raising every donor donor has stories every dahna has the story, so if you’re trying to qualify your donor interesting capacity, you know, and the donor’s story is one way to find out their interest and you can you can ask them also, what else did they give money to or what? What? Not money, but what are their philanthropic? Powerthru e-giving volunteering. What? What else in the community? What other projects and causes are you involved? That’s, huge information. And, you know, sometimes you can say what? Do your top three philanthropic priorities and donors have priorities? They have a mall, a that they got a vision about, what they want accomplish in the world and fund-raising that they’re completely in the door. You suggest a lot of asking. Now i have the other half of that is a lot of listening. How about interfering without pushing what you think the older maybe interested in or what the latest program is that desperately needs funding. Yeah. That’s not where the donor is going. The potential that was going don’t steer them grand simple listening. Right? And we think we gotta have this presentation. We have had a four color brochure. We have that the back-up sheet and the this and the that the power point. And we think we think we’re supposed to go in and, like, sail the donor on some, uh, on something but that’s. Not the way to get money from a donor and get investment. No, you shut up and you ask questions. And you listen, your way to the gift. Listen, wait, get listen your way to get you that way. I have a newsletter by post every friday on my block, and i just posted a lot. My block post this morning was about listening your way to the gift and had to get him how to get an appointment with a major donor is to ask them for advice and let them know they get to do the talking. That was not a very subtle way. Yes, but not total pollution. Well, you know, this is a reference tool way you have to be subtle about promoting your excellent work. Okay, you did mention getting others involved, others who may be able to tell you about people and their willingness to do it. Yeah, you’re a former dancer. Yeah, right. Were you modern or classical high school? And i moved to modern and you didn’t move tomorrow. You do a lot of work with art. Screwed. I did have our background. Do i back? You are due. And i did. And i’m very out of the north among the rolli city arts commission here and i’m attending a lot of art performance. Is all over what happens really? City rights commission when you moved to chapel hill, i’m sure they will have percent i know, like sure that they are going to find another person that people in line politically try to get on that board. Do you find smaller scoops? Trouble identifying here? And we’re talking about several steps to be a terrible to identifying, having a decent prospect type like, well, don’t you think? I mean small art lorts groups they’re usually so see that the pants and so yeah, beautiful, and i love that burning coal theatre is one of my favorites were subscribers there and donors in raleigh, and they have a very skeleton staff, and they really only have an artistic director, and they don’t have the infrastructure to have a real fund-raising off, then it shows, you know? So so what is a small group like that, whether their arts or social service in its hour? Then i would get a grant, whatever their fund, infrastructure capacity building grant from some of these sources around raleigh who would like to see them drugs? Okay, all right goes way beyond raleigh, right? Anybody looking for information that will make us yeah, that building is huge, and you should be at make a big case for it because a lot of donors will give to that if they know you’ve got a strong program that’s well received in the community, and you don’t have a staff to do marketing and fund-raising and and solicitations, i mean, you gotta have that kind of infrastructure either get volunteers to do it. Yeah, because you’re never gonna get it right if i if i could, like, struggle like non-profits you know, you got this one dollar and what do you do with it? You know, do you spend it on your program? You’re feeding hungry children, you’re putting on amazing performances, you got your program area or you invested in infrastructure? What do you do with that dollar? But and everybody wants to put in program, but if you don’t invest in infrastructure, you will never grow up, never grow up. It’s a dilemma? I am, i know that’s a lemon that’s twice the vast majority of non-profits never break having seventy five thousand dollars in annual revenue is something like seventy percent o r understood me very hard, very difficult. But it would help you out. So tips for building your potential donor needs to be accurate. Your boardmember talk about the board get as being potential referrals for people who may be interested in ways we need to but here’s the problem people go, the board members, and they say, give us ten names so we can send solicitation letters to him and the board members going what i don’t want to. I don’t want to hit up my friend and we approach, you know, just like we were approaching donors wrong, we’re approaching boardmember is wrong instead, and you’re going to hear more. You heard from roger craver, what last wednesday attention if you get boardmember that just made thank you phone call and thank you notes, and they’d be host tours for donors and have parties for donors. You will raise more money period on that’s great way to not be off putting to boardmember right, we’re not comfortable, so we’ll be willing to write it down and i’ll sit across from her desk and all i ask for. No, i’m happy to do it because i love the organization and i’m comfortable i’m comfortable losing, yeah. Others need to be more. But dude, you are not. Not so from my about doing a lot of money, bring a network. Not not for immediate solicitation, but bring friend open open door exactly what you said to me over and over. They said if i could just get my board members open doors, that’s all i need them to do is open doors. Uh, and so i tell you, my ports party story because i never say no to a rally story sport right out here on the front porch. Teo so i was a board member of the carolina ballet, and we had a new artistic director who came down from philadelphia. Ricky wise and it’s a boardmember i wanted to open some doors and connect the balance, especially ricky with some key players in the community. So i had a porch party and so interesting on fighting sixty people it’s all about email, and i deliberately invited people that i thought could be helpful to the ballet. You know, very strategic and not a porch has a good reputation for parties so that people like to come to gayle’s house for whatever and of the sixty. People that i invited thirty kane and thirty did not come, so it was like the people who came self-funding people who were not instant did not come. So from a boardmember standpoint, you’re boardmember not tryingto arm twist people, the people that they invite can either come or not. So it’s easy to it’s not so scary for remember so when we had a party and i put on my fund-raising hat and i said to the fundrasing staff said, these are the top three people on my porch. He’s your guy he’s, a venture capitalist and his daughters to ballet and dancer he’s your got screwed, and so i knew what to do for the staff. And so they were like helicopter fundraisers, you know, you’re gently it’s circling, and then you gently glide in when there’s a new opportunity, and he was like, he was really glad to meet them really glad to make ricky really gabby get involved. He became chair of the board and frankly, thank you. Agree. Thank you think he kept the ballet alive for a few years that i’ll have a norman porter under because just open the door, so shall i. Tell boardmember that story, you know, because it doesn’t have to be so scary that you don’t like right ten names down and give it to people we have about a minute before next break, i got a little business but that’s just teeth. The idea of your next you next subtle step, which is touchpoint? Yes. Just give us an overview of that. Well, one should donorsearch qualified for interesting capacity. Your next step is to find out what their hot button for you. So you you want to know their area of interest that your organization okay? And that’s a fun conversation. All right? We’re gonna probe that the hot buttons in just a couple minutes. I have to do a little business. So there’s a lot more on the subtle steps to the ass coming up and you know them. Sponsors of the show. Their latest free content paper is still fresh and very relevant. It is the intelligent fundraisers guide to sustaining. Giving research proves that there is cause and effect between sustaining, giving and dahna retention. I can’t put any simpler, sustained and retained, sustained and retained paper will help you learn the right way. To start your sustaining giving program or expand, it doesn’t matter where you are. You can learn something from this it’s that pursuing dot com you quick resource is then tent papers it’s the intelligent fundraisers guide to sustaining, giving well, make me read it to you i don’t want to spend an hour on non-profit radio reading, get it, get it! We’ll be spelling spelling bees for millennial fund-raising no algebra with natural logs this week. That was that was last week’s show today, just reminding you about this fund. Cool fund-raising night with a spelling bee concert stand up comedy, live music dancing around fund-raising at a local typically they’re like bars and restaurants, but these things are smashes for millennial events. Millennial fund-raising so you check out their video at wi be spelling dotcom cool idea. Now time for tony, take two non-profit radio is now part of stanford social innovation review. I announced that last week, and i’m saying it again because it’s my show and i do what i need to do. I do whatever the hell i need to do twice on stanford social innovation review, because this is really exciting to be on. Such a premier platform. S i r right, you know them. Thank you, big deal. I’ve never made it. The stanford special innovation reviews you have viewed that you at the big kind of hear, well, you’ve been personally for gift, and i have not yet, so check it out, forces a video introducing this whole thing, as it was last week. There’s always video, you know me, you know, this is always going to video. I looked that actually in the video, i look a little fast, very frightening, but look at the video shoot i’m talking about is that tony martignetti dot com, and that is tony, take two. Let’s, go! Ok, let’s, continue. Well, remind people we’re on. We’re on page five that’s the fired-up fund-raising page facebook alive that’s where you’ll find us. There were also on paris. Go the first cop over here on the screen and that’s at tony martignetti my periscope. So join us if you want to check out video. If you’re accustomed to the to the last dream and wanna check out video, find us either of those two patience. Okay, uh, let’s, go back to the little steps yet again. So how do we start to find out what really moves people about our work? Well, that’s it really like that? It’s a really fun conversation first. The first step, of course, with the donor, is to qualify them for interesting capacity. And once you know that your donor is qualified, you know what interests you most about our work. This is not hard to ask. And the initials quite questions to determine interesting capacity. Lots of times you don’t. I will tell you what. There in student in most. But it’s. Really interesting. If you think about, give me a typical number off it. Question paper non-profit up in new york or somewhere like that. Ah, one of my school friends. Ah, historical society. Yeah. Okay. Historical society has got different legs to its case for supporters. Got different areas that people might be interested in. There might be a downtown redevelopment air interest because they’re old has is our facility downtown that they’re working on it? Not for this position, but okay. Could be a historical preservation overall, that way a history, a history aspect, history in communication on and then there may be an education aspect. Then there may be a heritage aspect. Maybe there’s some genealogy issue our ah ah demographic. You know, african american or hispanic or caucasian. You know that you can trace down the lines, and then they’re maybe maybe a furniture. O r ah, a cultural civilization. Maybe the sociology, the way people live because i know that my mother was involved in a plantation historical society. Any short callen and they weren’t. They hit the furniture, and they have african american story. And they had the overall history of the governor stone of north carolina, three organization thinking of alba, the abraham lincoln brigade. Cool. They are memorializing the group of men. Who went from the u s to fight in the spanish civil war against the fascists? Andrea caldnear recalled every home lincoln brigade abraham lincoln gave archives alive by descendants of the brigade members have someone bring you in terms of geology, different askanase history, education, right. Keeping alive memory generally. And so your donor is going to change your donor’s typically interested in one area versus the others or, you know, some donorsearch ascension. Your financials, you know, how do you know how? How are you organizing yourself to make to make a difference? I could have got interesting. Your financial it might be financially oriented person, right? Who’s concerned about your balance sheet? Basically. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, you know, like, what should wash your business model. And how can i help you? You know, are you bringing in enough money? And, you know, because i think the business model sometimes is interesting strategic discussion. So my point is you don’t have got different area you. Every organization has got a bunch of different areas that’s going to interest a donor. And so when you say what you just did into that organization till you tell me how you became a donor. Tell me about your experience with our organization. Ah, hospital turns out they’re interested in the maternity stuff. There’s. All this new stuff happening with maturity. My daughter just had a baby in chapel hill a few months ago, and i think, it’s all the stuff you have a lot of movement. Yeah, great. Neo-sage neo-sage s so so, for example, if i were really instant numa attorney stuff and i’m a grandmother. Gosh, well, then i can meet the new attorney. Doctor. I can meet the midwife. I can see. I can confound that stories about patients who’ve had the experience. And maybe i had a really frightening childbirth when i came along. And i have some, you know, lots of times donors have a personal past or something. That something that happened, teo, like i tried to be a ballet dancer. That was happy, you know, or whatever. You know, they had a difficult or somebody and their family did. But use a donor has a deep connection. If you can find that i’ve and so what you’re trying to do is build build upon your donor’s interests. Dahna specific interest area may also be clues in their past e-giving designated just certain programs programs obviously right about move zone, you ask why i you know you’re getting consistently do this, um, to the education component way you are doing well in school. What is it about that way? Is there anything else way we’re interviewing? The donor hyre good? We’re not presenting. We’re not presenting a news programme that has your funny now you told that is not the way to engage a major donor, and also people need to realize, too, that i made major gifts are almost always designated for something. They’re rarely unrestricted unless a donor really believes an unrestricted. You know, when i make my major give sunday in my life, i’m tourney between making an understated to my favorite place or making it for something special. I’m thinking about endowing if i could if i could live down the president’s position, so that would free up money. But i want the president come talk to me every year and tell me what’s going on. You know, some of the donors have conditions, too, and one, i’m talking a little bit on the subject at the at the international conference in san francisco in a couple of weeks, and my colleague who’s presenting with me, she says that one of the things that you need to do in the subtle steps you need to serve donors outrageously, she says she has cooked for donors, she helped them get the right kind of hotel rooms. Her name is ella george paul she’s, a senior director of major gifts at the lineberger cancer center in chapel hill and she’s, brilliant serving orders outrageously, outrageously and and then somebody wrote him e-giving webinar just yesterday, and she said, i’m just a one person shop. How can i do that? This is making me feel overwhelmed, and so i said, pick one donor who has the interest and mega capacity and maybe make it you’re a goal or get a boardmember to help you with, you know, small organizations can use the same strategies you just deal with fewer people don’t sell yourself short pitches, small organization, you have the bandages serve people personally, yeah, outrageously personally latto reservation canopy portfolio is big in our assuming major donors. Yes, no, i’m just no mall shops have a distinct advantage in this pond. The the sort of way just remind you that i’ve had a few years ago, but he played his show once a year. It’s peter shankman and his books his hold tommy boylen, zombie loyalists. I like i get it how to serve people so well, because preserves wise that they are zombies xero donation and they do your pr and marketing in pollution for you that kind of way right on. And he boatinfoworld corporate, but it’s, great lessons, non-profits and we make the point as as i could you lots of times peter and i do that small shops have a distinct advantage in this. You’re not. You are not sure changed and come, you know, under other resource in that respect, in terms of how you can serve people. I think small shops tend to hold themselves a small and sell themselves short with their thinking. Oh, we can’t do that were too small and it’s it’s better to have a possibility thinking rather than the way we can’t do that thing, you know? Tio against anyone that is that it’s negative it’s destructive. Yeah, right. Right. Condoms. Okay, let’s, go, teo, your next step, which is creating some calculation opportunity. Yeah, on what we know about. Yeah. So look for what she qualify your donor for. Interesting, interesting capacity. Next step is found out. They’re hot buttons and then the next step create cultivation experiences for the donor around the area of interest in it. And again, this is all fun stuff, right? It’s not working. It’s. Not hard work for a donor to the interview me before i was fundrasing be interviewing the donor. Found out why they love you and and then help them love yume or about connecting them with interest. And let me just give some examples. All right, tony luna, you hope you’re still listening. You know, i could have the opportunity to i’ve been invited to write to the child i’m sponsoring in the philippines or to hear from his parents. I could if i wanted to learn more about that area of interest, i think it’s a bit painful for me because i know i’m not so sure i want to have direct contact, but i’m really interested in some parts of the pearl buck society work, you know, for, uh, for for hospital again. I was wrong about the maternity ward. You know the incident, the fund-raising it is not a cultivation experience. A series of experience around the interesting experience, you know, the ballet of the theater. You know, the ballet. I’m interested in the parachute. Well, gosh. So give me a son. Pair of posies o got the frame. Um, you know, and and i get the like, why supreme a ballerina warm up, i oh, my god. She’s so beautiful. You go inside and you come to rehearsal. Yeah, maybe a little backstage tour. Your show. Listen, e i hey, i was i was a ballet fan and the valet staff during the nutcracker. They invited me and my daughters and me for a backstage tour during intermission. And there’s a short upon very warming up. I can still remember i’m like i’m about a weep over the beauty. Yeah. And, you know, that’s a donor experience that brings your donordigital and it is so much fun to do and also i want to make a point really important point that donors there’s some studies l b burke’s research says that donors enjoy meeting program here, so, you know, you’ve got non-profit you’ve got all these different people doing the work, people will think that you talk to the program officers every yeah, they come to staff meetings, you seem them always out, feel something, you know, for a owner, or potentially going to be brought in someone out where, on a very special opportunity, a lot of people, because it’s all routine just prevented. Yeah, you office donors, all that love, that stuff. And so again, we’re making fund-raising fun. We’re making fund-raising easy. I call this the sikander easier, gentler and much more successful and much more fun. Way to raise money, waste zaptitude. Stuff that that union, the organization probably take for granted. They’re going to be very, very interesting to your potential boners. Yeah, i think of ah, not ha ve you a patient. The hosts are in the studio every single day is no big deal, but for a donor or a potential to be brought in and you all the sparkling equipment like crashing and the host contracts with the producer get a tour of the studio that you know, it’s something insider that people working at that studio probably take for granted everything that you’re doing and what you’re years ago it was take your daughter to work day when i went to chapel hill and i took my daughter and we got a little tour and we went over to the w unc radio. Oh, and we were playing hall on campus that there was keep what’s, his name broadcasting and there’s keys. I hear mother, right? And and you know, the thing about this kind of saying that’s still remember i longer, but you got the donor, got a picture, got a visual. I’m talking about visual experiences that i had and that is different from words. It’s one thing to use upon right? Just try to tell your story and you could do a great job but give you don’t experience, then you don’t have to do so much work, and the donor has somehow imprints on the donor more than your story alive experience labbate spirit was more vivid than over sure for your story about or even a video don’t just tell your story about workflows thing to do work washing work? Yeah, did he hand on? Yeah, it’s something i’m thinking agriculture, but yeah, something hand on and actually i believe in asking donors that they want a volunteer because studies show there was a big study gosha awhile about this to the eighty, they may be at the bank america high net worth study that said that eighty four percent of high net worth donors and their survey volunteered, and the ones that volunteered more than one hundred dollars, a year gave almost one hundred thousand in the year to their cost. So the more the mohr is a direct correlation between the amount of time you’re dot volunteer spends with you and the gift they’re going to get this really engagement. It’s. Really real engagement. All right, great let’s, break things right. I screw up or break, and when we come back down and i’m going to wrap up with the subtle steps to the ask stay with tom paris cope with clive. Like what you’re hearing a non-profit radio tony’s got more on youtube, you’ll find clips from stand up comedy tv spots and exclusive interviews catch guests like seth gordon. Craig newmark, the founder of craigslist marquis of eco enterprises, charles best from donors choose dot org’s aria finger do something that worked. And naomi levine from new york universities heimans center on philanthropy tony tweets to he finds the best content from the most knowledgeable, interesting people in and around non-profits to share on his stream. If you have valuable info, he wants to re tweet you during the show. You can join the conversation on twitter using hashtag non-profit radio twitter is an easy way to reach tony he’s at tony martignetti narasimhan t i g e n e t t i remember there’s a g before the end he hosts a podcast for the chronicle of philanthropy fund-raising fundamentals is a short monthly show devoted to getting over your fund-raising hartals just like non-profit radio, toni talks to leading thinkers, experts and cool people with great ideas. As one fan said, tony picks their brains and i don’t have to leave my office fund-raising fundamentals was recently dubbed the most helpful non-profit podcast you have ever heard. You can also join the conversation on facebook, where you can ask questions before or after the show. The guests were there, too. Get insider show alerts by email, tony tells you who’s on each week and always includes link so that you can contact guests directly. To sign up, visit the facebook page for tony martignetti dot com. Hi, this is claire meyerhoff from the plan giving agency. If you have big dreams but a small budget, you have a home at tony martignetti non-profit radio. Oppcoll welcome back and the irony of jail talking over krauz hyre hope is that they were very good friends. She realized mike was hot and it was a drop playing, but they’re very good backing you mary-jo back and forth. Okay, uh, you know, i don’t know a very good thing going drop for non-profit your way on next week, talking about clolery story’s getting the fine details and at a craft, that story doesn’t have any long to be genuine and heartfelt, and to be a motivating donorsearch story and president about that that’s, right, radio titley, henry norris, you know, totally enjoy hyre she’s, our fired-up fund-raising go to play e-giving favorite person, and she’s, also a buddy of mine, we run, we run around together here in raleigh, is we say, okay, cool she’s gonna miss you when you were a chapel hill, what company are you going? Okay, that’s to spend more time with the with the probation opportunities. Who else could participate? Maybe. Yeah. They’re friends with another potential boner with a small group. Yeah. Uh, noah boardmember remember can be involved in your introduction. Five, because you know well, you know what? When you start designing a cultivation plan, we do something called moves management, and we want to design a new move which is experiences for your donor’s. Step by step. So you could be really creative in your moves. You know, you can invite them. And if they don’t come to the event, you still get credit for the introduction, right? Or for the invitations. You get it, and then you can arrange for them to make your ceo. You can go up the ladder about different people they can meet. You can give them tours and conversations with the program’s staff about the area there incident. Ah, and so you are happy. But the thing is, this is very important to keep this easy to get this to be too social. So you want to try to have meetings with donors rather than visits? This is the new terminology meetings, can we? Have a meeting. And you were that fancy new way? Well, elena, who did not wish and i did this webinar yesterday we’re going to give in san francisco. She has a slot about the old words in the new words. Okay, there’s, the new ready meetings way donorsearch this is more social. A meeting is maybe a little bit more business, like a little bit more transactional because my job is to wear off to our station comes to are we want to use visit but the thing is that, um we don’t want to make it seem to social call way have meeting. We’ll have a little bit zoho waning relevance off my stage three umbrella visit and then within the visit we have meetings with yo. Yeah, program staff and i think as many people as possible. Yeah, maybe these are not all formal meetings, but just like even just an interaction. Just a hello. This is our cfo, but the faint know the fail. Please meet meet, meet our new donor-centric just something breathing. But it comes to the point where you have the sight of the donor. And this valley says this is even in thee, the qualification states, would you? And this is the key question to pop. Would you like to know more about how you could impact this project area? Well, that’s that’s the beginning of the ass that’s. The beginning of the end of the conversation. Thie is the end of the beginning of the steps. Now, in the beginning of the conversation yes, the conversation would you and say this is like how you ask for permission, you know, would you like to know more about how you could impact that toe shoes for the ballerina? Her? Would you like to know more about how you could help historical society with the structure is not right that you’re saying, when you’re calling the meeting there’s gotta be structure to it? Yeah. Purpose, purpose profnet just social right now. Those this ask necessarily happened at on it depends on what the donor’s chaillou maybe no donor might say, oh, my gosh, i’ve been waiting for you to ask me how you know about this question for a long time. I really want to help. Sometimes we’ll sigh that they sometimes will literally said you haven’t you asked the story, you know? On other donors or just your having to educate your donor about they have this met burning interest, they have to pass to the and now you’re saying to them, would you like to know more about how you could help? So if you can’t be a fun right there, we’re not getting that out of your mail. You have to say it, and then the doctor says you have, like no more, and then you could say, well, if you did to choose ever to invest in us or make the gift, you could do this or this is just the kind of thing you might like to explore. So that way, these air subtle step, these little tiny questions, that’s something i’d like to explore is that i’d like to know a little more. Well, let us, uh, come back to you. You back? Well, well, you know, it’s something you’d like to explore and then you know, i wouldn’t i wouldn’t come back to them. I would try to find out more right there on the spot. Would you like to look at the cardiac centre or the maternity ward, for example? Or would you like to tim, to meet ricky are ballet artistic director and hear from him way. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe not, but when the donors, if you say the donor, would you like them or about how could support this project that’s a specific program and then you say, what else would you would you like some options of what you could fund? Would you like to learn? Mohr would you like to meet someone? Uh, um under it kills that my friend in new york city has a story about this thing, the way i loved you are, but but she is the brooklyn i think it was a film group in brooklyn and she’s very involved with the guy came and he said, yeah, liketo, i’d like to support y’all, what can i do? And so they created three different options and one was one hundred thousand and he has one hundred thousand option hyre they’re saying that they think that they think he like a scruffy old guy off the street and lo and behold, never judges your potential. Never, never something conclusive, but not the oppcoll home and you don’t really know you no, but you know something or clues, but, you know, you have a total package, too. Judge well goes on education, but look at the car, look at the car like that. And so the little tiny questions you ask lead, it almost becomes not even ask. Ask it one point because you don’t have to say we were hoping you consider it gift of blah, blah, blah to accomplish blah, blah, blah. Sometimes you don’t even have to do that because this asking conversation so organic would you like them or about how i could support the project? Yeah, i would. Okay. Well, here’s, some ideas, which is the one that you would like? Oh, i would like the scholarships. Tell me more about scholarships and here’s. Some other things you can do. You can sight of a donor when you make the gift to our organization. These kinds of things happen. It has, you know, well know, it’s a process that making give, you know, we have this kind of recognition, and sometimes it takes us a couple of weeks to get it approved because you have a signed agreement. It’s an endowment or scholarship and some donors accused tohave a small recognition of bed or, you know, and you get to meet the blah, blah, blah and and what you’re doing, you’re your visual and i think and helping the dahna visualized and not that it’s, not some mysterious if you’re making a start gift, you know, this is how we walk it through this, how we handle it this time when the sale is made so that you’d not charge any taxes on the appreciation. So all of those things that perfectly permissible to talk about with your donor and they made that the gift more, more realistic, and then another thing you can do this is our thirty seconds. You get a thank you, you tell your daughter what other people have done? Oh, you’re old, you’re part of a community. Yeah, and this dahna gave this and this dahna gave that how you like that affected their great neil perry kottler petal step you’ll find yes, several steps to be asked again. Her book is our fund-raising turned board passion into action, and you will find her and jill perry dot com and also at gail perry and c thank you again so much for having me in your home. Yes, thankyou, thankyou tony it’s so much fun and about a facebook about a periscope next week i’m back in the studio with that. I’ve already said a couple times. Claire meyerhoff she’s, our creative producer and she’s got as i said, donorsearch stories, secrets creative producer to this very show. If you missed any part of today’s show, i beseech you, find it on tony martignetti dot com responsive by pursuing online tools for small and midsize non-profits data driven and technology enabled, and by we be spelling super cool spelling the fundraisers we be spelling dot com creative producer is claire meyerhoff. She’ll be on next week. Sam liebowitz is the line producer up in the studio on west seventy second street, but he mcardle is our am and fm outreach director shows social media is by susan chavez, and this cool music is by scott stein. I don’t hear the music xero with me next week for non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent go out and be great. What’s not to love about non-profit radio tony gets the best guests check this out from seth godin this’s the first revolution since tv nineteen fifty and henry ford nineteen twenty it’s the revolution of our lifetime here’s a smart, simple idea from craigslist founder craig newmark insights orn presentation or anything? People don’t really need the fancy stuff they need something which is simple and fast. When’s the best time to post on facebook facebook’s andrew noise nose at traffic is at an all time hyre on nine a m or eight pm so that’s when you should be posting your most meaningful posts here’s aria finger, ceo of do something dot or ge young people are not going to be involved in social change if it’s boring and they don’t see the impact of what they’re doing so you gotta make it fun and applicable to these young people look so otherwise a fifteen and sixteen year old they have better things to dio they have xbox, they have tv, they have their cell phones me dar is the founder of idealist took two or three years for foundation staff to sort of dane toe, add an email address card. It was like it was phone. This email thing is right and that’s, why should i give it away? Charles best founded donors choose dot or ge. Somehow they’ve gotten in touch kind of offline as it were on dh and no two exchanges of brownies and visits and physical gift. Mark echo is the founder and ceo of eco enterprises. You may be wearing his hoodies and shirts. Tony talked to him. Yeah, you know, i just i i’m a big believer that’s not what you make in life. It zoho, you know, tell you make people feel this is public radio host majora carter. Innovation is in the power of understanding that you don’t just put money on a situation expected to hell. You put money in a situation and invested and expected to grow and savvy advice for success from eric sabiston. What separates those who achieve from those who do not is in direct proportion to one’s ability to ask others for help. The smartest experts and leading thinkers air on tony martignetti non-profit radio big non-profit ideas for the other ninety five percent.

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