A Letter Once Per Yr Doesn't Make It

8/3/2019 A Letter Once Per Yr Doesn't Make It

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/a-letter-once-per-yr-doesnt-make-it 1/4

800

Ann

-666-3863

AFP

al G No

ThisLinda

4300

(U.S. & C

Inf

ving: an

FP Inforysakowski

ontact: 86

ilson Boul

nada) • 70

ww

rma

A Lnnu

ation Exc, ACFRE,

6-539-999

vard, Suit

3-684-041

.afpnet.or

ion

tter l Ap

~

hange resresident/

• www.cv

300 • Arli

• 001-86

• afp@af

Exc

nce eal

urce is prEO, CAPIT

undriasing

gton, VA

-837-1948

net.org

ang

a Ye ake

vided by:AL VENTUR

.com

2203-416

(Mexico) •

e

r Do

703-684-0

s

540 fax



Annual Giving: A Letter Once a Year Does Not an Annual Appeal Make! Many organizations describe themselves as having an annual appeal, but upon further

investigation, what the annual appeal consists of may be a letter sent to donors or prospective

donors once a year. A strong annual giving appeal consists of far more than just an annual

direct mail appeal. For most successful organizations, annual giving may include, personal visits

with individual major donors, a corporate appeal, a telephone campaign, Internet fundraising

and direct mail.

Annual giving is an important component of any organization’s development program for

several reasons:

• It is generally unrestricted money and can be used for operating expenses such as

salaries

• It helps build relationships with new and existing donors

• The methods and techniques used can lay the groundwork for other fundraising efforts

such as planned giving and capital campaigns

• It is the best way to bring donors into the organization for the first time‐‐donors that

can be cultivated for major gifts in the future

The annual giving appeal should be a major focus of the development plan and should attempt

to

diversify

the

constituent

base

and

the

fundraising

methods

to

be

used.

Diversifying Constituents As most development professionals know, approximately 85% of all contributions in the United

States come from individuals, approximately 12% come from foundations and 6% from

corporations and businesses. Therefore, for an organization to be successful, it should focus

most of its fundraising efforts on individual giving. However, foundations and corporations

should not be ignored as these are also good sources of funding. Foundations, in general, prefer

supporting specific programs, so they will not be addressed here. Corporate fundraising,

however,

is

often

unrestricted

and

should

be

also

considered

as

part

of

the

annual

giving

program.

The annual approach to individuals does not necessarily mean that the organization contacts

donors once a year. Some donors respond to direct mail as often as monthly, others will give

several times a year if a good case has been made. Major donors may prefer being approached

just once a year. It is important to have a plan that outlines who will be contacted, how they

will be approached, how often and when.



When planning how each group of prospects will be approached, one good rule of thumb is to

look at the 95/5 Rule (or the 90/10 Rule), recognizing that 5% of all donors will generally

account for 95% of an organization's donations, (this may be translated as 90% of contributions

coming from 10% of donors for some organizations). A little research of the organization’s

donor records

will

help

establish

a plan

to

contact

the

top

5‐10%

of

donors

in

person

each

year.

Other donors, falling in the majority of 90‐95 percent of donors who account for 5‐10% of

contributions can be approached by mail, telephone, or the Internet. Telephone approaches

work best when the organization contacts people who already have a relationship with it—

members, existing donors, clients, etc. Others, such as names contributed by staff or board

members, names acquired through list brokers, etc, are often best approached by direct mail.

Approaching current donors or friends by phone is almost always more effective than direct

mail appeals, because it is more personal. Volunteers or professional telephone fundraising

firms can be used effectively for phone appeals, depending on the number of individuals to be

called, the purpose of the call, and the availability of volunteers.

Direct mail, likewise, can be done in‐house or through a direct mail firm. Again the number of

individuals to be approached, the organization's budget, the ability of the organization to

prepare and mail the appeal will usually dictate the method to be used.

Internet fundraising is becoming more effective as it becomes more popular. Again, it can be

done in‐house if the organization has the tools to effectively set up and manage the program.

Third party vendors are also available to set up programs, usually with a small percentage of

operating costs.

In person calls should be made to that top 5‐10% of the donors. Approaching these donors in

person is always the most effective way to raise money. Board members and other volunteers

are often very effective in making personal calls especially when teamed up with the Executive

Director or Chief Development Officer.

Corporate contributors should always be approached n person, unless there is a corporate

foundation that handles requests through a grant proposal process. When approaching small

businesses or corporations that do not have a foundation, often the decision is made by either

a committee or one individual, usually the owner or manager. For this type of approach,

volunteers

who

represent

the

local

business

community

can

be

very

helpful

in

planning

and

implementing a corporate annual appeal.

Each organization should establish a plan to use the most effective methods to reach the

broadest base of constituents with the greatest number of staff board and volunteers it has

available.



800

Annu

CAPITAL VLinda has h

14,000 p

-666-3863

al Giving: ALi

Linda LysakAdvanced CENTURE, a fulped more throfessionals

may be fo

4300

(U.S. & C

Letter Onceda Lysakow

wski, ACFRrtified Funddraising conan 100 orgain all aspectsund on the C

ilson Boul

nada) • 70

ww

a Year Doeki, ACFRE,

E, is one of fRaising Execsulting firm wizations withof developmPITAL VENTU

vard, Suit

3-684-041

.afpnet.or

Not an Anresident/CE

wer than 10utive distinctiith offices intheir develoent. HundreRE website a

300 • Arli

• 001-86

• afp@af

ual AppealO, CAPITAL V

people worlon. Linda isNevada, Penment progras of tool fort www.cvfun

gton, VA

-837-1948

net.org

ake! was prENTURE

dwide to holPresident/CEnsylvania, anms and has tevelopmentdraising.co

2203-416

(Mexico) •

ovided by:

theO ofd New Jerserained moreprofessionals

.

703-684-0

y.han

540 fax

2009 AFP

Documents

A Letter Once Per Yr Doesn't Make It