Your Annual Giving Campaign and

Your Board’s Role in It

Presented by Lerii F. Smith, CFRE with Alicia McGlinchey, Board President

– HEB ISD Education Foundation

1www.yourprojectpartners.com

(817) 922-9460

What is the purpose of an education foundation?

• A local education foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created to support its local school district by raising private dollars to invest in innovative programs not funded through local, state, or federal taxes. 2

Fundraising is friend raising. It is all about relationships.

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…a process whereby prospective donors are simply invited to make gifts that match their interests to the needs of a nonprofit organization

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Per Giving USA 2013 Report

• $316.23 billion was contributed in 2012• 72% of every dollar contributed in the United States is

given by an individual. (or about $217.79 billion)• Individual giving, charitable bequests, and foundation

giving combined reflected 94% of giving. • Corporations gave 6% or almost $19 billion. • Education attracted 13% of all charitable dollars, or

$41.1 billion.• Foundations attracted 10% or $31.63 billion.• Public society benefit giving represented 7% or $22 billion.

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How do we raise money – engage our community –

involve our board members? (Remember that hope is not

a plan of action.)

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Infrastructure for Success

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• Mission-oriented fundraising, focused on your organization’s competency in meeting a key community need not met by anyone else.

• Board development and volunteer commitment to mission-oriented fundraising.

• An assertive, experienced, equally-committed staffing team driving the fundraising initiatives and involving volunteers and community at every turn.

• Donor-centric communications that 1) position your organization as a center for excellence in your field 2) educate the public about your mission 3) invite and inspire the public to engage in that mission 4) inform the public how they can easily donate 5) recognize the annual campaign theme, program components, volunteer leadership, sponsors, and donors at every turn.

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• Strategic integration of an annual fundraising campaign: theme, purpose, volunteer and staff team, communications, donor cultivation, donor recognition, and goal setting for every component of the program.

• Solid fundraising processes, procedures and policies, a living database, accurate records, and the critical administrative support necessary to manage the many functions of fundraising initiatives.

• Extraordinary execution of each component of the program; a laser focus on results.

How? A real team effort. Board members are key.

Volunteers = Engine of the organizationExecutive Director = Engineer

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Board members’ success and joy comes with:

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• Knowledge of how your foundation meets the needs of the community you serve.

• A fundraising and community outreach goal and a plan for achieving that goal. Strong staff leadership.

• Their ability and willingness to 1) serve, 2) engage others, 3) passionately articulate the mission and results of your program of work in a way that resonates with the key stakeholder groups of your community.

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If you must make a choice to involve someone you believe will be key to your organization as a volunteer or as a donor, involve them as a volunteer first .

The money will follow.

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The plan?

An annual giving campaign for year-round, mission-driven fundraising where all in your community are invited to give.

The campaign educates, engages, and asks.

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Your campaign has many purposes.

• Attracts new donors, retains previous donors, upgrades donors, cultivates and recognizes donors

• Identifies major gift prospects • Builds loyalty/commitment/pride in the district

and foundation’s work to support the district; creates awareness of same

• Identifies, involves, recognizes leaders

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Involves lots of analytics:

• Who? • What? • When?• Where?• How?• Why?• Results?

You’re basically setting up a strategic plan and process with structure to constantly feed people into the fundraising continuum. Board members can participate where they are most comfortable.

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Fundraising works from the inside out.

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Ask each board member to be prepared to answer these questions:

• What is the critical community need that will not be met without donated funds?

• Why do you give of your time and treasure to the work of the foundation when there are scores of other causes begging for your attention?

Ask board members to:

• Make their own lead gift. They need to set an example.• Serve on the campaign cabinet- the group of volunteers that really works

the entire process and has ownership and influence on its success. This cannot be staff-led only.

• Allow their name/title/association on all print and electronic materials. • Help identify prospective donors and study current donor lists to

determine at what level they should be invited to participate. • Call or call upon key prospects. (Use formula for these meetings.) • E-mail campaign materials with a personal note of encouragement. • Write personal notes on letters that are mailed. • Write thank you notes or place phone calls.• Host cultivation or thank you events. • Assume particular target markets as their responsibility. • Make presentations in the community regarding the work of the

foundation.• Report success and challenges to the board. 20

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For greatest success with limited resources:

• Create an inclusive campaign vehicle with various giving levels so that all can participate and be recognized. An affinity group/giving club. An opportunity for multi-year pledges. Benefits at all levels.

• Create a theme that will resonate year-round and with all community stakeholders. • Write a strong case for support. Why would someone want to give to your foundation? What good comes from

that? Why should private dollars be invested where public dollars are being utilized?• Remember, the business community – especially – does not want to view giving to you as charity – they want their

hard-earned dollars to be an investment – youth, in strong educators, in their workforce and leaders of tomorrow. • Ask early and ask often. (Mail, e-mail, phone, group meetings, personal meetings.) Tailor your asks.• Ask until you get a yes or a no. • Create a sense of urgency throughout. • Study your donor giving history and invite to particular, personalized giving levels .• Write and speak in positive terms. Assume folks will give and thank them in advance.• Use many visuals and tell your success stories in emotional ways.• DO NOT overlook donor recognition and sincere thank you’s. • Provide your volunteer leadership lots of community profile. It should be one of the best perks of the job. Make

this fun for them by making them successful. • Build cultivation into your system. Build relationships. Create opportunities for volunteering. • Create great, economical campaign materials. Use your website and e-news capabilities. Have a great pledge

card/form and remittance envelope. Use great desk-top publishing and print-on-demand services to save money.• Make it easy for donors to give. In person, by mail, online. • Consider a lead gift campaign. Create a specific campaign goal and publicize it.• Integrate your legacy society into to your annual campaign.• Constantly update the community about your progress to date. Invite them to help you meet your goals. Celebrate

with a campaign event for just that purpose. • Evaluate all components and repeat with improvements.

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Pyramid of Giving

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Estate or

Planned Giving

the donor is invested in your cause

Major Givingyou create interest and

involvement in the donor

Annual Givingyou are identifying the cause with the donor and

providing information

Com

mitm

ent

Grow

th

Cont

act

From James M. Greenfield, Fund-Raising: Evaluating and Managing the Fund Development Process, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1991.

Investment

Involvement

Interest

Information

Identification

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Educate. Engage. Ask.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world;

indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Attributed to Margaret Mead

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Your Annual Giving Campaign and

Your Board’s Role in It

Presented by Lerii F. Smith, CFRE

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www.yourprojectpartners.com (817) 922-9460