April 19, 2021

Storytelling…AND! Story listening

LOTS OF ONLINE CHATTER ABOUT STORYTELLING. And I want to talk about story listening.

CHECK OUT THESE QUESTIONS TO ASK DONORS.  Imagine reaching out and inviting your donors to share their stories.

Remember that donors give through a particular charity to fulfill their own personal aspirations: Perhaps the donor wants to ensure equal voting rights. Another donor wants to save the abused children or starving puppies. Other donors fight for reproductive justice. Others want to stop the planet’s destruction. Still others fight for the right to choose one’s own sexual identity. A personal choice. A personal desire where to donate time, money…

And let’s remember: Many (most?) donors may well be interested in many many issues. But donors may well have a priority or priorities. Donors choose.

PLEASE! Let’s ask the donor to share his/her/their story. It’s a conversation… We fundraisers have the honor and joy to invite that conversation – and to listen to beautiful personal answers.

CONSIDER THESE QUESTIONS. WHAT MIGHT YOU ADD? And I’ll bet we’ll identify other questions based on what our donors are saying. 

  1. Why did you first give to our organization? (I remember the U.K. legacy consultant Richard Radcliffe recommending this question): Why did you first give to our organization?
  2. What interests you most about our organization? Why?
  3. What are the most critical results you expect our organization to produce?
  4. Why  does this cause matter to you?
  5. If you had 5 minutes with our CEO, what would you say and why? (A suggestion from some AFP Calgary colleagues at a conference.)

NOW LET’S PROBE DEEPER: Find out the donor values and beliefs. Get in touch with donor feelings. (Because we fundraisers must remember: Emotions trigger human decisions. That neuroscience research tells us so.)

  1. Tell me about your life. Would you share with me your life’s enduring moments?
  2. What are you most passionate about? Why?
  3. If you had a family slogan, what would it be?
  4. How would you describe your own personal mission…purpose?
  5. If you could change the world, what would you do?
  6. What actions do you think would best cause the change you envision?
  7. What changes do you believe would make the world a better place?
  8. How do you want to be remembered? (And this doesn’t refer to the 10-foot high sign about you the great and marvelous donor! I’ve heard donors say: I want to be remembered as a caring mother. I want to be remembered as a social justice activist. I want to be remembered…)
  9. What would you like to pass on to future generations?
  10. How do you feel when you make a charitable gift – of time or money or…
  11. What makes you angry and sad?
  12. What makes you hopeful and happy?

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER: Think carefully about which question and when and even if… Think about the comfort level of the donor. This is not an inquiry. This is our attempt, as the philanthropic sector, to hear and understand the stories of our donors.

CAN YOU IMAGINE: Collecting the stories from many many donors (Remember! Donors of time not not just money!) Typing up the story and giving it back to the donor. Perhaps the donor will share that interview with family or friends. Perhaps the donor will give you permission to tell part of that story in your donor newsletter. Perhaps you’ll invite the donor to tell part of his/her/their story at a gathering. And. Or.

STORY LISTENING…PLEASE PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

November 28, 2019

New learnings for fundraising and us fundraisers

Did you read my blog of October 25? About the Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology?

Go back and read that blog. (And if, by chance, I didn’t make the connection properly…. So you can just click on “blog” in this sentence… just scroll Simone Uncensored until you get to October 25.)

My theory about research by Sargeant and Shang….. Anytime you have the opportunity to hear their research, just do it. I mean really…Fundraising research. Shouldn’t we all be reading fundraising research?

What fundraising research do you recommend? Send me your list(s) and I’ll include in a future post. Let’s learn and share with each other!!! Here’s a teeny tiny bit of research. Send me more!

AND NEVER EVER LET ME HEAR or SEE any fundraiser saying that s/he/they simply don’t have the time to read. WTF?!!!!!! Because yes, I’ve heard/seen commments like those.

October 25, 2019

Wow. Great. First ever. Raise more money by learning extraordinary stuff!!!!

PHILANTHROPIC PSYCHOLOGY  !!!  

A new education program for you and me! For all us fundraisers. Never anything like it before! 

Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology. On line. Starts January 13, 2020. WOW! This is an extraordinary opportunity. Learning none of us fundraisers ever learned before because it just didn’t exist! And now it does……!!

Jen Shang, the world’s first philanthropic psychologist (and still the only one, I do believe). And she’s the first PhD in Philanthropy, too. And Adrian Sargeant, the first Hartsook Chair in Fundraising at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Here’s the concept of philanthropic psychology (I’ve nicknamed it “phil psych”…) Phil psych focuses on how the actions we donors take make us feel. Phil psych research has shown that when people feel their giving is meaningful — and even transformative to a person’s sense of who s/he is — then those people give more and give longer.

WOW! Fundraising is growing up. Academic research and applying academic learning — and even learning about the academic learning — raises more money.

CHECK OUT THIS PHILANTHROPIC PSYCHOLOGY OPPORTUNITY!!!!

(And check out the Institute’s other education/training programs, too!)

 

MORE about Jen and Adrian…………..They co-founded the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy in the U.K. I sure hope you’re reading the research reports produced by Sargeant, Shang, and their team. Reports like:

  • Everything Research Can Tell Us About Legacy Giving
  • Great Fundraising
  • Great Fundraising Events
  • Learning to Say Thank You: The Role of Donor Acknowledgements
  • Major Gift Fundraising: Unlocking the Potential for Smaller Nonprofits
  • Measuring donor loyalty: key reasons why Net Promoter Score (NPS) is not the way.
  • AND MORE!!!!

 

 

is now offering the Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology. On line. Starts January 13, 2020.

Jen Shang! And Adrian Sargeant!

You and I do NOT NOT know this stuff. This is NOT donor-centrism. Not behavioral economics. Not anything we’ve already learned.

 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/certificate-in-philanthropic-psychology-tickets-74968393483?aff=utm_source%3Deb_email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dnew_event_email&utm_term=eventname_text

September 30, 2019

Keeping track of your donors…and more

In the olden days, when I was a CDO, we had 3000 3×5 cards. 1 card per donor/donor family. Typed the info onto the card. (Yes!! The days of electric typewriters.) One day, someone dropped 1 of the 3×5 card drawers. Approximately 1,000 cards all over the floor. Alphabetizing by hand.

(I still have an electric typewriter in my office. You never know when what etc.!)

Now we’re in the world of databases of all types. Donors. Fundraising. Ticketing. Advertising. Do you think the horse and cow farms have databases by horse/cow names?

Can you imagine a donor/fundraising database whose purpose is donor retention?! Remember, loyalty is the Holy Grail of any business. And thanks to Adrian Sargeant, fundraisers have research that defines how to build and measure donor loyalty.

Adrian’s research was built into a computer algorithm for donor software. Bloomerang. And check out Bloomerang’s free webinars and blogs and other resources.

If you want to keep your donors (retention first…then acquisition!!!), then check out more donor research.

Cool stuff!!!

 

 

 

 

June 3, 2019

Storytelling…just some thoughts

What cool cards from Ireland’s cool company, askdirect. 

“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Rudyard Kipling

“Because if we, the storytellers, don’t do this, then the bad people will win.” Christiane Amanpour

“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” Joan Didion

“We’re all made of stories. When they finally put us underground, the stories are what will go on.” Charles de Lint

Think about all the great storytellers you know… Fiction writers. Historians.

May 17, 2019

You can be a better fundraiser…Any one of us can!

Check out the new Fundraising Standard…… Proper professional fundraising training for every new fundraiser in North America.

So what’s this new program, you ask? The Standard is a 40 hour program of online learning designed to give participants a thorough introduction to the process of fundraising and get them started on their first fundraising campaign. It provides an introduction to the nonprofit sector and its associated fundraising ethics, before taking the lid off what we know about giving (who gives and why). You’ll also receive a thorough grounding in the science and practice of communication design and how to raise substantively more money simply by avoiding common errors that nonprofits typically make and focusing on donor satisfaction and wellbeing.

Developed by Adrian Sargeant. Faculty includes Adrian.

8-week curriculum – based on research and science and…. Online for your convenience.

Curriculum includes: Fundraising ethics. Who gives and why. (The WHY is really important!!) Donor relationships and donor retention. Designing a compelling case for support. Communication design and donor centricity. The fundraising mix. And getting the most from your database.

Visit the Fundraising Standard website. Sign up now! [Or at least darn soon!!]

April 15, 2019

Critical fundraising … is critical!

Rogare’s U.S. Critical Fundraising Report… Prepped by cool colleagues… Pay attention to the bad news!!

  • State of public trust and what it means for charitable giving.
  • Stagnant donor retention rates and national giving levels.
  • Tax reform and what it means for charitable giving.
  • A look at diversity, inclusion, and gender equity in fundraising.
  • The rise of data, technology and social media – and their effect on fundraising.
  • The rise of social fundraising.
  • The current and anticipated talent crisis.

Check out the Rogare blog. Rogare…the fundraising think tank – and home of critical fundraising.

Read the US Rogare report that focuses on critical issues facing US fundraisers. It’s not a pretty picture – and we’d better fix this pretty darn soon!!!!!

October 8, 2018

Double your donations!! Are you interested?!!!!

A NEW masterclass for really greedy nonprofits … March 4-6, 2019.

New research shows how to double donations. How cool is that?

And guess who your instructors are? Adrian Sargeant and Tom Ahern.

Where? Someplace improbable, like Lord of the Rings or The Game of Thrones improbable (hint: Scotland, on scenic and legendary Loch Ness; in a venue with a Michelin-rated chef; includes a single-malt whisky-tasting bar to encourage deep, peaty conversations)

 Who’s attending? Well, first of course, there’s YOU … and then there are your other high-performance, really-worth-knowing classmates … and these two experts who speak internationally to rapt audiences … trapped in a small-class setting.

So, yeah, there’s science.

But mostly you get friendly, encouraging, cheer-leading-even (Tom has a story of high-school hijinks), prayerfully supervised, critiqued-by-experts PRACTICE.

It’s a 3.5-step process:

  • You come up with stupid ideas.
  • You come up with better ideas.
  • You come up with breakthrough ideas.

And you’re launched … into the next stage of your career’s advancement … the one where you make WAY more money for your charity employer. 

What’s it like being there?You sit, casually dressed, in an old hunter’s lodge, above Loch Ness. That’s your classroom.

Dress warmly if you like to be outdoors. It’s March; in the very midst of some of the most spectacular hiking country on earth (if that’s you).

Also a great place to read a novel by the fire. Or write some of the deepest, most moving pages in your diary.

Also a great place to walk a few meters … and then hurry back into the bar for a double of that one you liked so much last night.

Just click here.

September 25, 2018

Raise more money by learning the right stuff

Yes, there is right stuff to learn in this profession of ours. The fundraising thing.

And there’s wrong stuff…or irrelevant stuff…or OPINION instead of EXPERTISE.

So here are some great resources to learn the right stuff and develop yourself and help you tell your boss and board to stop the opinionating and focus on the expertising.

MOCEANIC!!  You MUST MUST visit and join us and learn and share and………

  • Sign up for e-news and free fundraising tips and online courses and all kinds of cool useful important stuff!
  • WOW! Check out the Moceanic crew like co-founders Sean Triner and Christiana Stergiou. Add in Jeff Brooks. And advisors like Roger Craver and Adrian Sargeant and Tom Ahern and Harvey McKinnon and Ken Burnett and me, Simone and more!

BLOOMERANG!!! I’ve decided NOT to talk about donor/fundraising databases. Instead…Get yourself a marvelous donor retention tool.

  • Loyalty is the Holy Grail of any business (Thanks, Roger Craver 2009). LifeTime Value is the best of the best.
  • Adrian Sargeant’s donor loyalty research is what you want to apply all the time. (And that’s the algorithm for Bloomerang.)
  • Bloomerang is so user-friendly that your 5-year old pal can show you how to use it.
  • Bloomerang also has a regular blog and free webinars – whether you use that donor retention tool or not.
  • P.S. Tom Ahern communications stuff is also imbedded in this donor retention tool.

So those are just two thoughts for this week.

August 15, 2018

Can we have philanthropy without fundraising?

I don’t think so. The biggest reason anyone gives is because they’ree asked.

Do you think my neighbors wait around wondering if I need a cup of sugar? Nope. I knock on the door and ask, “I’m making cookies and I don’t have enough sugar! Could you give me a cup?”

Our communities – our world – need philanthropy. And, philanthropy needs fundraising.

“Philanthropy means voluntary action for the common good. Fund development is the essential partner of philanthropy. Fund development makes philanthropy possible by bringing together a particular cause and the prospects and donors who are willing to invest in the cause. The goal is to acquire donors of time and money who stay with the charity. This is done through the process of relationship building. With the donor at the center, fund development nurtures loyalty and lifetime value, thus facilitating philanthropy. You know if your relationship building works because your retention rates rise and the lifetime value of your donors and volunteers increases.

(From Keep Your Donors: The Guide to Better Communications and Stronger Relationships – by Tom Ahern and me.)

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