We've all seen it: donors are holding off on making charitable gifts, smaller gifts are being given, there are fewer new donors and campaigns are slowing down. Smaller returns on investments are squeezing individual donors and foundations alike. During such difficult times, what should organizations do to maintain their fundraising operations? Last week I attended a forum sponsored by Citizens Bank entitled, "Fundraising in a difficult economic environment" which featured keynote speaker Ruben Orduña, VP Development at the Boston Foundation. He offered up some practical suggestions of what you can do to weather the economic storm.
1. Review your stewardship plans with existing donors to ensure that they deepen your relationship.
Sending out a quarterly newsletter and hoping your donors read it is not good enough. High quality engagements are key and you should think of new ways to increase your donors' involvement with your organization. A recent example comes from MCS's work with the Mutual Assistance Association (MAA) Coalition (www.maacoalition.org), a group which aims to promote collaboration and solidarity among ethnic community-based organizations in order to strengthen organizational capacity, develop leadership, and provide a collective voice for refugee and immigrant communities in Massachusetts. The eleven member organizations pooled their donor and funder lists and invited these individuals to a private opening reception this week for the MAA Coalition's annual World Refugee Day Celebration. This event will provide a unique opportunity for donors and funders to engage with MAA's that serve other refugee and immigrant groups and gain perspective on the collective impact of the Coalition's work.
2. Change your approach to attracting new donors.
It's important to resist the temptation to reduce the effort you put into work like this because of the negative effect it could have on your donor base for years to come, for as we all know, diversification of your organization's revenue streams is essential to its long-term stability and success. For example, you could swap mailing lists with other organizations instead of purchasing them, arrange more face-to-face meetings with prospects, devote more time to qualification and engage your board members to be more actively involved with identifying new prospects. Also, experiment with new entry points to engage new individuals with your organization, such as creating a board of visitors that meets only twice a year, but is offered the opportunity to interact with the youth you serve and with one another.
3. Evaluate the cost-revenue structure for the entire organization.
Developing a clear understanding of how much you spend for each dollar raised will help you determine the efficiency of your fundraising operation and could suggest ways in which you can more effectively raise the resources your organization needs. In the case of the Boston Foundation, they discovered through this process that their donor-advised fund was extremely inefficient and as a result, they decided to divide their development group into different units so that each one can focus on its own activity. Besides the obvious cost-savings this could provide your organization, it also sends a clear message to your donors that a gift to your organization is a good investment.
