Nonprofit Fundraising 101: A Practical Guide to Easy to Implement Ideas and Tips from Industry Experts

PRAISE FOR Nonprofit Fundraising 101

"Good stuff! A great, incredibly helpful tool for any cause looking to raise money, online or off."
Steve Wozniak, Founder of Apple

"It′s not often you find such a distinctive twist on the world of fundraising. Professionals and lead volunteers will find this to be a practical, global, source of reference."
Andrew Watt, CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)

"This must–have book provides a comprehensive breakdown of the strategies and tactics necessary to raise the financial resources essential to bringing about the changes we seek."
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (1997); Chair, Nobel Women′s Initiative

CommitChange builds intelligent fundraising software for nonprofits. www.commitchange.com

Eventbrite empowers nonprofits to amplify their impact with innovative event fundraising tools. www.eventbrite.com

Sparrow is a mobile company on a mission: Digital Inclusion for All. www.SparrowMobile.com

About the Book xvii

Acknowledgments xxv

Foreword: Discovering What It Means to Be a Fundraiser xxvii

Lynne Twist, author of The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources

PART 1: Planning for Success and Preparing Your Team 1

Chapter 1 Creating a Fundraising Plan 3

Interviewee: Andrea McManus, president of The Development Group

Insets: Dispelling the Overhead Myth; Sample Fundraising Plan

Chapter 2 Hiring and Training Development Staff 13

Interviewee: Missy Sherburne, cheif partnerships officer at DonorsChoose.org

Inset: Get Your Executive Director to Love Fundraising with Brian Gougherty, director of major gifts at Worldreader

Chapter 3 Engaging Your Board 25

Interviewee: Lisa Hoffman, fundraising and board development consultant

Chapter 4 Volunteer Fundraising 37

Interviewee: Simon Tam, director of marketing at Oregon Environmental Council

Case Study: APANO

PART 2: Building Your Toolkit and Tracking Progress 45

Chapter 5 Prospecting and Donor Research 47

Interviewee: Helen Brown, co–author of Prospect Research for Fundraisers: The Essential Handbook and president of the Helen Brown Group

Chapter 6 Donor Databases and CRM 57

Interviewees: Suzanne DiBianca, president and co–founder of Salesforce.com Foundation, and Peggy Duvette, director of social impact at NetSuite

Chapter 7 Measuring Impact: Data, Stories, and Organizational Dashboards 65

Interviewee: Stever MacLaughlin, director of analytics at Blackbaud

Inset: Outputs Versus Outcomes

Case Study: charity: water with Kaitlyn Jankowski, supporter experience manager at charity: water

PART 3: Individual Donors 77

Chapter 8 Grassroots Fundraising: Building Your Donor Pyramid 79

Interviewee: Kim Klein, author of Fundraising for Social Change and principal of Klein & Roth Consulting

Inset: Don t Be Afraid to Dream Big

Chapter 9 Major Donors: Building Relationships, Making the Ask, and Stewardship 87

Interviewee: Kay Sprinkel Grace, author of Beyond Fundraising and fundraising consultant

Inset: Tracking Major Donors in Databases

Chapter 10 Direct Mail: The Ins and Outs 99

Interviewee: Mal Warwick, author of Revolution in the Mailbox and founder and chairman of Mal Warwick | Donordigital

Chapter 11 Year–End, Annual Appeals, and Membership Campaigns 107

Interviewee: Farra Trompeter, vice president at Big Duck and vice chair of the board at NTEN

Inset: Sample Year–End Campaign Calendar

Chapter 12 Event–Based Fundraising 117

Interviewees: Tracy Kosolcharoen, marketing manager at Eventbrite, Daniel Lurie, CEO and founder of Tipping Point Community, and Jen Pitts, managing director of communications, events, and development at Tipping Point Community

Inset: Van Jones Live Ask Recipe with Van Jones, CNN correspondent and president and co–founder of Dream Corps

Chapter 13 Runs, Walks, and Rides: Community–Based Fundraising 133

Interviewee: Jeff Shuck, founder and CEO of Plenty

Case Study: Kyra Millich, volunteer fundraiser

Chapter 14 Fundraising Across the Generations: Millennials, Baby Boomers, and More 143

Interviewees: Alia McKee, principal of Sea Change Strategies, and Derrick Feldmann, president and founder of Achieve

Inset: The Generations: What Fundraisers Need to Know

PART 4: Online Fundraising 153

Chapter 15 Maximizing Website Donations 155

Interviewee: Caryn Stein, vice president of communications and content at Network for Good, and editor of The Nonprofit Marketing blog

Case Study: Mercy House, by CommitChange

Chapter 16 Fundraising with Email 165

Interviewee: Kivi Leroux Miller, author of The Nonprofit Marketing Guide: High–Impact, Low–Cost Ways to Build Support for Your Good

Cause and president of NonprofitMarketingGuide.com

Inset: Email Cheat Sheet, by CommitChange

Chapter 17 Social Media and Crowdfunding for Your Cause 175

Interviewees: Beth Kanter, author of The Networked Nonprofit and blogger, and John Haydon, author of Facebook Marketing for Dummies and founder of Inbound Zombie

Inset: P.O.S.T. to Social Media Social Media Case Study: The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with Lance Slaughter, chief chapter relations and development officer at the ALS Association

Appendix

Practical Tips for Key Social Media Platforms 189

Crowdfunding Case Study: RE–volv, with Andreas Karelas, founder and executive director at REV–volv

Chapter 18 Mobile Fundraising 195

Interviewees: Heather Mansfield, author of Mobile for Good: A How–To Fundraising Guide for Nonprofits and principal blogger at Nonprofit

Tech for Good, and Tanya Urschel, nonprofit vertical manager at PayPal

Insets: Planning for Success: Th e Mobile Matrix by Sparrow: Mobile for All; Text–to–Give

PART 5: Foundations 205

Chapter 19 Research, Getting in the Door, and Securing an Invitation to Apply 207

Interviewees: Tori O Neal McElrath, author of Winning Grants Step by Step and founder of O Neal Consulting Services, and Leeanne G–Bowley, manager of capacity and leadership development at Foundation Center and artistic and executive director at In–Sight Dance Company

Insets: The Diff erent Kinds of Foundations; Types of Grants

Chapter 20 Government Grants 221

Interviewee: Joshua Sheridan Fouts, executive director at Bioneers

Inset: Where to Find Government Grants

Chapter 21 Writing a Winning LOI and Proposal 227

Interviewees: Susan Fox, co–author of Grant Proposal Makeover: Transform Your Request From No to Yes and fundraising consultant, and Jane C. Geever, author of Th e Foundation Center s Guide to Proposal Writing and founder of J.C. Geever

Chapter 22 Tracking Progress and Reporting Back 235

Interviewee: Beverly Browning, author of Grant Writing for Dummies and vice president of grant writing services at eCivis

Inset: Logic Models

PART 6: Corporate Support 243

Chapter 23 Sponsorships 245

Interviewee: Maureen Carlson, president of GoodScout

Inset: Sponsorship Proposal Template

Chapter 24 Cause Marketing Partnerships 255

Interviewees: David Hessekiel, co–author of Good Works and president of Cause Marketing Forum, and Joe Waters, author of Cause Marketing for Dummies and founder of Selfish Giving

Inset: Cause Marketing Proposal Tips

Chapter 25 In–Kind Fundraising and Media Sponsorship 265

Interviewee: Gayle Samuelson Carpentier, chief business development officer at TechSoup Global

PART 7: Unlocking Social Enterprise 273

Chapter 26 Earned Income Strategies 275

Guest Contributor: Rick Aubry, professor of social enterprise at Tulane University and founder of Rubicon Programs Social Enterprise Case Study: Grow Dat

Afterword: Finding Your Path 287

Premal Shah, president and co–founder of Kiva.org

Closing Thoughts 291

Book Partners 295

About the Authors 317

Index 319

DARIAN RODRIGUEZ HEYMAN is an accomplished fundraiser, social entrepreneur, and author. His work "helping people help" started during his five–year tenure as Executive Director of Craigslist Foundation, where he launched their Nonprofit Boot Camp. He edited the bestselling book, Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals (Wiley), after which he co–founded the global conference series Social Media for Nonprofits. He also co–founded Sparrow: Mobile for All and served as a Commissioner for the Environment for the City & County of San Francisco. He is a frequent keynote speaker at nonprofit, fundraising, youth leadership, and environmental events around the globe and thrives on connecting social change leaders to the best practices, resources, and contacts needed to maximize impact.