Prospect Identification and Donor Recruitment

Title of Presentation

Prospect Identification andDonor Recruitment:

Filling the Donor Pipeline without “Feeder Constituencies”

Michele R. Berard, MBA, CFREDirector of Funds Development

Butler Hospital


…from 865,096 to 1,280,739 in 10 years

Source: Giving USA 2011 The Annual Report on Philanthropy for 2010, Executive Summary


SOURCE: White House Office of Management and Budget; GRAPHIC: Wilson Andrews, Jacqueline Kazil, Laura Stanton, Karen Yourish

(note: up from $3.55 Trillion in 2010)


Meet Your Peers…

1. Years in FR:• 1-3

• 4-8

• 9-12

• 13+

2. Location: • RI

• MA

• Northern New England

• Other

3. Favorite Food:• Asian

• Legs/Wings/Fins

• Italian

• Vegetarian

4. Type of Organization: • Health• Arts• Education• Social Justice• Other

EXERCISE

Title of Presentation• …with contacts to peers facing similar issues; tactics for

identifying new contacts/peers

• …with tactics that you can immediately implement in your own shop

• …with information to help you engage internal and external constituencies

• …with an increased sense of validation and motivation

You will leave here today…


Lesson #1

Identify and Communicate with your Peers

– What are they doing to be successful? – Learn from others that have already made …and learned

from… mistakes

CASE: Ivy League Call Group Lots of valuable lessons learned:

» Patients want to remain connected and asked

» Need to engage internal constituencies

* Message to internal constituencies - Permission to Accept Gifts

* Message to external constituencies - Permission to Give

We are going to discuss this later

Title of PresentationPerformance Metrics – are your benchmarks right

sized?

Hint: Use your true peers to establish benchmarks – Benefit = Credibility

– Will establish you, the CDO ,as the expert, and to advise and guide your CEO/Board

Other Benchmarks:• Staff size• Fundraising tactics (MG, DM, Grants, etc.)• Reporting relationships• Foundation vs. Development Office• Direct contact with Board Members…

Lesson #1

Identify and Communicate with your Peers


Identify issues that seem specific to your shop…

ExerciseHow can you benefit from Peer Support?

“…but, we’re different…”


…Where can we find peer resources?



Lesson #2

A New Look at The Donor Pyramid

What are your organization’s entry points?

Where do your new donors come from?

What tactics do you employ?

Title of Presentation• Wealth Screening – timing/not everyone gets rolled into the DM program

• More cultivation/stewardships – for those that reach minimum capacity

• Relationships matter – volunteers offer credibility; valuable link to community/decision makers

• Volunteer connections – board, development committee, history committee, outreach, etc…

Lesson #2

A New Look at The Donor Pyramid


A Word About Volunteers in Philanthropy

Don’t Eat Your Chickens!

Volunteers have MUCHmore to offer to an organizationthan their personal contributions.

Engage them in activities that:1. Provide the best ROI for the organization2. Provide volunteers with gratification (which will

translate to nourishment…to lay more eggs)

Title of PresentationVolunteers have a unique credibility– Unpaid volunteers with high risk– They believe in the cause– Have a higher status than paid staff– Know more people (of influence)

Three areas where volunteer involvement makes the greatest impact:

1. Initiate relationships with top prospects

2. Deepening relationships with top prospects and donors

3. *Soliciting large gifts (note: with your guidance and direction)

A Word About Volunteers in Philanthropy

“the wealthiest people

in the country typically don’t make

friends with major gift

officers”


Lesson #3

Strategic Complementarity

What is Strategic Complementarity?

Purposeful alignment of your organization’s mission with community stakeholders

The same reason you find salsa

next to the tortilla chips!

Who wants (or needs) your organization to succeed?

E.g. Butler Hospital History Committee providing valuable “touches”

Title of Presentation• List the reasons why people, businesses, and/or government would want your organization to succeed, sustain, or continue to exist

– E.g. your organization provides jobs to people in your community

• List those people, businesses and public/governmental branches

– E.g. Labor Unions

Small Group Exercise


Lesson #4

Side Door Entry Points If donors aren’t likely to come “through the front door”, find a side door!

A service line that is tangential to your main mission– Case Management, Research

A component of your main service – Social Work Dept, A specific program/unit (Child, Geri-Psych, ADP)

An activity that is not well-know and is attractive to the general public

– Project Undercover (clothing for indigent patients)– Bridge Medications (& charity care)

CRITICAL: Integration

with internal

constituencies

Title of PresentationIdentify some side door entry points for your organization:

1. ___________________________

2. ___________________________

3. ___________________________

Apply the lessons we discussed to your side-door entry points to discover more prospects, more stakeholders, and more champions/volunteers…

Homework/Exercise


Session Review

1. You know have contacts to peers facing similar issues; tactics for identifying new contacts/peers?

2. You are armed with tactics that you can immediately implement in your own shop

3. You are armed with information to help you engage internal and external constituencies

4. You possess validation and motivation; you will enable your organizations to advance their missions


Your organization exists for a very good reason Your job is to find those individuals and stakeholders who need to see it continue

Fortune Cookie Saying:

“The greatest pleasure in life is doing something that others say is impossible”

CONTACT INFORMATION

Michele R. Berard, MBA, CFRE

(401) 455-6565

[email protected]

Twitter: @micheleberard

Documents

Prospect Identification and Donor Recruitment