Nolo’s Fundraising Tips for Busy Nonprofits

That's the suggestion made by coaches interviewed in this article by Julie Deardoff of the Chicago Tribune. Problems include runners who push themselves harder than they should, feeling they owe it to the charity, and others who decide they're going to make it to the finish line even if they have to stay until well after dark, when the help stations and others have packed up and gone.

Deardoff's article also notes a number of the wonderful things about athletic events built around fundraising, including the extra charge participants get by working together with others toward a cause.

But there's a warning flag in this article for any charity that puts on marathons or similar events -- you don't want to be the one that's a little lax on safety standards, leading to a major injury or safety problem that makes the contributors to this article look prophetic.

I'm just back from a vacation on the East Coast, which included some long, lovely drives through the small towns of upstate New York. The weather was balmy, the people were friendly. Nevertheless, I believe I alienated an entire small-town fire department -- and all due to their assumption that I knew about their fundraising cause.

There we were, my husband driving his father's car (with New York plates, so that no one knew we were hapless tourists), watching Memorial Day flags flutter from porches and barbecue smoke rise from backyards, when we saw a sign saying "Boot Drive Ahead." I asked my husband, "What's a Boot Drive?" He grew up in Buffalo, so he had more chance of knowing than I. Neither of us had a clue -- it sounded like some traffic penalty, like when they put a big metal thingy around your tire for not knowing that Oakland street-sweepers don't observe a certain federal holiday.

Rows of people lined the town's main street, including some firefighters in uniform, whose backs happened to be turned to us as we made our way along. Then a policeman very sternly motioned for us to stop. We did, but didn't roll down our windows. He gave us a dirty look and let us zoom off (somewhat eagerly, confused by the whole experience).

Only then did the other shoe (or boot) drop. In the rearview mirror, I saw a fireman holding a boot out toward a car. He was collecting money, presumably to support the local fire department. Oops. We did offer some green to the next town's boot-wielding fireman. But c'mon folks, a little more signage would have helped. There's nothing tacky about saying something like, "Support Your Local Fire Department!" Moral of the story: Vagueness in fundraising leads to lost chances to interact with potential donors.

The recession has affected everyone, rich and poor alike. While the rich still have money to fall back on, I imagine (believe me, I only imagine) that it can be as hard to see 25% cut off a million dollar portfolio as a $10,000 one. In the first case, you've just said goodbye to $250,000, while in the second case, you've lost a "mere" $2,500.

How the rich are responding was the subject of an interesting USA TODAY article by John Waggoner on February 2, 2009, called "Even the wealthy feel tapped out." The title pretty much conveys it all, and the article focuses on the various luxury businesses (cars, condos, champagne) affected by the downturn.

But there's a bright spot in here for nonprofits, I think. The article says that even though the wealthy can still afford, say, fancy cars, they may be less likely to buy them, or anything else that looks ostentatious, in a down economy. To do so might look "declasse."

That's a great opportunity for nonprofits to give those with money a better way to spend their cash. Gala dinner, anyone? Or how about an eco-tour sponsored by your organization?       

I attended a nonprofit organization's party for donors recently at which they did one thing very right and one thing very wrong.

Let's start with the right: After dinner, when everyone was in a good mood and not yet looking at their watch to check whether it was time to apologize to the babysitter, the E.D. got up, reminded everyone of the organization's great work, and made a pitch for immediate donations. Better yet, she invited a major donor to the stage to talk about her own motivations for giving. The donor seemed truly thrilled to both be recognized and to have a chance to talk about a cause that she has made her own. Volunteers passed out envelopes for donations, accompanied by a little thank-you gift.

Now for the problematic part: At the end of the evening, no one knew where to put their donation envelopes. They stood up, looked around, looked confused, and ended up handing their envelope to any staff member they could find.

That's not only a disservice to donors, but could irritate them enough to say, "Forget it, I'll keep my envelope." It would be so simple -- and not at all pushy -- to just plant someone at each door with a big jar in hand! Next year, I hope...

Here's something new for the audio-inclined: Laurie Earp, a Bay Area-based fundraiser and events planner, talks about what goes into putting on an environmentally friendly special event. Listen in at Nolo's Nonprofit Podcast Series.  

A November 8th article in The New York Times called "Bake Sales Fall Victim to Push for Healthier Foods," by Patricia Leigh Brown, raises a question that was probably inevitable: When will general concerns for healthy -- not to mention non-allergy-producing foods -- undo bake sales' once inevitable profits?

According to the article, the traditional school bake sale is "fast becoming obsolete" in California, where state regulations forbid selling snacks to students that don't meet certain nutritional guidelines regarding saturated fat, other fat, and sugar. Other states' school districts seem to be headed in the same direction Kentucky, for example, was listed as having especially tight school regulations.

Still, if you're planning your next bake sale, I wouldn't panic yet. For one thing, even the school group featured in the article managed to do an end-run around the rules by holding their bake sale across the street from the school. The taste for sweets will probably never go away.

For another, the great thing about food is that it's endlessly versatile. Let's take the sweet issue: I held a bake sale recently (yes, in California), where I asked someone to bring cheese bread as an alternative to all the sugar. It turned out to be a popular item. Even sweet treats can be created using bananas, fruit juice, honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar in place of the sugar -- all you have to do is check the right cookbooks or websites (try ones dedicated to people with allergies or diabetes). Or if that sounds like too much work, how about creating baggies of trail mix, including colorful additions like dried cranberries? 

Also, as someone with food allergies, I can guarantee you'll have more customers if you put a sign next to each baked good explaining what's in it. Delicious baked items can be made without many of the common allergens including eggs, dairy, wheat or other gluten-containing flours, and peanuts as well as other nuts. If you really want to make an effort on this one, it's easiest to start by finding a volunteer who's experienced in baking for people with allergies.

With steps like these, you'll not only bring in profits, but feel good about what you're doing -- providing nutritious, home-baked foods in a world of junk calories.

Sometimes a simple "thank you" is the best way to forge connections between a nonprofit and its supporters -- and that's just what People's Grocery recently did, with its "Flavors of the Garden" party. People's Grocery is a relatively new organization, developing creative solutions to the health problems in West Oakland stemming from a lack of access to and knowledge about healthy, fresh foods. Their projects include operating community gardens to grow and distribute organic fruits and vegetables, youth training, nutrition and cooking classes, and more. You can also sign up for a regular "Grub Box" of organic seasonal produce, the cost of which helps sponsor similar boxes going to low-income residents of West Oakland.

The party was billed as "a special thank you celebration for all our Harvesting Justice Table Captains, volunteers, donors, & supporters with delicious appetizers and yummy beverages crafted by local Bay Area chefs from organic seasonal produce grown at People's Grocery's gardens and farm. See the new Grub Box, meet the people who are People's Grocery, listen to live music and taste the flavor of summer with People's Grocery."

It lived up to its billing -- great food and music, good company, all in a lovely urban garden setting. But, the cynic might ask, did it directly contribute to their bottom line? Well, from my limited one-person view, I'd say yes. For starters, I was there as the guest of a volunteer, but the entry person was prepared for folks like me, and put my name on their mailing list. I know I'll be hearing more from them, but that's good -- I encourage organizations to make sure everyone who shows the slightest interest has their name captured for future contact.

And I heard one volunteer, perhaps inspired by the good time she was having, say, "I want to give People's Grocery more money after I get my next disability pension check -- I hope it doesn't go down too much with the whole economic crisis, but I'll try to give anyway." I'll let that one speak for itself.

This could be the new insight into donor motivation we've all been waiting for: a study reported on by the Telegraph (U.K.), indicating that men tend to give more money when there's a pretty woman around to impress. (Women give the same amount regardless of who's watching.)

It's all a part of those primordial mating instincts, apparently. And if all is fair in love and war, then I suppose it's fair to take advantage of said instincts in the interest of a good cause.

Of course, engineering this could be tricky. It does suggest that special events or house dinners with public calls for donations, or live auctions, are a good starting point. But should they be formal dress events as opposed to masked? And how do you make sure to have a lot of women -- let alone "pretty" women, which is too subjective a standard to even touch -- at an event? Hmm...

I seem to have been attending a lot of meetings lately, both in for-profit and nonprofit settings. That's given me a chance, while I wait for people to file in, to notice that it's often the meetings where the announcement contained the magical word "food" that draw the most attendees.

That's hardly a headline-worthy revelation -- but then why are some organizers still missing their chance at a little bribery? Particularly when the weather is getting better and motivation to sit around inside is going way, way down?

Maybe bribery is too harsh a word -- anthropologists can give us plenty of examples where the first words out of a host, even when greeting a stranger, concern whether the person would like some food. It's a primal welcoming thing.

Anyway, if the reasons are budgetary, that doesn't seem like much of a barrier. No one needs to promise a hot gourmet meal, just some snacks. In fact, two or three people planning to come (board members or other volunteers, for example) can be asked to bring those snacks. Some cookies, fruit slices, nuts, and cheese and crackers will not break anyone's budgets.

The Houston Chronicle hit the nail on the head with its January 2, 2008 article, "In fundraising, short is sweet," by Shelby Hodge (billed as, interestingly enough, a society writer).

Hodge's basic premise is that charities who let their gala luncheons, dinners, auctions, or other events go on too long are going to turn off the very donors they're hoping to thank or inspire.

Hodge quotes one experienced fundraiser who says, "Remember that the members of your audience are your donors, your friends. They are giving you the gift of their time, the most valuable thing they have. Be kind to them. They want to have some fun."

I couldn't agree more, having recently attended an end-of-year dinner and awards event that went on so long I had to leave in between speeches. The problem was that they had invited five big-name awardees -- all of whom were wonderful to listen to (well, okay, I'm not sure about the ones who spoke after I left) -- but who were either not given clear instructions on how much time they had, or were not told when their time was up.

Personally, I'd hate to be the one to tell a famous person at the microphone that he or she is going on too long. So lesson one might be to hire a tougher enforcer than me. But better yet, either limit the number of people encouraged to make a "speech" as opposed to a quick thank-you, or give them a full lecture beforehand on the importance of keeping it brief.

While we're at it, the Hodge article offers ten tips on keeping your event on track that are worth a look.

The only one I'd quibble with says, "Don't beat the audience to death with your nonprofit's message. You already have their money." That's fine by itself, but many in the audience will be friends, dates, or even spouses who don't know the nonprofit's message. So without "beating them to death," I'd say give a quick reminder or update to inform the new attendees and inspire the old. Then let everyone get home and wake up the babysitter.