A loyal GettingGiving reader sent me a tweet this week that essentially asked the following question:

“How can small organizations operating on a shoestring budget compete with large organizations who have more resources re: stewardship?”

(I took the liberty of rephrasing it a bit as it was tweeted in 140 characters or less with abbreviations)

I laughed, because I spend much of my time wondering how a huge/complex organization can compete with smaller organizations in this arena. The benefit of having 125,000+ donors is also a curse when it comes to figuring out how to personally and creatively engage them and provide meaningful stewardship.

Rather than thinking of the shoestring budget and smaller donor population as a detriment, take a positive view of this situation. It’s much more realistic to provide donor-specific stewardship opportunities to a few hundred individuals than to hundreds of thousands. Personalized attention for donors at all levels suddenly becomes an actionable to-do item.

In the most basic terms, consider the initial acknowledgment. Ideally, it’s personal. It’s timely. It’s sincere. And it utilizes the power of storytelling to show the donor just how much their gift matters. Even with unlimited resources, it’s challenging to do that 100,000 times!

At a small nonprofit, for very little money, the staff can hand-sign and embellish every form letter. Better yet, if the circumstances permit, they can hand-write thank you notes to all. They can pick up the phone and make a call to say ‘thank you’ when a gift arrives. In this digital age, when others are looking to streamline everything (and unfortunately many are sending e-mails instead of letters) you can go the other direction and truly stand out. All for the low-low-price of 44 cents plus a few minutes of time.

Before anyone jumps all over me and says time is the biggest issue, remember you’re not the one writing all the notes. Anyone can write the note. You, your staff, your volunteers. I don’t care who writes it, a heartfelt and sincere note of appreciation handwritten by somebody close to your organization will leave a lasting impression.

It also costs very little to bring your supporters to where the action happens. Invite them to see the good work being done. One on one or in a group setting, this establishes a deeper relationship and lets them see first-hand how their gift makes a difference. They actually meet the people responsible for doing the work and see those receiving the benefits. Now you’re no longer just a faceless organization, you’re a living breathing person using their resources to make the world a better place. And it doesn’t cost much to provide that type of stewardship!

Nonprofits excel at finding new and creative ways to do more with less. Being small has it’s advantages!

For more on working with a shoestring budget, I highly recommend Nancy Lublin’s book “ZILCH” which is a great look at running a business or nonprofit with limited resources.  I’ve been planning to blog about this book since July 2010 (it’s a long story, and when I get around to writing that post I’ll tell you about it) but haven’t done so yet.  So my mini-review is this:  spend some of your limited resources to buy this book. The ROI will be significant!

If you aren’t already, follow me on Twitter @gettinggiving

I occasionally share fundraising videos that catch my attention, and this one has been haunting me for weeks. Normally, I’m not a big fan of the ‘depression video’ which makes me feel so horrible by the time it’s over that I feel compelled to give. I prefer upbeat, hope-inspiring videos that make me think and feel good. But I guess as long as I’m compelled to give, the video is doing its job, right?

I confess I haven’t given (yet), but I’ve been thinking about this video since the first time I saw it, and the subsequent 2-3 times I’ve caught it on TV have been enough to drive me to the website and consider adding HSUS to my charitable contributions list. We’ll see if I make the leap.

In June, GettingGiving featured a cartoon by Mark Litzker that told a sad but true story about fundraising, realistic expectations and social media.  Mark is both a fundraiser and talented cartoonist and he generously shared several examples of his work for use in the future.

After opening my electric bill this month, I decided the future is now.  If you haven’t heard, much of the Midwest is in the middle of a heat wave, and the continuous 95-degree days are making the air conditioner work overtime.  Mark’s cartoon seems all too real to me!

I have a friend who became a vegetarian.  For 30 days.  As a meat lover, that makes me shudder.  But it’s only 30 days, right!?!?

Matt Cutts, an engineer at Google, gave a talk at this year’s TED conference about 30-day challenges.  He argues that you can set a 30-day goal and it’s just the right amount of time to make it both achievable as well as potentially putting you on the road to a new lifestyle.

What could you do for 30 days? Professionally? Personally?

Here are a few ideas for you:
-Call a donor every day for 30 days. Just say thank you.
-Even better, call 30 donors a day for 30 days!
-Write a personal handwritten appeal to acquire a new donor every day for 30 days.
-Tell at least one member of your team how much you value them every day for 30 days.
-Tell yourself the same thing every day for 30 days.
-Set aside one hour a day just to think about ‘big ideas’ for your organization every day for 30 days.

That’s just a start. The clock is ticking and the next 30 days starts. . . right. . . . NOW!
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“$8 of every $10 raised comes from direct mail” – or something like that.

I came across this statistic recently and couldn’t decide if I believed it or not.  With some digging and the help of my friends at Google, I found the data was referencing an old Target Analytics report.  It failed to mention the numerous caveats the report made about the data coming from mostly mass marketing shops and that it was looking at a particular niche of nonprofits and giving levels.  That would have just made things messy, I guess.

Even with that in mind, nonprofits everywhere are missing great opportunities to generate significant growth by building real relationships with donors.  I’m not sure if it’s because they see direct mail as ‘easy’ money or if they’re simply satisfied with the revenue and ROI it provides.  Mail just seems to be in ‘the comfort zone’ and as long as they can keep the lights on, they’re happy.  But they’ll never transform themselves to the next level as long as they think this way.

I’m amazed that a nonprofit would think nothing of investing large sums of money into another 250,000 piece mass mailing, but shudder at the thought of investing in a frontline fundraiser.  Call them a major gift officer, planned giving officer, development officer, whatever.  I’m talking about a real live person to get out and meet with donors and prospective donors.  These frontline fundraisers aren’t cheap, and you need to pay for pesky things like travel and lodging, but in the long run they should provide a terrific return on your investment.

I’m a fan of direct mail and all the other annual giving channels, but I also understand that a healthy development program needs to nurture and grow it’s most generous donors.  It’s the only way to achieve significant increases in revenue.  Ultimately, just a handful of those donors should be able to give far more than the rest of the population of your donor base.  How many mailings and $10 and $15 checks do you need to get to equal just one ‘major gift’?  Or an estate plan that leaves your organization 50% of a sizable estate?  Let me do the math for you:  LOTS!

Engaging a donor fully and building a relationship that may result in a gift with many zeroes before the decimal point takes time.  Perhaps that’s the biggest hurdle – the return on investment for a highly paid frontline fundraiser may be measured in months or years, not days or weeks.  But if you plant the seeds and nurture the relationships with your donors, the fruits of your labor will be many.

Admission:  That last cheesy ‘fruits of your labor’ line was included just so I could use an old photo I had planned on using for a different post.  I couldn’t help myself!!!

No real post, I just liked the teaser on this membership renewal I received.  It’s not rocket science, just a cute little teaser that reminded me that I DO remember the fun we have at the zoo.

FYI, It worked.

I received an email this week with a cartoon attachment – and it made me laugh out loud, so I present it to you.  It was created by Mark Litzker, who certainly understands fundraising as that’s his ‘real job’ – but he does cartoons on the side, and he’s very talented.  I asked him for permission to share and not only did he agree, he sent along several others.  Consider this a tease, and the rest will be shared over time!  Thanks, Mark, you’ve brightened the GettingGiving community’s day.

For everyone who has ever heard the ‘if every single person just gave a dollar’ speech, this will hit close to home:

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I just hope this isn’t your social media strategy!