| Welcome
to Ventures in Philanthropy E-Newsletter |
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| Making
a Difference |
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| Linda
Lysakowski, ACFRE |
| At
the AFP International Conference last month,
I had the pleasure of hearing and meeting
Sidney Poitier. What an amazing man. At the
age of eighty-two he is still as compelling
as he was in some of his great movies—Guess
Who’s Coming to Dinner, Lilies of the
Fields, and Raisin in the Sun. |
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| Sidney
talked about his childhood and how he was
sent to America at the age of 12 with $3 in
his pocket. While most of us can't identify
with this |
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personally, we can indentify with his spirit
and desire to succeed. He talked about several
people who made a great difference in his
life—a Jewish waiter who helped him
learn to read English, and an Irish Catholic
police officer who directed him to a convent,
and the nuns helped him during a rough time
in his life. I immediately wondered how those
people who helped a down-on-his-luck young
immigrant felt when they saw Sidney make history
as the first African American to receive an
Academy Award as best |
leading actor.
Reflecting on his experience made me think
of how development officers often do not realize
what a profound influence they have on the
people their agencies serve. Whether it is
a student in a university, a hospital patient,
a recovering drug addict, a woman escaping
from a violent relationship, or a family learning
to appreciate art, we make dreams possible,
save lives and improve communities in our
own way, even though we may never wield a
scalpel, teach a class or perform in a ballet.
So how does a development officer make this
difference? Raising the money to make it happen
is just one part of the equation. An important
one for sure but think about the ways you
can make a difference in the lives of the
people your agency services.
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- Raising the most money you can raise
for your institution, in an ethical and
professional manner, means focusing on
major gifs and not spending all your time
running special events, working on PR,
or other non-development activities.
- Providing good stewardship for the donor.
Telling the donor how their money was
used, making sure the agency uses money
in the way it was intended by the donor.
- Making sure that you don't accept donations
that are not in the best interest of the
donor or the organization and the people
it serves.
- Assuring that all your organization's
communications focus on people by using
person-first language is important, not
making the people you serve sound "needy"
but rather, focusing on creating opportunities
for people.
- Sitting down with the people you serve
and hearing their side of the story can
not only help you focus on the organization's
mission but will help you create a compelling
case statement for donors.
- Providing opportunities for donors to
meet the people helped by their contributions
as often as possible. One of the most
memorable events I attended before entering
this field was a homeless shelter's breakfast
meeting for business leaders, during which
the business people shared breakfast with
shelter guests.
- Work with the program staff of your
organization to help them understand the
role of development and how important
it is to fulfilling the mission. You might
be surprised at how often program people
can provide great stories about the program's
success as well as leads to potential
donors.
- Help your board and your organization's
leadership understand the importance of
high ethical standards in fundraising.
- Be sure your organization is accountable
and transparent. Donors will be more receptive
to an ask from an organization that they
know is using their money wisely.
- Work with your finance people and accounting
firm on the preparation of the 990 form.
This is a great public relations tool
that can help bring in donors to your
organization.
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| Special
Offer for 2nd Quarter 2009! |
If your organization is planning to start
a development office this year, don’t miss
this opportunity for savings! CAPITAL
VENTURE is offering our start up program
at a discounted price for clients who schedule
before June 30, 2009 for start up before August
31, 2009.
In today’s economy, we know how important
it is for you to maximize your budget and
for your office to be cost-effective and successful
immediately. The CAPITAL VENTURE
program is a culmination of years of experience
setting up development offices for nonprofits
covering every area of interest and service.
The offer includes:
- An SWOT analysis of your organization's
readiness for a development program including
a report of areas in which your organization
can build its program.
- A budget for your start-up development
office.
- A job description for your development
officer.
- A list of resources you should buy for
the development office.
- A two-hour training session for your
board on what to expect from the development
office.
- AFP Ready Reference book Establishing
Your Development Office.
- Consultant on Call support via phone
and email for 60 days.
For details, please click
here.
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| Technology
Corner — Twitter, Twitter... Tweet, Tweet |
Another
phenomenon has taken online marketing by storm.
If twittering is one of the most valuable
tools ever created for businesses (and it
is!)... then it is an unsurpassed boon for
nonprofit organizations. For those of you
who aren't actively using Twitter to build
your donor and support base, we recommend
you begin as soon as possible. Twitter
was made for you!
Here a few tips you may find helpful:
- The first step toward successful twittering
is listening. Visit Twitter
Search and Tweet
Scan to learn about twittering before
you create an account. Take a few minutes
to watch the video, "Twitter
in Plain English."
- Join with a branded name/handle and
with descriptive content in your profile
description, at 160 characters or less.
- Sign up for alerts or relevant content
at Tweet
Beep, which is similar to Google Alerts.
If anyone tweets about you, or any keyword
or URL you choose, you'll be emailed an
alert.
- Have more than one twitterer at your
organization. People can quit, take vacations,
and get sick. Try to team up an intern
or volunteer with one of your more experienced
staff. Twittering can take up a lot of
time. The volunteer or intern should be
able to take care of the bulk of your
tweets, but someone who has a firm grasp
on your organization's mission and programs
must be actively involved.
- Share the human side of your organization.
Point to pictures and other human things.
Have a sense of humor; be natural. Twitter
can help you increase awareness of your
mission and expand your donor base, but
it is a social media tool; not an RSS
feed. Twittering is your opportunity to
add a personal touch to what you do. It
is about conversation. Use your real voice;
not your "sales" voice.
- Don't toot your horn too much. Try to
balance horn-tooting with promoting other
organizations, too.
- Ask questions. Twitter is great for
getting opinions. Seek advice. Use it
as a forum to test program development.
Search for experts in your field and solutions
similar organizations have found for your
current challenges.
- 3rd party clients like TweetDeck
and twhirl
can make it easier to manage Twitter.
New tools
are being added all the time. Be on the
lookout for ones that will help you accomplish
your objectives.
- Use URL shortening tools like TinyURL
to clean up your tweets.
- Engage your supporters. Run contests,
solicit feedback, and thank donors and
volunteers for supportive messages.
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| 2009
CAPITAL VENTURE
Premiere Series Workshops |
We are offering some very special workshops
in 2009 to help you strengthen your fundraising
efforts. All these will be half day, interactive
workshops. More details will follow in future
newsletters. In the meantime, please save
the dates!
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June 11
July 15
August 13
September 24
October 14
December 8
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Are
You Ready for a Capital Campaign?
Are
You Ready for a Capital Campaign?
Are You Ready for a Capital Campaign?
What Do Major Donors Really Want?
Developing Your Case for Support
Are you Ready for a Capital Campaign? |
Las
Vegas, NV
Reno, NV
Harrisburg, PA
Las Vegas, NV
Reno, NV
Philadelphia , PA |
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| Upcoming
Workshops |
May 11, 2009
PANO
The
Development Plan
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Williamsport,
PA
Contact
Linda for details
June
8, 2009
Pennsylvania Downtown Center
The
Development Plan:
The Foundation of Success
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Johnstown,
PA
Click
here for details
June 10, 2009
CAPITAL VENTURE
Evaluating Your Development Plan:
How Do You Measure Up?
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Audioconference
Click
here for details
June
11, 2009
CAPITAL VENTURE
Are You Ready for a Capital Campaign
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Las
Vegas, NV
Click
here for details
July
15, 2009
CAPITAL VENTURE
Are You Ready for a Capital Campaign?
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Las
Vegas, NV
Click
here for details
July
17, 2009
AFP Las Vegas Chapter
Fundraising Essentials: Annual
Giving
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Las
Vegas, NV
Click
here for details
July
22, 2009
Philanthropy Journal
101 Fundraising Tips to
Help You Succeed
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
Webinar
Contact
Linda for details
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| Contact
Us |
CAPITAL
VENTURE Associates
are located throughout
the United States.
Call to find the one closest to you.
(866) 539-9990 toll free
Administrative Office:
P O Box 731
Reading, PA 19607
Executive Office:
10245 S. Maryland Pkwy., Ste. 1188
Las Vegas, NV 89183
866-539-9990 toll free
702-892-0955 voice
702-892-0655 fax
Email:
info@cvfundraising.com
Website:
www.cvfundraising.com
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