AFP Info P ormat tion Exch ge hang

Annu A ual Gi iving: A Le etter O Once a Yea Doe ar es Not an A t Annua App al peal M Make! !
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This AFP Inform A mation Exchange reso ource is pro ovided by: Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE, P L President/C CEO, CAPITA VENTURE AL E Contact: 866 C 6-539-9990 www.cvf 0 fundriasing.com

4300 Wilson Boule W evard, Suite 300 Arlin e ngton, VA 2 22203-4168 8 800 0-666-3863 (U.S. & Ca anada) 703-684-0410 001-866 0 6-837-1948 (Mexico) 703-684-0540 fax w.afpnet.org afp@afp g pnet.org www

AnnualGiving:ALetterOnceaYearDoesNotan AnnualAppealMake!
Manyorganizationsdescribethemselvesashavinganannualappeal,butuponfurther investigation,whattheannualappealconsistsofmaybealettersenttodonorsorprospective donorsonceayear.Astrongannualgivingappealconsistsoffarmorethanjustanannual directmailappeal.Formostsuccessfulorganizations,annualgivingmayinclude,personalvisits withindividualmajordonors,acorporateappeal,atelephonecampaign,Internetfundraising anddirectmail. Annualgivingisanimportantcomponentofanyorganizationsdevelopmentprogramfor severalreasons: Itisgenerallyunrestrictedmoneyandcanbeusedforoperatingexpensessuchas salaries Ithelpsbuildrelationshipswithnewandexistingdonors Themethodsandtechniquesusedcanlaythegroundworkforotherfundraisingefforts suchasplannedgivingandcapitalcampaigns Itisthebestwaytobringdonorsintotheorganizationforthefirsttimedonorsthat canbecultivatedformajorgiftsinthefuture Theannualgivingappealshouldbeamajorfocusofthedevelopmentplanandshouldattempt todiversifytheconstituentbaseandthefundraisingmethodstobeused.

DiversifyingConstituents
Asmostdevelopmentprofessionalsknow,approximately85%ofallcontributionsintheUnited Statescomefromindividuals,approximately12%comefromfoundationsand6%from corporationsandbusinesses.Therefore,foranorganizationtobesuccessful,itshouldfocus mostofitsfundraisingeffortsonindividualgiving.However,foundationsandcorporations shouldnotbeignoredasthesearealsogoodsourcesoffunding.Foundations,ingeneral,prefer supportingspecificprograms,sotheywillnotbeaddressedhere.Corporatefundraising, however,isoftenunrestrictedandshouldbealsoconsideredaspartoftheannualgiving program. Theannualapproachtoindividualsdoesnotnecessarilymeanthattheorganizationcontacts donorsonceayear.Somedonorsrespondtodirectmailasoftenasmonthly,otherswillgive severaltimesayearifagoodcasehasbeenmade.Majordonorsmaypreferbeingapproached justonceayear.Itisimportanttohaveaplanthatoutlineswhowillbecontacted,howthey willbeapproached,howoftenandwhen.

 Whenplanninghoweachgroupofprospectswillbeapproached,onegoodruleofthumbisto lookatthe95/5Rule(orthe90/10Rule),recognizingthat5%ofalldonorswillgenerally accountfor95%ofanorganization'sdonations,(thismaybetranslatedas90%ofcontributions comingfrom10%ofdonorsforsomeorganizations).Alittleresearchoftheorganizations donorrecordswillhelpestablishaplantocontactthetop510%ofdonorsinpersoneachyear. Otherdonors,fallinginthemajorityof9095percentofdonorswhoaccountfor510%of contributionscanbeapproachedbymail,telephone,ortheInternet.Telephoneapproaches workbestwhentheorganizationcontactspeoplewhoalreadyhavearelationshipwithit members,existingdonors,clients,etc.Others,suchasnamescontributedbystafforboard members,namesacquiredthroughlistbrokers,etc,areoftenbestapproachedbydirectmail. Approachingcurrentdonorsorfriendsbyphoneisalmostalwaysmoreeffectivethandirect mailappeals,becauseitismorepersonal.Volunteersorprofessionaltelephonefundraising firmscanbeusedeffectivelyforphoneappeals,dependingonthenumberofindividualstobe called,thepurposeofthecall,andtheavailabilityofvolunteers. Directmail,likewise,canbedoneinhouseorthroughadirectmailfirm.Againthenumberof individualstobeapproached,theorganization'sbudget,theabilityoftheorganizationto prepareandmailtheappealwillusuallydictatethemethodtobeused. Internetfundraisingisbecomingmoreeffectiveasitbecomesmorepopular.Again,itcanbe doneinhouseiftheorganizationhasthetoolstoeffectivelysetupandmanagetheprogram. Thirdpartyvendorsarealsoavailabletosetupprograms,usuallywithasmallpercentageof operatingcosts. Inpersoncallsshouldbemadetothattop510%ofthedonors.Approachingthesedonorsin personisalwaysthemosteffectivewaytoraisemoney.Boardmembersandothervolunteers areoftenveryeffectiveinmakingpersonalcallsespeciallywhenteamedupwiththeExecutive DirectororChiefDevelopmentOfficer. Corporatecontributorsshouldalwaysbeapproachednperson,unlessthereisacorporate foundationthathandlesrequeststhroughagrantproposalprocess.Whenapproachingsmall businessesorcorporationsthatdonothaveafoundation,oftenthedecisionismadebyeither acommitteeoroneindividual,usuallytheownerormanager.Forthistypeofapproach, volunteerswhorepresentthelocalbusinesscommunitycanbeveryhelpfulinplanningand implementingacorporateannualappeal. Eachorganizationshouldestablishaplantousethemosteffectivemethodstoreachthe broadestbaseofconstituentswiththegreatestnumberofstaffboardandvolunteersithas available.

Annual Giving: A Letter Once a Year Does Not an Ann s nual Appeal M Make! was pr rovided by: Lin Lysakows ACFRE, P nda ski, President/CEO, CAPITAL VENTURE

Linda Lysako owski, ACFRE, is one of fe ewer than 100 people worldwide to hold the 0 d Advanced Ce ertified Fund Raising Exec cutive distinction. Linda is President/CE of EO ndraising consulting firm w offices in Nevada, Pennsylvania, an New Jersey with nd y. CAPITAL VENTURE, a fun Linda has he elped more th 100 organ han nizations with their develop pment programs and has t trained more t than 14,000 p professionals in all aspects of developm s ment. Hundred of tool for d ds development professionals s may be found on the CA APITAL VENTURE website at www.cvfun t ndraising.com m.

4300 Wilson Boule W evard, Suite 300 Arlin e ngton, VA 2 22203-4168 8 0-666-3863 (U.S. & Ca anada) 703-684-0410 001-866 0 6-837-1948 (Mexico) 703-684-0540 fax 800 www w.afpnet.org afp@afp g pnet.org

2009 AFP