18065 - Fund Raising

Course contents

 

Principles and techniques of fundraising, Spring 2016

Prof. Valerio Melandri (instructor) valerio.melandri@unibo.it

Dott. Mauro Picciaiola (tutor) mauro@antoniano.it

Course Overview

The course is structured to provide students with a thorough grounding in the principles and practices of fundraising. The emphasis of the course is practical, with students “adopting” a nonprofit organization. Assignments will be based upon the information and data portfolios of these “adopted” nonprofit organizations.

Students will need to identify a nonprofit organization of interest for use in completing their assignments. Before the beginning of the course, students should contact the organization of their choice (you may use organizations you have existing relationships with i.e., employer, volunteer, etc.), and identify a staff or volunteer contact who can provide access to information and data about the organization’s fundraising program. It is required and expected that students have direct personal contact with the organization in order to complete assignments.

Students having difficulty selecting or making contact with an organization should discuss with the instructor and/or the tutor.

VERY IMPORTANT:

BEFORE the beginning of the class, each student has to be in contact with a nonprofit organization, in order to do all the assignments required.

Please contact me at [mailto:valerio.melandri@unibo.it] if you have trouble to find a nonprofit that fits your needs.

Learning outcomes

Student will, as a result of this course, be able to:

• design and implement fundraising plans to provide required resources for organizations to achieve their missions and organizational objectives
• apply established, professional, and ethical practices in constructing and evaluating fundraising plans.

Class time, Spring 2016

Thursday, February 25 17:00-19:00 Valerio Melandri

Friday, February 26 9:00-13:00 Valerio Melandri

Thursday, March 3 17:00-19:00 Valerio Melandri

Friday, March 4 9:00–13:00 Valerio Melandri

Thursday, March, 10 9:00-13:00 Mauro Picciaiola (and Valerio Melandri)

Thursday, March 17 9:00-13:00 Mauro Picciaiola (and Valerio Melandri)

Friday, March 18 9:00-13:00 Valerio Melandri

Thursday, March 31 9:00-14:00 Final Exam and Presentations

Course Format & Methods

Class sessions will include a combination of discussion, lecture, small-group work, and student presentations. Lectures will introduce new concepts while discussions and small-group work will allow exploration and application of class concepts. Student presentations will enable participants to demonstrate their comprehension and interpretation of key concepts.

Readings (one of them, your choice)

• Tempel, Eugene R., Timothy L. Seiler, and Eva E. Aldrich, eds. Achieving Excellence in Fundraising. 3^rd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc., 2010.
• Weinstein, Stanley, The Complete Guide to Fundraising Management. Third edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2009
• Sargeant A., Shang J, and Associates, Fundraising Principles and Practice, Jossey Bass, San Francisco, 2010
• Melandri V., Manuale di fundraising. Fare raccolta fondi nelle organizzazioni nonprofit e negli enti pubblici, Maggioli Editore, Rimini, 2012

Syllabus week by week Thursday, February 25 17:00-19:00 Valerio Melandri –

Istructor, Tutor and Student introduction.

Course Overview, syllabus, assignments, gradings.

Introduction to the Nonprofit Sector: The scale, scope and role of the sector, the Italian donors behaviors.

Introduction to Fundraising: The fundraising cycle, the development process, categories of campaign (annual fund, capital campaign, planned giving), categories of funder/donor, variety of forms of support.

Friday, February 26 9:00-13:00 Valerio Melandri

Explain the case for support as the foundation for the development of fundraising. Understand the role of the case for support.

Explain how case resources translate into case statement.

Identify the specific components of a nonprofit organization’s case.

Internal case and external case.

The right fundraising vehicle: ladder of effectiveness.

Fundraising target: constituents circle, LIA, prospect grid, Donor Chart.

How to measure direct mail: the 20.000 example

Thursday, March 3 17:00-19:00 Valerio Melandri

Roles and Responsibilities (development staff, non‐fundraising, staff, volunteers, consultants). Governance and fundraising.

This interactive discussion explores the nature of board membership, and the implications of your organization’s choices. For example: How do organizational values affect board design? Is there a “right type” of board member? What does diversity mean in board membership? Should board members bring specific skills into the boardroom? What behaviors are critical for board work and how do you assure these? Are there nonnegotiable requirements for all board members?

How would you respond to these questions – and why do you respond that way? What is your vision of the best board?

Friday, March 4 9:00–13:00 Valerio Melandri

First donation, regular gift, major gifts.

Definition of move and the five types of move.

Annual fund plan: gift range chart.

The Donor Cycle and the Cultivation program.

Recruiting new donors, recruiting new supporters: beginning the Cultivation process online.

Guest

Thursday, March, 10 9:00-13:00 Mauro Picciaiola

Introduction to corporate fundraising.

Differences between gift and sponsorship.

Corporate’s viewpoint vs NPO’s one.

How to choose your corporate target.

Identifying objetives based on project and financial requirement.

Types of collaboration: Sponsorship,Cause Related Marketing,Partnership, Philanthropic donation.

The Collaboration Cycle with corporations.

Thursday, March 17 9:00-13:00 Mauro Picciaiola

The foundation support

Friday, March 18 9:00-13:00 Valerio Melandri

Benefits and drawbacks of planning, approaches to planning, planning for annual fund versus capital campaigns and endowment, structure(s) for an integrated fundraising plan. Fundraising objectives: importance of SMART objectives, objective setting, categories of fundraising objective. Fundraising strategy: overall direction, segmentation, positioning, case for support. Fundraising tactics – advantages, disadvantages and best practice in relation to each key form of fundraising (developed in subsequent units below). Developing a fundraising budget, methods of budget setting, categories of costs.

Thursday, March 31 9:00-14:00 Final Exam and Presentations Assignments and gradings (total of 100 pts)

Students will need to identify a nonprofit organization of interest for use in completing their assignments. Again I want to underline and repeat that before the beginning of the course, students should contact the organization of their choice (you may use organizations you have existing relationships with i.e., employer, volunteer, etc.), and identify a staff or volunteer contact who can provide access to information and data about the organization’s fundraising program. It is required and expected that students have direct personal contact with the organization in order to complete assignments.

Grades will be assigned for the following:

1. Learning Portfolio: 7 assignments at 8pts. each, to be delivered during the course. A detailed explanation of all assignments is included in the syllabus. Student are required to valuate fundraising skills and capabilities of a nonprofit organization. Max 56 pts
2. Annual Fund Plan: class plan presentation. Max 24 pts
3. Class participation: (It is forbidden in my class the use of computers and telephone) Max 20 pts

I will explain them in the next pages.

Learning Portofolio

Students will complete 7 assignments in order to complete their learning portfolios

Deadline

The following three (3) assignments are due (using Dropbox) no later than Sunday, March, 13 at noon:

• Gift Profile
• Mission Statement
• Case Statement & Gift Range Chart for Annual Fund

The following four (4) assignments are due (using Dropbox) no later than Sunday, March 20, at noon:

• Strategies for Expanding the Donor Base
• Direct Mail Letter
• Two assignments (2) of your choice
• IMPORTANT: You can send also some optional assignments to get an extra 10 pts

2 Assignments + some optional assignments to be chosen among these:

• Video to present the NPO’s cause(max 90 seconds)
• Trustee Roles in Fundraising
• Solicitation Plan
• Fundraising Cost Analysis
• Capital Campaign Test for Readiness
• Foundation Letter of Inquiry
• Planned Giving
• Assessment of Total Development Program

Explanation of the assignements (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY) Gift Profile

Nonprofit organizations receive their income from sources in all three sectors. They earn income from patient and client fees, tuition, admissions, ticket sales, etc. This is market-based income. They receive grants and contracts from local, state, and federal government agencies as a second source of revenue. Finally, they receive philanthropic support from individuals, corporations, and foundations through their fundraising efforts

This assignment is concerned only with philanthropic support.

In completing this assignment, determine the amount of philanthropic support your organization receives. . In nonprofit management, we are interested in how the amount of philanthropic support compares to the other two sources of support. However, for this assignment we are NOT interested in comparing philanthropic support with earned income and government grants. We are interested ONLY in analyzing philanthropic support

The first assignment is an external market comparison to determine how the philanthropic support received by your organization breaks down in compared to national figures.

For this assignment, you should consider total philanthropic support to be 100% and determine percentages for the following categories of support: individuals, bequests, corporations, and foundations.

This assignment is based on the following figures: Doxa 2014 , Eurisko, Assifero and ACRI (see also the first chapter of V. Melandri, Manuale di fundraising)

Note the percentage of philanthropic support that comes from the following sources:

• individuals
• bequests
• foundations
• corporations

How do the sources of philanthropic support for your organization compare to these figures?

If the differences are large, explain why, including what the implications are for potential expanded gift income.

Mission Statement

For this assignment, review the mission statement of the non-profit organization you’re currently working with for this class.

.

If your organization has a mission statement, evaluate it as the basis for a case for support.

Is the mission statement the expression of values that provide rationale for the organization’s work or is it merely a statement of goals? Is a large social need identified?

Does the mission statement follow the model studied in class?

What changes, if any, would you recommend for the mission statement?

If your organization does not have a current mission statement, develop one that you believe expresses the values of the organization, the large social need that exists, and the goals the organization has or should set. A two-paragraph document should be sufficient.

External Case, E.R.O.E. model, and Gift Range Chart for Annual Fund

The assignment for this session relates to determining the case for support for your organization. You have to do two things:

1. Examine several recent fundraising pieces such as brochures, direct mail letters, or grant proposals.

   Note how these solicitations make the case for charitable gifts to the organization.

   These pieces are examples of case expressions, also referred to as external case statements.

   Imagine that you are developing a new case expression for the nonprofit. In one to two paragraphs, make the case for support for gifts to the organization’s annual fund.

   You do not need to develop a full brochure or write a complete letter.

   This paragraph(s) should be the essence of the justification for the nonprofit’s seeking of gifts to its annual fund.

   You have to create four (4) different case expressions using the E.R.O.E model four different case for support for your cause

2. The second part of this assignment calls for the development of a gift range chart for the total euro goal for the annual fund.

The gift range chart should reflect the key principles taught in our class: percentage of euro totals from percentage of gifts, ratio of prospects to gifts, and appropriate gift ranges.

If the gift range chart departs from the classical model studied in class, explain why.

Analyze and explain the implications for long-term success in the annual fund.

Remember to add also the 4 columns that we studied in class (case-benefit-vehicle-who) and briefly explain them.

Strategies for Expanding the Donor Base

Write a brief narrative plan for how your nonprofit organization can expand its donor base (1½ to 2 pages). Attach relevant documentation from the organization.

For example, if the gift profile of your nonprofit differs markedly from national statistical data, which markets (potential donors) are not being addressed by your nonprofit?

Where is the best potential for attracting new donors?

Why?

Even if the gift profile is similar, what are the best possibilities for your nonprofit to attract more donors?

What fundraising strategies are not currently being used and could be added?

What strategies can be improved?

In writing the plan, be sure to remember the concept of LAI as a way of involving new donors.

Prospect Direct Mail Letter

Write a direct mail fundraising letter for your nonprofit organization to a potential NEW DONOR. (prospect mail

Remember that there are several key components to an effective direct mail letter: a strong opening that will immediately interest the reader, a specific request (solicitation) for a gift, and a postscript (P.S.) that is a call to action, not just an afterthought.

Remember also that effective fundraising letters tell stories. Readers respond to the good that your nonprofit accomplishes. Tell the story.

Engage the reader.

Shooting a video to present the NPO’s cause.

Students are required to shoot a (maximum) 90” video to present the NPO’s case and ask gifts for its cause to a NEW DONOR

You should be ceative and able to engage the viewer.

The style used depends on the situation you imagine to use your video( social media, a board meeting, an event for your donors, etc )

It doesn’t matter if you shoot your video with a smartphone or with a professional camera.

Passion and creativity will make the difference.

Trustee Roles in Fundraising

Trustees play a variety of roles for nonprofit organizations.

In this course, we are concerned primarily with their roles in fundraising.

Using the following questionnaire and keeping the entire board in mind, work with the contact person at your organization to determine the best answers to each question. Write a brief paragraph describing areas of improvement needed (if any) to enhance the board’s role in fundraising.

Evaluation Form—Your Board And Fundraising [#_ftn1]

Rate your board on a 1-to-5 scale when it comes to fundraising. A “5” indicates your board is well prepared; a “1” means your board and you need to take appropriate steps in order to engage board members in fundraising. Adapted from work by Wilcox, Ault, and Agee (1989).

I.

Awareness. Your board…

Rating (1-5)

a. Understands the organization’s mission.

b. Is committed to the mission.

c. Believes your organization’s cause is worthy.

d. Has ownership, pride, and enthusiasm for the cause.

e. Realizes the importance of fundraising in supporting the cause.

f. Has received adequate reports on fundraising activities.

II.

Interest. Your board…

Rating (1-5)

a. Asks questions about fundraising.

b. Seeks more information on fundraising activities.

c. Serves as spokesperson on behalf of the cause

d. Understands that fundraising is 90% preparation and 10% asking

e. Realizes that many roles are valuable in fundraising (not just asking)

f. Participates in activities such as identifying and qualifying prospects, participating in direct mail, and representing the
organization

III.

Evaluation. Your board…

Rating (1-5)

a. Interacts positively with peers and staff in fundraising activities.

b. Is willing to take specific assignments.

c. Receives fundraising reports regularly and reads them.

d. Receives recognition for fundraising efforts.

e. Participates in planning for fundraising.

IV.

Trial. Your board…

Rating (1-5)

a. Is willing to make personal calls if appropriately paired with another volunteer or staff.

b. Discusses fundraising with peers.

c. Recruits other volunteers for fundraising.

d. Shares enthusiasm and success stories with the board.

e. Serves as ambassadors to constituent groups.

V.

Adoption. Your board…

Rating (1-5)

a. Believes in fundraising and participates actively in fundraising.

b. Has an active fundraising committee.

c. Assumes responsibility for specific fundraising tasks.

d. Ensures the financial stability of the organization.

Solicitation Plan

If possible, use a valid prospective donor from your organization. Think carefully about who the solicitor(s) will be. For example, will the executive director of the organization solicit the gift? Who, if anyone, will accompany the executive director?

Review mission goals, objectives, and programs/services of the nonprofit as part of the solicitation plan. Include possible donor questions only if you anticipate that the prospective donor is likely to have questions at a particular point in the solicitation.

Fundraising Cost Analysis

Efficiency and effectiveness are two bases for evaluating fundraising production. Efficiency is a measure of fundraising cost or fundraising share.

One management task is to create efficiency in fundraising by reducing fundraising costs.

Effectiveness in fundraising refers to the increase in fundraising productivity even at the expense of increased cost.

Pick one fundraising activity at your organization (this could be their direct mail program, a special event, etc.).

Identify the operating costs of the activity, and how much was generated by the activity.

Then, calculate the ROI (return on investment) and “cost to raise a euro” figures for the activity.

Write a brief assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the fundraising effort. Was this activity a good use of the organization’s fundraising resources?

Were there other ways in which the organization could have used the fundraising resources devoted to this activity in a more effective fashion?

Use what you’ve learned so far in the course to justify your answers.

Capital Campaign Test for Readiness

This assignment requires you to do one of the following:

1. Using the criteria from Weinstein, Chapter 14, write several paragraphs explaining the readiness of the organization to conduct a capital campaign. Topics should include key strengths, available leadership, and other indicators that the nonprofit can confidently begin a capital campaign.

   If you believe there is a lack of organizational readiness to conduct a campaign, write several paragraphs explaining weaknesses, areas of concern, and other factors that indicate the organization is not ready to begin a campaign.

   OR

2. If your organization has completed a capital campaign within the past 15 months, write several paragraphs describing the campaign’s results. Include analyses of the factors that contributed to the campaign’s success, such as volunteer leadership, lead gifts, and others.

If the campaign was considered unsuccessful, explain why. Analyze what contributed to the lack of success.

Foundation Letter of Inquiry

Foundations generally publish guidelines for approaching them about a grant.

These guidelines usually include areas of interest, types and sizes of grants, and the process of applying for a grant.

Very often the initial step in the application process is submission of a letter of inquiry of one or two pages in length.

Often the foundation will specify this as the initial step and provide guidelines for the letter.

In all cases, the general recommendations made in this course should be modified to fit the guidelines recommended by the foundation you are approaching.

This assignment asks you, on behalf of your organization, to prepare a letter of inquiry of one to two pages in length to a real foundation for a specific project (or general operating support if the foundation supports such).

Be sure to attach a copy of the foundation guidelines and/or instructions along with this assignment.

It is important to signal to the foundation program officer early in the letter that you understand the foundation’s areas of interest and the application process.

It is also important to end the letter with a request for additional information, opportunity for discussion, permission to substitute a full proposal, or other meaningful response from the foundation.

Planned Giving

A number of factors must be present for an organization to develop a planned giving program.

First, because in most cases (although not all) planned gift donors come from among the organization’s current donors, the organization must have an individual donor base.

Second, the organization must demonstrate to potential donors that it can serve as a steward of planned gifts and has a case for using planned gifts to fulfill its mission. Even small organizations can encourage the use of wills as planned gift instruments. Other planned gift instruments require increased capacity for stewardship and increased fiscal and technical advice.

If your organization is using planned gift instruments of any type, assess its planned giving program in terms of the degree to which it is successful in generating support and in terms of additional planned gift instruments it might use to expand its program, given its current donor base and level of organizational development. What resources would the organization have to add?

If your organization currently does not have a planned giving program, what potential does it have to initiate a planned gift program? Given its donor base and state of organizational development, what planned gift instruments might be appropriate? What particular donor groups are available as prospects?

If your organization currently does not have a planned giving program, what potential does it have to initiate a planned gift program? Given its donor base and state of organizational development, what planned gift instruments might be appropriate? What particular donor groups are available as prospects?

Please summarize your recommendations in a one-page response.

Assessment of Total Development Program

Assess your nonprofit’s total development program:

• What fundraising strategies does the organization use to attract first-time donors? Are the same strategies used for renewals and for increases in gift amounts?
• What additional strategies are used?
• Does your organization conduct an annual fund?
• What fundraising strategies are used?
• Does your organization also have a major (or special) gifts program?
• Has the organization conducted a capital campaign recently? Was it successful? Why or why not?
• Does your organization have a planned giving program? How effective is it? If there is no program now, should the organization begin planning and implementing one?

Your assessment should include any recommendations or suggestions for how the total development program can be improved or made more effective. Your assignment should be no more than 1-3 pages.

Fundraising Annual Plan Presentation Objective

To persuade your classmates – playing the role of your board of directors – that your recommended fundraising strategies will achieve its goals and objectives.

Evaluation

Your presentation will be evaluated on the basis of two criteria:

1. Content (50%) : Clear core ideas? Sound analyses and recommendations? Persuasive?
2. Presentation (50%) Was presentation confident, clear, concise, and delivered with energy, eye contact, and good voice projection and pace?

You will present (IN ENGLISH) no more than 15 PowerPoint Slides to persuade your classmates – playing the role of your board of directors – that your recommended fundraising strategies will achieve its goals and objectives.

You are not presenting to your classmates but to the Board of Directors of your NPO, so present your fundraising plan accordingly. As for our colleagues playing the part of the Board of Directors, you are expected to be critical and discerning as if we were an actual Board of Directors.

Each student will present no more than 15-20 PowerPoint Slides (actually this is just a recommendation, you are free to proceed as you see fit, but remember you are not selling a power point presentation, you are building a relationship!) to persuade your classmates who are playing the role of your board of directors. You need to convince them that your recommended fundraising strategies will achieve its goals and objectives. You have 15 minutes to make your presentation. The “board” will have 5 minutes to question your proposed plan.

N.B.

Focus attention on your tactics and their justification, in contrast, for example, to your organization’s history. Avoid a detailed description of SWOT analysis; although you may use a brief version as a platform to justify your proposed objectives, tactics, evaluation, implementation strategies, and costs.

I will collect from each student the following questionnaire at the end of each presentation.

Be careful: you will receive two evaluations:

1 –one for the work that you are presenting

2 –one for the capacity of judging the presentation (so I strongly suggest you to be discerning with your vote, don’t give your colleagues points simply because they are your “beloved” classmates!)

Questionnaire for evaluating your classmates’presentations

Student who presents: ……………………………………………………

Your name:…………………………………………..

Rate the presentation on each criterion by circling your rating: 5=best , 0=worst (remember 0 x 5 = 0)

Rating

Weight

Total

Structure

1

Strong beginning – topic introduced clearly

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 1=

2

Clear conclusions and strong ending

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 1=

Slides

3

Clear text, simple diagrams, not too much details

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 2=

Voice/Delivery

4

Pacing of presentation, Clear and loud voice,

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 2=

Audience involvement

5

Attention of audience immediately gained Audience is engaged or involved in some way Variety to maintain attention

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 2=

Body Language

6

Eyes on audience, NOT on screen Moves Around Used hands appropriately

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 1=

Fundraising content

7

Name collecting opportunities and list generating

0 1 2 3 4 5

x 2 =

8

Product (First product, Renew, Upgrade, regular, etc.,)

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 1 =

9

Range gift chart (with the four added column)

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 2 =

10

Realistic and credible plan

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 2 =

11

Realistic budget/and who is doing what?

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 3=

12

Are you going to give the “GO” to the plan presented?

0 1 2 3 4 5

X 5=

Class participation

Grading criteria

Grading criteria for your CP will be based on quality as well as quantity.

Here are the guidelines for the CP grade in this class:

• answer questions thoughtfully if called upon
• pose intelligent and inquisitive questions
• participate actively in group discussions
• interact with your peers and the instructors positively
• I will demand an open, respectful and tolerant classroom environment at all time

Overall, a positive ‘tone’ is necessary for a good CP grade rather than knowing the ‘right’ answers or speaking up a great deal. Indeed, in fundraising there are rarely ‘right’ answers and everyone’s opinion will therefore be valued.

Please remember that the use of computer and cellular phone are prohibited in my class. If you want to take notes (as I hope) you have to use paper and pencil. (handwriting)

[1] [#_ftnref1] The Fundraising School at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University © 2010

Readings/Bibliography

 

Teaching methods

 

Links to further information

http://www.fundraising.it

Office hours

See the website of Valerio Melandri