The Three Rs of School Fundraising Success
By: Jay Love

Perhaps I am dating myself by relating back to the age-old axiom about the most important subjects in grade school being the three Rs of Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. However, in today's frantic pace of fundraising, I truly believe a new trio of Rs easily emerges and takes center stage. Let's explore them together over the balance of this article and see if you agree.

1. Relationships
Relationships are first and foremost. The essence of the fundraising process, no matter what the methodology, is the relationships we build. Many of us honed our ability to build donor relationships via our relationship with one or more mentors. I can personally thank so many key individuals in the non-profit sector for fulfilling that role for me. If you have not been fortunate to have had a mentor relationship, I urge you to make finding and building one a key first relationship-related step. One of the many joys of this sector is the strong abundance of experienced professionals willing to help others. All of the top-notch experienced fund raisers know that sharing the proper methodologies with those eager to learn improves the results for everyone.

Now let's further explore relationships by using a simple analogy. If you know how to create and build friendships, then, in my opinion, you know where to begin to build long-term donor relationships. One of my mentors in the non-profit world alluded to the fact that you can merely substitute the genuine care and concern you build with a friend about each other for the care and concern of the mission of your organization. If you are successful with building true care and concern, proper support in the way of gifts and time will soon follow.

Keep in mind a few key differences will come into play for the successful fund raiser. Among them will be the fact that you must be able to replicate this relationship building, even for major donors, on a much larger scale than you do for personal friendship. A key facet of this will be the third R coming up in a minute.

In addition, many individuals will become life-long supporters of the mission and, thus, your organization, without becoming a personal friend. That is just fine, because it means you are executing the steps to building a relationship in a masterful manner. Just keep applying the natural steps we all embody with our dearest friends.

Obviously, outlining all of the steps could easily be another full article. Keeping some of the following in mind will start you in the proper direction: listening, remembering, relating, caring, staying in touch, informing, asking, helping and thanking.

2. Research
The second R is research. This does not have to be fancy, although it is easy to be quite professional with the many wonderful prospect research/screening tools on the market. A key new development in the area is the online look-up service. Such online services allow you to easily identify wealth via asset listings. Those online services, usually much more economical than a complete screening of your prospects, allow you to look up details about individuals one at a time.

One of your best predictors of success in creating a new major donor is some form of prior relationship. If your current board and top donors suggest individuals that they know, you can easily perform proper research before the first personal call. This also works for prior multi-year donors who have not reached the major category.

Your research can take other avenues, which also pay dividends, as you build the relationship. What I am referring to may be research about more than financial assets. Finding information from your contact source about the prospects' personal opinions and passions is invaluable. If you can add other such key information about family situations and needs, which in many cases can only be uncovered via other personal relationships, then you are fully prepared to start and build a strong relationship.

3. Recordkeeping
The third and final R is the most often overlooked, but never by the top fund raisers. It is recordkeeping. Yes, just like the top sales and marketing professionals I have known, the top 20 percent of the fund raisers achieve more than the next 80 percent combined.

In this day and age, it is so easy to truly have at your fingertips, and as such, in the front of your mind, hundreds of details on a thousand or more key people with whom you are building/maintaining relationships. The best professionals know their brain can only keep so many details on so many such individuals.

Just think how great it would be if you could remember the details and, as such, the essence of every conversation, meeting, written communication and e-mail. Add to that the fact that you can now easily track where every relationship came from, what stage it is in, what the next step is, and what is the ultimate goal.

For example, if a major gift prospect shares a passion or a personal memory of a dream in an early conversation, what would it mean to relate back to the passion or memory numerous conversations or steps later? Should perhaps your relationship-building strategy be built around those items? It is for the top 20 percent of fund raising professionals.

If you are not able to personally and easily store and access tons of such vital information, then you are severely handicapped in the results you can achieve. Every

non-profit organization, no matter what size, must consider all such information a key asset. They must insist upon it, garner it and, most importantly, protect it. Any non=profit group that just has a recordkeeping system consisting of a listing of gifts/pledges and prior written communications falls into the handicapped category.

Please allow me to illustrate with an example. At my company, we have more than 75 people researching, communicating, serving and building relationships every day. Our recordkeeping system houses more than 50,000 people we have built or are building relationships with. Within the confines of this wonderful tool lie the details of every phone call, personal visit, e-mail, financial transaction, and our agreed-upon strategy to better serve that person. We add informational entries by the hundreds every few hours. We do it at the office, or from home or from the road. We enter this vital information via our computers, via our Web site and, just recently, via our cell phones. We also access it from all of those sources no matter where we are at any time. This is an invaluable asset and perhaps one of the single biggest reasons, next to the people using it, for our success.

This same scenario rings even more true for virtually all of the best fundraising organizations. They harness such recordkeeping and use it to enable and ensure outstanding results.

So there have it. The Three Rs of fundraising success. Although Relationships, Research and Recordkeeping are not the only factors, they are among the ones most often mentioned by my personal mentors in this field over the last 25 years. Perhaps these three Rs can help you achieve new heights of success, too.

Jay Love has been helping non-profit organizations successfully implement systems to improve their fundraising activities for more than 20 years. As president, chief executive officer, and co-founder of eTapestry, www.etapestry.com , he directs the development of the latest Internet and Web-based technologies for non-profit organizations.

 

Sidebar
Profit, Profit, Profit
By Donnelly Davidson

Forget about the old adage about location, location, location. In the school fundraising world, the motto is "profit, profit, profit." But how do you get there?

It's simple. First you need to uncover the hot button in your community or school. Maybe it is athletics or, quite possibly, it's a burning passion for academics. But most likely, it is a combination of both.

So then you ask yourself, how can I promote academics and athletics year round while receiving regular monetary contributions?

This could be the year for promotional magnets. Promotional magnets provide a great solution for raising funds for your school. After all, you are branding your school's name with a tangible, quality item that has a long shelf life.

And don't forget, the "profit, profit, profit" part of the equation. Your school's bank account will be fat and happy with dollars to spend on necessary equipment, uniforms, travel, etc.

But why just stop with one type of magnet to sell? Why not go ahead and purchase a year-round series of magnets that can be sold as a package to the local community? Perhaps you need a football schedule, a basketball car sign, and a school pride magnet for year-round visibility. Plan your fundraising calendar in lock step with your academic and athletic calendars.

Donnelly Davidson is vice president of Magnetdog.com, an online source for promotional magnets.

 

Product Roundup

ESPN Fundraising ESPN recognizes it takes much effort to keep school programs actively running. ESPN Fundraising offers subscriptions to 25 of America 's most popular magazines at substantial discounts. Schools keep 60 percent, or $12, from every subscription sold. There are no minimum requirements, hidden or upfront costs, or selling deadlines. Also, there is no inventory to keep or distribute. Schools across the country have raised more than $10 million through the program.
www.coaches.espn.com

Educational Outfitters
Educational Outfitters, a premier school uniform apparel provider, offers Educational Outfitters FUNdraising. The program is easy to implement, can be done in conjunction with other fundraisers, and offers quality products. The program helps to brand a school or organization, and more importantly, gives the school 40 percent of gross sales. This fundraising program can be implemented twice a year--in fall and spring. The variety of apparel, sport bags and various promotional products are popular with parents, students, grandparents and siblings. It is available for any private or public school.
www.educationaloutfitters.com

Southwest Candles
Candles are always popular, making them easy to sell to everyone. Southwest Candles are manufactured by hand, using three types of wax to ensure the best possible burn time. Double fragrance is used throughout the entire candle, not just on the top, to give the customer optimum performance in any environment, plus a great value for their money. With this fundraising system, there is never any upfront cost, there is nothing to buy, and schools keep half of the money raised. The company provides free sales information and order forms for each salesperson. Also, there are no minimums, so small and large groups can participate.
www.wf.quik.com/andy1

Christmas Ornaments from Creative Services of New England
Creative Services of New England offers beautiful, round Christmas ornaments, printed with school logos, graphics or holiday messages. Each ornament is individually packaged in an attractive holiday gift box. Because these Christmas ornaments are becoming highly collectible, schools and organizations across America have been using them year after year as a successful holiday fundraiser. Creative Services of New England has been in business for 25 years with a reputation for quality, delivery and competitive prices.
www.cs-ne.com

Our Book Fair by Thomas Nelson
Our Book Fair builds stronger communities, is great for the entire family and helps schools raise needed funding with enriching results. With more than 400 trusted products to choose from, including many Accelerated Readers from a Christian perspective, schools can be proud of the long-term positive life changing results they produce. Our Book Fair becomes more than a book sale or fundraiser. It becomes a community raiser. Thomas Nelson has been publishing books and media from a Christian perspective since 1789.
www.OurBookFair.com

Home Team Sportswear
Schools can raise money selling children's football jerseys and cheerleading uniforms, since every little kid wants to be like the big kids on game day. Home Team offers infant, toddler and youth sizes at great fundraising prices. The HTS cheerleading uniforms and football jerseys are customized with the team name or mascot and come in home team colors. They are a great fundraising idea for cheerleaders, booster clubs, PTA, student council or any school organization.
www.hometeamsportswear.com

Little Caesars
The Little Caesars Fundraising Program is a profitable, easy and fun way to raise the money you need. Your school group will earn $5 per kit sold. The company provides everything you need for your sale, including free order forms, tally sheets, selling posters, a "how to" guide and more. They make the process easy by walking you through every step of your sale and providing you with convenient delivery directly to your school. The Pizza Kit Fundraising Program offers a variety of family favorites, including nine Pizza Kits and three Bread Kits as well as accessory items such as pizza paddles and cutters.
www.PizzaKit.com

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts, sold by the dozen and priced to allow 50 percent or more profit, is one of the most popular fundraising choices available. It is easy to sell a fresh box of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, and the profit really adds up. Most locations now offer Krispy Kreme Signature Coffees as an additional product offering. In addition to the actual products, Krispy Kreme offers a Fundraising Certificate that is redeemable at Krispy Kreme retail stores for a dozen Original Glazed and a Partnership Card that allows the customer to receive a free dozen Original Glazed with the purchase of any dozen and is valid for up to 10 dozen free.
www.krispykreme.com

LogoMagnets
Car magnets are one of the hottest items for fundraising and displaying school spirit. LogoMagnets are 100 percent American made, with strong attention to design and quality. They are durable, versatile and vibrant. They also come with a five-year guarantee against fading. LogoMagnets are a fast, easy and affordable fundraiser. LogoMagnets are easy to sell, since everyone wants to display school spirit.
www.LogoMagnet.com