Thursday, May 10, 2018

Surplus at Budget Year End? 10 Ways to Spend Your Money Before You Lose It!




As the fiscal year end comes near for many of you, you might be wondering what to do with some surplus funds left over in your spend it or lose it budgets. Well, I have a list of creative ideas for you and only a few of them involve Donor Guru (insert shameless self promotion here):

  1. If you haven’t already, invest in a video kit. For under $1,000 you can get a camera (GoPro or DSLR), a tripod, a microphone, a lighting kit and more! Do it, do it now! You won’t regret it - and if you need help getting started, join me July 10 for a webinar on Video Engagement that Won't Kill Your Staff or Budget.
  2. Get yourself a membership to AFP, CASE, ADRP or other professional development organization. It’s not just the content that provides value, but the connections you can make!
  3. Invest in some iPads or other tech for your events. Wireless check in, seamless communications, and table displays are not just the future, they’re the now!
  4. Purchase a service like thankview.com. Start sending your donors amazing thank you videos and other communications through a wonderful channel that has amazing open and click through rates! Check out my blog post about them here.
  5. Consider investing in an executive coach or personal career coach to help elevate your success. An executive coach can be life changing - having one really helped my career soar and helped me think in new and different ways.
  6. Add to your fundraising skills library. Purchase some great books for the office - be on the lookout for our summer reading list coming soon. 
  7. Buy your office a webinar subscription, pre-purchase a conference registration, buy some professional education. This one is a bit self serving, seeing that I offer webinars and conferences but you will never regret investing in yourself for at least a few hours! Want something out of the norm? Try crucial conversations, Disney, or Ritz Carlton training!
  8. Another great purchase is to spiff up your appearance at events as a staff with great magnetic staff nametags. Some polish goes a long way and nametags are essential. Think Disney here - and if you need a reference, check out pcnametags.com.
  9. Consider using some of your surplus to do something to reward, retain and recognize your team or those who have done something nice for you or gone above and beyond. Simple things like notes, buying a communal Jenga game or hallway bowling, or spending some funds on a fun day outside of the office!
  10. Finally, take a look at your budget. Where did you spend the most money last year? Can you work with the vendor now to pre-purchase or buy items at a bulk discount thus saving you for next year?


I hope you spend wisely and spend in a strategic manner. You can stretch your yearend surplus far! Invest for the long term and invest in yourself and your people! What do you like to spend your year end funds on?

Cheers,
Lynne

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Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Help Me Help You: Tips for Managing Your Boss


Written by DRG Group Member, Angela Joens
Have you seen the movie Jerry McGuire? Tom Cruise plays Jerry McGuire, a sports agent that is not doing well but he has one great athlete that requires a huge amount of work.  He is trying to get this difficult client of his to work with him so that they can both be more successful. During this scene he is jumping up and down passionately screaming over and over “help me – help you!" This line, “help me – help you,” is exactly what I think of when I think of employees trying to manage up. 
via GIPHY

 Managing up is the process of working with your boss to obtain the best results for you, your boss and your organization. It is deliberate. It is cooperative. It is a relationship between two people with different perspectives. 
I have a lot of experience managing people and managing my bosses. Today I am the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Development Outreach for the University of California, Davis and manage six teams and over 50 employees. But when I started I was a little fish in a big pond. I had no concept of what it meant to “manage up”. I just did my job and everyday tried to meet the expectations of my boss and make them look really good.  

 Little did I know that this effort got me noticed and I was very quickly promoted. The more I continued to grow in my career, the more I focused on helping my boss be successful and the more successful I became.

There are many tips I have picked up over the years and things I do and, equally important, things I do not do when I manage up:
DO

  • Get to know your boss – The more you know about her and what makes her tick the better able you are to know how to help her be successful. What does she value?  How does she prefer to communicate – in person or over email? Does she need lots of data or information to make her decisions? What did she do and how did she get to where she is today? Where does she see you fitting into her overall plan?  Some of these questions can be asked out right and some are drawn out during conversations. Be curious and respectful.
  • Anticipate and jump in – If there is a huge project offer to help. If there is something your boss is working on that she struggles with or causes her frustration – offer to take it off her plate. If you are strong writer or copy editor – offer to proofread important documents. If she cannot get to a project ask if you can take it on and provide her some options to consider. Believe me – when you make your bosses life easier and she didn’t have to ask you for help – she will notice you.
  • Understand your manager’s strengths and weaknesses – This is critical because you can fill the gap. You can play to their strengths and assist with are areas they are weak in. Either way your manager will appreciate you because you took time to understand. I have a manager who struggles with consensus-building and change management but this is one of my strengths so I insert myself to help him. He is always grateful. 
  • Always Offer Solutions – When you have a problem to share with your manager take it to her but also have a few solutions to address the problem.  This demonstrates that you have carefully thought through the situation and have a few ideas for how best to solve it.


DON'T

  • Try to manipulate – Always be authentically you. Do not be that “yes” person in meetings. If you like the idea be supportive but if you have a better idea then offer that. No one likes a suck up.
  • Attempt to cover anything up – Listen you are going to make mistakes. You are a human after all. The best advice I can give you is to be honest and take responsibility. Do not try to hide it and hope they will not find out. Do not try to point the finger or blame someone else. Just own it – apologize – and provide a few solutions to correct the situation. Your manager may still get mad or be disappointed but once they are over it they will remember how honest and mature you were – and know they can trust you.
  • Get involved in office politics – Listen - this one is a tough one for so many people but the more you can stay out of it the more professional you will appear. Just be kind and treat everyone fairly.  If you hear something juicy just keep it to yourself. 
  • Surprise your manager – No one likes to be surprised.  Let me repeat this….no one like to be surprised.  Good or bad it is not good to hide important information from your manager. If you know something could or will affect the manager, their goals, or a project – let her know immediately. This is a tough one because you may have to be the bearer of bad news – but it is better to always be transparent with your manager.
Managing up is a skill that takes time to build. I recently shared more tips in a webinar called, “What Everyone Should Know about Managing Up.”

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Thursday, April 26, 2018

Wave of Giving Days- Are you being Swell to your Donors?


Pardon the cheesy pun. This spring, giving days have taken over the annual giving scene. Some days this spring I have seen 7-10 University giving days on one day. Most donors don't see this because they're not fundraising nerds like me. So it has me thinking - What is your donor relations' department involvement with your giving day? 

I believe that donor relations needs to partner fully to implement a strategic plan for all giving day donors, including what happens to them in the solicitation cycle after they give. My alma mater, the University of South Carolina, recently had its giving day and raised over $3 million in one day. I'm proud of them, I added an additional donation to support them that day and I also served as a social media ambassador spreading the word about why people should give. They were well organized and deployed volunteers well. 

But even more impressive was their gratitude efforts that day. They had multiple thank you videos, postings and images to make donors feel motivated and grateful. Here are a few of my favorites:







In addition, they marked notable milestones with celebrity (thank you Darius Rucker) videos and kept the excitement going. They were prompt in their gratitude. I received multiple immediate thank yous via social and email, and after the day was over, we all received this amazing thank you video:


All in all a great day raising mucho money for deserving students. But what happens next? 

Next, the following needs to happen:
  • Ensure you don't throw these newly acquired donors into your traditional solicitation channels of phone, direct mail, etc. - they never gave that way before why would you punish them this way? Respect their preference!!
  • Make sure you report back the impact of the money raised that day - maybe at a 3 month, 6 month mark etc. One of my favorites was when the University of Michigan used to send "we know what you did 6 months ago" emails updating me on the impact of my giving day gift.
  • Phone calls or hand written notes from recipients or students thanking donors for their generosity - within a WEEK - the sooner the better!!
  • Assess what went well and what didn't on your giving day - components donor relations should be thinking about at minimum for the DAY OF - immediate response to the online giving form - make it good and make it relevant - custom for the day
  • Personalized thank you video to every donor - You could use a fantastic platform like Thankview
  • Collect, store, and utilize a donor's social media handles - Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat - send them a personal message of gratitude!
  • Milestone emails celebrating the donors - don't write, "WE raised $1M," instead talk about what the DONORS did for your organization.
Giving days can be powerful ways to acquire new donors and build momentum in the spring for your annual giving. But don't let the gimmick overtake the cause. Some of the things that work so well about giving days is that there is a sense of urgency, the appeals come from a peer or classmate, and there are many expressions of gratitude. You can help your annual giving teammates create magic - but remember, just like any event, when its over, our work is just beginning!!

Cheers,
Lynne

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Thursday, April 5, 2018

7 Lessons Donor Relations Professionals Can Learn from Tee-Ball


As I sit here at Sarah Sims’ daughters tee-ball game, I realize that tee-ball and donor relations have stunning similarities. Here are just a few:

  1. Keep your eye on the ball - Stay focused on the donor experience and don’t lose sight that the simplest things are the best things. Don’t get distracted by what some other organization is doing and focus first on your donors and providing them the experience they deserve.
  2. You have to round the bases in order - Every now an again you might get lucky and steal a base but the principle remains, first thank your donors, then report impact, then engage and recognize them. If you do it backwards you’ll never get it right and everyone in the crowd will shame you publicly.
  3. Everyone needs a little coaching - Even the best have people to guide them to their ultimate destination. Take all the feedback and advice you can get, put it through your filter and get better for it. Whether your coaching comes in the form of a conference, a webinar, a conversation with a mentor or direct feedback from someone who’s been there before, don’t be afraid to ask for help and listen when someone helps coach you up. You’ll be better for it!
  4. Don’t be afraid to get dirty - Sometimes you just gotta slide into base or dive for a ball you thought wasn’t within reach. Don’t be afraid to go for it and sometimes do the job no one else wants or is doing. You learn a lot, you may get a scraped knee, but in the end you come out with a greater appreciation for what the job takes and who doesn’t have fun getting a little muddy?
  5. Get out of the way and let others play their part - Not everyone is a short stop, or a pitcher. Let people shine in their role and don’t steal a catch from them. Let everyone play to their strengths and be their best cheerleader when things aren’t going for the best. Specialists are important and should be valued for their unique contribution. In the end it’s the donor’s experience that matters more than ours.
  6. Be a good sport - No one likes a sore loser just like no one likes a blanket or someone who won’t take responsibility around the office. Make sure accountability and self awareness are hallmarks of your presence on your team. Everything isn’t going to go your way all the time, it’s how you handle it that matters.
  7. Don’t be a ball hog - Not every idea has to be yours, share with your teammates and be inclusive of their ideas. All work is necessary and important, not just the things that are high profile or flashy. Make your donor look good and you will shine. Be more focused on your team’s success than your own personal success and everyone will take home the trophy.

I hope you appreciate this cheeky analogy and the cute photos of the little ones at the ballpark. Next time you get ready to play, hit it out of the park and cheer loudly!

Cheers
Lynne 

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Thursday, March 22, 2018

Can You Make an Omelet? The Importance of the Basics in Donor Relations


Often times donor relations professionals are tasked with many things under the sun to support our fundraising partners. The next newest shiny idea, something someone saw from another organization, a great idea dropped in a meeting. But what happens when you only focus on the icing and not the cake? I often liken it to buying a beautiful expensive new dress but not spending time and money on the undergarments. You look a hot mess- no matter how expensive or fancy the dress. 

 So do you have your ducks in a row? Meaning, if you don’t have the basics done right two things occur frequently. One, you can become overwhelmed quickly. More and more work piles up and then you forget about the most important things, the basics, the first two pillars of donor relations: acknowledgment and stewardship. The second thing that can happen is that one of your first two pillars isn't completed correctly and then the donor suffers. It doesn’t matter if you threw them the perfect birthday party, had a great million dollar donor event or did a splashy video if your acknowledgments take more than two weeks to get into the donor's hands or if their scholarship goes unawarded. 

 When you fail at the basics there’s no way to recover gracefully. You see the basics to a donor are fundamental and a given. You can do all the splash and cash you want with smoke and mirrors but if you don’t provide gratitude and impact, a donor's basic needs, the wants and desires don’t matter. Lipstick on a pig per se.

 What does it take to get your ducks in a row? It takes a good deal of sticking to it, streamlining your processes and perfecting those tasks so that you can move on to the creative, the shiny, the flashy. Sometimes the simplest of things are the hardest to perfect. It’s why major chefs have job candidates make a simple omelet. If they can master that without burning the eggs then they can move on to much more complex gastronomy. But if you can’t get it together on the basics with then why are you trying the fancy stuff?

The same applies to donor relations. The basics may not seem extremely sexy or dynamic but when you don’t have them right, nothing else matters and donors lose faith in your organization.

So my question for you is how do you make an omelet? How do you help keep the focus on the basics in your shop? What do you need from us to help you do so?

As always we welcome your thoughts.

Cheers
Lynne
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Thursday, March 1, 2018

Don't Stop at the First No


Revamping and retooling any program can be a maddening enterprise full of twists and turns, lost directions and dead ends. But if you follow a path, you eventually will get there. Let's take the simple process of making changes to your acknowledgment system. Let's say you want to separate your receipts from your thank yous, which is of course a great idea. But how many steps could it possibly take you? Sometimes more than you know. And you may face rejection at every turn- Commonly, as a partner with nonprofits who want to change the way they do their work and the way they think about their donors,  I am asked to help them manage through a process of change.

The common first roadblock I see to implementing a new way of working is not that people don't want to, or that there is a lack of leadership buy in, etc. It's simply because most non front line professionals stop at the first no. This is a key difference between those professionals that ask for money and those that do not. Those that ask for money are repeatedly faced with rejection, they've got an iron will and a passion for perseverance. A no may mean, come back later, ask for a different amount, or for a different project. As non front line professionals who don't deal with rejection on a daily basis, many of us stop at the first no. It's a great fear of many people to be rejected. This fear is so crippling that many people just don't ask at all. And what's the risk? Who has gotten fired for coming up with a new idea in nonprofit land? The answer is NO ONE.

Yup, I said it- don't stop at the first no. Not from your leadership, not from your peers, not from anyone (except the donor). So what does that mean? It means have some gumption, believe in your ideas, and stick with it! Stick to it ness is a fabulous trait in any industry but especially in donor relations. But before you accept that no, make sure you have a sound reason why they're saying no. Or as my friend Angie says, "help me understand".

So what are the alternatives to accepting the first no?

1. Get creative, complete a flanking maneuver, approach the problem from the side, figure out an alternative plan.
2. Make it someone else's idea- sometimes having someone else deliver your message is the ticket to success!
3. Beg forgiveness not permission! Sometimes you gotta act- I don't know anyone who got fired for doing something nice for their donors...
4. Ask again on another day! Just because there is a NO on a Tuesday doesn't mean that on a Friday afternoon the answer would be the same.
5. Maybe you should also try saying 'no' more yourself- What if you actually said it? it can be empowering- try it! The next time someone asks you to do something that you just can't wrap your head around (unless its a donor) try saying no!
6. Start embracing the no- LOVE IT! Learn to laugh at it- it's not the end of the world, seriously. No one dies if we make a mistake. It's gonna be ok.

It's time for you to keep it going, don't stop, get yourself some gumption and perseverance. You CAN do it, you CAN make change. Every step, every turn in the path, don't focus on the roadblocks, don't focus on the no. Focus instead on your success and that you are doing this for the donor. Know that the glory is in the process too and that by effecting change you too come out changed in the end result. Enjoy the journey.

Tell us how you keep on keepin on and change a no to a yes at your organization! Use the comments below and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Cheers,
Lynne

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