/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svg00Marcy Heim/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svgMarcy Heim2023-01-01 10:55:402024-02-19 09:15:26Happy New Year 2023
Traversing that fine line between overjoyed and overwhelmed – sometimes only seconds apart! I LOVE IT! Showed up for a great session with AFP New Jersey and then back to get the tree up (or upside down actually). HAHAHAHA!
Simply Showing Up Is Enough
5 Key ways to simply show up for Giving (and Living) Success
With millions given the last month – and last day – of December now is the time to embrace that simply showing up is enough. Be thrilled with how giving empowers your mission. Be joyful as you celebrate this magical time. Be authentic in caring that your givers experience giving the gift that is meaningful for them.
Connect with as many of your key givers as possible now – those who have given this year, and those who usually do, but you haven’t heard from yet this year. Start with your largest givers – but have a long, long list. You’ll get some surprises!
“You are important to us and I want to wish you happy holidays! If there is anything I can do to help you with your year-end giving, I’m happy to help.”
1. Show up at the door. MAKE TIME!
Connect – in person. Olivia takes out poinsettias. Nancy bakes bread. Holly has pictures from camp. Call and stop in. Don’t take your coat off. Be sure to get to the kids stuff and the funerals, too. In person.
2. Show up on the phone. True story from one of my coaching folks.
“Called David to ask if they were planning on making their gift ($25,000) before year end and if so, was there was anything I could do to help make that happen. He thought they had done it! He said, “Yes, we will get on that right away.” Within about 10 minutes I got a text message saying the money had been requested from their Vanguard account and would be showing up shortly.”
Enough said. And texting is great, too!
3. Show up in the email.
Short. Simply. Simple gets read, busy does not. Get all the emails cued up to go out – now, December 28th and 31st. HELP them remember they can simply click and do YOUR MISSION some good.
4. Show up in their mailbox.
May your days be merry and bright! Send a card. Your year-end letter can be sent again with a note attached – “Wanted to be sure you saw this – Thank you and Happy Holidays!”
5. Show up for yourself.
When you are just too pooped – and you really don’t enjoy the thing you have on the list to attend – email to say your plans have changed and you can’t join in. Rest.
IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! (Can you hear me singing?)
Invest in JOY®
/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svg00Marcy Heim/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svgMarcy Heim2022-12-14 15:01:042024-02-19 09:15:29Simply showing up is enough!
/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svg00Marcy Heim/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svgMarcy Heim2022-11-22 09:43:032024-02-19 09:15:30In the spirit of Thanksgiving!
This past week over 50 – YES 50 – folks joined me for the AFP DEEP DIVE on Major Gifts. Typically I limit the group to 30-35 but with MAJOR GIFTS being SO CRITICAL NOW, I let it go. Took two zoom screenshots and I’m not certain I captured everyone! Singing “People Love to Give Me Money” was chaos and I know I didn’t personally speak with everyone. The session was clearly a success – EVEN THOUGH I FAILED TO MEET SEVERAL OF MY GOALS.
Like many of you, I was hard-wired I swear since kindergarten to connect setting goals, and achieving them, with being productive and successful. Failure to do so was, well, failure. I’ve spent a lot of my overall VERY SUCCESSFUL LIFE feeling like I often failed to do what I said I would do when I said I would do it by – personally and professionally. Can you relate? You get a bit jaded on this whole goal thing. It becomes more of a game to fill in the required “annual plan” with your best guess of what you can actually do – or you can always set the bar really, really low.
Over time I’ve adopted a different view on goals and planning… thanks to coaching and life.
For our fundraising work we often use specific dollar, attendee numbers and visit metrics for our goals. In a campaign, we create a Chart of Gifts and then work to fill it in with donor names we think will invest at the various level. Plotting this out gives us a sense of security and confidence. We have a plan.
However, it seems when we have very specific deliverables we focus more on what we MISS than what we make.
“We were hoping for 200 attendees and ended up at about 180 – a bit short.”
“We factored Paul in for $100,000 and ended up he gave $50,000.” (What about the fact that his largest gift prior to this was $5000?)
“I was planning to make calls for visits and ended up responding to an email from a potential donor about a $50k gift. Didn’t get those appointments set up.”
You have your own examples, I’m sure.
If 180 people had a great experience the goal of 200 is fine, but does not mean we somehow failed or were short.
If we had $100,000 gift goal down that resulted in $50,000 did we “leave money on the table?” or do something wrong in the asking process? Or was $50,000 the amount that was right? I had lunch with a donor of one of my clients this week. She said, “I never wrote a check (to make a gift) I didn’t enjoy!” THAT is reaching a goal.
Our days are filled with interruptions – so why do we plan them out as if we can manage the time as we planned?
And, we can actually get frustrated with our family, boss, donors, and ourselves because they are not falling in line with what we planned!
My goal is for you to enjoy, and be happy about, your development work and your life.
Your joy is governed by how you think about the results you experience. We choose to see something as a failure or a success. See the original goal as your ‘best guess’ for the result and be open to a different result as you move forward toward the goal.
Have long-vision goals. Make very specific steps you can reasonably take in a day or week to move toward that goal.
Decide that extending or modifying a goal is part of the process – not a sign you failed.
Celebrate what WAS ACCOMPLISHED – and view this as a step in a continuing journey toward that longer vision.
Every goal can be reworked. The Campaign can have a Phase II to get to the needed result over a longer timeline. More gifts can be sought to make up for those that came in lower than the gift chart level assigned. You can try again to get along better with your kids.
Our most important goals are on-going and hard to measure:
To have close and loving relationships.
To enjoy donors who are happy about their giving.
To feel pretty healthy most days.
To have work that makes you feel valued and fulfilled.
What is your life vision? Mine is to help others create their best life.
That vision guides how I interact with my spouse, my kids, my clients, donors and all the fundraisers, board members and leaders every day and how I judge myself and my progress. At the core is my belief that the world is good and I am destined for joy and success.
Vince in my APF Deep Dive course said, “When I work with donors I feel like I am helping them with THEIR “American dream.” That’s a vision!
May you, too, be lifted up and energized by your life vision. A life spent working towards your vision is a success.
Invest in JOY®
/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svg00Marcy Heim/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svgMarcy Heim2022-11-09 09:26:492024-02-19 09:15:31What is your life vision?
Feel like déjà vu? In 2008-10 the economic turn-down turned off the lights at many non-profits. But many others were just fine. Why? Authentic major donor relationships.
At AFP LEAD, the second quarter 7% drop in donors was a hot topic. In my session, where JOY reigned supreme, we celebrated that DOLLARS now are actually up 6.2% — buoyed by major donors.
It’s really quite simple. When times get hard we ask ourselves, “Who can I count on? Who can I trust?” If you were one of those non-profits who had high transactional asking and talked about your donors only in terms of “solicitation and retention strategies” you were in trouble. With no real relationship it’s hard to weather a storm – in fundraising or in life.
Here’s what that means for you as you approach year-end.
2022 Year-End – 5 Key Messages
1. Invest in JOY!
At my AFP LEAD session, “Leading to Inspire Joy in your Development Team” it was clear that retaining your JOY right now can be tough. However, without it you really can’t be the person your staff and your major donors need you to be. MORE THAN EVER, you must bring optimism, fun and authentic caring to your relationships. Find and foster your JOY!
2. Seek to be authentic with Major Donors
While it may be easier or more convenient to connect over zoom, your success now depends on you figuring out how your DONORS are most comfortable and what they need…. and DOING IT! Are they lonely? Are they fearful? Are they looking for “What’s next?” to invest in!? You hold the key to meaningfully connecting your major givers with what their giving does…really does. Even your most data-oriented donor wants to believe, and understand how, she is doing some good in the world for another human being – in plain English.
3. Drop year-end mailings to non-donors or to acquire new donors.
With current inflation, your smaller donors just don’t have $25 bucks. And if they do decide to complete the transaction, it won’t cover your typical year-end costs. Use email. Only mail your year-end message to current donors and perhaps a small more-connected segment or two. This is NOT the year to seek new engagement. While US charitable giving increased in Q2 2022, “these gains were accompanied by a continuing steep decline in donor acquisition and retention, particularly among new and newly retained donors” according to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s (FEP) Second Quarter Fundraising Report.
4. Beware of, and Reframe, your thinking!
“It will be so much harder to raise money this year” becomes “Money comes to me easily and frequently.” From Wayne Dyre, “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” And, you can train yourself to do this in an instant! One of my former clients, Renee Thompson, says “Every time I’m talking to a donor I’m helping them realize they have permission to give what brings them joy.” Sure beats wondering how you will “get the money.”
5. Start RIGHT NOW.
“Can we find some time soon to talk about the year-end giving you want to do with our organization? I want to be sure we have the time you need to make the best gift for you.” There is incredible wealth out there. Dream big with your biggest givers! You want to experience the magic of major gifts!
This week we lost a great man – Carl Gulbrandsen – Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation managing director for 16 years and a visionary champion for Wisconsin research innovation. Carl’s commitment to advancing university research and bringing scientific solutions forward to benefit the world continues. Today WARF has over $3B under management. He was also a drummer, told great Norwegian jokes and prioritized his family along with his work.
Here’s what I want you to know about him: Joy was the essence of his being. He always had an idea in his head, a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face.
May you be inspired to do the same.
Invest in JOY®
/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svg00Marcy Heim/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svgMarcy Heim2022-10-26 09:36:582024-02-19 09:15:32Donors Drop by 7% in Second Quarter 2022
Why it better serves donors to engage partners in major giving relationships!
You know what they say…”By the time I get someone to help me, it’s just easier to do it myself!” For many non-profits partners are vital in major gift relationships!
Last Friday I had the total delight of being with an amazing collection of faith-based small non-profits. These organizations all had received grants from the Madison Christian Giving Fund – the program sponsor. Few had anyone dedicated to fundraising. Most wore several hats including fundraising. All were passionately dedicated to the kids, seniors, homeless, moms or whomever they were helping.
In my session, I highlighted major giving mindset, vibrant options for giving and using partners along with my signature tool – Ask for Anything Artfully! For these nonprofits, it’s crucial to use partners.
ALL OF YOU can benefit from embracing others in your major giving relationship building. Here’s how!
1. Who are Potential Partners?
Partners go beyond the board – way beyond. How often I have heard, “If only my board would help!” Sure, the board can be a great help AND there are so many more potential partners.
Other donors (of ALL sizes)
Other staff members
Recipients of your services
Alumni, members, students, etc
Faith family
Sports united folks (Badger fans/Packers fans/Little league parents)
Service group friends (Elks, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions)
Your financial people
Volunteer financial people – planners, attorneys
Your organization’s volunteers
Spouses of Board members
Emeritus Board members
Past staff members now retired
Event or organization sponsors
Event table hosts or silent auction item donator
Vendors (your printer for example)
Parents/Families of those engaged with you
Your board and
YOUR organization’s unique opportunities!
2. What makes a good partner?
The criteria is pretty simple – an inkling for what you do, a perspective on what you do, some experience with what you do, some investment into what you do and the willingness to help. (notice I don’t say they have to be over-the-top supporters)
3. What exactly do partners do?
Partners are invaluable in providing help in the ways THEY are comfortable and strong. Partners do NOT need to ask for money – that’s the development professional’s role. What you ask of them needs to mesh with their skills and time availability. It can range from a quick conversation over coffee, to attending a retreat – from writing a card, to sharing their story. You are only limited by YOUR mindset around this. Think of everything YOU say and do. Who could also tell that story, make that point, share that experience, text that photo, validate your stories and demonstrate your impact?
PLUS – they can often be the reason someone WILL meet – just to engage with the partner – thus giving YOU the chance to secure the visit, zoom, call.
4. How do partners move the giving relationship forward?
They are not us – the paid fundraising staff. Enough said. They bring their personal experience and opinions. They may not always agree with everything the organization is doing. They may still be finding their way with the organization. They may not be major donors themselves (but it is best if they have given something). They are positive and share good energy for what you do.
For me, the best is that they take on part of the conversation when in person, on zoom on a group phone call. This gives me the chance to sit back, listen and observe how the donor reacts, responds, and engages in a way I don’t get to see if I’m by myself. That’s golden!
5. Are there challenges to look out for in working with partners? Sure.
They can be difficult to schedule requiring us to be more ahead of the game.
It can take more time to walk through the goals of the interaction – AT FIRST – but this gets easier over time.
You need to remind them of confidentiality – don’t assume they get it.
You will find it gets complicated and your partners connect! That’s good, too.
You have more to get entered into the database.
You can’t control what partners say and sometimes it surprises you!
They cancel. Too many times and you need to move on.
You have to watch how you talk about people! I think this is a GOOD
CHALLENGE! How are you talking about your donors? Manipulative, calculating, like an ATM or sincerely considering the gift most meaningful for them? Always talk about your donors as if they are standing next to you.
6. How do you begin to better utilize partners in your major giving relationships?
Make a list of potential partners and what donors they could help you with or what role they could take on with you.
Begin with one or two of them. Make a plan to add more in a timeline that works for you. Maybe one/month.
Talk with them about the way they would be most comfortable helping you – does it mesh with what you were thinking?
Have them do that action with you once – make time to walk through it with them.
If it works – REPEAT. Give a partner a specific task/role to get good at! Every master was once a disaster – let them practice this one task/role and master it!
Let them be on their own. You will find that for some tasks – tours, thank you calls – your partners can be on their own after some time. Celebrate that now partners are actually freeing up your time!
Enjoy sharing how we honorably do our fundraising work – how we serve – how we engage. Thank your partners. Celebrate with them. Stay in touch with the results of a major giving relationship so they know what happens!
Major giving relationships are just more fun when shared. Drop the mindset that it’s too much work and embrace the party! Get ready to be bombarded with goodwill and connections that create constellations of joy in your life!
Invest in JOY®
/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svg00Marcy Heim/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svgMarcy Heim2022-10-12 10:16:322024-02-19 09:15:33I’d rather do it myself!
Crescendo’s Practical Planned Giving Conference (PPGC) was a great opportunity for me to share how to ‘Ask for Anything Artfully’ and my brand new keynote, “Joyfully Adapt! Bravely Believe! Authentically Connect!” My thanks to Crescendo, the other amazing presenters, and over 500 folks who really connected with me and gave such positive feedback! Thank you!
But even more….
I took away 3 Planned Giving GEMS – and I want to share them with you!
Marcy’s Three Key Take Aways from PPGC
1. The foundation for all IMPACTFUL planned giving efforts is a genuine leadership culture that embraces and fosters authentic planned giving relationships.
Charles Schultz, President of Crescendo, is one of the most positive, sincere and dedicated leaders and giving professionals I have even known. Serving the donor permeated everything. We speakers all provided tangible marketing and planned giving tools and techniques — ALL in a framework that was remarkably donor centric. There was an undercurrent of respect, partnership-building and dedication to helping people help causes important to them. This true culture of generosity is spearheaded by Charles, his wife, Executive Vice President, Ardis Schultz and daughter, Executive Vice President, Kristen Schultz.
Troy Wada, conference attendee and Principal Wealth Advisor, of INPAC Wealth Solutions in Hawaii serves on the Ronald MacDonald House board – his passion. He partners with local non-nonprofits to help clients with wealth planning AND with making significant gifts. He said, “I’d rather leave a bigger mark.” Companies reflect their leadership.
2. People make their own choices and decisions.
Julie Heggeness, the Executive Director of Gift Planning for Hoag Hospital Foundation shared six donor stories in her keynote presentation. One was about a women who was tricked by an internet “romance” into sending over $8 million away, leaving nothing for her noted charities. Even with legal intervention and proof of the hoax she continued to send away her money.
You may have your horror story, too. You may also see how planned giving can make such a positive impact IF your donors would only take action. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
3. The complexity of Planned Giving is all in your head!
Much of your fear of doing more with Planned Gifts comes from an “it’s so difficult” mindset. In my own keynote I quoted T Harv Eker who said, “Every master was once a disaster!” After spending this time at the conference I feel a lot less like a disaster! With the help of inexpensive ($5000/year) planned giving marketing tools you can plant the stories that help donors wonder if THEY, too, can do good! Andy Ragone of the Crescendo team said, “Keep it simple. Simple is sustainable.” Embrace that you are a dot-connector.
Generally gifts of cash and securities go to today’s needs of the organization. Planned giving is about your donor – her legacy. And real magic… using the distribution you HAVE TO take from your IRA or other retirement vehicle at age 70.5 to support a cause you have a heart for is a great way to use planned giving to help a charity with TODAY’S needs!
Know that setting your mind to increasing your major gifts, or your planned giving work is step #1 in helping you do more of your mission. Within you is the absolute power to rise above any situation or struggle and transform it into the strongest and the most beautiful version of you ever. Thank you! I appreciate you…always.
He’ll be gone two years. Is it fair to say I’m both excited and heartbroken? RJ and Bailey leave today for Portugal where she’s attending the University of the Algarve. RJ will be working remotely on the beach between dives. Sure, we can visit. Sure, we can Facetime. No, it’s not the same. Poor me.
One of my MORE Major Gifts Accelerator Program members is Holly Guncheon, Advancement Director at Herzl Camp. She shared that kids at camp want to be two places at once – at home and at camp. It’s called homesick and it’s hard for kids to manage.
Perhaps you sincerely want a donor to discover the gift that is most meaningful for them…and, at the same time, you want them to give to YOU, your mission – not something else they might choose.
Or, you sincerely want to deflect the credit to volunteers, other staff, and donors. Yet you feel frustrated that you aren’t getting credit and appreciation for your hard work.
As adults we don’t always manage two, BOTH TRUE, conflicting feelings well either… and we feel bad and often act out.
Flip your switch from “Poor me” back to Happy by asking, “What’s Next?”
1. Own you are being a victim.
It’s easy to shift into a “poor me” victim mindset. Life happens TO me. It’s not my fault. Your own struggling self-esteem wants to blame others for what you don’t want to take responsibility for. The excuses flow. Taking personal responsibility is hard.
2. Decide you don’t want to feel like this.
When you are a victim, at some level you know its bunk. You lash out at those around you, often those you care about most, because you are afraid or hurting and you often want to get those words back. They can be mean or defensive. Unmanaged “poor me” can bring deep regret, strained relationships and labels of being hard to live/work with.
3. Ask yourself, “What’s next?”
Get beyond being a victim. Ask, what can you do next to shift away from this? It may be as simple as taking a deep breath or jumping into a new task/activity to bring you to a better space. It’s amazing what happens when you can simple tell yourself that YOU are a masterpiece and you are doing amazing stuff. Nobody has to confirm it or agree – it comes from within you. Putting kids into an activity at camp will evaporate homesickness. Taking a new action will switch you away from those conflicting emotions.
4. Use some tricks to speed up the process.
Decide how much time you really want to give to feeling bad about something – to being that victim. Maybe even set a timer for 2 minutes – then say, “I’m done with feeling like that!” Maybe put on Abba! LOUD! Maybe say out loud, “What’s next?” Be careful talking about it – it can be difficult to actually express what’s really going on and you may find yourself in mean mode. Are you hungry? Are you really tired? And beware – have you had a couple of cocktails? This can have a big negative impact on how you express these struggles.
5. SMILE and declare you have moved on from these “poor me” emotions. Shout, “I CREATE MY LIFE!” and mean it.
Sometimes our actions to reconcile this may feel (and can be) manipulative or insincere – like your talking out of both sides of your mouth. I want RJ to experience this adventure AND I want to be able to see him every day. I want to be appreciated for my hard work AND I want to deflect the credit to others. I want donors to have personal joy AND I want them to give to MY cause.
Looking back on a long, and mainly happy life, I can tell you the time spent in Poor Me space leaves you low. Recognize when you are slipping into low self-esteem and the blame game. Create your unique way of flipping the switch to What’s next? It’s important to find a way.
You CAN change your mind like the flip of a switch. Believe that you are the key – you create everything in your life. You determine your spirit, joy and happiness.
“What’s next” for you? I believe Happy!
Invest in JOY®
/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svg00Marcy Heim/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/logo-marcy-heim-keynote-speaker.svgMarcy Heim2022-09-14 09:44:262024-02-19 09:15:35“Poor me” to “What’s Next”
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