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Five Trends for Raising Money Right Now

5 Trends for Raising Money HeaderRecently, I dug in and researched trends for success in giving and the role our thinking has on our giving results noted by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Charity Navigator, consultant colleagues, Executive Directors, key major donors, my clients, and many of you.

Here are my FIVE TRENDS – ideas that successful non-profits are embracing RIGHT NOW– complete with a MINDSET TAKE AWAY to think about that leads to an ACTION to take! WoHoo!

Are you a “unique snowflake” with such unique struggles that these trends don’t relate to you? I encourage you to shed your winter victim coats and embrace these trends. They apply to all – regardless of the size or your staff, your mission, your current fundraising success, your board members or whatever else you put on your excuse list.  

Ok here we go! Marcy’s FIVE Trends to Sustain and Increase Giving, Spring 2017…

TREND #1 – GET CRYSTAL CLEAR AND BE TRANSPARENT

In this emotionally chaotic time where too many folks spend precious time emotionally thinking, posting and hashing over what “might” happen, successful non-profits are sharpening their focus and getting crystal clear on what they do, who they serve, and the impact an investment in their mission has for the donor.

Vibrant options of giving (operational as well as program options) that directly connect givers to results will be funded.

And what is your BIG DREAM?  Where are you going long-term?  Big donors want big visions well beyond this coming year’s giving goals and operations fund deficit.

Mindset Takeaway

A confused donor doesn’t give, a confused fundraiser/ED doesn’t ask or lead, a confused board member/volunteer doesn’t help. Get clear.

Action

Set aside time for thinking.  Set aside time for board and staff planning sessions. 

One of my VIP clients dedicated a 9 am – 2 pm session last week for planning (3 hours longer than a usual board meeting). This session was led by an expert facilitator and PUT ASIDE all the busyness of the typical board meeting. One Board member said, “This should be an activity we do regularly!” Have faith in what can happen with even a simple “SWOT” (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) if you MAKE SPACE for conversation!

TREND #2 INVEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE

Fear of spending money to get the people, equipment, consulting, etc. separates those non-profits that are in perpetual “struggle” from those that grow and meet more mission goals.  I’d rather have 40% of $2 Million going to Infrastructure than 10% of $100,000.  That’s $1.2 Million doing good vs $90,000.  Yes, you have $800,000 going to create that $1.2 Million. That means you are paying enough staff a decent salary, giving them a budget for mailings, etc. and have equipment that works well and frees their time to build the relationships that generate impact.   Boards that are afraid to invest are dooming an organization to struggle and fail under the banner of “we spend as little as possible on operations.” Donors that invest this way are part of the problem.

There is a war for talent and pressure to boost non-profit salaries. While staff members are passionate for the mission, they are also putting a higher value on their time and life balance. The contributed printer that doesn’t do the job is no gift if it means staff stand there and hand-feed it. I see places where poor equipment has been there so long the staff doesn’t even react anymore.  Adequate administrative support is no longer optional.  The best development professionals MUST be supported by quality staff and then taught to delegate.

Mindset Takeaway

Stop talking about cost/dollar raised. 

Action

Create vibrant options for giving from the Operation fund and learn how to talk about them as a key part of providing impact.

TREND #3 MAKE MAJOR GIFTS A HIGHER PRIORITY

trend 3ANY size of shop can inspire major gifts.  Any size shop can improve on major gift relationship-building right now.  Just like a New Year’s resolution to diet, did you long ago abandon your major giving plans? You need to create small changes that form new habits over time for success.

Put your major gifts program on a health plan. Dedicate 5 hours each week to major gift relationship-building. Put it on your calendar! Establish and enforce metrics on personal visits to get staff out of the office.  Invest in staff training (like my MORE Major Gifts Bootcamp) to give them confidence in what to do. Revisit time-sucking events or anything else that takes away from major gift work time.  Focus on numbers around appreciation and donor retention and get everyone involved in a culture of generosity that inspires your Board to be ambassadors and investors. One of my VIP coaching clients has set aside two 3-hour blocks of time away from distraction to focus on major gifts with great results!

Mindset Takeaway

Invest in major giving relationship building right now! TODAY! Begin!

Action

Commit 5 hours per week and 5 major donor prospects NOW and make monthly touches with these folks. Are your RAPS getting buried under events and annual meetings?  Commit NOW to major gift work, or you will not feel ready to speak that major gift ask later this year. 

TREND #4 GET SOCIAL, BUT BE SELECTIVE

Your givers are communicating with each other through social platforms.  And they trust their own friends more that your newsletters and appeals, so you need to be repurposing your stories on media where your peeps hang out most.

But remember, direct mail still accounts for 60-80% of revenue. So pick 1 to 3 platforms and create a simply, consistent presence.  DO take time to make everything  – website, ezine, etc – mobile-friendly.

Mindset Takeaway

Enhance a solid direct mail/newsletter program with other media – don’t replace it.

Action

Listen to suggestions but do not feel compelled to implement every new platform someone mentions. Resist splatter from doing too much poorly. Constantly monitor the real time these “easy” tools take. Get a good year-end plan in place early and segment special tweaks to evaluate new ideas.

TREND #5 DIAL DOWN THE DRAMA

trend 5Work now for funding balance. If you have been relying on one source of funding (say, a government grant or program) too heavily, now is the time to deal with it (vs whining about it) and broaden your giving base.  80% of all giving comes from individuals.

Tell your STORY, not your opinions, your excuses, or your funding fears.  Your mission story should be filled with emotion – why what you do is important.

Respect everyone – treat everyone like a major donor – donors want to invest in causes that reflect THEIR values, not yours.  You can agree on the importance of your mission without agreeing on politics or other charged current events. Choose your words carefully.  Words are power.

Mindset Takeaway

Drop being a victim. Successful people want to believe in you and your ability to carry out your mission, not feel sorry for you and your funding changes. They may well have empathy for the people your mission serves – that’s different.

Action

Take responsibility for your funding balance and engage your donors to help you find solutions. Ask for, and respect their advice.  Focus on the good you do. 

The bottom line?

As old as time – if you believe you can, you can.  If you believe you can’t you are right, too.

Choose dynamic results!

Invest in Joy!

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Do You Know Where You’re Going With Your Givers?

Blog Header - Do you know where you’re going with your givers?

Creating successful major giving relationships with your givers is like taking a trip….and it’s an inspiring journey as well!

AFP San Antonio1. What’s your destination?

Before you can create a map, you need to know where you are going! FIRST step! What is your giver (or group of mid-level givers) most passionate about? Based on what you already know from past giving and interactions – set a giving goal that helps THEM accomplish THEIR GOAL. (Not YOUR needs list – who wants to be needy anyway?)  Or, take your best guess and explore the destination with your giver in the first few calls.

 2. What are your route choices?

There’s the highway (direct) and the side roads (generally a more relaxed pace) and all sorts of combinations depending on what we want to experience along the way.

 3. Who should come along?

Who should drive?Do you want to do all the driving yourself? Share it? Who and Why? A Prospect Relationship Manager plans the trip AND SEES THAT IT HAPPENS, but may or may not do all the driving.  Your contact screens keep everyone who needs to know in the loop, but not necessarily in the action.  (They have their own trips to plan!)

4. Who might you meet up with along the way?

Sure, you can explain everything, but is that the most fun? A board member, student, financial expert, camper, other donor, alum, clergy or others will add to the trip experience in a special way. Take the time to set up the stop and perhaps a specific result. These smaller gifts grow into the major investment. What other stops ADD and BUILD to the experience at the final destination?

5.  What do you need to bring on the trip?

Bottled water. OK.  Are there favorite snacks, books, magazines or games that make the trip especially fun and rewarding?  What lets your travel partner CLEARLY KNOW you deeply APPRECIATE them coming along with you?

6.  Do you need to make any reservations ahead?

Will folks be there for sure when you are passing through? Better check now and hold some tentative time. Do you have events you know your giver would enjoy attending? Better get on the calendar now.  Who (board, other staff, other donor) can drop a note or call saying, “Join me” to reinforce the date?

7. How do you check your progress?

Driving so many hours each day, getting to the next hotel stop….how is it going on this trip? Do you need more time for the stops along the way? Is the pace too slow or too fast for your giver?  What pace is comfortable for your giver yet assures you get there? (Not just chit chat and never ask.) Do they have other stops they would like to make or people they would like to meet that were not planned?  (We might call these “objections”, but given this scenario, doesn’t it seem like a silly word to use?)

8. What if you encounter detours?

A closed attraction, a torn up road, a new interest, delayed matching funds,  a new grandchild, a divorce, market turbulence, their work demands, different giving interest sparked, health hiccups, leadership changes…. Travel can be challenging.  Just reroute, reschedule – no drama. Just get back on track.

9. Ok, you are there! What makes this a great stop?

By taking this journey with you, your donor takes her success and sees this destination of significance where she can bask in the fulfillment of composing a good world.  WOW!

10. Do you want to go back there for another visit?

Or does another location look interesting now? I guess that depends on what happens AFTER the visit.  Do I ensure my giver continually sees photos and stories of our successful trip?  Does he hear how the place is continuing to delight other visitors?   Is the place changing, growing, improving, reinforcing, creating…..because of her visit? Then, of course, she will want to go back!  Or maybe instead, she is sparked at this stop by another destination…. Let’s get out the map!

Your trip is your Relationship Action Plan.  You see where you are going and reverse engineer AHEAD the places, people, experiences, and information that will get you to your destination (your major gift ask) and ready to experience it (say yes).

Metrics ensure you have MANY PEOPLE going on these trips. That means shutting off your phones and managing email (your two biggest time wasters and drama distractions).  It means providing clear, step-by-step directions and delegating as much as possible so you can focus on these journeys with your top donors.If your goal is to have the money required to BEST finance your programs, infrastructure, projects, and people, get out the map, buckle up and hit the road!  Expect some flat tires and know there’s no one to blame for them, just change them.  But DO take responsibility so you don’t run out of gas or blow up the engine because you failed to change the oil.  Let me hear you….

“I CREATE MY LIFE!”

Yes, you do. Make yours GREAT – it is always your choice.

Honored to travel these roads with you.

Happy Travels!

Invest in Joy!

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I Promise…

I Promise Header

Did you notice how these two words made you feel?

For our families, friends, donors, colleagues and boards, “I promise” is a powerful tool for building trust in a relationship.

  • “Son, I promise I’ll get off early Friday, and we will get an ice cream, just us two.”
  • “Honey, I promise after this big project is done, we’ll go out to a nice dinner.”
  • “I promise to share how (board member) Alice’s visit with John and Martha went at our next meeting.  We are grateful to Alice for arranging this.”
  • “I promise to call when I get back out to this area so we can connect again.”
  • “I promise to let you know how your project is going before the end of next month.”

There is POWER in “I promise.”

In his work on building trust, Stephen M. R. Covey talks about the amazing relationship capital a promise can generate. It can build and fill positive emotional bank accounts between people.

The impact begins the second the words, “I promise” are uttered.  The anticipation of the promise coming true is part of the joy!

People remember a promise. Don’t you?

When I am beginning with a new prospective major giver…on that very first visit…I generally always have a promise or two to make in mind.  Is there a new easy and uplifting piece I can send? Is an event coming up they can easily be included in?   Is there some connection I can make for them?  A way to serve them?  These become, “John and Gladys, our spring garden tour is a delightful event. I promise to call you with the details just as soon as I know them, but certainly before April 1st.” Or, “I promise to get an invite out to you by next Friday so you can consider joining us.” Or “I promise to pass along your kind words to the Dean,” (and have the Dean acknowledge this).


 I promise oneMaking a promise is such a simple, yet great tool. I create some actions that I can have at-the-ready for just this purpose. Other times I listen carefully for some unique way to connect, especially for those first visits that demonstrate a strong sharing of values, interests, and capacity with my organization.   If I want to make the second appointment easy to secure, “I promise to call you in May to continue this conversation just after Mother’s Day.”  Think about it. “Oh hello, John. This is Marcy. Remember I promised to call you this month so we could continue our conversation after Mother’s Day? Is next Thursday good?”

Honestly, when connecting is about me keeping my promise, it seems to flow so easily.

Here are a few tips to deepening a relationship with, “I promise.”

  1. Keep it simple. Pick a few things you (or your assistant) can easily do.
  2. Personalize as much as possible.  Your handwritten sticky note on the latest newsletter with, “I promised to send our latest news! I’ll give a call to see what you liked best.”
  3. Chocolate chip cookies are always a hit.  Even if they don’t eat them, they can share them.
  4. Remind them you are fulfilling your promise.
  5. Always come from a place of sincerity and authenticity – deepening their trust and connection with you and thus your organization.
  6. Make sure YOU control the delivery of the promise.  So, “I promise to have Betty get in touch.” Nope. You don’t control Betty.
  7. Be VERY specific in the timing of fulfillment.  “I promise to call early next week” is NOT good. “Early next week” may be Monday at 8 am for your donor and by Wednesday noon to you. Be specific.

There is, of course, one MAJOR contingency with making promises.

Broken promises break trust and hurt!

And, “I’m sorry, while heartfelt, can’t make up for the disappointment.

You MUST Keep Your Promises!

I had a donor say, “Oh Marcy, I was holding off going out because I remembered you promised to call today.”  YIKES – glad I got THAT done!

I promise twoIn both our personal and professional relationships – make promises to deepen the trust and confidence you inspire with the other person.  Make promises carefully and sparingly so that you can always honor them.  When something does cause you to break a promise, apologize and acknowledge you are sorry to have let them down.  For longer and stronger relationships, this will happen.

We are not perfect.  If the positive emotional bank accounts are high, it will be alright. If it is a new relationship or if this happens often, the depletion of the emotional bank account can be severe.  Don’t underestimate the power of the hurt, especially to a child, and be very guarded from making promises you consistently can’t keep.  It is far better to set true, but disappointing expectations than not deliver.  “With our program director out of the office, it will be at least two weeks before I can get back to you with that answer. I know you wanted the information sooner.”

If you use this tool sincerely and effectively, I promise you will see wonderful results in your relationships and the speed at which you can build trust.

Yes, I promise!

Invest in Joy!

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Ten Tips for Thoughtful Thanks

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The great thing about gratitude is that it is really never too late to say, “Thank you” or “I appreciate you.”  But too often, we pay lip service to stewardship – all those things that happen AFTER the gift is made. We have terrific intentions to write that note, make a call, or share an update. This is Part 2 of my thankful series.  (You can read Part 1 here if you missed it.) You can make magic here, and YOU will be lifted up as you do! Here are Ten Tips to help you. Pick one or two—you over-achievers you – not all of them!

Marcy’s 10 Tips for Thoughtful Thanks

1. The Power of One

I always start with you.  Let’s hear it, “I create my life!” So your culture has low/no credit for stewardship calls? The main vibe is “ask and close?” Leadership wants to see the money? It is always YOUR choice. YOU can be grateful.  It begins with you – pausing to reflect that someone said, ‘Yes,’ to you, to your mission with their gift. No one HAS to give. Feel grateful. That’s the first step to authentically providing thoughtful thanks.

2. Make it fun 

We get so serious. Perhaps our mission is heavy – abuse, poverty, illness, death, hunger, loneliness, fear – the results of investments into these causes are the light and bright side of this. We are encouraged to tell dramatic stories that pull on the heartstrings. Well ok, but there is JOY in giving and change for the better! For those happier missions, the arts, education, faith, there is the joy in multiplying those who experience the positive benefits. Chocolate chip cookies, bubble wands, funny stories, happy results, toasting success, children, puppies, ice cream.  My stuffiest “stuffed-shirt” old-school men love my confetti wands.

3. Brainstorm on meaningful actions

The golden rule says, “Do onto others as you would have them do unto you.” That’s great if everyone is exactly like YOU. If not, the platinum rule says, “Do unto others how they want you to do unto them.” And how do you know?  Ask them! Every call or gathering of givers and prospective givers can include the question, “How can we best show you and givers like you how much we sincerely appreciate their giving and the impact it has?”  Then listen. Then do.

4. Engage partners to make the touch

“There is just no time for stewardship.” Lame. As you ask others about their suggestions…SOME (not all!) may be perfect to say, “Would you be open to helping me say thanks as you suggested?” It will take some time THE FIRST TIME, but you can grow a ‘gratitude team’ of donors, other staff, recipients, board members, and on and on, who helped create the idea, have done it a few times and need little of your time to make it happen, and inspire others and themselves in the process.

5. Quarterly touches as part of RAPs  

One of the many benefits of creating Relationship Action Plans for your most MAJOR DONORS – the very top 10-20 folks, is that you PLAN thoughtful touches ahead for each quarter, so you DO  this MOST important part of the Giving Cycle.  If you use a RAP for a group of donors – say a mid-level group, creating a group appreciation touch helps assure you get it done for this group, not just ‘hope’ to do it.

6. Communication style they like or stands out for them

This may seem contradictory. If they prefer email – sure, say thanks in an email where they are comfortable.  BUT, also say thanks by phone or written note something OUTSIDE of the norm sometimes.  It will stand out to them.

7. Create a System – 3 X 3, Gratitude Bowl, Filler times

Create YOUR SYSTEM for gratitude. Three examples – 3X3 – 3 personal notes, 3 emails, 3 phone calls 3 times a week. Make this work for you.  A gratitude bowl – or file or box – some place you toss a business card, program, news story, scrap of paper – then create appreciation touches at a specific time each week. Finally, filler times, use times waiting in the airport, waiting at school for the kids to come out, with the ½ hour you have between meetings to take a gratitude action. This is a SHIFT in how we use bits of time.

8. Group touches work/specific or organization-wide

Thank you events, thank you post cards, board/faculty member/volunteer hosted small gatherings and more that are only limited by your creativity. I’d ask one faculty chair to talk about an appreciation touch he/she had made as part of our development work at every monthly Chair meeting.  And…I could also thank THEM for doing it and talk about how this inspires giving. The same thing can happen at your Board meetings.  The point is one at a time.  ALL the chairs, ALL the board members – too much. Overwhelming.

9. Must be genuine

You can feel a fake a mile away. Enough said. However, you can BEGIN by faking it just a bit and sometimes you will become grateful…the act of doing it will bring out those feelings of sincerity.

10. NO SOFT ASKS

When I do feasibility studies, I take the time with key donors to also explore how we as development professionals can better interact with them. SO many say, “Don’t say thank you with your hand out for more.” Ok…I get that, but digging deeper, even lines like, “Thank you, and we hope you will continue to be part of our XYZ family.”  Or, “Thank you, and we look forward to our continued relationship with you” feel like an ask to them.  While we might no way mean this as a soft ask, that’s how it is heard!  “Thank you” and shut up for your first response to a gift.

Ok! Thank you for the work you do, for letting me help and for the fun we have together! 

Invest in Joy!

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Rev up your gratitude!

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Each morning, right after you proclaim, “I create my life!” pause to consider next, “What am I grateful for, thankful for, and sincerely appreciate in my life today?”

In this, Part 1 my two-part series on being grateful, I want you to consider who you have to become to sincerely be “grateful.”

Next time, in Part 2 we’ll explore ten specific actions you can apply to ensure your donor’s know just how much you appreciate their investment.

Yes, I always start with you. Who do you need to become to be sincerely grateful?

In my over two decades of managing development team members, and now almost another decade of coaching them, I can spot the people who will excel in this honorable and noble profession. They are genuinely grateful. How they interact and behave may be completely different, but you get this feeling from them that they are grateful for what they have in their life right now and what others do for them. 

In my Cycle of Successful Relationships, “Invoking the Grateful Recipient” follows “Making an Artful Ask.” In this use, “invoke” means “activate” or “call upon” the Grateful Recipient.  In other words, this is kicking in our gratitude for what has happened for our institution or organization based upon our ask.

Often this piece of our giving cycle is called, “stewardship,” and is declared important because it “leads to the next gift.”  “Stewardship” in the simplest sense, means as non-profits we are managers of the generosity of others. Not owners. We steward land that is part of planet earth for all generations to come. We steward the gift, but really we are managing these resources for our donor.  Thus, how effectively we use these gifts, how well we manage or “steward” the gift does set the stage for your current donors to invest again. You are managing the gift they gave you according to THEIR wishes.  You are the steward.

Being a Grateful Recipient takes this all one step deeper. It’s everything that happens after a gift is made that says, “We are grateful you have chosen to invest in us.” And successfully communicating that gratitude begins with FEELING it and then making time to EXPRESS it.

Two fundraisers can do exactly the same thing – one deepens the bond between the donor and the organization and one simply takes an action, completes a task that has been outlined as “good stewardship.”  Maya Angelou’s oft-used quote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” is at the core of expressing genuine gratitude. Why?  How can you possibly make someone feel what you don’t?

How do you bring more genuine gratitude into your life?

1.       Start by focusing your attention on what you have in your life every day that you take for granted.  What you focus on grows

You are healthy today, you have family today (warts and all), you have meaningful work today, you have faith today, you have a car that runs, food to eat, a cozy bed, a child to hug, a donor to inspire, contact screens to enter and a cat box to clean today. Research has shown that when we are intentionally grateful for even those less pleasant tasks in our life we are more joyful, living in the moment and others feel more appreciation from us.  And, the more we focus on what we are grateful for in our lives, the more we will have to be grateful for.

2.       Take judgment out of the equation

We have done a relationship action plan and are exploring a specific gift level with a donor, we engage and educate, we feel a good connection, we ask, and they say, “no” or “Not exactly this.”  When we are grateful for what they DO contribute, even if it is only their willingness to listen to our request, we blaze a trail for their future connections. Our feelings of disappointment or judgment can be the biggest barrier to continuing a relationship.

“Don’t tell me what I should give.” This came from a board member at a recent board educational program I was conducting for the Rugby Club.  He was clearly a member who had the capacity to make significant gifts and shared that often he begins with a smaller gift just to ‘see how he is treated.’  At times, he shared, he is almost scorned for making a “token gift” and not “stepping up” to the level expected. When we are grateful for the gift the donor gave, we simply modify our long-term relationship action plan to see this gift as a step in a longer plan to a more major gift.  Often major donors are attracted to smaller organizations where they feel their gift is “really needed.” This is all about how we communicate appreciation.

3.       Practice gratitude

Throughout the day, say, “thank you” and instantly reflect, “Am I actually thankful?” Be the person whose thanks feels sincere because they are not on automatic pilot.

4.       Decide to be grateful for the unpleasant things that happen to you

You are stuck in traffic, the toilet plugs, the donor cancels your appointment, kitty misses the box, the computer snafus, you get a hurtful email, a donor says, ‘Not now.”  See these all as opportunities to learn, experiences to grow from, and contrasts to all that is good and right in your life.

5.       Think about how your actions and words impact others

Are you the source of joy or the bastion of complaining and sour grapes? Gratitude helps you shift your frame of reference from the whining, complaining group, and those people who have a sense of entitlement or deservingness to those expressing a lighter, happier more satisfied journey through the day.  Who do you want to be?

When you FEEL sincere gratitude, you express sincere gratitude. It begins with you.  It turns the obligatory thank you note into a meaningful communication moving past the predictable language that’s nice and all that, but somehow leaves you a bit flat. It infuses sincerity to expressions of gratitude that otherwise are over-the-top. It spurs the creativity that continues the relationship and leads to new giving interests in a remarkable and organic way.

The expansive aspect of gratitude makes you more adventurous and more inclined to try the new things that make life invigorating. The new experiences give you memories that, when recalled, lift you up even more.

I appreciate this opportunity to challenge you to bring more gratitude into your life. Indeed, I am grateful to you for considering my messages. I am grateful to you for believing that my purpose is to expand the positive relationships you have in your life – personally and professionally. It’s an upward spiral that all starts with “What am I grateful for, thankful for, and sincerely appreciate in my life today?”

 Invest in Joy!

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Harness your positive energy! Here’s how!

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How are you feeling? Strong, excited, determined? Or back in the grind?

I am asked so often about time management and dealing with outside distractions. We lament about where the day, the week, the year…our life.. goes. The speed of time is directly related to our energy. Our energy level is enhanced when we are fully present in our time. To LIVE your life means:

  • You STOP thinking about an upcoming prospect appointment while you absentmindedly watch your kid’s game. 
  • You STOP half-listening to your major giver as you think about the paperwork you need to catch up on after this day of calls. 
  • You STOP glancing continuously at your phone from the second you wake up. 
  • You STOP asking “What if’s?” What if that big gift doesn’t come in? What if the tax laws change? What if our kid acts out? WHAT IF MY CELLPHONE DIES?  OMG! 

Do you see that when you check your cell phone first thing in the morning, you have just given away control of your time and energy to someone else?  You are reacting to somebody else’s priority, not your own.  You have surrendered (and perhaps squandered) your emotional energy and time to someone else’s comment, question, crisis or rant. 

Mind research shows that constantly reacting and splitting your attention makes you feel like time is racing. It’s also exhausting. Perhaps you share the fear that if you slowed down, you’d never be able to get back “up to speed.” Ouch.

Communications today are spun to get you riled up! Reporters, bloggers, and marketers count on you being so unconscious that you can’t NOT click if the story involves opinions, outrage or controversy. This election has been one long outrage orgy – on all sides – leaving many of us exhausted. Many are striving to be more offended, more critical, more sarcastic, more hurt, more ready to fight.  

Perhaps it’s time to be more aware. More aware of how this environment places demands on and expends your time and energy. Do you spend these gifts intentionally and proactively for the benefit of your non-profit, your personal relationships and your well-being?  Or do you need to make some different choices? All of these research-based suggestions will increase your positive energy. 

1. Focus on what you want. What you focus on you bring more of into your life. Do you want to be anxious or excited – both use your energy. You choose.

2. Use your Words wisely.  Do you want your words to support, encourage, hurt, attack, educate, promote your opinion, bring you sympathy, make you look noble?  Are you feeling compelled to join in the outrage orgy? You choose, but notice which remarks, posts and conversations leave you feeling energized or drained. If ALL your donors viewed your words would it help foster giving, trusting relationships? 

3. Clear our “Clutter.” Excess anything is clutter. Its mere presence drains your energy from your greatest priorities. Turn off the news and talk to your family. Turn off the phone and enjoy the space. Go through the piles yelling at you for attention. Schedule specific times to manage your email.

4. Throw Kindness around like Confetti. Only 25% of Americans believe we are living in a kind society. Our brain is wired to get an immediate positive energy hit when we’re helpful and compassionate. Regardless of how others are behaving, you can be kind and polite. A big piece of building rapport with our major donors is being likable. They experience less anxiety over major money decisions. Kindness is a value that transcends borders, faith, race, and age. (www.Kindnessusa.org for more)

5. Purge your inputs. “Unsubscribe” and “Unfriend” exist for a reason. Use them.

6. Listen. Deep listening is not distracted.  Even when we are not entirely interested, we don’t agree, and we have “a million things to do.” It is the best gift you can give another human being.

7. Give thanks. Being thankful turns our focus on what is right in our lives and generates more to be thankful for. 

8. Energy generates energy. Walk, clap, dance, wiggle throughout your day. Breathe in and think, “I am breathing in good energy.”

9. Bring yourself fully to your work role each day. All of us make a choice each morning how we will show up each day. Terry Chadsey, ED of the Center for Courage and Renewal suggests sharing something positive that captured our attention as a way to slow down and connect with our role. Watch

the Movie Monday video Bringing Yourself Fully to Your Nonprofit Role

10. Be proactive. Stephen Covey defines proactive as “being responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. Proactive people focus on things they can do something about. The nature of their energy in doing this is positive, enlarging and magnifying.” 

All of this doesn’t mean I’ve numbed down or dumbed down my energy. It means I have great clarity in what I will allow to push me off center, deflect me from my purpose or get me riled up (energy drainers).  There will be differences, objections, and concerns between your donors, you and your organization. YOU and all of our givers benefit most when we can leap over the drama and blame. Then we can get down to authentically connecting prospective givers to creating solutions with their giving investments that help to compose a good world.

Invest in Joy!

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We’re OFF in the year 2017!

Star in your own movie

So how will it end?

“What, Marcy? It just STARTED!”

Heim Family 2016

Early each January my family gathers around our kitchen table. On a half-sheet of off-white card stock, we each write one sentence – a “GET to do” by the END of 2017. Then we pass our sheets around and we each write one for each other. We’ve been doing this for years –  RJ, me, David, Ken and Carly.

We celebrate and reflect on last year’s list. 

No judgments, no defensiveness, just awareness. 

These aren’t resolutions like “I will work out three times each week.”  Rather, “Do something you have wanted to do your whole life – travel, bungee jumping, skydiving, tubing and make it happen this year. (I’ll come if you want!)”  This was added to my list by my 19-year-old son, David.  

By being clear on how we want it to end, we will (on purpose and subconsciously) think about it, make decisions around it and take different actions during the year. We want this ending!

I’m not a fan of resolutions. They start now and move forward….until we get stuck and stop. Instead, 

If you want to make it the best year of your life, 

Work backward. Begin at the finish. 

A film writer sees the movie ending first. 

If you want to make it the best year of your life,

Know how you want it to end.

Solve the climax first.

Figure out where you want to go; then work backward from there.

A few examples might be good right about now.

  • If you’re providing a new service or program in your non-profit, BEGIN WITH THE EXPERIENCE you want the participants to have, how it will change them. 
  • If you’re preparing for a talk, DETERMINE THE KEY ACTIONS you want the audience to take before you begin to script your presentation.
  • If you want true organizational-wide teamwork, DETERMINE WHAT THIS REALLY LOOKS LIKE versus the silos you have now.  How do people interact, treat each other?
  • If you want a major gift from a prospective giver, ASSESS WHAT THEY WANT TO INVEST IN, then work backward to lay out the experiences, conversations and partners that will grow the relationship to that ask. (By the way, this is my Relationship Action Plan tool.)
  • If you want more major donors, GET CLEAR ABOUT HOW MANY, AT WHAT LEVEL AND FOR WHAT SPECIFIC IMPACT before you begin to set up first quarter appointments.

Spend 2 hours over the next week writing out your 2017 show.  

What will be different for you at the END of 2017?  What does it look like?

Know how you want it to end. 

You GET to write, direct and star in your own movie.

“I create my life!” Yes, you do. 

So it’s your responsibility to clearly state that powerful ending right now!

If you want to make 2017 the best year of your life,

Choose to become the hero of your story.

Spend 2 hours over the next week focused on turning your life into an action movie.

Create a plot (big challenging personal and professional goals) dripping with excitement, boldness, audacity, courage, big thinking, awesome challenges and massive accomplishments.

It’s only when you become your own hero, when you can stand on your own two feet, when you BELIEVE that YOU create your life and you confront fear and overcome obstacles that you are prepared and ready to unleash the greatest you! 

And we need you to unleash the greatest you to help steer this world into its brightest future.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Know how you want it to END.

Invest in Joy!

Are You Scrambling or Celebrating?

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It’s mid-December! Finally snow in Wisconsin!  How are you doing? Are you scrambling to make those last calls and manage holiday traditions? Has celebrating turned into this heavy burden? Or are you blissfully busy?

Let’s talk about our December mindset! 

Jason Lemke creates educational programs for the USD School of Medicine and brought me in for a mindset workshop. He saw this floating around LinkedIn and thought of me saying, “It totally screamed “mindset” to me…you see what you want to see.”

So what do you see?

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Let me share a couple of stories. Make-A-Wish WI held a new Radio-A-Thon After Party December 2nd at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, an event sponsor. My band, Marcy and the Highlights, dished out the dance tunes and over $300,000 was raised! We partnered with local celebrities Michelle Corolla, Fox 47 TV news anchor and Z104 radio personality, Aaron Rogers. Their commitment to success was amazing. Aaron and his partner purchased several of the silent auction items and Michelle, also a terrific dancer and singer, added a dance to the show. And (and only I would find this noteworthy) she was still there helping until the place was cleaned up!

Michelle shared, “It’s important to know that you can always believe in the future.” This is a mindset that she demonstrates with these kids who see some real challenges in their futures. Again…you see what you want to see.
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Nancy Gerard, Director of Alumni and Development, Georgia-Cumberland Academy and one of my VIP coaching clients has had some mixed messages in her December visits. Zeros missing, zeros added – Different than our relationship action plans and asks. Sound familiar?  Most recently one donor delighted her with his plans to provide a major 6-figure gift in the capital campaign even though another family may not participate (as WE had planned).

“This proves your point, Marcy,” Nancy said. “We make assumptions and give ourselves messages about what we think people may or may not want to give.  And we are often wrong!” 

This changes how you show up, how you sound on the phone, what you bring to the visit.  You see what you want to see…and then act accordingly.

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Marcy’s December Major Gifts Do’s and Don’ts Decisions

(Remember, the Latin of the word decision means, “to cut off.” So we cut off alternative actions –like procrastinating or complaining when we DECIDE to do something)

  1. DECIDE to really believe that your donors want to invest in your mission.

A confused donor doesn’t give. It’s your job to present a clear and artful ask that helps them decide what they want to do – now or perhaps in 2017, or perhaps for a different amount. The point is, decide they want to invest and help THEM get clear so THEY can decide, too!

  1. DECIDE who still needs what action before January 1 rolls around…and who can wait until 2017.

My second son, David, was due December 25 and arrived NOVEMBER 25. What!!?!! I still made my year-end totals, but it forced me to get real clear, real quick on who HAD to be visited, who HAD to be called, who HAD to be written and WHO COULD HELP ME! You can’t connect with everyone and you’ll just sound scrambled. But, do this evaluation AFTER step one based on a clinical, not emotional, evaluation of where your relationships are.

  1. DECIDE not to lollygag.

“Are you planning to invest in (helping battered women, our students, our capital campaign, our building project, us) yet this tax year? If so, I want to do everything I can to help you make this happen!” Decide to get the conversation started.

  1. DECIDE not to join in with the Drama Queens (and Kings).

“Oh, I just don’t know HOW I will get it all done!!” “People are just too busy now.” “I didn’t get in touch with them sooner – it’s too late now.” “I don’t even have (whatever – gifts bought, the decorations up, cookies made, cards sent, whatever your holiday looks like…) yet!”  “I think they have changed their minds about a gift yet this year.”  “If I call again I am really going to make them angry, I think.”  Pull yourself back to what you want to see.

  1. DECIDE to take the time to stop, breath and soak in all the magic of this year-end time.

Have you ever noticed how someone can enter a room and the whole energy changes? When you engage your major givers, you can be that positive, excited presence. YOU can make talking to you about a gift the best part of their day!

May you bask in the JOY you inspire in the world this holiday season!

Choose to Celebrate!

Happy Birthday Philanthropy! Now STAY Inspired!

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Philanthropy is “the love of humankind.”

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National Philanthropy Day® (NPD)—November 15—is the day that thousands of people around the world come together to celebrate philanthropy. I share a birthday with NPD and thus get to celebrate each additional candle with some pretty amazing folks!

Every year since 1986 when President Ronald Reagan first proclaimed November 15th as National Philanthropy Day®, communities across the globe have hosted events to recognize activities of donors, volunteers, foundations, leaders, corporations, and others engaged in philanthropy. In 2012, Canada officially recognized NPD.

P-Day focuses attention on the power and joy of philanthropy. Crisscrossing the country this month, I led workshops empowering folks to practice EFFECTIVE philanthropy at five different celebrations! Guess who got the MOST inspired? ME…from all of YOU! WOW!

Yes, it’s our award recipients that always do the most effective teaching – living to give generously.

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Jim Victor, Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser at the AFP Quad Cities event, paid tribute to the professional fundraisers present, “You give wings to my dreams – to my work!”

“I’m in awe of the lives that you folks in development help us touch,” said Outstanding Philanthropist Hunt Harris.

“Give us BIG VISIONS and we will help” promised Outstanding Philanthropist Pat Lloyd in Sioux Falls.

Hurrah for everyone honored at these events!

You see the challenges – and focus on the solutions.
You see the obstacle — and focus on the answers.
You see the setbacks – and focus on the successes.
Hmmmmm…couldn’t this be YOU? Here are 3 Steps YOU can take to extend P-Day throughout the year!

1. Let Philanthropy Day launch YOUR year of focusing on solutions, answers and successes.
2. Let your amazing mind marinate on how you can take your successes and turn them into something truly significant – for your mission, your neighbor, your community, and for the future.
3. Create YOUR P-Day Collection! Keep notes, emails, and begin to write out those, “WOW” comments givers, other staff, board members and volunteers have said in your world. Commit to reading them weekly.

I believe in you and I thank you!

Fundraising is a contact sport. George should know.

Fundraising is a contact sport. George should know

 

My workshop, “Fundraising is a Team Sport – Leadership, Board and Givers Together” is popular. Simply put, when we focus on our mission – what we do to make this world a better place – we rise above roles and tasks to a loftier and more productive partnership – a culture of generosity.

When I met George Koonce, Senior Vice President for University Relations at Marian University, he suggested,Fundraising is a contact sport. George should know. “Fundraising is a contact sport.” So, ok. I had this silly grin on my face. I was having a coaching lunch with George Koonce, the former Green Bay Packers linebacker with an NFL career that spanned nine seasons, included 128 games and a Super Bowl ring. I mean, I LOVE my GREEN BAY PACKERS – former, current, winning or not.

But while George is grateful his celebrity status helps him connect more quickly with key Marian investors; he wastes no time shifting to his real passion – the power of an education.

“It all started when I met Reggie White when I was 24 years old,” Koonce said. “He changed my life in so many ways. He’d say, ‘George, always be committed to changing the community you live in to make it a better place than you found it.’ If I’m living in Milwaukee or Green Bay, if I’m working for the Packers or if I’m working for Marian University, I’m trying to make it better than I found it.”

So we talked about fundraising – the contact sport.

1. Making contact is making contact. It’s personal. It’s sincere. It’s not thinking about making contact. That will not give you results.

2. It helps to watch film to get an idea of how a team plays. You become aware of style, favorites, preferences and past actions. But you only have success if you use your knowledge to make more, and more effective, contacts.

3. You need to make contact as part of a team. What does every position contribute to the overall impact? How do you best work together?

4. Watching from the sidelines is not making contact. You have to do the work to get in the lineup where you can make contact. Plan your contact. Rehearse what you will do. Prepare. But get out and do it imperfectly – that’s how you get better.

5. Make contact with enthusiasm and passion. Lackluster participation yields lackluster results.

6. No matter what the score, or what happened last game, stay positive and see if there is another way to connect.

7. “See” your results. “Every day in every way I am creating and attracting giving to my mission.” Hear your prospective givers say, “Yes.” See yourself having great conversations, phone calls, writing great letters – making contact!

Fundraising is a contact sport. George should know.George Koonce was the first member of his family to attend college. He wanted our coaching time together to give him skills, ideas, focus, and tools to help him “do a better job serving those 2,200 students that attend Marian where about 70 percent are from low-income families and are the first in their families to go to college.”

And, in tribute to you, George said that he’d like to be remembered as someone who made a difference for these students, not as a former Packer. I get that.

You are the real celebrity. Enjoy the contact.

Let’s Connect

info@marcyheim.com

(608) 772-6777

Marcy Heim Consulting | The Artful Asker
2679 Fahey Glen
Madison, WI 53711

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