Tag Archive for: Not for profit

Pear Tree Planning in a Pandemic

You might be feeling, “How can I plan for anything when everything is so up in the air.”

I understand. And I am here to help!

Let me tell you a story about my pear tree.  It was loaded with buds and now it’s loaded, I mean LOADED, with tiny baby pears. That means that by Labor Day I will have thousands, oh OK, hundreds of pears that ripen within a few days, hit the ground, rot fast and attract swarms of bees. They are also really delicious – a blessing really – and I carry incredible guilt at wasting them. I’ve had groups in to pick, jam-making parties and help just to get them raked up and gone. The neighbors avoid me late August because they know I’ll be bringing another bucket to them.

After a decade with this tree, somehow I’m never ready for the pear avalanche. Why am I surprised that these tiny pears grow into big ones? Even in years when the buds were damaged, I had pears. Pear-Tree Planning has come to symbolize all the personal and professional events in my life I KNOW are coming – yet somehow I’m failing to plan for. They can set me into a last-minute panic – mild or severe – the drama is real.  Can you relate? Do you have a Pear Tree or two in your life?

Here’s the message I want you to get.

Let’s do some Pear-Tree Planning!

Here’s a list of actions to take to enhance your relationships with both your donors AND those closest to you. Remember I want you to take care of BOTH – your donors and YOU!

1. Every-year donor/family specific events – Birthdays, Anniversaries, etc

Regardless of the pandemic, people still have birthdays and anniversaries. You can still celebrate the anniversary of a donor’s major gift and remind them of the impact. If you haven’t collected these dates, now is a good time to start. How? On your next check-in call, have a conversation something like, “We just celebrated Mary’s birthday virtually here. So different this year, isn’t it? When is your birthday? What might be different for you this year?” 

This year it may not be an in-person visit.  Now the mail time for your birthday card may be longer. Now you might have to rethink your message to – “May this find you and yours well and in good spirits.  Happy Birthday! You are appreciated and an important part of our family.”  Let’s face it, sometimes we are last minute with our own kids’ birthdays – not like we weren’t there when they were born.

2. Every-year Holidays

This past Sunday was Father’s Day. Just like every year – pandemic or not. I called several donors/friends who are like fathers to me. Just like every year.

This year rather than the individual calls from our kids, they all got on at once on zoom. It was actually better. The holidays will stay the same. You can plan your actions ahead of time taking into account what will be different in you implementation. You may not know when you’ll be back in your office for sure – but there will still be Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Halloween, Christmas, New Years Day… You can plan for these.

3. YOUR Specific Traditional Events

When it comes to events, the most important question is the same, “Why are we having this event?” It may be to thank donors, invite donors to invest, provide a chance to hear from leadership, experience a powerful story of giving impact, feel part of a giving community, and/or just be together.

Seems to me you can accomplish much of this differently – a Non-Event, a zoom gathering, a virtual event. Yes, it’s hard to replace the hugs, the personal sharing that only happens in person and the pure JOY of being together. BUT, we can continue to show up genuine and true. And, we can continue to watch for opportunities to bring people together with a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C…

Last week I celebrated with one of my clients – the Lussier Community Education Center.  Their ED, Paul Terranova, has been there 20 years and accomplished so much. No, it wasn’t like being in the same room, but the surprise (Paul really was clueless this was coming!) the tears, the bonding, with each other and the Center, were very real.

4. Your Relationship Action Plans

Those of you who study major giving with me are familiar with a Relationship Action Plan. It’s our roadmap of what’s next with our major donors. While the meeting details may be different now, the steps are remarkably similar. In fact, engaging partners – your board, other staff and volunteers may even be easier! Make sure these have not slipped off of the MUST DO list! You need to plan these!

5. Year-End Planning

Yes, I get it. It’s only June. BUT…this year-end will be different. We have launched special COVID funds early this year and our donors have responded generously! Perhaps we have put our campaign on hold or delayed beginning it. We have tabled some planned giving conversations with donors who are nervous about their investments. NOW is the time to begin finding a year-end theme and start messaging around it to begin the conversations for our year-end giving appeals and major donor asks.  Just today, one of my clients – a faith-based senior facility selected, “Blessed in ALL times.” It’s perfect for them. What’s yours going to be?

I know you are feeling this sort of out-of-sorts feeling. Even with meditation, working out, hop scotch on the sidewalk and baseball in the backyard, these times are just weird and different – and for many of us, scary. Fear is crippling. Focus on what you CAN PLAN now and look forward to. Keep track of each other. Take care of each other.

“Here comes the sun!” the Beatles song, plays constantly in scores of hospitals across the country because it lifts folks up. Did you know it was recorded the very last time the Beatles were together in a studio – a sad night indeed. You will be different from this, but you will be ok.  Shine on!

These are remarkable times. With an avalanche of information flooding you in the email, live-streaming on Facebook and bombarding you on the news, how do you make a decision about what to do next?

How can you make a decision when you have no certainty about how this current COVID-19 environment will unfold…or when? In no other challenge that I remember has there been such global fear – and fear is crippling. What we are certain about changes every day.  

During these remarkable times it’s more important than ever to be clear about what you want – for yourself, your family, your work, your life. These times can derail you from your Big Why. What do you want? What is your life dream?

I want work I love that transforms the lives of others, financial freedom, resources to be a major philanthropist, treasured times with my family, a great house by the ocean and to weigh what God wants me to weigh.

If YOU could do anything you want and have everything you’re always wanted, what would that be? Think about that. This becomes your North Star.

Let’s get back to how to make a decision now – when you have so little certainty about what is coming. Remember our 2020 Vision at the start of this new decade?  It’s still there.

When I speak, attendees tell me I totally change their thinking…and their feelings about how to be successful at life and major gift fundraising. That’s my life goal. If I were to make a decision from where I am now – canceling flights, few requests to appear in person – I might decide to stop creating new talks.  Rather, I come from a place of where I want to be – performing on major stages with a message (and songs) about thinking big, dreaming big, knowing big (major) donors want big visions and that I am the leading expert in coaching major giving success.

What decisions do you need to make now? Make your decisions from where you want to be, not where you are now. If you look at where you want to be, how would you address these decisions?

• Is now the time to decrease the fundraising team?
• Are you measuring the right metrics?
• Can you afford to invest in professional development now?
• What are the goals of your major giver relationships? Have they really changed?
• If someone hasn’t given to you recently can they give again if you ask them?
• Are you actively writing out, practicing and speaking major gift asks using my 3-sentence ask process?
• What if you can’t hold your event in person?
• Are you creating year-long relationship action plans?
• What is the key good you do in the world? Has this changed? Is it still important?

You see, it’s looking at where you want to land, as opposed to looking at what is happening right now. People who aren’t successful look at every reason why it won’t or can’t work now.  The virus is the perfect excuse to stop, contract, be small and live in fear. They look at what they would have to give up as opposed to what they have to gain by making a certain decision. 

Certainly I have to give up the total joy I feel walking through an audience during my talks and hearing them yell, “I Create my Life!”  I have to give up hearing that Board member whisper, “With this training, I am confident to ask, Marcy. Thank you.”  Instead, right now I am building my in-home recording studio where I can be LIVE virtually with amazing energy, engagement and results. But I am still creating talks and programs based on my love to be live and in-person.

Where do you want to be?  With your fundraising results?  With your life?  If you were already there, what decisions would you be making?

I am here to support you and inspire you now – but even more to help you see a big vision for yourself in the future and drop all the excuses you are clinging to for why you can’t accomplish your dreams. Be BOLD! Within you is the confidence to go for it! That’s how to get success in your fundraising and life right NOW. 

You are capable of great work now. Yes, now. 

COVID 19 is unprecedented and uncertain. In “times like this” you can bet folks will:

1- Cut discretionary spending.

2- Reduce costs – hunker down.

3- Reduce risk – even if they are guessing how to do that, and,

4- Follow the Herd. What are others doing? I better do that too.

It is important now to serve the top.

We constantly struggle with victim thinking in non-profits. Poor me. In this COVID-19 era it is even easier to contract, recoil and shrivel up. Fear sets in.  And you may find it difficult to practice patience and to keep the balance. 

Aim to serve the top. Resist feeding on the bottom. BE Kind and Bold!

Before I begin…I’m not saying we ignore smaller donors and don’t appreciate them.  I am saying that what you focus on, you grow.  If you focus on a workout program you will grow your fitness. If you focus on spending time with your kids, you will grow those relationships. If you focus on responding to scores of smaller givers, you will grow smaller gifts. If you focus on major givers, you will grow major gifts. If you focus on a sincere, holistic message – caring how they are during this pandemic and also caring they know how they can help you now, you will grow trust AND dollars.

What characterizes a major giver?

Here are 14 things to consider (AND FOCUS ON): 

1. Major gifts come from donors who are doing well – even in this time – not those who are struggling.
2. Major givers are proud of the gifts they give you. They are not looking at “give what you can” they are looking at “give what it takes to make a real difference.”
3. Major givers are believers – low-end donors might dip their toe in but are still looking to be convinced.
4. Major givers are generally easier to please and work with because they have a partner mind frame whereas smaller givers are looking for the free coffee mug.
5. Major givers pay you higher respect. They realize the role you play in doing good and invest resources in your mission BECAUSE OF their relationship with YOU and their desire to help you implement your ideas.
6. Major donors want solutions. They respond when you present bold options and see yourself at the other side of COVID-19. Future-focused!
7. Major donors are not interested in how poverty-minded non-profits shrivel up in a race to the bottom. Desperation does not raise money.
8. Major donors respond to seeing others investing in what you do at major levels. While you can design lower level giving options, Wal-Mart would have a tough time attracting high-end jewelry buyers.
9. Like attracts like. Your major donors are your best source of people who want to help you get through this. They travel in the right circles.  Ask them to consider who shares their values and can help.
10. If you’ve heard yourself say, “My donors have already made a campaign gift (or major pledge or whatever). They won’t give more.” Do we limit what we spend on our kids when they are in tough times? Or do we ask, “How can I help more?” Our major donors are like our family. In fact, there is a plethora of research that tells us major donors give MORE in tough times.
11. Major donors, vested in your mission, expect great work. It is energizing, engaging and fun for you and your team to rise to that challenge. Donors looking for self-promotion expect perfect work. Even though they have no idea what it means to run your non-profit, they are high-maintenance – exhausting, and depressing for you and your team to put up with.
12. Major donors value authentic, trusting relationships and once they’re in with you, they’ll come back for more. Why? Because they share ownership and joy in your success. Smaller donors react to transactions.
13. Major donors approach you with new ideas and offer their real-world advice. Small donors want you to match their small thinking. Don’t fall for it.
14. Non-profits that chase small donors are dependent on massive numbers of small transactions from mostly one-time givers. Non-profits that engage major donors thrive on small numbers of much larger, deeper, richer, and longer-lasting relationships with donors and friends who stay longer and give more.

It’s your call – serve the top or serve the bottom. What you focus on, you grow.

Believe. Decide. Move Forward. Serve. Repeat.

I care about you.  Yes, be aware now and wash your hands and keep some space.

But MORE – be aware of what you are thinking. Please. It is your best defense.

Your success is not about the financial climate, it’s about your mental climate. Are you spewing poison or possibilities? What are you telling yourself – over and over and over?

• “I can’t talk to donors now – I can’t meet with them anyway and besides everyone just wants to be left alone to deal with this thing.”
• “It would be rude to ask for money now. Everyone’s scared – no one knows what’s going to happen.”
• “What is everybody else doing – how can I get something out right away?”
• “They don’t have toilet paper and I’m asking for money?”
• “How will I be judged by others if I ask now?”
• “I’m afraid.”

Uncertainty is the new norm.  Today you are told one thing. Tomorrow it is different. Ok. Make a decision. Then, as you learn more, make another decision and another.

I firmly stand where I always have – YOU need to look inside yourself and find your authentic, caring relationships with YOUR major givers.  They want to help you now – just like they always have.  They want to hear from you. They want to know you care about them, how they are doing and how they can connect to your mission – now.

How they change the world hasn’t changed. Help them remember why they give. You exist to meet a certain need and that hasn’t changed. What they get from their giving hasn’t changed.

• Students still need financial aid – AND perhaps even more with disruptions with their family earnings.
• Homeless still need meals – and the folks who provide these meals need dollars right now to deal with the new challenges getting food out there.
• Senior living centers still need staff to care for residents and money to fund new ideas to connect residents to family when they are locked down. 
• Animal shelters still need food for the animals there.
• FILL IN YOUR MISSION HERE!

This is really about YOU — and YOUR Mind shifting into fear.

You live – constantly – in either a Powerful State or Primal State of thinking and feeling. You can only be in one state at a time.

Powerful State            Primal State

Hope/Joy                     Stress/Anxiety

Gratitude                     Worry

Confidence                  Overwhelm

Optimism                     Anger

Abundance                  Lack

Expansive                   Contracted

You may be feeling the fear of this virus…feelings of anxiety and worry. In this state you cannot access your greatest creativity and productivity AND you can actually harm your body, heart and spirit.  

It is not about what you experience, but how you REACT to it. Your beliefs and feelings about what you are experiencing are your choice. Our beliefs build from our childhood – true or false – and by what we allow into our minds and what we say to ourselves.  

We become what we think about. Believe and Decide.

You put out energy when you believe…and even the smallest grain of incongruence is felt.  Help empower your beliefs by making them your DECISIONS. Feel the shift.

I believe…                                                         I’ve decided…

I will be successful raising money now.                           I will be successful raising money now. 

the virus will not block my fundraising success.               the virus will not block my fundraising success. 

my major donors are eager to hear from me.                   my major donors are eager to hear from me. 

donors know I care about them–not just their money       donors know I care about them–not just their money 

I will be safe from the virus.                                              I will be safe from the virus. 

people love to give me money!                                         people love to give me money! 

Believe. Decide. Move Forward. Serve. Repeat.

A decision has power. It has inevitability. It sets an intention.  Once you make a decision the actions – the “how” – becomes obvious and comfortable.

1.  Talk to your donors about giving – and major giving!

Are you texting, emailing, phoning and face-timing your donors right now? Good! Ask them how they’re doing. Ask them/share how you are managing your mission during this virus time. Ask them for their prayers and MONEY. Share a glass of wine over Zoom. Listen to them if business is rough right now. Reassure them you care about them ALL the time – not just when they have money to give you. We make assumptions donors won’t give now – just not true.  Tell them how their gifts and pledges will get us all through this. In 2008 and 2009 during the Great Recession, those we treated well and authentically gave larger amounts then they ever did before some right then, some when they could later. Let them know challenges, but stay upbeat!  (scroll down to see three efforts my clients are launching right now below)

2. Don’t shut down. Be aware of avoiding or distracted living right now.

Are you shutting down? Working from home is different. Checking out? TV, video games, 24/7 virus news? Stay vibrant. Walk, do house projects, set up time blocks to accomplish your work during consistent hours, STOP TALKING ABOUT THE VIRUS. Look ahead and plan ahead – you can always make a new decision if the situation changes.  STAY in motion. You will find you actually have MORE time working from home. Do those things you said you’d always do if only you had the time….

3. Use this time to beef up the back office.

Do you have missing information in your data base? Could you use more email addresses? Now is the perfect time to reach out with what you have and ask for the missing email, or cell phone, or winter address…these times make us all want to be certain we can stay in touch.  What is their preferred method of connecting? ASK! Create/Update Relationship Action Plans!

4. See the possibilities! Embrace them!

Ask yourself, “If I knew my giving was going to drop, what would I do differently to lift it up?” Now’s the time for NEW – NOT “We’re always done it this way.” Host mini-zoom major donor meet-ups. Have a non-event. (These have been going on for years for event-weary non-profits and their event-weary donors.) Sell the silent auction items online. But most important – continue the conversations with your major donors about how their gifts matter and make a difference.

Your fear is more contagious, and more deadly, than this virus. It makes you contract. Your breathing comes fast. Your heart races and your body reacts making you more likely to get sick – fulfilling your fear!  Decide to be strong!

We will get through this. I promise. Trust me.

Believe. Decide. Move Forward. Serve. Repeat.

You can’t do it alone.

I don’t care how efficient you are, or think you are, you can only have so much fundraising success if you try to do it all yourself.

I get it…it takes a great deal of energy and patience to bring on a volunteer, board member or program staff to help out.  Sometimes it just doesn’t seem worth it.

It is.

“Every master was once a disaster.” This quote from T Harv Eker reminds us that whenever we are learning something new – even if we have natural gift for it, it takes time and practice. 

If it takes time and practice, why bother?

1. If you believe your mission is worthy of support, you will constantly grow and change to do your work better.
2. Your givers and prospective givers deserve to have the best experience with your organization/institution you can create, and engaging others deepens their relationship and makes it richer.
3. While you can be the lead or key contact for your givers, being sure there are others sharing the relationship keeps them connected should you leave your position. This honors your donors and ensures they don’t feel lost without you there.  It’s the right thing to do.

Best Practices to Engage Partners in Major Giving Relationships

1. Have a plan for your donor first.

Do your homework. Consider what you already know about a giver and chart out potential next steps and giving options. This is YOUR job.

2. Consider partner personalities to best match partners and tasks.

Did you know that the greatest fear of folks 55 and under is public speaking? Choose wisely for the volunteer you ask to speak at the Rotary or Kiwanis for your latest project. Who’s comfortable on the internet, who works well with spreadsheets, who’s naturally warm and gracious and would make a great call partner?

3. Make tasks repeatable with many donors.

Once I worked with a $1.2M donor on sharing why he made his gift. While we started to work with one specific major giver, I asked him to help again and again—in exactly the same way.

4. Have your ask written and share it with your partners.

Write your ‘best guess’ ask using Marcy’s 3-sentence ask (www.marcyheim.com/askworksheet) and share this with partners. They can help you tweak it and support it!

5. Keep your partner relationships to the business at hand –NEVER a personal agenda.

Meeting with your board member to talk about her gift is NEVER the time to slip in a concern about the ED/CEO, criticize a priority, or have any other off-topic agenda. Never. (Look for more on this in the next TWO posts!)

6. Keep your partners accountable. Partners can have metrics too.

When you engage your partners to help, be clear on the what, why AND by when. Stay in touch reminding them and offering help if needed. Use board meetings to share board member actions taken.

7. Keep your partners in the information loop as to the donor status.

One consistent complaint I hear from Board, “They ask for my help, I do it and I never hear how it turned out.” I get it may take awhile – stay in touch.

8. Appreciate your partners in special and meaningful ways.

I sincerely believe we seek appreciation far more than recognition. Let your partners know they are helping and you are grateful in personal, authentic ways.

9. Remind them of the importance of their own giving/volunteering/serving stories. Yes, it is awkward to ask someone else to do something you haven’t done yourself. But it’s more than that. Why you gave and what it has meant to you is a story that brings JOY to the teller…and the listener.

10.Enhance their knowledge of our profession and artful development.

We don’t just go to lunch and receptions? Pulling your partners authentically into the process gives them hands-on experience about what we do to grow meaningful major-giving relationships.  MUCH more impactful than ‘telling’ them what we do.

Yes, it will take time to engage and coach a partner to help you with a major giver relationship. AND, YES, it will enhance the experience of your givers AND the partners. This will be reflected in the amount you raise – for sure! It will also inspire unexpected synergies and magnify amazing positive magic. Jump in! Start small but BEGIN!  I know you will be amazing!