Donor Care In Challenging Times Daryl Upsall

How to make sure your
donor continues to love you
in good times and in bad
Daryl Upsall

National Conference for Fundraising in Ireland 1
26 March 2009

Speaker Background – Daryl Upsall

• 25 years working in NGOs
• Worked in fundraising, campaigning and communication in 40+
countries
• Headed Greenpeace global fundraising for 8 years and responsible
for raising more than $1 billion for Greenpeace and increased global
committed giving from 18% to 60% of income
• Director of 4 fundraising agencies in Spain (Telephone, Face to
Face, Consulting, Corporate Fundraising) with over 300 staff
• Very focused on recruiting and retaining regular committed donors
• Clients are mainly international NGOs and Spanish charities and
80% of Spanish fundraising NGOs
• Based in Madrid with clients in 12 countries and most of the
international HQ of INGOs and UN agencies

26 March 2009

Daryl Upsall Consulting International SL
Client List - International HQs
• ActionAid International • MORI
• Age Concern International • MSF Access to Medicines Campaign
• Blackbaud • MarViva
• CARE International • Oak Foundation
• Charles Darwin Foundation • Pew Environment Group
• Christian Aid • Red Cross (IFRC)
• Christian Blind Mission • Save the Children International Alliance
• Christian Children's Fund • Social Accountability International
• Club de Madrid • SOS Kinderdorf International
• Concern Worldwide • The Antarctica Project
• Covenant House/Casa Allianza • The Brooke
• Deaf Child Worldwide • The Climate Group
• Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) • The Global Fund
• European Critical Care Foundation • UN – Food and Agriculture Organisation
• Foundation Theodora • UNESCO
• DARA Foundation • UNHCR
• Global Reporting Initiative • UNICEF
• Greenpeace International • United Bible Society
• Habitat for Humanity International • World Association of Girl Guides and Girl
Scouts
• HelpAge International
• WSPA
• International Deaf Children's Society
• World Villages for Children
• International Institute for Strategic Studies
• WWF International
• Merlin
26 March 2009

26 March 2009

Is it really that bad?

quot;What's the difference between Iceland and
Ireland? …..One letter and six months.quot;

26 March 2009

26 March 2009

There is no crystal ball
for the impact on fundraising

Hannah Jordan, Third Sector, 3 March 200

26 March 2009

There is no crystal ball..only
contradictory evidence
• In February UK the Charitable Giving Report, a monthly
survey of 30,000 UK donors reported that nearly half did
not intend to change their charitable giving over the
next six months, although a third planned to give less.

• In contrast, only 15% of respondents to a survey carried
out in November 2008 said they would reduce their
donations.

• A direct mail test by the Prostate Cancer Charity in
January indicated that donors were less likely to give if
the tough economic climate was mentioned in the
text of mailings .. but other organisations have reported
that the opposite is the case.
26 March 2009

• 71% of UK charities forecast income growth in 2009
Poll by Blackbaud in October 2008
• 27% of UK donors are already giving less and 11.5%
have stopped giving according to a European poll from
Survey Sampling Inter-national in November 2008
• 15% of donors plan to give less in the next year
DMS/CCB Fastmap research in November 2008
• 33% of donors will give less in the coming six months,
but 50% will not change Tangible Response's
Charitable Giving Report in February
• 55% of fundraisers think the worst-hit cause area will
be arts and culture in an international poll launched
form the International Fundraising Congress in October
2008
26 March 2009

• Cass Business School's Charity Market Monitor 2008, for example,
warned of a marked slowdown in income growth in 2009.

• 71% of UK fundraisers surveyed by IT firm Blackbaud in a European
poll last October predicted continued growth, with 50 per cent
expecting online donations to increase.

• Fundraising consultant Martin Kaufman told delegates at last year's
Institute of Fundraising Conference Scotland to slash parts of their
fundraising budgets.

• But a paper presented by another consultant, Tony Elischer, a
month before advised fundraisers not to cut any part of their
budgets.

26 March 2009

Information

Información
26 March 2009

=mc Global Fundraising
Confidence Survey for IFC

This report analyses the responses to a global online survey undertaken
over 5 days by the Management Centre (=mc) as part of the IFC
conference in October 2008. It was analysed by =mc’s knowledge
management expert David Segal.

26 March 2009

• Specifically the survey sought the views of 100
leading worldwide fundraising thinkers on:
• How serious the financial crisis is- and the broad
strategy fundraisers should adopt in response to
this global phenomenon?
• where in terms of ‘cause’- children, environment,
faith etc- these international experts think the
financial crisis will impact most?
• what action our experts thought fundraising
directors should take to prepare for the emerging
changes?

26 March 2009

Level of Impact
Average Weighted Responses by Region

0 10 20 30 40 50

Arts heritage and culture

International development

Science and scientific research

Human rights

All of the above

Animal welfare and rights

Elders/older people causes

Disability and disability rights

Education

Medical research

Health

The environment

International emergency relief

Faith based causes

Children's causes
26 March 2009
N America Africa, Asia and Latin America Europe, ANZ and M East

Problem Perspective

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

No matter what happens we need to fight for market
share now- expansion is the only option

this a major problem- it will reduce donations if we
don’t take effective action

this a major problem- but it will ‘blow over’ and
donations will start to grow in 2/3 years anyway

No matter what happens we need to take action now
to reduce costs- pragmatism is the only option

this a major problem- it will massively reduce
donations and we need National Conference for Fundraising in Ireland
to accept that 18
26 March 2009

Level of Impact

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Arts heritage and
culture
International
development
Animal welfare and
rights
Science and scientific
research

The environment

Human rights

Elders/older people
causes
Disability and disability
rights

Education

Health

Faith based causes

Medical research

International emergency
relief

Children's causes

All of the above
26 March 2009
1 (relatively low) 2 3 4 5 (extremely severe)

Level of Impact
Average Weighted Responses by Region

0 10 20 30 40 50

Arts heritage and culture

International development

Science and scientific research

Human rights

All of the above

Animal welfare and rights

Elders/older people causes

Disability and disability rights

Education

Medical research

Health

The environment

International emergency relief

Faith based causes

Children's causes
26 March 2009
N America Africa, Asia and Latin America Europe, ANZ and M East

26 March 2009

Donor outlook less gloomy amongst
core supporters
The propensity of hardcore non-donors
to say they have given, or will give,
“less” to charities during a downturn –
when they don’t give anything anyway
– may be painting an overly-gloomy
picture of voluntary revenues in the
third sector,

26 March 2009

Donor outlook less gloomy amongst
core supporters
• Those more likely to say they either have given
less, or will give less, to charity during an
economic downturn are less likely to have given
anything anyway!
• Charities should focus on their actual core donor
pool, which remains resilient - especially
amongst regular DD/SO donors - survey finds
• “Charities should identify and woo their core
donors, ignoring non-donors claiming to give
less than the nothing they actually give,”

26 March 2009

26 March 2009

“charities should identify and
woo their core donors”
• Reliable, hard financial data measuring the actual impact of
the economic downturn on donations won’t be available for
a while.
• This research suggests the picture may not be quite so bad
as the top-line figures might suggest
• Those people more likely to claim a past or future cut in their
donations to charities are also more likely to not, in truth, be
donating any money anyway;
• Hardcore of actual donors are significantly less negative
about giving, especially if they are regular DD/SO givers.
• Thus, charities should identify and woo their core
donors - and ‘tough out’ any fair weather donors who may
flake away, or any chorus of non-donors claiming to give
less than the nothing they actually give!” nfp synergy
26 March 2009

Sounds familiar?

What is going on in Ireland?
Is there reliable data available?

26 March 2009

Recession and Impacts on
Fundraising
What do we think will happen?

26 March 2009

Fundraising Techniques

26 March 2009

Fundraising
• A major recession will educate donors to act
When money is hard to find the donor offer has
to be compelling they will shop around to choose
the ones “meeting my life choices/values”.

• Corporate fundraising: possibly the first area to
show signs of moving to a static position and
then decline. Already we have seen deals falling
through that have taken many months of
planning and negotiations.
Tony Elisher © THINK Consulting Solutions 2008
26 March 2009

Fundraising
• Foundations: no immediate effect in this area as grants
are distributed based on the financial performance of
their portfolios twelve to twenty four months ago, but the
impact may be significant in the future depending on
where and how the foundation’s assets are invested and
managed.

• Individuals: this is going to be a slow burn as the impact
of the recession hits the different aspects of people’s
lives. Already visible in markets such as the USA, UK,
Netherlands, Ireland is the effect on the key area of
recruitment of new donors.USA will be hit hardest as has
least EFT monthly giving

26 March 2009

Fundraising
• Events: in the hardest hit markets we have
already seen the early signs ofhow high net
worth individuals (HNWIs) are going to respond
to ‘glitzy’ charity events, they are simply not
willing to pay the premium price required for
such occasions.
• Major Giving: this has certainly been the
growth area of the last few years so there is
considerable resource and expectation riding
on this technique andsource. Early signs are of
a considerable slow down in HNWI’s willing to
make commitments, pledges or close gifts

26 March 2009

Fundraising
• Direct Marketing: the challenge I believe is to
focus more on the different channels used in a
programme, how diverse are they? Have you got
enough? Can you be flexible and move around in
real time?
• Legacies: UK charities are already seeing
reductions of up to 30% of the value of estates, so
re-forecasting may be necessary.
• Community: the loyalty and the connection in
this area should form a strong basis of support to
help a charity through the next eighteen months,
but again realistic expectations around financial
support will be required.
Tony Elisher © THINK Consulting Solutions
26 March 2009

Cancellations of charity direct-debit
donations soar
Cancellations of direct-debit payments to charities has
rocketed, according to a report by payment processor firm
Rapidata.

• The Charity Direct Debit Tracking Report 2009 shows that
the number of people cancelling their direct debits each
month has substantially increased as the recession has
deepened.

• The financial year 2008-2009 also saw monthly
cancellation rates exceed 5% on four separate occasions;
July, September, October and January.

26 March 2009

Cancellations of charity direct-debit
donations soar
• September 2008, 50% more people cancelled
their direct debits than in the average pre-
recession September,

• December 2008, 67% more cancellations of direct
debits than for the average pre-recession
December

26 March 2009

Cancellations of charity direct-
debit donations soar
Scott Gray, Managing Director of
Rapidata:
“In these troubled times charities need to
shift away from an emphasis on acquiring
new donors to looking after current
donors.”

26 March 2009

Special Challenges in Ireland
• Philanthropy in Ireland is a relatively young enterprise.
• Atlantic Philanthropies highlights that there is still
significant potential to grow philanthropy in Ireland only
12% of the population currently gives in a planned way
• Ireland has accumulated significant wealth since the
heady days of the Celtic Tiger and all this wealth has not
disappeared.
• Seems to be significant potential for growth in gifts from
individuals, particularly in major gifts.

Source: Fundraising in a Cold Climate -An Analysis by 2into3 Dennis O’Connor Deirdre Hatch

26 March 2009

Fundraising in a Cold Climate
An Analysis by 2into3
6th October 2008

Prepared by:
Dennis O’Connor Deirdre Hatch

26 March 2009

What is Likely to Happen Now in
Ireland?
Given the number of different factors at play, and
the lack of data in an Irish context, it is:

• Very difficult to predict the impact that economic
conditions are likely to have on fundraising in
Ireland.
• Based on historic evidence, undoubtedly for some
the impact will be felt strongly in a negative way,
but for others, the impact is less certain and may
even be positive.

26 March 2009

Facing the fundraising
challenges of the global
economic crisis
“In good times and bad, we know that people
give because you meet needs, not because
you have needs.”
Kay Sprinkel Grace

26 March 2009

Recession – Watching is not an Option
• Hold strong: now is not a time to panic or be
swept away by the depressing media hype.
Accept that recession is a reality, understand
its impact in your country and take action to
protect your programmes and charity income.
• Consult: surviving recession is a team game
so recognise you are part of several teams, all
of which can help you: your department, your
charity, your profession and the sector.
Tony Elischer © THINK Consulting Solutions 2008

26 March 2009

• Learn: look around you like never before and
make your own assessments of what is
happening. Learn from the commercial sector and
from other charities
• Communicate: increase the communication with
donors, its relevance, frequency, methods and
effectiveness to share the charity’s thinking and to
take them along with you

26 March 2009

• Reforecast/remodel: in this climate you really can’t afford
to set an annual budget and simply get on with things, at the
very least quarterly reviews will be more important than ever
before with the ability to re-cut figures and plans
• Empathise: balance thinking about the needs of your
organisation with thinking about the needs and life style of
your donors
• Keep asking: against all these points we have to remember
the central role of a fundraiser is to ask for support

26 March 2009

• Be realistic: even if you have invested twelve
months planning a new programme do not
plough on as if nothing is happening, revisit and
re-cut your thinking.
• Embrace: the new climate and world because
the world we knew yesterday will never return,
the smart fundraiser lives and moves with today
not yesterday.

26 March 2009

Solutions seem to come in
numbers…
“Wherever there is a human being,
there is an opportunity for kindness.”
Seneca

26 March 2009

Fundraising recession watch

quot;Good fundraisers raise more money
in a recession. Bad fundraisers use it
as an excuse.“

http://www.recessionwatch.blogspot.com

26 March 2009

What Can your Organisation Do?
1. Examine your income streams. Not all income
streams will be affected in the same way.
2. Diversify your income streams. Over dependency on
one type of income stream, one person or one
company is far from ideal..
3. Focus on donor retention, through focusing more
than ever on donor cultivation and donor stewardship.
4. Keep communicating with your donors. Focus on the
importance of the cause rather than the organisation In
addition, focus on long term plans and transparency
in how money will be spent –
5. Do not stop efforts to try to find new donors. Given the
gloomy outlook and the increased difficulty in finding
new donors. Source: Fundraising in a Cold Climate -An Analysis by 2into3 Dennis O’Connor Deirdre Hatch

26 March 2009

What Can your Organisation Do?
7. Keep in touch with people who have stopped
making donations keeping the relationship alive is
likely to increase the chance that donors will resume
giving when they can.
8. Research, research, research. Be aware of the
environment and adjust your approach accordingly.
9. Consider your use of planned giving, including
regular giving and legacies.
10. Avoid fundraising cuts if possible. This can have
a negative impact and It can also cause problems
with donor retention, if donor stewardship services
are neglected.

26 March 2009

Five tips for nonprofits in an
economic downturn
1. Run a nonprofit like a for-profit
business.
2. Treat your donors like gold.
3. Be innovative.
4. Diversity the overall
fundraising program.
5. Pay attention to detail.
Cathy Lanyard, Executive Director of the American
Friends of ALYN Hospital

26 March 2009

Six Ways to Survive the Economic
Storm
1. Don't curl into a fetal position. In
other words, do not stop doing things
that are important or even risky to raise
money. The same old same old isn't
going to cut it this year. This is not the
time to be steered by fear.
2. Set realistic goals. The numbers are
likely to be down. So manage to that.
3. Don't abuse your existing donors.
You should spend more time thanking
them and making them feel great. Then
they'll tell their friends about you.

26 March 2009

Six Ways to Survive the Economic
Storm
4. Get online today. If you're not already online,
GET ONLINE and ask for lots of SMALL
DONATIONS, including recurring monthly
gifts
5. Don't undersell yourself. In an era when so
many investments look like they're offering
low returns, you are priceless. For a few
dollars, they get a helper's high. They feel
good because they did good
6. Admit to donors that it's hard. While
explaining that you're a great investment,
admit that your numbers are down.Ask now,
because things are going to get worse before
they get better.

26 March 2009

10 ways to... survive an economic
downturn
1. Focus on retaining customers.
2. Provide outstanding customer service.
3. Increase your marketing.
4. Concentrate on products and services that sell.
5. Credit check new customers.
6. Mind your cashflow.
7. Avoid borrowing.
8. Cut your costs
9. Streamline your operation
10. Sell online
Source: Institute of Directors (UK) January 2009

26 March 2009

10 Strategies for Recession Fundraising
1. Don’t treat giving as a financial transaction. Tell donors how
their giving is making the world a better place and don’t just
focus on the perks they will receive.
2. Keep close ties to donors. Don’t make your only contact with
donors be solicitations. Focus on thanking and showing impact.
Find ways to let donors see the impact for themselves.
3. Offer matching grants. Ask a loyal donor or funder to provide
the match.
4. Ask donors to give monthly. …and by direct debit!!!
5. Look for ways to save money on fundraising. Trim special
event expenses or eliminate programs that aren’t serving you
well. Look for ways to move your communications online.
6. Seek alternatives to soliciting private donations. Can you
rent some of your space to another organization? Start a social
enterprise? Develop a cause-marketing partnership with a
corporation?
26 March 2009

10 Strategies for Recession Fundraising
7. Collaborate to raise money. You can have
greater impact and generate more attention by
working with other NGOs
8. Scale back ambitious campaigns, but don’t
give up on them. You may have to scale back on
the goal or increase the length of your “quiet
phase” where the lead gifts are solicited.
9. Avoid emergency solicitations. Asking donors to
bail you out or save you from impending demise is
not an appealing message
10. Shore up relations with grant makers. Keep
paying attention to them. Be on their list when
giving resumes, by being in touch and continuing
to show them you are making a difference.

26 March 2009

“When we recognize that a better word for fundraising
is quot;friend raising,quot; we open limitless doors to creativity
in support of our causes.”
Sue Vineyard

26 March 2009

Make better use of the
telephone in donor relationship
management
“Appreciation can make a day--even change a life,
Your willingness to put it into words is all that is
necessary.”
Margaret Cousins

26 March 2009

Why use the telephone ?

• Powerful element in the overall donor communication
and relationship building process
• It is interactive
– dialogue rather than one way
– data gathering
• Find out why your donors are still supporting you or
leaving…and use this data to make improvements and
changes

National Conference for Fundraising in Ireland
26 March 2009

Short Term Effects

• Effectively raises funds
• Gives a ‘voice’ to organisation
• Gives a ‘voice’ to supporters/donors
• Gives feedback - positive & negative

26 March 2009

Long Term Effects
• Works with face to face, new media and
telephone recruited donors especially well
• No difference between landline and
mobiles
• More effective communication
• More sympathetic, strategic & effective
fundraising
• Closer partnership between donors and the
charity
• Telephone communication becomes part of
the culture of charity
Helps develop loyal donors
26 March 2009

Thank you – Member get Member
• Call just to thank donor and
make sure they are happy with
you
• Ask them to recommend the
charity to friends, family,
colleagues
• Normally 40% give names and
telephone numbers of 3-4 people
and 40% of those called convert
to monthly donors!

26 March 2009

Dedicate a fundraising telephone
line for ALL enquiries
• In Spain we are the inbound call
centre for all major charity and UN
agency enquiries.
• Staff trained to convert general
enquiries into monthly donors
• Excellent and finding out donor
motivations and de-motivations for
giving
• Very cost effective/high ROI
26 March 2009

Recovering lapsed monthly
donors…act now!
• Acknowledge the cancellation quickly, in writing,
and thank the donor for their support in the past
• Offer alternatives to cancellation, such as giving
at a lower level or taking a payment holiday
• Make sure donors can reactivate easily and
securely through your website
• Attempt reactivation sooner rather than later…
and do it by telephone.
• Find out why they cancelled…it is not always on
purpose
26 March 2009

Recovering lapsed monthly
donors…act now!
• Find out why they cancelled…it is not always on purpose
• Try reactivating within six months and don’t leave it for
12 months or more
• Regularly test sample reactivations: for instance, try
telephoning a sample of 100 donors who cancelled
within six months to test for reactivations
• Set aside a reactivation budget for each newly-acquired
donor
• Shift emphasis from acquiring new donors to looking
after and stewarding your existing donors to reduce
attrition.

The process of reactivating a cancelled donor starts from the
very moment they cancel.
26 March 2009

Turn the recession into an
opportunity
“Look at the downturn as an
opportunity to challenge your
conventional thinking.
Take a fresh look at your organisation,
how you attract and retain donors and
most importantly, stay positive.”

BOND Voluntary Income Group Meeting
5 December 2008

26 March 2009

“The only thing we have to fear
is fear itself”

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933,

26 March 2009

Let’s raise some money

26 March 2009

¡¡Gracias!!

26 March 2009

Calle Caleruega 67 Piso 2
Madrid 28033
Spain

Tel: +34 91 829 0772
Mob: +34 647 450 194
Fax: +34 91 302 0214
Email: daryl@darylupsall.com
Web: www.darylupsall.com

contact:
info@darylupsall.com
26 March 2009

Recession Fundraising
Resources
• “Ten Steps to Managing Fundraising in a Recession” A white Paper by Sean Triner, Pareto
Fundraising October 2008
• “Fundraising in a Cold Climate”, An Analysis by 2into3, Dennis O' Connor & Deirdre Hatch, 2into3
, 6th October 2008
• “Recession: Watching is not an option”, A Thought Piece by Tony Elischer, Think Consulting
Solutions, October 2008
• “Voices from the South. The impact o the Financial Crisis on Developing Countries” Institute of
Development Studies, November 2008
• Managing in a Downturn: November 2008 survey results, analysis and key messages, PWC,
Charity Finance Directors’ Group, Institute of Fundraising
• John Studzinski quoted in “Long term donors are key to surviving economic crisis, charities
warned” Hannah Jordan, Third Sector Online, 9th October 2008
• “Viewpoint: What does the credit crunch mean for fundraising?” Simon James, Third Sector
Online, 14th May 2008, http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/Article/808648/viewpoint-does-credit-
crunch-mean-fundraising/
• “Five Tactics to Rev Up Fundraising in a Down Economy” by Randy McCabe, 16th September
2008, www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com
• “Five tips for nonprofits in an economic downturn” by Cathy Lanyard, 30th September 2008,
www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com
• Don’t let a Dark Economy Leave Fundraising in the Shadows, by Eileen Heisman, 11th November
2008, www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com
• Fundraising Recession Watch Blog, http://recessionwatch.blogspot.com/ Ongoing 2008
• http://network.3s4.org.uk/forums/159/topics/97 The impact of an economic slowdown on VCS –
seminar summary, NCVO online seminar, October 2008
26 March 2009

Donor Care In Challenging Times Daryl Upsall

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