Discovering Major Donors: Overcoming Obstacles to ID Calls
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This document discusses strategies for conducting discovery calls with major donor prospects. It emphasizes that identification calls are difficult but important for maintaining a donor pipeline and identifying new major donors. The key aspects covered are overcoming apprehension about cold calls, conducting strategic research on prospects, making initial contact through letters and phone calls, asking questions to determine interests and capacity during an in-person meeting, and following up appropriately with thank you notes and potential next steps. The overall goal is to continue building the relationship over time which may eventually lead to securing larger gifts.
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Discovering Major Donors: Overcoming Obstacles to ID Calls
- 1. John Greenhoe, CFRE Discovering Major Donors
- 2. `
- 3. A Missing Resource • The Ask Important, But • The ID Call Must Also be Emphasized • Must Be Done Face to Face
- 4. AFP Quick Poll What causes most apprehension? Twenty-six percent—Involving Board in Fundraising Twenty-five percent—Calling on a Prospective Donor Eighteen percent—Making the Ask Twelve percent—Writing a Grant Application Eight percent—Other Six percent—Writing Fundraising Copy Five percent—Using New Technology March-April 2011 Quick Poll
- 5. “Identification calls are often a most difficult – and frequently scary – process for so many fundraisers.” --Gail Perry “Cold calling can be the most challenging part to raising money.” --Laura Fredricks What the Experts Say…
- 6. To Maintain Donor Pipeline To Increase Donor Retention To Create Pool of Major Donor Prospects Why Discovery Calls?
- 7. Prospect’s Ability to Give You may already have evidence of this Interest in Your Organization Inclination to “One Day” Consider a Major Gift Purpose of the Discovery Call
- 8. My story Two years of ID calls Final month of capital campaign Secured eight major gifts ($10,000 USD or more) They Really Work!
- 9. Today’s Session • Overcoming the Obstacles • Making Contact Strategically • Conducting the Discovery Call • Continuing the Relationship
- 10. Wealth Screening – A Piece of the Puzzle Volunteers Can Help, But … Professional Staff = “Heavy Lifting” Reality Check
- 11. Checklist • Institutional Buy-In • Resources • Research
- 12. Thorough Review of Database – Potential Patience Dollar Goals Modest – At First Look at Cost to Raise a Dollar Setting Expectations
- 13. Before You Start • The Right Mindset • Project the Positive
- 14. Who Do You See First? Prospect A Annual Gifts Last Three Years, Rated at $50K USD Prospect B One Small Gift 10 Years Ago, No Other Giving, Rated at $500K Where to Start
- 15. Insider Help • Involving Your Volunteers as Door Openers • The Secret Weapon – Your Major Gift Donors
- 16. Making Contact Strategically • Walk in Their Shoes • Donor-Centric Approach • Provide Value • What Can You Offer?
- 17. Warming the Phone Call • Introductory Letter •Mailed at least a week before call • Purpose of Visit •To Inform •To Assess •To Ask Advice
- 18. The Intro Letter • Who You Are • Your Purpose • Why the Prospect Should Respond/Participate
- 19. The Intro Letter • Introduction from Person of Authority • Purpose • Share Strategic Plan • Get to Know Constituents
- 20. Other Ways to Warm • Email • Fax?? • Postcards • “Opting In”
- 21. Headline • #1 • #2 • #3 • #4
- 22. Phone Call Strategies OARS Method •One Hour Each Day •At Least Seven Calls Per Prospect •Recycling Your Prospects •See Them or Cross Them Off
- 23. • Vary the Times When You Call • Try the Office First • Early Morning, Late Afternoon Can Be Productive Phone Call Strategies
- 24. Voice Mail Strategies • Leave a Message! • Brief but Compelling
- 25. The Voice Mail • Be Prepared • Be Clear • Be Concise • Be Compelling • Be Welcoming • Be Reachable • Be Persistent
- 26. Your Message • Hi, this is John Greenhoe. I'm a development officer in the College of Education at Western Michigan University. My phone number is 269-555-6526. Mr./Mrs./Dr. __________, I've been asked to contact some of our most outstanding alumni to update them on our latest education initiatives and also to ask for their advice. I'd greatly appreciate it if you would return my call at your earliest convenience. Again, my number is 269-555- 6526.”
- 27. Why Won’t They Call Me Back? • Consider Major Life Events • Overseas Trip • Recently Promoted • Death in Family • Just had a Baby • Sick/In Hospital • Just Got Married
- 28. The Gatekeeper • Make Them an Ally • Gain Their Insights • Ask for Their Help!
- 29. Speaking With Your Prospect • Intrigue the Prospect • Promise Value • Emphasize Convenience • Secure the Meeting or • Offer a Compromise
- 30. Getting Ready for the Meeting • It’s About You! (Not Your Organization) • Prep Work • Show Respect for Prospect’s Time (Ground Rules) • Remember Their Interests • Be Ready to Drop Names • Location, Location, Location
- 31. Collateral Materials • Less is More • Save a Tree! • One Page with Highlights • Statistics, Contact Info, Bullet Bragging Points
- 32. Conducting the Visit • Your Objectives • (Do Not) Curb Your Enthusiasm • Casual but Purposeful
- 33. Ask Questions (Written If Necessary) Determine Interest and Inclination LISTEN Determine Opportunity for Follow Up Conducting the Visit
- 34. Sample Questions 1. What are your impressions of our organization? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
- 35. Sample Questions 2. How does our nonprofit/NGO compare with other institutions offering similar programs?
- 36. Sample Questions 3. (If prospect is a financial contributor) Thank you! Why do you support our organization? Are there particular services we provide/things about our mission that motivate you to give?
- 37. Sample Questions 4. What do you feel are the top priorities for which our organization should seek financial support?
- 38. Sample Questions 5. Would you consider financially supporting these priorities?
- 39. Closing The Visit "Mrs. Smith, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions so thoughtfully. I was particularly intrigued to hear about your interest in (name of program) and wondered if you would like to learn more about it. I'm planning to be back in town next month and would like to bring you some additional information. Do you think we could find a convenient time to get together?"
- 40. Following Up • Do Your Call/Trip Report Immediately • First To Do Task – Thank You Note
- 41. The Next Visit • What Does the Prospect Want to Know? • Who Can Best Tell The Story? (i.e., direct recipient) • The Steady Pace • Remember the Prospect Team
- 42. John Greenhoe, CFRE Kalamazoo, Michigan USA @jjgcfre greenhoej@gmail.com
- 43. Obrigado!
Editor's Notes
- Why did I write this book? Well, there are tons of great books on asking. Laura Fredricks, Jerry Panas, Marc Pittman, among others. If you want a resource on asking someone for money it isn’t hard to find.
- Tons of great books are the ask. I compliment these but to me a possibly even great challenge is simply getting in to see the donor for the first time.
- Leading fundraising experts acknowledge that the discovery call is not easy for many, but it is essential.
- When you do ID calls on a regular basis, you are setting the stage for major gifts. In the case of many major gift officer portfolios, as many as half of the prospects are actually suspects who have never been qualified. According to the AFP Fundraising Effectiveness Project, only 27 percent of new donors in 2012 renewed their gift. The biggest reason for this is lack on interest shown by the nonprofit. In the case of major gift prospects, any donor making a first time gift of say, $500 or $1,000, ought to be visited with in person, You want to say thank you and make sure the gift is not a “one and done”, So when you qualify your prospects, you create a relatively small group of people who can be taken to the next level. Once you have this group identified, you can really focus your efforts.
- Prepared – Know what you are going to say – talking points – but don’t read it Be clear – remember the 80/8 rule Be concise – try to keep your message to around 30 seconds, including phone number Be compellng – Why would prospect want to call you back? Welcoming – smile, stand up Be persistent
- Try to aim for around a 30 second message
- One way to be purposeful is to ask a set of questions that are standard for your visits. There is a list of questions I used in the book. If you will recall the letter provided in Chapter Four (my dean in the College of Education introducing me), it is easy to format a visit that logically follows this lead. You might remember that the dean’s letter mentions my desire to “determine perceptions and solicit input.” I believe it is important to approach this task in a very systematic way. In fact, when I was first getting started, I actually took a list of questions into my meetings and wrote down the responses. When using this method, I took time to assure my prospects that their answers were absolutely confidential and would be shared internally only (i.e., with my dean) to determine how we could improve our programs and services. Of the more than one hundred discovery calls I conducted using the written list of questions, I can recall only three occasions when the interviewee appeared to be uneasy with my recording the answers. In those cases, I “winged” it, putting the questions away and conducting the interview informally. Eventually, as I became more polished, I didn’t need the written list and conducted all of my discovery calls this way. At the conclusion of a question-and-answer session, after thanking the prospect for participating, it is a good time to pause and discuss potential next steps. The discussion might sound something like this: (next page)
- This allows the prospect to provide advice and insight. Acknowledge and thank the prospect for both positive and negative feedback.
- For this question, think in terms of your standing amongst nonprofits that deliver similar or identical services.
- This helps define donor's priorities for possible future gift opportunities.
- Some prospects will not have a ready answer for this because they haven't given the matter a great deal of thought. Others, however, will have specific ideas, and some will even share their thoughts about philanthropy in general. The latter tend to be individuals who are comfortable with giving and, other factors being equal, are often the best prospects.
- This question equates to "asking without really asking." Often, prospects will respond that they might. In the event a prospect hesitates in responding, I indicate that for the purposes of this meeting, I am merely trying to learn about the potential interests of our constituents. In no way should the question be considered a formal request or proposal, as that would be inappropriate for a first meeting.