building a successful annual fund campaign

Building a Successful Annual Fund Campaign

•80% of all giving comes from individuals

•Annual Campaigns are far more cost-effective than events

•Building relationships sustains your organization

Why An Annual Campaign ?

Contact

Report

Ask

Thank You

Gift

It’s the Relationship….

•Create a calendar

•Set goals every step of the way

•Use the “Annual Fund Planning Template”

Fund Development section of http://agencies.bbbsa.org

Planning is Essential

•Create a calendar

•Set goals every step of the way

•Use the “Annual Fund Planning Template”

Fund Development section of http://agencies.bbbsa.org

Planning is Essential

•Regular donors are the best donors

•Plan on getting 80% of last year’s donors to renew

•Set a goal of 10 % increase in $$’s from renewals

•Analyze last year’s donors for upgrades and Leadership Giving

Renewals – Your Most Important Constituency

•Last Year But Not This/Some Years But Not This

•Your appeal should emphasize; “We really missed your support last year…”

•Plan on getting approximately 35% of your LYBUNTs back on board

•Plan on getting 10% of your SYBUNTs back on board

LYBUNTs & SYBUNTs

Consider all your options:

•BFKS Bowlers and Sponsors

•Event Attendees

•Individuals from Partnerships (schools, service clubs, Alphas)

•Bigs and Parents

•Set a New Donor goal of 10% more donors than the total # of donors last year

New Donors

Every piece of mail you send should be purposeful:

•What does the donor want to know?

What do you want the donor to know?

What do you want the donor to feel?

What do you want the donor to do?

Solicit with Care

The BFKS sponsor wants to know:

What happened with my gift?

What’s happening with kids in our community?

How does BBBS address their needs?

A BFKS Example

You want the sponsor to know:

Our agency is the premier mentoring organization

We serve ---#’s of kids

BUT, there are ---#’s of kids waiting

Our program gets results – statistics

You want the sponsor to feel:

Confident in BBBS’ ability to make an impact with the gift

Tension about the need

You want the sponsor to:

Write a check

The Content:

• Create the Tension between the incredible need and the profound results that are possible

• Thank prior-year donors and ask for an increase

• Personalize the letter – imagine it was a gift to YOU

• Brief success stories – real examples of a Little Brother and a Little Sister

• DON’T ASK FOR ANYTHING BUT A GIFT

A Successful Solicitation Letter

The Format:

•Keep it to ONE page

•Use a real signature

•Use bullet points

•Include a reply envelope

•Include a response card with specific donor levels

A Successful Solicitation Letter

•Donors don’t save for non-profit solicitation campaigns

•If you don’t ask, they will give to someone else

•Use your newsletter to enhance your solicitation calendar – strategically

Ask OFTEN

Annual Campaign “Sweeps”

•Back to school solicitation

•End-of-the-year appeal - November

•“We’ve almost made our GOAL!! Help put us over the TOP!! – January

•Remember to thank any donor for the most recent gift

Ask OFTEN

Include Donor Clubs on the Response Card:

•Create an “ask ladder” to migrate donors upward annually

•Set a minimum club threshold of $25.00

•Personalize the donor club for your community

•Print the donor’s name and address and last year’s gift level on the card

Strategies that Work

Include a Two-Part Receipt with your Thank You:

•Create a receipt with the donor’s name and address and gift amount for tax records as the top half

•Make the bottom half a “return” card also pre-printed but with the $ amount left blank

•“Please use this portion for your next gift”

Strategies that Work

Short-term Pledge/Splash Campaign: “Back-to-School Campaign”

We have 35 kids waiting for a SBM

Ask for a small $ amount per month for 3 months

Tell them the difference it will make: 200 x $25/mo x 3 months = $15,000 = 35 new SB matches

Offer credit card monthly withholding

Strategies that Work