Melissa Berliner and Katelyn Martin, Campbell & Company, Chicago. https://www.campbellcompany.com/

(I will add the slide show from this company here soon.  Here are my notes for the latter part of the presentation, when I started to learn some things I hadn’t already known…)

We have 3 jobs in relation to donors:

1. Engage and inspire

2. Create a rationale

3. Remove obstacles

Basic question to ask before starting to build your case:  Are we local, regional, or national? Or all three?

Make a focus group including your staff, volunteers, AND DONORS to determine why they value your organization.  “Donor-level answers” are very important.  Then target your donor solicitations to the values each of those groups express.

What are we asking the donor to do?

• give back
• leave a legacy
• be a leader
• be part of the solution
• join us
• live your values

Start with detailed questions.  Don’t ask “Why do you love what we do?,” because then you get the boring answer, “Because we love what you do.”  You are looking to ask that questions that explore details of their values.  Ask people “Tell me a little more about that…” and keep asking that question to drill down into the layers of meaning.

Having concrete goals that you are asking people to fund is best.  Present a wide variety of specific goals that you ask people to choose from when making a donation.  These donations can help the organization respond to the individuals who fund them, which in turn can help shape the organization.

• commissions
• specific works
• specific venues
• specific themes in programming
• social justice issues

(Aside from me:  these are questions that we can ask the singers and donors to respond to in focus groups.  RE: singers – .can we make time for a focus group discussion for singers? When would these take place?  RE: core constituents:  what groups are our constituents?

People like being part of a focus group – they feel that it is an honor.  They also enjoy the process of thinking out loud about their values. A survey is NOT going to get the answers you want – it needs to be a live group, consisting of constituents meeting together.

Have focus groups of 6-9 people.  There could be 5 groups like this.  It is an investment.  After the constituents identify their values around the organization, keep track of who says what.  Later, plan to meet with the constituents to tell them how you have followed through on their goals.

Removing obstacles:  Think ahead.

Different donors will ask you different questions:

Donor:  Basic information.  Who do you serve?  How many widgets does my gift “buy?”

Major Donor:  Why do you need extraordinary help?  How do you help people? What is your “Theory of Change?”

Go test your case:  through individual conversations, focus groups, electronic survey

Tips for electronic surveys:  15 questions or less, most should be Y/N, rank and rate the list below, limit to 1-3 open ended questions.  Make sure you are having them answer the basic question, “What do you care about most?”  It’s best to have an
anonymous option for those answering questions.  Also collect basic info so you know what constituent groups they are part of.

You don’t have to write a traditional case statement.  Use the vehicle that suits you.

• One pages:  3-6 key messages, FAQs, “Cheat sheet,” “Elevator speech.”
• Case Brief:  2-8 pages, copy/stories/statistics, ready for design, “Leave-behind.”
• Presentation: 10-20 slides, simple messages, clarifying graphics, conversational

Major donors are probably going to come from your regular annual donor pool, and it’s completely OK to solicit donors who have already given to other organizations like yours.  Also, don’t be deterred by the idea that your annual donors are “already paying for kids to go to college.”  The fact that they are able to do that probably means that they do have significant money!