Webinar: Funding Trends in Arts and Culture

It looks like October is Funding for the Arts month at the Foundation Center, and I happen to know that a lot of you are involved in the arts.  Why not attend the Funding Trends in Arts and Culture webinar and see what you can learn?  Experts in the arts and culture field will discuss funding trends, you can attend from your own office, and it is free.

The Foundation Center webinars use Microsoft Office Live Meeting software.  There is a link on the registration page to download it, along with some basic instructions.  The software is very easy to install and use (don’t be scared away!), but if you have any questions or problems, feel free to call (432 5062) or email me for help { katebfpl at gmail dot com }.

Webinar Notes: Fundraising A to Z in Difficult Times

Last week I spent two whole days participating in a  Cooperating Collection webinar, hosted by the Foundation Center.  I took part in sessions that will help me create a better, more effective Cooperating Collection, and also sessions full of tips for nonprofits in tough economic times.  I hope to share some of my notes with you over the next few weeks.

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Fundraising A to Z in Difficult Times was conducted by Michael Seltzer, author of  Securing Your Organization’s Future: A Complete Guide to Fundraising Strategies.

***  The new destination for nonprofit fundraising is sustainable funding, and securing fundraisers rather than donors.  ***

Accentuate the Positive. The recession is the time for NPOs to invest in communications and marketing.  Try to craft a positive message about your cause so it can rise above all the gloom and doom about Wall Street.

Collaborate.  “Much can be gained such as cost savings and enhanced impact through working more closely with others.”  Share physical office space, share events, share online spaces.

Experiment.  Create a small scale, experimental initiative or campaign.  Less start up investment, less effort, but still can land you in the public’s eye.

Fundraise Selectively.  No shotgun fundraising!  Engage your supporters in your organization.  Don’t call them donors – call them members or stakeholders.

Get Rid of Dead Wood.  “The times require all hands on deck.  Make it attractive for board members that are not pulling their weight to rotate off the board.”  Create “post board service” opportunities to help gracefully transition less effective baord members off the board.  If you want better people on your board, change your message when recruiting board members.  Sitting on a board is a civic opportunity and a position of honor!  Make sure your organization treats (and promotes) it as such.

Join Forces. Explore group purchasing plans to create cost savings.  There is more to gain than lose in the sharing of information and resources with other NPOs.   Cooperating Collections can be meeting grounds for the NPOs in the community.

Look to the Future.  “Organizations will prevail if they are prepared to innovate and reinvent themselves.”  Example:  selling Girl Scout cookies online.  Genius!

Links to Visit

Two links worth sharing …

1. From Katya’s Nonprofit Marketing Blog :   “For decades, fundraising pros have relied on a ‘little blue book’ to inspire and inform their boards: The Raising of Money, 35 Essentials Every Trustee Should Know, by Jim Lord.”  Go to Katya’s blog and click the link to download the “little blue book” for free.
2. If you have not yet subscribed to The Grantsmanship Center’s e-mail newsletter, Centered, you should do it now.  Each month’s newsletter contains a few short, information packed articles.  Go to their home page and look for the “Join Our Mailing List” link on the left hand side.

Nonprofits: News on the Economy

The Foundation Center has a new page on their website called “Focus on the Economic Crisis.”  Here is what the New York Foundation Center director, Charlotte Dion, has to say about it:

“We know that many of you are very concerned about the impact of the current recession on giving. To help you track what’s going on, and to give you some historical perspective, the Foundation Center has created a new web feature that brings together headlines from Philanthropy News Digest, Foundation Center research, interviews with leaders in the field, podcasts, and other resources on the topic.”

-  from the Philanthropy Front and Center – Cleveland blog

Useful, or just depressing? Let me know what you think in the comments.

Cultivate High-End Donors

I just found a great article on FundRaising Success titled “45 Easy Ways to Cultivate High-Value Donors.”  The suggestions are indeed very easy, practical, and easy to apply.  Some of my favorites:

7. Have someone who benefits from the organization’s work write letters describing how the organization has helped.

16. Send donors articles that might interest them — even if they have nothing to do with your organization. Sometimes it’s better if they have nothing to do with your organization — that tells donors that you’re interested in them as people and not as checkbooks.

27. Take out a thank-you ad in the local newspaper.

What are some of the ways you thank your donors?