Effective Planning for Annual Giving Programs

Transcription

1 RuffaloCODY Conference July 23 24, 2013 Denver, Colorado Effective Planning for Annual Giving Programs Presented by: Jennifer A. McDonough Bentz Whaley Flessner Bentz Whaley Flessner 0 AGENDA Bentz Whaley Flessner 1 Session Topics Definitions and Context Management Objectives Projecting Results and Planning The Number of 501 (c)(3) Organizations ,186,915 1,238,201 1,280,739 1,128, ,080,130 1,081, ,418 1,010,365 1,045,979 1,064,191,, Source: Giving USA Foundation/Giving USA 2013 Bentz Whaley Flessner 2 1

2 Annual Giving: Definitions and Context Bentz Whaley Flessner 3 Options for Annual Giving Programs Annually renewable. Expendable. Unrestricted, designated, or restricted. Gifts at or under a certain level. l Specific solicitation vehicles or channels. Constituencies included. Participation calculations and rankings. Other considerations including large campaigns. Bentz Whaley Flessner 4 Outcomes of Strong Annual Giving Programs Develops an expanding base of regular, ongoing support including new and sustained contributors. Promotes lifelong patterns of giving and builds relationships. Can be primary source of unrestricted or undesignated funds; cash is king. Develops and augments constituent awareness. Can be conceived of as a communications strategy and integrated with the larger institutional effort. Provides a strategic bridge between and during major campaigns. Bentz Whaley Flessner 5 2

3 Outcomes of Strong Annual Giving Programs Supports identification and cultivation efforts for major and planned gifts. Offers meaningful opportunities for volunteer involvement. In sum, an effective annual giving g program: Builds on repeatable, not one-time, gifts; deployed annually over multi-year period. Uses systematic methods of solicitation, applied with rigor and consistency. Yields predictable results. Provides the entry point for most new donors. Cultivates increased giving from existing donors. Bentz Whaley Flessner 6 Annual Giving: Management Objectives Bentz Whaley Flessner 7 Prospects Accurate name, address, phone, and address. Biographical data on prospects. Integration of special strategies by segment including major/planned gifts, reunions, generational, etc. Ability to store and retrieve information. Use of predictive modeling for first gifts, increased gifts, and sustained gifts. Affinity data. Bentz Whaley Flessner 8 3

4 Case for Support Understanding of constituency motivation; use of market research. Message segmentation throughout the communications and solicitation process. Development of consistent themes. Effective execution of the story. Focus on support-worthiness: Outcomes as well as needs. Defend aspirational claims in what does the institution excel? Employ core mission and vision. Bentz Whaley Flessner 9 Case for Support Branding considerations: Validity of argument of giving back. Features and benefits. Third-party endorsements why do others support you? Beneficiaries as outcomes what do faculty and students value the most? Balance of quantitative and qualitative. Consistency and persistency. Use of all available vehicles. Links to plans and campaigns. Bentz Whaley Flessner 10 Planning Have multi-year goals; use of projections model. Have written and specific plan with objectives, strategies, measures, and targets. Involve the appropriate p staff and/or volunteer leaders in plan development. Anticipate the role of those who stand to benefit from program success or who stand to be impacted by the lack of program success. Follow plan and make adjustments; but not too many Bentz Whaley Flessner 11 4

5 Staffing and Resources Allocation of sufficient staff time. Staff is well-trained; annual giving is complex. Role of leadership is well-defined and understood. Available internal partners are engaged. Role of outliers in the achievement of results is understood and appropriately accommodated. External resources and vendors are strategically integrated with overall plans. Bentz Whaley Flessner 12 Budgeting Budgets follow programs and results. Overall ROI is tracked and evaluated. Budget controls and monitoring are in place. Cost centers are established and are aligned with both solicitation channels and donor type. Multi-year projections align with multi-year requests for resources; case for investment is made on that basis. Bentz Whaley Flessner 13 Organizing Annual giving program supports broader development and engagement objectives. Annual giving calendar is highly detailed and is followed. Annual giving structures support staff, partner, and volunteer engagement. Annual giving program ensures efficient internal operations. Bentz Whaley Flessner 14 5

6 Implementing: Dashboard Participation rate. Acquisition rate. Reactivation rate. Renewal/retention ti rate: first-time ti donors. Renewal/retention rate: established donors. Fulfillment rate: phonathon, e-, and personal asks. Credit card payments. Increase and decrease rates. Bentz Whaley Flessner 15 Implementing: Dashboard Gift levels below $100, between $100 and $999, and $1,000 and higher. Number and percentage of correct addresses, phone numbers, and addresses on file as calculated against the number of alumni of record and the number of alumni solicitable. ROI as correlated with both donor types and solicitation channels as well as overall. Prospects qualified or disqualified for major or planned gifts. Bentz Whaley Flessner 16 Implementing: Segments Alumni Alumni of the Last Ten Years: Recent or Young? Multiple-Degreed Alumni Undergraduate Only and Graduate/Professional Only Parents (Current and Former?) and Parent/Alumni Faculty/Staff and Faculty/Staff/Alumni Bentz Whaley Flessner 17 6

7 Implementing: Segments Students Faculty and Staff Friends: Who are They??? Corporations Matching Gifts Foundations Others? Bentz Whaley Flessner 18 Implementing: Donor Types Renewals or LYBUNTS: Established Renewals or LYBUNTS: First-Time Lapsed or SYBUNTS Long-LapsedL Non-Donors or Never-Givers Episodic: Reunions, Challenges, and Special Opportunities Bentz Whaley Flessner 19 Implementing: Recognition First-time donors Loyalty Persistency Increased gifts and achievement of levels Cohorts Bentz Whaley Flessner 20 7

8 Reporting Reports highly detailed and pivot results by donor type, solicitation channel, and solicitation segment. Weekly, monthly, quarterly, and calendar and fiscal year-end reports prepared and analyzed. Accurate data. Goals and comparisons to last year. Reports distributed to key players including analysis. Reporting inventory in place to support planning, implementation, analysis, evaluation, projections, and goal-setting. Bentz Whaley Flessner 21 Reporting Transactional Such as daily or weekly tracking reports. Progress and Tracking These reports should delineate any differentials between cash and pledge activity, it dollars and donors for the current month, year-to-date, and comparisons with last year s results and this year s goals. Bentz Whaley Flessner 22 Reporting Management/Communications Examples would include whichever reports are used to consistently define and communicate productivity against dashboard level goals. It is suggested that a core report be developed and designated as such. It would constitute the monthly update on progress and would be accompanied by a summary memorandum detailing the interpretation of results against historical trend lines and current fiscal year goals. Bentz Whaley Flessner 23 8

9 Reporting Constituency Detail These reports would detail results by alumni segment such as seniors, reunion alumni, young alumni, parent alumni, faculty and staff alumni, and alumni overall as well as by donor type. Additionally, reports should be developed which document results following signature activities such as the year/s immediately prior to and following a given reunion. Bentz Whaley Flessner 24 Reporting Solicitation Channel Given the importance of delineating how the annual funds are raised, reports would include those associated with direct mail, phonathon, and e-solicitations/online giving. g These reports would also be correlated with the return on investment for each vehicle as compared to the dollars raised and donors secured. Results by solicitation channel should be correlated with acquisition, retention, upgrades, and fulfillment historical reference points, results, and objectives. Bentz Whaley Flessner 25 Reporting Historical Core and dashboard reports should be expanded to include key results over the past three to five years to provide a multi-year context for current year goals and productivity. Bentz Whaley Flessner 26 9

10 Reporting Projections Correlated with goal articulation through data and trend line documentation and analysis. The current set of projections should be considered a point of departure and further shaped by analysis and a set of assumptions correlated with growth in the base of solicitable alumni and with both improved and sustained strategies. Bentz Whaley Flessner 27 Reporting Dashboard Reports will need to be developed to track progress associated with the dashboard for annual giving. It is recognized that elements from many of the reports outlined would need to be extracted and co-mingled into the dashboard query and report. Additionally, particular goals and results such as those associated with participation should be added to other key planning and reporting documents. Bentz Whaley Flessner 28 Evaluating Evaluation is ongoing throughout the year. Results are compared against plans, goals, and projections. Results are tracked against last year at this time and last year total. Feedback is sought and integrated. Results are communicated across internal and external ranks and in context of plan. Bentz Whaley Flessner 29 10

11 Annual Giving: Projecting Results Bentz Whaley Flessner 30 Trendline Projection Methodology FY2012 FY2013 Annual Fund Solicitation Category # of Donors Total $ Average # of Raised Gift Donors Total $ Average Raised Gift 1. New Donor Acquisition Program via Mail $ $ $ $ 2. New Donor Acquisition Program via Phone $ $ $ $ 3. New Donor Acquisition Program via $ $ $ $ 4. Reinstatement of Lapsed Donors via Mail $ $ $ $ 5. Reinstatement of Lapsed Donors via Phone $ $ $ $ 6. Reinstatement of Lapsed Donors via $ $ $ $ 7. Renewal of Last Year s Donors via Mail $ $ $ $ 8. Renewal of Last Year s Donors via Phone $ $ $ $ 9. Renewal of Last Year s Donors via $ $ $ $ 10. Trustees $ $ $ $ Bentz Whaley Flessner 31 Trendline Projection Methodology FY2012 FY2013 Annual Fund Solicitation Category # of Donors Total $ Average # of Raised Gift Donors Total $ Average Raised Gift 11. Personal Solicitation (large gift clubs) $ $ $ $ 12. Corporate Solicitations $ $ $ $ 13. Organizational Grants $ $ $ $ 14. Foundation Grants $ $ $ $ 15. Special Event $ $ $ $ 16. Special Event $ $ $ $ 17. Other Fundraising Income $ $ $ $ TOTAL DONORS TOTOAL DOLLARS RAISED $ $ AVERAGE GIFT SIZE $ $ Bentz Whaley Flessner 32 11

12 Trendline Projection Methodology FY2014 (Business as Usual) Average 3-Year Projections Based on 3-Year Trends % of Growth % Growth # of Total $ Average # of Donors Total $ Donors Raised Gift 1. $ $ 2. $ $ 3. $ $ 4. $ $ 5. $ $ 6. $ $ 7. $ $ 8. $ $ 9. $ $ 10. $ $ 11. $ $ 12. $ $ 13. $ $ 14. $ $ Bentz Whaley Flessner 33 Trendline Projection Methodology FY 2014 (Business as Usual) Average 3-Year Projections Based on 3-Year Trends % of Growth % Growth # of Total $ Average # of Donors Total $ Donors Raised Gift 15. $ $ 16. $ $ 17. $ $ # $ $ Objectives of Next Year Plus or Minus Differences Objectives Over Trends # of Donors Total $ Raised Average Gift # of Donors Total $ Raised Average Gift $ $ $ $ Bentz Whaley Flessner 34 Sample Data Line Item: New Donor Acquisition via Phone Business-as-Usual Projections $ $ $ $ $ FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 Adjusted Projections $ $ $ $ $ FY14 FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 Bentz Whaley Flessner 35 12

13 Program Planning Components Target Audience: $% of AF: LY$ LY# TY$ TY# Past Actions: Description: Strengths: Weaknesses: Gaps for Future: Next Year s Program: Strategy: Requirements for Success: Major Steps Person(s) Responsible Budget Staff Time Timeframe Bentz Whaley Flessner 36 THANK YOU! :JAM/gmc: Bentz Whaley Flessner 37 13