Winning Gifts

Thomas D. Wilson is the Vice President and Western Regional Manager for Campbell & Company, a national consulting firm offering nonprofit organizations counsel in advancement planning, fundraising, marketing communications, and executive search. Tom's career in fundraising spans more than a quarter century and includes building successful campaigns from inception, reinvigorating stalled initiatives, and board and staff training.

• Preface xvAcknowledgment xviiAbout the Author xixPART 1 A WINNING GIFT FOR YOUR DONOR 1Winning versus Losing 2How do You Know if It’s a Winning Gift? 4Why Philanthropic Fundraising? 5Inspire Giving 5The Six I’s of Philanthropic Fundraising 6Six I’s: Step #1—Identify, Qualify, and Research 8Six I’s: Step #2—Introduce, Interact, and Connect 12Six I’s: Step #3—Interests and Needs (Listen) 13Six I’s: Step #4—Inform and Deepen Understanding 13Six I’s: Step #5—Involve, Acknowledge, and Engage 14Six I’s: Step #6—Invest, Recognize, Steward 15Read On 15CHAPTER 1 People Centered Fundraising 17Start with Peoples’ Needs 18How Does Your Organization Benefit the Community? 19A Public Library 20A Graduate University 23Take a Marketing Approach 23Sales 24Marketing 25Importance of Strategic Planning 28Drucker Self-Assessment Tool 29How to Be People Centered 31Individuals 32In Planned Estate Gift Fundraising 35Foundations 36Corporations 37Communications and Learning Styles 39Involve Volunteers in Your Fundraising 42Staff-Driven Fundraising? 45How to Help Your Organization Become People Centered 46Apply What You’ve Learned 48CHAPTER 2 Donor Values 51Giving U.S.A. —Sources and Trends in Giving 54Individuals 56Sheehy’s New Passages 57Implications of Americans Living Longer on Estate-Gift Fundraising 59Andrew Carnegie—The Gospel of Wealth 61Bill Gates 62Warren Buffett 63Sandy Weill 64The Seven Faces of Philanthropy 65Insights on the Faces 65Do Tax Incentives Drive Philanthropy? 67The Millionaire Next Door 68Women in Philanthropy 72Millionaire Women Next Door 75Analytical Donors 76Family-Advised Funds 77Leaving a Legacy 77Foundation Values 78Community Foundations 80Corporate Motivations for Giving 81Why Is All of This Important? 83Apply What You’ve Learned 84CHAPTER 3 Listen 87Become a Deep Listener 88What Others Advise on Listening 91Share Yourself 97Collective Listening 98Listening to Create a Major Gifts Club 99Written Surveys 100Participative Focus Groups 103Board and Strategic Planning Retreats 109Listening to a Specific Donor 109Discovery Calls 110Requesting the Interview 111Thank-You Visits 112Philanthropic Market Research Studies 114Listening Tools 114Supplemental Interviews by Staff 116What Is Different with Corporations and Foundations? 116Listening to Corporations 116Listening to Foundations 118Readiness Interviews after the Study 119Listening during the Ask 120Listen for Gifting Noises 121When You’re Invited to Listen 122Apply What You’ve Learned 123PART II SEEK WINNING GIFTS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION 127Gladwell—The Tipping Point 129The Law of the Few 129Champions 130Connectors 131Salespeople 132The Stickiness Factor 133The Power of Context 134Implications for Philanthropic Fundraising 135Cialdini—Ethical Influence 136#1 Reciprocation—Be the First to Give 137#2 Scarcity—Unique Features, Exclusive Information 138#3 Authority—Show Knowing, Admit Weakness First 138#4 Commitments—From Public Positions (Small and Build) 139#5 Liking—Make Friends to Influence People 140#6 Consensus—Unleash People Power by ShowingResponses of Others 140Summary 141CHAPTER 4 Make Your Case 143Make Your Case Memorable 144The Annual Fund Case 148The Case for Building Campaigns 150Building Budget Planning for Fundraising 153The Case for Endowment 157How Endowment Works 159Endowment Examples 162What to Do for Financially FragileOrganizations 166The Role of Planned Estate Gifts for Endowment Cases 172The Case for Comprehensive Campaigns 173Case Statement Formats 174Presentation Guide 176The Process of Case Refinement 178Share Internally 178Audition Externally 181Processing the Complex Case 184Importance of the One-on-One Interview 186Lock in Your Case 187Make a Movie 187Make it Stick 188Ways to Achieve Top-of-Mind Understanding of Your Case 190Resurrecting Good Memories 191Creating Memories 192Importance of Mementos 193Newsletters, Letters, and E-mail Communications 193Mass and Target Marketing 194Do You Always Need to Make Your Case? 197Apply What You’ve Learned 200CHAPTER 5 The Win-Win Ask 203The Ideal Ask Team 205Prepare for the Ask 210The Written Proposal 212How Much Should We Ask For? 213Recruiting and Preparing the Ask Team 216The Pregnant Pause 219Final Preparation Steps 220Make the Ask 221Asking Tools 221Popping the Question 225The Role of Challenge Gifts 226The Triple Ask 228What’s Different about Corporate Requests? 229How Do Foundation Requests Work? 231If You Get an ‘‘I Need to Think About It’’ 232If You Get a ‘‘No’’ 233If You Get a ‘‘Yes’’ 234Thank the Donor 236Detect and Conquer Asking Obstacles 236#1 Don’t Understand the Impact of the Gift 237#2 Outrageous Goal 238#3 Lack of Information 239#4 Focus Diffusion 241#5 No Transaction 242#6 Can’t Say the Number 243#7 One Leg at a Time 244#8 Don’t Want to Ask My Friends 244#9 Can’t Ask My Family 246#10 Telephobia 247#11 Image Rejection 248#12 Overpreparation 249#13 Disorganized 250#14 Afraid to Talk about Death 251Personalize These Obstacles 252Summarizing the Win-Win Ask 253Apply What You’ve Learned 253CHAPTER 6 After Winning the Gift 255A Thank-You System 256Involve Your Asking Team 257Others Can Participate in the Fun of Thanking Donors 258Thresholds of The Thank-You System 260Tier One—All Annual Gifts of $5,000 or More and All Capital Gifts of $25,000 or More 260Tier Two—All Annual Gifts of $1,000 or More and All Capital Gifts of $10,000 or More 261Tier Three—All Annual Gifts Up to $1,000 and All Capital Gifts Up to $10,000 262Gifts of Stock and Other Appreciated Assets 264Recognition Opportunities 266Power of Gift Clubs 267Value of the Donor Wall 268Commemorative Naming Opportunities 269Recognition Events 274Planned Estate Gifts 275Kaizen 277Stewardship 277Reports 279Events 281Personal Stewardship 282Director of Stewardship Movement 283Others Are Starting to Hold You Accountable 283Good Stewardship Is Good for Fundraising 285Apply What You’ve Learned 287Coda—The Summary Review 289Postlude 293Appendixes 295A—Definition of Steps in The Six I’s of Philanthropic Fundraising 297B—Written Survey Form 299C—Donor Bill of Rights 303D—AFP Code of Ethics for Professional Philanthropic Fundraisers 305E—Gentle Letter of Intent 307Index 309