A Mailbox Full of Noise

You are entering the last quarter of the calendar year and your annual fund campaign is just revving up. Reviewing your tactical plan, you prepare to send a direct mail piece to every current and past donor since 1915, along with some other prospects who might respond to a “now’s the time” mailer. Warning! If you haven’t put those wheels into motion yet, RSC says, “Get it going or prepare to wait.”  Those mailboxes are about to fill up with red, white and blue solicitations and there won’t be much room left in your patrons’ mailboxes.

There's a tree in my mailbox!

You know this because you've seen it firsthand.  Every four years the national political environment pumps out so much mail that it can’t be ignored – and the frequency between mailings of postcards, letters and gift envelopes gets shorter and shorter as Election Day draws near. 

So how do other non-profits compete and rise above the noise of political mailings? RSC says, “Don’t compete.  There’s a better way.”

Nobody makes noise better or more loudly than politicians – and the more mail in the box, the noisier it gets.  So don’t even try and compete.  Your organization, no matter how blustery, will have a tough time being heard.  So instead of having your mailings get drowned out by the political noise, simply rise above it with a better plan.  Below are some tips that will pull you through the impending saturation of political noise this fall.

1)    TIME YOUR MESSAGE. REALLY frontload your campaign…beat those political mailings to the box. If you haven’t already done so, get your solicitations in the mail ASAP, with your cutoff being October 15 at the absolute latest. After that, you’d better wait until the second week of November to send any mailings.

2)    BE POSITIVE. The Post Office will soon be flooded with pushing out political mailings and sadly many of the messages will be real downers. For sure, negative messages make for negative patrons.  But hey, you work for an arts organization – upbeat, community-focused, highly-valued and worthy of support!  So, keep your messages positive, never emulating the thick, bitter sludge you might see from political mailings. Re-emphasize your organization’s importance, relevance and partnership with the communities it serves. And always steer clear of mentioning the election – doing otherwise will make your organization’s letter just part of the noise.

3)    WORK ON RELATIONSHIPS. During the last quarter of the year there are fundraising priorities that have nothing to do with direct mail.  During your self-imposed “no mail” period, focus on cultivating relationships, working on sponsorships, stewarding donors or securing that next challenge grant.

Through balance and timing, your annual fund campaign will navigate the disruptions of the election challenge. Use your energy and resources well and don’t compete with the noise. Work smart and rise above it.

If you would like to learn more about how RSC successfully helps arts and cultural organizations reach their fundraising goals, call us today at 317.300.4443 or visit our website.

The Double-Edged Sword of an Annual Fund

The term “Annual Fund” can be a double-edged sword. 

Arts organizations are perpetually in fundraising mode and Annual Funds are the primary vehicle to secure donations.  By comparison, membership campaigns are similar, but Annual Funds are, well, more edgy.  But because Annual Funds run for a full year we’re often lulled into putting off that work by the illusion that we have all year to do it.  Other urgent issues arise. One day goes by.  Then another…and that side of the sword can cut deeply into your performance.

Arts and cultural organizations cannot afford to measure each day of an annual campaign equally. Taking the goal and dividing it by 365 days to determine a daily goal as a benchmark is a losing approach. All Annual Fund days are not created equal. RSC believes that the success of your Annual Fund is determined in the first sixty days and getting out-of-the-gate with intensity is key to your success.  

Frontloading your activities is therefore a must.

Why frontloading?  Annual Funds don’t have obvious deadlines like performances or exhibit openings, but the timing within a campaign is similar with its own urgencies, deadlines and opportunities. RSC recommends tying together the planning, timing and goals – and then orchestrating the campaign with intense amounts of leverage, momentum and urgency – especially during the first six months of your efforts.  Frontloading gives your Annual Fund the energy it needs to be successful.

So how can you frontload your campaign? Here’s the basic structure to get the growth you need…

First, giving begins at home – starting with those who are most invested in the organization and who often require the least amount of cultivation.  Your board sets the pace for the campaign – giving first and giving generously.  Renewing and lapsed donors / sponsors come next – go for the upgraded gifts.  Non-donating subscribers / members and sponsors quickly follow. By using this hierarchy you can reach nearly all of the “family” and often reach a majority of your goal within the first six months of your fiscal year.

You now have a full six months to reach the balance of your goal through new gifts, second gifts, and so forth – and time is on your side.  You can now dedicate the latter half of your campaign to those prospects needing a longer cultivation process, plus, you’ve built tremendous momentum that will attract new donors. This part of the campaign is inherently more difficult but you’ve created ample time for the task of expanding your donor base.

Along with ramping up the campaign’s momentum, frontloading also acts as an insurance policy. If a long-time “big” donor suddenly underperforms, you’ll know about it in the earlier stages of the campaign and will have lots of time to find other sources of income to make up for the loss.

And what about pledges?  RSC says don’t just count on a repeat annual gift; commit it early. Even if the gift doesn’t immediately materialize, securing pledged commitments still helps build momentum for the balance of the campaign. RSC recommends pledges have no more than a three-month fulfillment date because anything longer jeopardizes the gift.

RSC has frontloaded dozens of annual funds because it is a tried and true method to build successful, growing campaigns.  We also know that if your organization isn’talready frontloading, it can be a tough transition – but we can help.

So don’t get cut by the double-edged sword of an Annual Fund.  Growth is important – and the urgency is now.

Is Anyone Else Sick of Online Surveys Yet?

Online surveys. I hate them. Probably get 3-4 a week. Every. Stinking. Week.

They come from my travel services, hotels, airlines, places where I buy stuff, from my music and video subscription services, member organizations, and the list goes on.  And on.  And on. 

How are we doing?

Over the past couple of years there’s been a breach in the online survey floodgates and we’re drowning in pleas begging us to tell companies how well they are doing. For me, they arrive in my “IN” box, usually with a cheerful headline like, “Tell Us What You Think!" Ok, I will – but be careful what you ask for. 

Arts and cultural organizations have been getting in on the action lately, too, and I wish that they wouldn’t.

Now, you’d think a fellow who gets paid to provide fundraising advice would welcome every opportunity to give an opinion, right?  Not so.  I haven’t warmed-up to the online survey phenomenon because for the most part, I think it’s a sham.

Why the skepticism?  Because in most for-profit environments, surveys are used by the marketing department whose mission it is to influence customers, not to redesign a company’s products and services.  Just look at the next five online surveys you get and judge for yourself.

I contend that most online surveys are actually one of the following:

• A commercial (influencer) disguised as a survey;
• A clumsy attempt to say “we care about you”;
• A means to capture additional customer contact information; or
• A plea for validation that how the company treats customers is ok with me.

Arts and cultural organizations are quickly joining the parade of online surveys – and although their motives are often more transparent, we should still take pause. Look, arts organizations deal with such narrow segments of the population, do we really not know what patrons want?  Is it truly probable that arts organizations are so out of touch – or out of answers – that they have to resort to e-blasted online surveys?  In some instances the answer is ‘yes’, but don’t make the exception the rule.

Relying on patrons to tell you what they want is unrealistic, unsophisticated and unreliable.  Plus, at our core, don’t we already know the answers?  They want to be entertained, enriched, enlightened and educated.  They want good value for their money and they want to view your organization as a resource to the community rather than another entitled “non-profit” mouth to feed.  They want you to add value to the community and they don’t want any hassle when they partake in your organization’s offerings.  They want to be thanked and appreciated for their support, too. 

Do you really want a survey to tell you any of this?  Of course not, so let’s choose a better course.  Talk with your patrons.  Observe them.  Study their habits.  Then make good decisions tied to the behaviors you uncover. If your organization is hitting the mark you’ll be rewarded with a growing patron base.  If it isn’t, you won’t. 

If you want to be valuable to your patrons, then have value.  If you want loyalty, then make their experiences memorable.  There is a big difference between getting to know your patrons through their behavior versus their opinions.  One is real, and one isn’t.  One brings in money and loyalty, and the other doesn’t.  One quietly inspires repeat business and involvement, and the other one sets false expectations when the organization’s real ability to change is limited.

People are smart.  They know the orchestra or opera company won’t radically change its programming…or the museum can’t do much about a parking problem…or the ballet company won’t perform more “tap” because of the results of an online survey.  Organizational growth comes from careful introspection, self-awareness and self-analysis, anchored in unflinchingly productive core fundamentals that usher innovations based on many, many variables.  Your patrons can’t do this work for you, no matter how many questions you ask them.   So get out there.  Talk.  Observe.  Study. 

Oh, and one final thing, if you enjoyed this article, please take this quick online survey to tell us what you think!

Rolling Up Your Sleeves and Tilling the Garden

Several years ago I had a particularly memorable conversation with a long-time volunteer of a regional symphony. Now, I can’t remember the circumstances of the conversation or how we got on the subject, but I remember her sweet, unassuming stature, passion and earnest when she reminded me that, “Back in the day we didn’t have paid staff to do everything. When something needed to be done, we just rolled up our sleeves and did it.” Pretty cliché statement, right? But there was something meaningful behind those words – and I was recently reminded just exactly what it was.

This woman had been a symphony volunteer for decades and had seen her symphony grow from its small beginnings to a full-time nationally respected institution. She sold tickets, she raised money, she wrote program notes and much more.  It’s amazing to think of the history and future she helped build – from moving into the orchestra’s permanent home, to building an endowment from scratch, and experiencing first-hand six out of the seven music directors leading from the podium. This woman was not only a volunteer who made a tremendous difference for her orchestra, but she was also a testament to the passion and dedication people have for their hometown arts organization.  We should cherish these people for what they’ve done -- and still do -- to grow and nurture our arts and cultural institutions.

In contrast, the Brooklyn Museum’s ousting of its volunteer Community Committee, as explained in the Wall Street Journal article on April 11, 2012, came as a crude reminder of how some organizations cast aside these stakeholders.  What a travesty to alienate such an important cadre of supporters, customers and family members. Granted, as organizations grow and change, so must their relationships with constituents. Staff is hired to accelerate results and the volunteer / staff relationships change quite often for the better.  However, the failure to manage these transitions and relationships carefully results in a loss of respect, trust, reputation, rich legacy and, let’s face it, capital. Not knowing the precise causes that led to the jolting dissolution of the Brooklyn Museum’s volunteer corps doesn’t prevent us from predicting the short-term outcome and loss of respect for, and trust in, the organization.

Transitions are tricky and growth can be difficult, but continually cultivating deep and abiding relationships is at the core of successful growth.  In the case of my orchestra volunteer, her relationship spanned some 70+ years.  Through her dedicated work she sold thousands of subscriptions, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and was an ardent orchestra evangelist who cultivated the interest of many others who came, listened and loved the music. 

Working with volunteers can sometimes be tough – especially from those who feel, in part, a decades-long ownership of your organization.  I contend that they should be tough because quite often they planted the initial seeds of the organization, watched it flourish and then, when the tough times came, put their backs into it again to make sure the institution would survive.  So let’s not be too quick to dismiss these people simply because the needs of the organization have matured.

If you haven’t invested in your volunteers lately, do it today.  Cultivate the relationships to continually value and engage them deeply in your organization’s mission.  You’ve grown together over the decades and there is so much more good work ahead, if you take those steps together and make your garden grow.

We're neither pure nor wise nor good;
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house, and chop our wood,
And make our garden grow.

Make Our Garden Grow excerpt from Bernstein’s “Candide” 

Client Spotlight: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra and RSC Partner to Achieve Stellar Annual Fund Success.

After coming out of well-publicized financial and labor difficulties in 2011, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's (DSO) Annual Fund is now on pace to grow at a rate not seen in over a decade.  

In mid-2010 the DSO engaged Robert Swaney Consulting (RSC) to create and implement the strategies and tactics needed to significantly grow the individual giving base.  Despite the extreme challenges facing the organization at the time, DSO and RSC staff worked together to produce a 32% increase in dollars and an 18% increase in the number of donors over the previous year.  Together, we not only reversed a decade-long negative trend in less than one year, but we also greatly surpassed the budgeted goal for the fiscal year.

How did we do it?  In short, we re-engaged the fundamentals of annual fundraising and combined them with some innovative approaches.  First, we developed an aggressive Action Plan and Timeline to guide our work. Then we created a new, highly-leveraged and positive message (even in light of an extremely dark moment in the organization’s history).  Third, we frontloaded our activities to both create a sense of urgency and to fully optimize all twelve months of the campaign.  Finally, we partnered with an awesome team of audience development, direct mail and telefunding experts to help us reach out to virtually anyone who had made a gift or purchased a DSO ticket in the past decade.  Of course, there’s more to it than outlined above, but combining fundamentals with a fresh approach was key to breathing new life back into the DSO’s Annual Fund.

Now in its second year with the DSO, RSC is deepening its role to broaden the donor base even further.  As you can see from the article in Crain’s Detroit Business, the results continue to be impressive.  The Detroit Symphony Orchestra has an impressive and dedicated staff and RSC is proud to be a part of the organization’s success.

Although we continue to see remarkable growth for the DSO, Annual Fund growth is a common and predictable theme for Robert Swaney Consulting clients.  By using a fully-replicable system of RSC plans, strategies and techniques, nearly every one of our clients over the past five years has experienced significant contributed revenue growth. 

If you would like to learn more about how RSC is successfully working with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and how we can help your organization have similar results, call us today at 317-797-8924 or visit our website.

The Fat Lady Sings at Opera Boston...

...well somebody had to say it.

If you haven't heard the news, Opera Boston will cease operations on January 1, 2012.  They cited "lackluster fundraising in a tough economic climate" as the primary factor that lead to a $500,000 "insurmountable" budget deficit.

I'll admit, I don't know much about Opera Boston's organization or the circumstances that led to the decision to close their doors, but I do know that many arts organizations -- even some around the Opera's $3M annual budget mark -- would dance a jig if their deficit totaled only $500k!  It just doesn't strike me as an insurmountable number....but who knows?

Perhaps the closing boiled down to a cash flow issue.  However, it certainly seems that in a town like Boston, a mere $500,000 shouldn't be an organization-killer, right?  But after hopping on to OB's web page I caught a few possible clues.  They list a total of eight foundation and corporate partners.    Their annual membership levels for individual donations are uninspired and are aimed specifically at those buying the cheap tickets.  So, unless the organization had a tremendous base of high-level donors (i.e., total giving of $1.5M or more) I think we begin to see the picture.

Lackluster fundraising in a tough economic climate?  Maybe.  But I think we can blame a portion of OB's failure on having a weak business model.  They sold tickets on the cheap, didn't create the necessary financial base from sponsors and large donors, and aimed their broad-based appeals at patrons who were accustomed to 'not paying much' for tickets.  I also wonder how engaged their Board was with fundraising.  If a $500,000 need killed the place, I have some doubts.  As I said, I'm not familiar with their situation to understand all of the "whys" but there certainly are enough clues available to at least piece together some worthy assumptions.

So here's the crux of my message:  Build the right model and be willing to work it.  If an arts organization is going to promote "affordable tickets" terrific, but it must have the fundraising machine in place ahead of time to sustain the operation.  The Board must be fully-committed to raising the big bucks and have  the properly-leveraged relationships necessary to accomplish the task.  Broad-based giving must hinder on a belief in the organization's mission and contribution to the community -- not in perks and benefits.

Arts and cultural organizations really can thrive, even in a tough economic climate, but they must create their own conditions for success that go well beyond "the art".  Mission.  Leadership.  Structure.  Growth.  That's a pretty good start.