Friday, January 6, 2012

Individual Giving Opportunities: Rules, Tools, and Branding

Dear Fearless Nonprofit Leaders:

Welcome to my first newsletter/blog for nonprofit professionals. I hope you find this communication short, sweet and useful. It is my hope to use this space to pass along interesting and helpful information, share my nonprofit business philosophy and engage in some dialogue among nonprofit professionals.

In the last 6 months, I have worked on two separate Individual Giving Campaigns for clients. In doing so, I have come across several enlightening articles and some information that seem worth sharing. As leaders of your organizations and in your community, I hope these articles will provide support and assistance to you as you move through another year of programs, services and fundraising.

Just to be clear, and despite the title of every article below, I do not like the term "Annual Fund". But for the purposes of a common language among nonprofit professionals, it is useful here.


The Annual Fund is Obsolete


Annual Campaigns: Once a Year Every Year

Annual Fund Giving and Getting Guidelines for Trustees

Annual Fund Tips

In addition to the thoughts expressed in these articles, it is my opinion that no matter what you do to raise funds for your nonprofit business, it is usually a good idea to brand the event or regular fundraising effort so it is recognizable to your constituents. Naming an individual giving campaign or a regularly held special event gives your stakeholders and donors a sense of belonging to the campaign and to your organization. Using a color scheme, image and a memorable title for your campaign can clearly tie a donor to your mission, programs, services and clients. Branding through a simple image and/or key words puts a living picture of what a monetary donation to your organization really means. Would you feel more connected to a donation made to an Annual Fund or The Water for Life Campaign?

Sincerely,

Jennifer Sabatier