19 Ways to improve your fundraising

Despite your desperate hopes and prayers, donors are unlikely to just wander into your organisation. You need to get out there and look sharp, and the Enfys Acumen has the tips to help you do it.

Why don't you print this out, post it up and integrate it into your fundraising plan—and get ready for tons of new donations.

First the basics...

1. Create quality (well-written!) fundraising materials

2. Greet potential donors (that’s everyone!) with style

3. Focus as narrowly as possible – narrow your target audience to highly qualified prospects

4. Make the most of meetings – go along for a purpose, not just because you are expected to be there

5. Find out what other fundraisers are doing and learn from them

Then get friendly...

6. Offer your help

7. Offer case studies of what your organisation does

8. Network

9. Cross-promote with other charities in your area

You must get online...

10. Offer an e-brief

11. Don’t wait for donors to find you online, use blogs, submit PR, get links to your website

Spread the word...

12. Go to places where your best prospect donors are to be found

13. Become an expert in your field

14. Host a seminar

15. Get local news coverage

Remember customer service...

16. Thank you, Diolch, Merci, Gracias

17. Offer commitment – a guarantee

18. Get them talking about you

Spreading the word again...

19. When in doubt, pick up the phone

If you need help with any of the above, why not contact us, we would be pleased to help. Click here

Start shovelling for greater business success

Last week's snowfall made me think. While shovelling snow from my front drive to get the car our without sliding into the gate post, I remembered an article I read recently about leverage and organisation and business development.

Leverage is about using the resources you have available to make sure you get the best returns for your business or organisation. I think the concept is equally relevant whether you are looking to secure a better income, improve your personal performance or have a greater impact as a voluntary or community organisation.

Let's get back to those shovels:


Shovel 1: Projects

Start making much smarter choices about which projects and tasks are really worth your time, and which should be ditched. I look at every project from the perspective of not only immediate short-term rewards, but also how it will continue making a difference for months or years to come. Make a list today.

Shovel 2: Time

Don't obsess about not having enough time. You all have all the time in the world to make the kind of money you need or develop the quality of life you desire for yourself or community. You just need to choose the right projects and have a bigger vision! Sometimes you need time away from day-to-day business to be more creative and fresh. What is your vision? Take some time out to clarify it.

Shovel 3:Customers, Clients and Service Users

It is easy to think that any customer, client or service user is better than none at all. If you think about it though, it becomes painfully clear that you can't be all things to all people, so that it's essential to screen customers and clients carefully and to take only highly committed and well paying clients. This might be challenging to some VCOs or public services, but think about the value of a major success for one service user might have on raising expectations for others with similar needs.

Shovel 4: Products and Services

You might thrive on the creative energy of creating new ways of doing things, I know I do, but how much time is spent just talking about things and not achieving anything - remember a camel is a horse designed by a committee! Why not put more effort into thinking why you want to do something and then develop ways for having fewer products and services on the back burner and get smarter, quicker.

Shovel 5: Alliances

I am a great believer in the idea that together we are better, that's why I am such a great fan of networking and having alliances with people like Vivienne, Steve and Elena. Just think what you might be able to achieve by being commited to achieving results with other people, businesses and services. With whom can you form alliances?

Shovel 6: Technology

Just 12 years ago I worked in an open plan office with 20-30 other people in a wide variety of roles and where there were just two PCs. One was dominated by the team coordinator and the other was in a corner collecting dust. I soon became frustrated with handwriting letters and documents, giving them to someone else to type (and as I was quite junior, was far down the pecking order for getting things done!), correcting the typos and then waiting hours and sometimes days to get the final copy back - so I vowed to conquer Word Perfect. Oh, how times have changed! Now I communicate daily with people around the globe, have information when I need it, do most of my marketing online, create presentations, record speeches, update my website and break down so many barriers with emails, now that's leverage! I know by the very fact that you are reading this that I am probably preaching to the converted, but am still flabbergasted that there are so many people in leadership and management positions that are not making the best use of the technology so readily available. Why not print this off give them the article with my best wishes.

Shovel 7: My Coach

Who is your coach? I made a conscious decision to have a coach to help me grow my business and achieve my goals in life. By regularly working with a coach, I am helped to find find more and more "bigger shovels" in my business. If you are committed to a successful life and career, you must get yourself a coach.

Bigger Shovel 8: Goals

What are your goals for your business or organisation, your career and your home life? Are these goals little more than making sure the next contract comes in, getting through to the next grant round, carrying on working until your pension matures or to have another holiday in the same place you have been to for the last 10 years. If so, don't you think there may be more to life than that and you are without a doubt able to achieve a great deal more. Set yourself some clear goals, work out how you can achieve them.

As you can see, there are many ways to experience growth using leverage. If you are working harder than ever, and settling for less money, fewer customers or clients and less enjoyment, this is your lifetime opportunity to change it.

The Enfys Acumen can help, why not get in touch today?

The Power Of Networking?

Do you have times when you seem to do nothing but networking? I know I'm going through one of those periods at the moment. It is in fact part of my current maketing strategy to review the available networking opportunities.

Don't get me wrong, I am convinced that networking creates a power that leads to a richer, fuller personal and professional life – a power that comes from a spirit of giving and sharing. I am sure networking must be the most cost-effective marketing tool around when it is used wisely, appropriately, and professionally. I have been attending so many opportunities so that I'm in a position to make an informed choice about how I can spend my time effectively during the year.

However, networking is often misunderstood, misused, and therefore underused. Networking is an attitude, an approach to life. It is not just a “thing to do”. It should encompass the way in which you relate to people and resources around you. It is as much about giving as it is about getting business.

Over the last ten days or so, I have been to three business breakfasts, one working lunch and two evening events. I am a member of an e-group for coaches and guess what has been the topic that has dominated discussions over the last week? You've got it, networking. Or more specifically the pros and cons of a particular nationally available breakfast-time opportunity.

I don't regret the time or expense at all, I've come away from each event with a pocketful of business cards, met some interesting people, definitely a few new clients. I've found some opportunities for joint ventures and even been entertained by a couple of fellas who reminded me of the Chuckle Brothers. There have been opportunities that I would like to return to again and again and there are others I probably won't rush back to for a while.

This, I think, has been the big lesson of the last couple of weeks - you need to find the networking opportunity that is likely to work best for you and your business. You might prefer the formal, strictly timed elevator-speech opportunity. You might prefer the laid back, free for all-type events, where making contact with other people is entirely up to you. Some events offer something in-between. You might not like getting up too early in the morning, a lunch might eat into too much of your day (geddit!) or family responsibilities might prevent evening attendance?

What is really important however is to remember that most people will do business with people they know and like. That's why it is important to find the networking opportunity you like best, go along frequently, get to know people and let them get to know you. Success from networking is about building confidence and trust. I thoroughly recommend networking as a means of promoting your business and finding out about opportunities that might serve you well in return. Importantly, the knowledge you gain about other businesses can add value to what you give your own clients and customers.

As someone who has worked in voluntary organisations for most of his career and still has many clients from that sector to boot, I think that most charities are really missing a trick for identifying donors or commercial sponsors by not joining networking groups. Don't forget charities have to do business with others too, you might get some really good deals and definitely a better quality of service from people and businesses you get to know well.

Have I convinced you?

If so, why not get in touch to find out about the types of networking opportunities that exist. What's more I could coach you to make sure you maximise the value your networking opportunity.