Prospecting Secrets to Building a Major Donor Program

The Foundation Center

Open House February 24th, 2015

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Winston Churchill

Development Officer for 30 years

Grass roots and Ivy League

Prospect Research and Prospecting evangelist (can I get an

Amen!!)

Well known and disliked lecture, trainer, consultant and smarty pants.

It’s all about me

Being a Guinea Pig Dispelling the Myths of Major Gifts fundraising Prospect Research Can you go out the door? Cold calling Who knows who? What’s your case? Understanding Qualification What are your cultivation arrows in your quiver? Do your events support cultivation? Timing the Ask Stewardship

Agenda

Key point , this is temporary and short term MG effort.

What aren’t you going to do if you do this?

Upfront and transparent agreement with your Board/Boss.

Success requires a REAL investment.

Risk having the powers that be saying “do it again “!

In a healthy normal MG program most of these roles are STAFFED.

An experiment

Does your Board understand the Cycle?

80% of all giving is from individuals

Foundations are slow, fickle and change a lot

Easier to maintain and grow

Dirty and “clean”

Do they like wheelbarrows full of money?

Why should your Board invest?

Dealing with rich people is gross, morally challenging and dirty

You have to “kiss up” and lie

Asking actual people for their own money is different than a foundation.

Board Members will privately fear they will be asked to solicit or give much more.

Unspoken Attitudes

Where are those millions?!!

Understand what’s really involved.

Track the cycle initially, not the dollars !

Think of an assembly line

Ok we invested…

Investigative Journalism

Tiny donor base

Foundation dependent

Who would care?

Quick Example

Real Major Gifts programs take time and money

What’s your cycle?

Small MG team

3 Major Gifts Officers ( 80 person portfolio’s)

1 prospect researcher/Prospect Management

Admin Asst

Time and Staffing

We solicit when we first meet people.

It’s just a matter of getting to rich people

Reaching wealthy philanthropists is simply a matter of picking up the phone.

Every fundraiser has a “rolodex” of rich people waiting at her beck and call.

We can’t afford to “wine and dine”

Board Members commonly think of it as “dirty” and don’t want anything to do with it.

Classic Major Gifts Myths

Persistence is essential

Easy to get discouraged and worn out

Frustrating and difficult work

Big pay day’s.

Accuracy and learning internally makes a big difference.

Persistence and Accuracy

Don’t bother if you don’t have it.

Why? What’ the difference?

Staff full time for the right institutions

Part timer

Freelancer (www.armandozumaya.com for a free list, www.aprahome.org , FRPA on Linked IN

Train a volunteer even…

It’s an investment

Beware: Uncomfortable board members !

Prospect Research

Prospect Research Myths…

Look into your own current donor base

Similar organizations, who gives them $$?

Innovate and find new donor pools, diversity.

Focus on quantity of leads

If your spending all day googling names your doing it wrong

Prospect Research 2

Most MG prospects aren't waiting around for your call with a bag of money.

We want an initial qualification meeting.

Cold Calling. Yeah

Networking

Working assistants, receptionists, business partners.

Yes, I train on this…..no really

The role of email

Can you get out the door?

The Elevator Rap: Essential tool for you and your Board.

You need to make claims, plant your flag !

Think of hook phrases

Your goal, at all costs is to get that appointment.

Careful of internal speak and jargon !

Could anyone understand it and find it exciting?

What’s your case?

My turn to pick on strangers

Me first

What’s your elevator pitch?

Let’s practice

Create a simple review list. One copy, no email.

A list of who you think are prospects

Physically take it to:

Board Members

Staff

Former Board Members

Donors

Who knows who?

Compile who knows who?

Who can make an introduction?

Who can let you use their name?

Send an email as an intro?

Super Groovy: When the Board helps !

Tailor your approach to the person giving you the intro. Sensitivity.

Who Knows Who

Your job is to gauge their interest, or lack.

To measure their education on what your organization does.

What do they need?

Capacity? $, $$, $$$ or $$$$

Who can they connect you to? Leapfrogging.

Understanding Qualification

Putting their hands in the mud !

Show them your face. Bring out the passion!

Yeah I said passion

Events

Tours

Symposiums

Meet the recipients of your services

Working events

Media

Cultivation

The great Barlow Ware

How many steps?

Heart and head

Plan a year of cultivation events

What are your draws?

Unique

Fun

Exciting

Exclusive

Cultivation

What’s Your Draw?

Personality

Mayor Newsom

Tom Brokaw

Bill Nye the Science Guy

Novelty of the event

“Classroom” Event

Tours

The Unveiling of the Mars Rover?

The Institution Itself

Food

Alice Water’s restaurant

Tribeca Grill

Location

The Rainbow Room

Backstage at Paramount Studios

On the stage of the Opera House

Speaker’s Dining Room

The curse that is the gala

The “friends of Sally” event

30 person in home events, not HOUSE parties

Follow up solicitations, no solicitations on site !

Prospect Research guided

Design

Program

Guest lists

Events

Who has the strongest relationship?

Is the prospect ready?

What are we asking for specifically?

Prep meeting with your Prospect Researcher

Making the Ask

They have made their gift, now what?

How about we totally neglect, forget them till next year?

Instead: Progress reports

Thank you’s

Invitations

Help with fundraising

Lunches, meetings

Stewardship

Know who you want to reach.

Develop your skills to reach them.

Have a great, on target, exciting message and appeal

Design powerful and dynamic cultivation tools

Ask for your gifts based on a solid education, experience they have had

Take care of them afterwards!

Key Points

Cold Calling for Development Officers: Reaching the Difficult to Reach Prospect for the First Meeting

March 19, 2015 9:00 AM PDT

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/762534768115806465

Dynamic Small Events: Engage and Cultivate Your Ideal Major Gifts Prospects

Mar 16, 2015 9:00 AM PDT at:

https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7820962912321565441

Upcoming Webinars

Individual Coaching

Team trainings

Board Trainings

Prospecting Consulting

Yes, I do consult

Thanks for coming !Armando E. Zumaya

www.armandozumaya.comaez2@hotmail.com