Featured in this issue:
Shelterhouse "WOW"ed with GiftWorks 2008
Also In This Issue:
|
GIFTWORKS CLIENT REWARDS!
We appreciate the enthusiasm and loyalty of our clients – and we want to reward you for new client referrals. Nonprofits will receive a $50 donation for each initial referral sale to a new client. In the 2 weeks since we launched Client Rewards, 63 organizations were referred by 31 clients. Making referrals is easy – just click on the Client Rewards form in GiftWorks! Start earning funds for your mission today by helping other organizations learn about and benefit from GiftWorks fundraising software!
|
Shelterhouse "WOW"ed by GiftWorks 2008
 There is no one more enthusiastic about GiftWorks 2008 than Deb Bleshenski and her staff at Shelterhouse in Midland, MI. Shelterhouse serves victims of domestic and sexual violence in both residential and non-residential settings, children as well as adults. By mandate, all the victim services they provide are at no charge. As Deb points out, however; "Free services are not free!"
Hence the need for great fundraising software. As Director of Finance and Business, Deb reports that up until a year ago Shelterhouse was using NonProfit Books accounting software. When Shelterhouse purchased new computers in 2007, they discovered that NonProfit Books was no longer supported. After researching fundraising software, Deb selected GiftWorks because "it was a superior product at an affordable price." They discovered a whole new level of donor management than they had used before. This spring they upgraded to GiftWorks 2008 Standard--and now they are ecstatic! Deb was delighted to see some of her suggestions about GiftWorks made in 2007 were actually part of the GiftWorks 2008 product.
Sarah Schreier, Office Manager, who manages the GiftWorks data, loves the flexibility and customization available in the GiftWorks 2008. She also finds that the new "donor dashboard" speeds up data entry.
GiftWorks 2008 includes many new reports and enhanced Smartlist functionality. "Our Board is asking for more and more donor reports---donation history, donor growth, lapsed donors. Having SmartLists for these different purposes enables us to meet Board expectations," adds Deb.
Shelterhouse finds they are using a lot more SmartLists, Mailing Lists, and Groups since there are so many purposes these lists can fill. Currently, Shelterhouse is doing a mailing to Donors who have given only in-kind gifts to date. As you might guess, they hope to cultivate these good friends of the agency so they contribute monetary gifts. "With so many nonprofits competing for the donor's dollar," says Deb, "we need to maximize our existing giving, as well as grow our base."
All in all, Shelterhouse feels strongly supported in their important work by the functions GiftWorks provides. Deb concludes: "We are very happy with our decision to upgrade to GiftWorks 2008 and are happy to recommend it to other nonprofits. Mission Research is very 'user friendly' and their customer service is unsurpassed."
Consultant's Corner:
USA Leadership Corps on Nonprofit Quality Strategy
by R. Maxwell Roper, founder of the USA Leadership Corps Volunteer MBA Consulting Team
 Many of our nonprofit clients seek innovative ways to differentiate themselves within their donor and partner communities. One strategy we recommend to both our large and small clients is to establish and promote 'quality' throughout their organization.
Quality means establishing meaningful standards regarding how an organization interacts with each of its stakeholder groups (for example, employees, volunteers, and supporters) - then holding itself accountable for meeting those standards 100% of the time. Current and future stakeholders assess an organization's 'quality' with every interaction. Therefore each experience is its own branding opportunity.
High quality organizations can receive rewards like these:
From Clients: Quality organizations achieve great satisfaction, enthusiasm, and trust from their client communities. This can result in greater participation, referrals, retention and revenue.
From Employees: Quality organizations attract and retain the brightest and most productive employees. This can translate into limitless financial and non-financial rewards. In a nonprofit, employee attitude affects every transaction.
From Supporters: Quality organizations grow their supporter networks by ensuring every interaction with donors and volunteers leads to future support and referrals.
Depending on the size of your organization, creating and promoting a high-quality culture can take some time. As you contemplate your quality strategy, keep these concepts in mind:
- Before beginning a new stakeholder relationship: Set clear and quantifiable expectations regarding the desired outcome of the relationship (for both your organization and the stakeholder).
Example: Mr. Donor, thank you for supporting our cause in the amount of $50. In return, we guarantee that every quarter we will provide you an opportunity to evaluate how well we have kept you informed of our efforts and included you in our family. We are confident that you will give us a 90% or greater on every donor evaluation survey.
- Make sure every stakeholder is qualified (and sufficiently motivated) to achieve the desired outcome.
Example: Ms. Interested Board Member, thank you for applying to be a member of our team. Through our interview and background-check process, however, we have concluded that you lack the network and time availability to help us achieve our stated goals. Therefore, we encourage you to re-apply next year when we have new openings.
- Periodically ask stakeholders for their feedback.
Example: Mr. Client, we value you choosing us to be your provider of service. As such, we value your opinion regarding your experience as a client. Please complete our brief evaluation survey to discuss your experience. As you may recall, we strive to receive a 90% score or better from all of our clients.
- Follow-up every stakeholder interaction with a 'thank you' and a confirmation of next steps.
Example: Mrs. Company Executive, thank you for attending our gala last week. We raised over $50,000 because of your support. We look forward to seeing again you next Spring. We are also counting on you bring two additional associates to our event so that we can continue to grow our family of supporters.
In summary, every interaction with every stakeholder is an opportunity to increase your brand. Therefore, set the highest of standards when dealing with all of your partners (then hold yourself accountable for meeting those standards). Your employees, clients, and supporters will respect your efforts and commitment even more.
Maxwell Roper founded USA Leadership Corps, a volunteer-based nonprofit consulting group, in 2005. The Corps' volunteer business experts have assisted over 175 emerging companies across the country in areas such as growth management, sustainability, strategic planning, and fund development. www.usaLeadershipCorps.org
Best Practices Yields Best Results
The heart and soul of our fundraising efforts--that's a human thing. But in building your donor database you're creating either your most important tool, or your most challenging frustration. Here are some tips to make sure your database is the best tool your organization has:
- Be consistent. If you enter data according to a few rules, your output will be solid and accurate. Thus...
- Create your own manual. Decide how your organization wants to use the features in GiftWorks and spell out specifics on how and when you will use households, affiliate donors, groups, mailing lists, mailing history, etc. This document can help ensure consistency over time and staff changes.
- Choose a consistent display name format. Set a default format for your name identification data and use it consistently, so you'll have consistent and reliable sorting in SmartLists and Reports. For example, do you want to be able to sort based on last name (Smith, John) or first name (John Smith)?
- Establish naming conventions. When you create fields/lists, for campaigns or appeals, for example, build those values following a pattern and starting with similar words or abbreviations, so it will be easier to sort and use those lists. Examples include:
- Campaigns: Annual Campaign 2007, Annual Campaign 2008
- Appeals: Golf Player Flyer 2008, Golf Sponsor Letter 2008
- Funds: Restricted for Programming, Restricted for Endowment
- Donor Groups: Auction Bidder 2007, Auction Bidder 2008
- Mailing History: Invitation to Smith Party 2007, Invitation to Gala 2008
- Enter a group's donations consistently. Since you may be tracking individuals, organizations, and groups both individually and as groups--for example, your Board members--you will need a consistent plan for entering their donations. Consider entering all donations in the household profile, but use the appeal to indicate that it was a board donation (if applicable).
To make your database as useful as possible, you can see that it is important to think through the various ways in which you might need to retrieve information at a later date or at a more complex level, so that all data is entered consistently. For more information on good donor management and campaign management practices, and more, check out the GiftWorks guides available on our website!
|
GiftWorks on the Road! Meet us in Person!
Pat Weaver
GiftWorks Business Development
Pat and all of the GiftWorks team have fun meeting our customers and showing off our software!
This summer, we'll be in New York City at Craigslist Boot Camp on August 16. This is one of our favorite places to meet up-and-coming nonprofits, and a great place for you to learn from and socialize with your fellow fundraisers. For West Coasters, find us at the San Francisco Craigslist Boot Camp on October 18.
Below are the other conferences we will be attending through mid-October. See the complete list here.
Salt Lake City, UT on September 17, at the Annual Conference of the Utah Nonprofit Association
New Paltz, NY on October 2-3, for Camp Finance with the Council of Community Services of New York State
Denver, CO on October 6, at the Colorado Nonprofit Association 2008 Fall Conference
Boise, ID on October 16-17, at Idaho's Nonprofit Statewide Conference.
If you're nearby, stop and say hello!
|
|
