- Hello, Joy Olson, BlockBuster Fundraising, whoa.
Spring is arriving this week, can you believe it?
Well, I don't know about you,
but this past weekend I could tell,
I was really ready for spring, it all started in my closet,
and all of a sudden,
I wanted to get rid of all my winter stuff,
out with the old, in with the new,
and wanted to try to reevaluate
what was gonna work for this spring, this season.
And it just, it enveloped me, I couldn't have stopped,
and I think that that's what happens to us, spring.
Spring represents starting anew,
it's beginning all over again,
and so we put away all those heavy winter clothes
and we get a fresh start to the year.
And we realize that sunshine and better things are coming,
and I think it kind of makes us
want to get on with the new and do everything
just a little bit better, because there's new excitement.
So, it isn't just about our closets
or our homes that need a good cleaning,
or a tweak here and there, or a redo,
it's about our fundraising.
Lemme ask you, has your fundraising
become really rather static than dynamic?
Is it a little stale and oh so predictable?
Keep doing things the same way?
If so, let's talk today about spring cleaning,
how about a little redo?
How about some new excitement?
Well, this is an article that gave us
six non profit fundraising ideas
to get us out of our static rut, so to speak.
It's gonna help us get that fresh start,
so are you ready for six ideas
to give your fundraising the pickup it needs?
All right, number one, recognize a rut when you see one.
As with anything, the first step
is to admit that you are in a little bit of a rut.
I mean, is your spring newsletter,
does it look exactly like your winter newsletter looked,
and perhaps your fall newsletter?
Is that a little bit of a rut?
Are you getting too predictable?
You know, when you clean your closet or clean your house,
you do it because you want to clean,
well, most of us do, but really because we recognize
that it needs to be done, and we need some new excitement,
and possibly a new theme.
I know I really look forward to changing
not only my wardrobe, but my dining room,
and my theme to get ready for spring,
out with kinda the heavy, stay warm theme of winter
to the bright and cheerful spring flowers of spring.
So, I think that that's the way
we should look at our fundraising.
Let's brighten it up, let's evaluate what our fundraising
has looked like maybe over the last few years,
because sometimes ruts stick around.
And I know some of the non profits that I work with,
that's the first thing I look at, at my new piece of mail.
Does it really kinda look the same?
Do I feel like I really don't even need to read it,
I can just barely scan it because it does look the same?
I suspect it might be the same,
so when was the last time you tried
something new in your fundraising?
When was the last time you even
thought about trying something new?
So, let's take a look at your donor base.
How has it changed or stayed the same?
Are you adding some new type, peer to peer fundraising,
social media devotees that might really bring
a spring in your step to online fundraising?
So, look at your donor base, is it changing?
And you can answer these in answered questions,
ask yourself questions,
and if the answers aren't what they should be,
the answer should be growth,
bigger and better things every year,
an increase in donor base.
Then, if those aren't the answers
that you're seeing when you peruse
and evaluate your donor base the last three years,
then you know that you need to make some changes.
Are you going to the same people over and over again
for matching gifts and for your projects?
Are you adding some new growth?
I hope that you are, because if you aren't,
then perhaps you really need some inspiration,
you need a good spring cleaning inspiration.
Okay, so we've decided we need a spring clean,
step number one.
Step number two, take a short break.
So look, you plan, you plan, you execute,
you start all over again, you work,
and you just keep at it.
So, somebody says take a break, you say what?
I can't take a break, I'm too busy,
I've got so much to do.
Hey, one of the reasons that spring
is such a great time to get a new start
is because it's followed by long winter of hibernation.
So, you've been working, working, working,
and you could work into the night,
and all weekend long, because maybe it wasn't great weather,
and you thought ah, I'll just get a little bit more done.
So, your brain had some time to really work,
and now your brain needs a little bit of time off.
And, it will get some rest
and get ready to do great things.
Hey, if all you did was clean your house constantly,
wow, talk about burnout, even if you love to clean.
But, you can do it right now and be excited about it
because it's just something new,
it's not something you do every day,
it is a spring thing.
And this happens to be very true with fundraising.
Every once and a while, you've gotta take that break,
that inspirational break to get a new start.
So, take a vacation, even if it's just for a day,
don't think about your fundraising at all,
relax, enjoy yourself.
Then, when you get back to it,
you'll be ready to shake things up
and create in a way that you haven't done before.
What great fundraising ideas that you'll create.
Okay, so step number two
for your spring cleaning fundraising
is take a little break, even if it's for a day or two.
Three, talk to your base, create, create a sounding board,
okay, like say you've got a great big house,
and you've got a huge big yard,
and spring comes along and you look and you think
oh my God, look at all the weeds, and the floorboards,
and the walls that could be painted,
and the deck that needs redoing, and the lawn,
and all of a sudden, it just seems overwhelming.
Well, fundraising is the same,
you don't wanna have to do that all by yourself.
Instead, when you go to refresh your fundraising,
make sure that you first create
a sounding board to run ideas past.
And, mostly importantly is get ideas back
from them, to receive ideas.
And some of the people,
even if you're a very small non profit,
there are some people that can be on your sounding board.
Your board, your staff, your volunteers, your donors,
event guests, corporate partners, your community,
all of these people will give you a well rounded view
into what your event or what your fundraising could be,
and what they expect from it.
What about your fundraising or event delights them,
but what would they like more of?
What could you do a lot less of?
Plus, the more people, of course, within reason,
on your sounding board,
the more ideas you're going to collect.
All right, now, fourth step for your spring checklist,
your spring fundraising get going again,
here is this fourth step, find your inspiration.
Okay, this is so important,
here at BlockBuster Fundraising,
we really, our vision is to be fundraising inspiration.
In fact, we have a mission statement that says
fundraising inspiration right around the corner
for non profits.
So, this next idea that we're gonna talk about,
the inspiration folder, came from Vanessa Chase Lockchin.
And I think that you probably have heard of her,
if not, check her out, at the storytelling non profit,
wow, she's good.
Okay, so this is her ideas,
and it's because the idea is to take inspiration
from those around you,
and to collect your inspirations
in an inspiration folder for all year long.
What a great idea,
and it'll be so great too at the end of the year,
any time you're doing an email campaign
or a direct mail campaign,
you've got your inspiration folder
to remind you of what would be a great, great theme.
So, speaking to themes,
think of it like looking at cute decorating items
on Pinterest that maybe you wanna try out
in your new house or your spring house,
but you gotta declutter before you can do that.
Well, having these inspirations
makes the whole process a lot more fun.
That's like with me and my spring cleaning of the house,
I change the theme in the dining room, I love it,
it's spring and spring flowers, and Easter bunnies,
and get rid of the older, heavier winter stuff,
and add new inspiration.
So, even if you don't have your inspiration folder
right now, you can still use this tip.
Take a few hours and do some research on,
let's say that you've got a big spring event coming up,
I know a lot of you do, so do some research
on some other events right now.
What do you like? What don't you like?
How can you incorporate some of these ideas
that you like into your own event?
And use this with step number three,
get your sounding board to talk about
their inspirations as well.
And I'll tell you, if it's at that particular event,
you get new inspirations and new ideas,
and you can really add to
your fundraising results quickly with new great ideas.
Okay, fifth step, speaking the new, do something new,
try out something you've never done before.
Maybe it won't work, but you know what?
That's okay, you'll know next year, you won't do it.
But guess what?
Maybe it will work and it will be sensational.
So, adding some new to your charity event,
even if everything else is exactly the same,
can make the whole thing seem more fresh.
So, you wanna think about that,
maybe it's your newsletter, evaluate your newsletter.
I know a couple of the non profits that I follow
and work closely with and like a lot,
their newsletter sort of is starting to look the same to me
every time I get it, and therefore,
I find I really scan it because I've already read it before.
Change things up.
Make the whole thing seem more fresh,
and you'll get renewed energy from your donors
and your followers.
All right, well let's keep sticking with
this spring house cleaning
or closet cleaning theme because I love themes.
Think about this, you do the same thing every year,
everybody has the same chores,
you're scrubbing the same floors
and you're cleaning it just the same way.
And you do this and you do that,
and it just gets boring, but all of a sudden,
if you're cleaning something and you think you know what?
I'm gonna paint and tile this little bathroom,
'cause that'll be really spiffy,
and it'll just look so good.
And then you're cleaning the deck,
and getting everything ready, and you think you know what?
If I refinished or I found somebody to refinish this deck,
it would be perfect, it would add such zest and fun.
And guess what?
All of a sudden all of that cleaning
doesn't feel so daunting,
it feels like you're gonna add something new,
and guess what?
It's gonna be great, new excitement,
new vision, new impression.
Okay, now, the sixth step, get rid of the old.
You know, it's like with those winter clothes
that I got rid, Saturday night
we had dinner with my brother-in-law,
and he was doing the same thing at his place,
getting all his winter and packing things up,
and I confessed to him, I confided in him,
didn't want my husband to hear particularly,
but I said you know, if I packed up,
and I did pack up all this stuff, and I just gave it away,
I don't think I would even miss it next year,
that's the sad thing.
And he said to me you know what?
I felt the same way.
So, get rid of the old.
Now, this is not the same thing as doing something new,
you can add new ideas to your event
or to your fundraising plan while still holding on
way too tight to the old ideas.
But if you get rid, if you evaluate
your efforts and what you're doing,
and you realize that when something you've always been doing
the same way is just not really leading to growth
and excitement, well maybe it's time to stop doing that.
Think of it like this spring cleaning analogy.
Just because food was good when you bought it
doesn't mean it's still going to be great
even six days from now if it's all fresh organic produce.
So, what you were doing six years ago
when maybe that other development director was there,
and things were just great, well,
maybe it's a little stale now,
think of all the new technology
and the new ways of doing things
that have come about just in the last couple of years.
So, really, get rid of some of the old ideas
that are just really not producing things,
and make more room, and this is the analogy,
your fundraising fridge, for all of your fresh ideas.
And you know, when you go to your sounding board
with some of your fresh new ideas,
don't be surprised to hear
but we've always done it this way.
Hey, that's only a great excuse
if you want to keep getting the same results
year after year without seeing any growth.
Because remember, great fundraising is always about growth,
and if you've got, in the last six years,
no new corporate partners, no new major bequests,
no new major gift peeps,
no new growth maybe in your event the last couple of years,
it's time to change things up.
If you want to see growth,
you can't just always rely on the same old, same old.
So, what can you do?
Well, so many things, but embrace technology,
really, embrace technology.
Open up your auction online.
Instead of an annual gala, have a carnival instead.
Who knows what you can do
if you just open yourself up to some change.
So, spring into your best spring ever,
make 2018 fresh, exciting, and inspired.
We'll do our part to help at joyolsongroup.com,
and blockbusterfundraising.com.
And hey, we've got over 300 free video fundraising tips
on our Youtube BlockBuster channel, check us out,
everything from major gifts to direct mail to online
to donation pages to monthly giving, you name it.
We've got inspiration
right around the corner just for you.
Hey, thanks for having been here today,
you know, we're Facebook Live every Tuesday,
one p.m., now Pacific daylight time,
hope to see you again next week, buh bye, and thank you.
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét