On my 40th birthday I found an elusive morel in my friend's garden. How magical this world can be! Sometimes what you are looking for is right in front of you.

I wanted to start this update by sharing a little mushroom story, because mushrooms, and more broadly, mycelium and networks and our interconnectedness have informed everything I've done over the six years since I've posted here.

Over the years our team has worked with dozens of clients across the country and always approached our projects holistically. Because our consultants have extensive experience working with organizations, we can often see that there are underlying dynamics or processes that need to be improved to lead to more success in meeting an organization's goals. Over time we have done more 1 on 1 coaching with Executive Directors, Development Directors, and Founders, not only to support them to raise money but also to see what other shifts are needed in the organization so it can thrive.

The pandemic, on top of working on painful systemic issues, has led to more burnout than ever. More people are setting better boundaries to survive. We can't keep sprinting, focused on doing more than ever because of the ever-increasing need and urgency. But we also can't slow down, stop, navel gaze, and wait til we feel better. Aril Consulting can help lighten the load, help shift the culture, help you prioritize, and provide emotional support to those who are bearing the burden of raising money that provides jobs and financial stability to people.

As we enter 2022 we are here for you and your projects. Reach out and let us know how we can help.

- Valerie Costa

This is a post for all fundraiser and ED friends in the social change world.

The GIFT Conference only happens every other year… where do you get your fundraising recharge time in the meantime?

Heather from the Vermont Workers' Center and I have been thinking about how awesome is would be to convene a retreat for people charged with leading fundraising in social change organizations. Development staff, Executive Directors, even super volunteers. Anyone who is really holding the huge job of managing fundraising efforts for a social change organization with an anti-capitalist bent.

Do you ever feel like there are not many places where you can learn from other fundraisers? We envision a space where a small group of us (10 or less) can explore what it means to raise money in organizations that see capitalism as a root cause of problems for people and the planet. An organization that’s committed to building collective power among those who aren’t wealthy. Can you raise money without compromising your values?

If this piques your interest, please fill out the survey linked below. We are hoping to hold the first retreat in New England this fall and if there's interest/energy hold more around the country!

Thanks to my partner for inspiration for this blog post.

"Hey sweet-cakes, want to help me bathe the cat tomorrow night?"

"I might be willing to do that." 

What does that mean? Maybe you will help, maybe you won't.  That doesn't give me any intel on whether you are willing to hold down the cat while I pour the evil of evils (water) over her.

I dislike the word "might." I dislike it because it's meaningless.

When I read grant proposals, appeals, or other fundraising writing, I seek to root out meaningless language. If I'm not reading with this in mind, I don't even notice it. It takes concerted effort to edit writing for meaning.

Meaningless language has invaded our lives.  Are there words or phrases that you find meaningless? Please share in the comments.

I was checking out the Doctors without Borders website last night, to read about their Ebola relief efforts and considering making a donation. As I do when I visit any non-profit organization's website, I checked out the donation page -- What payment processor do they use? Is it hosted on their site? What is their pitch like? Do you input all the info on one page or is it a staged form?

I consider Doctors without Borders fundraising pros. They're big, they're international, and they're well-branded. People know them, so they must have a top-notch and super-experienced development team. These are people I want to learn from.

Their donation page is lovely. One page, Short and effective pitch to the left and the majority of the page is the form. They did ask one question I've never seen:

A pomegranate seed--the focal point of our logo--is an aril. The short, non-scientific definition is that seeds covered by flesh are arils.  In many traditions, the pomegranate seed is a symbol of abundance.  This was our inspiration in naming Aril Consulting.

As fundraisers, we come to this work from a firm belief that there are abundant resources out there. The question is not "is there enough?"  The question is "how do we tap into the abundance and generosity that's out there?"  Volunteer time, money, in-kind resources, networking connections--there are many ways that people can give.  If you go into this work believing in scarcity, that there isn't enough, that people can't give (or don't want to give), that what you offer isn't good enough, then you will probably have a hard time raising money. 

Consider the possibilities for change when you think of the community as generous and regenerative?

I’ve always had a habit of seeing similarities where others see differences. In college working towards my double major, I tried hopelessly to convince people that my abstract algebra class and thesis on Hawthorne were related. To this day, if you hand me a beer and ask about college, I’ll tell you why a mathematical proof is really the same thing as the analysis of a poem. I recently moved to the Big Island of Hawaii to take over a small coffee farm. As I spend more time in the fields, I see similarities between growing coffee and my fundraising work. Here are a few of the similarities that I’ve come across:

1. There’s a lot more than meets the eye. Most people don’t understand that the process is complex, let alone have an idea of the steps.

If you’re like 83% of Americans, you enjoy a cup of coffee most mornings. And though you probably don’t think about it much, you assume that you know where that coffee comes from.  But, did you know that a crucial step of your Starbucks latte is a 3-day fermentation? Or that it takes 8 pounds of raw coffee beans to make one pound of coffee? How about that each of those coffee beans was picked by hand (or should have been)?

Similarly, most people assume they have a general understanding of fundraising—it’s asking people for money, right? But in truth, the process is much more complex and detailed then most of us believe. 

2. The process starts earlier than you think—cultivation starts long before you reap the rewards

It takes five years for a coffee tree to produce fruit. Similarly, you need to spend time cultivating donors long before you ask them for money. Whether you’re growing coffee or developing a relationship with a donor, realize that you are going to have to put it a lot of hours before you see the pay-off.

3. You have to pick at exactly the right time.

Coffee cherry ripens sporadically—on any given branch, individual beans can ripen over a period of 3-4 months.  On the branch below, you can see unripe (green) cherry, perfectly ripe (red) cherry, and overripe (shriveled, dark) cherry. To get the best cup of coffee, you want to pick only the red beans. And to make sure you harvest red beans, you need to check back regularly—up to once a week in peak season. That means looking at every branch, on every tree, every week, to see who is ready.

Similarly, to get the most donors, you need to approach them at the best time. And you need to stay in touch with them, checking to see if they are ready to give. Sometimes this means asking. Sometimes this means just giving them a phone call, to provide an update and feel out if they’re ready. Also, if they say no right now—you can ask them again later. “When might be a better time for you and your family?” “Can I send you an update on the project in six months and see if you are interested?”

4. The more time you spend tending the crop, the more and bigger beans you get.

Sure, you can ignore your trees year round and just head out when the beans start to turn red. You’ll get some coffee. But your trees may be dried out, or undernourished. They could be taken over by vines, or a pesky bug may have eaten all the coffee before you got there. A few trees will have died, and a few more will be sick enough to die next year.

Similarly, you can ignore your donors year round, and send them an annual appeal letter at Christmas. Some of them will still give. You’ll get some money. But you won’t get as many gifts, or as big of gifts. Your donor pool—your coffee orchard—won’t be as healthy.  Another organization might have flown in and asked while you weren't paying attention. You’ll lose a few this year, and a few more next year, until you’re scratching your head wondering why you have to have tea for breakfast.

On the other hand, fertilizing your trees can increase yield by an amazing amount. Similarly, you need to fertilize your donors. Send them a thank you. Email them a personal invitation to an event. Mail them updates on your programs. And when you send that appeal come December, you’ll have a whole orchard of healthy donors.

Conclusion

As tempting as it is, the message here isn't that coffee and fundraising are intrinsically linked. However, both are complex processes that require substantial time, energy, and attention for success. If you’re new to fundraising, approach it like any new skill—don’t assume that you understand all the steps, layers, and complexities. Take time to really consider the whole process, from beginning to end, and you’ll end up with a perfect cup. (A cup full of donations, that is!)

A guest post by Donna Bellinger

NOTE:  I (Val) had the pleasure of working with Donna for a few years at Senior Services.  We were all learning on the job but the thing that has always stuck with me is Donna's authentic and loving interaction with donors. We did a lot of direct mail at the time and Donna took her role as primary contact for thousands of donors to heart.  She's written a blog post about why it's important to value all of your donors. 

There are noteworthy individuals in society whose particular genius is explaining what should be obvious. These synthesizers explain the mechanics of processes and situations that baffle the less aware. Once we hear or read the explanation of, e.g., why one product succeeds and another fails, or why some people become criminals and others do not, we immediately recognize the truth in it. It was there all along, but we were looking at trees; the synthesizer saw how those trees made up the forest, and described the forest so we could see it too.

Successful businesses have that overview of the “forest” while still attending to the individual “trees.” Without it, their enterprise will suffer. Excellent customer service—the kind which does not repeat a memorized script, but actually listens to the customer’s comment—sets a company apart from its competitors and helps it thrive even if their product is comparable to many competitors.

The same is true for nonprofits. An ability to keep the overall purpose and goal in mind and still attend to the details is critical.

Of the donors large and small that I encountered over several years in fundraising, the smallest of them made the largest impression. There were others in the organization who tended large donors, so I was allowed to tend my “flock” of small donors:

• a gentleman living on Social Security who frequently mailed in one or two dollars--I still remember his name
• the 90-plus-year-old woman who wrote with her gift that she lived alone, was disabled, had no local family, but that our charity had meant so much to her, she wanted to help others…with a check that represented 8% of her yearly income.

It may seem to be a luxury for a small non-profit to assign one person to shepherd small donors. What their gifts contribute to the overall bottom line is statistically insignificant, and the need for large gifts—and attention to these donors—is critical. But often overlooked is the small donor’s own need to be a giver, not simply a taker.

Unfortunately the value of good will in the extended community that is reaped from many very small gifts is not possible to calculate and report. To each of those small donors, however, the dignity the nonprofit affords them with prompt and genuine thanks, assurance of their importance to the overall mission, and simple affirmation of their own value, means much more than the financial boost they provide.

In this way, the nonprofit sees the trees and the forest.

Donna is the owner of Edit Proof Writing, a proofreading and administrative support consulting business.  You can reach her at editproofwriting (at) hotmail.com.

Post on Facebook that you are trying to raise $1,000 by the end of the month and the donors will just fly in.

Not likely.

Why bother then?  You need to use social media strategically to support your crowdfunding campaign.  Here are a few tips to get social media to work for you:

#1     Diversity your posts
Don't just post your goal and progress toward it.  Post photos of yourself training. Share why you care and why you are raising money.  Post photos related to the cause that you're supporting.

#2    Thank your donors on Facebook
In all likelihood, a lot of your friends are part of larger social groups.  One friend in a social group makes a donation to your cause, and it will inspire others in that network to give.  By thanking your donor friend on Facebook you are not only honoring that person but you are reminding your other friends about your campaign.

#3     Don't be afraid to tag people
The reason why people don't give the first time they are asked is not because they don't want to give to your campaign.  It's usually because they read the email at a bad time, saw it on their phone, or want to wait til payday to donate.  If you tag people on Facebook you are reminding them to give in another way.  I like to think of this as a stronger nudge and usually try other methods first to get a yes or no answer. 

#4     Use Incentives
During my last campaign I promised everyone who gave a custom piece of digital art.  I am still working on it (I haven't forgotten!!!) but when I do finish a piece, I post on Facebook and tag my friend.  I started doing this during my campaign and believe that some people gave a gift because they were also curious about the art I'd create for them.

From my personal experience, the vast majority of donations I've received via crowdfunding have come from personal emails or in person asks.  However, about 15% of my past donors gave in response to the Facebook posts. These were people I didn't ask via email in the first place. 

Don't forget social media but also, don't rely on it to help you reach your goal.  In marketing terms, a multi-channel approach is best!

Successful crowdfunding is storytelling. Like effective short story writing, I’ve found I’ve been most effective when I was personal about my connection to the cause I’m raising money for, vivid in the multi-sensory and emotional details of some of my memories of and feelings about that cause, and most importantly, cast my network as characters in the story. I draw on my history and connection with that friend, relative, or colleague, highlighting shared experiences and worldview formation. I acknowledge and affirm people who’ve already given, to model the ways in which they’ve become part of the story, part of making it happen. I emphasize how essential their support is.

It’s important to establish a good flow in terms of frequency and type of ask. The first thing I’ll do at the beginning of any crowdfunding campaign (after creating my online profile) is to put together my list of potential supporters. Make this list as broad as possible, including people who’ve supported you in the past and people who’ve never given. In the first email, express a few key things: what you’re raising money for, why it’s important to you, and why their support is important to the cause and to you. After sending out the initial mass email, create a plan for individual follow up emails. It’s fine to copy and paste some content, but it’s really worth the time it takes to personalize it, and to engage the real relationship you have with that person. Over time, you’ll get a sense of what medium is the best for making the ask to particular friends and relations: some people respond to an email, others to a chat, others to a social media contact. Remember that unless someone explicitly tells you that can’t or won’t give, it’s worth contacting them until they do respond. If possible, wait until a few people have given before sending another mass email (then you can build a sense of momentum and excitement).

The ask needs to be very direct: “Can you support this campaign?” People are most likely to feel compelled to respond if they’re actually asked, rather than just implying the ask. Be smart about your targeting: if it’s a mass email, I’ll always emphasize that ANY amount will help, and that no donation is too small. Sometimes, people feel embarrassed about giving a small amount, but most of my successful crowdfunding campaigns have been built of dozens of small donations($10, $25, $50).  I just raised $1,078 from 45 donors--with an average donation of $23.96 and only one donation over $50.

Be sure to promptly thank people after they donate. I usually send a personal email (to communicate that I really do care and that our relationship is worth a private thank you note) and post a thank you on Facebook (so they can get the public recognition). A very important piece of the thank you is the Second Ask: "Thanks again! Also, could you please forward this to friends you think would be supportive, or post and tag on Facebook? That would be a really helpful way to spread it beyond my immediate network." 

- Avery Book

Thanks to Avery for his guest blog post.  He's still $122 short of his goal for his latest crowdfunding effort -- want to help him tell the story of migrant workers? You can learn more about the project and give at http://www.gofundme.com/3wvi0s