Ever changing client needs, a change in board members and key leaders in the organization, all of these can lead a nonprofit to drift from their original mission. By collaborating with other local organizations, client needs can be met without a radical change to your mission. Building relationships and open communication with other organizations is a key piece to any collaboration.

A second important move for organizations considering collaborations is to have a clear strategic plan. Case studies indicate that organizations which recently went through the intense strategic planning process are better prepared to be a solid collaborative partner. By following the clear goals and objectives of a strategic plan, an organization can stay on task and even use the process to work through the collaborative partnership.

Organizations may choose to collaborate for a number of reasons, including:

• to save costs by sharing infrastructure and administrative expenses
• to strengthen programs or improve efficiency by utilizing complementary skills and abilities.
• to expand the value proposition for both organizations
• to increase leadership skills

Many homeless outreach organizations successfully utilize collaborations to provide healthcare, the benefit of education and food to their clients and homeless guests. Collaborations between nonprofits are a positive for any community.

Being open to collaborations can lead to these benefits and more for a nonprofit organization. Even if this is something you have never considering, just having that conversation could be the start of a beautiful relationship. In fact, consider collaborating with us here at Vacation Homes for Charity. Visit our website and see how we can help with fundraisers. And if you’re interested in generating donations for your cause you may be interested in a OneSpareWeek site to provide your donors with great vacations.

In his book, Uncharitable, Dan Pallotta discusses the restraints of public expectations on non-profits and their spending. These often unrealistic expectations affect all aspects of non-profit organizations from trying to find ways to advertise with little or no marketing budget, to offering below average wages to organization employees. Even with limited spending, public expectation for professional collateral is equal to that of large corporations. So, how do non-profits keep up?

Pallotta’s approach of educating donors and helping them to see the value in what is often classified as “administrative costs”, could be a game changer for non-profits. Pallotta suggests explaining to donors that exposing new supporters to your organization’s cause could result in a tenfold increase in donations. In an era of shrinking budgets and a decline in donors, education and communication of this kind should be very valuable to non-profit organizations. Pallotta calls it a necessity, not only regarding administrative expenses, but in employing all corporate world strategies which would benefit non-profits.

Whether your organization is willing to spend more money on acquisitions or not, Vacation Homes for Charity is holding a golden key to more revenue for non-profits.  We estimate that vacation homes are sitting empty 85% of the time. With 6 million vacation homes on the market, there is the potential for charities to tap into this new revenue stream.

Board members give of their time out of love for the mission, just like volunteers. They offer their professional expertise and guide the nonprofit to success. Too often, they are overlooked when it comes time for a thank you.

This year, take time to recognize, and thank, your board members during National Volunteer Week and throughout the year. Some memorable and fun ways to say thank you include:

• A special treat. While your monthly board meeting may include lunch or refreshments, how about having staff members serve up some special treats from their personal recipes. You could go with a theme or simply provide deserts or a “treat plate” for each board member.
• Feature board members in newsletters and on social media. Write a brief article or even a feature story about a board member and post one member daily during the volunteer week.
• Staff members are expected to wear their professional name tag at events and fundraisers, so don’t leave board members with a paper tag! Provide each board member with a professional name tag indicating their position.
• Have a birthday celebration at each month’s board meeting. Provide cake and recognize board members whose birthday is that month.
• Post Board members photos and names inside the organization. This helps staff members to recognize board members and acknowledge them when they visit.
• Recognize board members on your website. Consider posting a photo and brief bio on a page.
• Take a board member to lunch. This might take the entire year, but consider inviting one board member each month to lunch.
• Host a staff/board cookout or picnic. This is a great way to connect the two groups and help the board stay excited about the mission of your organization.

The ideas can be endless. Ask staff members for ideas on how to recognize and thank board members. No matter the idea, be sure to say thank you to your board.

A committee chair should have a proven record of leadership, whether in the nonprofit or corporate world, and should come to the table prepared to share his contacts and influence in the community.  While a committee chair is not directly responsible for running the event, he should be willing to lend his name in such a way to influence the community to contribute to the event and to the cause. He should also be willing to make a significant contribution to the event, either in direct financial support or with in-kind support.

The selection of the committee chair sets the tone for the event and helps to shape the committee and the event participants. The right committee chair should be passionate about the organization’s mission and, ideally, already a key donor.

Following the selection of the committee chair, the members of the committee should follow the same guidelines of bringing in donors and significantly supporting the nonprofits event staff in reaching and exceeding their fundraising goals. Ideally, committee members should be presented with responsibilities and expectations as they are invited to come aboard the committee. Committee responsibilities should be reiterated at each planning meeting through the agenda.

While the committee chair and committee members bring in the dollars and the participants, it is up to the organizations staff to plan the details of the event and make all arrangements and contracts necessary. Therefore, it is imperative to have a solid working relationship and communication between the committee and key organization staff. A successful fundraising event truly takes everyone.

With 1.06 billion monthly active users and 680 million mobile users on Facebook and  500 million users on Twitter, nonprofits are realizing the value of these tools and finding ways to maximize the free advertising that these social media sites can provide.

The 2012 Nonprofit Social Network Benchmark Report highlights three ways that nonprofits will increase their social media activity in 2013, including: The monetization of Facebook , a bigger presence on Google+, and more fundraising efforts through Twitter.

While nonprofits saw little to no money raised directly through Facebook in 2012, The Benchmark Report predicts that will change in 2013. Many nonprofits are making use of multiple social networking tools, especially Facebook, to promote fundraisers, events, supply drives and volunteering. With instant communication an event or cause can be shared throughout a community in a short period of time compared to traditional media or direct mail appeals. This is especially important for small nonprofits who may have immediate needs to communicate to their supporters, but may not have the budget to do so. The Benchmark Report predicts an increase in nonprofits using Facebook to raise funds in 2013.

The power of Google+ comes from its tie to Google Search, Mail, Docs and other Google tools.  While Google + is not yet the social media powerhouse that Facebook or Twitter has become, it has the potential to appeal to nonprofits who are maximizing advertising and acquisition dollars by tying in other Google products allowing  more accurately targeted advertising using social data.

Twitter, sometimes referred to as a “micro-blog”, has a unique niche among social media which falls somewhere between Facebook and Linked In.  With the addition of their Vine video sharing app, nonprofits can take to twitter with video teasers and provide a companion to other social media fundraising presence.

With the effects of the American Tax Payer Relief Act still uncertain for many Americans, nonprofits are forging ahead, entering the world of social media and finding new ways to increase giving revenue.

New Auction Tools and Technology

We are excited to roll out a new silent auction tool that makes it even easier for non-profits to feature vacations at their fundraisers. We provide everything you need to claim a vacation, print a promotional flyer, and book the vacation after your event. Other websites can now feature our vacations thanks to our released technology (API), and you’ll  soon see our vacations featured on your smartphone at an upcoming fundraiser.

Thanks for your continued support of our program!

The Geronimo Team

Many non-profits and donors worried that the bill would include a cap on itemized deductions, thus reducing donations and leaving a gap in budgets that were set, perhaps, last Fall. While this did not happen, the down side of the bill is that the “Pease” limitation, which donors have had a break from since 2001, has been reinstated, causing families earning more than $300,000 per year to face reduced deductions on itemization, including charitable giving, and, basically, a higher tax rate.

The bill will also affect non-profits on their services side, as it has been suggested that the sequestration, which cuts of $85 billion in spending and is set to go into affect on March 1, 2013, will cut domestic programs and increase the need for services provided by many nonprofits, while at the same time, reducing the government’s funds to pay contracts with nonprofits. The sequestration was pushed back as part of the H.R. 8 deal.

During the recent recession, nonprofits were already hit hard with an increase in demand for services, forcing them to get creative with fundraising. With Congress continuing to talk about permanent tax reform throughout 2013, there is no doubt there will be even more changes to the impact on charitable giving.

As nonprofit leaders, it will be more important than ever to find new income streams and reach new donors. Geronimo Vacation Rentals for Charity offers a unique way to find new donors and increase giving from some established donors who may have hit a giving plateau. As we move into 2013 and begin to set budgets and strategic plans for 2014 and beyond, a creative campaign, such as vacation rentals, may be just what your nonprofit needs to get a bump in giving.

In October 2012, more than fifty percent of non-profits reported a lack of any increase in giving during the first 3 quarters of the year. The giving freeze is likely related to the salary freeze or decrease happening in companies large and small around the country. The same percentage of organizations facing the lack of increase in giving in 2012 expect the trend to continue into year-end giving, which is typically the largest giving period of any year. The recession has even seen some non-profits considering mergers to survive.

In December 2012, Philanthropy.com reported that during the recession, giving among upper income Americans declined by $30 billion. Those earning less than $100,000 reported a decrease in giving by $4 billion.

The giving decreases, coupled with financial uncertainty in Washington, are forcing non-profits to get creative with appeals and outreach. Vacation Homes for Charity comes to the rescue with a fresh idea for fundraising with their One Spare Week websites.

Vacation Homes for Charity reports that vacation homes are unused 85% of the year and makes use of the gap to raise much needed funds for non-profits. Donors can choose to support their organization of choice by either donating vacation home weeks to be auctioned or by purchasing vacation weeks at the organizations OneSpareWeek.com website.

A OneSpareWeek site makes it easy for non-profits by offering support for each organization’s fundraising efforts with a customized website. Non-profit organizations can simply share the links with their followers on Facebook and Twitter, for example, and wait for the donations to roll in.

This simple and non-traditional fundraiser can boost a lagging year-end budget, as well as kick-start non-profit fundraising in the new year.

Depending on the mission of your non-profit, it might seem that an emotional appeal is a no-brainer; schools, homeless shelters and pet rescues are prime examples of non-profits who might find success with an emotional appeal. So, what’s the problem with appealing to donors on an emotional level? Nothing…except you aren’t reaching all of your potential donors.

Just as donors have different “giving pockets” or projects that grab their attention, donors also have different interests in the feedback they receive from your organization. While an appeal of a homeless or battered pet may spur one donor to give, another donor wants to know how their money is used, what the numerical results are and, what your goals for growth in the next year are before they decide to invest in your organization. For that rational giver, a broad range of factors can affect their decision to give; do you offer convenient giving opportunities through automatic withdrawal or a giving app, is your organization highly visible in the community, are results readily available and communicated well.

You are likely to find that most donors are somewhere in the middle of these two. To effectively reach both types of givers, the important facts and figures that your rational donor wants and needs to see before giving, can easily be woven into your emotional appeal story. By making use of the many tools available to communicate, such as social media tools, you can keep a literal picture of who you serve, or your “results”, in front of the potential donor at all times, while also feeding them the information they need through frequent updates and even client testimonials.

While the question of appealing to the emotional giver or the rational giver may never be truly answered, we can find ways to target both by making use of the information we have available and communicating it well to our donors and potential donors.

Donors give to a cause because it has touched their life or stirred their heart in some way. While this type of loyalty from a giver is a great asset, some donors prefer to give to a specific project or campaign. Even current donors may increase their normal gift if you find a project they can get behind.

While a glance at almost any direct mail fundraising piece includes the phrase “Yes! I want to help with…”, most of these pieces fall flat because they aren’t actually asking the donor to fund anything specific. Donors are receiving these types of appeals month after month, year after year. At some point they become non-responsive.

Non-profit organizations do need to maintain a flow of unrestricted funds through general asks, however, we need to keep in mind that as fundraisers, it is our job to match a donor with an opportunity to give that will allow them to feel fulfilled in what they have financially supported.

Most non-profit organizations have a major item ‘wish list’ which includes larger ticket items that may not be supported by the annual budget. Why not publish the list for current and potential donors. Perhaps include the list in a newsletter or in monthly donor receipts. Some donors simply may not be aware that there are needs beyond the organizations budget and may see an item on the list that interests them. The Board of Directors should also be kept in the loop as to what the major wish list items are. As key fundraisers, the Board of Directors can also inform their contacts of the organization’s needs.

A great example of matching donors to giving opportunities is the Donorschoose.org website. This school specific site allows teachers from all across the country to post their classroom needs. Potential donors browse the site and choose to fund whichever project, classroom or school they wish. While your organization may not be able to fund an entire website to advertise your major wish list, the items can easily be posted on your organization’s website and shared through various social media channels such as facebook or twitter.

Of course, there’s also Vacation Homes for Charity that connects donors and travelers with discounted vacation rentals that donate a portion of the rent to a non-profit of choice. The non-profits can also have their own white labeled website that showcases these vacation rental opportunities for year round fundraising. Vacation Homes for Charity will easily and quickly build a non-profit a OneSpareWeek website and there’s no charge. Just follow this link for details.

Another important piece to finding your donor’s giving pockets is simply getting to know your donors. As you interact with them and find out their interests you may find a natural connection between them and a major need of the organization.

It has been said that the number one reason a donor has not given to your organization is that they have not been asked. Don’t miss out on a great opportunity and a great donor simply because you didn’t ask!

References:

http://www.donorpowerblog.com/donor_power_blog/2008/12/do-donors-want-to-do-anything-specific.html

http://suite101.com/article/creating-a-development-plan-for-nonprofit-donors-a134309

http://www.donorschoose.org/about