Winning the Lottery

There is nothing I love more than being inspired by people smarter or bolder or more talented than I am. It is quite a rush.

And I’m feeling overwhelmed right now, real-time, as I witness a dynamic melding of creativity and philanthropy. Members of the Toledo chapter of AIGA (www.aigatoledo.org) are huddled inside the downtown Toledo office of Communica (www.communica-USA.com). Young, ambitious and uber-talented designers suspending turf and ego – for one lucky non-profit, for one-day only, Family House (www.familyhousetoledo.org).

My firm was fortunate to partner this year in their annual “design in a day” non-profit spree called “Design Charette” wherein local non-profits compete to be chosen to receive a deluge of otherwise cost-prohibitive design services – whatever the charity needs – new brand, website, brochures, annual reports, social media campaigns – as much as can be manically designed in one day.

What if every for-profit sector did something like this? Pooled their peers and talent for one good cause? What if each of us, individually, selected just one more non-profit to support? Whether that be via our pocketbook or our time or with our professional advice.

So while none of us in this room won the mega-millions last night, today, we’ve won the philanthropic lottery.

Thanks to the AIGA leadership team and congrats to Family House!

The Aladdin Factor

When I worked for a non-profit, one of my favorite (and most successful) fundraising volunteers taught me a concept that put the fear of asking into perspective. Like so many things in life, something that seems so complicated boils down to something so simple. Why is it that the act of directly asking for we want can be so intimidating? The Aladdin Factor, (and I give credit to my friend Don Smith for sharing this concept with me), is based on the fact that “so often, the things that we want in our lives elude us for one very surprising (and deceptively simple) reason – we don’t ask for them.” (After doing a little research, I learned the inspiration for this term is actually coined by authors Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, also known for Chicken Soup for the Soul).

When asking someone for something, it is one of the few chances in life where you actually have a 50/50 chance of getting what you want. This applies to fundraising as well, of course. My friend Don applied this to his fundraising efforts, and has enjoyed immense success, having raised his personal fundraising goal higher each year.  And frankly, wouldn’t you rather be on the asking side of the table (or the phone), so to speak? At least you get the job done (question asked!). You may walk away with a “yes” or a “no”, but if I got a no, I’d rather be the one asking than the one who walks away having had to muster up the guts to say no and carry that guilt around. And a yes? The Aladdin Factor at work!

Just pick up the phone!

If the thought of saying it makes you uneasy…

…You are best to NOT put it in writing.

I’m talking about the “ask” of course. Recently I heard two stories from people who received letters or emails (and I’ve received one too), containing ask amounts of, well, let’s just say, too large to be so cavalier as to just place a big number like that in an envelope (maybe an envelope placed in a chauffeur-driven limo, then I could excuse it).

Both letters, and the email I received, were from highly regarded organizations, with great boards, skilled staff members and solid reputations. All three requests represented, for most development programs, a “major” gift ask – dollar amounts far exceeding a donor’s annual giving history. So why resort to letter or email format? All possible answers fall into the uncouth category – was the organization too busy to call or meet with me? (I must not matter). Is this chump change in their world? (If so, then they won’t miss my money). Do they really think that I’m soooo smitten with what they are doing that I’ll just fill out the form and send it back in? (Ego is terribly unattractive in fundraising).

In all three of these situations I think the main reason has very little to do with the possible explanations listed above. (By the way – all of those explanations were what the recipients of these letters wondered – not the kind of questions you want swirling in your donor’s heads.) Instead, they have everything to do with what we fear most – orally asking someone to part with their money.

But this is essential in fundraising! There are no effective short-cuts. Use this as your guide: if you want to ask someone either to do something for you (serve on a committee, chair an event for instance) or to consider a sacrificial gift (for most of us this is anything over $1000, some would argue lower) you must resist the temptation to put this request in writing! If it makes you uneasy, it doesn’t belong on paper. It’s up to each of us as paid or volunteer fundraisers to get comfortable with the uncomfortable.

The payoff – the financial outcome to the organization; the pride and sense of satisfaction the donor feels when they say yes; and the personal growth felt by you, the solicitor – can never be delivered by mail.