Fundraising and Metrics for Non-

Profit Success

Presented by Ted Chan

MIT Sloan School of Management

Fundraising and Measurement are

intrinsically linked

Client IntakeFundraising

Training

Disbursement

Monitoring & Evaluation

Agenda

I. Fundraising Basics

II. Marketing Exercise

III. Metrics Basics

Breakout Exercise – Holyoke Shelter CaseIV. Breakout Exercise – Holyoke Shelter Case

V. Breakout Exercise – Goalsetting

Mathematics of FundingFunding =

Grant $

++

# of funders asked x success rate x Average $ given

Work to increase each!

Competition - You have to be good� Over 800,000 NGOs in the US alone

� Women, children, forests, cats, dogs

� Constant solicitationPostal mail, E-mails, solicitations on the street, fundraising Postal mail, E-mails, solicitations on the street, fundraising dinner, advertising, piles and piles of grants – everyone wants money.

Why should I give to you?

Your funder is your customer, you must meet their needs. So what are then needs? Let’s brainstorm together.

Meeting funder needs - Brainstorm

Tanzanian Business Person

NGONGO

International Wellwisher

Let’s get inside their heads.

Local Business Person� Media and community recognition

� Public recognition for his business

� Connection with a person

� Feel good about him or herself

Belief that they are contributing to a good cause and a real � Belief that they are contributing to a good cause and a real need

� Confidence their money will be used well

� Personal thanks

International Wellwisher� Has to be a cause that interests them

� What might be a clue?

� Impact� Personal connection with a cause organization� Credibility and accountability of the organization� Frequency of requests reasonableFrequency of requests reasonable� Access to organization leadership� Donation request needs to match wealth, project belief and engagement� Desire to fund/customize their own program

� Has advantages and pitfalls

#1 thing - needs to be aware of you!

Online Wellwisher Generation� Drive people to your website

� Partner with international organizations

� E-mail lists

� E-mail signatures

Directories� Directories

� Social networking

� Social forums (e.g. SocialEdge)

� Be creative!

NGOs and Grant Writing� Organization skill and ability

� Track record of delivering results

� Cost-effectiveness

� Fit and focus

Ability/expertise to deliver services� Ability/expertise to deliver services

� “Last mile” delivery

� Professional approach and presentation

� Monitoring and Evaluation

Porter’s Generic Strategies Apply to

Non-Profits – 3 strategies to stand out

Cost

• Deliver services at a lower cost• Be able to measure and articulate cost advantage

• Be known for executing specific tasks with excellence

Focus • Organized to deliver a specific service

Differentiation

• Market yourself especially well• Appeal to the needs of individual funders

Basic Fundraising Checklist� A clear and focused one page write-up of your mission,

activities and accomplishments� A one-page budget/resources summary in USD or Euro � Successful projects matrix � Website� Website� E-mail list of members and donors� 90 second pitch� 5 minute pitch� References� Volunteer roster and roles

90 second pitchIn many cases, you will have a limited amount of time to articulate why your organization is special and why someone should give or be involved.

An 90 second pitch is an important component of being able to An 90 second pitch is an important component of being able to raise funding and earning people’s support for your organization. You should be ready to deliver this at any time.

If you can do it in 90 seconds, any other period is no problem.

Elevator Pitch Exercise #1� Imagine that you have 90 seconds to tell a girl or boy that you

are interested in what your best qualities are.

Sample Elevator Pitch StructureThe hook

� A fact, statement or question that gets them listening.

Introduction and summary statement

Supporting fact #1

Supporting fact #2Supporting fact #2

Supporting fact #3

Conclusion and pitch – ask for what you want – a meeting, a phone call, a date.

Elevator Pitch Exercise #2Assignments:

MAdeA: MAdeA

TYACP: TYACP

Gosbert and Shaban: Why you should hire meGosbert and Shaban: Why you should hire me

Natalie –The women’s shelter

Pitch to your donorsMAdeA works to empower women and fight domestic violence and sexual assault in economically isolated areas in Tanzania. The women we work with earn less than a dollar a day and are frequently subject to rape and battering.

MAdeA's programs provide women and girls with:

� Training on how to avoid sexual assault and domestic violence� Women's safety programs� Women's safety programs� Micro grants and training to women to fund entrepreneurial activities� School fees to keep young girls in school and out of prostitution� Education on HIV/AIDS, condom use and other reproductive health issues

I’ll be honest with you – almost no one cares that you are a membership organization, that you have 12 members or that you were founded in 2001. They want to hear about how you help marginalized women or provide services in the community.

Who cares?

�Tanzanian Business Person

�NGO

� International WellwisherInternational Wellwisher

Process and Period and OwnershipEvery week, month or year, we will:

E-mail X number of international wellwishers (Baltazar)Call X local businessmen (Anna)E-mail updates (Baltazar)E-mail updates (Baltazar)Review lists for funding grants (RutaTobias)Follow up and check in with past donors (Anna)Have a fundraising event (To be assigned to a new member)

Assign these to different people!

Briefly, other funding ideas� Raise an endowment� Request operating funds� Provide services and charge for them� Request equipment donations� Lease out purchased equipment� Get “skin in the game” (shared purchases)� Get “skin in the game” (shared purchases)� Take business equity� Give out equipment, not cash (creates economies of scale)� Invite local entrepreneurs and business people to train� Ask people for time, not money� Have existing supporters contact all their friends� Network into the ex-pat community� Raise membership numbers

Measurement� The most successful non-profits not only deliver impact, but

are able to measure them

� Measurement helps funders understand the value delivered or promised – essential in grant funding

� The metrics help the organization itself improve its own � The metrics help the organization itself improve its own processes

� A culture of measurement is essential

� This creates a virtuous cycle that builds funding, capacity and operational excellence

Planning Phases - Basics� Each interaction with a client is an intervention

� Every intervention has an outcome

� Every outcome can be measured

Marketing focused metrics� Potential individual funders want to know the impact of their

donations

� Large funders and NGOs see measurement as part of the required capacity for partners

� Large funders need data on effectiveness� Large funders need data on effectiveness

� Universities and researchers value the data and are more likely to partners

Why MaDeA should want to measure

� Madea has made a lot with a very small amount of money

� To improve

� To set target goals

� To be able to articulate impact and needs to potential funders and partnersand partners

Can you tell them in numbers?

Domestic Violence & Sexual Assualt

Outcomes� survivors' immediate safety (for residential services)� immediate safety of survivors' children (for residential services)� survivors' increased knowledge about domestic violence� survivors' increased awareness of resources and options� survivors' decreased isolation� community's improved response to battered women and their � community's improved response to battered women and their

children� public's increased knowledge about domestic violence� increased survivor safety over time� reduced incidence of abuse in the community� reduced homicide in the community� improved quality of life of survivors

Source: Sullivan & Alexy, vawnet.org

Data Collection Methods� Day-to-day gathering (sign-in sheets)� Survey� Focus Group� Interview� Regional or community statistics

Produce monthly reports (simple for now) and use them to communicate with donors. Sample e-mail:“Last month, we had 20 victims of domestic violence who needed help. This placed a strain on our budget. If you would consider a donation this month to help us get back on track financially, that would be great.

Improvement and Goal-Setting� Set goals (numeric and yes/no)

� Review periodically

� Brainstorm as a team to determine how to improve

� Share goals and successes with members, wellwishers and on the Internet and via other sources – people will noticethe Internet and via other sources – people will notice

Appendix A – ReferencesMetrics for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault: http://new.vawnet.org/category/Main_Doc.php?docid=380

Basic Tips for Fundraising for Small NGOs in Developing Countries:

http://www.coyotecommunications.com/outreach/

Appendix B – Online Fundraising Resourceswww.innonet.org/

The Innovation Network works with nonprofit organization to share the power of evaluation with nonprofits and funders. Their evaluation tools help with everything from creating your organization’s mission statement to post-program evaluation, and draw heavily on log-framed approaches to program development.

www.ifrg.org.uk

The Resource Alliance's mission is to build the fund-raising and local resource mobilization capacity of the voluntary sector worldwide.

www.tgci.com

The Grantsmanship Center links to foundation and corporate sites of interest to fund raisers, and has general information on fundraising. Focused primarily on the USA.

www.cof.org

Council on Foundations with links to many foundations and general information on foundations and giving. Focused primarily on the USA.

http://fdncenter.org

The Foundation Center links to foundation and corporate sites of interest to fundraisers, and provides general information onfoundations and giving. Focused primarily on the USA.

www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/keywords/5o.html

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (FAQs) regarding prospect and funder research.

Sources: Cravens, 2006