The Artful Solicitor: Successful Major Gift Moves Management

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Sponsored by: A Service Of: The Artful Solicitor: Successful Major Gift Moves Management David A Mersky October 26, 2011
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Major gifts fundraising is highly individualized. It focuses on the 10 percent who can give the 90 percent. Unlike direct response and special events, a major gift solicitation is most likely to succeed only when you physically and psychologically get in "front" of your prospects. Involvement is the key.Moves Management, initially developed by G.T. "Buck" Smith and David Dunlop at Cornell University, is a disciplined process of relationship management that is the best way to assure the maximum return on investment. During the webinar, we will examine the process and explore the methods of moves management from prospect identification and research through involvement, solicitation and stewardship.

Transcript of The Artful Solicitor: Successful Major Gift Moves Management

Page 1: The Artful Solicitor: Successful Major Gift Moves Management

Sponsored by:A Service

Of:

The Artful Solicitor:

Successful Major Gift Moves Management

David A Mersky

October 26, 2011

Page 2: The Artful Solicitor: Successful Major Gift Moves Management

Sponsored by:A Service

Of:

Advising nonprofits in:

• Strategy

• Planning

• Organizational Development

www.synthesispartnership.com

(617) 969-1881

[email protected]

INTEGRATED PLANNING

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Sponsored by:A Service

Of:

Affordable collaborative data

management in the cloud.

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Sponsored by:A Service

Of:

Today’s Speaker

David A. MerskyFounder and Managing Director,

Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

Hosting:

Sam Frank, Synthesis PartnershipAssisting with chat questions:

April Hunt, Nonprofit Webinars

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The Artful Solicitor:Successful Major Gifts Moves Management

October 26, 2011

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CASE STUDY IN THE USE OF

VOLUNTEERS

IN CULTIVATION

AND BEYOND

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Setting the Scene

• You are the director of major gifts

• You receive the following email from the

agency CEO about a donor with increased

giving potential who is the President of a

local company, Power Tools, Inc.

• Your agency raises much of its funds through

leadership—major and principal—gifts.

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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The Message

• Met Howard Jackson of Power Tools, Inc.

• Last year Howard gave $10,000 without even

being asked.

• He has attended an educational program of

ours in the past

• I do know he is doing well and his wife

inherited some wealth.

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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The Message

• At our last Board meeting I checked around

and found the following connections –

contacts we can ―get to.‖• William Bell-- Plays golf with Power Tools' corporate controller.

• Franklin Fields -- As you know, he recently moved from a Wall Street firm to become Vice President for

Finance at Power Tools.

• Al Green-- Is Vice President of the Kalek Corporation which is one of Power Tools' major suppliers.

He and Howard have known each other and done business together for years.

• Charles Reagan -- Is distantly related to Power Tools' Board Chairman and sees him frequently at their

club.

• Phil Burns -- Is a major shareholder in Power Tools, and, of course, is a donor of ours at the $1,000,000

level. I believe Phil could be giving more.

• John ―Jack‖ Kennedy -- As the President of Precision Material Handling sits on several boards with

Howard and sees him socially.

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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The Questions

• What should be our next steps with Howard?

• How can we use our contacts with him?

• How can we best engage him?

– I believe his first gift was perceived as a favor to

me and a civic duty, and I think we may need

something stronger this time.

– He has never been to the center and doesn't

know us very well, but an upgraded gift would be

a huge boost to our campaign. ©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Additional Data

• Howard is age 66; his spouse, Alice, is 63.

• The Jacksons are peripherally involved.

• Net worth of $50.0 million.

• Annual income is $2,500,000.

• Three children, all grown and successful.

• Prior to the recent gift of $10,000, he had given

$1,000 annually for the last 10 years, and, through

his company, once gave an additional $5,000.

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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PROPER

PLANNING

PREVENTS

POSSIBLE

POOR

PERFORMANCE

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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PROPER

PLANNING

PROMOTES

POSSIBLE

POSITIVE

PERFORMANCE

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Preparing Your Response

1. Who is on your cultivating and soliciting team?

2. What moves should you consider?

3. How much to request?

4. For what purpose?

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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MAJOR GIFTS MOVES

MANAGEMENT

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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What is Moves Management?

• Fundraisers manage a series of steps (moves)

for each identified prospect which will

―move‖ prospects from – Attention to

– Interest to

– Desire to

– Action

• Continually moving to the next gift.

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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What is a Move?

• Each ―move‖ represents a discrete contact– Email

– Phone call

– Letter

– Fax

– Face-to-face conversation

– Planned events

• Background vs. Foreground Moves

• Cultivation where solicitation does not occur

• One move per month—twelve per year

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Goal of Each Move

• In cultivation, hard to ―quantify‖ goal

• Avoid goals that are too general

• Be realistic—not a major gift in three moves

• Sample goals– Prospect accepts an invitation to a site visit

– Gain a better sense of how the prospect feels about agency

– Determine if pace of moves and goals is correct

• Best possible and minimal acceptable outcomes

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Planning Each Move

• Review key points to cover during the move

• List benefits that will appeal to prospect

• What action are you asking prospect to take, i.e.,

what should be the next step in the process

• List questions you anticipate the prospect will

ask as well as your answers

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Who Participates in Moves

Management?• The prospect or ―moves‖ manager

– a staffer

• Primary player– the person to whom the prospect is not able to say no

• Natural partners– sources of information with strong relationships

• Centers of Influence– additional sources of information

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Role of the Moves Manager

• Develop a strategy for each prospect

• Track prospect’s relationship to organization

• Plan moves

• Coordinate primary players, natural partners and

centers of influence

• Execute the plan

• Reconfigure the strategy/refine the plan

• Coordinate refined plan and execute new moves

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Managing the Moves Process

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• Identifying Prospects

• Gathering Partners to Provide Information

• Evaluating Prospects

• Tracking ―Moves‖

• Maintaining Accountability: The Major Gifts

Management Team

• Keeping Score

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Identifying Prospects

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• Review your current database of donors

• Screen for frequency, recency, upgrades and

―diamonds in the rough‖

• Engage your board collectively and

individually—the hunt for sources of

information and relationships

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Identifying Prospects: Engaging

and Gathering Partners

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• Distribute a list of suspects

• Ask your board members—ideally,

individually—if not, then collectively• What is the prospect’s gift capacity rating?

• Do you have access to this prospect—will they return

your call?

• Can you share information about this prospect?

• Comments?

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Do you Remember Howard

Jackson?• Who could be the primary player, natural

partners, and/or centers of influence?.

.

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

Name and Description PP/NP/CoI

William Bell-- Plays golf with Power Tools' corporate controller.

Franklin Fields -- As you know, he recently moved from a Wall Street firm to become Vice President for

Finance at Power Tools.

Al Green-- Is Vice President of the Kalek Corporation which is one of Power Tools' major suppliers. He

and Howard have known each other and done business together for years

Charles Reagan -- Is distantly related to Power Tools' Board Chairman and sees him frequently at their

club.

Phil Burns -- Is a major shareholder in Power Tools, and, of course, is a donor of ours at the $1,000,000

level. I believe Phil could be giving more.

John ―Jack‖ Kennedy -- As the President of Precision Material Handling sits on several boards with

Howard and sees him socially.

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Evaluating Prospects

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Evaluating Prospects

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• Why is this individual a prospect?

• In what has this person expressed interest?

• For what purposes should funding be sought?

• What is the giving capacity?

• What is our present relationship?

• Who are partners/centers of influence?

• What is the ―moves‖ plan for the next year?

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Evaluating Financial Capacity

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• Net Worth– more is better

• Discretionary Income– see above

• Number of Children– less is more

• Age– 55+ are more willing to make a major gift

• Prior Gifts to Others– giving begets giving

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Evaluating Financial Capacity

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• Prior Gifts to Your Organization– giving begets giving particularly if well-stewarded (c.f.,

August Webinar on Stewardship as a Revenue Enhancer)

• Service on Board or Committee– involvement or repayer (e.g., alumnus, grateful patient,

family of beneficiary) relationship

• Close Relationship with Volunteer/Staff– relationships are vital

• Spousal Involvement– major gifts almost always involve both spouses

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©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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Tracking “Moves”

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• The single, most critical step in the process

• Discipline and Execution

• The ―Call Report‖

• Prospect’s Name

• Date of ―Call/Contact‖

• Name of person making the call

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Tracking “Moves”

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• Type of Call: – Foreground

• Letter

• Phone

• Email

• In-person

– Background

• Purpose– Cultivation

– Solicitation

– Other

• Summary—Detailed Notes

• Next Steps– Continue on PM List

– Remove from PM List

– Reassign to other PM

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Maintaining Accountability

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• A monthly meeting—face-to-face of the entire major gifts

management team with reports by each staff moves manager

• Prospect Name

• Capacity rating

• Status—where are they on the continuum» Identified

» Information gathering

» Interested

» Involved

» Invested

» Post-gift stewardship

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Maintaining Accountability

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

• Date of last contact

• Nature of contact

• Next step

• Comments from Moves Manager/Team

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Keeping Score

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

A monthly report that shows• Date of report

• Number of prospects in the system

• Number of moves planned

• Number of contacts made

• Dollar value of prospects ―moved‖ this month

• Dollar value of prior moves received this month

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Getting Started

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

1. Select 10 to 25 of your best practices

2. Create a file for each

3. Collect easy-to-access researcha. Objective sources, e.g., www.DonorSearch.net

b. Natural partners

c. Active listening to the prospect on calls

4. Identify natural partners

5. Consult (confidentially) with natural partners

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Getting Started

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

6. Preliminarily, select a primary player for each prospect

7. Preliminarily, develop strategy and gift objectives for each prospect

8. Plan five to ten moves for each prospect9. Implement moves and after each move

a. Review and record

b. Refine strategy

c. Fine tune next move

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Getting Started

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

10.Review status of each prospect monthly with

the major gifts management team

11.Add and delete prospects as warranted

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©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

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In conclusion

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

Moves management is about time management

• Four types of prospects– Those ready to make a major gift

– Those needing some cultivation but who would consider a

major gift in the near future

– Those needing extensive cultivation

– Those with capability, but little or no reason to give

• Focus on those closest to the major gift

decision—the 10% who can give 90%

Page 43: The Artful Solicitor: Successful Major Gift Moves Management

Mersky, Jaffe

& AssociatesFinancial and Human Resource

Development Solutions for Nonprofits

800.361.8689 413.556.1074 fax

www.merskyjaffe.com

OFFICES IN BOSTON AND NEW YORK

©2011 Mersky, Jaffe & Associates

Page 44: The Artful Solicitor: Successful Major Gift Moves Management

Sponsored by:A Service

Of:

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