"The Ask"

Much has been written, much more will be written (I think I am writing about it even now) about "The Ask".

Much like exercise or dieting the literature surrounding "the ask" is all about making the act of asking easier, painless, effortless, not difficult. "Ten easy ways to...fifteen ways to guarantee success..." As I browse the titles of books and articles on the subject I feel as though I am in the diet/self help aisle of my local Barnes and Noble.

Do we really enjoy the task of asking so little that we are desperate for the quick fix? How has an entire profession been created around the central task of asking for money while so many that practice the profession will do virtually anything to avoid performing the primary function of the entire industry-asking for money?

I have more to say here, we consulting types always do, but I promise that I have no easy steps, no painless methods, no tactics to give you rock solid results in only ten minutes a day - no "asks of steel" from me!

The perils of not raising money from private sources!

I took a call today from a non-profit operating in Southern New England. They provide substance abuse as well as HIV/Aids counselling and support. They have been in business for 30 years, have 25 people in their residential facility and several hundred others in various outpatient programs. They have a budget just north of $1.5million. They are teetering on the edge of disaster, quite possibly faced with laying off half their staff overnight and cutting half of their programs.

Why?

They are 100% dependent on state, federal and city funding. The state has cut their allocation by 30%, the federal grant which accounts for 40% of their budget and usually comes by September has been silent, not a word from the department that makes the annual allocation. They have a mailing list with zero names, received exactly zero private or individual donations, have 15 board members-none of whom give, and conducted one event (a 30 year anniversary celebration) which actually cost them money.

THIRTY YEARS! in business and not a single name on the mailing list! THIRTY YEARS of blood, sweat and tears tending to some of the most desperate in our inner cities yet not a single private gift or foundation supporting them.

My caller today was rather desperate, when he received my letter he thought it was exactly what he needed, a life raft, a source of hope. It was difficult informing him that building a program of private support would take time, it would take money, it would not likely yield immediate results and certainly couldn't plug a major funding shortfall that is mere weeks away.

I don't know how we prevent this. Perhaps there is more that the local community foundations can do to educate area non-profits about the importance of building internal capacity. Perhaps there is more that the United Way could do to member organizations about teaching their recipient organizations to build mailing lists, to develop case materials, encourage/require board support, conduct special events, seek major gifts.

Seeing an organization that does so much good possibly fail because of a slight shift in local, state or federal funding priorities is a real and to some degree preventable tragedy.

I offered to do a foundation search for this organization free fo charge. I will assemble a list of private foundations that might be interested in supporting their organization based on past gifts and funding parameters. I fear it will be far to little and far to late.

How NOT To Use Powerpoint By Comedian Don McMillan

I personally cannot stand Powerpoint in any form. It is so wildly over used, makes most topics mind numbingly boring and serves as a crutch for very poor presenters.

This guy says it all!

A brand called you!

Two or three years ago Fast Company magazine ran a cover story called "A Brand Called You". Written by Tom Peters - This was the first time that I read about the concept of personal branding, as in branding yourself, the individual. What is the John Cunneen brand?

Now I had witnessed this with various personalities such as the sales guru Brian Tracy or Zig Ziglar, Tom Peters himself was a major personal brander, Tony Robbins-these folks, for me, were the original personal branders. The Fast Company article was the first to begin to fuse together one's personal and professional achievements, web presence and blogosphere/social networking renown.

I link the article as a reminder to myself and to anyone who happens to be reading this blog. The world has changed, you are a brand, we are all brands, we collectively make up the brand that is The Cunneen Company. You as a development director, pastor, volunteer, are all part of your non-profits brand, you are all your own brand.

What does this mean to our organizations?
What does this mean to us invidiually?

I havent the slightest clue but I find it far more interesting then this clumsy post gives it credit for.

Dont listen to me, check out what Tom Peters has to say:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/10/brandyou.html?page=0%2C0

John :)

Face it-You are a salesperson!

Aren't we?

I will be giving a talk in a few weeks at Connecticut Philanthropy Day on Major Giving. While I am still working on exactly what I am going to present I am leaning toward giving a "you are a salesperson speech"!

Of the several hundred development directors and fundraising professionals that I have met with, interviewed, shared a conference or class room table with I cant even begin to count how many never actually go out and ASK for the gift. How many do not have a list of prospects, rate the prospects, list the interest or selling points for their case for each prospect, have hot/cold/warm prospect files etc.

Being a development director, or at least a good one, is no different than being a good salesperson. You must get out of your office, you must make face to face, person to person meetings with your prospects. You must find what interests your prospects and make sure you tailor your presentation or ask to meet those interests. You have to cold call, follow up, drop in, send nice little notes, and you have to get a bit lucky! Its one of the most difficult jobs in the world (being a salesperson) but its by far one of the most rewarding.

We are all selling! Always! At home my oldest is currently working on her "potty training". My wife is a master salesperson. She discusses the "case" with my daughter, seeks to find out what motivates her (is it being a big girl, going to school soon, being like her big cousins?) she seeks to discover what is motivating the little one. She constantly builds her "ask" her "sale" around those key motivations. There is a reward structure in place, there is constant contact, affirmation, stickers and applause! This is selling, this is major gifts fundraising!

I have a vivid memory of my 12th grade poetry teacher-Mr. Hunter. There was never a man so enthusiastic about poetry as "Hunter"-there was never a student so uninterested in poetry as yours truly. I can recall Hunter's enthusiasm, his passion for the subject, he tried to find some way to connect with each student, some way to make poetry meet our interests, some way for us to "buy" what he was "selling". Hunter was an outstanding teacher because he was a darn good salesperson-at least on this topic-a topic he was passionate about.

Embrace your inner salesperson-chances are without knowing it or admitting it you already have!

Based on the ads I see this must be true!

http://view.break.com/542649 - Watch more free videos

When the joy is absent from giving.

As someone who owns a fundraising consulting firm, has managed many capital campaigns and annual appeals,trained hundreds of volunteers and as a donor to many worthy organizations in my community I firmly subscribe to the old adage about the "joy of giving"! I teach it, I write about it, it's in my proposals and in this particular case I really do think giving, when done properly, is fantastic - A true joy!

However there is a form of giving that I am forced to participate in that lacks any real joy. This is that neato solicitation from my clients!

Yes those wonderful clients who you've taught so well, trained on building a case, trained on the proper ask, trained on the proper timing of the ask-who invite you to lunch (that I ultimately pay for)and somewhere between the lobster bisque and the healthy fish of the day they slide a "really neat sponsorship" "worthy raffle" "great anniversary book" "incredible golf tournament flag sponsorship" "high profile advertisement in informative directory" "lunch sponsor at their event which they refuse to let me speak at" giving opportunity!

This solicitation, of course, comes with almost no explanation, no discussion of what the money is being used for, no pitch on the case. No head fake in my direction to pretend that I might be interested in the actual project. Just that sorta half smile, slightly awkward yet expectant slide across the table of the important information!

I know this comes off as another half rant/complaint and it is meant to! I am after all whining rather vigorously. However I do believe there is a lesson here. A lesson for me as a fundraising professional, a lesson for me as a business owner and an important lesson for my clients. Never take your relationships for granted. It doesn't matter how much you've done for a client, or they've done for you, how much you as the school or church have done for the donor-how many favors, extra effort or special exceptions you may have made.

At the end of the day giving is a deeply personal and emotional experience. When someone signs that check they want to feel good, they want to feel appreciated, they want to feel that their gift was needed. Appreciate your donors (all of them, even those that "should" give) always make your case, always approach the ask as if this were a first time solicitation.

As I said NO to a major sponsorship today it was as if a small light popped on in the deep recesses of my fundraising/business/emotional brain. "No mas!" Do it right, ask properly or "No mas!"

If it's hot where you are-this is my current desktop.

I am more of a Fall/Winter person. I find that this amazing image, taken in Norway I do believe cools me off just a bit. Enjoy!

The Bishops often say it better.

STEWARDSHIP OF TREASURE

"Within a total stewardship context, parishes and dioceses
should not hesitate to use the best available ethically
sound fund-raising practices to ask the Catholic people to
make financial contributions that are planned, proportionate,
and sacrificial. Provided that the basic approach
is consistent with the theology and practice of stewardship,
the principles and techniques of professional fund
raising can be extremely helpful to the overall stewardship
and development efforts of the parish or diocese."

Bishop's Pastoral on Stewardship 10th Anniversary Edition

The 10th Anniversary of the Bishop's Pastoral on Stewardship really advanced the discussion on Stewardship. It took the orginal letter outlined in the first edition ten years earlier and added practical and meaningful steps to assist parishes in approaching this important effort in thier parishes.

The seven steps outlined by the Bishops are:

1.) Personal Witness
2.) Committment of Leadership
3.) Evangelization and Outreach
4.) Communication and Education
5.) Gifts of time and talent (volunteers)
6.) Stewardship of Treasure
7.) Accountability

This edition of the Bishop's pastoral is an essential tool for all parishes that are seriously considering Stewardship, making a serious effort at developing a strategic plan or considering a major fundraising program such as a capital campaign.

I strongly urge everyone to take an hour and review this important document. (This includes you kind and dedicated souls that work for Cunneen!)

http://www.usccb.org/stewardship/disciplesresponse.pdf

Relevant? He's charging what??

Tough economy, increased competition, hard to differentiate yourself. I get it-its not easy doing business today.

Every business owner, salesperson, self employed professional or consultant has to wake up each morning and ask themselves "Am I as relevant today as I was yesterday?"-"How can I be more relevant tomorrow?"

It is very easy in today's fast moving economy to lose your relevance, to see your approach to business go from being innovative and cutting edge to old fashioned and boring. It isn't difficult to go from market leader to tired old dinosaur. To go from bestseller to bargain rack.

Rarely a day goes by where I am not jarred into a moment of fear as 100 images of the various aspects of my business scroll by each one with a "relevant-yes/no" query box popping up.

Cunneen has certainly made its share of strategic blunders over the past twenty seven years but one thing it has never failed to do is innovate! We fail grandly on occasion but we do innovate, we do change, we do improve-we maintain our relevance! Our firm is MORE relevant today to our Catholic clients than we have been at anytime over the past decade. I promise in the next year or two to become an even more essential tool-even more relevant to our clients, to their needs.

We work very hard at innovation, we work very hard to be relevant-to craft products and services that meet and exceed our clients needs, to be ahead of the "need curve" for our clients. We also believe, strongly, that we should be well compensated for this effort.

Maintaining healthy and robust fees permits the company to pay well, to reward excellent performance to invest in new technology, to maintain excellence among our staff and to provide the quality of services that our clients not only expect but deserve.

Reducing fee's, while potentially making the sales process a bit easier would invariably erode quality. An erosion of quality would lead to a decrease in faith in our business, in the consulting field, in stewardship. A decrease in faith in our business would lead to fewer parishes and non-profits hiring Cunneen or any other firm to assist with their fundraising efforts.

The industry, not just fundraising consulting, but any industry, all industries, suffer when price competition becomes de rigueur. Compete on quality, compete on service, compete on relevance, compete on technology, compete on delivery, but once a market starts down that steep slope of competing on "the low cost" or "lowest fee" its a very quick descent into oblivion.

I am not sure if this post is a plea, a whine, a lecture or merely an observation (likely a combination of all four) but it was certainly on my mind this afternoon.

The Cunneen Company makes many promises-we deliver on most of them. We will never promise to provide the best product at the lowest price. We wont even promise to provide the worst product at the lowest price. Our clients and our profession deserve better.