Advocacy vs. Lobbying

I attended the Jacksonville Food Summit this past weekend and heard a wonderful presentation by Katie Ross of U.S. Senator Bill Nelson’s office about the difference between advocacy and lobbying.  Advocacy is when you talk about an issue in broad strokes.  Lobbying is when you are asking for support for a specific bill.  I’m sure many nonprofits are familiar with this because 501c(3) organizations cannot lobby but it always helps to have a refresher.  Katie’s presentation was short, sweet and to the point.  In today’s climate where so many programs are being cut, it helps to have your advocacy lines down.  It also helps to come to the table with concepts that elected officials can support that don’t cost money (barriers than can be taken down).

Here’s what you need to do when you meet with an elected official:

• Know your stuff – have your stats ready
• ROI, ROI, ROI – many elected officials are interested in what the return on investment is for support of a particular issue
• Explain how the issue you are discussing affects the elected official’s constituents
• Know where the elected official stands on the issues.  Know how long they have been in government and specifics about their voting record
• Craft your message.  You should be able to explain your position in 15 minutes or less but make sure you have additional information in case the elected official wants to spend more time on the subject
• Schedule face time.  Whether it is with the elected official or a staffer, it is to your benefit
• Bring along someone who can provide some testimony about the issue
• Have an agenda and make sure someone is taking notes
• Send thank you’s
• Schedule a followup
• Work with the media
• Speak to area groups such as Rotary, Kiwanis, etc. to get your position across

So let the advocacy begin!  Good luck.

It’s graduation season

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My son is set to graduate from a top 15 university this weekend. His sister and father graduated from the same school. I, however, went to a state university. This is the tale of two very different schools with very different endowments and how one botches the ask for donations. No, it’s not the state university.

University with the lofty ranking has a BIG endowment (think billions) and it never misses a chance to ask students, parents, alums for money. But what it doesn’t do is establish a relationship with these target audiences first – a relationship that shows knowledge and sensitivity about the potential donor. It also doesn’t do a very good job of explaining exactly what all those billions are doing in the endowment at the current time and why they need billions more.

Lowly state university keeps in touch. Sends information about the school’s successes. Also details the plight of financing based on lack of state funding and money needed to endow scholarships for the underprivileged.

The lesson here is for any nonprofit. Communicate about your needs in a way that resonates with your target. Don’t just keep asking for money blindly because people will not give unless they understand why.

Tardy for the party cont.

Glad to see you stopped by again. Obviously you need to brush up on proper party etiquette or you think I’m a genius. Either way, I like the way you’re thinking.

#2: “Plus one” does not mean “bring your entire family.”

Free food or open bar does not constitute reasons for sucking the host dry. This isn’t revenge against Goldilocks; you don’t get to bring Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear to eat all the porridge. The only exception is when otherwise specified by the host or event organizer. Know your limits. If the event is a fundraiser, by all means buy tickets for the entire family including Grandpa and Grandma Bear… the more the merrier! However, if the event is closed to the public and you have been one of the few to receive an invite, don’t get overzealous and assume the invite was for you and the whole Bear clan. Chances are the event organizers have a certain number of expected attendees based on the guest list and throwing an extra 2-3 people in the mix might not jive with the plan, especially if other guests commit the same party foul.

Tune in tomorrow for tip #3: The early bird gets the worm and cheaper tickets!

How to make your party the biggest in town

Blackbaud is reporting that since 1999, online donations for events have grown an average of 50% annually and now account for 30% of most major US events. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all make it easier for people to connect and they are connecting for nonprofit events.

A Nielsen Online Global Index Survey from Dec. 2007 to Dec. 2008 reported that people now spend more time on social networking sites than they do on email.

So what is the bottom line on social media and events? It’s all about friends asking friends to participate. Look for more on Cause to Communicate about social marketing and events.

The next big idea

A friend steered me to an article about the next big idea. It’s currently in design phase but the purpose is to connect individuals and organizations in the areas of philanthropy, volunteerism and social networking. It is being designed by Chris Hughes, one of the founders of Facebook, who left the company to design the social media network site my.barackobama.com that revolutionized presidential campaigning.

Why am I excited about Jumo.com without really knowing what it will do?  Chris Hughes has a great track record. And I see the possibilities that this will have for the Millennial generation’s involvement in the nonprofit area. They are already the generation that is more socially aware, more digitally linked, and more concerned about others than any other generation in American history.

So check it out. Wish I had invented it!

YouTube and you

By now as a successful nonprofit you are probably getting very well acquainted with social media. But have you thought about YouTube? A recent article on Mashable, the social media website, details the success nonprofits have had in using YouTube and its nonprofit friendly tools to raise friends and funds.

The key is to make a compelling video. Whether you handle in-house or ask a volunteer to supply, the message has to grab people. YouTube will allow you to annotate your media message with key information as well as a call to action. Don’t forget to link to your donation page on your website and be aware of the importance of using keywords with regard to search.

Finally, use YouTube Insight, a version of Google Analytics, to measure how well you are doing and to tweak your product.

Asking for more

I had an interesting conversation with a friend this week. We were talking about direct mail fundraising campaigns and the importance of revising your list and letter became paramount as she recounted this. She donated $500 to a local nonprofit. Eight weeks later she received a letter asking for an $100 donation. Next time they may be lucky to get $50 from her. Why? Because they aren’t using their data correctly and that may give a donor the impression that the entire organization is inefficient.

Many organizations have large mailing lists and continue to “snail mail” donor requests. An efficient fund development office should cull those who haven’t given in a long time. They also must figure out if donors or possible donors would prefer digital communications vs. mail. And finally, they need to recognize donors for their donation and increase the “ask” next time around.

Leveraging dollars

The current economic downturn has affected everything from government revenues to nonprofit donations. With demand for services on all fronts up but revenues down, what’s an organization to do? Actually, there may be a solution in governments and nonprofits working together to leverage dollars and provide services.

An example of a great public-private partnership is the work of LISC (Local Initiative Support Corporation). LISC works nationally to garner funding from foundations, individual philanthropists and through government grants. It then sends that money to its local LISC organizations, such as LISC Jacksonville. LISC Jacksonville in turn raises funds through grants, individual philanthropy and city government support. So, what was a local $500,000 donation is leveraged to create a pot of over $12 million to help neighbors create sustainable communities in underserved neighborhoods. Wow, any nonprofit would love to “grow” money like that.

So while money doesn’t grow on trees, it can be made to grow into a substantial pot that will have a better chance of achieving goals through leveraging a public-private partnership.

New Year/New Decade/New Approach

Though I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, I do find that after the holiday vacation it’s the perfect time to come back to work with some new approaches to liven up the year. So, I challenge you to come up with some ideas for how you would freshen your fund development and nonprofit marketing efforts for the year.

Some things to consider:
• Have you been using your board of directors effectively as advocates and fundraisers?

• Have you told your donors “thanks” and kept them informed about new plans?

• 2010 may be the perfect time to reach out to a new market. Do you have a plan to communicate with a younger generation?

• 2010 is also the year to become more digital in your approach. If you are not on Facebook and Twitter, are you planning to include in your marketing efforts?

• Have you considered partnering with another nonprofit to achieve results?

• Have you developed an annual plan for your marketing and communications efforts? Being proactive is more efficient and more effective than being reactive.

Whatever you do this year – whether it’s making board meetings more engaging or your website more interactive – have fun!

Why United Way may not be your friend

Not to pick on United Way, it can be any fund granting organization that may not be your friend. Why? Because some nonprofits think that they don’t have to do marketing or public relations or fund development because they are receiving funds from United Way or a community foundation. Not so.

If your nonprofit is heavily relying on United Way or some other fund granting organization what happens when they cut your grant? Because it will happen. And when it does, it can be devastating unless you have had a plan in place to raise your own friends thus your own funds.

To protect your nonprofit, you must be communicating in such a way as to raise your own friends that are attracted to your cause and your message. It’s just a good way of not keeping all your “eggs” in one basket.