Author: Jim Shapiro

Jim Shapiro is the fundraising coach you’ve always wanted, the proven Sherpa who can help you get to the top of the mountain. Jim has 30 years’ experience raising money, including serving as the VP of Development for a global $100m nonprofit. He co-founded The Better Fundraising Co. to help small-to-medium nonprofits raise more money.

Merry Christmas!

Jim Shapiro  |  Year-End
Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Your work as a fundraiser is a very real gift to the organization you serve – and to your cause or beneficiaries.

Your work is also a gift to your donors!  They can’t do the good they want to do in the world without you!

If you’re willing to be vulnerable enough to ask people to help the less fortunate – or to right a wrong – good on you.

Thank you also for your time and attention this year – that’s a gift too.  It’s an honor to be part of your fundraising journey.

We hope you’re having a blessed, relaxing holiday here at the end of a crazy year.  Tonight we’ll raise a glass to all the good you’ve done!

With gratitude for you and what you do,


Jim, Steven, and the entire Better Fundraising Team

MAJOR DONOR FOCUS: Getting the Gift before Dec. 31

Jim Shapiro  |  Major Donor Fundraising
Phone call

I know you’ve worked feverishly to get to this point.  It’s almost the end of the calendar year.  But your work isn’t done.

There’s still time to raise a significant amount of money from your Major Donors. 

Here are two simple things that you can do today, to give yourself the best chance to secure that year-end gift.

  1. Identify any Major Donor who hasn’t given in the last 90 days.  Their last gift may have been in May, June, July, or even August.  These are the people that are most likely to send you another gift as the year comes to a close.  But only if you give each Major Donor a compelling reason to do so. 

  2. Present a compelling offer.  When you ask each Major Donor for their year-end gift, your offer must be compelling.  Ensure it’s urgent, relevant, and needed now.  It might be a funding need or financial shortfall.  Perhaps COVID has added some unexpected expenses to your budget.  Or, a large grant has fallen through. You might even have an initiative for 2021 that needs seed money to grow.  Whatever your offer is, present each Major Donor with a compelling reason to give before December 31.

Once you’ve identified the Majors that didn’t made a gift in the last 90 days, and you have a compelling offer to present, it’s your time to shine.

Pick up the phone, send some emails, schedule a Zoom meeting – leverage all methods of communication.  But do it with urgency, because as we mentioned in this previous blog post, there’s still time, and your Majors haven’t run out of money. 

MAJOR DONOR FOCUS: Better Manage your Majors in the New Year

Jim Shapiro  |  Major Donor Fundraising
Hi I'm a Donor

It’s been a challenge for many organizations to secure Major Donor gifts this holiday season.  And while it’s not over just yet, I want to begin to look forward and suggest how you can manage your Major Donors when the new year arrives.

To unpack this further, let’s put our Majors into two simple buckets – those who gave a gift in November or December, and those who didn’t.

Majors Who Gave a Gift

Those that gave a gift in November or December should be treated differently than major donors who held onto their gift.

First and foremost, we want to genuinely thank Majors who made a gift.

Regardless of the amount, The Better Fundraising Company has often talked about the benefit of following a busy holiday and year-end with a month of gratitude.  We call it Thankuary. 

Thanking your donors, Majors especially, is a great way to help secure future gifts.  So, now is the perfect time to start preparing thank-you notes, cards, emails, and letters to ensure that your most generous donors feel your love and gratitude.

If you’d like to see how to apply Thankuary at your organization, you can download a free cheat sheet, here.

Majors Who Didn’t Give a Gift

There are a variety of reasons why your Majors may not be making a gift in November or December.  Yet whether it’s uncertainty around the economy or the effects of the pandemic, there are a few things you can do in January to help secure a major gift.

Firstly, be ready to present your Majors with a good offer.  It might be an urgent cold-weather need, an opportunity to provide a match, or even a vision for 2021 they can fund or support.  But whatever the offer is, make sure it’s relevant to the donor and the season.

Secondly, start to secure your meetings or Zoom calls now.  Get appointments on the calendar for January.   And when you have those appointments, be bold in your asking, and give your Majors a problem that only they can solve.

To land the plane, if your Majors made a gift in November or December, make sure to thank them well.  But if you’re still waiting for that gift, don’t despair.  Instead, prepare your offer, be patient, and get ready to deliver it early in the new year.

MAJOR DONOR FOCUS: Navigate the pandemic and post-election waters with success

Jim Shapiro  |  Major Donor Fundraising

Over the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with a number of organizations who are feeling very concerned about their major gift fundraising. 

During what is normally a prosperous giving season, organizations are noticing that substantial gifts from their Major Donors are down significantly. 

Rivers that usually run deep have slowed to a trickle.  While majors are still engaged, and they still desire to help, there is a reluctance to make their usual financial commitment.

Perhaps you’re in a similar position?

There are two factors that are impacting the giving confidence of your Major Donors: the federal election and COVID-19.

Let me address each one separately, and offer a few suggestions for how you can navigate Christmas and Year-End with your Major Donors.

Election 2020

When asked why they couldn’t make their annual gift to the organization, one Major Donor said:

  • “There’s a lot of contention and stress politically, right now.  I still want to support you, but I just want to see how that unfolds.”

Four-years ago, the same thing happened.  Also in 2012.  There’s precedent to show that in an election year, Major Donors may often give less, or later than normal. 

We’re seeing a similar trend this year.  Yet history shows that once the transition of power takes effect, the major gifts you would normally see come in November will now likely arrive in December, or perhaps in the new year. 

The good news is that Majors still want to support your mission!

Coronavirus Restrictions 2.0

Here we go again.

A second-wave of COVID-19 restrictions is impacting many states and counties across the country.  Emotionally this is a difficult time, and this tension permeates the economy.  And understandably, those with personal wealth are being a little more cautious than normal.

Your Majors have business interests, investments, and financial portfolios that depend on a healthy economy.  Indeed, when asked why they can’t commit to their usual year-end gift, one donor said:

  • “I want to wait and see how this new round of restrictions impacts my business.”

Navigating Forward

There is good news.

Your Major Donors haven’t run out of money.  The stock market is strong, and it’s getting stronger on news of coronavirus vaccines and progress with political transitions.

What you can do is stay the course, remain positive, and be in front of your donors more often.  Continue to make phone calls, send emails, notes, and cards.  Surprise and delight them. 

Be patient, stay in touch, and when your Majors are ready to give, they’ll give.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jim Shapiro  |  Uncategorized
Thanksgiving.

Thank you for the work you do! We’re grateful for you.

The work you’re doing makes the world a better place. Not only are you helping your beneficiaries and your organization, you’re helping your donors!

They don’t have the programs your organization has. They don’t have the ability to do good the way your organization can. So you’re giving donors a gift – and chance to make the world a better place – with all of your fundraising communications.

So, thank you! We love getting to be a small part of the great work you do.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

~ Jim & Steven

Why does Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat work?

Jim Shapiro  |  Repeat
Ask Thank Report Repeat.

I remember receiving an email from a woman I met at a conference where I spoke. She ended her email to me with this comment:

“Because of your knowledge, I’ve been kickin’ a** in fundraising, and it will only get better as we make more money, add more staff, and implement more of your plan!”

Reading this made me ask myself, “Why does Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat work so well?”

Here are just some of the reasons:

  1. Fundraising is not a talent issue – it’s a knowledge issue. Almost anyone can learn the fundraising fundamentals I teach. The key is that they must have the willingness to learn.
  2. Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat puts the donor at the center of the fundraising conversation. The system honors the donor and their stewardship decisions, and it gives them the credit for making the world a better place because of their donation.
  3. You’ll communicate more often to your donors when using Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat. The system requires you to Ask with clarity, Thank promptly, and Report back emotionally. Doing these things means you’ll communicate to your donors more often, which is an excellent thing for most nonprofits.

As you run fast into the year ahead, I encourage you to consider learning more about Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat. Embracing it will help you leverage the fundraising power behind this simple, donor-centered communication rhythm.

Want to know more? Get Jim’s recorded webinar and start learning how you can raise more money and steward important donor relationships during this crucial fundraising season.

To help you with your major donor fundraising this year-end, we’re running a series of Jim Shapiro’s most helpful posts.

We hope it provides you with some tips and tactics that skyrocket your major donor revenue during this important fundraising season.

Only a few weeks left to raise more money!

Jim Shapiro  |  Major Donor Fundraising
weeks.

This is the most fruitful fundraising time of the year. And now’s the time to be asking your donors for a generous gift.

Don’t wait!

  • Pick up the phone right now and ask your major donor to make a year-end donation.
  • Send out an email today to your entire email database. The email should be short, to the point, and include multiple hyperlinks to your giving page.
  • Take over the homepage of your website to promote the opportunity for visitors to make a donation.
  • If you have a funding shortfall this time of year, be vulnerable and talk about it! Donors love giving to solve problems.

If you wait to raise money until January, it will be too late. Make it as easy as possible for your donors to make a gift and ask them often – from now until midnight on December 31st!

Want to know more? Get Jim’s recorded webinar and start learning how you can raise more money and steward important donor relationships during this crucial year-end fundraising season.

To help you with your major donor fundraising this year-end, we’re running a series of Jim Shapiro’s most helpful posts.

We hope it provides you with some tips and tactics that skyrocket your major donor revenue during this important fundraising season.

3 Tips to Find New Major Donors

Jim Shapiro  |  Major Donor Fundraising
find.

Finding new major donors can seem like impossible work. But it doesn’t have to be.

Here are three proven tips that will help you find new major donors for your organization:

Tip #1: Your future major donors are your former major donors! Look through your past giving records to identify donors that used to give to your organization, but no longer do. These lapsed donors, for one reason or another, stopped giving. But with a little bit of work, many will give a gift again.

Tip #2: Your future major donors are currently giving to your organization (they just aren’t giving at the major donor level yet). These donors tend to give smaller gifts, and more of them. However, with some direct communication and an ask for more than they typically give, you can convert some of these donors to major donors.

Tip #3: Your future major donors aren’t currently giving you a gift, but they have a heart for the work you do. The best way to meet these potential majors is to host “non-ask” events like open-houses, dinner parties, tours of your facility, etc. The more people you can introduce to your organization, the more potential major donors you’ll meet.

Pro Tip: I want to remind you to do all that you can to keep your current major donors actively giving. It costs you more money and time to find new donors than it does to keep your current donors.

The best way to keep your donors actively giving is to Thank them promptly and emotionally for their recent gift. Then Report back to them on the amazing things they did, because they gave a gift.

Thanking and Reporting are the powerful tools you can leverage to keep your current major donors giving to your organization – and loving it!

Want to know more? Get Jim’s recorded webinar and start learning how you can raise more money and steward important donor relationships during this crucial year-end fundraising season.

To help you with your major donor fundraising this year-end, we’re running a series of Jim Shapiro’s most helpful posts.

We hope it provides you with some tips and tactics that skyrocket your major donor revenue during this important fundraising season.

Prioritize Your Way to Fundraising Success!

Jim Shapiro  |  Major Donor Fundraising
prioritize.

If you’re like most development directors or executive directors, you feel a little overwhelmed by your day-to-day responsibilities.

And the day-to-day demands of your job put you at risk of not taking the time to cultivate your major donor relationships the way you’d like.

To help you prioritize your major donor development and fundraising, I strongly suggest creating a donor rating system. Developing a system is relatively easy, and it will take the guesswork out of which donor you should contact and cultivate first.

Here’s how it works.

Using a scale of 1-3 (with 1 being the lowest rating, and 3 being the highest rating), rank each of your majors on these four qualities:

  1. Total giving for the past 12 months – the top third should be rated “3”, the middle third rated “2”, etc.
  2. Affinity for your work or cause – do they love what you do or those you serve?
  3. Relationship strength – is the relationship between the donor and you or someone else at your organization strong or weak?
  4. Financial capacity – regardless of how much they’ve given, how much could they give?

Now, add up the total score for each donor. The best score would be 12, and the worst would be 4.

Then sort your list by the highest-rated donor, down to the lowest-rated donor.

Now you know which donors you should cultivate first! And you know how to spend your time to create a bigger impact for your organization.

Want to know more? Get Jim’s recorded webinar and start learning how you can raise more money and steward important major donor relationships during this most important time of the fundraising year.

To help you with your major donor fundraising this year-end, we’re running a series of Jim Shapiro’s most helpful posts this month.

We hope it provides you with some tips and tactics that skyrocket your major donor revenue during this important fundraising season.