Data Sense

Presentation at THE Foundations Seminar

I had the privilege of making a presentation at THE Foundations Seminar, hosted by the North American Inter-Fraternity Conference in my hometown of Indianapolis. The topic was “Prospect Tracking for Efficient Fundraising.”  While the presentation was geared toward fraternal organizations, I hope it will be helpful to anyone starting or revamping a prospect management program. Feedback is welcome —really!
THE_Foundations_Seminarfr.pdf

Association Fund Raising Software

I will be making a presentation at THE Foundations Seminar which will take place in Indianapolis at the end of the month.  My topic for attendees, who are primarily fraternity and sorority foundation executives, is “Prospect Tracking for Efficient Fund Raising.” These organzations have special software needs because the product must serve two user groups—those who support the membership and those who raise money. Results of a survey of the foundation executives indicates that most use either Patriot Software, IMIS, or Raiser’s Edge—three very different software products. To prep for the presentation, I’ve been studying each to determine its prospect tracking capabilities. It has been an adventure.

Fund raising software packages are like cars. Some have engines bigger than others, they come in different models, and if your budget allows you can add extras to make the ride more comfy. All of them can move you toward your fund raising goals and even the compact models, if they have user-defined fields, can handle prospect tracking. I drove a Raiser’s Edge for 10 years total and recently became certified to drive Blackbaud’s compact model, eTapestry. The company gave me access to a copy of the database which I have customized with fields for prospect tracking and moves management. It’ll purr like a Pontiac GTO when I’m done with it. The Patriot dealer let me test drive his newest model and I’ll be taking an IMIS for a spin in the next few days.

Here is what I want to leave with you. Don’t give up on your fundraising software. It might not be the lemon you think it is. Learn to drive it, find out what it can do, and with a good map it will take you where you want to go. Oh, you might want to keep it clean and get it tuned now and then. Data Sense can help with that.

How Many Gumballs?

Have you ever entered one of those “How Many Gumballs In the Jar” contests at the mall? You stare at the jar, drawn by the colorful orbs and the chance to win big. You start counting, maybe apply some multiplier, and then take a wild guess. You have nothing to lose. You have much to lose, however, if you apply the same guesstimate process to determining how many prospects you need to reach your campaign goal.

Before beginning any campaign, whether it is capital or annual, you will want to know how many gifts you need, at what levels, to reach that goal. Then you can estimate, not guesstimate, how many prospects are needed. How? A gift chart. The chart helps you see how many gifts are needed at each level to reach your goal, and how many prospects are needed. You can then make adjustments to the chart based on the make-up of your current prospect pool. Uh, oh. Prospect pool. Yes, you will need to be knowledgeable about your current donor and prospect pool—but that is another blog topic.

So how do you start?  Google “gift range calculator” and the results will lead you to free tools. Blackbaud has one and so do several large consulting firms. You plug in your goal and the chart fills in. You can also find formulas in any number of fundraising publications. Remember, though, that the chart is just a starting point—you need to make adjustments based on your prospect pipeline. You may discover that your goal is too ambitious or maybe (hopefully!) not ambitious enough. Adjustments will also be necessary if the chart is for an annual campaign as opposed to a capital campaign.  According to The Jossey-Bass Handbook of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, 2nd ed. by Robert Herman and Associates, the two have different percentages at the top of the chart. The top gift range in a capital campaign may be anywhere from 10% to 25% of goal. In an annual campaign that top range is likely to be closer to 5% of goal. There will be more gifts at the lower levels and fewer at the top.

Gift range charts are not an exact science but they are a great tool. One other thing to think about—are there fewer blue gumballs than any other color? Chew on that.