Building A Sustainable Chapter

Director DayNovember 3, 2013

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”

- Colin Powell

0

25,000

50,000

75,000

100,000

$125,000

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

UWisc

UVA

UT

UMinn

UF

UCSD

UCLA

OSU

Northwestern

ND

UNC

Mizzou

MITIU

GW

Emory

Davis

BYU

Berkeley

Augustana

ASU

Tenure

Projected 2012-2013 revenue

Vandy

UWash

USC

Penn

UofI

UMich

UGA

TAMU

Syracuse

SUU

Richmond

Oregon

OK

Nebraska

MSU

Miami

JHU

FSU

Columbia

Source: Camp Kesem 2012-2013 Campus Update

Why do experienced chapters improve over time?

POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TENURE AND 2012-2013 EXPECTED REVENUE

Stanford (13 years, $175K) not pictured to maintain scale; surpasses other chapters fundraising

0

50

100

150

200

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

UWisc

UVA

UofI

UMich

UCSD

UCLA

TAMU

Stanford

ND

UNC

MSU

MIT

Berkeley

ASU

Tenure

Projected 2012-2013 campers

Vandy

UWash

UT

USC

Penn

UMinn

UGA

UF

Syracuse

SUU

Richmond

OSU

Oregon

OK

Northwestern

Nebraska

Mizzou

Miami

JHU

IU

GW

FSU

Emory

Davis

Columbia

BYU

Augustana

Source: Camp Kesem 2012-2013 Campus Update

POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TENURE AND 2012-2013 PROJECTED CAMPERS

Why do experienced chapters have greater impact over time?

What drove our explosive growth last year?

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

2012 2013

Existing Chapters New Chapters

Average campers served increased to 70

from 55

11 chapters grew by > 2x

2 chapters added a second week of camp

Building A Sustainable Chapter: Key Elements

• Develop clear strategy

• Build aligned team

• Cultivate your assets

Develop A Clear Strategy

• What is your chapter’s 3 year strategy?

• What are your chapter’s goals for THIS year?

What is your chapter’s 3 year plan?

FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016

Campers

Counselors

Operating budget

Fundraising goal

Other long-term goals

Cost per camper

Revs per camper

What is your chapter’s operating plan for this year?

FY 2013 FY 2014 Growth

Campers

Counselors

Operating budget

Fundraising goal

Other long-term investment goals

Cost per camper

Revs per camper

Make a realistic fundraising plan.

Revenue Sources – Non Profits

Individuals Corp Grants

Develop a plan that aligns effort and results.

NET RESULTS HIGHLOW

LOW

HIGH

EF

FO

RT

Develop a plan that aligns effort and results.

NET RESULTS HIGHLOW

LOW

HIGH

EF

FO

RT

Letter Writing

CampaignsFriends of Camp Kesem

Well planned

MTMEvents

Poorly planned

MTMEvents Grants (no

intro)

Grants (warm intro)

University Support

Little events

Fundraising: Highest performing chapters find letter writing and MTM to be the most lucrative fundraising sources

0

20

40

60

80

100%

Top Quartile

Letter

Writing

MtM

Grants

Other

Corp Sponsors

Univ. Donations

$76K

Second and

Third Quartile

$44K

Bottom Quartile

$22K

Average mix of fundraising methods by quartile (2012-13)

(Excludes chapters with less than 2 years of tenure)

6 10 5

Chapter

count

ON AVERAGE, 50% FUNDS RAISED FROM LETTER WRITING & MTM; 50% THROUGH OTHER SOURCES

BEST PRACTICES: FUNDRAISING

Note: LHS chart includes MTM net fundraising; Quartiles measured by fundraising performance; Other includes a variety or small events like bake sales, bar nights, etc.

Q. Please provide the total amount raised through the following methods: Fundraising goal for counselors

• Set a fundraising goal (typically $500) for all counselors and work with them to meet that goal

Reach out to all potential donors

• Highest performing chapters reach out to their families, CK alumni, camper families, students, local businesses, corporations with at least one fundraising effort every year

• Different events and fundraising campaigns are better suited to some groups of donors than others

Raise chapter goals each year

• Chapters who raise the bar for themselves each year typically reach those targets and continue to grow

Other includes small events like bake sales, bar

nights, and garage sales

Letter writing: Letter writing tactics and success vary widely between chapters

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

$40,000

0 500 1,000 1,500

University of Wisconsin

Univ of Missouri

Univ of Michigan

UCSD

UC Davis

UC Berkeley

Texas A & M

Ohio State

Northwestern

Michigan State

Indiana University

Columbia

BYU

Q. How many letters did your chapter write? (2012-13)

Q. How much did your chapter raise from letter writing? (2012-13)

Vanderbilt

USC

University of

Washington

Univ of Virginia

UT - Austin

Univ of

Richmond

Univ of Pennsylvania

Univ of Oregon

Univ of Oklahoma

Univ of

Nebraska

Univ of Minnesota

Univ of Miami

Univ of Illinois

Univ of

Georgia

Univ of Florida

Syracuse University

Southern Utah

Notre Dame

MIT

Johns Hopkins

George Washington

Florida State

Emory

Augustana

Arizona State

Note: UCLA not shown, $71,000 revenue, 781 letters written

CHAPTERS VARY IN LETTER WRITING EFFICIENCYBEST PRACTICES: LETTER WRITING

Letter writing personalization

• Encourage counselors to include a personal note with every letter

• Returning counselors include photos of themselves with the kids

Get all counselors to participate

• Have multiple letter writing parties each semester and ask counselors to come with at least 10 contacts to each party

• Work with all counselors to reach a minimum letter total (at least 10)

Make the donation process easy

• Include a donation envelope with the return address already written on it inside every letter

• Retain a comprehensive donor database / catalogue each year to continue targeting previous donors

Make the benefits of each donation tangible

• Include options like “$100 for one day of camp, or $500 for a week of camp”

Make the Magic: Most profitable and popular MTM events tend to be dinners

Note: Northwestern excluded – outlier -$1000 loss from MTM event; data represents 30 chapters responding to July 2013 survey

0

2

4

6

8

$10K

Dinner

$8.6K

Cocktail

Party

$7.2K

Lunch

$6.5K

Brunch

$5.8K

Golf

Tournament

$4.9K

15 6 1 8 1

Average Make The Magic profit by event type (2012-13)

Number of

chapters

MTM EVENTS ARE MORE SUCCESSFUL WITH EXPERIENCE / TENURE

MTM DINNERS ARE TYPICALLY THE MOST PROFITABLE, RAISING ~$8K ON AVERAGE

Q. What format was your Make The Magic event andwhat was your net profit?

0

10

20

$30K

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Years chapter has held MTM event

MIT

UCSD

Indiana University

UCLA

Make the Magic Profit ($)

Univ of Missouri

Southern

Utah

Univ of

Texas -

Austin

Emory

Univ of Florida

BYU

Johns Hopkins

Columbia

Univ of

Illinois

Univ of

Richmond

Ohio State

Univ of Georgia

North Carolina

Univ of Virginia

Univ of

Pennsylvania

Texas A & M

Augustana

George

Washington

Arizona State

University of

Washington

UC Berkeley

Michigan State

Univ of Michigan

University of Wisconsin

Notre Dame

UC Davis

Make the Magic: Dinner best practices

2012 MTM Profit $14,965 $15,300

MTM Tenure 5 years 3 years

Attendees • 125 attendees (~50 Advisory board guests, 75 family and friends, counselors and alumni)

• ~30-40% were returning guests

• Targeted mostly older adults

• 140 attendees

• Executive board required to invite 10 guests; Advisory board members required to bring 3 guests (though many bought tables)

Ticket Price • $100/seat or $900/table • $25

Entertainment • Musical performances (Jazz band, singers, a capella)

• Silent auction• Silent auction used to encourage donations beyond

auction items- “If they bought $200, they’d pay $500”

Messaging • Camper families shared experiences

• Student speakers emphasized both aspects of the national mantra

• Two families shared “emotional stories about how camp has made an impact in their lives”

• Had a speaker make a clear “ask” to fill out pledge cards on each table

• Created urgency through donation “thermometer” – “we still need $12K to hold camp this year”

Make the Magic: Even highest grossing schools do notspend more than $4K on MTM costs

0

10

20

$30

Da

vis

Profit

Costs

30

No

tre

Da

me

20

Wis

c.

19

UC

LA

18

Mic

higa

n

17

Ind

ian

a

15

Be

rke

ley

17

Wa

sh

12

UC

SD

9

160 9280 140 90 200 125 124 100

MTM revenue by profit / cost for Top 10 most profitable schools (2012-13)

Number of

attendees

EVEN WITH LARGE ATTENDANCE, SUCCESSFUL MTM EVENTS ABLE TO LIMIT COSTS TO ~$4K

BEST PRACTICES: MTM COST MANAGEMENT

Despite 200 brunch attendees, Michigan’s MTM

cost only ~$2.5K

Q. What were your revenue and costs for Make The Magic? Set the date for the MTM event at the beginning of the year• Allows adequate lead time to plan logistics

and seek in-kind donations• Enables advisory board and chapter

members to invite attendees earlyAttempt to utilize existing university / community resources as possible• Venue: Emory and UCSD both held events

for free at on-campus locations• Invitations: Ohio State had university

graphic design department design / print invitation

Reach out to local businesses early for food / silent auction donations• To build relationships, invite the business

owners and employees to the event• Use advisory board connections to make

introductions when possibleKeep baseline costs low• Be wary of large upfront costs and make

sure to read contracts with venues / food vendors

• Always leave room for additional last minute costs and unforeseen expenses

Other efforts: In addition to letter writing and MTM, top fundraising chapters use several other methods to reach donors

Grants

Ice cream day

Pitch Box

Messy 5K

CKNC Challenge

• Solicit grants from both on and off-campus sources

• After grant ends, reach out to organizations again for one-off donations

• Throughout year, follow up with grant-givers and update on uses of funds

• Partner with local Ben & Jerry’s on national “Free Ice Cream Cone” Day with tip jars for CK donations and counselors & campers on site

• Spontaneous creation during UNC vs. Duke basketball week; raised $8K

• Website tracked donations and encouraged competition between UNC and Duke, proved most successful way to raise money from students

• Traditional 5K run, followed by a food fight, followed by a camper reunion

• Make pitch to semester classes and then pass around a CK donation box

Facebook • On their birthdays, counselors ask Facebook friends for donation gifts

Amazon wishlist

• Created Amazon wishlist with needed supplies for camp (e.g., walkie-talkies, flashlights, etc) and solicited donations from alumni and camper families

• Most successful way UNC/Duke raises money from camper families, received $1000 of supplies in one day

Bar/club nights

• Reserve club or bar (free if bar tab is met by guests), charge students $20 for tickets (including transportation), raised ~$8k with three events

Cost management: Donations of needed items & careful negotiation of facility costs can create significant savings

BEST PRACTICES EXAMPLES

• Reserve the same campsite every year to better negotiate facilities costs

• Be very explicit that Camp Kesem is a nonprofit to get discounted NPO rates

• Leverage advisory board & community members for donated supplies/facilities

• Poll counselors to see if anyone can lend their house out for training

• Negotiate facilities rate for counselors, given lower resource use than campers

• Push for a lower “bonus night” rate for training when booking the camp facility

• Upload budget onto a shared doc, so the EB can track it on an ongoing basis

• NC can fight back on cost increases given >10 year relationship with campsite

• Berkeley negotiated facility costs down from $28K to $20K per week

• Ohio State got donations for most items; Advisory Board reached out for help

• UCLA used counselor’s beach house for training; significant savings

• NC’s counselor rate was ~30% lower, given less use of activities/medical care

• Berkeley negotiated a lower rate for their training night at their campsite

• To track costs, Miami’s budget is on GoogleDocs, so EB has remote access

Note: Best practices are based on consistent themes heard across interviews; examples are non-exhaustive

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Building A Sustainable Chapter: Key Elements

• Develop clear strategy

• Build aligned team

• Cultivate your assets

Who Is Your Team?

Who Is Your Team?

• Directors• Counselors• Program Team• Advisory Board• Donors• Local businesses• Camper families• Alumni• Community partners• Campsite• University• Local media

Who Is Your Team?

Position Key Skills Needed Current Potential – Next Year

Comments / Next Steps

Director

Development

Operations

Volunteer

Outreach

Marketing/PR

Other

What Do You Need Each to Accomplish?

• Directors• Counselors• Program Team• Advisory Board• Donors• Local businesses• Camper families• Alumni• Community partners• Campsite• University• Local media

What Do They Need to Accomplish Those Goals?

• Directors• Counselors• Program Team• Advisory Board• Donors• Local businesses• Camper families• Alumni• Community partners• Campsite• University• Local media

Advisory Board: Actively engaging board increases donations from board members and helps optimize operations

0

5

10

15

Top Quartile

13

9

8

Second and

Third Quartile

7

5

5

Bottom Quartile

5

3

3

Average number of members by quartile (2012-2013)

Q. How many board members fall into the following categories?

Note: Quartiles measured by fundraising performance

TOP CHAPTERS HAVE LARGER BOARDS WITH MORE ACTIVE MEMBERS AND FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTORS

BEST PRACTICES: DEVELOPING AN ACTIVE BOARD

• Recruit a board of a manageable size - Chapters with more than 10-12 AB members

often have trouble engaging all members

• Recruit board members from a range of backgrounds to ensure the board can provide guidance across key issues, e.g.,- Cancer community organizations / care

centers (doctors, nurses, and administrators)- Campsite administrators- Local business community- Camper parents- Counselor alumni (4+ years post-grad)- University professors/ administrators

• Set expectations for board members before they accept their positions, e.g.,- Provide calendar of meetings and events to

both new and returning board members before the year begins

- MTM recruitment goals- Expected financial contribution- Required camper recruitment efforts

• Invite Board to attend important meetings and reunions and to visit camp to increase engagement

Advisory Board: Beyond donations, advisory boards contribute to chapter success through oversight, fundraising, and connections

0

20

40

60

80

100%

Fundraising

Ex

tre

me

lyS

om

ew

hat

Not at

all

Providing

Oversight/

Input

Cancer

Community

Connections

Family

Connections

Adult Roles

Staffing

University

Connections

Percent of respondents

Q. How helpful is your advisory board in the following areas?

BOARDS VARY IN THEIR HELPFULNESS ACROSS MANY DIMENSIONS

BEST PRACTICES: LEVERAGING YOUR BOARD

• Ask for guidance to optimize operations

- Event planning for MTM or small events

- Navigating campus bureaucracy

- Recruiting staff for camp, e.g., nurses

- Managing budget

• Utilize board member connections

- Understanding best approach for engaging camper families for support

- Recruiting campers

- Coordinating with cancer support organizations

Camper care: Communication with camper families throughout the year increases the impact of CK work

BEST PRACTICES EXAMPLES

• Set up consistent timetables for communication with camper families

• Aim to ease any skepticism or hesitation new families may have

• Find ways to stay in touch with campers to make camp feel year-round

• Leverage other camper families in recruiting new families

• Foster strong relationships with oncology units and others in medicine

Note: Best practices are based on consistent themes heard across interviews; examples are non-exhaustive

UCLA aimed to e-mail families consistently every 2 weeks as camp approached

Oklahoma has experienced families talk to nervous new families; Emory invites new families to spring reunion

Ohio State sent campers birthday cards and homemade cards throughout the year

Florida gets many campers from returning camper families—just ask families for help

Duke/UNC has director of oncology unit email all of his staff

CK Nationals: Chapters find national organization has most room to improve on comm. outreach, marketing and fundraising

0

20

40

60

80

100%

Cance

r

com

mun

ity

outre

ach

Ext

rem

ely

So

me

wh

at

Not at all

Mar

ketin

g

Fundr

aisin

g

Stude

nt

supp

ort

Progr

amm

ing

Couns

elor

training

Coord

inato

r

training

Campe

r car

e

Admini

strat

ive

supp

ort

Percent of respondents

Q. How well does the National organization support your chapter in the following areas?

“It would be helpful for there to be more tips specifically geared towards smaller campuses

that have yet to figure out a constant way to raise money. “ – Vanderbilt

“How have we not won any million dollar grants at the national level?! We need help from

Nationals to grow at the rate they are envisioning, help us!!” – UVA

“Help us get in contact with cancer support groups.” – Hopkins

“Set up connections with LiveStrong and other cancer support

groups.” – Indiana

“If nationals can continue to market Kesem in general, and be able to brand themselves, then it will help each of the chapters.”

– Oklahoma

“Do more in terms of marketing so Camp Kesem becomes better

known.” – Miami

CKAA: Chapters expressed moderate to strong interest in receiving further help from CKAA for operations / programming

20

40

60

80

100%

Opportunities

for alumni to

participate in

fundraising events

Extremely

Somewhat

Not at all

Alumni speaker CKAA

directory

Social

connection

website

CKAA

mentoring &

job search

assistance

CKAA

casual

gatherings

CKAA

formalized

reunion

Percent of respondents

Q. If offered, how valuable would the following features of the CKAA be to your chapter?

Note: Responses to this question likely to reflect survey’s primary focus on fundraising and chapter financials; due to survey anchoring, more qualitative benefits of CKAA might be undervalued in response rates

CKAA: However, current students consistently view CKAA as an underutilized network for professional / personal support

Source: 2013 July Survey

Help facilitate experience sharing

between alumni and chapters

Q. How can we make the CKAA more meaningful to alumni?

“[I would want] more interaction and advice. It would be nice to hear their personal experience with Kesem and their experience in the working world to provide insight on camp programming strategies and fundraising.”

Improve professional

programming networking

opportunities for alumni

“I think creating a network that extends beyond Kesem would be truly wonderful and would instill the idea that we are connected not just because of Kesem. I love the idea of having mentoring/job search assistance for Kesemers nation wide.”

“[I would] start focusing on the chapter level but also the alumni individual level… Connecting CK alumni in graduate programs and jobs would be great.”

Host a database / social networking group for alumni

“An easily accessible database would be extremely useful where we could see where members served, what their responsibilities were, what they do now, and where they live.”

Building A Sustainable Chapter: Key Elements

• Develop clear strategy

• Build aligned team

• Cultivate your assets

Who Owns each Relationship – now and next year?

• Directors• Counselors• Program Team• Advisory Board• Donors• Local businesses• Camper families• Alumni• Community partners• Campsite• University• Local media

How do you cultivate these relationships?

• Communicate clearly and professionally• Be sure your entire team knows your goals and how they fit into

them• Respect time, talents and treasures with asks• Be thankful – of everything!!!• Connect with mission – always• Develop transition plans – make sure they are aware as well

What is Cultivation Plan for Each?

• Directors• Counselors• Program Team• Advisory Board• Donors• Local businesses• Camper families• Alumni• Community partners• Campsite• University• Local media

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

$10K

$5K

$2.5K

$1K

$500

$250

<$250Standard T/U

from CKN*

Current Board**Board/ED 1:1

intsBOD Nom's Board retreat; Board

recog. dinner

Past Board Year-end ask

Co-ChairsGrad letters

from BOD/EDT/U

letter/surveysWelcome

letters from ED

Campus LeadersGrad letters

from BOD/EDT/U

letter/surveysWelcome

letters from ED

Alumni - upcomingIntroduce CKAA to

graduates

Enroll grad. in CKAA

Alumni - currentCKAA

NewsletterCKAA

NewsletterCKAA

NewsletterCKAA Year-End

Ask

Campus Advisory BoardsT/U letters

from ED/BODWelcome

letters from ED

Other volunteers

FamiliesSurvey / family

appeal

Previous Campus Contacts***Welcome to

CKNYear-end ask

Staff Staff retreat Staff retreat Self-appraisalsHoliday gifts to

staff

Prospects**** STM STM STM STM Year-end ask

Other groups:

Sprin

g New

slette

r (DD

)

Sum

mer

New

slette

r (DD

)

Annu

al Re

port

/ Fall

New

slette

r (ED

)

Donors:**

Send artwork / letters from campers to donors (DD)

Volunteers

ED operational update (letter)

to donors; Donor Recogn.

Dinners

YE Ask

YE Ask Follow Up (ED, DD)

ED operational (letter) to

donors

Invite to "Magic

Makers' Event" at camps (DD)

Hand-written thank you

letters from BOD contact; Standard T/U

from CKN*

Thank you call / int from ED

IMMEDIATE

$10K Leadership Circle

$5K Cabin Builders

$2,500 Campfire Circle

$1K Song Leaders

$500 Camper Sponsor

<$500

In honor/memory ofSend card to

honoree

$2,500+ Thank you call

from CEO

$500 - $2,499

<$500

In honor/memory ofSend card to

honoree

Ticketed Guests $500+ Annual Report

Ticketed Guests <$500

$25K Presenting Sponsor

$15K Prestige Sponsor

$15K Gifting Suite

$10K Leadership Circle SponsorThank you cards from campers/counselors

$10K S'Mores

$5K Warmth Sponsor

$5K Cabin Sponsor

$1,500 Gift Bag Sponsor

ONGOING

Thank you call from CEO

WITHIN 4 WEEKS

Standard thank you letter

Send CEO list of $500K+ donors

Hand-written thank you letter

from CEO

Send CEO list of $1K+ donors

following biweekly

donations report

Hand-written thank you letter

from CEO / Board member, if applicable

Standard thank you letter

RECOGNITIONCKN Donors, inclusive of all campaigns (Scoring for Good, CKAA, Give a Laugh, Friends of Camp Kesem, and Year-End Ask)

Campus Donors

Event Donors (CKN)

Invite to CKN Events in their region (SMM,

Field, Share the Magics)

Invite to Make the Magic

Thank you cards from campers/counselors

Standard thank you letter

Post Event Receipt

Event Recap Report

Invite to CKN Events in their region (SMM,

Field, Share the Magics)

August Camper artwork/letters

March Operations Letter

May Invite to Camp

October Operations Letter

Spring, Summer, Fall Newsletter

and Annual Report

Spring, Summer, Fall Newsletter

and Annual Report

Invite to CKN Events in their region (SMM,

Field, Share the Magics)

Spring, Summer, Fall Newsletter

and Annual Report

Full screen ad at event and in tribute book

Full screen ad at event and in tribute book

Half-screen ad at event and in tribute book

Annual Report

Annual Report

March Operations Letter

May Invite to Camp

September Operations Letter

Annual Report

Logo & link on electronic event

materials, website

Signage at the event according to

sponsorship level

Logo / link on CK Partners page

Acknowledgement in programming according

to sponsorship level

Logo/name on event invitation, press release,

e-blasts