Ted ChanMIT Sloan School of Management

Fundraising and Metrics for Non-Profit Success

Fundraising and Measurement are intrinsically linked

Agenda

I. Fundraising BasicsII. Marketing ExerciseIII. Metrics BasicsIV. Breakout Exercise – Holyoke Shelter CaseV. Breakout Exercise – Goalsetting

Mathematics of FundingFunding =

Grant $

+

# of funders asked x success rate x Average $ given

Work to increase each!

Competition - You have to be goodOver 800,000 NGOs in the US alone

Women, children, forests, cats, dogs

Constant solicitationPostal mail, E-mails, solicitations on the street,

fundraising dinner, advertising, piles and piles of grants – everyone wants money.

Why should I give to you? Your funder is your customer, you must meet

their needs. So what are then needs? Let’s brainstorm together.

Meeting funder needs - Brainstorm

Tanzanian Business Person

NGO

International Wellwisher

Let’s get inside their heads.

Local Business PersonMedia and community recognitionPublic recognition for his businessConnection with a personFeel good about him or herselfBelief that they are contributing to a good

cause and a real needConfidence their money will be used wellPersonal thanks

International WellwisherHas to be a cause that interests them

What might be a clue? ImpactPersonal connection with a cause organizationCredibility and accountability of the organizationFrequency of requests reasonableAccess to organization leadershipDonation request needs to match wealth, project

belief and engagementDesire to fund/customize their own program

Has advantages and pitfalls

#1 thing - needs to be aware of you!

Online Wellwisher GenerationDrive people to your websitePartner with international organizationsE-mail listsE-mail signaturesDirectoriesSocial networkingSocial forums (e.g. SocialEdge)Be creative!

NGOs and Grant WritingOrganization skill and abilityTrack record of delivering resultsCost-effectivenessFit and focusAbility/expertise to deliver services“Last mile” deliveryProfessional approach and presentationMonitoring and Evaluation

Porter’s Generic Strategies Apply to Non-Profits – 3 strategies to stand out

Basic Fundraising ChecklistA clear and focused one page write-up of

your mission, activities and accomplishmentsA one-page budget/resources summary in

USD or Euro Successful projects matrix WebsiteE-mail list of members and donors90 second pitch5 minute pitchReferencesVolunteer roster and roles

90 second pitchIn many cases, you will have a limited amount of time to articulate why your organization is special and why someone should give or be involved.

An 90 second pitch is an important component of being able to raise funding and earning people’s support for your organization. You should be ready to deliver this at any time.

If you can do it in 90 seconds, any other period is no problem.

Elevator Pitch Exercise #1Imagine that you have 90 seconds to tell a

girl or boy that you are interested in what your best qualities are.

Sample Elevator Pitch StructureThe hookA fact, statement or question that gets

them listening. Introduction and summary statementSupporting fact #1Supporting fact #2Supporting fact #3Conclusion and pitch – ask for what you want

– a meeting, a phone call, a date.

Elevator Pitch Exercise #2Assignments:

MAdeA: MAdeATYACP: TYACPGosbert and Shaban: Why you should hire

meNatalie – The women’s shelter

Pitch to your donorsMAdeA works to empower women and fight domestic violence and sexual assault in economically isolated areas in Tanzania. The women we work with earn less than a dollar a day and are frequently subject to rape and battering.

MAdeA's programs provide women and girls with:

Training on how to avoid sexual assault and domestic violenceWomen's safety programsMicro grants and training to women to fund entrepreneurial activitiesSchool fees to keep young girls in school and out of prostitutionEducation on HIV/AIDS, condom use and other reproductive health issues

I’ll be honest with you – almost no one cares that you are a membership organization, that you have 12 members or that you were founded in 2001. They want to hear about how you help marginalized women or provide services in the community.

Who cares?

Tanzanian Business Person

NGOInternational Wellwisher

Process and Period and OwnershipEvery week, month or year, we will:

E-mail X number of international wellwishers (Baltazar)

Call X local businessmen (Anna)E-mail updates (Baltazar)Review lists for funding grants (Ruta Tobias)Follow up and check in with past donors (Anna)Have a fundraising event (To be assigned to a

new member)

Assign these to different people!

Briefly, other funding ideasRaise an endowmentRequest operating fundsProvide services and charge for themRequest equipment donationsLease out purchased equipmentGet “skin in the game” (shared purchases)Take business equityGive out equipment, not cash (creates economies of

scale) Invite local entrepreneurs and business people to

trainAsk people for time, not moneyHave existing supporters contact all their friendsNetwork into the ex-pat communityRaise membership numbers

MeasurementThe most successful non-profits not only

deliver impact, but are able to measure themMeasurement helps funders understand the

value delivered or promised – essential in grant funding

The metrics help the organization itself improve its own processes

A culture of measurement is essentialThis creates a virtuous cycle that builds

funding, capacity and operational excellence

Planning Phases - BasicsEach interaction with a client is an

interventionEvery intervention has an outcomeEvery outcome can be measured

Marketing focused metricsPotential individual funders want to know

the impact of their donationsLarge funders and NGOs see measurement

as part of the required capacity for partnersLarge funders need data on effectivenessUniversities and researchers value the data

and are more likely to partners

Why MaDeA should want to measureMadea has made a lot with a very small

amount of moneyTo improve To set target goalsTo be able to articulate impact and needs

to potential funders and partners

Can you tell them in numbers?

Domestic Violence & Sexual Assualt Outcomessurvivors' immediate safety (for residential services)immediate safety of survivors' children (for residential

services)survivors' increased knowledge about domestic

violencesurvivors' increased awareness of resources and

optionssurvivors' decreased isolationcommunity's improved response to battered women

and their childrenpublic's increased knowledge about domestic violenceincreased survivor safety over timereduced incidence of abuse in the communityreduced homicide in the communityimproved quality of life of survivors

Source: Sullivan & Alexy, vawnet.org

Data Collection MethodsDay-to-day gathering (sign-in sheets)SurveyFocus GroupInterviewRegional or community statistics

Produce monthly reports (simple for now) and use them to communicate with donors. Sample e-mail:

“Last month, we had 20 victims of domestic violence who needed help. This placed a strain on our budget. If you would consider a donation this month to help us get back on track financially, that would be great.

Improvement and Goal-SettingSet goals (numeric and yes/no)Review periodicallyBrainstorm as a team to determine how to

improveShare goals and successes with members,

wellwishers and on the Internet and via other sources – people will notice

Appendix A – ReferencesMetrics for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault: http://new.vawnet.org/category/Main_Doc.php?docid=380

Basic Tips for Fundraising for Small NGOs in Developing Countries:

http://www.coyotecommunications.com/outreach/

Appendix B – Online Fundraising Resources

www.innonet.org/

The Innovation Network works with nonprofit organization to share the power of evaluation with nonprofits and funders. Their evaluation tools help with everything from creating your organization’s mission statement to post-program evaluation, and draw heavily on log-framed approaches to program development.

www.ifrg.org.uk

The Resource Alliance's mission is to build the fund-raising and local resource mobilization capacity of the voluntary sector worldwide.

www.tgci.com

The Grantsmanship Center links to foundation and corporate sites of interest to fund raisers, and has general information on fundraising. Focused primarily on the USA.

www.cof.org

Council on Foundations with links to many foundations and general information on foundations and giving. Focused primarily on the USA.

http://fdncenter.org

The Foundation Center links to foundation and corporate sites of interest to fundraisers, and provides general information on foundations and giving. Focused primarily on the USA.

www.nonprofits.org/npofaq/keywords/5o.html

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (FAQs) regarding prospect and funder research.

Sources: Cravens, 2006