Update...

Been traveling a lot again in the last 2 weeks, to Las Vegas and Long Beach, CA, for a presentation with Netzel Associates. I met their President and COO, Jay Grigsby, at a conference last fall, and while he may not have been impressed with my golf game, he did seem to like what I had to say- specifically about fundraising software solutions. As a result I was invited to speak during their national team meetings this month.

It's clear they LOVE what they do. They offer a full spectrum of services, such as development/feasibility studies, capital and endowment fundraising campaigns, executive searches, major gift programs, planned giving/endowment development, grant writing and research and more.

I even picked up a quick tip - when asking for a major gift, it's best to make the final ask in this way:

"Bob, we would like to honor you with a request for $100,000 as a leading gift for our XXX Campaign"

Pretty clever, eh?

In addition to asking the right way, they also use our integration with Wealth Engine to make sure they are asking the right amount. To that end, they are able to use a combination of DonorPerfect Online and Wealth Engine to accurately predict a donor's Giving Capacity.

It's important to know everything you can about your major donors, and our solution makes it easy so that you make sure you honor your donor appropriately without leaving money on the table.

Boys & Girls Clubs, Capital Campaign Tips...

I'm blogging live from the Pacific Region Boys and Girls Club conference in downtown Scottsdale, Arizona. It's been a great conference, and I expect that we'll add on quite a few new clubs to add to our 100+ list of current Clubs across the country.

I also had a chance to learn some new things (always a good thing), and talked with Jay Grigsby, President of Netzle Associates. Jay and his 25 member team provide campaign consultation for all types of non-profit organizations, and he had a few key insights into finding potential donors, especially for private schools:

• The first task was to find those parents that paid for the tuition in full. Since almost all schools provide some kind of payment plan, those parents that pay in one lump sum are much more likely to be potential major donors.
• It's also important to find those people that are paying tuition for students whom are not their children. This list usually includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other extended family members. Again, it's important to note if the payment was made in a lump sum or over time.
• Finally, it was critical to have the database scanned for Prospect Research purposes- and make sure to include ALL alumni. This will uncover hidden prospects, as well as provide a more definitive wealth rating for your existing pool of major donors. As I mentioned in the past, we have a fantastic relationship with Wealth Engine, and the prospect research data is automatically integrated within DonorPerfect, saving valuable time.

Successful campaigns don't happen by themselves, and it's much wiser to take the planning advice from people who have already hit all the landmines (and they have the battle scars to prove it!)