This chapter will start by outlining all the various types of visits and then launch into the nuts and bolts of how to plan a trip and how to reach out to your donor base. Weall then dissect a visit before getting into the follow up. Finally, I will regale you with a couple of examples from the road.
The Taxonomy of Travel.
There are many different types of visits. Not every visit is a direct solicitation, although many are (and should be). Remember the gift cycle we talked about earlier? Each of those points in the cycle (a.s.sessment, cultivation, pre-solicitation, solicitation, and stewardship) is worth a visit. There are other types of visits, too, depending on the scope of your operations. Letas take a look at all the valid reasons you might want to call upon a donor for a face-to-face visit, beginning with the stewardship call.
Thank-You Visits.
We just got done with a chapter on stewardship, so why not begin with the simplest reason to visit someone: to say, aThanks.a Of course, the meeting will consist of a more robust conversation, but reaching out to someone in the hopes of meeting only to thank them is perfectly legitimate, especially if they are among your top donors. If youave learned nothing else from the previous chapter, itas that saying thanks is the first step toward your next ask.
If your outreach to a donor is for a stewardship visit, let them know up front that, first and foremost, you would like to thank them for their generous support of your inst.i.tution and that youad like to sit down with them one-on-one to provide an update on the organization, answer questions that they might have, and discuss the specific impact of their philanthropic commitment on your organization. You can even go so far as to mention that you arenat going to be asking for money this time around and that the visit is strictly to say thanks.
At this meeting, be sure to bring along any reports or informational brochures that might be relevant to the donoras interest. If there is a report generated specifically around this donoras contributions, be sure to bring it along and deliver it in person. If appropriate, also bring a handwritten (or hand-signed) note from the executive director or, if appropriate, from someone who has directly benefited from that donoras generosity.
The meeting provides you an opportunity both to thank the donor and also to find out how that donor wants to be thanked. There are standard operating procedures, yes, and even best practices, but there is also something to be said for customization if you have the time and resources to do it. You can ask this donor questions designed to prompt useful answers: Does she read the reports that you send them? Does she enjoy them? What else can your inst.i.tution provide to help give life to the gift?
Donat make false promises, but honor requests when possible. If you have done a good job stewarding the donor with good reporting on her gifts, chances are that the donor will already be happy. The very act of asking can be enough to make folks feel good; much like inviting someone to an event, even if they cannot attend, it is a good cultivational, or stewarding, step.
Remember, the stewardship visit closes out the gift cycle, but it also reinitiates it. So bring some conversation points to the table. What is the next frontier for the programs that the donor is supporting? What is the next frontier for other programs that might be of interest? While you wonat want there be an explicit ask during this meeting, youall at least want to provide the donor with a very clear idea of where the organization is heading and suggest very clear ways in which she can remain involved or increase her involvement.
An e-mail reaching out to a donor for a stewardship visit might look like this: Dear Joseph: Greetings from sunny Salisbury! I hope this note finds you well. My name is Jeff Stauch, and Iam the Director of Development at Children First Vermont (CFV). As such, I am responsible for connecting with supporters of CFV, providing them with updates on the work that our organization is doing, answering their questions, and, when appropriate, exploring potential avenues for developing significant philanthropic relationships with CFV.
I am planning on being in Montpelier the second half of next week and would love the chance to meet with you. It would be wonderful to introduce myself to you and thank you in person for your very generous support of CFV. I would be honored to be able to explain to you in person just how much your philanthropic commitment to CFV has impacted the work that we do.
I propose meeting over coffee on either the morning of October 7th or 8th. I am early on in the planning stages of this trip, and I have flexibility in my schedule over those two days. If you let me know what day and time works best for you, I am confident we can find a time to meet.
In advance, Joseph, many thanks for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully to meeting you in a few weeks.
Sincerely, Jeffrey David Stauch PS a" I hope you wonat mind if I follow up with a phone call in the event that I do not hear from you by the weekas end.
You should adjust this letter to fit your own voice and inst.i.tution, but it should give you an idea of how to reach out.
Recruitment Visits.
This section may vary in relevance depending on the resources that your organization has to devote to a volunteer program. But I want to expound on the topic briefly here just in case you are fortunate enough to be able to develop this type of programming.
When reaching out via e-mail (or phone) to set up this visit, it is good to have a job description at the ready. The job description will include the basic tasks involved with a particular role along with a rough estimate of the time commitment. (The question of time commitment arises in nearly every single recruitment conversation I have ever had.) Here, I actually differ with some of my colleagues on how best to approach this kind of outreach. When I call or e-mail, I tend to frontload what I am hoping to accomplish in my meeting with them. In other words, I go so far as to outline the exact role I am proposing, and I generally include the job description.
I explain that I want them to consider this volunteer role and explain why I am contacting them. I might say that someone recommended them, that theyare a good giver, and that they could help the organization even more through volunteering in a certain capacity. I then explain that I am going to be in their city or town and that I would welcome the opportunity to discuss the role in greater detail. I also make it a priority to tell them I will answer any questions they might have.
I have had colleagues who tend not to include the job description. They allude to the volunteer opportunity without explaining specifically what is at hand, preferring to outline the details in person. This method is valid, and it could be more likely that youall get a visit out of it, but I would rather get the anoa up front than travel to see someone and get it in person.
If the potential donor declines up front, that allows me to call the next person on my list in the hopes that they might be interested in learning more about a volunteer role. If the response is not negative, it is essentially a guarantee that you have a new volunteer. Your meeting can then be focused less on recruitment and more on the process of getting the prospect set up with any materials that he might need to do his job. It can take on more of a training tone, so that at the conclusion of the meeting, the newly recruited volunteer can hit the ground running.
It is up to you which strategy you choose when making calls or sending e-mails, but if you have limited time and resources with which to travel, I would argue that it makes more sense to frontload your intentions. Get the rejection up front and move on to the next prospect, or get the acceptance up front and use the time during that meeting to answer their questions about the role. Then you can take the next steps to get them trained and providing them with the volunteer guidance they need to succeed.
Again, hereas a potential template for your outreach: Dear Joseph: Greetings from sunny Salisbury! I hope this note finds you well. My name is Jeff Stauch, and Iam the Director of Development at Children First Vermont (CFV). As such, I am responsible for connecting with supporters of CFV, providing them with updates on the work that our organization is doing, answering their questions, and, when appropriate, exploring avenues of volunteer involvement and potential philanthropic relationships with CFV.
I am planning on being in Burlington the second half of next week and would love to introduce myself in person and thank you for your support of the work that CFV has been doing over the last four years. It will also be a good opportunity to provide you with the latest news from our offices.
I would also like to discuss with you a volunteer role which I am hoping you will consider. CFV is currently in the process of building a volunteer program to increase the impact our organization has locally and across the state.
I hope you will consider becoming involved as a CFV Sentinel. Sentinels are volunteers that help us build our donor base by reaching out to five or ten of their friends or family members and making the case for supporting CFV. It is a great way to support CFV and has a huge effect on how folks respond to appeals to get involved philanthropically. To give you an idea of the difference a Sentinel can make, on average just under a third of the people that we call from our offices here make a gift when we solicit them over the telephone. When those same folks are approached by a Sentinel they know personally, that giving rate jumps to over forty percent.
The time commitment is minimal because we know youare busy. On average, it takes about five to ten hours per calendar year. My office provides you with the information and resources that you need to do an effective job.
I would love the chance to discuss this in further detail next week when I am in Burlington. I propose meeting over coffee on either the morning of October 7th or 8th. I am early on in the planning stages of this trip, and I have flexibility in my schedule over those two days. If you let me know what day and time work best for you, I am confident we can arrive at a mutually agreeable arrangement.
In advance, Joseph, many thanks for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully meeting you in a few weeks.
Sincerely, Jeffrey David Stauch.
Recruitment calls are a great way to engage your donors in a way that is not strictly monetary. Youare asking them to continue their financial support, yes. But you are also asking them to deepen their relationship with your organization by helping out beyond the act of writing a checka"whether itas hosting an event, calling their friends to get them to contribute, or volunteering their time at your organizationas officea"and youare more likely to get them on board if you ask them to do so in person. Now letas move on to a conversation youare more likely to have at the higher end of the gift pyramid: the a.s.sessment call.
a.s.sessment Visits.
a.s.sessment calls are one of my favorite types of visits. Again, itas a first date, getting-to-know-you kind of affair. These are folks who have the capacity to give a ton of money to your organization, but they havenat done so yet. Some of them are annual supporters of your organization but at small partic.i.p.ation levels. Others have made a gift in the past but not recently. Others have gotten onto your radar screen through the work of your research staff or through the intel of other donors.
I covered the nuts and bolts of an a.s.sessment call in the chapter on the gift cycle, but a few things are worth repeating.
Remember: Itas reconnaissance disguised as small talk. Your goals in this meeting are to get as much information as you can to determine a prospectas capacity and inclination to give, whether the timing is right, and, hopefully, their areas of interest with respect to your organization. a.s.sessment calls are generally reserved for higher-end donors.
You can be direct: You can ask them where else theyare philanthropic and where your organization ranks relative to others. You can ask them pointed questions about their business. Ask about their kids, their spouse, and their hobbies. All of this will help you construct a profile of these donors.
And remember: Always divulge your endgame. Never leave someone in the dark as to your intentions. From your very first point of contact, be transparent about what you do. Again, it is easier and more worth your time to frontload what you do than to have it come out mid-conversation.
Now, in the first meeting, although it is very unlikely youall be making a major solicitation (although it can happen, as youall soon see), show your cards. Be honest. You can say something along these lines: As my job t.i.tle suggests, my primary goal is establishing significant philanthropic relationships between our organization and interested donors. Today is not the day to have the conversation about a major gift to [Organization Name], but it is my hope that we can continue a dialogue at a pace that is comfortable for you regarding a philanthropic commitment.
What you will say will obviously depend on your own style, but this is language that is clear and states your intentions. Of course, in the interim, encourage them to continue giving to your organization at the level at which theyave historically given. If they havenat yet made a gift to your organization, encourage a small partic.i.p.ation gift this year as you continue the dialogue. You can get away with a little bit of self-deprecation at the end of your meeting by saying something like aI wouldnat be doing my job if I didnat encourage you to continue supporting our organization at the generous level you already do.a You will ideally have some sort of information on the donor prior to the visit. This would include their giving trends and hopefully some research about their capacity to give. Even without pre-existing research, you can learn a good deal in that initial a.s.sessment call, so donat waste the opportunity.
This holds true for all types of visits, but Iall raise the point here: You should have a clear idea of what you want to get out of the meeting. Itas best to go into a meeting with more to talk about than you think possible (in case the prospect has very little to say and youare having the conversation for both of you).
I have had colleagues who carry a small, pocket-sized notebook with them with the topics they hope to cover written down in point form. It is important to always have more than one topic prepared, even though sometimes you only end up talking about one of them. The point is, have clear goals. Donat waste your time and donat waste your donoras time.
Hereas a sample paragraph in which you explain your motivation for meeting with them. Adapt as necessary.
I am writing to you today as I am going to be in Springfield in two weeks, from the 3rd to the 6th, and I would love to meet with you. I would welcome the chance to thank you in person for your ongoing support of our organization, to give you an update from headquarters, and to answer any questions that you might have about StayOnTrack. In particular, Iad like to tell you about our latest efforts at closing the ever-widening achievement gap in Connecticut with our new after-school programs.
Again, the content will vary depending on your organization, but the structure of the explanation should still be applicable.
Cultivation and Solicitation Visits.
I lump these two types of visits together because they both presuppose previous contact with a donor and because the next chapter actually contains a lot more on face-to-face solicitation. So weall postpone an in-depth exploration of that type of visit until then. The outreach and meeting set up will often mirror that of the cultivational visit, again, because you have already met with this donor. Again, as a reminder, the cultivation stage of the gift cycle can be and often is broad and can and often does require more than one visit. Itas the time when you continue to explore and probe the donoras interests in the hopes of triangulating your organizationas funding priorities with the donorsa philanthropic pa.s.sions.
How you reach out to donors for cultivation visits will depend on how your initial a.s.sessment call went. Here are some questions to consider: Is the donor more responsive to an e-mail or a phone call?
Is the tone between you and the donor formal or informal?
Will the donor respond better to a short or a lengthy e-mail?
When and where did you meet last time? This will help you because you can propose the same time and location as the last meeting.
After all, you know it was convenient for them in the past.
Have you been in contact with the donor via phone, e-mail, or mail since your last visit? Has the donor received any type of communication in the interim from you or your organization?
You wonat need to reintroduce yourself in your outreach, but be sure to allude to the last point of contact that you had personally with the donor or that your organization has had with the donor.
With cultivation visits, youall want to bring along material or be able to speak to the interest areas you were able to tease out in your last point of contact. If you were unable to discern interest areas in your previous visit, come prepared to talk about your inst.i.tutionas most pressing funding needs along with the fundraising goals. The cultivation visit is when you begin to zero in on a more specific ask amount, a more specific area of interest, and a clearer timeline regarding when a solicitation is appropriate.
During this meeting, notice when the donor perks up ora"equally importanta"if he doesnat perk up when you were hoping he would. Be a close listener and observer. When you present funding priorities, goals, and opportunities, how does he react? What gets the donor excited?
Trust that you donat have to leave everything to chance. You can ask very pointed questions as long as you do so diplomatically and tactfully, not forcefully or brazenly. It is okay for you to ask outright if a specific project that youare discussing is one that the donor would consider supporting in a systematic way. If the answer is no, the best follow-up question is, aWhat would be a project that would excite you?a Challenges can arise during the cultivation process, if a donoras interests are somewhat far afield from your funding priorities. Sometimes, it is possible to find an altered fit or just to force the donoras wishes through to your inst.i.tution. The negotiation process will often take place post-visit.
I will talk at length about negotiations in Chapter 11 when we discuss major gifts, as cultivation can often live or die based on your skills as a negotiator and intermediary between the donor and your organization. Until then, hereas the short of it: when it comes to steering your donor into the corrals of your inst.i.tutionas funding priorities, begin by zooming out. At the broadest level, what motivates the donor to give? Iam talking big, fat, abstract words: social change, poverty, sports, human rights, animal rights, environmental justice. After youave established that, ask yourself where your organization dovetails with those philanthropic priorities. Sometimes itas an indirect fit; sometimes the gift will be designated towards something for which there is a need at your organization, even if it isnat the greatest priority.
Again, weall talk much more about negotiations in Chapter 11. The overarching point here with respect to cultivational visits is that you want to continue the momentum achieved from the a.s.sessment call and walk away from the meeting with the ability to come up with a very concrete solicitation plan, or at least very concrete next steps, for this donor.
Your outreach e-mail could look like this: Dear Amy: Greetings from Farmington Animal Shelter (FAS)! I hope you are doing well and have been enjoying the summer. The shelter has enjoyed a successful season full of great placements and heartwarming stories.
Iam writing to you today because Iam planning on being in Litchfield at the end of the month, on the 30th and 31st of August, and Iad love the chance to meet with you. Iad love to give you a recap of the summer weave been privileged enough to enjoy here at FAS and continue our conversation that we began in the springtime with respect to our capital campaign and your potential involvement.
If it works with your schedule, would you like to meet at the Starbucks at County Line Road and Bishop Street on the 30th? You are one of the first folks I am calling for this trip, so Iam pretty open on both of those days. Let me know what works best with your schedule and we can go from there.
In advance, Amy, thanks for your time and consideration. Iam looking forward to your reply.
With my best wishes, Jeff Stauch PS a" I hope it does not present a problem if I follow up with a phone call in the event that I do not hear back from you by the end of next week.
Individual vs. Group Visits.
Now, letas divide visits into individual and group visits. Weall start with the tradeoffs of meeting with one person vs. a small group (when I say small, I mean two to ten).
An individual meeting gives you the advantage of getting deep into a subject that either you as the fundraiser wanted to pursue or that is of particular interest to the donor.
In group settings, control of the conversation is a little more up in the air, depending on the subjects the various members would like to discuss. Of course, if you have a few simple points you want to get across, then presenting them to a group does have its advantages.
Each time you take the time to visit with a donor or donors, your aim is to make them feel it is worth your time and their time to spend an hour (or twenty minutes, or two hours) to discuss your organizationas work. You want them to walk away feeling special and inspired: special because you took the time out of your day to talk to them and only them, and inspired because youave delivered a great message about the work of your organization. This can be achieved in both individual and group settings.
Again, your ability to control the flow of the conversation is greater in an individual meeting than with groups, and youall be able to tailor your planning and messaging much more specifically. Youall also be able to craft much more personalized and thorough follow up for an individual than you could for a group, which, as weall read below, can have significant implications.
Certainly, at least for major gift solicitations, individual meetings are better, but there are even exceptions to this rule (which weall discuss below). For annual giving, group settings can definitely be a call to action. Cultivation can certainly lend itself to group settings in certain situations. However, a.s.sessment will likely be less effective in a group setting, as it will be harder to get the intel youare hoping to gather on an individualas giving capacity and inclination.
From the donorsa perspectives, sometimes group meetings can imply lower pressure. Donors can a.s.sume they wonat be singled out for a solicitation or that the fundraiser wonat be asking for a check in hand at the end of the meeting. It can be more comfortable to have other folks in the room, so consider that as well. There are prospects out there that are terrified of meeting with fundraisers, and the only way that theyall do it is in group settings, usually with someone outside the organization they know well.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let me take a minute to clarify what I mean when I talk about groups, because the composition of one group to the next varies widely.
A group meeting is, at its base, any meeting composed of more than just you (the fundraiser), and your prospect. It can be a meeting with multiple family members (a husband and wife, parents and children, etc.). The group could be composed of a number of locally based alumni from your high school or college. It could be a group of steady, annual fund donors; a group of major gift donors; or a mix of both. It could also be you, your prospective donor, and a board member. Or you, a board member, and a number of prospects. The permutations are numerous.
The setting can vary as well, much like with individual meetings. You could find yourself speaking in a conference or board room to these individuals or at the home of the family youare visiting. You could be meeting over dinner or at your officeas headquarters. All these decisions will be influenced by the intended outcome of the meeting and the composition of the prospects you intend to invite.
Group Meetings.
So letas look at group meetings for a bit. With respect to group settings, be strategic about who you call upon. If your aim is just to communicate certain things about your organization to a given group of people, you can probably get away with simply calling your high net-worth individuals and have them meet at one of your prospectas office s.p.a.ce.
However, certain situations necessitate a little more thorough thinking.
For example, if you want a meeting to, as we say in the industry, aset someoneas sightsa or araise someoneas sights,a and you think you can achieve that with the help of either a board member or a particularly enthusiastic donor, youad want to keep that meeting to the three of you, and youad want the donor or board member to be in the know as to the point of meeting with this particular prospect.