Not-for-Profit Finance Week Webinar:

Funding and Fundraising –

How to super-charge your not-for-profit group's

fundraising

Thursday, 23rd July 2015

Your host: Patrick Moriarty, Our Community

The Session

What you need to do before you even start

looking

Developing an Annual Funding Strategy

The Fundraising Pillars

Some food for thought that we

want you to decide up front…

…who wouldn’t you take money

from?

Again – let’s see who you wouldn’t

take money from – please post in

the questions section.

• If this is the first time you’ve thought of this

maybe it’s a good point to start with

developing a policy – for a start you could

use our policy bank:

http://www.communitydirectors.com.au/icd

a/policybank/

Why do people give?

You must identify the need

You need to demonstrate the need with evidence

Prove that you can provide a better outcome.

• You need to have a clear plan

• You need to have a reason to “give”

• You need to have someone to be in charge (not a committee –

make one person responsible)

• You need an organisation template (provided to you after

today)

• You need time – you won’t get it all overnight

• You need to invest – your own resources

• You need approval from Board

Are you ready? – Before you start

The Seven Fundraising Pillars

1. Grants Government, corporate, philanthropic

2. Members, alumni and friends And other supporters

3. Donations Wills, bequests

4. Special events Sausage sizzles, festivals

5. Community–business partnerships

Schools, councils, service clubs, major/minor sponsors

6. Crowdfunding

7. Earned income Jobs, meals, maintenance

Have you applied for a grant in

the last year?

Pillar 1: Grants

Have some forethought – what do you need

Problem/Issue/Challenge

to your organisation

How will you solve

it/what options do

you have

What steps/stages are

involved ($)

Timing

per

stage?

Over 30,000 people

ranging form the youngest

children to the oldest

grandparent will utilise our

facility for community

celebrations and will be

the hub of vitality for our

small rural community of

700 people.

WHERE IS THE

EVIDENCE

Stats –

own/ABS/Forecasts

Case Studies

Stories/Testimonials

Research

Renovate Existing

facility

WHAT YOU

WANTMONEY FOR

Plans - $8,000

Permit - $500

Excavation - $4000 (in kind)

Sand – 1000 ($500

partnership with supplier)

Supply and install -$8000

Supply an Install Equipment

– $25000 (could itemise

this too)

Safety Inspection - $1500

Launch Party – 1000

Audit of funds - $1000

Report – 600 (in kind)

6 wks

4 wks

2days

2 days

4 wks

6 wks

1 day

1 day

2 wks

2 wks

Have some forethought – what do you need

Lateral thinking about grants

Arts Education

Youth

Family Community Health Disability

Potential

Funding

For example – integration of elderly into school dance

program

Are you doing anything innovative/inclusive?

You think that the grant suits your needs

• READ the Guidelines (yep all of them)

• READ AGAIN

• Check upper and lower $ limits

• When does it close (plan to meet it)

• What is the average grant?

• What groups/programs have won the grant previously?

• What is the tone, type (i.e. hints) of the words used…

A good report should…

• Detail the stated aims of the project

• Report on how the aims were met

• Detail what worked well and what didn’t work so well

• Provide any measurements

• Provide feedback from partners, clients, supporters

• Finance report (income/exp inc in kind)

Not be the first time they have heard from you since you

got the funding

Do you currently have a paid membership

structure?

Pillar 2: Members,

Friends and Alumni

• Adult

• Senior/Junior

• Social

• Family

• Concession

• Life

• Business

• Pet?

• Gold

• Silver

• Bronze

• Platinum

Membership

Need to differentiate –

tangibly and needs to

have value for money

between them

RF: So in transferring this knowledge to the community sector,

are communication and a sense of involvement the keys to

groups retaining members?

Professor McDonald: Yes – fostering a very real feeling of

involvement is a key thing groups can do when it comes to

retaining members. In looking at football clubs we found it was

three or four times more important than on field performance in

terms of membership retention.

And you can engender this in two ways – firstly, through close

communications, and secondly by feeding back to the members

the benefits the group has obtained from the membership.

• Do you actively seek donations?

Pillar 3: Individuals &

Appeals Donations Pillar

Most community organisations have a history that either through:

– Past members

– Staff

– Volunteers

– Committee members

– Donors

– Patrons

provide you with a ready made “warm” source of funds,

partnerships, mentors, employees or networks.

YOU NEED TO BUILD AND KEEP CURRENT YOUR CONTACT LIST

Think of what you need …

PAST CURRENT

Celebrities, famous sports people,

business owners/leaders, councilors, MPs,

MPs husbands

potential coaches, volunteers,

spokespeople, patrons, donors, bequests,

sponsors, partners , friends

• Give people a reason to give

• If you do not know the donor this is even more critical

• If you know the donor make the connection something

“tangible”.

• Close the loop – say thanks and demonstrate that you

have used the donation for the purpose named

What is the Reason to Give?

www.givenow.com.au

• Younger donors

• Double the amount of other donations (average $125)

• Attracting donors to the hub as well as the

organisations

• Adding to your data base

• Another source of marketing for donations

• ITS FREE – NO COMMISSION, NO FEES

The OC Giving Facility: GiveNow

Do you have a bequest program?

Be warned: A bequest program does not and will not

provide instant returns no matter how well run

The lead-time for bequests is at least 3-5 years. People are

living longer these days, which is an objective of many not-

profits... Bequest development is a long-term strategy

But it offers an outstanding return on investment if you follow

through with it.

Bequest starts after the brochure is printed

“Tools” are important but don’t replace face-to-face

Implement a donor development strategy

Budget and resources – how to work around them to:

Identify

Build a relationship with your donors

Ask

Thank

Follow-up.

Are fundraising events a

substantial part of your funding?

Pillar 4: Community

Events Pillar

Why Events?

They satisfy a need for any or all of the following:

Fundraising

Expression of shared cultural meaning or cultural identification

Marking special occasions

Commemoration of anniversaries

Encouraging tolerance and diversity

Education

Expressing creativity

Testing sporting prowess

Corporate – promotion on goods and services

Focus on increasing visitation and tourism dollars

Having Fun!

Community Events

Community events should be fun and if the aim is

to make money, make sure that they make money…

A LOT of fundraising events LOSE money – key step is

to test the feasibility prior to starting.

Programming:

• Themes help build Programs

• Timing: Be realist about audience tolerance

• Passive and Active elements

Designing:

• Scale; Shape; Focus; Date; Build; Next

Team:

• Volunteers; Staff; Event Manager

Return:

• You need to weigh up how much return you get from your

events not just on "profit” but also against your effort.

Key Foundational Elements

• How do you ensure they don’t burnout?

• How do we demonstrate their contribution?

• e.g. (50 people *40 hours input each = 2000hrs

* $15 = $30,000)

Depending on your return, volunteers will be doing this

calculation in their mind and evaluating the rate on return

Volunteer Burnout Equation

Do you have any partnerships

with business?

Pillar 5: Community

Partnerships Pillar

Is a Partnership what you really want?

A partnership is not for everyone

A partnership is not for you if you:

• want a quick injection of funds for a specific event

• want a handover of cash in exchange for a branding opportunity

• don’t have the time or interest in listening to ideas and input from your

partner

• don’t want to involve your partner in the activities of your organisation

• want the funding but not a relationship with the funder

There are many valid forms of community business relationships – it doesn’t

have to be a partnership.

Funding

• Basic model of a business funding a community group to provide

a service or program

In-kind

• Animal Welfare Shelter and Pet Food Company

Sharing resources

Skills Exchange

• Life Education and Alcoa – bookkeeper and education classes

Access to new networks

• New market for the business, new group of supporters and

volunteers for community group

Partnership Models

Mentoring

• Goes both ways. Both partners will have unique skills and

experience that could help the other

Volunteerism

Business as collection point

• BAC - Links using business partners as collection points for

various NFPs

Scholarships and Awards

Work experience/employment

Don’t limit yourself to a single model – be creative and mix it up

Partnership Models

Do Your Homework

• Research them… they’ll be doing the same so update marketing

material!

• Look for natural fit and commonalities

• Do they have anything to give?

• Who do they partner with now?

• Partnership Guidelines

• Values Match

• Reference Checks

• Know Your Target

Make It Easy For Them

Provide a compelling case for the partnership

What do you want and what can you give?

•Don’t undervalue what you have to offer – cost it out

•Space in your newspaper – cost of ad in your local paper and

distribution? Similarly, website ads, signage

•Training you can offer their staff

•Access to new networks

•Exclusively selling their product – Animal Shelter

Be clear and confident

Give your contact the 30 second elevator pitch for why the partnership is

good for your organisation, their organisation, and the community.

Document, Document, Document

Formal

For many businesses this is a legal requirement

• Can be audited

• Taxation records

• Internal financial approvals

Benefits

• Protects you and your partner

• Chronicles the partnership

• A roadmap to refer to if things go wrong

• Excellent tool for succession planning – document on the premise that

you could be hit by a bus tomorrow.

Have you used crowdfunding

before?

Pillar 6: Crowdfunding

• Tell a story

• Set your target

• Set your duration

• Build and audience

• Spend 3 week devising the project

• Research other projects

• Prepare for the launch

• Prepare material for social media posts

Before the Campaign

• Public acknowledgements - Facebook / Twitter, website, projections,

artworks etc.

• The product at various levels

• Exclusive invitations to launch parties / events

• Merchandise

• Volunteer opportunities

• Tours of the site

• Interactions with staff and experts

• Things not attached to the project

Rewards for Charity / NFP Projects

• No longer than 3 minutes, ideally 2 minutes

• Express the important information early on

• The goal is to evoke an emotional response from the viewer

• Doesn’t necessarily need to have high production value

Project Video

• Spend half an hour a day

• Use social media, a lot

• Post Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

• Don’t get disheartened in the middle

• Get creative with your content and keep people updated with progress

• Add new Rewards

• Tap into relevant networks

• Put out a press release

During the Campaign

Do you have a part of your

organisation that operates as a

“business”?

Pillar 7: Community

Businesses (social

enterprise)

It’s like starting a new private business

If you wouldn’t put your own money in then don’t go there.

Business Opportunities

Structure and Model

• Subsidiary

• Profit

• Board

• Business Model

That’s it

• Summary

• Questions