Mel and Pearl Shaw are the founders of Saad & Shaw – Comprehensive Fund Development Services. They provide clients with a unique brand of fundraising that combines marketing, viagra dosage pilule corporate partnerships, salve and the best of business leadership with fund-raising fundamentals. Their clients include colleges and universities, grassroots organizations, organized philanthropy and professional associations. They are the authors of Prerequisites for Fundraising Success: The 18 Things You Need to Know as a Fundraising Professional, Board Member, or Volunteer. Their weekly column FUNdraising Good Times appears in Urban Views Weekly and publications serving more than 20 markets across the country, including New York City, Miami and Los Angeles.
- Three hours of information, role play and FUN
- A way to start small and plan big
- Everyone who is associated with a nonprofit – whether a professional or volunteer – can benefit
- The best investment a nonprofit can make
- Knowledge gained can be used for years to come
- A great way to energize your fundraising initiative
Learn how to:
1. Build a solid fundraising program from the ground up.
2. Plan, launch, and maintain a successful fundraising program.
3. Gain commitment from board members.
4. Engage your board in fundraising (getting the best use from your board).
5. Uncover what donors want to support.
6. Create a case for support.
7. Determine what is unique about your organization.
8. Solicit a gift.
9. Engage, support and manage fundraising volunteers.
10. Recruit fundraising leadership.
11. Create and work from a fundraising plan.
12. Set a fundraising
13. Identify your strengths and challenges – and how to overcome them.
Increase your knowledge:
1. Learn why some nonprofits succeed in fundraising while others struggle or fail.
2. Understand how important it is to conduct a feasibility study or market survey prior to launching a fundraising initiative.
3. Avoid crisis fundraising: learn how to put fundraising fundamentals in place.
Gain answers to important questions such as:
1. Where does the buck stop? Who is ultimately responsible for fundraising: staff or volunteer leadership?
2. Should we hire staff or recruit volunteer leadership?
3. What is the market saying about our organization, and how do we use that information to influence our fundraising?
4. Why should a prospective donor support our nonprofit?
5. What are we raising money for and why?
Mel, Lou Rawls, and Jim Alston
How do you set your annual fundraising goal?
We were recently asked what we thought about setting a fundraising goal for fiscal year 2014 by simply adding 10% to the 2013 goal. Good question. And of course we had questions of our own. The first of which was “did the nonprofit meet its 2013 goal?” The answer – and the reasons why – will be important to take into consideration when setting a goal for 2014.
Are you interested in your donors, or their money?
Why does one nonprofit receive $1,000 from a donor when another receives $1 million? What is the difference between fundraising and the process of securing transformational gifts? To get some answers we talked with Barbara Pierce, founder of Transformative Giving.
Pierce got right to the point: “Transformational gifts come out of a partnership with a donor, built on a common goal that neither the donor nor the organization can accomplish on their own. Fundraising is about getting gifts to meet a budget; transformative giving is about achieving a vision. Without fundraising and the financial foundation it provides, you cannot engage in transformative giving.”
Changing the fiber of your nonprofit
A capital campaign – or any other quantum leap in your fundraising – will pull at every fiber of your nonprofit. These are not “business as usual” activities. If you want to grow from one level of donated revenue to another you have to do things differently. It’s no different than a business seeking to enter a new market or release a new product. New, more and different thinking, actions and people are required for new, more and different results.
We know this means more work for nonprofits that are often already operating beyond capacity. But you have to find a way to operate differently if you want different results. We are not saying that everything has to change all at once, but the rate at which you engage potential donors and funders is the rate at which you will begin to see a change in revenue.
Making the Ask
How do you ask someone to make a gift to a nonprofit that you believe in? What do you say? When do you ask? What if the person says “yes”? What if she says “no”?
When it comes to soliciting a gift for a nonprofit here’s what you need to know. First off, if you are new to fundraising, it is natural – and healthy! – to feel a bit nervous. One way to reduce nervousness is to prepare and rehearse. Think about what might encourage a potential donor to give, and what his or her objections might be. Be prepared to overcome potential objections with information. And don’t worry – the most important thing is to ask. You can’t predict the response, but you can prepare your presentation. And, once you start getting a few “yeses” you may get addicted to fundraising: it is fun to secure resources for organizations and institutions you believe in.
Testimonials
“Mel made it happen at UNCF. He set up marketing partnerships with companies like American Airlines, Budweiser, Disney, General Motors, and McDonalds.”
Jim Alston, Senior Vice President,
United Negro College Fund
“I was totally impressed with Saad & Shaw’s professionalism and depth of knowledge.”
Elize Brown, Director Administration,
Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente
“Quite an amazing duo.”
Nancy Aebersold, Director,
The National Higher Education Recruitment Consortium
“Saad & Shaw represent focused excellence. They helped Fresno City College raise more than 100 percent of our internal campaign goal.”
Dr. Ned Doffoney, Chancellor,
North Orange County Community College District
(Former President, Fresno City College)
“Preparation, preparation, preparation. Mel and Pearl have us busy getting our house in order before we talk with donors.”
Adrienne Bailey, CEO and President,
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Memphis
“We were ready to make a quantum leap forward as an organization but didn’t know how to do it. Saad & Shaw helped us build the organizational strength and identify new ways to grow revenue to get there.”
David Riemer, Campaign Chair,
Destiny Arts Center, Oakland, CA
“They kept asking me ‘what does this mean?’ By the end of our work together I understood why. We now have a case for support that is easy to understand.”
Rev. Kenneth S. Robinson, M.D., Pastor,
St. Andrew A.M.E. Church, Memphis, TN
“Mel and Pearl are fantastic collaborators. Our work together on behalf of LeMoyne-Owen College was ‘more than the sum of its parts.’ All parties benefitted from the collaboration.”
Traci Sampson, President,
Consilience Group, Memphis, TN
