Effective Donor Relations Strategies for Successful Fundraising

Mediterranean RIT fundraising training English, 19-21 July 2022 (part 2)

Donor relations Read chapter 3 of the manual

Your first donor meeting! Meeting donors requires preparation Research them in advance Discuss with your colleagues what do we know / how to go about it Set desired outcomes of the meeting Practise what you re going to say Stay focused Focus on your project / organisation Keep it brief; keep it simple Be prepared to answer some questions Follow up after the meeting Agree next steps with donor verbally Follow-up with an e-mail or letter to say thanks and confirm next steps Do what you say you ll do!

Donor relations Donors are people Communicate with your donor: before you apply (if possible check this) if they have rejected your application if they accepted your application during implementation(don t take the money and run) after your project ends Engage them when things go well, but also when they don t go well they have a stake (and a lot of experience) so they may be able to help

Donor relations Different types of donors different expectations. Check how much they like to be involved, and then give them what they need. Build a mutually effective relationship. Things you can do: Update logos on your products (newsletters, website etc) Produce targeted materials for the project, with recognition of the donor(s) Invite donors to project events (even if they won t come) Assign a donor relationship manager to facilitate communications Do what you are supposed to do be a good and reliable partner Write good reports, and submit them in time What else?

Donor relations Things donors can do: Help and advise with your project / organisation Provide funds from invisible sources Provide contacts Donors talk to each other so let them talk on your behalf (positively!) What else? Relations don t stop when the funding stops! They may come back! Keep them informed about post-project impacts and developments Tell them about your future plans It is easier to KEEP a donor than to find a new one!

Reports

Reports What to include in a report / how to write it Reports should be as good as proposals show respect ABC Accurate, Brief and Clear Follow the donor s guidelines Read them! Read them again! Stick to them! If you don t understand a question? Talk to your donor Don t repeat yourself you will have misunderstood the question Be complete answer all questions and sub-questions

Reports What to include in a report / how to write it Be specific take your reader seriously Be honest tell the good and the bad Use the information from your monitoring and evaluation (MEL!) Lessons learned think about this carefully, not just for the donor, also for yourself (MEL!) If allowed: Use visuals photos, graphs, infographics, break up the text Use stories, testimonials, boxes, case studies Your report is your business card especially if it goes public Use the opportunity to say thank you!

Fundraising plans Read chapter 4 of the manual

Identifying donors 3 2 1 Scanning Initial scanning of the horizon for which donors and calls for proposals are out there Researching This is the deeper research into donors identified as the closest match/highest potential Mapping (4 Cs) Map donors against priority initiatives to gauge the match and potential (coherence) Will let you know the prospects that should be explored further Check deadlines, timelines (calendar) Check eligibility (checkboxes) Check their capacity to give, and yours to comply (capacity)

FUNDRAISING PLANS Define scope of your strategy/plan: organisation, programme, project? Starting point: were are you now? [current situation - SWOT!] Target point: where do you want to be? [future desired situation!] Strategy/plan: how to get there [intervention strategy!] FR strategy: longer-term framework, including MEL FR plan: immediate actions, practical implementation use list of donors from scanning/mapping/researching 1. 2. 3. Hot tip 1: diversify your donors / type of donors! Hot tip 2: make a catalogue of project ideas (log frames)

Prioritizing Donors- Hot, Warm, Cold A plan will help you to...: HOT WARM COLD PAST donors CURRENT donors and/or DONORS WHO WE KNOW WELL AND WE KNOW WHEN THEIR CALLS COME OUT POTENTIAL donors who give to similar causes but not yet to you - Spread the risk mix of Hot, Warm and Cold donors - Add warm/cold donors - Replace hot donors that may drop off - Define your approaches - Draw up a calendar - Be prepared for unexpected opportunities (have concepts ready!) - Keep records! Donors who are relevant but you lost touch with them for some reason You probably first need to find an entry point with them somehow Good to re-initiate contacts if they are still relevant; look out for opportunities These are high priority donors, especially if there is an open funding call. Keep them on your list so that you have a record of these donors - an opportunity may come up later. These donors you can pursue later. These donors are the ones that you should pursue now.

Draft Fundraising Plan (1) donor-based Amount to request Programme Project Title Deadline Next steps/ actions WHO WHEN RESULT Donor Type HWC Get team together, re-draft proposal with team, send to Maaike for review before 3 October Annabel + team Between 10 Sept 3 Oct Birds programme Improving the breeding success of ZINO Petrels 10 October Annabel + team Between -3-8 October HOT E 2m EU Inst Revise application Before deadline 10 October (preferably 8) Submit application on-line Annabel Talk to BMC Boss (Board member) to co-fund 1:1 as discussed during latest Board Meeting (minutes) Bolombia Mining Corporation Corporate programme Protecting Gordon s spider monkey s habitat no deadline Next mtg in November 2022 HOT USD 100,000 Director Corp WARMTurtle Reconnect with local rep, used to fund the oyster project GEF-UNDP SGP honey project USD 50,000 Director January 2023 Inst programme Turtle programme Talk to Bob and ask when next open call for proposals will be CEPF Med COLD honey project ? USD 20,000 Joachim ASAP Inst

Draft Fundraising Plan (2) project/programme-based Amount to request Project Title Donor Deadline Next steps/ actions WHO WHEN RESULT Programme Project Priority Get team together, re-draft proposal with team, send to Maaike for review before 3 October Annabel + team Between 10 Sept 3 Oct Improving the breeding success of ZINO Petrels Between -3-8 October Birds programme ZINO Petrels Revise application Annabel + team HIGH EU 20 October E 2m Before deadline 10 October (preferably 8) Submit application on-line Annabel Turtle programme caretta caretta HIGH honey project CEPF Med Talk to Bob and ask when next open call for proposals will be ? USD 20,000 Joachim ASAP Protecting Gordon s spider monkey s habitat Bolombia Mining Corporation Gordon s spider monkey Talk to BMC Boss (Board member) to co-fund 1:1 as discussed during latest Board Meeting (minutes) Next mtg in November 2022 Corporate programme n.a. USD 100,000 Director MEDIUM Turtle programme Reconnect with local rep, used to fund the oyster project Caretta caretta honey project GEF-UNDP SGP USD 50,000 Director January 2023 MEDIUM

Good luck!