I couldn’t stop crying. A holiday party hosted by a colleague was starting in about an hour. I’d love to say that I hadn’t felt like this before, but I had. But, this time, it wasn’t postpartum depression or difficulty dealing with isolation during COVID. This time, I knew I had careened directly into a wall called burnout.
​
My introvert husband volunteered to go alone in my stead. I was so grateful. He would say I had a headache, which after all the tears was true. I retreated to my bed. I was so embarrassed that I could not pull myself together, especially since my expertise was relationships.  

I had sold a house, bought a house in a new town, began going into an actual office again after being a remote employee for 8 years, hired an entire team, and was juggling what seemed like 18,000 competing demands of fundraising for an institution that needed much more than they had in the donor pipeline. I had no friends outside of work in my new town and I had high blood pressure (literally). Even after many months, my house still looked like a storage unit and we lived in the rabbit trails between stacks of boxes that I had neither the time nor energy to unpack.

At the time, did I think that something needed to change about my new life? No, I blamed myself for not adjusting well, for not keeping up, for what I perceived as the gap between my public performance and my real life.

I’m now back to my previous remote fundraising position, mixing travel with Zoom meetings. And my energy and zeal for work has made a dramatic comeback. I have a broader network locally than I did before, with time to take walks with a friend most mornings, teach poetry and dance, write this blog and make TikTok videos, and go to yoga classes. My house is a comfortable place to be most days. And I’m raising more money than ever!
​
Burnout is more than a buzzword. It is a genuine crisis, not just for the individuals experiencing it, but for the organizations that depend on their energy, creativity, and dedication. And when burnout leads to turnover, it’s more than just a human resource issue; it’s a threat to your nonprofit's ability to build lasting relationships with donors and, ultimately, to its financial sustainability.

Burnout is that creeping exhaustion that makes you dread the next meeting, the next phone call, the next donor visit. According to a report by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, 69% of nonprofit leaders are worried about burnout among their staff. And why wouldn’t they be? Nonprofit work environments are often high-stress, resource-strapped, and emotionally taxing – conditions ripe for burnout.
​
What’s alarming is that this isn’t just a leadership problem. Across the board, from entry-level staff to executive directors, burnout is taking its toll. A survey by Nonprofit Hive found that 77% of respondents reported feeling completely burned out, with 20% admitting they were "crispy" – right on the edge of burnout. This isn’t just a bad day at the office; it’s a systemic issue that’s been brewing for years.

Burnout doesn’t just lead to unhappy employees; it leads to turnover. And in fundraising, turnover is more than just a logistical headache – it’s a financial disaster waiting to happen. When your fundraiser leaves, they don’t just take their expertise with them; their leaving disrupts and derails the relationships they’ve spent months or even years cultivating.

Consider this: A Council for the Advancement and Support of Education study on principal gifts at colleges and universities found that more than half of $1 million+ donors had relationships with the institution lasting between 11 and 40 years. On average, it takes nearly 20 months from the initial conversation to the moment a principal gift is booked. Now, imagine the damage that occurs when a key fundraiser – who’s only been around for 16-18 months – leaves before they can seal the deal. The impact on your bottom line is clear, but the real loss is the relationship that never had the chance to fully develop.
​
A 2022 analysis by Ruffalo Noel Levitz of over 3,000 major givers further underscores this point. Before making their first $25,000 gift, donors typically spent an average of 11.9 years as supporters, made 13.8 gifts, and had been giving for over 7 years. These numbers tell us one thing: major gifts and especially principal gifts don’t happen overnight. They’re the result of long-term relationships built on trust, mutual respect, and consistency.

In far too many organizations, the response to turnover is to double down on goals, increase oversight, lean on metrics, and push employees even harder. In my opinion, this is the death knell of the 20th-century leadership model – a model built on command and control, where employees are expected to follow orders and meet targets, no matter the cost to their well-being.
​
But here’s the thing: That approach doesn’t work anymore. In fact, it’s going to bite these organizations hard. High turnover rates disrupt the donor pipeline, making it nearly impossible to cultivate the kind of long-term relationships necessary for securing major and principal gifts. When fundraisers are constantly churning through roles, your organization is left in a perpetual state of starting over – losing momentum, missing opportunities, and ultimately, falling short of its mission.

It’s time for a change. The 21st-century workplace must be built on a foundation of trust, flexibility, and autonomy. This isn’t just the humane thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do for the health and viability of your fundraising efforts. Treat your fundraisers like the professionals they are. Give them the autonomy to manage their work, the flexibility to find balance, and the trust to build relationships with donors in a way that’s authentic and sustainable.
​
When you create a workplace that supports people as people, you don’t just prevent burnout; you enhance your organization’s ability to thrive. Long-term relationships with donors are the bedrock of sustainable fundraising. By fostering a supportive, empowering work environment, you’re investing in those relationships – and in the future of your nonprofit.

So, how do we move forward? Here are a few strategies to consider:

1. Prioritize Work-Life Balance: Encourage self-care and provide resources to support mental health. Make sure your team feels empowered to take time off when they need it.
2. Set Realistic Goals: Be mindful of the pressure you’re placing on your fundraisers. Set goals that are challenging but achievable, and recognize when they’ve been met.
3. Invest in Professional Development: Support your fundraisers in their career growth. Offer training, mentorship, and opportunities for advancement within your organization.
4. Foster a Culture of Trust: Move away from micromanagement. Trust your team to do their jobs well, and give them the autonomy to make decisions.
5. Build Community: Create opportunities for your team to connect with each other and with leadership. This could be through regular check-ins, team-building activities, or open forums for discussion.

Burnout and high turnover aren’t just HR issues – they’re existential threats to the future of your nonprofit. But you aren’t powerless. By adopting a leadership model that prioritizes trust, flexibility, and autonomy, you can create a work environment where fundraisers thrive, long-term donor relationships are nurtured, and your organization’s financial sustainability is secured.

It’s time to leave behind the outdated command-and-control leadership model and embrace a new approach that recognizes the value of your people and the critical role they play in your mission. Let’s build a future where nonprofits aren’t just surviving but thriving – where fundraisers are supported, donors are engaged, and our communities are better off because of it.

QUESTIONS FOR YOU? Have you experienced burnout? Does your organization have high turnover? If so, why do you think that is? What else do you think can be done to keep good people in the fundraising and nonprofit sector (in a healthy way)? Let me know in the comments!
 
Cheers!​

​PS - If you’re loving the resources on Real Deal Fundraising, wait until you see what’s in my Etsy store! I’ve created a collection of digital products designed to save you time and help you bring in more money for your nonprofit. From ready-to-use templates to creative campaign ideas, these tools are crafted with your success in mind. Head over to Real Deal Fundraising on Etsy and take your fundraising to the next level – because you deserve to work smarter, not harder!

PPS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my monthly newsletter email, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

If you liked this post, you may also like these:

• How to Climb Out of Burnout
• Impostor Syndrome
• Building your Self Care Practice
• Do You Work for a 21st Century Institution?
• Why Nonprofits Shouldn't Sleep on IRA Rollovers

If you are not as chronically online as I am, you might not be familiar with TikTok Shop. However, as a nonprofit fundraiser, you should be. The nonprofit sector can learn many valuable lessons from this feature of TikTok about how to engage online with our supporters.

TikTok officially launched TikTok Shop in the U.S. in November 2022, marking a significant expansion of TikTok's e-commerce capabilities. The feature allows users to browse and purchase products directly within the app, integrating shopping with the platform's popular short-form videos.

But that doesn’t quite capture how seamless it really is. Picture this: You are scrolling through funny cat videos after all the work of the day is done. Before you notice it, you’ve stopped to watch someone apply moisturizing oil to their skin. You scratch a rough spot near your elbow and find yourself nodding as the person giving the video testimonial bemoans how much they dislike normal lotion, which leaves their skin feeling sticky. Suddenly, without leaving TikTok, you are on a sales page and two days later, your moisturizing oil arrives in your mailbox.
​
Even as I was scrolling through my FYP (For You Page), my brain was wondering how we as nonprofit fundraisers could craft an online experience like this for our donors and, even more importantly, for future donors. Here are some defining features of TikTok shop that I believe could be incorporated into our nonprofit marketing and fundraising plans.

• ​TikTok Shop: TikTok Shop integrates e-commerce directly into the app, allowing users to browse and purchase products without leaving the platform. This seamless shopping experience reduces friction in the buying process, making it easier for users to make impulse purchases while still engaging with the content.
• Nonprofit Application: While currently there is no way to give directly to a nonprofit via the TikTok app, we can reduce the friction (number of clicks and starts and stops that it takes to complete a transaction) of our giving forms. Ensure that your donation process is as seamless as possible. A smooth, user-friendly donation process reduces barriers and makes it easier for viewers to support your cause on impulse.

Nonprofits can take inspiration from the world of e-commerce, such that making a gift of $50 becomes as easy and natural as buying a hair straightener on your phone. If we want a world where folks see a video about our cause and make a gift right then and there, we need to learn from businesses that have proven practices to make impulse purchases happen. The most important takeaway from researching TikTok Shop is that nonprofits should push beyond their strict branding guidelines to lean harder into authenticity. Produce fun and inspiring content featuring voices and faces that are relatable and authentic supporters of your nonprofit’s cause.
​
I predict that nonprofit organizations that successfully adapt the strategies of TikTok Shop will thrive in the ever-changing digital landscape. This will happen by tapping into the power of real-time engagement, authenticity, and community-building. By leveraging live fundraising events, interactive content, and social proof techniques similar to those used in TikTok Shop, nonprofits can create dynamic and compelling donor experiences that resonate with modern audiences. These organizations will not only increase their reach and visibility but also foster deeper connections with supporters, leading to more immediate and sustained giving. As digital trends continue to evolve, nonprofits that embrace these innovative approaches will be better equipped to meet fundraising goals and maintain relevance in a fast-paced, online-driven world.

QUESTION FOR YOU? Have you utilized some aspects of TikTok Shop in your nonprofit's online marketing? We found that during the pandemic Facebook Live was a wonderful way for our president to continue to connect with our constituents in real-time. I'd love to try it soon for fundraising purposes specifically. What ideas do you have after reading more about TikTok Shop? Let me know in the comments.

​Cheers!

PS - If you’re loving the resources on Real Deal Fundraising, wait until you see what’s in my Etsy store! I’ve created a collection of digital products designed to save you time and help you bring in more money for your nonprofit. From ready-to-use templates to creative campaign ideas, these tools are crafted with your success in mind. Head over to Real Deal Fundraising on Etsy and take your fundraising to the next level - because you deserve to work smarter, not harder!

PPS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my monthly newsletter email, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is weekly curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

If you work for a small nonprofit like I do, you probably know that it's hard to find time to work on planned giving. Planned gifts don't usually help you reach that all-important year-end fundraising goal, and there's a lot of technical terminology that, as a new fundraiser, you may not feel confident in discussing with donors. In this article, I will give you lots of reasons why you should be promoting planned gifts, a feasible plan to get started, and help demystify some of the basic terminology.
​
National Estate Planning Awareness Week (NEPAW), held annually during the third week of October, is a prime opportunity for nonprofits to highlight the importance of estate planning and the opportunities of estate gifts. The goal of NEPAW is to increase public awareness of the need for proper estate planning, which can benefit individuals and their chosen charitable organizations significantly. My hope is this article will spur you to prepare now to fully leverage National Estate Planning Awareness Week so planned giving leads come to you!

Donors make annual gifts from income. Donors make planned gifts from assets.

The connection comes because planned gifts usually come from your most loyal supporters not necessarily the wealthiest. This is why you should never undervalue annual gifts and you should have a consecutive year giving society to cultivate those donors and encourage loyalty.

Planned gifts are usually much significantly larger than annual gifts because they are made from assets accumulated over a lifetime. In fact, according to industry reports, planned gifts are typically 200-300 times the size of an average annual donation, underscoring their importance for long-term financial health of the nonprofits we work to support. Cultivate your annual donors and you will be surprised how willing they are to discuss a planned gift with you. That is their legacy to a cause that they have shown through many years of generosity means much to them.

Larger planned gifts rarely fall out of the sky from mysterious anonymous donors. The donors who will make the largest planned gifts your organization will ever receive are already in your database! And they are giving at much more modest levels than you expect. Strong stewardship of annual donors is the key to planned giving success. It takes a while, but the payoff is extraordinary. These are the folks that are here for your mission and invested in your organization’s long-term success.
​
Now that you know who your planned giving prospects are, you can target educational messages about planned giving opportunities to them, meeting them where they are. Knowing that our best planned giving prospects are your nonprofit’s most loyal annual donors and fans, take the messaging to them on the same platforms you use for annual giving: mail, email, your website, and social media.

Many folks are unaware of the substantial benefits that planned giving can offer both to themselves and to the nonprofits they support. NEPAW provides an ideal platform to educate donors about the various forms of planned giving, including bequests and beneficiary designations. Planned gifts often provide significant tax benefits to the donor while offering a critical revenue stream for nonprofits. By focusing on the dual advantages of planned giving, nonprofits can attract more interest and commitment from potential donors. 

Demonstrating a well-organized planned giving program can significantly enhance a nonprofit's credibility. By displaying their expertise and commitment to planned giving during NEPAW, nonprofits can build trust with potential donors. This confidence is crucial, as donors are more likely to include organizations they trust within their estate plans. Providing clear, accessible information can demystify the process of planned giving and encourage more donors to consider it as part of their estate planning.

Whatever content you create for National Estate Planning Awareness Week can be repurposed throughout the year by designating another time as <<Your Organization>>’s Legacy Giving Week! Simply choose a date or week that resonates with your organization—perhaps a meaningful anniversary or milestone—but don't feel limited to that. You can pick any week that works best for your team and your supporters. Once you have those dates, swap out "National Estate Planning Awareness Week" with "<<Your Organization>>’s Legacy Giving Week” in your plan. This simple tweak allows you to maximize the impact of your carefully crafted materials and engage your community in planned giving conversations multiple times a year!

Tactic #1: Planned Giving Landing Page
Having a landing page on your website about planned giving opportunities doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start by just highlighting the two simplest, most common vehicles for planned gifts: bequests and beneficiary designations. But having some resources available on your website signals that you accept and encourage these kinds of gifts.

Tactic #2: Educational Campaigns
Nonprofits can launch educational campaigns during NEPAW to inform donors about the benefits of planned giving. These campaigns can include webinars and workshops but can also be as simple as informative content distributed via newsletters, emails, and social media. These campaigns can push your prospects to your landing page for more information and to contact your staff. Bringing the planned giving leads straight to your inbox.

Tactic #3: Partnerships
Forming partnerships with financial advisors, estate planners, and legal professionals can enhance the nonprofit's planned giving program. These partnerships can provide donors with the expert advice they need to make informed decisions about their estate plans. While there are lots of potential benefits, this strategy can be time-consuming if you don’t already know one of these professionals. It is worth putting these sorts of skills on your wish list for board members and volunteers though.

Tactic #4: Testimonials
Highlighting success stories and testimonials from planned giving donors can be a powerful way to inspire action. The absolute BEST way to do this is by crafting a donor profile of someone who has already set up a bequest or other planned gift to your nonprofit.

If you have a generous supporter in mind, reach out and ask if they’d be willing to share their story during National Estate Planning Awareness Week. Send them a few thoughtful questions and ask for permission to highlight their journey. Most donors will be thrilled to express their love for your mission and inspire others to give. Don’t forget to ask for a photo or two to accompany their story, and make sure they’re comfortable with sharing not just that they made a planned gift but also the amount. (Some donors are comfortable with one but not the other.)

Use this story strategically during NEPAW: share it as an extra social media post on Monday, include it in the Tuesday email blast, and feature it in the final Monday recap email of your campaign. Here are some questions to guide the testimonial:

• What do you love about <<your nonprofit>>?
• How did you start giving to our cause?
• What made you decide to set up this planned gift?
• What do you hope this gift will accomplish in the future?

​This approach personalizes your campaign and underscores the impact of planned giving through heartfelt, real-life examples.

BEQUESTS
Bequests are the simplest, most flexible, and most versatile way to ensure that donors can help nonprofits continue our work for years to come. There are numerous options when it comes to bequests:

• General Bequests are legacies left to certain people or causes that come from the general value of the estate, and are made by designating a specific dollar amount, a particular asset, or a fixed percentage of your estate to the cause of your choice.
• Specific Bequests are made when a particular item or property is bequeathed for a designated purpose. For instance, a donor could designate their bequest to fund a scholarship at a school or college.
• Residuary Bequests are made when a person intends to leave the residual portion of their assets after other terms of the will have been satisfied. (Residuary bequests can be general or specific.)
• Contingency Bequests allow a person to leave a portion of their estate to a particular charity if their named beneficiary does not survive them. (Contingency bequests can be general or specific.)

BENEFICIARY DESIGNATIONS
Making a nonprofit the beneficiary of some of their assets is an easy method for donors to support your organization. All they need to do is name your organization as a beneficiary to receive assets such as retirement plans and life insurance policies after the donor’s lifetime. The donor would simply fill out a form that is entirely separate from their will—which makes this approach an uncomplicated way to give.

Not only are beneficiary designations an easy way to give, but they are also flexible — donors aren’t locked into their choices today. Donors can review and adjust beneficiary designations anytime they want. They can make your organization a sole or partial beneficiary of a retirement account or an insurance policy.
​
Beneficiary Designation Checklist:

• Defined Contribution Plans: For instance, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457s, Simplified Employee Pension, etc.
• Defined Benefit Plans: Such as pension plans
• Individual Retirement Accounts: IRAs
• Life insurance plans: all types
• Accidental death and dismemberment insurance

Donors can choose to make your organization the sole beneficiary, the beneficiary of a specific percentage, or the contingent beneficiary after a spouse or other loved one. The funds realized from this legacy gift can be given as unrestricted or restricted for a specific purpose (scholarships, for example). Donors can also stipulate that the funds become part of your endowment and the proceeds from that investment be used for your chosen purpose, meaning their legacy will last in perpetuity!

Educating donors about planned giving opportunities, like bequests and beneficiary designations, can be highly beneficial for nonprofits. The reality is that nonprofits cannot afford to ignore planned giving, whether we feel we have time or not. Here are some key points to emphasize:

• Bequests, or planned gifts, can provide nonprofits with a reliable source of long-term funding. By educating donors about including the organization in their estate plans, nonprofits can build a pipeline of future support that helps ensure financial stability and sustainability.
• In 2024, Giving USA notes that more than $42.68 billion was given via bequests, an increase of 4.8% from 2022 (remaining relatively flat, with a small increase of 0.6% when adjusted for inflation). Due to generational shifts (Baby Boomers and Generation Xers aging), bequests are projected to grow for the next couple of decades at least. Nonprofits must find time to promote these giving opportunities with their constituencies.

By keeping it simple while showing donors the benefits and the process, and providing clear information and resources, nonprofits can encourage donors to consider including the organization in their estate plans, thereby securing future support and ensuring the organization's mission continues to thrive.

QUESTION FOR YOU? Do you utilize National Estate Planning Awareness Week or have some other routine educational campaign about planned giving for your supporters? What have you found that works best to generate interest about planned giving? Let me know in the comments!

Lastly, I understand the complexities of time with a small nonprofit staff. Maybe you are a solo fundraiser for an organization or perhaps you are a CEO or founder, or board member and your organization doesn’t yet have a dedicated fundraiser on staff?

If that’s you, I’ve designed a way to enhance your planned giving program with minimal effort. With National Estate Planning Awareness Week just around the corner (October), I've got the perfect solution to save you time and effort without sacrificing your nonprofit's unique branding and voice. Check out my Celebrate National Estate Planning Awareness Week Bundle for only $84.99! Read the PS on this post to see what’s included.

​Cheers!

PS - What's Inside the Celebrate National Estate Planning Awareness Week Bundle?:

• Planned Gift Landing Page Web Copy: Plug-and-play customizable language to create an informational landing page where donors can learn about planned giving options.
• Planned Gift Letter of Intent: A ready-to-use template that allows donors to easily declare their planned gifts.
• Sample Bequest Language: Clear and concise bequest language for donors to include in their wills.
• NEPAW Promotional Plan: A detailed plan to keep your social media and email buzzing all week long.
• Social Media Post Templates: 10 Customizable, attention-grabbing templates to make your posts stand out.
• Bonus: Email Header Templates: 3 email headers make your educational email blasts catch your donor’s eye

Total Value: $89.99 | Save 26% as a Bundle!

Why You Need This Bundle:

• Time Saver: Skip the hassle of creating materials from scratch. Our bundle has everything ready to go, letting you focus on engaging with your donors.
• Consistent Branding: Customize our templates to match your nonprofit's voice and style, ensuring your communications remain authentic and on-brand.
• Maximize Impact: Follow our detailed plan and use our professional templates to run a knockout campaign during National Estate Planning Awareness Week, securing your organization’s future with increased planned giving leads.

Visit our Etsy store now and get ready to rock National Estate Planning Awareness Week with confidence and ease! If you’ve read this far, you clearly need this product. Here’s a coupon code to help you make it happen for your nonprofit. Get $10 off this product using the code: NEPAW10. This code makes the entire bundle only $79.99!

PPS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my monthly newsletter email, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is weekly curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

If you liked this post, you may also like these:

• Why Nonprofits Can't Afford to Sleep on IRA Rollovers
• How to Keep Donors Connected in a Crisis: Near, Dear, and Clear
• Applying to be a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE)
• The Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) Exam
• Spoilt for Choice: Why Giving Donors Direction Works

Back when I worked for The University of Southern Mississippi Foundation, I ran a few casually informative campaigns promoting IRA rollover gifts, but like many fundraisers, I didn’t think of them as crucial to meeting our goals. I’ll admit I didn’t realize the power of the IRA Rollover, otherwise known as Qualified Charitable Distributions.

When I began working for Starr King School for the Ministry, one of the members of my Advancement Committee suggested that we put more emphasis on IRA Rollovers in our calendar year end campaign. As a small school with very small fundraising shop (me and one other employee doing gift processing), I honestly didn’t feel like we had the bandwidth to pursue this additional messaging. (Something I bet many of you can resonate with!)

However, I used my previous templates from my work at the USM Foundation and we sent out letters and emails during that December. This was the first time this school had ever mentioned IRA Rollovers.

Was it a coincidence that by February we had a long-time monthly donor call and offer to gift the school the entirety of her retirement account? Maybe, but I tend to think that’s unlikely. While we spread that gift out over a 6-year period for tax reasons, that gift surpassed over half a million dollars for the school!

The next year, we greatly expanded how we promoted IRA Rollovers, utilizing video, email, letters, and social media to educate our donors. Each year more constituents began to give via rollover and I do not think we have seen the crest of this wave yet.

As you can tell, IRA rollovers hold immense potential for both retirees and nonprofit organizations. Here's everything you need to know about them and why they're more significant than you might realize.

The Growing Importance of IRAs
According to Freewill, a company that helps nonprofits market planned giving opportunities, in 2021, a staggering $13 trillion was held in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) in the United States. With 10,000 Baby Boomers turning 65 every day, the importance of understanding IRA rollovers is greater than ever. As these Boomers reach retirement age, they face critical financial decisions, one of which is the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) that kicks in at age 72. If IRA owners fail to take their RMD, they can incur a hefty tax penalty. On the flip side, if they do take it, it's taxed as regular income. 

Why IRA Rollovers are ✨Amazing✨
IRA rollovers are not just beneficial for nonprofits; they offer significant advantages to donors as well. Here’s why they are truly amazing:

• Immediate Gifts Made from Assets: IRA rollovers allow donors to make immediate contributions using their retirement assets. This can provide a substantial boost to nonprofit funding without affecting the donor's cash flow. Therefore, rollover gifts tend to be larger because they are made from assets and not income.
• Tax Advantages: These rollovers are tax advantageous for donors. They can count towards the donor’s RMD, potentially reducing the tax burden associated with large distributions.
• Helps Meet RMD Requirements: For donors aged 72 and above, making a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) can help satisfy their RMD requirement in a tax-efficient manner.
• Ease of Initiation: Initiating an IRA rollover is relatively straightforward, making it an accessible option for many donors. There are two ways donors can make a QCD gift. If they have a special checkbook for their IRA account, they can write a check from that to their charity of choice. If they don’t have one of those IRA checkbooks, they can call their broker/account manager and ask that the funds be released to the charity. (Side note: Donors should never extract the funds from the IRA and write a check from a personal account. This would cause tax issues.)
• Significant Contribution Limits: Donors can contribute up to $100,000 per year as a QCD, providing an opportunity for substantial annual giving.

The Overlooked Goldmine for Nonprofits
Despite the substantial sums involved, many nonprofits are not capitalizing on the potential of IRA rollovers. In 2021, a shocking 43% of nonprofits reported that they didn’t promote rollovers. This oversight is significant, especially considering that most IRA rollovers come in at the $1,000-$5,000 range (Freewill).
Furthermore, 96% of nonprofits believe that donor awareness about IRA rollovers is insufficient. This lack of promotion and awareness translates to missed opportunities for substantial donations.

The Power of Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
For those over age 70, a QCD can be an ideal way to make their annual charitable gift. QCDs are typically much larger than post-tax gifts, offering a more substantial benefit to nonprofits. Additionally, organizations that market QCDs at least three times per year are 3.2 times more likely to receive ten or more QCD gifts.

The Role of Marketing and Communication
Effective communication is crucial in promoting IRA rollovers. After direct one-on-one conversations with gift officers, having information about rollovers on the nonprofit's website is the second most important promotional factor. Interestingly, 46% of QCD gifts come from previous donors, highlighting the importance of nurturing existing relationships through consistent and clear communication.

Conclusion: A Call to Action for Nonprofits
Nonprofits cannot afford to ignore the potential of IRA rollovers. By raising awareness and actively promoting QCDs, organizations can tap into a significant source of funding. Whether through direct conversations, informative website content, or regular marketing efforts, it’s time for nonprofits to educate their donors about the benefits of IRA rollovers. By doing so, they can unlock a steady stream of donations that support their mission and make a lasting impact.
​
Remember, the more informed and engaged your donors are, the more likely they are to contribute through their IRAs, ensuring your nonprofit can thrive and continue its valuable work.

Cheers!

Get Your Free Resource: "Calendar of IRA Rollover Promotions"
To help you get started, download our free resource, "Calendar of IRA Rollover Promotions." This calendar is designed to help your nonprofit strategically plan and execute effective IRA rollover promotions throughout the year. Download Now.

If you are ready to get started right away…
Visit the Real Deal Fundraising Etsy Shop where you can download 28 customizable templates based in the IRA Rollover Promotion Bundle – including web copy, video scripts, email templates, social media templates and an informative slide deck which can be used with donors or to train staff! 🌟 

I was flabbergasted to learn that some non-profits still had fundraisers working with desktop computers in 2020. I learned this because some folks were still being made to come into an office for far too long into the pandemic because they didn’t have the technological resources to work remotely. Probably most offices are on top of this by now, but please make sure your folks have what they need to complete their mission from anywhere: including equipment, software, and communication services.
​
Taking these steps will put you on the path to disaster-proofing your office. This level of preparedness means that you are ready to continue your mission regardless of what challenges come your way. You owe it to yourself, your employees, and your constituents to take whatever steps you can.

What plans have you made (or has your office made) to be prepared for likely disasters? Are there some tips I'm missing? Let me know in the comments!

Cheers, 

As non-profit pros and fundraisers, we spend a ton of time conceiving and drafting our annual plans. We toil over previous year's results and meticulously project next year's returns. We carefully craft case statements and conduct bench-marking studies. We calculate budgetary needs and return on investment data. Then we present it to our managers and get approval. 

Then what?

It may live in a drawer or worse yet, as a file on our computers, in a lonely folder labeled strategic planning that may not get opened again until it's time to do it again next year. Inevitably, the winds of expediency, crisis, and change cause us to deviate from our plans and we arrive at the end of the year wondering what could have been. 

A calendar. 

Yep, the big secret is a calendar. Not just any calendar though. It's a calendar with a specific purpose and method built around it that will keep you, your team, and most importantly your plans on track. Best of all, this method embraces change and allows you to MINDFULLY shift gears when necessary. Let me explain some of the basic components of the "Responsibility Calendar" as I call it. 

The Responsibility Calendar is not arranged by day or even week. It is organized as a simple list of things that need to happen (from your strategic plan) each month of your fiscal year. That's it! If your fiscal year begins in July, write a header for July and then list bullet points for each task that needs to be accomplished that month. Repeat for each month in the fiscal year.

Once you have the list of tasks organized by month, you need to assign a position to hold responsibility for each task. You want this to be the title of the position responsible, not the name of the person. This prevents having to update the calendar each time you have any staff turnover. 

The person with primary responsibility for each task will be the project lead on that task. Then you should assign another position the secondary responsibility for that task. The secondary can be any or all of these things: 1) the support person on the project, 2) the backup person who cross-trains to learn this task in case of emergency or sudden staff turnover, or 3) the staff person who partners on this task but isn't the lead. Think of the primary as "Batman" and the secondary as "Robin" or primary as "Lucy" and the secondary as "Ethel". 

It's crucial you assign responsibilities so everyone is clear what they need to be working on and who will be held accountable if the task is not completed. The secondary is essential for cross-training and having someone ready to step in if the need arises. 

Once you have your responsibility calendar, it needs to guide your monthly meetings with your fundraising team. You should follow a three step process for using the calendar in meetings: 

1. LOOK BACK: Let's say it's November. Look at the list of tasks for October. Are all of them completed? Were they on time? Is anything delayed or pending? Why? How do we catch up if we are behind? Hold those with primary responsibility for tasks accountable by looking back. 
2. LOOK AROUND: What is on the list for November? Are things moving? Will we be on time? What support do those with responsibilities need in order to execute the tasks assigned? 
3. LOOK AHEAD: In our scenario, December is coming up fast and there are holidays in late November. What do you need to be doing now to prepare for a successful December? What tasks on the list for December require lead time work in November? Prepare a month ahead. 

This practice will revolutionize your operations. To go even further, on your quarterly meetings, review the entire plan and see how you are tracking towards your projections. It's totally worth it.

And in these meetings, if you cannot handle the workload of a particular task or you don't have the resources to get the item done, you can mindfully decide to remove it from the calendar and table it for next year. No more wondering why you didn't get to a particular project at the end of the year!

How do you make your strategic plans come alive? What's your best advice for staying on track with plan execution? Let me know in the comments. Happy planning!

Cheers, 

So, last week, I took a little unexpected vacation from this blog. I’ve been posting weekly without fail since the pandemic began (and producing my weekly e-newsletter consistently) and last week we had some shifts in our household that needed my attention more. Thanks for your patience as I took a bit of time to recalibrate.

I’m going to be offering a webinar for Community Funded next week on this topic and it is something I’ve long passionately advocated for non-profits to do. All too often, we plan as if the sky is always blue and we will encounter no difficulties in our implementation. SWOT analysis attempts to break us out of this kind of thinking by getting us to at least give a passing thought for weaknesses, obstacles, and threats. However, those rarely get incorporated into the final plan. Every single region of the United States is prone to some type of natural disaster, which are not a matter of if but when, and yet very few non-profits take those into account in their annual or longer-term planning.

The pandemic has caused such huge societal shifts that we can no longer ignore the impact of global and macro-level changes outside of our control. How can we plan for even a year when we don’t know what the next few weeks or months will hold?

Here’s a little preview of the top three things I feel fundraisers should do in their planning during times of uncertainty:

If you have a defeatist mindset, no amount of planning can help you. If you are so overwhelmed that even the thought of planning and setting a goal terrifies you, there is not much further you can go. Remember: if your mission was important before the pandemic, it is still important. If you had funding needs before the pandemic, you probably have more needs now. Take heart that your loyal donors understand these needs (assuming you are communicating them to donors), and you can surmount the challenges this year will bring.

​Goals and projections are not the same. You can read my post on that here. This year, you need to build projections from the bottom up. What gifts can you count on? From there, what can you reasonably plan to raise through various methods? Build it up from what you know for sure, to what is likely and then to what you might raise through creative (untested) methods. Keep it very conservative. Under-promise and then over-perform.

​Don’t over-plan. This year may have more obstacles and surprises in store. You need to leave some room (both in terms of your time and your budget) to be nimble and take advantage of opportunities to innovate. If you have over-scheduled your year in a desperate attempt to reach unreasonable goals, you will not have any energy or bandwidth to try new things. And what this new environment calls for is smart creativity and innovation.

Do you have your fundraising plan in place for next year? Are you struggling with how to put that plan together? What's your biggest question about planning in this environment? It would help me plan my presentation to know what you're thinking. Let me know in the comments. 

Comments and questions are, as always, welcomed and encouraged!

Cheers,

Jessica Cloud

Video is becoming the undisputed winner of internet communication. The statistics before the pandemic were already attention grabbing:

• In October 2019, it was estimated that 82% of all consumer traffic online will come from online video by 2022.
• 78% of people watch video online every week and 55% of those watch them every day.
• On YouTube, 1.5 Billion users watch a billion hours of video daily and on Facebook 75 million users visit the video platform daily watching an average of 8 billion videos daily.

These statistics were from a wonderfully researched infographic that you can view here.

But since the global pandemic started, internet usage, and particularly consumption of online video content, has skyrocketed and the statistics are downright dramatic:

• According to Nielson, staying home can lead to an almost 60% increase in the amount of content people watch.
• 53% of Americans watching more shows and films on streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, etc.).
• 80% watching more video-based content (broadcast TV, online videos, etc.).

Given this reality, how can non-profit fundraisers use this medium to raise as much money for our institutions as possible during this age of social distancing? I’ve been producing fundraising videos (and watching the market for innovative videos) for a long time now, and here’s what I’ve learned:

There are 3 primary video styles you can consider: emotional, informative, and fun.

Emotional: Tell someone's story. In fact, tell the mission of your organization through one person's story. In higher education, usually this would be students or faculty. This helps your prospect make the connection between your mission and how one person's life was changed.

Informative: If you want to launch something that you've never launched before, perhaps a giving day, and your constituency doesn't know much about what that is and how that works, do a short informative video. Your video can communicate the information that they need in a way that they're more likely to absorb. They are much more likely to be truly informed versus if you just put up a text or a graphics post about that on social media.
​
Fun: Part of what makes annual giving unique is our mission to engage constituents at all levels in many ways. Our mission is to convey a sense of joy and fun and excitement around giving that gets people engaged in a whole new way. Here are some of my favorite fun fundraising videos.

Some of your videos may need to be professionally produced. But videos that are candid and fun and done on a phone or webcam can be equally effective in the right context.

Very loose guideline: the longer your video is, the more likely it is that you're going to require professional help producing it. If your video is going to include interviews and B-roll and complex storytelling, you might benefit from having a professional work on that with you. However, if your goal is to get information out or to get people excited about something, you can do some fun short videos on your phone or even through Zoom.
​
It is wise to investigate best practices for making quality “homemade” videos though. Here’s a great post that can guide you there from Get Fully Funded. 

Once you’ve invested the resources into making a video, do everything you can to make sure it gets seen by the right people. I interviewed a good friend and video consultant Ndlela Nkobi about this topic a while back and his suggestions are spot-on.
​
How do you plan to utilize video in your fundraising this year? What ways have you used it with success in the past? Let me know in the comments!

Cheers,

It's a simple question but surprisingly difficult to answer. Of course, we are in the 21st century, so in a way we all work for 21st century institutions. And I'm not talking about when your organization was founded either. What I mean is . . . does the organization you work for operate with a mindset that is rooted in 21st century ideas and ideals or does it hold more in common with the 20th century?

We are twenty years into this century. That's a fifth of the way to the 22nd century. And everyone knows some big shifts have occurred. However, major institutions are inherently resistant to change. What I'm seeing is that the pandemic is exposing the ways in which many organizations are hopelessly mired in a 20th century mindset and more importantly, 20th century ideas about leadership. 

The good news is that once we can clearly see what's wrong, it throws light on the path forward to adapt and make things right. 

Now, what exactly do I mean when I talk about these two mindsets? Here's a chart I compiled from a variety of sources that shows how our old ways can hold us back and the strategies that many (usually smaller) organizations are already employing as a means of survival and adaptation to this crisis. 

Do any of these look familiar? Which column seems to align more with how decisions are made at your organization? 

I feel grateful and lucky to work for an organization that has more alignment with the 21st century than the 20th. We have long embraced remote-work and distance learning and our leadership is much less hierarchical than other higher education institutions I've worked for. People are happier with work and happier in general when they have work-life integration and don't experience micro-managing and command and control leadership styles. 

Basically, when leadership embraces a 20th century mindset, when faced with a crisis, that organization will likely double-down on scarcity mindset (laying off people preemptively), micro-management/measuring activity (meet your metrics), and command/control. But, what this moment needs is the adaptability and humility to try a new path. Focus on cultivating two-way communication on all levels, coaching employees to be productive in our new reality, adjusting goals to be reasonable, trusting our employees and supporting them, and finding ways to collaboratively partner with others. 

Some higher education institutions are in big-time denial right now. I sincerely hope that the virus will subside and allow for more "normal" university operations this fall. But, given how the data is moving every day, I highly doubt it. Instead of anticipating failure or dreaming of miraculous changes in circumstances, could we instead work on adapting our models to this new reality? Those institutions that do will have an advantage going forward, both in terms of recruiting students and recruiting and keeping employees. Moving people and organizations through challenging times of change is true leadership, 21st century leadership.

In what ways do you see these mindsets manifesting in your organization? Do you feel like those ideas are serving your institution well in this environment? Tell me more in the comments!

Cheers,

PS - If you liked this post, you might also like these: 

• How to Keep Donors Connected in a Crisis: Near, Dear, and Clear
• Countering White Supremacy Culture in Fundraising: 3 Concrete Actions to Take
• ​​Be the Change: Anti-Racist Resources
• Wisdom for the Pandemic: 8 Timeless Fundraising Lessons from "Asking" by Jerry Panas
• Tips for Managing Your Remote Fundraising Team So You Come Out of COVID-19 Stronger ​​

​PPS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my FUNdraising Friday emails, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is weekly curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!

I can’t remember where I heard it, but it’s a great aphorism. Be relentless about the goal, but flexible about the methods.

Another way to say it is: Be relentless about the what and the why. Be flexible about the how.

We walk around with these axioms in fundraising. Consider: “Always call to get the visit.” And “Always ask for money in person.”  

Well, we’ve been presented with an opportunity to question these methods and how we do fundraising.
I did a webinar recently about Frontline Fundraising in a Virtual Environment and I shook things up by confessing that I *gasp* didn’t often call to get visits. Folks were very interested in this maverick idea. It’s not really that maverick. It’s efficient. I send individual, personalized emails to the donors I would like to meet with and let those responses come in for 24-48 hours or until I have a full schedule.

Of course, those emails are NOT graphics heavy, HTML promotional emails sent in bulk. They are personal notes from me to a specific donor. And if I have some donors who I need to meet with and I know that I don’t have an email for them or that they don’t check email often, I will call them. But, mostly my schedule fills right up without having to drudge through calling a list. I can put my energy and effort into fostering great conversations when I meet with them rather than on getting the visit.

And of course, the meaning of the word “visit” has changed drastically in just a few months. So many metrics systems for fundraisers see an in-person visit as the gold standard. Of course, that’s true that in person interactions cement relationships in a special way. But, if we believe that other communication methods don’t have the power to significantly move relationships forward in a meaningful way, we are fooling ourselves. Furthermore, we hamstring our own efforts in this new reality.

Even though many states are “re-opening”, the virus is still a real threat, especially to those over age 55. That’s an age group that comprises a mighty portion of our non-profit donors. In-person visits and events will not be a viable, “normal” option for a long time. A commitment to metric systems that reward in-person visits only will cause fundraisers to be frustrated and leave and campaigns to fail.

Zoom and other video-conference technologies is only a sliver less effective as an in-person visit. And nearly everyone is open to trying out this new way of connecting right now out of necessity. But, let’s be clear: phone calls are also meaningful too. Personalized video and virtual events are fast becoming highly useful tools in the connection toolkit too.

Anything that moves the relationship forward connecting the donor to mission is the goal. The goal is connection. Be relentless about the goal. The medium is the how. Be flexible about that how.

Generally speaking, fundraising is not considered a creative profession. I disagree. In fact, I feel maintaining a creative approach to methods is essential as we face new challenges in any profession. We must remain perpetually curious as to what works.

Let me know what you think in the comments. And subscribe to my FUNdraising Friday newsletter to keep the conversation going.

PS - If you liked this post, you might also like these: 

• How to Keep Donors Connected in a Crisis: Near, Dear, and Clear
• Countering White Supremacy Culture in Fundraising: 3 Concrete Actions to Take
• ​​Be the Change: Anti-Racist Resources
• Wisdom for the Pandemic: 8 Timeless Fundraising Lessons from "Asking" by Jerry Panas
• Tips for Managing Your Remote Fundraising Team So You Come Out of COVID-19 Stronger ​

​
PPS - I hope you’ll continue the conversation by subscribing to Real Deal Fundraising. When you subscribe, you’ll get my FUNdraising Friday emails, which includes the best articles on fundraising, productivity and cool stuff every week. The whole thing is weekly curated awesomeness as well as freebies like webinars, instructional videos, and whatever else I can put together to be helpful to you!