Bacon Lee & Associates marks both its 10-year anniversary this month and the surpassing of a milestone: helping nonprofits raise more than $100 million for causes in San Antonio, Austin and the Texas Hill Country.

“We’re very proud of the work we’ve done helping our clients raise essential funds to provide food and shelter for needy families, supply haven for animals, build libraries, create new arts and cultural centers, provide scholarships for worthy students, and cure diseases,” said Mike Bacon, one of the founders of the firm.  “That’s immensely rewarding work.”

Bacon Lee is one of the region’s largest nonprofit consulting firms, offering expertise in capital campaigns, annual campaigns, major giving, strategic planning, board training, development assessments, database support, and job searches for nonprofit directors and staff positions.

Michael A. Bacon and Marion Therese Lee founded Bacon Lee in November 2000 to help nonprofit organizations, especially the one-person development shop, to achieve demonstrated success.  They came together after having enjoyed careers in small and large development offices, in successful nonprofit management, and in grant making as well as fundraising.  Their successful partnership has grown to include a team of 11 associates in San Antonio and Austin.

Lee says that throughout the 10 years, “Bacon Lee’s philosophy of “your mission matters most” drives everything that we do, from time spent listening  and understanding an organization, to tailoring the best possible team to work with our clients, to the services that we provide to meet their specific needs.”

Bacon says that today’s economic downturn has forced nonprofit organizations to work “smarter, not harder.  That means being very focused on their message, building strong, committed boards, and differentiating themselves from all of the other causes in the community and beyond.”

Bacon Lee’s clients include educational, faith-based, human service, arts and culture, and environment/animal service organizations throughout Texas, including San Antonio, Austin, the Hill Country and the Rio Grande Valley.  In addition, Bacon Lee assists philanthropic foundations and individuals in making decisions about their charitable giving.

Client Rachel A. Gonzales-Hanson of Community Healthy Development, Inc. of Uvalde, said,  “Our agency has been working with Bacon Lee and Associates for almost two years.  Throughout this time, they have consistently demonstrated their expertise, professionalism, and passion for what they do.  And, just as important, they deliver.”

By Joyce Penland, CFRE

Conducting a “diagnostic assessment” or an “internal procedures audit” can be a powerful tool in providing nonprofits a roadmap for future success.  In the development assessments the Bacon Lee & Associates team has initiated for our clients, we have learned that while the actual process is sometimes challenging for staff and nonprofit leaders, the results form a strong foundation for future planning.

We are strong proponents of development assessments for nonprofits who are seeking to make changes to better equip staff and volunteers to be effective fundraisers.  Many development assessments are spurred by nonprofit managers who want to know how they “stack up” against other nonprofits and how they can improve results.  Sometimes we are engaged in development assessments when board members want to test a new strategy or when staff changes need to be made.  Regardless of need for the assessment, the outcome helps steer future action for the entire team—CEO, development staff, board members and volunteers.

In one assessment we conducted, results showed that the nonprofit client needed to do more community outreach and image building to overcome some mistaken beliefs about its mission.  The community at large did not have enough knowledge about the organization and the people it served to have a strong opinion of it, and for those who had an opinion, it was negative.  We helped the organization strategize some important “next steps” to help bolster its public image and to make friends among those who could support it in the future.

In another assessment, we helped an already strong organization look at its internal processes and procedures and to make changes to staff responsibilities.  Helping to assess the staff’s inherent strengths and weaknesses, we strategized with the Development Director to empower his team members to utilize their natural gifts and worked with him to build the case to hire an additional staff member.

Development assessments are an important mechanism to help appraise where an organization is now versus where it wants to go in the future.  By looking down the road with the clients, we offer advice and counsel that can help good organizations become great and great organizations become even greater.

By Michael Bacon, CFRE

This month’s “Real Mistakes Fundraisers Make” focuses on the unfortunate practice by fundraisers of calling on a prospective donor for one reason in the guise of something altogether different.

We call it “Bait and Switch.”  In the example I cited at an AFP-San Antonio meeting recently, I highlighted a real life example of a bait and switch phone call when a fundraiser promised, “We won’t be asking you for a gift” when, indeed, after the appointment was made, the nonprofit representative did, in fact, ask for a significant gift.   As professionals, it is essential that we represent our organizations with ethics and tact.  Telling a donor you won’t be asking for a gift when your whole goal is to get in the door and ask for a gift is duplicitous.  Instead, be upfront with the prospect and tell her that you’d like an appointment to tell her about your organization and how she might be interested in playing a role in its success.  Then, after you’ve built a relationship with that prospect, and the time is right, that’s when it would be appropriate to ask for the gift.

Another example of “bait and switch” occurred when a local philanthropist was asked to “stop by our board meeting and see what we’re all about” and we he did, was asked immediately to join the nonprofit’s board of directors.  Talk about putting someone on the spot!  This clearly is not how to effectively cultivate and groom a prospective board member.

One more “bait and switch” example I cited occurred when a nonprofit invited a donor to its gala, but then told her when she arrived at the exhibit hall that she could not enter because the space was “reserved for VIPs.”  Uh oh.  Inviting a donor to your event and then treating her poorly will have dire consequences when asking for future gifts.   Professional fundraisers must ensure that the “care and feeding” of top donors be of utmost importance throughout your organization.

Do you have other “mistakes” to share (anonymously, of course)?  Let us hear from you!

By Michael Bacon, CFRE

In your fundraising work, you are making daily decisions about how to use your scant resources to bring in charitable gifts.  If you had access to information that helped you make those choices, wouldn’t your job be easier?

Rarely do we take the time to analyze our organization’s data.  By data I mean the records of charitable giving.  Probably the two most critical elements to know are donor retention and donor consistency.  For instance, do you know:

• How many of your donors from last year have not yet given this fiscal year?
• How many of your donors have given every year for the past four years?
• How many of your donors are renewing their gift level from last year versus increasing their gifts (upgrading)?
• How long does it take for a donor to get a receipt from us?

If you know this information about your donors, you are more likely to choose to spend your time in renewing and upgrading gifts rather than donor acquisition.  You are more likely to spend your time taking care of the relationships you already have.

In the three months left in 2010, shouldn’t you be focusing on how to reach those donors from last year who have not yet made their gift?  We call these LYBUNTS (Last Year But Unfortunately Not This Year) and combined with SYBUNTS (Some Years But Unfortunately Not This Year) they represent the constituent base with the greatest potential to support your cause.

Take a moment to review your data.  Great donor management software is a valuable tool to answer the questions I raised above and to help you determine what is the most important next step.

What other questions should we be asking of our data?  Any suggestions?

Common mistakes fundraisers make  —

Over promising and under delivering

By Michael Bacon, CFRE

This month’s “Real Mistakes Fundraisers Make” focuses on the regrettable and all too common practice by fundraisers of making promises that we can’t (or don’t) keep to our donors.

At the June AFP meeting here in San Antonio, I outlined a number of mistakes that fundraisers make and this one is all too prevalent in our profession.  Because we care about our relationships with our donors, we want to make them happy and all too often end up damaging the connection instead.

This was true when one nonprofit offered complimentary tickets to an event and when Mr. and Mrs. Phil Anthropy came through the door, no tickets were available for them.  Ooops!  Another fundraiser told of mistakenly believing that a major donor to her organization only purchased a table for its annual gala to show support, never thinking the donor would actually want to attend himself and invite guests to sit at the table for which he paid!

All too often lack of attention to detail is the culprit, as was the case when one nonprofit fundraiser told me of her embarrassment when a corporate donor appeared at the annual gala and the corporate banner was nowhere to be found.  Telling a donor that his firm’s banner had been ‘misplaced’ is something none of us wants to do.

Instead, we should carefully adhere to our proverbial “event checklists” as well as ensure that when we promise donors an item or a service, that we can, indeed, deliver.  Sharing the planning among a cadre of volunteers or staff is helpful in making sure these all too common mistakes don’t happen to YOU.

Thoughtful cultivation is key to success

By Karen Kegg

Effective communication is most important in building strong relationships.  Anytime you seek to get to know someone, you start by letting him or her know who you are and what you are about.  The fun and joy of having relationships in our lives is knowing that you have similar interests with others and connect through your passions.

It is no different in the art of fundraising.  Strong relationships outside the organization are imperative for growth and financial stability.  In order to achieve financial goals for your organization, one must be able to communicate to others who you are and what you are about.  By informing them of the mission and why you exist, inviting them to participate, involving them in leadership positions, and finally, asking them to invest in sustaining the mission, you will build strong, trusting relationships while successfully raising vital funds for your organization.

Informing

Asking thoughtful and pointed questions can help you discover what the prospect is most interested in and why.  Are they personally tied to your organization through a personal experience?  What draws them to your mission?  Do they have passion for the clients that you serve?  The answers to these questions and others can give you good ideas on ways to best inform them of your organization and how you can share with them the successes and challenges the organization is experiencing.

Involvement

Once you are clear on where their interests lie, you will know where to focus your cultivation efforts and customize a strategy for the prospective donor.  Keeping them informed in those areas of interest while inviting them to participate in activities such as volunteering for special events, serving on volunteer committees, and/or assisting with client programs will further educate them as well as make the prospect feel like a part of the organization. Ultimately, placing donors in leadership positions exhibits trust and confidence that they are essential to the organization’s success.

Investment

Finally, the prospect knows who you are, is involved in the process, leads others to be successful in their passions and is ready to be asked to make a financial investment.  Inviting them to partner with the organization by giving a personal gift to maintain and sustain the mission will further symbolize their commitment to the organization presently and well into the future.  Not only have you built a strong relationship, you have helped the donor achieve their goal of giving of themselves to a cause they are passionate about.

By Marion Lee, CFRE

Every summer we look forward to what has become known in the office as the philanthropy report card published by the Giving USA Foundation.  As most of you know, The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University researches and writes the Annual Report on Philanthropy.  Not only do we consider this a great bell weather for our clients, but also we truly enjoy learning how we as a professional sector did during the past year.

So, let’s take a look at 2009.  Charitable giving did fall 3.2 percent (adjusted for inflation) in 2009 to $303.75 billion, down from a record $315 billion in 2008.  Four percent of these gifts came from corporations, 13 percent from foundations and 75 percent of all charitable gifts came from you and me.  Add in bequests at  eight  percent and we have individuals accounting for 83 percent of all charitable giving in 2009.

The American public is amazing!  We meet adversity by stepping up to hit one over the plate by giving at the same level as in 2008 and slightly more than in 2007.   I continue to be fascinated and frankly, emotional, about how we as a people handle crisis.

The current economic downturn and instability has unquestionably impacted our lives, but it may be heartening to note that in the recession of 1973-75, giving fell by 5.5 percent (adjusted for inflation) compared to the current 3.2 percent.  Giving USA suggests that some of the reasons for less impact on individual giving include:

• Giving in this decade is more per household than in the early 1970s;
• As predicted 10 years ago, more women are in control of their own resources both because women are now 50 percent of our workforce and actuarially survive longer than men;
• Women, when they have their own income, give more than men with similar incomes;
• Nonprofits have more organized fundraising programs.

We are finding that the predictors that we saw 10 years ago during my tenure at the San Antonio Area Foundation are being proven over time.

• Women are making their own money, inheriting generational wealth and are becoming the primary decision makers in philanthropic gifts.
• Organizations with a structured fundraising program build more secure donor bases.
• Diversity in funding streams is critical always and life and death in hard economic times.
• Building relationships with individuals, one-on-one, not through the buffer zone of special events, can give you the “friend in need being the friend in deed.”

Sadly, we know of several nonprofit organizations, worthy missions all, who have closed their doors in the last year.  In almost every case, the heavy dependency on a single source of funding, in most cases, either private foundation or government sources, led to the decision to dissolve the organization.

So there are lessons to be learned from the times we are facing.  If you are like me and the glass is always half full, then the year in review was better than anticipated.  Our goal is learn our lessons from what we have survived, look ahead to what we can be, and fill the glass.

By Michael Bacon, CFRE

This month’s “Real Mistakes Fundraisers Make” focuses on the all too-common practice of becoming overly familiar with a donor or a prospect simply because you’ve had the opportunity to meet them on behalf of your nonprofit.

We call it “Inappropriate Contact.” In the example  I cited at an AFP-San Antonio meeting in June, I highlighted a real fundraiser who, after having met a prominent donor, went home that evening and asked him to be friends on Facebook.

Talk about making a big assumption!

As a nonprofit professional, it’s important to maintain a cordial and friendly relationship with potential supporters of your nonprofit.  But it can be risky to “step over” the proverbial line in assuming that they want to know the intimate details of your personal life, and you theirs.  If and when a personal relationship develops, then “friending” a donor on Facebook could become an appropriate means of communication.

Stay tuned for more “Oh No You Didn’t!” mistakes next month.

By Michael Bacon, CFRE

I recently presented a seminar for the San Antonio Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  The session focused on some common fundraising mistakes that we’ve all made from time to time. I’d like to highlight some of those mistakes in ongoing issues of our newsletter.  Here’s is one that may be very familiar…

We call it the “Too Much Too Soon”  mistake.  Sometimes we get in too much of a hurry to close a large gift but haven’t built the essential relationship required that will inspire donors to move to the next level in their giving. 

 I shared a story from a real nonprofit that told one of its donors: “We really appreciate the two gifts you’ve given to the Annual Fund.  Are we in your will?”

Talk about jumping the gun!

A credo in fundraising is the importance of relationship building, and a smart and savvy nonprofit development officer would not ask a donor who has given only two gifts to consider making a planned gift that early in the relationship.  Instead, as the relationship develops between the nonprofit and its donors, and as donors make more and larger contributions, the timing becomes more apparent when to ask donors whether your organization is a part of their long-term estate plans.

Stay tuned for more “Oh No You Didn’t!”  mistakes.