Last year, I wrote a blog called "It’s Not Just an Almond Milk Latte." In it, I provided a brief description of some best practices for a first-time meet-up with an individual donor at Starbucks.
Important things to remember including making it a conversation, not a presentation.
Engage in purposeful small talk.
Watch for nonverbal cues.
Brainstorm ideas: How do we best engage?
Address sensitive issues (if needed).
Limit distractions, if possible.
Make a follow-up plan.
All in hopes of discovering their “why” when it comes to charitable giving, so you can present giving options that are meaningful to them.
All sounds good-right?
OK…so what happens if you are in a Starbucks with a client partner awaiting another nonprofit that you would like to introduce them to, hoping to create a multi-beneficial partnership, when…the CEO of a foundation walks in?
Do you:
Run and hide in the ladies’ room—remember, this is a public restroom; how long can you really hide out there?
Give a subtle "Hey, how are you?" Really, you are not Joey Tribbiani from Friends.
Invite him to sit down, make introductions, enjoy some coffee with the group, and share your big idea to change the world that includes convening these amazing partners.
I choose #3.
I figured all the good karma from working in nonprofits for 1000 years (OK, it’s 10, but isn’t there a multiplier in nonprofits?) would help.
It was a great conversation and started the ball rolling on what I hope will be a long, amazing, and funded relationship.
So, do I tell you this story because I believe foundation CEOs will walk into your next meeting?
NO, I have been hoping for that for years, and so far it has happened once.
Do I suggest scanning the room for people you might know when you are with one person, hoping to see someone better coming in?
Also NO, that is just poor manners.
What I am suggesting is to be open to whatever may happen. Be nimble and open to possibilities.
So many fundraisers I have met want a script.
They want to know:
What to say on a phone call
What to say in every thank you note
What message to leave
What to say in a meeting
Let’s just say I had gone into that Starbucks with a presentation on exactly how the partnership I had thought about was going to work and had not left room for additional partners, thoughts, and ideas from, let’s say, a man who could fund the entire project for the next year.
If you want to be a good fundraiser…A REALLY, REALLY good fundraiser, you have to be able to think on your feet. You have to be able to deal with what comes your way like an improvisational comedian—not the comedy part, of course, but the improv part.
You do that by:
Knowing your mission story inside and out.
Knowing what you can and cannot offer donors.
In other words, can you offer an individual donor 2 tickets to an event at a certain level of commitment or 14 tickets?
Can you offer a corporate donor 3 social media posts or 33 social media posts?
Being prepared with questions to help you understand goals and what part of your mission a donor is most excited about.
If you are calling to say thank you or writing to say thank you, look for clues in the notes that were taken when the donation came in. What campaign did they donate to? Talk about the impact they had. If you have a large footprint, what impact did you have that was in their region or county?
When it comes to a meeting, know the “agenda” you would like to cover. You can come with “idea starters” or even a proposal (if you are that far in the process), but please avoid the trap of going page by page and reading it to them. That is simply boring and does not show you know the material. They know how to read. PLUS, if you are reading to them, you cannot gauge their response. You cannot spend more time on what seems to be delighting them. You cannot stop and answer questions when they seem perplexed, and so on.
So, the grant application is in, and I will let you know if the almond milk latte turns into champagne.
If you want to learn how to be nimble, think on your feet, and tell an AMAZING mission story in all forms of communication, reach out to Team Kat & Mouse. We are nonprofit consultants dedicated to increasing your fundraising success through training, tactics and tools!
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