The Secrets to Using Wealth Screening For Crazy

The Secrets to Using Wealth Screening For Crazy Campaign Success Linda S. Garrison, CFRE Senior Consultant, Wealth. Engine

Today, we will … • Learn how to fast-track a feasibility study to save time and money • Gain insight into using data to re-energize fundraising if/when a campaign begins to stall

Operating Premise: Successful campaigns are more than throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks

A case in point …

Once upon a (recent) time

What’s the big deal about data?

Data: Why all the fuss? • We all know the philanthropic market is competitive • Leadership wants and needs thorough, accurate information to minimize risk/maximize opportunity

Data: • Is one of the catalysts that drive a successful campaign • Sets the bar correctly • Identifies new prospects • Load-balances gift officer portfolios • Analyzes/forecasts giving trends • Analyzes capacity and propensity • Informs campaign communications

Data is a fundraiser’s best friend Because it is impartial. It doesn’t contain human bias. It just is.

Using Data to Shortcut a Feasibility (Readiness) Study

Step 1: Look at past history • How diversified are your funding streams? • How does your data compare to Giving USA’s? • Who are your donors? Source: Giving USA Foundation | Giving USA 2015 • Are board, leadership, staff and major donors all giving and involved?

Step 2: Analyze Donors & Prospects

Step 3: Find a good vendor to screen and model • Some questions to ask: • What data sources are used? How many? • Is the data curated/updated? How often? • Will our data be secure? Do you have SOC 2 security? • Have your scores been recalibrated since the Recession? • Have your scores been tested for accuracy? If so, how accurate are they? • What is the typical match rate? • How can we get the scores back into our CRM?

Step 3: (continued) • If modeling, ask: • Is the entire database modeled or just a percentage? • Is the model pre-built or is it custom-made for our needs and our constituents? • What’s your process? In other words, do you screen first and then model, or vice versa? • Do “rich zips” impact your models? • What modeling technique do you use? Logistic regression? Other?

Data hygiene is foremost – then comes the rest Screen & clean first, of course Then: • Major Gift Model – essential • Planned Gift Model – very useful • Likelihood to Give Model – useful

Step 4: After screening, build out your gift table

This will show you where work must be done Gift Amount # Gifts Prospects Needed Prospects ID’d Total Gifts Percent of Total Goal $2, 500, 000 1 5 1 $2, 500, 000 25% $1, 200, 000 1 5 2 $3, 700, 000 37% $1, 000 2 10 5 $5, 700, 000 57% $600, 000 2 10 7 $6, 900, 000 69% $400, 000 3 15 9 $8, 100, 000 81% $200, 000 4 20 22 $8, 900, 000 89% $100, 000 4 20 24 $9, 300, 000 93% $80, 000 5 25 30 $9, 700, 000 97% $40, 000 5 25 31 $9, 900, 000 99% $10, 000 10 50 62 $100, 000 100% 37 185 $10, 000

Step 5: Take a look at your results

Step 6: Build the plan • Make sure funding opportunities mesh with your strategic plan and priorities • Involve your CFO while building the budget • For facilities, include FF&E (furnishings, fixtures, equipment), installation costs, 5%-7% (minimum) construction overage

Don’t forget! • For facilities, include potential new employees (all expenses) and operational expenses over first three years • For the campaign, consider the costs of donor recognition, events, collateral, campaign director, campaign consultant

Step 7: Draft a preliminary prospectus • Use a donor-driven rather than organization-focused perspective. This isn’t a strategic plan! • Your screening and modeling should have given you some insight into messaging. • Try to answer these questions: ü What? ü Why now? ü Why us? ü So what?

Don’t do a final case until after the study • Save yourself budget -- and heartburn. • Keep it simple – don’t spend big money until it’s “go time” • Use some of your screening and modeling insights to inform the final case

Step 8: Streamline the study • With screened and modeled data in place, it becomes much easier to focus on the top people to interview personally. • Your campaign consultant will thank you! • Consider using an online survey instrument for some constituents • Provide them with a PDF of the prospectus prior to the survey • Ask the same questions as in the in-person interviews • Assure them of confidentiality and anonymity

So: Old school? Or new school? Constituents Screening Modeling Gift Table • Manual screening and rating -“Gut” assessment based on what one has seen or heard • Modeled screening and - rating Estimated Giving Capacity (EGC) and Estimated Annual Donations (EAD) P 2 G and RFM (affinity/inclination) Modeling scores/deciles Relationship mapping

Shall we go old school?

Prior to launch

1. Take an honest look • Assess the “engines” of your development operation: ü Leadership (including volunteers) ü Staff – bench strength and numbers ü ü Budget Infrastructure Policies/procedures Information systems and reporting

2. Assess leadership • Is our CEO a respected community leader? • Is s/he willing to spend up to 50% of his/her time focused on fundraising during the first 12 -18 months of the campaign? • Is our CEO articulate and dynamic about explaining the mission of the organization and the benefits of fulfilling the campaign priorities?

3. Assess your board • Is the board president or chair recognized as a community leader? • Will the board be first to make personally significant gifts to the campaign? Board Chair Campaign Committee • Are they willing to work on the campaign, including identifying prospects and asking others to give?

4. Assess staffing • Do you have the personnel in place to manage prospects? • Do you have the personnel in place to manage volunteers? • Are all important functions assigned to an appropriate staff person? • Who will manage/staff campaign volunteers? (Don’t expect a gift officer to do that and raise money!)

5. We have a policy for that - fundraising • Do you have an up to date gift policy? • Do you have the ability to decide upon unusual gifts? • Is your CFO on the same page with the development team in terms of crediting gifts, tax credits and the like?

6. We have a policy for that - reporting • Is your donor database squeaky clean and up to date? • Does it allow you to record multi-year pledges, gifts in kind, planned gifts? • Are you able to track prospects? Do you have a moves management system?

Remember • This is all important preparation • It doesn’t mean your campaign will be OK’d • But, even if it’s not, you’ll be in better shape in terms of analysis and moves management • If it is, you can prepare for 18 -24 months of lots of hard work during the “silent phase”

After all this, why bother with a study? • An experienced campaign consultant will: • Further vet lead gifts and donors • Help identify additional campaign leadership in the community. • Provide an independent, unbiased point of view

Qualitative vs. quantitative insight • Importantly, the insights provided by feasibility interviews can be enlightening to executives, marketing and front-line fundraisers, especially in terms of perceptions about your organization and leadership.

Mid-campaign

Mid-campaign analysis • Do so by the time you’ve acquired 10 major donors and/or around the two-year mark but prior to going public • Have you acquired new donors? Time to screen them and ask your screening vendor to recalibrate any models • Consider a cluster analysis secondary to a major gift model to uncover fresh new prospects you may have overlooked

Keep an eye on the pipeline Gift Amount # Gifts Needed Cumulative Total Received $ Value Submitted Proposals Pipeline Expected Yield (40%) Total Expected Pipeline $2, 500, 000 $0 $2, 500, 000 $3, 700, 000 $2, 500, 000 1 $1, 200, 000 1 $3, 700, 000 $1, 000 2 $5, 700, 000 $0 $5, 700, 000 $600, 000 2 $6, 900, 000 $0 $6, 900, 000 $400, 000 3 $8, 100, 000 $400, 000 $2, 000 $800, 000 $200, 000 4 $8, 900, 000 $0 $1, 200, 000 $480, 000 $800, 000 $100, 000 4 $9, 300, 000 $0 $800, 000 $320, 000 $400, 000

Beware the dreaded stall

Symptoms of a stall • Too few prospects • Smaller gifts than anticipated • Unmotivated volunteers • Insufficient campaign-related activity • Overworked, overwhelmed staff • The campaign vision doesn’t resonate

#1 Cause of a Campaign Stall Failure to follow sequential solicitation

Solutions

Solutions • Data mining and modeling • Revisit your donor list to uncoverlooked prospects that may have been overlooked the first time. • Revisit your original prospect lists and volunteer assignments to see if any have fallen through the cracks. • Revisit your board and volunteers’ connections

Solutions (continued) • Consider asking existing campaign donors for a gift upgrade • Extend the pledge period if needed – up to seven years if necessary • Be honest with your board/trustees and tell them the facts • Don’t overwork volunteers -- recruit new ones as needed.

Solutions (continued) • Small events are a great way to generate interest, publicity and regain momentum. • Use social media to the fullest. • Try a challenge grant. • Consider tweaking your messaging

Look at real-time solutions • Some wealth intelligence providers are providing solutions which offer real-time screening and alerts when someone makes a gift online, purchases a ticket or registers for an event

Qualitative/Quantitative Art Science

Appendices

Sample survey questions • What is your perception of our organization? • What is your perception of our CEO? • Which of the campaign priorities do you find most compelling? Why? • Where do we rank among the institutions that you support? • What is your largest philanthropic commitment? • Given best possible circumstances, are you likely to make a gift to our campaign?

Check out our free workbook http: //bit. ly/2 j. NEcq. N

Other free resources • Why Campaigns Stall. Pierpont, Robert, Capital Campaigns, Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University www. philanthropy. iupui. edu/files/course_resources/capital_ campaigns_pierpont. pdf • The Top 10 Mistakes in Fundraising Campaigns http: //www. afpnet. org/Resource. Center/Article. Detail. cfm? Ite m. Number=4610 • Measuring Fundraising Return on Investment http: //info. wealthengine. com/measuring-fundraising-roi. html

Other free resources (continued) • Campaign phasing: www. philanthropy. iupui. edu/thefundraisingschool/precourseread ings/precourse_capitalcampaignspierpont. aspx • Planned gifts in campaigns: • www. nxtbook. com/nxtbooks/afp/ap_20100102/index. php#/14 • The Partnership for Planned Gifts: http: //www. pppnet. org/ethics/valuation-standards. html • Sample gift policies: http: //info. wealthengine. com/rs/wealthengine/images/Sample_D evelopment_Policies. pdf

Linda S. Garrison CFRE Senior Consultant Wealth. Engine www. wealthengine. com lgarrison@wealthengine. com 240 -607 -0202