What can we learn from Hyundai - Part 1

Recently Hyundai announced it was going after the luxury car driver (major gift giver, to us) with its new Equus.

However, it is facing hurdles that are familiar to fundraisers - the experience. Hyundai is not moving this brand into a separate dealership with specially trained sales and service people who know how to appeal to wealthy customers like Lexus and other Asian spinoffs did. According to one automotive consultant, "True luxury buyers expect more than product. They expect a luxury sales and service experience and there is no way to do that through Hyundai dealers," he said.

Hyundai's solution? They dispatch a car to the customer for a test drive and offer valet-style service; the customer never has to come to Hyundai.

In my experience, our top-level donors also expect more of an experience with us and our agency. Our job is to figure out what the "win" is for them; what motivates them and then deliver it. Creating activities and social interaction for them with the agency and other donors is the challenge.

Wayne Olson's words of advice

When I was in Orlando recently, I met Wayne Olson, a colleague with whom I enjoy discussing fund raising and relationships.

Wayne is now the Director, Development at Give Kids the World, a non-profit resort that offers children with life threatening illnesses vacations in Orlando, Florida. Wayne is a terrific writer and wrote an engaging book "THINK Like A Donor."

Here's my summation of one of his chapters: Reward Donors and They Will Reward You

Humans do not do what we are told . . .we do what we are reward for doing.
When donors feel appreciated they will return to us again and again. Always look for the reward; it can be a small gift, lunch together or a note.

We talk about "delivering wins." First, find out what the donor think is a win and then, like Wayne says, continue to give rewards.

Relationship building is good for your health

We know that connecting with someone on an emotional level feels good, but here's another article that says its good for health with all ages!


It's pretty clear that eating a healthy diet, exercising, not smoking and not drinking to excess are factors linked to longevity. Perhaps the most ignored but potentially powerful strategy, however, is being a social butterfly.

In a study published Tuesday in the journal PLoS Medicine, researchers found that having social connections -- including family, friends and colleagues -- improved the odds of survival by 50%. They authors of the study described the impact of having a dearth of social contacts as comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day in terms of its effect on longevity. Or, to put it another way, it's equivalent to being an alcoholic; is more harmful than not exercising and is twice as harmful as obesity. The researchers, from Brigham Young University, analyzed data from 148 previously published studies on old age and social interactions to reach their conclusions.

It's difficult to say why relationships matter so much to human health. It could be that people who are connected to others take better care of themselves, take fewer risks or find more meaning to their lives.

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"We take relationships for granted as humans -- we're like fish that don't notice the water," a coauthor of the paper, Timothy Smith, said in a news release. "That constant interaction is not only beneficial psychologically but directly to our physical health."

The effect isn't just limited to social connections in old age, the authors said. Relationships seem to improve health among all age groups.

Smart Marriages Conference, Orlando FL

I recently gave my first co-hosted keynote! Julie Baumgardner of First Things First in Chattanooga (dedicated to strengthening families through education, collaboration and mobilization) and I were the Huntley and Brinkley of this annual conference.

While everyone else talked about marriage, families, teens, divorce, etc. Julie and I talked about sustainability and growth for the agencies like hers, that are facing diminishing federal and state funding. While the marriage and family therapists told me that their private practices were bringing in more clients than they could handle, the nonprofit organizations were telling me they were facing cuts of up to 40%.

There are many community and state-wide initiatives doing very valuable preventive care for everyone in our communities. Some are using fee-for-service programs while others are scrambling for grants to replace the government funding.

Some, like Julie, are looking ahead to the future and building their base of support now. Julie and I are working on a Partnership Council for her agency and our first step, a Board program resulted in 259 warm leads from her Board members!

For many nonprofits, this is truly a wake up call! For the first time, they will have to learn to reach out and connect with people who can insure their mission will be preserved.

Interviewing for a Job

Thanks to Marie for trying some of the techniques I taught at Women at Work in Pasadena. I'll keep you informed to see when she gets a job! Here's what she wrote me:

I was in your class at Women at Work. I was the one whose family recovered a painting that was stolen in Germany in the 1930

Anyway, I had an interview the next day, and I decided to try a few of your techniques. I haven't heard if I've been invited for round two yet, but I think the session went pretty well.

What I came away with from your talk was that I should put a little bit more of 'me' in my interview. So, I decided to be more open about sharing my personal life and tried to ask more questions about the interviewer in order to make a connection. I was tempted to see if we could both attend the wine tasting that was occurring at the interview site, but it was unfortunately over. However, even at the door, I was able to make a final connection with her with a small Virginia town in which her father and my grandfather lived.

The ultimate goal is always A JOB, but I do feel more comfortable about making progress for improving my interviewing skills. Wish me luck.

Good news . . . Bad news

Nonprofits Not Out of the Woods Yet

From Joanne Fritz, your Guide to Nonprofit Charitable Orgs
Friday May 21, 2010

The good news from the 2010 Fenton Forecast: Leadership and Effectiveness Among Nonprofits* is that 80% of the respondents to this annual survey have a positive view of the performance of nonprofit organizations.

The bad news is that nearly two-thirds of survey respondents report they plan to either reduce their giving or keep it the same as last year. This is on top of already reduced giving levels for 2008 and 2009.

Donors seems to be quite cautious about their charitable giving for the moment and into the near future. Giving will decrease or remain static for 2010, even among those with higher incomes.

Among those donors who plan to decrease giving, 56% say they will cut their donations by 23% or more. Even older Americans, ages 50 and older, intend to reduce their giving the most.

Roger Craver, founder of DonorTrends, and chief blogger of The Agitator, said during these difficult times, we should focus our resources on our organization's "missionaries," "loyalists," and "lapsed donors."

I agree - it's always better to go to someone who has or had a tie to your organization. Just as in business, it's less expensive to retain donors that to recruit entirely new ones!

How to Land a Job

Thanks to Robin McCarthy and the staff at Women at Work in Pasadena CA for inviting me to join them and discuss how to go beyond your resume and truly connect with the employer and make a powerful personal impression. For 30 years Women At Work has provided career services to help over 100,000 women and men from all backgrounds. With long-standing employer relations, the center's Resource Room offers thousands of job leads. Through individualized career counseling sessions, workshops, and classes, Women At Work empowers the unemployed and under-employed to make smart career choices that will impact their lives and ultimately, the community as a whole.

I enjoyed talking to (mostly) women and some men about how to portray the unique part of their personalities to make an impact and to show the employer that they would fit into the culture of the organization. We had quite an age range - from late 20's to a women who was 70! We discussed how to do this in person and on the phone!

Their motto: "From Blueberries (pies) to Blackberries (cell phone)!" I hope to hear that some of my participants are able to land a job very soon.