I sat down to draft a direct mail piece the other day and thought, "what a lucky time to be writing a letter." We have so much to write about: a special fundraising campaign, a challenge grant from our board of directors, new donor benefits, and a final chance to upgrade before our next season. On top of that, many donors are up for renewal in the next few months. No shortage of messages here!
So I included all this exciting news in the letter and do you want to know what I ended up with? A letter so chock full of unrelated messages that it was a convoluted mess. The messages I listed above are great motivators for a potential donor, but putting them all into one letter just dilutes them.
So I recalled some guidelines I had developed from past instances of this same situation.
1) Figure out what your strongest message is, and focus on it. For a renewal letter, I believe that reminding a donor of his or her last gift is always the most significant (it's the one that gets the best results, at least). If it's an aquisition mailing, figure out what message is the most relevant. The letter I wrote the other day was an acquisition letter to subscribers. Since they subscribe, I know they value the art form. Therefore I chose to focus the letter on the campaign for artistic excellence, and I didn't cloud it with other ideas. I can always mention the new benefits in a future letter to those who do not respond at this time.
2) If you have a message that is really easy to understand, sometimes adding it as a P.S. or splicing it across a response device is enough. Our board challenge grant made a relevant P.S. to the campaign-focused letter. It didn't require a lot of space to write about, since it's a simple piece of information. I put it in bold, navy blue ink so it stood out. But keeping it out of the copy itself kept the letter more focused.
3) There is no reason to include any message that won't make the mailing more successful. If your letter contains one or two really strong reasons for the person to donate, it might be best to exclude all other messages. I'll use the example of a donor renewal mailing. If I am asking a person to renew last year's gift, I might also say that this is a good time to act because our board of directors challenge grant will match their donation. But this might not be the time to mention the campaign. After all, a campaign in this instance is just a fundraising tool. If these individuals are likely to donate without having that piece of information, maybe it's not necessary to mention it. To say, "Renew your donation while supporting our special campaign, and having your gift matched" sounds confusing. I think it even sounds cheap -- like, "donate now, and get a free toaster!" It's just too needy. Compare it to simply, "Renew your donation now, and our board of directors will match it!" The second message is so much simpler, so much stronger. True, it does not mention the campaign, but it will probably make for a more successful letter.
Showing posts with label Board of Directors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Board of Directors. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative
Arts for LA, the California Community Foundation, and Center for Cultural Innovation presented Arts in Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at the California African American Museum. The program featured Michael M. Kaiser, President of the Kennedy Center and renowned authority on managing non-profit arts organizations, interviewed by Tim Dang, Artistic Director of East West Players. Below are my notes.
Michael Kaiser has a mantra for the key to a successful arts organization: “good art, well-marketed.”
He presented one of the art industry’s greatest inherent problems: unlike other industries, worker productivity in the arts does not improve over time. (To illustrate this point, consider that Hamlet still takes as many actors today as it did in Shakespeare’s time.) Earned income potential is also limited – we can only sell as many seats as the venue holds. So the gap between the cost of creating art and the earned income potential has no possibility of decreasing, and in fact it increases year after year as the costs of personnel, rent, and equipment rise.
For many years, arts organizations have increased ticket prices to solve this problem. But that has just led to the arts becoming so expensive that they’ve lost audience members. That’s why fundraising is a better way to close the cost-income gap.
But what’s the key to raising money for the arts? Michael Kaiser has a strong opinion on this—one that I agree with: the key to fundraising is offering exciting programming and marketing it well.
So, why are programming and marketing essential to fundraising? Why can’t we just write really, really impressive grant applications and expect them to be successful?
Because ultimately people contribute to any cause because of passion. Great programs, marketed well, make people passionate.
That’s why Kaiser sees cutting programs during bad economic times as dangerous. The less you have to offer, the less interest people will have in your organization, and that will lead to less contributed income.
The good news is that marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. Tools like Facebook are “not just for kids anymore,” and Internet marketing is now more effective than traditional paid newspaper advertising, for example.
An enthusiastic board is also essential, because if your board members truly stand behind your organization, they’ll be excited about spreading the word. So find out whether your board members have negative feelings towards any aspect of your organization. Who can blame a person for not wanting to ask their friends for support if they don’t think the last few productions were very strong, or if they have to worry about whether their personal friends will be thanked in a timely manner for a contribution? Deal with these important issues; make your board members confident.
Part of offering exciting and excellent programs is deciding what exactly your organization intends to achieve. It is worth noting arts education programs at this time: if your organization includes education as part of its mission, but cuts these programs during a recession, you are sending the message that these programs are not very important to you after all. Spend time thinking about your mission and make sure your programs truly serve all aspects of your mission.
At a later time, I will post notes on the rest of Mr. Kaiser’s discussion, including his insights on how arts organizations of color can improve their fundraising during the current economy, plus innovative ways to motivate your stakeholders to stand behind your programs.
Michael Kaiser has a mantra for the key to a successful arts organization: “good art, well-marketed.”
He presented one of the art industry’s greatest inherent problems: unlike other industries, worker productivity in the arts does not improve over time. (To illustrate this point, consider that Hamlet still takes as many actors today as it did in Shakespeare’s time.) Earned income potential is also limited – we can only sell as many seats as the venue holds. So the gap between the cost of creating art and the earned income potential has no possibility of decreasing, and in fact it increases year after year as the costs of personnel, rent, and equipment rise.
For many years, arts organizations have increased ticket prices to solve this problem. But that has just led to the arts becoming so expensive that they’ve lost audience members. That’s why fundraising is a better way to close the cost-income gap.
But what’s the key to raising money for the arts? Michael Kaiser has a strong opinion on this—one that I agree with: the key to fundraising is offering exciting programming and marketing it well.
So, why are programming and marketing essential to fundraising? Why can’t we just write really, really impressive grant applications and expect them to be successful?
Because ultimately people contribute to any cause because of passion. Great programs, marketed well, make people passionate.
That’s why Kaiser sees cutting programs during bad economic times as dangerous. The less you have to offer, the less interest people will have in your organization, and that will lead to less contributed income.
The good news is that marketing doesn’t have to be expensive. Tools like Facebook are “not just for kids anymore,” and Internet marketing is now more effective than traditional paid newspaper advertising, for example.
An enthusiastic board is also essential, because if your board members truly stand behind your organization, they’ll be excited about spreading the word. So find out whether your board members have negative feelings towards any aspect of your organization. Who can blame a person for not wanting to ask their friends for support if they don’t think the last few productions were very strong, or if they have to worry about whether their personal friends will be thanked in a timely manner for a contribution? Deal with these important issues; make your board members confident.
Part of offering exciting and excellent programs is deciding what exactly your organization intends to achieve. It is worth noting arts education programs at this time: if your organization includes education as part of its mission, but cuts these programs during a recession, you are sending the message that these programs are not very important to you after all. Spend time thinking about your mission and make sure your programs truly serve all aspects of your mission.
At a later time, I will post notes on the rest of Mr. Kaiser’s discussion, including his insights on how arts organizations of color can improve their fundraising during the current economy, plus innovative ways to motivate your stakeholders to stand behind your programs.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Facts that can strengthen grant proposals
‘Tis the season of grant application deadlines, at least in my world. Here are some bits of information you might not think to include in a grant but that can strengthen the way you are portraying yourself to potential funders.
How many performers, artists, and arts professionals does your organization employ each year?
In a weak economy, providing paid work to members of your community has merit. My theatre, for example, performs only 3 to 4 productions annually, but we end up employing over 200 actors, musicians, crew members, and other theatre artists. Include this information in your organizational background section if it helps show the scope of your work.
Is there a board or outside committee that oversees your outreach programming?
Many organizations have an Education or Outreach Committee, but as grant writers we often forget to mention this in applications. If you have such a committee, include a brief line about it to show the funder that your board is committed to this programming. A sample statement might say:
“An Education Committee, comprised of board members as well as local educators and school administrators, meets four times annually to evaluate the impact of our education programs.”
Who is developing your program, and what are his or her qualifications?
I frequently write grants requesting support for arts outreach programs. Most of these ask specific questions about the “what?” rather than the “who?” but I always include a short statement that mentions who is designing the program and who is implementing it. I think it helps show that this is a program created specifically for the strengths of my organization and the needs of its constituents, not just some program-in-a-box. A sample statement is:
“The curriculum is designed by So-and-So, who has been a public school arts educator since 2001 and has published articles in XYZ on teaching art in urban areas. So-and-So-#2, who has a bachelors degree in education from XYZ coordinates and implements the program.”
Good luck with your grant writing!
How many performers, artists, and arts professionals does your organization employ each year?
In a weak economy, providing paid work to members of your community has merit. My theatre, for example, performs only 3 to 4 productions annually, but we end up employing over 200 actors, musicians, crew members, and other theatre artists. Include this information in your organizational background section if it helps show the scope of your work.
Is there a board or outside committee that oversees your outreach programming?
Many organizations have an Education or Outreach Committee, but as grant writers we often forget to mention this in applications. If you have such a committee, include a brief line about it to show the funder that your board is committed to this programming. A sample statement might say:
“An Education Committee, comprised of board members as well as local educators and school administrators, meets four times annually to evaluate the impact of our education programs.”
Who is developing your program, and what are his or her qualifications?
I frequently write grants requesting support for arts outreach programs. Most of these ask specific questions about the “what?” rather than the “who?” but I always include a short statement that mentions who is designing the program and who is implementing it. I think it helps show that this is a program created specifically for the strengths of my organization and the needs of its constituents, not just some program-in-a-box. A sample statement is:
“The curriculum is designed by So-and-So, who has been a public school arts educator since 2001 and has published articles in XYZ on teaching art in urban areas. So-and-So-#2, who has a bachelors degree in education from XYZ coordinates and implements the program.”
Good luck with your grant writing!
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