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Media Scrutiny Creates Comms Crisis
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Fundraising Tip:
Often, the only difference between you and
one of the top non-profit organisations is
the amount of marketing and public
relations you do. So make sure you have
registered your cause with all the different
fundraising websites as well as the
corporate fundraising portals. Get yourself
on to Facebook, Twitter and other
web-based marketing tools. Make sure
your cause is understood locally and
then nationally. Talk to Rotary, Lions and other service clubs which have a
strong presence in your area. Read up
on everything about fundraising that you
can get your hands on - and if you don't
want to do this then stand aside and
allow someone else the opportunity.
Fundraisers Cheat Sheet: Click here
(PDF Format)
Take our fun quiz: Click here
(PDF Format)
A How to.... Hush Your Lips: Click here
(PDF format)
Free Sales Script Template: Conquering Sales Phobia Click here
(PDF format)
A Novel Fundraising Idea Click here
(PDF format)
Payroll Giving Click here
Are we recovering from the recession? Click here
(PDF Format)
This is an article from our monthly magazine Fundraising New Zealand "Your Questions Answered"
Q:
We are seeing a lot in the media about the costs
associated with fundraising. We have to pay wages, rent,
electricity and contribute towards vehicle costs. We have
income from multiple sources including philanthropy
and government contracts. How do we account for
our fundraising expenditure and how do we know if we
are doing a good job? What if we get investigated by
the media? How can we justify an investment in donor
acquisition, for example, that is costing us money?
A:
Heather answers …
There is no simple answer to this question!
The Charities Commission now carries a good question
and answer page on some of the issues raised by news
media commentators which explain how difficult it is to
answer the public’s concerns.
The Charities Commission has come under some fire
because it has not investigated what some journalists
believe is improper behaviour. But what constitutes
improper behaviour and is it a crime? although some
charities may be more efficient at fundraising than others,
there has been no suggestion in any of these recently
highlighted cases that theft or fraud has taken place.
Inefficiency – if that’s the case – is not a crime!
The Charities Commission explains that because charities
can show their financial information in a number of different
ways, a “ratio” dividing income by expenditure may give
a very misleading picture of many charities’ finances.
Members of the public looking at charities’ financial
information on the register should look at both the annual
return and the financial accounts to see how much
income the charity received during the financial year and
the sources of that income, as well as how much money
the charity spent during the year broken down into various categories.
The Commission advises its readers to first contact the
charity directly to seek further information about their
funding, activities and finances.
Many organisations already include their annual reports on
their website so if you are wondering how you are doing for
benchmark purposes, have a look at some else’s accounts
to compare. Otherwise you can have a look at back copies
of Fundraising New Zealand to compare your activities with others.
A number of figures are being bandied around about ratios
– some say 25% is ideal (costs to returns), others say 40%,
but there is no hard and fast rule. Some fundraising tools
are more efficient than others but take some time to reach
their optimal returns. donor acquisition is very expensive,
for example, in the short term, but will pay off in years to
come. Other activities may not return much cash but more
than pay for the investment because of the public relations
value and brand building.
How do you address this issue with your donors?
• The best you can do is to be as transparent as
possible. explain your fundraising choices on your
website and in your annual report.
• Set Key Performance Indicators for your activities that
are realistic and achievable and use these to measure
your performance.
• Create criteria for assessing fundraising activities and
don’t be afraid to say no to those that are not up to
your standards.
• Check that your practices are as efficient as possible
and if necessary, ask a human resources company
to check that your wages are on par with industry
standards.
• Seek an independent assessment of your activities.
If the crisis does hit, and you choose not to engage with
the news media, that’s okay, but make sure all your donors
are provided with the facts.
If you are going head to head with the news media make
sure you are fully prepared and briefed on all the answers
necessary. Invest in some good media training!
To read more subscribe NOW to Fundraising New Zealand
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