Is CFRE Spinning Its Wheels?

I’m not sure. CFRE International is either spinning its wheels or it is poised for growth. Either way, it needs and welcomes our advice.

I see articles and postings that promote the Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) credential from time to time. Most recently, I saw:

●  “New CFRE Website and Online App” posted by Garvin Maffett in the CFRE International Network Group on LinkedIn (Oct. 31, 2013)

● “Are You Certified?” by F. Duke Haddad in FundRaising Success (Nov. 8, 2013)

As someone who has held the CFRE designation longer than 89 percent of all others, I care about and support the credential. So, I’m pleased to see that CFRE International has a new, easier to use, more robust, more service-oriented website. I’m also pleased to see others promoting the CFRE designation.

However, despite my enthusiasm for the CFRE credential, I continue to be troubled. Two years ago on this site, I asked, “Does CFRE Have a Future?” My concerns persist. As of 2012, there were 5,630 CFRE holders worldwide, according to the CFRE International annual report. That’s just a 5.7 percent increase over the number of certified professionals in 2007.

That’s a miniscule five-year growth rate.

Depending on how you count larger (expenditures of $500,000 or more) and active public charities, the sector has seen growth of approximately 12 percent in the US since 2004/05.

That means the CFRE growth rate of 5.7 percent has not even kept pace with the growth rate of the nonprofit sector in the US. Every year, CFRE has been becoming less significant, relative to the market, despite its modest rate of growth.

The number of CFREs relative to the number of development professionals is modest at best. The number of CFREs in the US and Canada is about 17 percent of the number of members of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Prospect Research v. Invasion of Privacy

Edward Snowden became a worldwide “celebrity” when he leaked classified information about the US National Security Agency’s spying programs.

In the process, Snowden’s revelations have fueled discussions around the globe about privacy and access to information.

The Economist recently published a chart by the Boston Consulting Group that looks at how people around the world feel about the privacy of different types of information:

  

As you can see from the above chart, people around the world, particularly in the West, value their privacy. For example, the vast majority of Americans consider financial data and information about children to be “moderately or very private.”

That might explain why alumni from New York’s prestigious Dalton School were upset when volunteer solicitors were given information about the children of fundraising prospects. Specifically, solicitors were told about the children of prospects who had applied for admission to the School but who were rejected.

An alumna who had previously donated to the School described the situation to The New York Times as “horrible.” That’s the last thing you want someone to feel about your development program. It’s the last thing you want someone to say about your organization to a reporter.

The head of Dalton issued a public apology and a promise to do better.

It’s easy to understand the tension that exists between nonprofit organizations and their donor prospects. Organizations want to gather as much useful information as possible, and they want their professional and volunteer solicitors to know a great deal about the people they will approach in order to maximize success. However, this posture is often at odds with prospects who want and expect what they consider their personal information to remain private.

Charities face two issues when it comes to prospect research and privacy:

Free, Electronic Bequest-Potential Calculator Unveiled

Smart fundraising professionals realize the value of understanding their nonprofit organization’s planned giving potential. Unfortunately, it has not always been easy to quantify that potential, until now.

Charities that do not have a planned giving program will want to know how much money their organization can raise through such a program before they decide whether a budget investment would be worthwhile.

Nonprofit organizations that already engage in planned giving will want to know whether their program is achieving all it can or if there is room for significant growth.

Nonprofit Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, and board members, will want to know the potential of planned giving before they agree to invest scarce budget resources in a program to acquire planned gifts.

To help fundraising professionals gauge their organization’s planned giving potential, I included a “Bequest Potential Worksheet” in my award-winning book Donor-Centered Planned Gift Marketing. Now, I’ve collaborated with Greg Warner and his team at MarketSmart to develop the free, electronic Bequest Potential Calculator.

6 Ways to Raise More Money without New Donors!

If you achieve your fundraising goal this year, your reward will likely be an increased goal next year. At most nonprofit organizations, the struggle to raise ever-increasing amounts of money never ends. This drives many nonprofits into a continuous donor-acquisition mode.

However, you don’t need a single new donor to raise more money.

Given that the cost to acquire a new donor is often $1, or more, for every $1 raised, finding a new donor does not even help most organizations with short-term mission fulfillment.

So, how can you raise significantly more money for mission fulfillment without acquiring new donors? Here are just six ideas:

1. Ask for More. I still receive direct mail appeals that say, “Whatever you can give will be appreciated.” Ugh! That’s not an ask. If you want people to give, and give more, you need to state your case for support. Then, you need to ask for that support in the correct way.

Many charities simply seek renewal gifts. If I gave $50, the charity will simply ask me to renew my $50 support. Sometimes, a charity will randomly ask me for an amount series (i.e.: $100, $250, or more) that has nothing to do with my previous level of support.

However, there is a better way. Try saying this:

I thank you for your gift of $50 last year that helped us achieve __________. This year, as we strive to __________, may I count on you to increase your support to $75 or $100?”

Thank the donor. Mention how the organization used her previous gift. Establish the current case for support. Ask for a modest increase linked to the amount of the previous gift. A hospital in New York state tested this approach against its traditional approach and saw a 68% increase in giving.

2. Second Gift Appeal. Just because someone has given your organization money does not mean you have to wait a year to ask for more. If you first properly thank the donor and report on how his gift has been put to use, you can then approach him for a second gift. However, you need to have a good case for going back to the well.

Most grassroots donors don’t think, “What’s my annual philanthropic sense of responsibility to this charity? Fine. That’s how much I’ll give.” Instead, most grassroots donors look at the charity they wish to support and then consider how much money they have left over after they pay the monthly bills. Then, they give from that reservoir of disposable income. Guess what? Next month, and every month thereafter, that reservoir usually gets replenished. So, going back to the donor for an additional gift can work, again, if you have a strong case for support. By the way, the replenishing disposable income reservoir is one reason why monthly donor programs can be effective (see below).

3. Recruit Monthly Donors. Way back in 1989, I wrote an article for Donor Developer in which I predicted that every nonprofit in America would have a monthly donor program within five years. Sadly, I was very mistaken. Even in 2013, too few charities host a monthly donor program.