Would Microphilanthropy Work in Athletics Development?

Recently I came across an interesting article (warning: its subscription based) on The Chronicle of Higher Education’s website highlighting an interesting fundraising program at Middlebury College.  The school launched MiddSTART, a microphilanthropy initiative aimed at moving the donor/donee relationship beyond a financial transaction and make it more collaborative.  The concept of microphilanthropy has been around for some time.  The fundraising model is based on smaller and more direct interactions between those who give money and those who receive.

This past fall, USAToday did a feature on how this type of giving is changing the non-profit sector.  The article claims that organizations such as Modest Needs, GlobalGiving, and DonorsChoose.org, who focus on microphilanthropy saw exponential growth in charitable giving from 2004-08.  One of the reasons for this large growth can be attributed to technology, social media included, and the ease of access to information about the projects donors are contributing towards.

Ken Berger, president of Charity Navigator, says about microphilanthropy, “There’s a lot of evidence that this generation is used to instant access to information.   They want more direct involvement, to be empowered in the process, and to see results more directly.”

MiddSTART, allows alumni, parents and friends to help aid student driven projects at Middlebury College. The way it works is that a completely student organized initiative submits an application through the MiddSTART website.  A panel reviews the applications which are judged on their goals, creative and entrepreneurial merits, and level of organization and commitment shown by the student(s).  Once a project is accepted a unique page is created with its details, goals, and ways to follow the project.  The maximum budget that is allowed for projects is $2,000; however donors can also choose to support a MiddSTART scholarship which is $10,000.

It would be understandably difficult to incorporate microphilanthropy within an athletics annual giving program, especially if the emphasis is on unrestricted donations.  However, in speaking with others who work within athletics development we commonly are challenged with having our lower level donors understand how impactful their support really is.  So I will ask the question is there a way to emulate the success of a MiddSTART type program for athletics?

There is no one answer to this but it is an interesting topic to think about.  Again, integrating the concept of microphilanthropy into athletic giving may prove challenging but there are aspects of it we can utilize.  As we strive to find ways to highlight the value of all donor support, this giving model may provide an opportunity to improve the format of our communication and messaging in order to further enforce the impact of all levels of support.

Drew Ossakow

Fundraising by Describing What You Need

Typically, athletic fundraising programs have a difficult time disclosing exactly what donations will exactly go to funding.  Even when gifts are given to specific sports, donations are repeatedly described as going toward budgetary spending, where it is then used at the discretion of the athletic department and administrators.  Most often, such explanations are done out of necessisity, as it is not known where donor support will be most needed.

However, at Central Michigan University the men’s track and field program has decided to campaign by telling supporters exactly what they need and what it will cost.  Recently, the men’s track and field coach at CMU issued a release through their athletics website describing the needs of their track and field program.  Correspondingly, he then went on to list the individual costs associated with each of their needs, imploring supporters to give to specific areas of need.

Essentially, the strategy used by the CMU track and field program is aggressive and one of full disclosure.  In the future, perhaps this could be a strategy used by many schools when campaigning for specific needs.  Then again, it must be used with the understanding that money fundraised go to those specific needs and nothing else.

Michael Speight

NetwitsThinkTank.com – A great online resource for fundraising

Netwits is a good resource for the application of technology and development.

Over the past few years it seems like there are so many questions for an athletics development operation to face when it comes to technology and its ability to impact the bottom line. Whether it is personal URL campaigns, video appeals or greater segmentation amongst their donor base, development offices now have more options to utilize technology to interact with their bases.

However, with these options comes the need for research and discussion. One place where this takes place is at netwitsthinktank.com. This site, which is funded and operated by Blackbaud (the makers of Raiser’s Edge software), is a great resource to learn about new ideas in fundraising and how new technology can be applied to help a non-profit.

While the site is not geared towards athletics, there are certainly items that can be learned and applied to the athletics realm. Articles about the rise of online giving, how to add calls to action to online videos, and the three social media metrics you should use all have some great information that can be applied to athletics.

Taylor Wood

Advice on how to use social media in development

via www.theconversationprism.com

This past week I had the opportunity to attend the CASE-KY Convention in Louisville. During my time there, I heard some great advice during a session led by Jason Falls as he discussed Social Media and its application in University Advancement.

Falls started out his presentation by comparing many people’s thoughts of social media to that of a “magical unicorn” (as evident by this complicated graphic called The Conversation Prism). He admitted there is a lot of mystery surrounding social media because of its relative novelty, but recommended that it be viewed as a tool, not a mysterious cure-all.

With that in mind, he does mention that social media often operates a little differently than your regular media. This relies primarily on the fact that there must be a conversation occurring in social media, something that does not traditionally happen with a brochure or direct mail. People want that human interaction with their social media assets.

If a university or an athletics department interacts with their fans and supporters, they are creating conversations. This is something development officers do everyday through traditional means, such as the telephone, email and face-to-face contact. Social media should be utilized as another way to have a conversation. He commented that when a conversation is made, it becomes a market. That market is full of human beings who are interested in your cause.

Falls went on to say that what people want the most out of social media is relevant, easily-shared content, ability to comment on articles, and the ability to follow their interests on their channels. In doing this, the university can create a community of users who can share the news about the school’s accomplishments. Essentially, it creates a conversation that can then be leveraged to generate revenue.

When asked what would be the largest investment if a university were to start a social media campaign today, Falls quickly responded by saying that it is the people who will run the outlets. In his mind, there needs to be a person who is responsible for connecting the dots between the Universities activities and the conversations they are creating.

In the end, Falls stated that social media does not raise money, people raise money. Regular development avenues will continue to be effective, but adding a social media campaign has the potential to increase the conversation and drive more people in to your market.

Jason Falls can be found online at www.socialmediaexplorer.com. You can also follow him on twitter at @JasonFalls.

Taylor Wood

Thinking about Text Messaging? Make sure you have enough fans.

Image via Wikipedia

As technology continues to race forward in the effort to make us all more connected, it is worth noting that several foundations and non-profits have started reaping great rewards from text message giving. The coming out party for this new technology was the Haiti earthquake and the subsequent response from all of America with over $2 million raised from text message giving.

This makes text-message giving a great new way to solicit and engage current and potential donors on national scale. However, I would encourage that any athletics department debating on the merits of mobile giving programs give a good look at the pros and cons of text giving and apply those to their current situation. For most departments, text message giving is a very easy way to raise a quick $5 to $10 from an individual at a sporting event. Yet one must wonder, among other things, if the gift could have been larger from each of these donors.

For the most part, text message programs need a large audience to be successful. The following is a break-even analysis for two text-to-give companies that place their pricing online (Please note that the prices for this analysis are the stated costs on the website of the organizations mGive and Give By Cell. They do not reflect any discounts in pricing or the cost after arrangement of an official contract with either company. Prices are based on minimum agreement lengths).

mGive Foundation

• Prices – $500 for one time set up fee, then $399/month for 12 month minimum. mGive charges $.35 for every text, plus 3.5% of the total raised.
• To break even, one would need 569 texts of $10 or 1,182 texts of $5 over a year.

Give By Cell

• Prices – $500 for one time set up fee, then $49 per month for three months, then $299 per month for next six. Give By Cell charges $.48 for every text.
• To break even, one would need to get 213 texts of $10 or 448 text of $5 over the 9 month period of service.

From the above breakdown, one can see that a large amount of texts are needed to break even on the set-up of text message giving. However, there is an opportunity for increased revenue if a large, captive audience donates through the simple act of texting.

For more information on text-give-programs, visit the Mobile Giving Foundation to learn about the procedures and processes that surround this new and exciting form of technology.

Taylor Wood

11 Observations on Fundraising in an Uncertain Economy

The following rough outline was a presentation given at the NAADD Convention by Sheila Smith, Associate Vice President for Principal Gifts at The Ohio State University. It came during a presentation on The Future of Athletics Development. I found the presentation and points to be very applicable and something every development officer should know.

1.) Understand the Environment – This point spoke to the need for a development officer to see the life of the donor. This means watching the stock market for clues on the donor’s company performance and being able to talk intelligently about business matters. Also, she mentioned she tries to see donors on a day when their stock is going up!

2.) It is Competitive – There are more and more non-profits rising up all across America every day and they are all asking for gifts and contributions. This forces a development officer to be on top of their game, which only makes the school and the fundraiser better.

3.) Understand your Case for Support – This is was an excellent point for any type of fundraising organization. In two concise paragraphs, be able to define why people should donate to your cause. It will most certainly come into use when talking to new prospects and current donors.

4.) Engagement is the Key to Investment – A development officer should let people know that they care. Engagement should get people involved and not always worry about a gift right away.

5.) Be Open to New Collaborations – Seek new possibilities and resources across campus. This could mean a partnership with the communications department to produce a video or working with the IT office for online event registration.

6.) Be Inclusive - In today’s society, it is vitally important to include both parts of the couple in recognizing gifts and in building relationships. Women tend to be more generous than men, so never assume you should focus on one person, include both as equals. In fact, at Ohio State, they give awards to couples, not just one person.

7.) Results Really Matter – When a donor makes a gift, they need to see the impact of that gift, not be told to wait four to five years for project completion. When they can see a near immediate effect, they will feel their gift has gone to a worthy cause.

8.) Consistently Inventory your Development Assets – Use this practice to come up with innovations and imitations of best practices. Make lists of these assets and brainstorm on ways to use them.

9.) Rethink Endowments - Encourage donors to give cash now or to causes that are pressing. Endowments are important, but with the stock market hit, they can lose some value.

10.) There are Winners, Even in a Down Economy – While some or even most companies will be hurt by economic downturn, there will still be some that come out ahead. Find those companies and donors.

11.) Never Give up on a Prospect – There is always another move to engage the prospect or a different approach. Seek those out in tough times.

This is just one piece of our 2010 NACDA Convention Coverage. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be posting on more topics we learned about during our time in Anaheim.

Taylor Wood

Online Forum Explains New Plan

After recently introducing a new initiative in the Nittany Lion Club (the Nittany Lion Club Seat Transfer & Equity plan), Penn State Athletics found themselves in a situation that can be found at schools across the country: their donors had questions…lots of them. Of course, the administration at Penn State provided the answers to most questions on their website in a very detailed and complete manner. Anyone who could get online could find the reasons, strategies, and processes to work with the new plan.

Fortunately for their donors, Penn State staff sought out a creative way to answer questions that their donors had about the new program. Using technology that provides them with an online and live chat-room, the staff in the Nittany Lions Club (including their Associate Athletics Director) answered questions for 60 minutes on their website. Fans and donors could submit questions in advance or during the program that the staff would answer in real time with all the answers that their fans needed.

This type of online forum could be used for any number of functions for an athletics development department. Obviously, new initiatives come to mind, but special press conferences, event announcements, and interviews can be conducted using similar technology and the donors or fans of the school would benefit.

Rob Norris

Hofstra issues challenge for former-student athletes to give

Image via Wikipedia

Increased participation by former student athletes is a goal of every athletic department.  To reach this goal, universities will often go through long and creative processes to reengage former student athletes.  To this point, Hofstra Athletics and the Hofstra Pride Club Board of Directors recently launched its inaugural Former Athlete Participation Challenge.

This challenge at Hofstra has created a competitive contest among its former letterwinners where, “the sport program with the highest percentage of participation will receive $10,000 toward their program”.  Specifically, teams receive a certain amount of points based on the percentage of alumni giving multiplied by 1000.  Additionally, 2 bonus points can be achieved per online gift over $25 made between now and May 31^st.

Initiatives like the Former Athlete Participation Challenge are becoming commonplace in athletics development all across the country, as athletic departments are continually looking to reconnect with former student athletes.  More importantly, creative programs such as this one are perfect ways for universities to get the competitive juices of former student athletes flowing in a way that benefits current student athletes.

Michael Speight

This post was contributed by Michael Speight, a graduate student in the Ohio University MBA/MSA Program. Michael will begin to contribute on a regular basis, so look for more great stories in the future.

University of Alabama updates donors on progress of stadium renovation

The University of Alabama is using a new and interesting approach to keep their donors in the loop on their football stadium renovations. Bryant-Denny Stadium is undergoing a South Endzone expansion project set to be completed before the upcoming football season. In addition to launching an informative website, the University is also producing update videos via YouTube.

In these update videos, they have an athletics department personality talk about the expansion and update donors on the progress of the construction. This interactive approach is in many ways better than a picture gallery or a webcam because it puts the viewer in the stadium with a personal tour.

Videos are a great way to engage your donor clients and keep those who donated to the project in the loop on the construction of the facility. This keeps all fans of Alabama Athletics in the loop on this high profile, high interest project, generating buzz amongst the fan base.

Special thanks to Brian Gainor for sending along information about this project.

Find this post useful? Be sure to subscribe to The Scouting Report.