By now, CFC charities know the numbers and total dollar amount of the gifts pledged to them during the CFC Fall campaign.
So, if you’re in the CFC, have you asked yourself if you’re satisfied with the results of your last CFC campaign? If yes, great, if no, let me share a few tips that may help you achieve better results in this year’s campaign.
CFC Fundraising Tip:
Think Donors Not Dollars!
Relationships are key; you have supporters for whom the CFC is the most donor friendly way for them to give. Growth comes a lot easier when you think of your supporters as people, not ATMs.
Because so many Federal CFC donors choose to remain anonymous, this is somewhat challenging but you’ll find it changes your mindset when you set goals along the lines of, “What do we need to do to get 100 additional CFC donors” (or 1000, whatever’s appropriate for your non-profit) instead of how do we raise more dollars?
CFC Fundraising Tip:
Make it easy for Federal donors to support you.
In the process of making it easy for Federal donors to support you, one question that you could ask is, “How many Federal employees visit your website? While this might be an interesting question, it’s one that’s impossible to answer. So don’t worry about it !!
A much better question is this: When a Federal employee comes to our website do they see that we are in the CFC, and what our CFC code is?
If that answer is not yes, you’re leaving money on the table.
CFC Fundraising Tip:
Use the Million Dollar Free Bonus for CFC Charities
When you think of these billion dollar brands, Coca-Cola, Nike, General Electric, Apple, etc. what comes to mind? It’s their logo, because they all have an instantly recognizable logo, and for some companies it’s regardless of language. If you’ve ever watched one of the Japanese Little League World Series on television, it’s instantly apparent which sign is advertising Coca-Cola. The red and white logo is unmistakable even when the language is Japanese.
Among the more than 3.5 million Federal employees and members of the military, the CFC logo has that same type of recognition. They all know what it means, and it’s available free for any CFC charity to use as part of their communication and marketing effort.
The use of the logo is restricted to non-profits that are in the CFC, and for a logo with a 50-year history that’s instantly recognized by millions of people, including potential donors, I’ll put that as a million dollar tool available to all CFC charities.
The link for the CFC logo, which is available in both color and black and white versions, is: CFC Logo
CFC Fundraising Tip:
Educate Your CFC Charity Team
Ninety percent of the questions you will get from potential CFC donors can be answered by having your entire organization (paid staff, volunteer staff, board members, etc.) knowing the answers to these two simple questions:
Are you in the CFC?
What’s your CFC code number?
For questions other than those, who is the person in your non-profit designated to handle more complex CFC questions, and does everyone on the staff know who that is?
This is an abbreviated version of the CFC communications audit I perform with my nonprofit clients:
• Are the CFC logo and your ID # on your homepage?
• Does your e-mail signature include your CFC ID number?
• If someone calls the front desk, will that person know about the CFC (that you’re in it, and
what your code # is, and if it’s more involved, who the contact person is).
• In addition to having the CFC logo and your ID# number on the home page, it is valuable
to have more information about workplace giving and how your gifts are used at pages
other than the home page, but having the logo and ID on the home page is key.
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During his 25-year career in the Federal sector, Bill Huddleston, The CFC Coach, served in many CFC roles. If you want to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign, maximize your nonprofit’s CFC revenues, or just ask a few questions, contact … Bill Huddleston
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Hank Lewis with Development Consultant Associates has over thirty years as a fundraising consultant and is a specialist in Board and Leadership Development, Capital Campaign, Bequest Program and Major Gifts.