Fundraising Tips: A Snapshot of Rural Donors - Press - AFP

From the Association of Fundraising Professionals

Fundraising Tips: A Snapshot of Rural Donors - Press - AFP

(April 6, 2010) Although people from rural communities are less likely to donate to charity, those that do give donate a higher percentage of their income than urban donors, according to a recent study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

The research, funded by a grant from AFP, found that all else held constant, rural respondents were almost 5.2 percentage points less likely to be a charitable donor, and donated less, on average, than urban donors, after controlling for human and social capital variables, such as education level, income level, health status, religious affiliation, family composition, and others.

Rural respondents were significantly less likely to be donors to secular charities, and gave less on average to secular causes overall.

However, rural donors donated a statistically significantly higher percentage of their income to charity than did urban donors. Also, rural donors are more likely to donate to religious causes than secular causes. Frequent religious attendance is associated with a higher probability of giving for rural residents, as is itemization of deductions on income tax returns.

Researchers found that rural donors give $122 less, on average, after controls. However, for both urban and rural residents, the amount contributed is closely related to some of the same factors that are associated with the probability of giving: being a college graduate, being married, frequency of religious attendance, level of wealth, level of income and itemizing charitable deductions.

Note: The researchers defined "rural" as those living in small towns with a population of less than 20,000. In this study, approximately 18 percent to 21 percent of respondents lived in rural areas.

College Educated Give More

The researchers offered several suggestions for fundraising in rural areas. Because college education is a factor associated with giving, engage college educated people in your work, researchers recommend. Rural residents who have gone to college give more than those who had not had that opportunity, even after taking income differences into account. Especially for secular causes, it is important to cultivate the interest of people with a college education, and people likely to be itemizing deductions (people who have recently purchased a home, for example).

Segment potential donors by income in order to structure appeal amounts matched to different areas. Values expressed most frequently by rural donors include:

• Those with more should help those with less (equity of responsibility);
• Giving is a form of reciprocity for benefits received;
• Giving is a way to express religious beliefs; and
• Nonprofit organizations are perceived to be more effective in delivering services than government agencies.

Even with attention to fundraising in rural areas, the total amount of charitable giving from rural areas will naturally be smaller than the total gifts from urban areas, because fewer people live in rural areas.

Urban Communities

Urban residents donate almost 85.4 percent of total charitable giving, according to the study. Average and median giving amounts, whether for overall giving, religious or secular causes, from urban donors were always higher than the averages from rural donors.

Suggestions for fundraising in urban communities based on the findings of this study include:

• Ask couples to give to charity, not simply the men in the household. Men report lower giving and lower probability of giving to secular causes, compared with women. Married people report giving more than unmarried people of either gender.

• Segment on income but expect lower rates of return in lower income areas. Structure appeal amounts matched to different income levels. Income is associated with the probability of giving (higher income means higher probability of making a charitable gift) and with higher gift amounts.

• Structure requests to highlight connections to the prospective donor's friends and family, in addition to the appealing to broader concerns for equity and reciprocity. Urban donors were more likely than rural donors to say they gave to support the efforts of their friends and family.

To visit the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University's website, go to www.philanthropy.iupui.edu.

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Connect with GoalBusters: LinkedIn - Alice Ferris / LinkedIn - Jim Anderson / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Myspace

LinkedIn - Why it Matters and Tips for Success

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LinkedIn is a crucial resource in the branding of your online identity. It is the one online tool that business professionals, community leaders and decision makers use even if they are avoiding other "Social Media."

Who is using LinkedIn? They are mature, well educated, and high income earners.

LinkedIn Statistics from Quantcast.com (11/22/2009)

Visitation/Usage -
Rank: 45th most visited website in the U.S.
Unique Monthly Visitors: 15.2 Million US, 30.2 Million Global visitors
2% of visitors are "Addicts" making up 40% of all visits.
39% of visitors are "Regulars" making up 45% of all visits.
59% of visitors are "Passers-by" making up 15% of all visits.

Demographics -
Age: 79% Are 35 or older
Education: 80% Are college educated. They are twice as likely to have Graduate Degrees than other internet users.
Income: 69% Make $60,000+ / 38% Make $100,000+

Creating a Profile
When creating or updating a LinkedIn profile remember that in many ways it is similar to an online resume. Much like a resume, your goals vary dependent upon your current employment status. Are you looking for a job? Interested in changing jobs? Or simply maintaining your personal "brand integrity."

Here are some tips that may help.

Photo: Select a professional "head shot." This is not the place to show how cute your kids or kittens are. Choose a sharply focused, closely cropped head shot. Crop well below your chin and leave a small space above your head. Fill the frame, don't crowd it. Be sure you're dressed professionally, looking directly into the camera and smiling. This is essentially Part 1 of your "virtual handshake." It's your eye contact.

Updates: These updates serve as a pulse of what you "do." Like Twitter they are short updates on status and activity. Unlike Twitter avoid posting random stream of consciousness. Remember 59% of LinkedIn users are "Passers-by" and likely only get their "Network Updates" once a week.

1. Relevance - Seek opportunities to provide relevant information about your professional career and experience. Include information about events, trainings, workshops, volunteer work, non profit support, etc.
2. Content - Provide links to relevant websites, photos, videos, etc. This gives viewers of your profile a way to actually interact with you even if you aren't aware of it.
3. Tone - The updates should lean towards professional decorum but shouldn't be sterile. Occasional humor is encouraged.
4. Filter - These updates should offer insight to your personality but recognize there is a line you shouldn't cross. Provide information you would share with coworkers, not what you share with close friends.
5. Value - Avoid posting mundane drivel. There is no quicker way to turn off a prospective employer or business associate than to make it clear your posts aren't worth reading.

Summary: - This section will look different dependent upon your current employment situation, goals and personality. For the most part remember you're not really telling a story, you're presenting a product... "you." It's good to talk about experience, core strengths, values, aspirations and goals. Avoid redundancy of directly repeating information presented elsewhere in your profile unless it is a core message point. Keep in mind, this is your elevator speech, be brief. "Jimism #372 - Your elevator speech shouldn't take more than 3 floors."

Specialties: These can be simple skills bullet points or very short descriptive sentences. It's important that you are fully representing your skills, but avoid overkill. Choose the most important things to share in this section. It is called "Specialties" not "Everything."

Experience: When listing work experience don't simply provide a list of tasks you completed. Think in terms of why the completing the tasks was important. What was the end result? It's about spinning tasks to describe impact and importance. If you answered phones, did you "coordinate and facilitate customer service and satisfaction?" Don't "go nuts" you want to be descriptive but direct. You don't want to make every sentence appear to be "long winded" and self-aggrandizing.

Education: Pretty straightforward. Where did you go? When was that? (you might opt to skip years if you fear you'll be discriminated against based on age. Is it possible you'll be viewed as too old or too young?) What did you study? What activities and organizations did you participate in.

Additional Information: This is a valuable section in sharing information about organizations or causes that are important to you. It also allows you to share important accomplishments. Think of this as the part of the interview when you are asked, "So, tell me a little about yourself." What should you share? Rule of thumb, Keep it relevant and interesting. Quirky is okay here. It demonstrates your personality.

Social Media Cross Promotion: Should you link your personal sites to your professional LinkedIn Profile? I would say yes, but only if you are willing to invite "acquaintences" to your other social media worlds. Remember, when it comes to Social Media not everyone is really a "friend" in the classic sense of the word. How open are your networks? Do you ever post anything you wouldn't want a supervisor to see? If you want to maintain some privacy, you may want to skip linking your personal and professional profiles.

I hope these tips help. I encourage feedback and/or questions.

Connect with GoalBusters: LinkedIn - Alice Ferris / LinkedIn - Jim Anderson / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Myspace

For more Social Media tips, see Social Media FAQs Part 1 which discussed the mechanics and logic of initial Social Media profile set up.

Some Bears Like It Hot

How do you know how much to ask for?

You can do what most people do. You can ask for a “safe” amount that you are sure will get you a “yes.” If it’s low enough, how can they possibly say no?

You: “Would you be willing to support us with a $1,000 gift?”
Them: “Sure. Who do I make the check out to?”

YEAH! You’re done! You little rockstar, you! WHEW! No rejection! What a relief!

But didn’t that feel too easy? Are you wondering if maybe they would have given more if only you’d asked for more? Is it possible they were capable, willing and interested in investing more?

The truth is, you may have just lost more than you gained.

When you “set your anchor” too low you risk making two major mistakes.

You fail to establish the real value of your organization in the eyes of the prospect. “Oh they’re not the type of organization that you give $10,000 to.”
You minimize their commitment for the life of the relationship. “But I always give $1,000.”

But how do you know what amount is reasonable to ask for?

Think about Goldilocks. Too Hot, Too Cold and Just Right.

Too Cold” is the lowest level of gift you’d be happy with and still feel successful.
“Just Right” is better than the minimum and the amount you really hope to receive.
“Too Hot” is more than you expected. It’s the level you’re truly dreaming for.

Think about the gifts your organization has received in the past. Do some research about the prospective donor. What have they contributed to before? What size of gift did they give? Why were they motivated to do so? This helps you to find a precedent and understand the potential of donor. Sometimes these and other questions are asked in the exploratory stage of your relationship.

When you are prepared to make the ask, make like a boy scout and “be prepared.” Have benefits, recognitions and naming rights tables available for all your levels.

And remember, "Some bears like it hot." - Jimism #135

(More Jimisms at http://bit.ly/GBJim10 )

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Connect with GoalBusters: LinkedIn - Alice Ferris / LinkedIn - Jim Anderson / Facebook / Twitter / YouTube / Myspace