Successful Donor and Prospect Camp Visits
Posted on April 21st, 2010 by Joe Ruotolo – 1 Commentby Natasha Dresner
One Summer seven years ago, a major Jewish philanthropist had a few visits with a Jewish Summer Camp in the Berkshires. Those visits wound up putting nonprofit Jewish Camping on the map and changed its landscape forever. How? Well, for starters, the philanthropist was none other than Harold Grinspoon. But even more importantly than that, the camp scheduled the visit and then showed and told him their story in a way that resonated with his personal and philanthropic interests.
Soon after those visits, Harold created the Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy, which at last count provides 74 Jewish nonprofit Summer camps and over 800 of their professional and lay leaders with free consulting services in Strategic Thinking and Planning, Board Development, Fundraising, and Technology, as well as Matching Challenge Grants, which to date have helped raise almost $60 million.
The point I want to impress upon you is that all of this started with a simple camp visit. I hear some camps say they’re too busy during the summer and can’t afford to do it. Well, I say you can’t afford NOT to. Not every camp has a Harold Grinspoon, but every camp has a major donor waiting to be invited, and you need to do it NOW!
Next to the fun, safe, and high quality summer camp experience you promised your campers and their families, engaging your major donors and prospects through special, individually tailored, and well-planned camp visits – whether for cultivation, solicitation, or stewardship – is the next most important thing lay and professional leadership must dedicate their time to. Now let’s focus on how.
The following five tips will help you have a successful visit. To learn more, join us on April 27th at 1 PM EDT for a webinar, Show and Tell: Successful Camp Visits for Donors and Prospects.
| 1. | Identify major donors and prospects to invite and schedule their visits NOW! | |
| 2. | Prepare: “Success always comes when preparation meets opportunity” - Henry Hartman (use GIJP Camp Tour Worksheet to prepare) |
| • | put together the right team of people for the visits and clarify everyone’s roles | |
| • | learn as much as possible about your donors/prospects to determine your goals and strategies for the visit. Is your goal for the visit cultivation, stewardship, or solicitation? What may his/her questions and objections be and how should you respond? | |
| • | create a personal invitation and follow up on it by phone – Who should invite? What type of camp event or gathering is s/he more likely to come to (e.g. Shabbat dinner, Sports Day, Arts Festival)? | |
| • | plan and script the visit because, as we all know, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” What are the stops (no more than five, please)? What will happen/be said at each stop? What are the facts/messages you need to know to be consistent? What materials do you need to have (for yourself and for the donor/prospect)? Make sure to get their story by asking the right questions, which, in turn, is the best way to engage them. And engagement invites investment. Develop a list of questions from basic to strategic. And please, after you ask each question, be quiet and LISTEN. |
| 3. | Show and Tell Your Story (use The 10 Immutable Laws of Storytelling) – “…Numbers numb, jargon jars, and nobody ever marched on Washington because of a pie chart. If you want to connect with your audience, tell them a story…” and show it to maximize the effect. Show them your “value” and “product” – happy, engaged, and learning kids. Involve campers, counselors, and others as appropriate. What is your personal story/motivation for being involved? Do others on your team know theirs? What stories do you have from your campers, alumni, parents, etc.? Do you believe the stories you’re telling? If not, don’t expect your donors/prospects to! (use Create Your Own Story Worksheet) | |
| 4. | Practice – meetings with major donors and prospects, whether during camp visits or at their office/home (or elsewhere), are a delicate dance, so practice your steps, but be ready to follow their lead. Do a test run to become a more supportive and confident team. Practice asking the right questions and work on your overall communication skills. How is your presentation? Consider: language, body language, listening skills, humor, eliminating conversation fillers like “um” and “you know.” And, finally, pay attention to what you wear. Please no suits at camp visits – wear a camp T-shirt! | |
| 5. | Follow-up – thank the donor/prospect at the end of the visit no matter what; agree on the next steps/point of contact; send a written thank you card within a few days after the visit; if you promised any additional materials, information, or answers, get it to them promptly; capture everything in your donor database. Evaluate your visit and continue cultivating or stewarding your donors/prospect. |
Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good - all of the above tips should help ensure a great visit and a desirable outcome; a less than perfect visit is better than no visit at all.
Remember, it all starts with a single visit!
