Maybe it’s because I’m approaching a big birthday, but I’ve been taking stock lately, and one of the things I realized was that I’ve been in fundraising now for over 15 years. Yikes! During the 15 years, I’ve spent 5 years ‘client-side’ and 10 years on the dark side sometimes known as the ‘agency.’ I’ve been in and around lots of incredibly successful client-agency relationships, and a few that were a bit trickier.
I honestly believe that the relationship between a non-profit and its consultants or agencies has a huge impact on results. So these are the ingredients that in my experience, make the happiest working relationship, and have the best chance of raising the most $ too:
Trust. Nothing works in life without it. I think that clients get the most out of their consultants when they truly believe the consultants have their best interests at heart, and aren’t just trying to make a profit. In turn, an agency that feels they don’t have the trust of their client will be constantly scrambling to make their client happy, rather than giving the realistic and sound advice that isn’t always popular.
We all know by now that the economic meltdown of the past 2 years has had a serious effect on charity fundraising around the world.
If your program is suffering, at least you can take some lukewarm comfort in the fact that you are in good company:
- In the US, giving dropped by $6.4 billion in 2008, with the # of new donors down almost 7% in the fourth quarter
- In Australia, 60% of charities polled in July of this year reported falling revenues in the previous 6 months, and 2/3 of respondents predicted further losses for the rest of 2009 and 2010
- In the UK, individual giving was down 11% in a late-2008 report
- And here in Canada revenue appears to be down about 10% on 2008
Last week, the Vancouver Foundation released a study of the effect of the economic downturn on B.C. charities. 54% have seen a decrease in revenue, on average a 19% decrease.
Boards and senior managers are stuck with very hard decisions about how to balance the books, and fundraising programs are taking a hit in many organizations.
One easy target of budget-cutting is prospecting programs, or donor acquisition campaigns. But we caution our clients and fundraising managers not to slash too deeply. Cuts in prospecting may make a more attractive balance sheet in the short term, but in 2 or 3 years time the absence of new donors will have a dramatic effect on your bottom line.
HMA turns 20!
HMA celebrates its 20th anniversary
As of this year, HMA has been in business for 20 years! When HMA began, it was just Harvey running the show himself. He eventually realized that as much as he loved having conversations with himself, he needed a few people around to help him grow the business.
An office was found, coffee machine purchased, and more and more clients came on board. Soon Harvey was employing a team of the best fundraising professionals in the business and working with many of Canada’s leading non-profits!
To mark the 20th Anniversary, the Toronto and Vancouver staff met in Vancouver for a week of strategic planning with HMA’s business consultant, Elizabeth Crook from Orchard Advisors. These strategic planning sessions reminded everyone how lucky we are to work together in helping great causes across Canada and internationally. Because we wanted to do some more good and hang out together- the HMA gang headed to the UBC Farm for an afternoon of hard work! The light rain and arduous labour ☺ did not deter our staff and everyone loved being out in nature and lending a hand to a beautiful part of the UBC community and our city!
Strategic planning and some dirty work were wonderful... but the highlight of the week was definitely the look on the Harvey’s face as he entered the HMA Surprise 20th Anniversary Party!
