HOW TO ARTICLES

EFFECTIVELY USING VOLUNTEERS TO DO YOUR
NONPROFIT SPECIAL EVENTS SUCCESSFULLY
By: Berwyn J. Kemp

All good fundraising is a very people intensive activity, and this is
nowhere more so than in doing special events and benefits. Without
enough people to do your special events effectively the people you do
have will be asked to do far too much. Which will cause frustration,
resentment, resignations and a host of other problems your
organization, I’m sure, would like to avoid.

Therefore, you need to know how to find the people you need, and how
to effectively put them to best use to help you do your special event
successfully. To raise the funds your nonprofit organization needs, to
increase your donor bases, and obtain valuable publicity for your
worthy cause. Here are some guidelines to help you:

1. Start by selecting a special event chairman, who is hopefully one
of those special people that have a certain talents for doing such
activities. Obviously, if your organization already has someone with
these particular qualities and talents, so much the better. If your
organization doesn’t have such a person already involved in your
organization in some way. Then you must find the talent that you need
for your special event chairman. As a rule, the locating of such an
individual should be the responsibility of your Nominating Committee.

2. You need to set up a Special Events Committee. This committee could
be made up of prospective future board members, staff members,
independent volunteers and such. The primary functions of this
committee is to decide what subcommittees are needed, make sure each
subcommittee has a chairman, define specific job descriptions for each
committee, develop timelines for the completion of tasks, and report
to board on special events’ progress

3. After your Special Event Committee is set up, you need to decide
what kind of subcommittees is needed for your special event. Of
course, the kinds of special event subcommittees you require will be
determined by the kind of special event you plan to hold. Yet, in any
case you will need some of the following kinds of subcommittees: A
Facility Committee, Program Committee, Printed Literature Committee,
Publicity Committee, Mailing Committee, Ticket Sales Committee,
Hosting Committee, Underwriters Committee, and a Clean Up Committee.

4. Be sure to provide your committee members with some kind of
training depending on the job they will be doing. This training
session should last about 2 to 3 hours, and at the start each
committee chairman should distribute to their committee members the
following materials: an event fact sheet, a case statement, a list of
key contact with phone number, a list of subcommittee meeting, and a
complete job description for their committee. Then each committee
chair should be allowed to go through the various aspect of their
committees’ job description. And, all committee members should have
answered any technical question they may have on their job
descriptions.

5. Hold regular committee management meetings, to effectively manage
your various special events committees. During these meetings you
should keep task action minutes, as to what needs to be done, when it
needs to be done, and who needs to do it. The purpose of these
meetings is to make sure that special event timelines and objectives
are being achieved on schedule. And if not what actions needs to be
taken to correct these situations and keep things running smoothly.

Now use article to help you effectively use your human resources to
make your special events and benefits produce the funds you seek, and
get positive publicity for the work of your organization. But if you
don’t take heed, and try to do your special events and benefits
without building and cultivating relationships with the people you
need to succeed, your organization will face a host of problems.

Problems that come from asking too few to do far too much, very often
far more than they can really do. Which will cause your special events
to not raise the funds you need, nor get all that good publicity for
the work of your organization, with very sad consequences for the
people your organization serves.

Berwyn J. Kemp is a fundraising consultant who helps nonprofit
organizations obtain funding. For full details on his funding
products, or to read more of his re-printable articles you can
visit:http://www.berwynkemp55.tripod.com

GOOD GRANT PROPOSAL COVER LETTERS WILL HELP YOUR
NONPROFIT GET MORE FUNDS IN LESS TIME
By: Berwyn J. Kemp

There is absolutely no need for your nonprofit organization to tailor
make each grant proposal for each foundation, corporation, or
significant individual funding source that you submit it to for
funding consideration. Doing this is a big waste of your valuable time
and energy, which can be put too much better uses. Now there may be a
few of those rare occasions where you might need to create a special
proposals, but such cases will be few and far in between.

It is far better to create a standard development proposal covering
your capital, project, and operating needs then target it to each
funding source with a well prepared cover letter.

This cover letter will set the theme for your grant proposal which
follows, and it should make a very strong convincing case as to why
you are submitting your proposal to them. And this letter should be
from your executive director or board chairman and signed by them.

Here are a few guidelines to help your nonprofit organization prepare
good cover letters for your grant proposal submissions:

* The first paragraph of your letter, is your introduction and should
make a very spirited and enthusiastic case as to why your are
contacting them in the first place. If this introduction is weak or
not very convincing, there is a very good chance that they won’t even
read the rest of your cover letter. Much less read your proposal and
give it the careful consideration that it may very well deserve. So be
sure to make your case clear and certain, in your first paragraph, as
to why you are even approaching them at all.

* In the second paragraph of your letter what you need to do is to
clearly describe in concise detail the project or program you are
seeking funding for. Including some of the many reasons why this
project or program is so important. Such as, the number of people this
project is helping, how this program has in fact helped these people,
as well as the overall impact this project is having on the area or
specific community that your organization serves, and etc.

* The third paragraph of your proposal submission cover letter should
clearly state the amount of money you are seeking from this funding
source, and be realistic in your statement. Under no circumstances
should you ever leave it up to any funding source to decide how much
funding they may want to provide your organization. It is your job to
be clear here, which suggests, that you have fully researched this
funding source so you know what their grant range amounts are, so that
you can ask for a sum within the range they provide.

* Finally, the last paragraph of your grant proposal submission cover
letter should be use to indicate to the funding source just how and
when you will be following up on your proposal submission. And, of
course you should follow up on each and every proposal that you
submit, rather than merely sending off your proposal then waiting and
hoping for the best. If you don’t have time to effectively follow up
on your proposal, you may need to reconsider submitting it in the
first place.

* File copies of each proposal submission cover letter that you
prepare and use, since this is extremely important for a number of
very good reasons. First, doing this will help to know what you need
to do next in following up on each source. Second, these files will
help you craft future approaches to these funding sources. And last,
as personnel in your organization leaves and new people come in to
replace them, your new personnel will know what was previously done
making their jobs much easier.

Now use these guidelines to help your organization prepare effective
grant proposal submission cover letters, to target your proposals to
each funding source that you send them to. Rather than trying to
prepare an individual proposal for each funding source that you
approach, simply let your cover letters do this for you.

Or, you can take the other approach of trying to prepare a different
proposal for each and every funding source you seek funds from. And in
the process you’ll waste a lot of time which could be put to much
better use doing something else to help those you serve obtain the
benefits your organization provides.

KICKING OFF YOUR CAPITAL CAMPAIGN RIGHT TO
HELP YOUR CAPITAL DRIVE SUCCEED
By: Berwyn J. Kemp

Your kick-off is the official public stage of your major capital
campaign, and where your donor prospects and supporters can come
together to hear your exciting and motivational message to kick-off
your campaign on a high note. But before you get to your capital
campaign kick off there are a number of other tasks that must be
accomplished before your actual kick off. Such as: Obtaining lead
gifts, obtaining advanced gifts, and then making your final decision
as to whether or not your organization is really ready to kick off
your capital drive at all.

First, the pre-public phase of securing lead gifts for your capital
campaign is your opportunity to invite your top major gift prospects
to make such gifts. These lead gifts can help insure the success of
your campaign by stimulating others to make such gifts also, so the
process obtaining these lead gifts are critical to the success for
your capital campaign

Second, your next level donations, or your advanced gifts, will or
most certainly should come from your board of directors, executive
director, staff members, and your volunteer solicitors. The true
value of all these different levels of gifts, even if it’s only a very
small percentage of your overall goal, is that they add the legitimacy
factor to your campaign, and create momentum for your campaign.

Third, a month or two before you publicly announce your capital
campaign, your Coordinating Committee needs to make a final decision
on a key issues, which is: Are your campaign objectives realistic? The
rule for making this decision is that you should have at least 25% of
your campaign goals either pledged or in hand at this point. These
funds should come primarily from your board and your top major gift
prospects, if you don’t have this amount in hand or pledged you may
have a serious problem.

Fourth, if you decide to reduce your goals don’t make any kind of
public announcement of this fact just go with the new goal your
Coordinating Committee recommends and your board approves. If asked
just tell your supporters your goal was revised based upon what the
board decided was more realistic based upon the giving potential of
your supporters, and leave it at that.

It is always far better to reduce your campaign goals or even, if
needed, to cancel your campaign altogether than it is to deal with the
public embarrassment of failing.

Fifth, in the event that you decide you shouldn’t hold this capital
campaign at this time, for whatever the reason. There are several
things you should do. First, write a letter to all those who made
pledges informing them that at the present time your capital campaign
has been deemed unrealistic. This letter should end by thanking them
for their pledge, and that you hope they will still make a gift to
your general support fund instead.

Finally, if you decide to move forward with your campaign your are now
ready for your official major capital campaign kick off, and you
should make your kick-off a media event, by sending media release to
all of the relevant print and electronic media sources in your area.

Moreover, because of the public relations value of a major capital
campaign you should try to obtain some kind of media attention for
each month of your capital drive, by keeping them informed of your
progress, major gifts received and etc.

Surely, the kicking off of your major capital campaign the right way
will help to insure your campaign’s success. And while the official
kick off of your capital drive is the public announcement of your
capital campaign, there are a number of tasks that you need to get
done, leading up to your official kick off.

And all of these tasks should be considered as a part of your capital
campaign kick off process. Even though these tasks will take place
behind the scenes, and before your official public announcement. Now
go on to successfully do your major capital campaign to raise those
mega funds for the important work that your nonprofit organization
does.

STRUCTURING YOUR NONPROFIT BOARD FOR THE
SUCCESS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION
By: Berwyn J. Kemp

In today’s nonprofit world your board of directors or trustees are a
key component to the short and long term financial success of your
organization. Your nonprofit board should play a key role in not only
contributing financially to your organization, but in getting others
to provide support for your nonprofit as well. Thus, you must give
very careful consideration to both the selection of your board
chairman, and your board members as well. Here are some steps to take
to help your structure your nonprofit board of the success of your
organization:

1. Develop the right mental attitude by coming to the clear
understanding that your board of director’s role in the success of
your organization is pivotal. If your board of directors are not
supporting your organization financially, how can you really expect
anyone else to support your organization. In this case charity does
indeed begin at home, and others don’t mind helping providing you’re
doing something to help yourself.

2. Select a good board chairman with the skills and qualities your
organization needs. Your board chairman is, or should be, the head of
your organization, and all other board members and your executive
director should be under your board chairman, and reports to them on
all important issues. During the term of your board chairman they must
have a full and total commitment to the financial and program success
of your organization.

3. Prepare a list of prospective suitable board member candidates for
your organization that represents a good cross section of your
community or marketing areas business, professional, civic, and
religious community. You should seek to develop a 15 to 20 person
board of corporate officers, small business people, bankers, political
leaders, doctors, dentists, lawyers, and etc.

4. Nominate your new board members, which is done by your Nomination
Committee, of course, this committee should be chaired by your board
chairman and two or three other board members. To structure a board of
15 to 20, will most certainly take some time and effort yet the work
will be well worth the efforts once such a board is set up operating.

5. At your first new board meeting your board chairman’s first
responsibilities is to motivate and educate other board members on the
need for their full commitment to raising funds. A resolution should
also be passed that each and every board member should agree to,
saying in effect that they all agree to and are committed to the
fundraising efforts of your organization.

6. Set up a training seminar for your board members, that provides
some kind of training for them in the processes of fundraising. This
seminar could be held on a week day evening or weekend day afternoon,
and should cover the three basic areas of soliciting gifts. Namely,
the approach, presentation, and the ask. A Good understanding of these
three fundraising areas will help your board member more successfully
fulfill their roles.

7. Hold a monthly meeting of your Nomination Committee or at some
other regular interval to study and review the names of prospective
new board members. Elections for new board members are usually held
once a year, at which time the various board slots open are put
forward for voting. Many nonprofits wait a month or two before their
annual board meeting before trying the fill open board member slots.
By which time it’s much to late to find the suitable candidates
needed, don’t make this mistake.

Now let these seven steps help your nonprofit organization to set up a
board of directors for the financial success of your organization. A
board, that is, who takes the lead in making contributions to your
organization, and who takes the lead in getting others to contribution
to your organization also. So that your organizations important work
can continue to help all those people you serve for the good of a much
better world.

MAKING YOUR NONPROFIT SPECIAL EVENTS RUN SMOOTHLY
FROM SHOWTIME TO LAST CURTAIN
By: Berwyn J. Kemp

You are at that all important moment in regards to your special event;
that is, it’s almost time to actually do your special event. Up to
this point a great deal of work, planning, and preparation have
already gone into the doing of your special event, by a whole lot of
people. At this point there is a great deal riding on the success of
your special event, so what ever you do don’t blow it all now.

And, with some very careful final pre-event preparations your special
event will run smooth from its first to final curtain. To help make
sure that your special event does run smooth, from this point on, here
are some steps you can take to help and assist you:

1. Do a dress rehearsal several days before your event, because you
must practice your event’s presentation before doing it, no ifs, ands
or buts about it. The key to doing good event presentations is
superior preparation; such preparation rarely tastes defeat. If all
your presenters are local, you should have a full dress rehearsal, if
possible. And, all presentations made at your special event should be
scripted or outlined and rehearsed against the clock.

2. Decide before your event how cash will be handled. Nearly all
special events have some kind of ticket sales at the door, funds being
raised during the event, and for numerous other reasons, some cash is
collected at the event itself. So you’ll need a system for handling
cash at your event, even if the amount of cash you’re working with and
handling are small amounts. If the amount of cash you will be dealing
with is a rather large amount, you should consider hiring a bonded
courier to take funds to your bank.

3. Start your event by making all of your guest feel welcome. All
special events have some kind of check in registration process at or
near the event’s main entrance. Where guests receive their programs,
name badges, seating assignments, questionnaires, pens, and directions
on where they’re located or need to go. If this area is in the hallway
or some other kind of unglamorous area, be sure that you take special
care to be sure that this area is decorated in a very attractive way.

4. Seat all of your guests if your event is a sit down affair where
food will be served. Thus you’ll need a seating chart, with each table
numbered, with the names listed of who will be where. There are a
number of simple easy to use computer programs on the market to make
doing your seating arrangements a snap. But be sure that your
organization leadership and staff are spread evenly throughout the
room, and be sure that special honorees and donors are taken very good
care of.

5. Start your event presentation thanking your major donors and
underwriters from the podium, being sure to get their names right.
What’s more, your presentation could center around a few words of
thanks and welcome from your CEO or a special honoree. Or it could
also center around an award winner and their and remarks. Yet, again
it could center on some kind of multimedia production or other themes.
Your own creativity are the only limits you have, in this regard.

6. Do all of your after event activities like sending out your thank
you letters, and publishing your recognition ad copy in local papers
and etc. Moreover, you should also hold some kind of after event
dinner or reception to recognize your donors, volunteers, and others
who have helped to make your special event a success. This dinner or
reception need not be anything expensive or elaborate. Just very
tasteful, well thought out and sincere.

Truly, successful special events do require time, effort, and people.
But, in the long run your time and effort will be repaid from the many
benefits that you gain from your successful special events and
benefits. Such as, obtaining funding for your organization, increasing
your active donor data bases. And, of course, all of the valuable
publicity you can get for the wonderful work you do to improve the
lives of others in some way, shape or form.