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"Annual Giving: Near and Long-Term Views on Building a Program"

October 21, 2008 - Program Summary

There was an enthusiastic and substantial crowd at CityYear's headquarters in Boston on October 21st to hear three speakers discuss Annual Giving: Near and Long-Term Views on Building A Program.

Liz Cahn, Director of Development, The Brooks School; Kate Gutierrez, Director of Annual Programs, Museum of Fine Arts and Anne Cowie, Director of Stewardship & Special Initiatives, Museum of Fine Arts

Liz Cahn, Director of Development at The Brooks School spoke about the growth of their Annual Fund over the past number of years. For Brooks, working to create and grow a Parents Committee was the key. Engaging parents, working closely with them to explain exactly what the Committee's mission and goals were, and then fully preparing each parent for their role were the keys to success. Training sessions, keeping the "job" clear and simple while having defined timeframes worked well. Other initiatives included having a parent issue a challenge grant, creating a "loyals" program and having young alums reach out to other young alums worked well.

Kate Guitierrez, Director of Annual Programs at the MFA spoke about the MFA's membership programs which are the base of the Annual Fund.  Recognizing that a "membership" is predominantly a transaction, one of the keys is the benefits. Kate spoke of using a combination of Direct Mail, telemarketing and invitations to events. Kate shared that Acquisitions are very expensive, it is better to keep or reacquire a recently lapsed donor.

Audience at the Annual Fund Brown Bag

Kate also stressed the importance of knowing your donors as much as possible, and maintaining "cleanliness," and accuracy in the database. Analysis of reports in order to strategize is important, as is working with outside vendors to assist with targeting different segments of the database. Working with volunteers to assist with outreach and follow up, when feasible is also beneficial.