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            Few organizations have truly harnessed the power of simple, yet powerful methods for acknowledging donors and event sponsors.  Be aware, however, that by “acknowledgement,” I am not referring to just the “thank you” note for a contribution.  I am referring to donor engagement to lead a donor from the simple beginnings of allowing a car wash to take place on his or her property to large cash gifts to support the annual budget.  It is not overly time-consuming or difficult to do.  An example from my past is the best way to describe how simple it can be.

            When I began working with a social service organization that provided medical and psychological services to sexually abused children, I discovered an annual donor who had been contributing $5,000 each December for several years.  I surmised that her financial advisor encouraged her to make charitable contributions at the end of the year for tax benefits and our organization had somehow made it onto her annual list.  As far as I could tell, each year, she received the usual acknowledgement form letter signed by the Executive Director and containing the standard charitable contribution disclosure statement.  Beyond that, it appeared that no one had ever made contact with her.

            After sending the standard letter for her annual gift that December, I contacted her by telephone in January and asked if she had ever been to our facility.  She had not so I offered her a personal tour to meet our staff and learn what her generosity was supporting each year.  In February, she toured the center after which I sent a hand-written note thanking her for taking the time to visit.  In July, I removed her name from the newsletter bulk mail list and, instead, mailed the quarterly newsletter first-class with a note expressing our continued appreciation of her support.

            December arrived, as did the donor’s annual check...for $8,000!  Taking a grand total of less than three hours (including the tour) out of the year resulted in a 60% increase in her annual gift.  Rather than the usual form letter, I wrote a special acknowledgement letter for the Executive Director’s signature specifically mentioning how her increased gift could change children’s lives.

            The next July, I again deleted her name from the bulk mail list and sent her newsletter by first-class mail.  This time, I recruited one of the center’s shuttle bus drivers to write a brief note explaining her close relationship with the children that she transported from school to after-school therapy sessions to help overcome their abuse.  The driver explained how she witnessed the children’s health, self-esteem, and relationships improve over time and thanked the donor for the personal role she played in the positive change in these young victims.

            Again, December came, but this time with a check for $10,000.  I (and the bus driver) had now invested only about four to five hours over two years to double an annual donation that had been at a consistent, lower amount for years.  Only four to five hours to engage a donor who now felt truly, personally responsible for the center’s success and the lives that it changed.

            While the game of lacrosse may seem a long way from the horror of child sexual abuse, it is important not to focus on the game, but how you are changing lives.  Your lacrosse organization is not about a game.  It is about promoting health and physical fitness in a chronically obese society.  It is about building confidence, self-esteem, cooperation, and discipline in children.  It is about providing opportunities for at-risk youth.

            Find the success stories within your club to help your donors understand their impact on your community.  Has teamwork in lacrosse built the self-esteem and confidence of a child?  Has the threat of no pass/no play encouraged a student to seek help in improving performance in class?  Has a young player with a reputation for trouble found a new outlet through lacrosse for his or her restless energy?

            Make these success stories the focus of your fundraising efforts.  Those responsible for fundraising within your organization should take the time to relay these successes through simple methods such as:

• Asking players to write thank you notes to donors not just during the regular season, but during the off-season to stay on the donors’ minds.
• Telephoning donors prior to games to tell them that you hope to see them there.
• Assigning a parent to seek out donors at games, introduce them to others, and even walk them down to the sideline to offer words of encouragement to the team.
• Calling donors who missed a game the next day to let them know how the team performed.
• Mailing donors a one-page report pre- or post-season...or both!

            It is important that all of your board members understand your organization’s impact on the community, identify positive results, and bring those successes to the attention of your supporters.  Engaging donors in this manner will help your club grow a more stable, consistent, community-based program for years to come.

            While working with parent-run, lacrosse booster club boards of directors, I have noticed one specific difference between them and my other clients—longevity.  Board members at hospitals, social service agencies, symphonies, museums, and places of worship have long-standing volunteer careers serving for a decade or more on a single board.  They advance from worker bee to positions of leadership strengthening or expanding their missions and programs for generations to come.  In the example of a typical high school booster club volunteer, however, service is most likely only for the four years of his or her child’s high school career.  If parents have more than one child involved in the sport, they might be retained slightly longer.

            While many clubs are fortunate to find a great coach to develop a successful team on the field, they seem to develop at a snail’s pace administratively.  Developing community relationships (especially for things such as fundraising and media coverage) is a slow, calculated process that is not served well by constant turnover in leadership positions.

            A high school coach would never leave the future of the team to fate alone.  The forward thinking coach is well aware of the talent being developed in junior high and youth programs that feed into the high school program.  Recognizing raw talent, placing a player in the position that best serves the team, and building trust through consistency will help grow a championship team.  This rings true for the board of directors as well.

            In this column, two vital board positions are addressed—President and Fundraising Chair.  An organization has the ability through its by-laws to set several rules of the game that can lead to administrative strength.  Through the naming of board and committee positions and term lengths, the stage can be set to build stronger, more consistent relationships in the community in order to fulfill the mission.

            A board of directors that includes a President and Vice-President could restructure the board for the mentoring relationship of President and President-Elect.  Using the high school example, a previous youth club board member exhibiting great interest and dedication during freshman year might serve well as President-Elect during sophomore year and easily take over as President for junior and senior years.  During the mentoring year(s), the President-Elect will have the opportunity to be introduced to and begin working with school administrators and community leaders as well as gain the respect of other board members and volunteers.  Insisting that the President-Elect has full access to shadow the President in all duties and authority to act in his or her stead helps maintain organizational memory and consistency over the years.

            I believe the same concept is even more important in fundraising endeavors.  Donors sometimes have the same “timing” as volunteers—as their kids graduate and move on, so does their financial support requiring rebuilding of the donor base from scratch every few seasons.  Building a community-minded platform of donors interested in supporting the team versus their children’s current interest requires a long-term strategic plan.  That plan needs to be developed, managed, nurtured, redeveloped, and strengthened by a solid team that has garnered recognition and trust in the community.

            Fundraising is not for the faint-hearted.  The fundraising corps must be chosen carefully and recruited from volunteers that recognize that fundraising is more of a volunteer “career” choice than in any other area.  While fundraising is a requirement of every member of the board, success might be found in a strong leadership team of at least three—a Fundraising Chair with two lieutenants of various lengths of tenure.  Again, the purpose is two-fold: 1) for mentoring and training as to the history, needs, and growth of the organization; and 2) to introduce future Chairs to donors for the purpose of consistency and building trust.  When the time comes for the Fundraising Chair to retire, there will be a greater level of comfort and confidence for both the new Chair and the donor when the next solicitation phone call or meeting takes place between previously introduced colleagues.

            While a club relies on the countless worker bee hours of dedicated volunteers for the concessions stand, tournaments, the end-of-season banquet, and more, board members must also remember that they carry responsibility for the growth and maintenance of the living entity that is the non-profit corporation.  Leaders must recognize the seriousness of management of the organization and stewardship of donor’s money and community trust.

            I appreciate the dedication of everyone serving lacrosse clubs at all levels and recognize the amount of time individuals spend growing this amazing sport.  However, I invite all board members to reexamine their current roles on the board.  Making the commitment to a non-profit volunteer career rather than a few years of “helping out” can be challenging and rewarding.  Dedicate yourself not to the team that your child plays for today, but to the team that is a vital part of your school and community.