In my rush to make it home for my daily dose of The
Simpsons in syndication, my thoughts were
a bit cryptic and ragged.   What’s the feel good
terminology? ‘Friend raising.’  Raising friends to
raise money, support etc..., right?     I *TOTALLY*
agree with the relationship building, I wasn’t able to
get
that far last night because, as I said sheepishly, I
was in a bit of a rush.   You cannot except
someone to plop down thousands of dollars, rave about
the great work you do, and bequest their collection to
you the first time they
walk through the doors.  As a marketing manager, I
sleep, live, breath the relationship
philosophy. I get them in the doors, and then try to
convince them of our value so that they
become members, then working with the director and
development manager, we continue to
procure that relationship and sell the value in
annual, endowment and capital campaigns. Um, I
still contend, however, that if you shut down the
number of ways people can give, you will
reduce the amount of money you raise - or maybe I
should say ways of creating relationship links
with you constituency.

I addition (and not contention) to what has already
been said, I would just like to add a couple more
cents on the distinction between membership vs. annual
appeal.  Consider membership to be a “user fee”.  We
become members of an organization, like PBS or
NPR, because we are users of the programs.  Look at
the annual fund as a patrons nod saying, ‘I
believe in what your doing so much, I want to support
your programs and operations even
further.’

Even though I had to be corrected by Ralph, I am glad
I made it home in time, it was a really great Simpsons
last night!  So have I stripped myself of all
credibility? It happens.
Amy
--- Ralph Pascale <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Daisy,
> In a word, no. The goal of fundraising is
> relationship building. Ultimately
> this will provide all types of support for your
> institution, including of
> course, money. Back to Tim's question, the
> fundamental difference between a
> membership campaign and an annual drive is that in a
> membership program the
> "contribution" is tied to benefits and an annual
> campaign is not benefits
> based. In an annual campaign you look to upgrade a
> donor based on their
> interest in the cause and their capacity for giving.
> So you can see that a
> membership campaign develops a base of
> constituents/users but an annual
> campaign has higher potential for large gifts. Both
> have their benefits and
> many organizations do both. This of course requires
> a substantial maintenance
> effort, and this can be a burden.
>
> Membership can also be a requirement according to
> the charter in many
> museums. There is also a taxability difference. The
> value of the benefits
> provided in a membership may not be deductible,
> while an annual gift is.
>
> But to the extent that the organization can support
> the effort, you are
> right, the more avenues the better.
> Good Luck,
> Ralph
>
>
>
>
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