Best Practices - An Investment in Success

We specialize in deploying best practices for fundraising operations.  Working with your staff, Sleek consultants will identify areas that are in need of change and recommend adopting specific processes that are appropriate for your organization.  Our consultants have worked with small and large organizations across the country.  We will customize a best practice solution for you that is based upon your work flow, specific data and processes.

Best practices that we implement:

• Gift Processing
• Advancement Services
• Prospect Management Systems
• Stewardship, Scholarship and Endowment Processes
• Annual Giving Data Management and Procedures
• Events Management Systems for Your Database
• Data Administration
• Reports and System Operations

Call or email if you have questions on any of these practices. 

Or if you would like more information or examples so you can establish your own best practices email sabreleek@aol.com or call Sabre Leek 603-429-3853

Top Ten Highlights (May 2007)

1. Customize Acknowledgements - Create a table to manage your acknowledgement process.  This table is updated by your end users (not IT).  Use the table with Crystal to create customized acknowledgement letters.  Keep current events in your message.  Add important information that relates to specific groups of constituents.  Track all information, record what acknowledgements were received, and keep the letters fresh.
2. Treat a Software Implementation as an Opportunity - A software implementation is a unique time to put your house in order.  Best Practices can be implemented and all of your processes streamlined and reviewed.  Data can be standardized and cleaned before and during the conversion.  Take advantage of your software implementation - create a solid plan!
3. Be Creative with Solicitations - Use your data to maximize your solicitations.  Challenge your constituents by using a message that is geared towards them.  Create a plan that segments your database and allows strategic mailings.  Use variable marketing and printing!
4. Track Touches - Create a Strategic Communications Plan.  Track all of your communications and determine specific success rates.  Drill down into your data and find out why your solicitation worked - or didn't work.  Develop a model of which constituents respond - and - those that don't respond.  Determine what sequence of messaging works. 
5. STEWARDSHIP!!! - Track all of your information on stewardship on your database.  This is one of the areas with the most potential for growth in our industry and your database provides the tools for moving this area forward.  Track everything!  Make sure that scholarships are detailed including the thank you letters, recipients, donors, endowed market value, etc.  Pull your entire endowment reporting from your database.  Track donor naming details including plaque location, message, specifics about the naming opportunity, status information, etc.  Donor stewardship has been mentioned often as one of the key areas that non-profits fail.  Make your stewardship area shines!
6. Serve Food at Your Next Training Class - Training professionals have recognized that food brings attendance.  Add this to your budget.
7. Create an Advancement Services Strategic Plan - Develop an operations document that you use for managing your goals and objectives for this year and the following five years.  Base the plan on your Operations Assessment and Needs Analysis.  Incorporate your bosses key objectives and your peer's needs.  Use this tool to manage resources and create a system of accountability.
8. SLA - Create a Service Level Agreement between Advancement Services and IT.  Include all of the details of how the system and users will be supported.  Try not to leave any grey areas.  This document will serve to create better communications between you and IT.
9. Understand Your Public Image - Many organizations glaze over the details that impact their public image.  This information is critical to understanding your constituent's areas of concern and their opinions of your impact.  Donors stop giving when they feel that their money is not being used effectively.  Make sure that you have a plan for assessing your status in your community.
10. Generational Reporting - Create reports that analysze the success of your solicitation pieces based upon generation.  Don't assume that the experts understand your data when they provide generational advice.