‘Making the call’ – should we be askingfor leadership gifts over the phone?
Gareth Pettit – Development Officer, Partners’ Circle
Rob Summers – Annual Fund Manager
Your Manchester Fund
LearningEnrichment
Bridging HardshipAwards
Research Impact
Global Outreach
OpportunityManchester
Scholarships
Priority Areas
Your Manchester Fund
Email
Direct Mail
Alumni Events
SMS
Telephone Campaigns
Online Giving
Your Manchester Fund
2012/2013 telephone fundraising campaign stats
23 weeksof calling
23 weeksof calling
11,000conversations
11,000conversations
1,500donors
1,500donors
£370,000 raised(over 5 years)
£370,000 raised(over 5 years)
14%participationrate
14%participationrate
20%pledgerate
20%pledgerate
£247averagegift
£247averagegift
The Partners’ Circle
Clearly linked to the annual fund
Tailored stewardship commences at £5k (naming opportunities etc.)
Building a pipeline
AIM
To increase the number of donors giving £1,000 or more on an annualbasis, in support of the priorities of ‘Your Manchester Fund’.
The Partners’ Circle
MEMBERSHIP
50%
THIS YEAR
55
10
87% = 50+
= 1/3
DIRECT
D e b i t
65
GLOBAL
MEMBERS
Membership stats
Why phone leadership donors?
Donors giving at this level already (in response to a lower ask)
Wider reach – face-to-face activity centres on Manchesterand London
Future proofing – management of a growing donor pool needsto be more process-led
Who did we call?
Non-donors from the main campaign who had relevantprospect rating categories
Previous donors giving £200+
Current Partners’ Circle members who are unlikely to have aface-to-face meeting (geographically) or that we have beenunable to contact
Used our best callers and held a short training session
Call Structure
INTRODUCTION
ENGAGEMENT
DISCUSSION
ASK
NEGOTIATION
CLOSE
Call Structure
INTRODUCTION
ENGAGEMENT
DISCUSSION
ASK
NEGOTIATION
CLOSE
Asking
“Your Manchester Fund enables us to combine the contributions of our alumni to make asignificant impact on priority projects and programmes across the University.
“The University depends on the support of alumni like you to provide the very bestopportunities and resources for current and future students. With your help, YourManchester Fund can make a real impact on students’ lives and help us find answers tosome of the world’s biggest issues. Your support would also make an importantcontribution to realising Manchester’s ambition to become a world leading institution.
“Something we are asking successful alumni like you to consider is giving back toManchester by joining our Partners’ Circle, which brings together donors who make anannual gift of £1,000 or more in support of Your Manchester Fund.
“A regular gift of £100 per month would mean we can invest so much more each year inscholarships, opportunities and facilities for students and researchers. Could you showyour support for the University and its students by joining the Partners’ Circle today andmaking a gift at that level?”
Issue resolution
Script too wordy – introducing Case for Support and Partners’ Circle at the same time
Ask level was too high in most cases:
Non donors - £84 per month too much for an introductory gift over the phone
Previous donors £200+ - want to give at same level again or make a lower increase
Used standard script with more simple ask
Callers given more freedom to use their judgement in determining ask level
Both made possible through selecting best callers
Results
New Partners’ Circle Members 2011/129
New Partners’ Circle Members 2012/1312
Conclusions
3 additional leadership gifts compared to previous campaign (33%increase)
Pledge rate, participation rate and fulfilment rates were all higherthan for standard calls
Average first gift amount was significantly higher than standard calls
Worth identifying the leadership prospects and using best callers tocontact them
Also good for prospect qualification - those that didn’t reachleadership level this time are strong prospects to do so in the future
Future plans
Focus on renewals and upgrades from £500+ in future
Best students to call other strong prospects (rated non-donors and£200+ donors) to raise higher than average gifts
Affinity calling to prevent attrition of Partners’ Circle membership
‘Making the call’ – should we be askingfor leadership gifts over the phone?
Gareth Pettit – Development Officer, Partners’ Circle
Rob Summers – Annual Fund Manager