Ask Benevon

Ask Benevon!

New to Benevon? Know a little? Know a lot about the Benevon Model? All questions are welcome and we will do our best to answer as many as possible. To submit a question, send an e-mail to ask-benevon@benevon.com.

As a reminder, you can find a lot of basic information about Benevon and the Benevon Sustainable Funding Model for nonprofits at www.benevon.com.

Making Your Point of Entry in a Box Sizzling

Q: We are worried that our Point of Entry in a Box will not be as strong as our in-office Point of Entry. Our facility has a great emotional appeal. What should we do to have a sizzling Point of Entry in a Box?

Michael in Arizona

A: There may be no substitute for seeing your work live, but here are some suggestions on having a sizzling Point of Entry in a Box.

Use photographs (no video) and audio to demonstrate what guests would see if they came to your in-office Point of Entry.

Audio recordings of your live testimonials are great; you can even use one to show what people would hear when they walk in your front door (children laughing, a counselor facilitating a support group, etc.).

Props are fantastic as well—a child's shoes or teddy bear or a bag of groceries that illustrate the stories you tell at your Point of Entry about the difference your organization makes in people's lives. This will have a profound impact.

In the Follow-Up Call, be sure to invite these Point of Entry in a Box guests to attend your in-office Point of Entry, where they will be able to see your work first-hand and ask more questions. In that case, the in-office Point of Entry Event will be your first cultivation contact with your recent guest.

Starting the Benevon Model During a Capital Campaign

Q: Can you explain how we would get started using the Benevon Model, even if we are in the middle of a capital campaign? We have raised $3 million of our $5 million goal and we are nervous about reaching a plateau in our campaign efforts. This campaign has distracted our small development staff from raising much-needed unrestricted operating support.

John in New Mexico

A: You are actually in a fine place to start with the model, the sooner the better! Many groups are worried about reaching a "plateau" mid-campaign. The easy or obvious donors have given, and now what? The Benevon Model is a great feeder system to find new donors for your capital campaign, and to cultivate those capital donors you already have into long-term supporters of your organization

People use the Benevon Model to quickly fill the pipeline with new donors for operational funding. Many of these same donors will give to both capital and operations.

The early donors to your capital campaign understand that the building they are helping to fund is just one more tool for achieving your mission, and that you still need operational support to keep the lights on. These are the perfect donors to invite to Points of Entry, if they haven't yet attended, both as a way to thank them for their support and to show them your work firsthand. After they experience your powerful, one-hour Point of Entry Event, they may want to serve as Ambassadors, inviting their friends to learn about the organization.

Pledge card levels?

Q: I am wondering if there is any psychology behind starting with smaller pledge levels and working your way up from there on the pledge card at a one-hour Ask Event? I am getting a lot of questions from my co-workers about that order and I am wondering if I can go back to them with some data on it?

Mackenzie in Minnesota

A: Thanks for your question, Mackenzie. We have tested it both ways and have found it's best to start with the $1,000 for five years and then move up to the higher levels. $1,000 is a large enough amount to get people's attention, but not so high that it turns people off.

Naming Your Point of Entry Event

Q: I am on the board of a senior organization that is beginning to use your system. Do you have a list of names that organizations are using when they hold Point of Entry Events for the community? If not, are there resources that I can access? Thank you in advance for your help.

Mel in Washington

A: We recommend taking the time to choose a clever, inviting name for your Point of Entry. The term "Point of Entry" is for your internal use only. It is much too clinical to use with the general public.

One Benevon workshop participant team from an organ-donor program named their Point of Entry Events "Lifesaver Events." One Red Cross chapter named theirs "The Red Cross Experience." One organization that serves abused children calls their Point of Entry "If These Walls Could Talk." A Girl Scout council calls theirs "Beyond the Cookie Box." Other groups call their Points of Entry names such as "Meet Family Services," "Getting to Know Your Humane Society," "Village Theater 101," or "Touching Lives Tour." Find something unique and clever that reflects your mission and relates to your three buckets.

For more information about planning and naming your Point of Entry Events, check out Terry's newest book, The Benevon Model for Sustainable Funding: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting it Right.

Accommodating Board Requests for Private Point of Entry Events

Q: We host our Point of Entry Events every two weeks at our office. Lately, the board has been requesting to do private tours for their friends and colleagues, but it’s been difficult for us to accommodate additional tours. How can we meet the demand without burning out our staff?

Betty in Washington

A: Have all the board members attended your Point of Entry Event? Make sure they attend one soon so they begin to trust you to include their guests in your regularly scheduled, public, twice-monthly Points of Entry.

If you have been offering Points of Entry twice a month for a year with good success, you can begin having one Point of Entry in a Box per month.

Offer to do a private Point of Entry at a place and time that is convenient for any groups that your board members may be a part of or at your own location so long as the host is willing to bring ten to fifteen people.

Getting Multiple-Year Donors to Recommit

Q: Several of our donors are finishing up their first multi-year giving commitment. What is the best way to get them to renew for another multi-year commitment?

Gina in Ohio

A: The best way to ensure your Multiple-Year Giving Society Donors sign on for another five-year pledge is to have thoroughly cultivated them during their first five-year commitment. We recommend inviting donors to two Free Feel-Good Cultivation Events and making two personal cultivation contacts annually. Along the way, you will be learning more about the donor and what motivates them to support your mission. You will work to engage them further in the areas of your work that they are most interested in. Many of them will become Ambassadors and bring their friends and colleagues in to learn about your work.

We find that if the above is done well, several of those multiple-year giving society donors will naturally elect to extend or increase their pledges during the first five years. If you are doing a capital or major gifts campaign, donors will be invited to Points of Re-Entry to learn more about your needs in those areas and may choose to support you in that way. By the end of five years, if the donors haven’t already increased their pledges, you should sit down and talk with them one on one about a new five-year pledge, possibly even increasing to a higher level. Once you’ve done the cultivation, asking should be nothing more than nudging the inevitable.

Adding Multiple-Year Giving Society Donors Without the Ask Event

Q: How can we add Multiple-Year Giving Society Donors offline from our Ask Event?

Sarah in Nevada

A: Set a goal of adding a certain number of Multiple-Year Giving Society donors before your next Ask Event. Think about existing donors who may give one year at a time, donors that have supported a past campaign you have done for capital or a special project, and those who would be honored to have their gift included in a Leadership or Challenge Gift that you will announce at your next Ask Event. Take the time to reconnect with each of these donors, inviting them to Point of Entry Events or meeting with them one on one to update them on your work, your challenges, and your needs. Ask questions about their current situation and interests.

When you finally are ready to ask them to be part of a larger Leadership gift, be sure to emphasize the need for a multiple-year commitment to inspire others to make a multi-year pledge as well.

Best Way to Follow Up

Q: When making follow-up telephone calls, what have you found as the best method besides leaving a message to actually reach someone live to speak with? I’m thinking that a follow-up email after the initial phone message, asking when a good time and best number to reach them at for their convenience may be best. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Mary in Washington, DC

A: There are key things you can do to ensure a successful Five-Step Follow-Up Call.

It begins with the invitation: each person being invited to the Point of Entry Event should be told by the person who invited them that they will receive one follow-up call after the event.

At your Point of Entry Event, have the board member or volunteer doing the welcome mention the follow-up call in their opening remarks, identifying the person who will be making the call by name and highlighting the purpose of the call being to answer any questions the guests may have, as well as getting their feedback. Be sure the person making the Five-Step Follow-Up Call has a speaking role in the program. Lastly, have the board member or volunteer who does the wrap-up reiterate the follow-up call again when they close the program.

Finally, if you get voicemail when you make the first call, leave a message that implies you want to speak with them. Don’t just say thank you for coming to the event. If you don’t hear from them within a week or so, make the second call and indicate in your message that you will send a follow-up email. Make sure the calls are spread several days apart. The email should be sent after the second message is left, and that would be a great way to try and schedule a time with someone who is just busy or hard to get ahold of, or get a conversation going via email, hopefully leading to a call to get their feedback.

Motivating Ambassadors

Q: We are having a hard time keeping Ambassadors motivated to invite people. We only have three active Ambassadors.

Melanie in Texas

A: An Ambassador is someone who has attended a Point of Entry Event, believes in your work, and accepts a short-term volunteer assignment to bring ten guests to a Point of Entry Event in the next two to three months.

The key to making your Ambassador program successful starts with the person who makes the Follow-Up Calls after the Point of Entry. Make sure this person has a speaking role there, enjoys talking with people on the phone and is good at building relationships. Their goal should be to identify one new Ambassador from the follow-up calls to the ten to fifteen guests who attend each Point of Entry Event.

Once a guest says they would like to become an Ambassador, by inviting individuals or an existing group to a Point of Entry, they should begin working with a volunteer Ambassador Manager. The Ambassador Manager helps them think through who to invite and then schedule and plan a private Point of Entry or how they will have ten or more guests come to the organization’s regularly scheduled Points of Entry. They often make a Treasure Map with the Ambassador, starting with the people closest to them. They write down each Ambassador’s potential guest list to help remind the Ambassador as they begin to invite people. The Ambassador Manager must determine in each contact when they will have their next contact with each Ambassador, ideally every week until they have had all their guests attend Points of Entry. And ideally, at least one of their guests will want to become an Ambassador after they learn more about your organization.

Expressing Your Needs

Q: How descriptive do we get about the "needs" of our organization and our community at our Point of Entry Events and Ask Event?

Elijah in Massachusetts

A: First, paint a picture of the gap so that you create a sense of urgency. Talk about groups of people or areas that are underserved, the number of people turned away, and the ripple effect of that in the community.

Have one example of a need for each of your three "bucket" areas. Don’t ask for money; just tell them what their money will allow you to accomplish. Usually this will mean adding staff, offering more staff training, or scholarship funds for those who can’t afford to pay. Be sure to give specific human examples: "Adding one volunteer coordinator will mean we can add 40 more volunteers who, in turn, can tutor 80 more children." Without describing these needs very clearly, donors may think that your organization is "handled" and will go somewhere else to offer their support.