70. Recognizing Staff and Volunteers at Year-End [Year-End Fundraising 6 of 8]

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast - Episode 70: Recognizing Staff and Volunteers at Year-End

Release Date: November 13, 2024

---

Introduction

The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast, hailed as the #1 podcast for nonprofit leaders, serves as an essential resource for those seeking practical solutions to fundraising and development challenges. Hosted by seasoned experts Jim Dempsey and Jason Galicinski, who collectively boast experience with over 5,000 nonprofits and have successfully raised more than $2 billion globally, the show focuses on cultivating the right mindset and implementing effective development strategies to ensure nonprofits are FULLY FUNDED.

In Episode 70, titled "Recognizing Staff and Volunteers at Year-End"—the sixth installment of the Year-End Fundraising series—the hosts delve into the critical yet often overlooked aspect of appreciating the backbone of nonprofit organizations: their staff and volunteers.

---

Recognizing Staff and Volunteers at Year-End

The Importance of Appreciation

As the year draws to a close, marked by Thanksgiving and the holiday season, it's an opportune time to express gratitude toward staff and volunteers. Jim and Jason emphasize that while fundraising activities such as writing letters and securing matching gifts are vital, acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices of team members is equally crucial.

Jason Galicinski (04:12): "There is no better time of the year, during the time of Thanksgiving and appreciation than to appreciate our own staff."

Staff members often balance their commitment to the nonprofit with personal responsibilities, making their contributions invaluable. Recognizing their efforts not only boosts morale but also fosters a culture of appreciation and commitment within the organization.

Strategies for Effective Recognition

The hosts discuss various methods to honor and thank staff and volunteers:

1. Thank You Parties:

   • Jim Dempsey (03:00): "No brainer to do a Christmas party. Thank you party."
   • Organizing year-end or Christmas parties provides a festive environment to celebrate achievements. Incorporating activities like gift swaps or personalized gifts can enhance the experience.

2. Personalized Gifts:

   • Tailoring gifts to individual interests shows thoughtful recognition.
     • Examples include quilting supplies for enthusiasts, sports memorabilia for sports fans, or favorite books for avid readers.
   • For remote staff, sending gift packages containing items like snacks, nuts, and cookies can replicate the celebratory feel of an in-person party.

3. Thank You Notes and Letters:

   • Jim Dempsey (05:38): "There's no words that are adequate enough, but let me give it a try."
   • Personalized written appreciation reinforces the value of each individual's contribution. Simple gestures like handwritten notes can have a profound impact.

4. Stories and Testimonies:

   • Incorporating stories or video testimonials from team members can highlight the collective effort and individual impacts.
   • Jason Galicinski (07:55): "It's really cool to have a quick way of just appreciating everyone."

5. Group Acknowledgments:

   • Encouraging team members to express appreciation for one another fosters a supportive and collaborative environment.
   • Jim Dempsey (08:51): "Let's all say a word of encouragement."

---

Year-End Fundraising Timeline

As of November 13th, the podcast episode addresses the critical tasks remaining in the year-end fundraising cycle:

1. Sending Year-End Appeal Letters:

   • Appeals should be dispatched within the next seven days, ideally by the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
   • Including mentions of Giving Tuesday (December 3rd) can enhance fundraising efforts.

2. Preparing for Giving Tuesday:

   • Leveraging the momentum of Giving Tuesday can significantly boost donations. Previous episodes have covered strategies for maximizing this opportunity.

3. Last-Minute Push:

   • Even if time is limited, efforts such as email blasts and follow-up phone calls can still drive substantial contributions.
   • Jim Dempsey (11:22): "You still have a tremendous opportunity. There's never too late to start."

Advice for Latecomers

For nonprofit leaders who discover the podcast later in the season:

• Jim Dempsey (10:40): "You still have a tremendous opportunity. There's never too late to start."
• Implementing even partial strategies, like sending quick thank you emails or making calls, can yield significant returns. The final two weeks of the year can account for 15-25% of total income, underscoring the importance of late-year fundraising.

---

Fundraising Masterminds Programs and Future Episodes

Beyond immediate year-end strategies, Jim and Jason outline their comprehensive development system designed to help nonprofits achieve sustained growth and full funding:

1. Winning New People to Your Cause:

   • The Perfect Vision Dinner Mentorship Program
   • Focuses on attracting new partners and expanding the organization's reach.

2. Keeping Donors Engaged:

   • Strategies for donor cultivation to maintain and strengthen existing relationships throughout the year.

3. Lifting Donors to Higher Giving Levels:

   • Major Donor Mastery
   • Aimed at nurturing major donors and elevating their contributions to support the organization's mission fully.

Upcoming Episode Teaser

The following week’s episode will shift focus to "How to Thank Our Donors", coinciding with Thanksgiving week. This timely topic will explore outward expressions of gratitude towards donors, complementing the current episode's inward appreciation of staff and volunteers.

Jason Galicinski (12:21): "This week's episode is inward thanking. Next week's episode is outward thinking."

---

Conclusion

In Episode 70, Jim Dempsey and Jason Galicinski underscore the paramount importance of recognizing and appreciating the relentless efforts of staff and volunteers during the year-end period. By implementing thoughtful and personalized appreciation strategies, nonprofit leaders can enhance team morale, foster loyalty, and ultimately drive their organizations towards being fully funded.

Listeners are encouraged to subscribe to The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast on platforms like Spotify, Apple, and YouTube to stay updated with weekly episodes that equip nonprofit leaders with the tools and insights needed to achieve their fundraising goals.

Jason Galicinski (13:31): "Just look up Fundraising Masterminds and you'll find our podcast."

For more information on their development programs and to explore how to get fully funded, visit Fundraising Masterminds.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• Jim Dempsey (03:00): "No brainer to do a Christmas party. Thank you party."
• Jim Dempsey (05:38): "There's no words that are adequate enough, but let me give it a try."
• Jason Galicinski (07:55): "It's really cool to have a quick way of just appreciating everyone."
• Jim Dempsey (08:51): "Let's all say a word of encouragement."
• Jim Dempsey (10:40): "You still have a tremendous opportunity. There's never too late to start."
• Jason Galicinski (12:21): "This week's episode is inward thanking. Next week's episode is outward thinking."
• Jason Galicinski (13:31): "Just look up Fundraising Masterminds and you'll find our podcast."

---

By focusing on the dual aspects of internal appreciation and strategic fundraising, Episode 70 of The Fundraising Masterminds Podcast offers invaluable guidance for nonprofit leaders aiming to close the year strong and set the stage for sustained success in the future.

Transcript

[A]

You're listening to the number one podcast for nonprofit leaders getting your nonprofit fully funded. This is the Fundraising Masterminds podcast. Now, Jim, I'm a nonprofit leader that just found your podcast. Is it too late for me already? I mean, if you started back in September and I'm just hearing about this.

[B]

In the middle of November, is it.

[A]

Too late for me? Should I just forget it for this.

[B]

Year and plan on next year?

[A]

I'll plan on next year. Have I missed the boat?

[B]

Not at all. I really think it's important to get out ahead and to plan. But you know what? Don't miss this incredible opportunity. Opportunity.

[A]

Well, welcome back to another episode here at the Fundraising Masterminds Podcast. My name is Jason Ginsinski, and with me, my co host, Jim Dempsey.

[B]

Hey, Jason. Hey, everyone.

[A]

Yeah. How are you doing today? I'm doing great on this November 13th.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, golly, we are getting closer and closer to not only Thanksgiving, but to year end. And that's a big part of what we're going to be talking about today.

[A]

Yeah, we started a year end fundraising season series back at the end of September.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And we're not doing it like every week, you know, but we, we decided that we wanted to do eight parts on the year end fundraising, leading all the way up to the end of the year. This is going to be our sixth episode on year end fundraising. So the title of today's program is recognizing staff and volunteers at year end.

[B]

Yeah, this might seem like a little bit of a curveball episode because this is not find a cause concept. Write a letter, get a matching gift. All of a sudden we're kind of going towards appreciating our staff. But. But there is no better time of the year, during the time of Thanksgiving and appreciation than to appreciate our own staff. Our staff spend the year sacrificing greatly, spend a lot of time appreciating our donors. It's time for us as leaders to appreciate our staff.

[A]

Yeah. And I can tell you, as a leader, we tend to just get really focused and we just think everyone else is like us.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And. And the reality is, is that they're not like us. They didn't start this thing or they're. They're. It's not their life mission necessarily to give every hour of their day towards this. I mean, some, some people are giving sacrificially of their time, but they still have, you know, a family. They still have other things going on in their lives. So appreciating them for their sacrifice, for their service is so important. And as leaders, we need to be, you know, an example in that.

[B]

Yeah, so many make major sacrifices. You know, they know that there's going to be sacrifices to working for a nonprofit organization, a Christian nonprofit. They know they're going to get less money or no money at all. But even so, we can't take that for granted and say, well, they knew that they, when they signed up, they knew that things were going to be rough. Well, yeah, but you know what, let's still thank them and appreciate them. So that's what the key of this episode is going to be.

[A]

Well, good. I assume that you've got some ideas lined up for us on how to thank them. Why don't we run with the first one?

[B]

Yeah, well, first of all, the timing is a big issue. We need to make sure that we're looking. I mean, this is just logically a good time of the year. As I said earlier, Thanksgiving, Christmas, thanking people, it's a good time of the year for that. Christmas time, of course, is especially good. What a great time to be thanking the people. But creative ways to thank people. First of all, you know, no brainer to do a Christmas party. Thank you party. Yeah, I can't tell you some of the great role models that I've had and frankly some of the funnest times I've had have been at year end Christmas parties. Great time to either do a gift swap or have individual, maybe even personalized gifts for your staff and staff and volunteers. And you could even include your board members in these because frankly most of your board members are volunteers as well too. So a thank you party is a great way to do it. Individualized gifts, you could even give a little bit more to particular individuals. I can tell you within our organization we have a year end thank you party. We thank the people who are physically with us, but we also have a good chunk of our team who are remote. And what we do is we will send them a gift package that will have snacks, nuts, cheese, cookies, those kinds of things. That is equivalent to the cost of if we took them out to a party. But look for maybe even some senior level staff or some board members where you give them some very personalized gifts. Something if someone likes quilting, get them some quilts or someone particularly liked sports, get them sports related memorabilia. If people like to read books, a lot of board members and other leaders love to read books. Get them their favorite book out of a collection. All great things, minimum, they ought to be getting a thank you note and a thank you Letter from you. Sometimes we take it for granted that people just. They know that we like them. So why do we need to put it in writing? No, you know what, Actually we do need to put it in writing. And just to say there's no words that are adequate enough, but let me give it a try. And thanks, Jason, for all your hard work and all your efforts to keep this organization going for this year.

[A]

Well, thanks, Jim, for all your effort and keeping things moving as well. I don't know where we'd be without you either.

[B]

Oh, man. But those are. Yeah, even those kinds of things mean the world to people.

[A]

I can hear some people, you know, maybe of some smaller organizations thinking, you know, absolutely sure, I don't have the money to buy cheese and all this for all my people, so. But you're not. It's all relative to where you're at right now.

[B]

It is. But you know what, Jason? You are going to not have any better return on investment than investing in your staff. And so this is not an area where you be on the cheap. I'm not saying go out and buy someone a car. I'm saying just go out and get them a can of nuts or even, you know, half dozen roses that you could go to Publix or to Costco and get for six or seven dollars. I think that would make a world of difference. So I don't think you need to spend a lot of money to make a. Make a major difference. So it's really good.

[A]

And pairing that up with the thank you note.

[B]

Yeah. And stories. Making sure that people realize. One of the things that I'm trying. I'm getting ready to do a retreat fairly soon. And one of the things that I'm going to try is part of what our team does is serve other development staff within crew. So I've asked some of those development leaders to do videos. Just go on iPhone and just leave a 30 or 60 second message about the impact that the team has made in certain individuals on the team. There's a link that's called tribute that you can go out there, leave a short video. And we're during our retreat, we're going to intersperse.

[A]

Gives me an idea of why not have go around and ask the different staff members to, you know, write what they appreciate about others.

[B]

One other person. Exactly.

[A]

Or a video. I know we did that at one of my companies. Yeah, it was a long time ago, but.

[B]

Well, guess who you asked to do a video. Yeah, it was me. Yeah, you asked as. As a client, as someone who benefited? You asked me to, to do a short video and I love that.

[A]

Yeah. And it's, it's really cool when you can take your, your team members, you can collect all the videos kind of privately and then like have someone assemble them all together in a, in a short five minute video.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And it's just really cool to, to have a quick way of just appreciating everyone. Appreciating everyone.

[B]

That's right.

[A]

It's such a blessing. So definitely having a thank you party. Think about some gifts that you can do and personalize it with some notes and try to find ways to have stories and, and testimonies be a part of that.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The more person you can be, the better it is. I love your idea of, you know, maybe, you know, you can, you can go around and I've done this at retreats as well too. But you can do this Christmas parties where you, if you don't have a lot of staff, you can go around and you know, just go one by one. Let's all say a word of encouragement. Susan or Susie or Mark, all great, great ideas to do that.

[A]

So Jim, I just wanted to recap a little bit on where we are at the year end timeline. So we're in November, where November 13th is when this is going out. Basically your year end appeal letter should be sent out in the next seven days according to your timeline.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And then we are getting ready to launch up Giving Tuesday.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Which is coming December 3rd. So we've got, if you haven't listened to it already, I think the previous episode talked about Giving Tuesday.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So definitely go back and look at that. But do you have any just things that you want to mention regarding the timeline of where we're at here in the middle of November?

[B]

Yeah. Well, first of all, you know, we actually started in September and we kind of agonized, do we start this early? But the answer is yes. Getting an early jump on things. So we talked about the cause concept. Taking the month of October and coming up with a great cause concept, getting to your major donors, your critical few to ask for a matching gift and get that in the first couple weeks of November. Make sure that you've got your letter out at the latest by the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the week prior. Include Giving Tuesday on that. And of course then we're going to talk about following up and then of course that last minute push in the last week to 10 days before we go. So there's a whole process that needs to be implemented to get full Now.

[A]

Jim, I'm a nonprofit leader that just found your podcast. I'm playing devil with that kit a little bit. Is it too late for me already? I mean, if you started back in September and I'm just hearing about this in the middle of November, is it too late for me? Should I just. Maybe I should just forget it for.

[B]

This year and plan on next year.

[A]

I'll plan on next year. Have I missed the boat?

[B]

Not at all. No, you haven't. I really think it's important to get out ahead and to plan. But you know what? You don't miss this incredible opportunity. I can tell you, unless you have just stumbled on this podcast in the middle of December, you still have a tremendous opportunity. And even that last two weeks of the year, you know, we see anywhere between 15 and 25% sometimes of income come in in those last two weeks. So it's never too late to start. Unless it's December 31st at 11:59, then I'd probably say it's a little bit too late to start. But there's never. It's never too late. You got to jump on it, though.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

As quickly as possible. And you might not be able to do everything. You might not be able to do a letter which is going to hurt you, but if all you can do, it's December 18th and all you can do is do an E blast out to somebody and then do some follow up phone calls and that's what it takes.

[A]

Yeah. But if you're coming in, you know, if we're, if we're before December. Yeah. You know, before Thanksgiving, I would say, you know, you gotta get moving on it, but go ahead and go back and watch some of the episodes that we did in this series.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And get moving on it because, I mean, it's not too late for you. That's right. Get, get your cause concept, get your appeal letter written. And then we talked a lot about getting ready for Giving Tuesday, which is coming up in December 3rd of this year. And so all that stuff, you know, we're talking about and all that stuff you can do fairly quickly if you move quickly.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So I'd encourage you to check out our previous episodes next week. In the episode we're going to be diving into how to thank our donors.

[B]

Yeah. This week's episode is inward thanking. Next week's episode is outward thinking.

[A]

Well, the cool thing about the timing of this is next week's falls directly on Thanksgiving week.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

So it's going to be a very appropriate time. We're Going to be talking about, you know, how to thank our partners, how to appreciate them, and how to show the impact that they've been having. So definitely tune in. I know that a lot of us are going to be traveling to different family and stuff like that, but it's a great time to be listening to a podcast while you're traveling.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

So you can catch up on anything you missed. You can listen to the podcast on your way to family and use some of the extra free time that you have to write your appeal and get stuff moving.

[B]

Someone told me we were on Spotify and other platforms besides YouTube.

[A]

Yeah. And if you want to listen to us on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, this is a video podcast, so we are videotaping as well as audio. And I know that's kind of a newer thing, but we're trying to be on the cutting edge of the newest thing.

[B]

Well, I tell you, we've got a lot of Gen X and millennials, from what I understand that. Do watch listen to us on Spotify.

[A]

No, but like, just want to listen. Go to Spotify or Apple. We're on there. Just look up Fundraising Masterminds and you'll find our podcast. And as always, subscribe because we want you to always catch the latest. We release a new podcast episode every week, usually Wednesdays afternoon, and that is when you can be looking for new content. So if you are a development director, if you're a non profit leader, if you're a executive director or board member, you can benefit from the Fundraising Masterminds podcast. We are constantly putting out new content on how to implement development strategies, development systems, which is all related to getting you fully funded. Obviously the, the bigger overarching goal of why fundraising Masterminds exist is to help your nonprofit get fully funded. And people sometimes come to us and say, what do you mean by fully funded? That sounds kind of ambiguous. And what we mean is we want to help you accomplish your dream. Right.

[B]

Mission.

[A]

So why, why do you exist? Why, why are you here? Why, why did you start this non profit? Oh, I want to, you know, I want to help homeless people get off the street. Okay, well, do you just want to help like two people get off the street or you want to help the whole city? Or like what, what's your big vision? Right. So we don't want to just kind of give you a couple little things to help you stay where you're at. We want to, we want to help move the needle. Yeah.

[B]

We don't know specifically how much you need, but we want to make sure that you get enough raise to accomplish your mission. And so that's why we say fully funded, because we don't. You, you. You don't enjoy. You don't thrive under partial funding. You thrive under fully funded.

[A]

Yeah. And our development system, which is ultimately, you know, what we're teaching is we're teaching a development system, a development. The development model is built on three pillars. You know, win, winning new people to your cause, keeping them through cultivation, and lifting them to higher levels of giving. And so we are. And so we have three programs that directly relate to those three things. And those programs are as follows. The Perfect Vision Dinner mentorship program is our winning focus. And the focus on that is to win new people to your organization, to expose your organization to new partners, potential partners. And that's how we continue to grow your organization year after year. Once we've skimmed the cream off the top, as Jim likes to say. After the Vision Dinner, we like to teach you how to move into donor cultivation, which is, what do you do after the Perfect Vision Dinner, what do we do for the other nine months out of the year?

[B]

That's the keeping.

[A]

And that's the keeping. And then, of course, we have the lifting, which is focusing on major donors.

[B]

Taking people to the next level.

[A]

Taking people to the next level. And so we have a new program for that called Major Donor Mastery. And these three programs is part of our development system that is really designed to help you year over year to grow your organization to where it is fully funded.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

So this isn't a quick, easy, fast, get rich quick scheme. You know, we're not sitting here saying we're going to help you get fully funded in, you know, in five days from now, you know, if you just do these quick things.

[B]

Yeah, we're not about big easy, fast. If, if we were to be honest, we'd be hurting you. We're about building a firm foundation that's going to last a lifetime for you all.

[A]

So if you're interested in checking out any of our programs that I mentioned, head over to fundraising masterminds and you can look into those three programs and you can jump in. Kind of where you're at, you know, whatever you feel like you need is where you can jump in. But if you're just getting started, I would say the best place to get started, which is where most people are at, is they. They are either stuck or they need to get to another level. That's the Perfect Vision Dinner, and that's a great place to start. Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode at Fundraising Masterminds podcast. Make sure you subscribe and comment. Let us know what you think. And as always, I hope you have a great week.

[B]

Take care.