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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	68
Proposal	2004 fundraising plan
Presenter	Fundraising committee
Floor Manager	Marnie Glickman
Phase	Closed
Discussion	01/09/2004 - 01/22/2004
Voting	01/23/2004 - 01/30/2004
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	28 0.6666
Consens Quorum	36 A Majority of Yes and No Votes

Background

The fundraising committee passed the 2004 fundraising plan by consensus.

Proposal

The complete 2004 fundraising plan is posted at: http://www.gp.org/committees/fundraising/amended_fundraising_proposal.htm.

Here are the highlights of the key elements of the plan:

Total gross income = $783,850.

Total expenses = $503,300.

Total net income = $280,550.

Fundraising cost as a percentage of dollars raised = 64%.

Approximate number of current donors = 7,200. We do not know the exact number of donors that the party currently has because our database contains hundreds of duplicate entries.

Approximate number of new donors acquired = 10,000. When evaluating the fundraising plan it is important to look at the number of new donors acquired, not just the total net income. We must continue to acquire new donors for a variety of reasons even though it is a very expensive endeavor. First, our current donor base is constantly shrinking. People pass away. People move and don’t give us a forwarding address. People leave the Green Party. People cannot afford to give again. The only way to maintain and grow our donor list is to invest in direct mail. Second, many individuals only give through direct mail. They do not give through phone calls or the Internet or at events. Third, we must spend money on direct mail because it is one of the key ways that we can acquire new high donors and high donor prospects for our personal solicitation program. Fourth, it is a very effective way to build our sustainer program.

Value of new donors over time. Many fundraisers project the financial value of new donors to the organization over time. We have not done so this year, but overall, donors give multiple times over an indefinite number of years. Many of them, if we do our jobs well, will give increasing amounts of money over time. That’s why the total net income for 2004, although, is not truly reflective of the fundraising benefits of the direct mail program. The new donors acquired in the direct mail program are the major component of our intention to continue to increase the total net income in 2005, 2006, and beyond.

Number of FTE = 1. Our fundraising director begins work on 1/19/04. The cost of the fundraiser is split between personal solicitations and events because she will work in both areas.

Number of consultants = 1. We need a direct mail firm because the results of our direct mail fundraising have been in decline. Direct mail fundraising is a specialty area of fundraising. Direct mail firms have dozens of years of experience. We have been successful in the past because we’ve used the “obvious” lists like Mother Jones and the Progressive. We’ve used them so much that the returns are now significantly diminishing. We do not have the institutional knowledge to expand our direct mail program beyond the “obvious” lists. We need to hire experts. The committee has conducted a three month long national search to find the best direct mail firm for the party. We now have three finalists. We will not hire the firm until the party is on a more stable financial footing.

We will identify all state parties not participating in our shared fundraising program on all fundraising solicitations.

Resources

None

References

Marnie Glickman, fundraising committee co-chair, marnie@greens.org
Jake Schneider, fundraising committee co-chair, jakeschneider@myexcel.com

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