Hearten Philanthropic Management
At Hearten Philanthropic Management we are dedicated to helping charities, businesses and individual donors make the most of their philanthropic efforts. We can help you wherever you are in Canada and have a network of experts ready to assist you in making your dreams come true.
About Gerry Backs
Gerry has over 30 years experience in the non-profit sector, helping organizations, donors and businesses with philanthropic engagement, capital campaigns, major gifts and legacy giving. Gerry has been directly involved in raising over $225 million. The largest capital campaign he worked was for $75 million for the University of Regina/Canada Games (that campaign ended up raising over $100 million).
Gerry received his Masters Degree in Philanthropy and Development in 2002 from Saint Mary's University, Minnesota and has delivered many workshops and seminars at the international, national and local level.
What we do
Capital Campaigns
Capital campaign can be your charity’s greatest fundraising effort, but it does not have to be painful. We can help make sure you are prepared and have a clear solid plan to meet your goals.
Feasibility Studies
A key element in any capital campaign is a solid Feasibility Study. It not only gauges public support and prepares your organization, but is also an essential way to enlist key supporters to your team. We can guide you through the process of making your Feasibility Study work for you.
Annual Campaigns
Every charity needs a solid Annual Campaign to keep services growing and the bills paid. We can help create or fine tune your annual fundraising and set you up for success.
Team Training
Do you have a good team that you want to be great? We can access your training needs and can build your capacity to deliver both services and donors.
Board Coaching
Most board members have little training in the essentials of leading a charity. They may be leaders of government or business, but leading a charity is quite different. We can get your board (and senior volunteers) to new peaks of leadership. We can also help them enjoy their duties as the key leaders of your charity.
Organizational Audits
Are you not sure what you need or what you are missing? We can help with full organizational or individual program audits to make your current activities more effective and your future clear.
Defining Your Community Focus
Do you want to make the best impact for your dollar? We can help your leadership define the path that is best for you, your employees and your community.
Sponsorship Program Development
Clearly defined goals, processes and resources are important for every part of your business. We can help you build a strong sponsorship program that is good for you and the community you support.
Program Audits
Do you already have a community support program and not sure how to make it work better? We can help you define what your public thinks, what your staff needs, and what your leadership has to do to make your impact the best it can be.
What are the most effective ways to give?
Donating to charities should bring you joy. Should you set up a Family Foundation? Should you set up a Donor Directed Fund at a community foundation? Should you give gifts that are used right away or are Endowed Funds best for your aims? Want to develop your family’s philanthropic culture in a way that lasts for generations? We can help you make the most of your donations, today and in the future.
How do you choose the most effective charities?
Do you ever wonder how effective the charities you support are? What is acceptable for administration and fundraising costs? Are the charities you support reporting what they do and spend accurately? We can help you find the answers you need.
Subscribe
Sign up to receive email updates
Thoughts and Articles
Sponsorships
The perspective from both sides
Sponsors are a great way for a charity to offset the costs associated with organizing an event, a program, or building a facility. In fact, for many events, sponsorships are the difference between an event resulting in a loss or bringing in revenue.
For a company, sponsoring an event, program, or capital project can connect them with target markets, improve community relations, and help build staff morale.
For many charities a sponsorship will be in support of a fundraising event, so today I will focus on event sponsorship.
The usual tactic charities take is to create multiple funding levels with various benefits attached to each level. This usually does not take into consideration the needs of individual businesses. Years ago, when working with sponsorship expert Brent Barootes, I learned to be effective you must customize each sponsorship agreement to each individual company.
How do you do that? First, look at all the opportunities your event offers from a business’s standpoint. Sponsorship opportunities can come in many forms, including:
• Exhibition space
• Event tickets
• Reception opportunities
• Speaking opportunities
• Direct communication with participants
• Brand promotion
• Banner placement
• Giveaways
• Contests
Having compiled all of these opportunities you then need to place a dollar value on each that corresponds to its marketing value to a company.
With that list made, you need to spend time learning what is important to the company. One company might want to entertain clients, so tickets to a VIP part of an event are most important to them. To others, those same tickets are a problem getting rid of. Maybe well-placed banners during the event or a speaking opportunity is what they want most. Each business will have different desires and outcomes in mind.
Think of it as supermarket with all the opportunities stacked on the shelves. The top-level sponsors get to go first and pick from the shelves what they want most. The next level sponsor goes next, and so on.
A good sponsorship agreement specifically offers targeted opportunities to the sponsor. Now, instead of shoe-horning a company into a category the charity made up, their partnership fit becomes apparent to both of you.
Now you have your sponsor and the benefits that they want. Next you must draw up a concise sponsorship proposal. You both need to have a thorough understanding of what it is being offered and the benefits you both receive in return.
Remember a sponsorship agreement is a formal offer to do business. Be sure to make a clear contract outlining the benefits, responsibilities, and timelines that you are both happy with, and have it signed by both parties.
Throughout the event continue to build your relationships with your sponsors and they will come back, year after year.
I hope that this article has inspired you to craft your own sponsorship approach. If you want to test drive your ideas, or have any other questions, please feel free to contact me at .
![Often you only have a few moments with someone who you think may help your cause. Having a good elevator speech is a way to immediately engage donors and can be used by staff and volunteers alike to enlist others in your cause.
First you need to remember it is not really a speech, just a good solid connection with another person, delivered in a timely fashion. Here are my Six C’s for a good elevator speech:
Concise
Clear
Comfortable
Captivating
Connected
Call to Action
Concise – Be brief but meaningful, 30 – 60 seconds is all the time you have. In 2015 Microsoft did a study that found the average person’s attention span is 8 seconds, so you have just a few seconds to really engage them. Otherwise, you are wasting their time and yours. (The study also found the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds, so that puts us in perspective.)
Clear – Have clarity in defining what your organization does, without statistics or technical explanations. You move quickly to keep them engaged. Details can come later when they are engaged and asking specifically for these.
Comfortable – Practice will make you comfortable. You are not making a hard sales pitch here. Make it personal and be kind, open, and sincere.
Captivating – Grab their attention. Your short-and-sweet message is so compelling that they will be engaged to hear more.
Connected – By being clear, comfortable, and captivating you will create a connection with some part of their life. How does what you are doing coincide with their values. Connected people will become more curious of what you are doing.
Call to Action – The strength of your call to action is vital. How can they make a difference? Often the best way is asking an engaging question.
That seems like a lot to fit in under a minute. So how do you make a good elevator speech that satisfies each of the six C’s? Below is a simple template for you to follow:
We do [the solution] for [target] so that [end goal].
Create a sheet with three columns: the solution, the target, and the end goal. Brainstorm as many possibilities for each and then use the best to form your elevator speech. Some basic guidelines are:
You are shooting for 30 to 60 seconds, without sounding rushed. (Remember simplicity is harder to create than complexity.)
Detail your goal simply and what you are doing to achieve it. (Shun any statistics or technical explanations, there is a time for these later).
Identify what makes your approach unique. (Avoid being self-centered).
Show them how they can help. (How they are a part of the solution).
Ask an engaging, open-ended question. (And be ready with answers).
Have your business card in your pocket ready. (Or your contact information).
Practice, practice, practice. When you are relaxed you come across clearly. (Refrain from being repetitive, awkward, or pushy).
A good elevator speech is an invitation to further conversation, not a sales push. Follow these simple rules and you too will have an effective elevator speech for everyone in your organization to use.
I hope that this article has inspired you to craft your own elevator speech. If you want to test drive yours, or have any other questions, please feel free to contact me at gerry@hearten.ca.](https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/286822129_111070824963260_2408648789254037139_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_p720x720&_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=5qiVGGEwq-QAX8Jogza&_nc_ht=scontent-atl3-1.xx&edm=AKIiGfEEAAAA&oh=00_AfCngm5lglivc-dottVBSqLLdEFVSMFk6wAWfyteUeqSnQ&oe=64873903)
Often you only have a few moments with someone who you think may help your cause. Having a good elevator speech is a way to immediately engage donors and can be used by staff and volunteers alike to enlist others in your cause.
First you need to remember it is not really a speech, just a good solid connection with another person, delivered in a timely fashion. Here are my Six C’s for a good elevator speech:
Concise
Clear
Comfortable
Captivating
Connected
Call to Action
Concise – Be brief but meaningful, 30 – 60 seconds is all the time you have. In 2015 Microsoft did a study that found the average person’s attention span is 8 seconds, so you have just a few seconds to really engage them. Otherwise, you are wasting their time and yours. (The study also found the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds, so that puts us in perspective.)
Clear – Have clarity in defining what your organization does, without statistics or technical explanations. You move quickly to keep them engaged. Details can come later when they are engaged and asking specifically for these.
Comfortable – Practice will make you comfortable. You are not making a hard sales pitch here. Make it personal and be kind, open, and sincere.
Captivating – Grab their attention. Your short-and-sweet message is so compelling that they will be engaged to hear more.
Connected – By being clear, comfortable, and captivating you will create a connection with some part of their life. How does what you are doing coincide with their values. Connected people will become more curious of what you are doing.
Call to Action – The strength of your call to action is vital. How can they make a difference? Often the best way is asking an engaging question.
That seems like a lot to fit in under a minute. So how do you make a good elevator speech that satisfies each of the six C’s? Below is a simple template for you to follow:
We do [the solution] for [target] so that [end goal].
Create a sheet with three columns: the solution, the target, and the end goal. Brainstorm as many possibilities for each and then use the best to form your elevator speech. Some basic guidelines are:
You are shooting for 30 to 60 seconds, without sounding rushed. (Remember simplicity is harder to create than complexity.)
Detail your goal simply and what you are doing to achieve it. (Shun any statistics or technical explanations, there is a time for these later).
Identify what makes your approach unique. (Avoid being self-centered).
Show them how they can help. (How they are a part of the solution).
Ask an engaging, open-ended question. (And be ready with answers).
Have your business card in your pocket ready. (Or your contact information).
Practice, practice, practice. When you are relaxed you come across clearly. (Refrain from being repetitive, awkward, or pushy).
A good elevator speech is an invitation to further conversation, not a sales push. Follow these simple rules and you too will have an effective elevator speech for everyone in your organization to use.
I hope that this article has inspired you to craft your own elevator speech. If you want to test drive yours, or have any other questions, please feel free to contact me at .