[Cash-and-caring] Please use this listserve!
Edward Robbins
ecrobbins517 at gmail.com
Mon Sep 14 11:27:54 UTC 2015
Does this hel[p? See below.
***
Funding the Federation Forever
Cash & Caring Toolkit
Ramona Walhof, Committee Chair
(208) 338-1595
ramona.walhof at gmail.com
Toolkit Contents
NFB: Get More, Give More
Fundraising Projects:
* Fundraising at State Conventions
* NFB of Maryland Annual Convention Sponsorship Opportunities
* NFB of South Carolina Columbia Chapter Barbecue-Event Planner
* NFB of Idaho, Treasure Valley Chapter Bike-A-Thon: $15,000 gross.
* (Idaho) Letter to Possible Sponsors
* NFB of Georgia Black Tie-White Cane Appreciation Banquet-Event Planner
* Black Tie White Cane Sponsorship Opportunities Form
* NFB of Colorado Amazing Vacation Travel Raffle-Event Planner
* NFB of Oklahoma Chili Supper-Event Planner
* NFB of Maryland Crab Feast-Event Planner
* “Building the Federation’s Legacy” by Scott LaBarre
* Jacobus tenBroek Legacy Society
* Benefits of Activities at NFB Jernigan Institute
* Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) Plan.
NFB: Get More, Give More
“You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”
--Winston Churchill
The NFB gives so much of its expertise in blindness education and legislative efforts to change what it means to be blind every day—NFB-NEWSLINE®, free white canes, youth programs, community events, conventions, seminars, publications, and a strong voice for the nation's blind. Enhancing the possibilities of the blind is this organization’s business, and sole purpose. And so, we all need to join the business of securing the assets to increase our opportunities. To give more, the NFB needs to get more. The NFB requires the resources to strengthen and broaden our dreams of true independence. The NFB Cash and Caring Committee calls on our community to join us on the barricades of building a brighter tomorrow for blindness.
What is your community giving? The Federation way must be shared with our families, colleagues, peers, and believers in our cause. We are often the reason for this belief in the Federation way. The Cash and Caring Committee challenges NFB leaders to include financial growth initiatives in our affiliate and chapter events. Conventions, Meet the Blind Month activities, and chapter gatherings provide us with the opportunity to get more for the Federation. Get more publicity. Get more respect and understanding. Get more money to do more of the empowering things that we do. All who respect and come to know our hard work can give more toward paving new exciting roads toward independence.
We do not leave you alone to dream up these possibilities. Funding the Federation Forever 2013 is the Cash and Caring Committee’s compilation of successful options for chapter and affiliate events that will help to increase our profits.
The NFB Cash and Caring Challenge
The challenge for affiliates and chapters is to engage in major fund-raising projects. These events can be complex but, done well, they can be satisfying and profitable, providing valuable public relations for the NFB. To ensure that any major project will succeed in meeting some or all of its goals, you must identify enthusiastic members with organizational skills and some experience in planning large events of some kind. You will also benefit from recruiting skilled assistance from beyond affiliate membership. Whether you are raising money or educating the public, complex events require careful planning, a scrupulous adherence to your timeline, and a hard-working committee.
In the following pages we are providing key activities from several affiliates as examples of profitable projects that current Federationists are leading today. It is our challenge for all affiliates and chapters to lead one of these events, or create a new financial expansion project in the next year from which the profits can be shared with our national campaign. Formal, banquet-style, and auction-oriented events promote the cause of the Federation while building up our treasury as well. In addition affiliates and chapters can also apply for grants, sell products, and acquire various forms of sponsorships for a specific event like a bike- or walk-a-thon. Evaluate these options, choose one, and help us fill the NFB treasury to fund the hopes and dreams that only we know how to deliver.
Examples of sponsorship requests and benefits of giving are also included in this toolkit. Feel free to utilize this information or contact the Cash and Caring Committee for additional details.
Cash and Caring Committee Members
Ramona Walhof, Idaho
Richie Flores, Texas
Carl Jacobsen, New York
Nijat Worley, Maryland
Ever Lee Hairston, California
Jeanny Massay, Oklahoma
Mark Riccobono, Maryland
Conchita Hernandez, Nebraska
Hoby Wedler, California
Chancey Fleet, New York
Scott White, Maryland
Lorraine Rovig, Maryland
Mark Turley, Utah
Jean Brown, Indiana
Fundraising at State Conventions
Most NFB affiliates do some fundraising at state conventions. However, this usually results in getting money from our members as opposed to outside sources. While we never want to discourage members from contributing, there are more nonmembers than members of the NFB, therefore we can make more money if we get a large percentage of it from nonmembers. If we plan ahead, we can do this very well at the state level. Most of our state conventions are impressive events with good programs, excellent speakers, high enthusiasm, and a variety of activities. There are several ways we can incorporate financial expansion into these events. Here are some ideas on how to benefit the community and the NFB at the same time.
1. Exhibitors should be requested or required to pay for space in our exhibit rooms. They can be named in our printed programs, listed on our websites, provided some tickets to our banquets, and invited to speak to seminars or on the agenda. All this is valuable PR for them.
2. Local businesses should be invited to sponsor the convention. They can be given recognition on our websites and in our programs, as well as in an announcement at the convention itself. They can be invited to send staff and/or family members to our banquets. This means they may participate in any fundraising that goes on there.
3. We can have live or silent auctions at our banquets. Of course the auction must be secondary to the main speaker and the awards, but it can raise several thousand dollars.
4. Banquet ticket sales: We should invite public officials, volunteers who work with us, friends and family members to our banquets. It is a festive and enjoyable evening and will help strengthen relationships at all levels. It will also make it possible for more people to participate in any fundraising that occurs at the banquet.
5. We can sell ad space in our convention programs. Today, it would make sense to include announcement of this on our websites along with the program. Some states have raised several thousand dollars by this means.
6. Scholarships are often funded by grants. Grant donors should be invited to the banquet. Most will want a report after the convention to learn about the scholarship winner.
Drawings, talent shows, plays, bake sales, and anything else you can think of is fine. Of course, we don't want financial expansion fundraising to detract from other things at conventions. Therefore, we should incorporate it where it fits, thereby adding to our conventions. We need money in state affiliates and chapters. However, the money that does the most good for the largest number of blind Americans is what we have at the national level. It takes minimal effort to incorporate these supplements into pre-existing events, and the results are nothing but good.
NFB of Maryland
Annual Convention Sponsorship Opportunities
When: November 9-11, 2012
Where: Doubletree
210 Holiday Court
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Premier Sponsor: $2,500
This sponsorship level is exclusive to the first sponsor to secure this spot.
* An opportunity to address the convention of the NFB of Maryland (more than three hundred members in attendance plus a live Internet audience)
* One table (ten tickets) at the convention banquet (November 10)
* Full-page ad in the convention agenda
* Promotional announcement played every time someone logs onto the convention stream online
* Link to corporate website from www.nfbmd.org
* Promotion in NFBMD social media
* Exposure in the Braille Spectator newsletter (for one year)
* Two exhibit tables
* Opportunity to display corporate materials throughout the convention and/or provide premium items for distribution at registration
Independence: $1,000
* Opportunity to be promoted as a luncheon or seminar sponsor—for example, sponsor of the Parents of Blind Children Seminar
* Five tickets for the convention banquet (November 10)
* Half-page ad in the convention agenda
* Periodic promotional announcement during the convention stream online
* Link to corporate website from www.nfbmd.org
* Promotion in NFBMD social media
* Exposure in the Braille Spectator newsletter (for six months)
* One exhibit table
Equality: $500
* Two tickets for the convention banquet (November 10)
* Quarter-page ad in the convention agenda
* Link to corporate website from www.nfbmd.org
* Promotion in NFBMD social media
* One exhibit table
Opportunity: $300
* Listing under Convention Sponsors in the convention agenda
* Acknowledgement of sponsorship at www.nfbmd.org
* One exhibit table
Exhibitor: $150
* One exhibit table
NFB of South Carolina Columbia Chapter
Barbecue Event Planner
($24,000 gross, $15,000 net)
It is often said that, “You must learn to walk before you can learn to run”. With that in mind, I want to share a fundraising initiative, which has worked for the NFB of SC, Columbia Chapter since 1954. In its first year, it grossed $300, netted $100, and has since grown into the annual project that supports Columbia Chapter programs for the entire year. Here is how it works.
1. Timeframe: This is an event that will definitely span several months from start to finish. The Columbia Chapter traditionally holds its Annual Barbecue on the last Thursday in April. Work begins in early January, shortly after the newly elected Chapter Board takes office.
2. Appoint a Committee: One of the most important committees appointed by the newly elected chapter president is the Barbecue Committee. It is most certainly a “working committee”. The Chairman, having been appointed by the chapter President, usually calls a committee meeting early in January to develop action items for the duration of the project.
3. Delegation to Meet Caterer: It doesn’t take the entire committee, but usually two or three committee members meet with the caterer to plan the menu and set the catering price. This is the price you pay the caterer, not the amount you charge to your consumers. Also, remember that you do not have to serve barbecue. Substitute spaghetti, pizza, or whatever.
If this is your first effort, you will need to consult with a number of caterers and compare prices. The meal you serve will have an impact on the price. In 2013, the Columbia Chapter is paying the caterer $3.33 for barbecue chicken, slaw, and corn on the cob. The Chapter is adding bread, tea, and coffee and charging the public $8 for a plate consisting of chicken, slaw, corn, sliced bread, and tea or coffee.
4. Supplies: To generate gross proceeds in the neighborhood of $24,000, the Columbia Chapter sells approximately 3000 barbecue dinners in a campaign. That’s a lot of plates, plastic eating utensils, Styrofoam cups, and napkins. Believe me; you don’t want to have to wash that many dishes. The other advantage to using disposable dishes is that they are inexpensive.
For 3000 place settings, you can expect to pay several hundred dollars, which is not bad when your expected gross sales will be well over $20,000. Or better yet, try to get supplies donated. Check with local party shops, churches, and civic organizations. Incidentally, you may also be able to get bread, tea, and coffee donated. Donations of various items will of course reduce your cost and increase profits.
5. Venue: Be sure to determine where you are going to hold your event. This decision needs to be made early so you can print the appropriate information on any flyers, tickets, etc. that you may wish to distribute. Every community has centers, church fellowship halls, civic organizations with meeting space, or Elks Lodges who will let you hold your event.
6. Publicity: Of course, you will want to spread the word about your event. The Columbia Chapter distributes flyers, public service announcements for NFB Newsline, radio, and TV. In addition to these methods, the Columbia Chapter has canvassed the neighborhood around the venue for years in the weeks leading up to the day of the Barbecue.
7. Sales: In the surrounding neighborhoods close to the site of the Annual Barbecue, Columbia Chapter members participate in three canvass nights. On these evenings, members meet and determine which street each member will canvass. Each member walks from door-to-door informing residents about the approaching Barbecue and offering tickets for sale.
Chapter members are also given an allotment of tickets (along about the time of the February Chapter meeting) and are expected to sell them. In fact, financial assistance to national and state conventions, and other popular outings where financial assistance may be needed, is linked to the number of tickets a member sells and how many canvass nights he/she works.
You want to be sure to sell as many tickets as possible in advance. That way, you will know what kind of crowd to expect. Basically, customers buy a number of tickets in advance, arrive on barbecue day, present their tickets, and procure their dinners either to be consumed onsite or to go.
8. Barbecue Day: On the last Thursday in April, some 3000 dinners are prepared and served between the hours of 12:00 noon and 8:00 PM. There is even a delivery service for orders of 15 or more dinners to locations within a certain radius.
The caterer makes several deliveries to the barbecue site throughout the day. The dinners are then prepared and placed into serving containers using an assembly line method with chapter members doing the work. For example, a person places the chicken in the container, then it is passed to a person who scoops slaw, the next person handles the corn…, you get the idea.
9. Stewardship: The Columbia Chapter is on the PAC Plan. Additionally, the Chapter spends literally thousands of dollars each year sending members to national conventions. The Annual Barbecue makes it possible for the Columbia Chapter to support our programs at all levels on a consistent basis.
Remember, there are no national dues, and it is up to us to support the organization we love if we are to continue to move toward our goal of first-class citizenship status in society. The NFB of SC, Columbia Chapter understands this and enthusiastically does its part to help ensure our financial security.
NFB of Idaho, Treasure Valley Chapter Bike-A-Thon
Cycle for Independence
1. Make sure there is an enthusiastic steering committee in the chapter willing to work together. Add cyclists from local teams or cycling businesses to help.
2. Schedule the date and time of the event up to one year in advance. Design an approximate route for the ride. Announce the event on your website, and in any other media you deem necessary. There are lots of websites regarding cycling, so use them. Post updates from time to time as the big day approaches. This will raise anticipation as well as funds.
3. Prepare sponsor requests in early November of the year prior to the event. Mail, email, and deliver them to potential donors, companies in medical professions, sports equipment and apparel businesses, and to other companies with whom you do business. Follow up with each in person or by phone until you receive a definite yes or no.
4. Have your preregistration process ready to go as early as possible, three months to a year before the event. For large events, it is wise to have both online and snail-mail options, or you may lose registrants.
5. Design and distribute posters and flyers as soon as preregistration begins. Advertisements must be visible and prominent on bulletin boards, well-placed on counters, and so on.
6. Don’t forget the Internet! Put information about the event on as many websites as possible: media, sports groups, businesses that might sponsor teams, etc.
7. Contact other groups that may assist with the event, such as ham radio operators for communications, Delta Gammas, Lions, Key Clubs, etc. Give them jobs and ask them to help recruit riders and volunteers for the day of the ride.
8. Plan, order, and solicit giveaways: T-shirts or bike socks, prizes, items for goody bags. A group can stuff and organize these things a week or two before the event.
9. Recruit blind people to ride the back of tandem bikes and sighted captains to ride in front. Create volunteer work assignments. If some riders are not paying the registration fee, make sure this information is provided before the event to the registration and check-in officials.
10. Plan food and beverages for water stops and lunch after the event. Send out a press release a few days before the event, and pray for good weather. If weather is bad, go ahead anyway. Your crowd will be smaller, but most riders and sponsors have already paid preregistration.
11. Have a good time! Thank all riders and volunteers privately, during the event from the platform, and in writing after the event. Post a final update on your website for participants and friends.
General comments: NFB of Idaho, Treasure Valley Chapter, has raised well over $15,000 gross each of the last four years. Our net profit has been between $10,000 and $12,000 each year. We plan to keep a third in the chapter; donate a third to the state affiliate; and donate a third to the national treasury.
Idaho’s Letter to Possible Sponsors
Dana Ard, President,
Treasure Valley Chapter, NFBI
P.O. 2007, Boise, Idaho 83701
Ph (208) 336-5333 or (208) 867-7844
www.tvcblindidaho.org
Tax ID#: xx-xxxxxx
October 2012
Dear Sponsor:
Thank you again for your sponsorship of the Cycle for Independence in May 2012. We very much appreciate you assisting people to meet the blind of their community.
The National Federation of the Blind of Idaho is the largest and most progressive organization of the blind in this state, and it has sister affiliates in every state of the nation. The Treasure Valley Chapter (NFBI) is what brings blind people together in this part of the state.
In 2013, the date to save is May 18.
2013 Sponsor Levels are:
v Diamond Sponsor -- $1,000 and up
v Platinum Sponsor -- $600 to $999
v Gold Sponsor -- $300 to $599
v Silver -- $150 to $299
In 2012, we had almost 500 riders and over 80 volunteers. With funds raised, we:
* Train newly blinded people on independent travel and other adaptive techniques
* Assist blind seniors to live independently
* Educate blind adults on opportunities for employment
* Provide scholarships for blind college students
* Assist blind people to learn about new advances in services and technology
* Work to improve education of blind children
This year we want to list sponsors on our flyers. If we receive your sponsor commitment by February 1, 2013, your logo will be on our flyers and posters.
We thank you in advance for your generosity in assisting the blind of Southwest Idaho.
Very truly yours,
Mary Symms-Pollot, Event Director
Cycle for Independence
(208) 867-7844
Ramona Walhof, Co-Chairman
Cycle for Independence
(208) 336-53
NFB of Georgia Black Tie-White Cane Appreciation Banquet
Event Planner
Sponsored exhibits and walkathons are great, but sometimes you want to take things up a notch. Here’s an event that will promote the NFB and your chapter in a fun and classy way. Get out your tuxes and ties, boys and girls. It’s dinner time!
1. Set a goal for the number of attendees you want. Decide on a minimum number based on your location, and any other factors you think might have an influence.
2. Shop around for a venue. Consider your relationships with hotels at which your affiliate has had a convention or meeting for a start.
3. Arrange banquet room rental, menu, and ticket prices. Keeping the menu simple helps: salad, bread, chicken, two vegetables, tea, and a dessert. Total cost of the room, meals, and gratuity generally is about $3,000. Use this figure to decide on the banquet ticket price. A suggestion is to set the individual ticket price at $60. Fifty tickets would cover the $3,000. Your net profit comes from every ticket sold after the first fifty.
4. Develop the event program. The title--Black Tie-White Cane--is catchy, but what does it really mean? Adopt the title and a descriptive tag line if you’d like one, and include it in the event description, banquet program, and sponsorship solicitation literature of each BTWC banquet. Plan to honor substantial contributors, provide entertainment, present a ceremonial awards assembly, and have a keynote speaker included in the agenda.
5. Host a reception with music while attendees network with one another, and then start dinner. After all the formality, transition into a party with a variety of music and dancing.
6. In conjunction with the banquet, consider conducting a silent auction. Try to obtain quality items for the bidding. Some NFB affiliates have developed a relationship with a local gallery that donates artwork crafted by people with disabilities. Set the minimum bid price at the cost of the item, and the NFB can receive any income above the minimum bid.
Sample material: Georgia’s Sponsorship Opportunities form
NFB of Georgia
Black Tie-White Cane Appreciation Banquet
Sponsorship Opportunities
The NFB is a 501c (3) nonprofit volunteer organization of blind people speaking for ourselves. We capitalize on the donated services and professional talents of our members. All funds donated to the NFB are tax deductible and provide outreach, education, advocacy, training, and the other services necessary for blind people to obtain equality, opportunity, and security. With your help we train blind people in the leadership and advocacy skills they need to strive for full participation and self-determination.
$5,000 Prestige Honor Sponsor
* 20 banquet tickets
* Website recognition
* Full-page program ad
* Commemorative plaque
$2,500 Dignity Honor Sponsor
* 10 banquet tickets
* Half-page program ad
* Commemorative plaque
$1,000 Independence Honor Sponsor
* 10 banquet tickets
* Program recognition program ads
* Commemorative plaque
All sponsor names will appear in the banquet program in recognition of their support of the NFB of Georgia and the true independence of blind people. Individual tickets can be purchased for $60 each. Sponsors can use them as rewards for employees who have demonstrated outstanding community service over the past year. Tickets can also be returned to the NFB of Georgia for use by blind or visually impaired people.
NFB of Colorado
Amazing Vacation Travel Raffle
Event Planner
In 2012, our fundraising committee came up with the idea of holding a high
Stakes vacation travel raffle. We attempted to blend both traditional in-person sales with Internet-based sales.
The first word of caution for anyone seeking to conduct such a raffle is to make sure that you are in compliance with state law.
In Colorado, to conduct a fundraising raffle, the sponsoring organization must hold a bingo/raffle license issued through the Secretary of State’s office. There are several regulations that must be followed and some fees that must be paid. For example, before we start selling tickets, the Secretary of State’s office must approve the format of and information contained on the ticket. Additionally, we have to maintain a separate bank account for raffle sales.
We raffled off a $3500 gift certificate to a local travel agency. Anyone from throughout the world was eligible to win, assuming, of course, that they purchased some tickets. The winner of the certificate could use the certificate all on one vacation or break it out into a few different trips. The certificate could be used to purchase air fares, hotel rooms, cruises, vacation packages, and anything else that the travel agency was able to sell.
We sold our tickets for $10 each or a person could buy three tickets for $20. If someone gave us $40, they received six tickets. If they gave us $50, they would receive seven tickets. Consequently, it was a much better buy to purchase tickets in multiples of twenty dollars.
As I indicated above, we sold tickets in person through the traditional approach. Our members took books of tickets and sold them to friends and relatives and returned the cash collected and unused tickets at the end. We had one person in charge of signing out tickets and making sure we received all cash and unused tickets from those who agreed to sell. It is very important to have someone who is very detail orientated to handle this task.
We also made the tickets available online through our website. A person could follow the appropriate links and fill out a form to order whatever number of tickets they wished. Purchases could be made using a credit or debit card and the individual purchasing the ticket received both an email confirmation and the ticket stub in the mail. A person could order tickets online and choose to send in a check as well, but their name would not be entered into the drawing until we received the check. At that point, we sent the person an email confirmation and the ticket stub in the mail. It should be noted that we had to engineer an online form and a secure credit card service to handle the raffle appropriately.
We conducted the drawing at our annual banquet as part of the state convention. The winner was not required to be present, of course. After all, we sold tickets to people from all throughout America and a number of tickets internationally. The winner happened to be a woman from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and she was not present at the banquet.
In its first year, our raffle grossed over $17,000 in sales. We had approximately $4,000 in expenses which included the gift certificate itself and the cost of printing tickets, etc. The net proceeds were used for our BELL Program and our NFB of Colorado Scholarship Fund.
I don’t have the exact breakdown, but well over half of our sales came through the website. We encouraged our members to email everyone in their address books in addition to their friends and family. For example, I sent out nearly 3,000 messages which resulted in hundreds of sales. We also had limited success working with other organizations such as a local Lions Club. We gave them a number of tickets to sell and they received half the proceeds of any tickets they sold.
For the first year, we felt that our raffle was extremely successful. There are a number of things we think we can do better this year. I am confident that we can double the number of sales in 2013. This project takes a fair amount of work but has a high reward.
NFB of Oklahoma
Chili Supper Event Planner
The first year we made approximately $3,500 after expenses. Last year we made approximately $6,000 after expenses. The chapter voted for half of the funds to go to the scholarship fund for which the event was originally established and half to go to the chapter.
1. Determine the budget: consider location, printing and advertising, food costs, etc.
2. Set a date and secure location
3. Print tickets, flyers, and any other necessary materials (See #5 for additional printing)
4. Sell tickets, both at the door and via members beforehand
5. Recruit sponsors (Sell ad space on event placemats. Use your imagination.)
6. Gather items for the auction (Movies, autographed baseballs, keep using that imagination!)
7. Recruit volunteers. Ask your sponsors, too. Schedule who will do which tasks at what time.
8. Contact media: newspapers, television, social networks (Facebook, Twitter), anything to help advertise. This attracts donations.
9. Schedule event execution. What will happen and when? Rehearse the day before.
10. Breathe. Everything will go well if you have planned well. Have a great event!
NFB of Maryland Crab Feast
Event Planner
This event is held to gain donations for the NFB of Maryland Scholarship Fund, and has an average of 200 attendees.
1. Choose an event theme and set a goal for number of attendees and amount of money to gather.
2. Form a committee, and elect a chair. Chair duties include advertising, over-all coordination, and supervision of other committee members.
3. Select a time and location. Consider requesting the donation of a location as a gesture of support.
4. Choose food and style of the event. Crab feasts are rather informal, so the entire evening can be more relaxed in style.
5. Advertise the event via ads in the community section of newspapers, flyers, leaflets, etc. Remember to maintain an online presence for the event as well. Sell tickets via chapter members and online, and price tickets sold at the door higher than pre-purchased ones. Encourage corporate participants to buy entire tables for their companies.
6. Offer door prizes, raffles, and other incentives to attend. Space the drawings and any speakers to allow attendees to eat.
7. Engage a keynote speaker who has benefitted from the NFB, or the specific program you are promoting. You may engage one or two additional speakers, if you wish, depending on the length of your event.
8. Recognize any contributors to the event, such as location owners, in the event program, flyers if possible, and at the beginning and end of the event.
9. Don’t hesitate to ask veteran event planners from other affiliates for tips, and remember to delegate.
10. Enjoy the event! Indulge in food, fun, and your community, NFB and otherwise.
Building the Federation’s Legacy
By Scott LaBarre
Usually, when the word “legacy” is invoked, most think of an individual’s or organization’s effect on history, and certainly, we are establishing a tremendous legacy of creating new opportunities for the blind of our nation and world. However, with respect to this article, legacy here means the financial gifts individuals leave behind to support the work of the National Federation of the Blind. Throughout our history, the Federation has benefited greatly from wills and other instruments that have been donated to the organization. Most have regarded this aspect of our fundraising is a matter of good fortune rather than calculated strategy. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that much more than luck goes into receiving bequests from wills.
I have been president of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado since 2005. Since that time, we have received over 3.2 million dollars in bequests specifically for the affiliate and approximately the same amount for our Colorado Center for the Blind. As many know, our national policy is to share fifty percent of all bequests with the national organization. Consequently, Colorado and national programs have benefited greatly from these charitable gifts. Many other state presidents have commented to me that “you are so lucky in Colorado. We will never have that kind of luck.” To those who think this way, I respectfully disagree. With respect to securing bequests and other similar gifts, my contention is that you make your own luck. It cannot be denied that there is a small element of good fortune in receiving testamentary gifts, especially with respect to timing of the gift, but there is absolutely no doubt that affiliates can take certain steps to increase significantly their ability to be remembered in someone’s will.
First of all, it should be pointed out that there is a vast pool of money out there from which the Federation can benefit. According to GuideStar, in 2012, over twenty-two billion dollars were transferred to nonprofits in the United States through bequests. This total has been increasing every year for over the last decade and is expected to increase substantially as more of the “baby boomers” leave behind their historic levels of wealth.
So, how do we get a piece of this mighty delicious pie? With respect to our success in Colorado, I think there have been three main elements. First of all, you must offer and run programs about which people can get excited. Individuals do not want to leave behind their wealth to organizations that are not very active. They want their money to go towards some noble purpose. Every affiliate can offer, for example, college scholarships, run a BELL Program, operate Newsline©, and take on other projects. You can start small and build. Donors are not interested, necessarily, in supporting general operating expenses but rather programs that serve individuals directly.
The second key element is letting people know about your programs. It is wonderful if you assist blind persons in a variety of ways, but no one will fondly remember you in their will if you don’t get the word out. Any time you take some kind of significant action in your affiliate, send out a press release. You can do this when you award scholarships, start a BELL program, and meet with legislators on a key issue, protest subminimum wages, or anything else of the like. In addition to press releases, splash your work all over social media channels such as your website, Twitter, Facebook, and all those other tools. It is imperative that your community know what you are doing.
The third key element for us has been letting estate planning professionals know about the Federation. We have, for example, obtained mailing lists from the Colorado Bar Association for estate and trust attorneys and sent our information to these lawyers telling them that the Federation is a great organization for their clients to remember. You will have to pay for the list but it is a worthy investment. You can also contact financial planners and other professionals. You can offer estate planning seminars in your communities where you bring in estate planning professionals to give members of the public advice about how to plan their finances. These seminars are a great opportunity to advertise the work of the Federation. The members of the public who attend to get estate planning advice will be much more inclined to remember you and you will also increase your contacts with estate planning professionals.
Here are some other helpful tips:
· Remind donors about how estates are distributed, for example, by letting potential donors know that if they fail to plan their estates, state law will direct that their property be distributed under a one-size-fits-all statutory formula (called intestate succession) which is unlikely to fully reflect their wishes.
· Again, demonstrate how the Federation will use the assets by showing how your affiliate will put its assets to good use. It is best to mention specific programs and share stories of how individuals have been benefited. In particular, donors love stories about children such as our BELL camps.
· Provide recognition by offering opportunities to donors who want it, though many are content to go without it. Think about giving a plaque or inscription with the deceased's name. You can also consider other forms of remembrance such as published thanks or dedicating a program, or scholarship to the donor. You don't have to wait until the donor has passed on to provide such recognition. You should certainly advise donors of our tenBroek Legacy Society. Lou Ann Blake at our National Center is in charge of this program. Anybody leaving any kind of gift to the Federation can be recognized as a member of this society whether their gift is intended solely for the national organization or for an affiliate. The tenBroek Legacy Program will stay in touch with donors through newsletters in order to keep the connection with the Federation alive. You can also think about holding thank-you events for donors, making sure to mention the donors’ names, unless, of course, a donor wishes to remain anonymous.
· Demonstrate the Federation’s longevity by informing potential donors that we have been around since 1940 and we will still be around when the donor's Last Will and Testament is executed. Long term nonprofits do much better with receiving bequests than those which are present for a limited time and purpose.
· Show donors how gifts can reduce estate taxes for those estates subject to tax by explaining how charitable bequests can reduce (or even eliminate) the amount of estate tax their beneficiaries will owe.
· To help potential donors with their paperwork and to avoid any possible confusion about which charity they intended, prominently display your affiliate’s legal name, location, and tax ID number on your website, your newsletters, and relevant brochures or other communications. Some may be nervous about splashing the tax id number everywhere but once you have a donor identified, you should definitely share your id number with that donor. In any event, make sure that you display the affiliate’s full legal name everywhere. These steps will help avoid confusion or uncertainty later on about who should receive the gift. As a lawyer, I have represented the Federation several times in cases where the donor did not quite have our name correctly articulated and we had to convince the court that we were in fact the organization to whom the bequest should be given.
· Keep track of all your donors by collecting as much information from individuals when they make contributions of any type to other fundraising programs. By staying in touch with such individuals over the years and letting them about the good work of the Federation, you vastly increase the chance that the Federation will be remembered in their wills. In the same vein, do not ignore our own members. Encourage everyone in your affiliate to remember the Federation in his or her estate plan. Regardless of a person’s wealth, everyone should have an estate plan. Every single dollar left to us will help. Members should also encourage their family members and friends to leave a gift to the Federation. Personal stories to your friends and family about how the Federation has made a difference are particularly compelling.
In conclusion, keep in mind that there are many other types of planned gifts other than bequests from wills such as Gift annuities, gifts of life insurance, charitable remainder trusts, pooled income funds, and many others. Please feel free to contact me, Scott LaBarre at slabarre at labarrelaw.com or 303 504-5979 to learn about these and how to contact estate planning professionals who can help. I also recommend the following publications which are searchable on the internet: Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits: Real-World Strategies That Work, by Ilona Bray J.D. and Raising Money through Bequests by David Valinsky. Securing bequests and other charitable planned gifts is a long-term fundraiser and takes significant work on the front end, but it is tremendously rewarding and well worth the effort.
Jacobus tenBroek Legacy Society
Help build a future full of opportunity for the blind by becoming a member of the Jacobus tenBroek Legacy Society. Your legacy gift to the National Federation of the Blind can be made in the form of a will or living trust, an income-generating gift, or by naming the NFB as a beneficiary of a retirement plan or life insurance policy. You can also become a member of the Jacobus tenBroek Legacy Society by making a legacy gift to your state affiliate. By committing to support an NFB affiliate, your gift will benefit both local and national programs as all bequests made to affiliates are split evenly with the NFB national treasury. In addition to having the satisfaction of contributing to the future success of the NFB's mission, tenBroek legacy society members will also receive a specially designed thank you gift and other benefits. For additional information about the Jacobus tenBroek Legacy Society, please contact Lou Ann Blake at the NFB Jernigan Institute by e-mail at lblake at nfb.org, or by telephone at 410-659-9314, extension 2221.
Benefits of Activities at NFB Jernigan Institute
How many people, blind or sighted, have thought about the far reaching effects of the work that occurs at our national headquarters, the NFB Jernigan Institute, at 200 East Wells Street in Baltimore, Maryland? It helps blind people of all ages, whether we are aware of it or not. Therefore, it is a privilege for us to help support this work financially, just as we take advantage of what occurs. Below is a list of advantages that are coordinated or offered.
1. NFB’s Independence Market sells aids and appliances at cost and sells or gives away literature about blindness and about the National Federation of the Blind.
2. NFB-NEWSLINE® offers a free service of access to over 350 publications, a job-searching tool, emergency weather alerts, and personalized TV listings via the telephone for the blind and print-disabled to read.
3. NFB writes and distributes literature for chapter development, conducts seminars, and answers questions to solve problems as needed by local chapters and state affiliates.
4. NFB staff monitors national legislation affecting the blind, proposes new legislation, and coordinates the work of our annual Washington Seminar.
5. NFB’s International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind evaluates technology for the blind, provides an answer line for personal problems, participates in exhibits of devices, and provides input to manufacturers of these devices.
6. NFB monitors new developments in education of blind children, offers educational programs, and assists families and teachers.
7. NFB maintains a large website providing information about the organization and blindness and has a meaningful presence in many other places on the Internet.
8. NFB plans and conducts an annual convention which is the largest gathering of blind people in the world with countless activities of all kinds.
9. NFB staff coordinates with other organizations that serve and represent the blind.
10. NFB staff monitors and provides input to government service providers to the blind.
11. NFB’s national president supervises and contracts for legal services and cases involving blind persons whenever possible.
12. NFB conducts seminars for attorneys who deal with blind and disabled persons’ issues.
13. NFB’s Jacobus tenBroek Library collects materials written by blind persons and about blindness and blind people and seeks to provide these resources to those who are interested.
14. NFB writes and circulates magazines and other publications, such as the Braille Monitor, Future Reflections, Kernel Books, etc.
15. NFB reads publications from newspapers, magazines, and the Internet about blindness and communicates to them developments concerning the blind.
16. NFB staff assists chapters and affiliates with reports and tax forms required by state governments.
17. NFB experts, under contract with the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, provide training and certification for Braille transcribers and proofreaders.
18. NFB records and duplicates audio and video materials for the blind.
19. NFB maintains www.nfb.org, over 160 special interest listservs (www.nfbnet.org), and comprehensive supplemental websites to emphasize Braille (www.braille.org) and education (www.blindscience.org).
20. NFB’s Jernigan Institute in Baltimore serves as an impressive demonstration of competence and efficiency demonstrating the capacity of blind people.
Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) Plan
What are you giving? The Pre-Authorization Contribution (PAC) Plan offers individuals the simple opportunity to become a valued contributor to the movement. Many of us have found work, education, and life thanks to the advocacy of the NFB. All those who respect this kind of independence consistently participate in changing lives. On an annual basis, please invite NFB Affiliates, Chapters, and Friends of the Federation, who have the means to give more, to begin or increase their PAC Plan.
The Cash and Caring Committee encourages participation in the PAC campaign. We can expand enrollment in our chapters, affiliates, peer networks, and communities to better reflect our size and importance as the Voice of the Nation’s Blind.
Designate a PAC Chair in your affiliate and chapters to sign folks up to have contributions to the National Federation of the Blind drawn automatically from a personal bank account each month. It is trouble-free and a reliable memory is not required.
Here are some tips and reminders to help the process along:
1. The authorization form must be completed on paper. There is no electronic submission option. A little sighted help is useful here. If you decide to prepare and send in the authorization yourself, rather than in a meeting, the form as a printable pdf file is on the national website. Enter “PAC” in the search box, and the form will be the first choice. You must sign the form twice where the two different “Xs” appear. The PAC form is also available at the link above.
2. The minimum donation of $5.00 per month is perfectly acceptable. Please encourage those who can give more, to give more. It is broad participation that builds up useful amounts of money.
3. It is important to get the account number and routing number perfectly accurate when filling out the form. The best practice is to attach a voided check. The length of account numbers can vary, but routing numbers are always nine digits long.
4. You may choose any day of the month to have the contribution withdrawn except for the twenty-ninth, thirtieth, or thirty-first. Remember to give yourselves some margin between the date you are paid and the date of the contribution withdrawal.
For those of you already enrolled in the PAC plan, thank you. Please consider increasing your contribution. You must fill out and sign the form, but a new voided check is not necessary.
***
EDWARD C "TED" ROBBINS
, CEO MBEI, Treasurer NFB of Montana & MANAGER MAB EQUIPMENT PROGRAM
PHONE & FAX: 406 453 6678, CELL: 406 799 6268
104 RIVERVIEW 5 E
GREAT FALLS MT 59404
From: Cash-and-Caring [mailto:cash-and-caring-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Star-Shemah White via Cash-and-Caring
Sent: Sunday, September 13, 2015 8:30 PM
To: Fund-raising assistance for Chapters and Affiliates
Cc: Star-Shemah White
Subject: Re: [Cash-and-caring] Please use this listserve!
Would you please send me the toolkit also. My email address is shemah26 at gmail.com
On Sep 13, 2015 8:07 PM, "Robert Sellers via Cash-and-Caring" <cash-and-caring at nfbnet.org> wrote:
Ramona,
Is there a chance the toolkit could be placed on NFB’s web site. In that way any affiliate or chapter would have access to it.
I do not have a copy of it either.
bob
From: Cash-and-Caring [mailto:cash-and-caring-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ramona Walhof via Cash-and-Caring
Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2015 3:26 PM
To: 'Fund-raising assistance for Chapters and Affiliates'
Cc: Ramona Walhof
Subject: Re: [Cash-and-caring] Please use this listserve!
Carl, I am attaching the Toolkit. Normally, I would not send it on the list, but I am doing so now because there may be others who don't have it or have misplaced it.
Please let me know to whom you delegate this job, including email and city at least.
Thank you.
Ramona
From: Cash-and-Caring [mailto:cash-and-caring-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of NFB NY Office via Cash-and-Caring
Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2015 11:21 AM
To: Fund-raising assistance for Chapters and Affiliates <cash-and-caring at nfbnet.org>
Cc: NFB NY Office <office at nfbny.org>
Subject: Re: [Cash-and-caring] Please use this listserve!
Ramona,
We look to participate in this effort. However, given my load, I plan to delegate this to someone else in the Affiliate as soon as possible.
Please send me the Toolkit so I can pass it along to them.
Carl
From: Ramona Walhof via Cash-and-Caring <mailto:cash-and-caring at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2015 11:37 PM
To: cash-and-caring at nfbnet.org
Cc: Ramona Walhof <mailto:walhoframona at gmail.com>
Subject: [Cash-and-caring] Please use this listserve!
The group that met as the Cash and Caring Network this summer at the convention said firmly that it wanted a listserve for communication. I have not done much with it because my computer was not working well. But that is behind me, I hope, so let's move ahead.
Committee members, be prepared to help answer questions and work with new people. Thank you very much!
We would like to have at least one member from each affiliate on this network. If several chapters in a state want to have participants, that is fine.
If anyone has not received the Toolkit, please let me know, and I will email it to you. It includes, among other things, examples of severl fundraising activities that have raised several thousand dollars with one event. It also shows how to use state conventions to raise money, not just from our members, but also from the public. Our conventions are usually well-run events which impress people, and they should have a fundraising component.
Chapters and state affiliates need money, but that money will not accomplish much if we don't have more in the national treasury. Therefore, we want to raise enough that chapters can share with states and the national treasury.
What do we want on the list? Questions, of course, are appropriate, and answers are essential, but we don't need a lot of repetition in answers.
Please share your successful fundraising experiences. Tell us what you did, what made it good, and how much you raised.
We want to help chapters and states increase the size and income of fundraisers.
Bob Sellers of Washington State and Parmie Similton from Alabama are going to help with this list. Thanks to both of you.
So let's learn from each other. I am looking forward to it!
Ramona Walhof, Chair
Cash and Caring Committee
_____
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