Double is Better

Coffee Meeting Task Force

Internal Doc

Updated 31 March 2008

To: “The Coffee Meeting Task Force”
Rob Salmon
Sue Eidem
Glen Helgeson
Dave Edminster
Sarah Bowman
From: Adrienne

Re: Instructions for Coffee Meetings with PBDs (Potential Big Donors)

Task: Meet with current Cedar donors in an attempt to deepen their relationship with The Cedar and to cultivate a group of leadership donors who give $1,000 or more per year. Each member of the task force should complete two meetings (or phone conversations if the PBD is unwilling or unable to meet) between 1 April and 30 May 2008.

(Internal) objectives of these meetings are as follows:
1) To learn what our stakeholders want so we can better respond to our community - to gather feedback about The Cedar’s programming, outreach efforts, role in the community, and vision for the future.
2) To learn about our stakeholders/community members so we can:
a. be more aware of the resources available to us. If we know which of our stakeholders have interests, connections, or skills in a specific area or field, we will know who to ask if we have needs or questions in this area.
b. better understand how to deepen/cultivate donors’ relationship with The Cedar
3) To get Cedar stakeholders further invested in and involved with The Cedar through personal connections (with board members or staff.) This could increase and strengthen our team of Cedar advocates and volunteers – the bigger the group of people who feel personally connected to and who are informed and excited about The Cedar, the
a. more people will learn about our organization through “word of mouth,” which could potentially increase audience members and donor numbers
b. more likely it is that we will “reach” people with the capacity to give big $$$ (as we engage more people who, in turn, talk about The Cedar with family, friends, or neighbors, we are increasing our chances of connecting with people who have capacity to donate at higher levels.)
4) To cultivate a group of people with the potential to donate at the $1,000 level; to ask them to donate $1,000 to the annual fund in order to
a. increase revenues for The Cedar’s annual fund and build a dependable, consistent, and substantial base of support
b. “gauge responses” to this type and level of solicitation
c. determine The Cedar’s capacity to build a group of leadership capital campaign donors

Objectives of one-on-one meetings (This is how we’re articulating meeting objectives to PBDs. These are the answers you can give if/when someone asks you, “Why are you calling me?” or “What’s this about?”)
1) We think it’s important to talk with our stakeholders about The Cedar so we can appropriately respond to their hopes for The Cedar’s role in our community and for The Cedar’s future.
2) We’d like feedback a) about how The Cedar presents itself to and communicates with you and the rest of the world b) about how to reach out to those in the community who aren’t currently served by our work and on how to further engage those audience members who already know about us.
3) The Cedar is in an important place in its development right now. We need to learn more about who is currently invested in our community and who is interested in becoming more involved. We hope to undergo a capital campaign in the near future, but we have to know who is on board to support us in such a venture. So we’re starting that process now.
4) We want to educate as many of our community members as possible about what The Cedar does and the importance of The Cedar in our communities so they can help spread the word about our organization. As a Cedar supporter and advocate, I’m hoping you’ll help spread the word. One way you can do this is by sharing these comp tickets with a neighbor, friend, or co-worker who might not know about The Cedar.

Step One: Identify and learn about your assigned PBDs (potential big donors)

A. Check out google docs. You can find the first set of PBDs targeted for coffee meetings on the google docs spreadsheet.

Who is on the list: This list includes donors who have made a single donation of over $100 ($101 or more) at some point between 2003 and now. I have provided the information we know about each constituent including contact information and date/amount of their last payment. Note that “last payment” is the last single payment they made to The Cedar Cultural Center; some of these donors gave twice in the same year (so their annual donation is more than their last single payment) or have donated larger amounts in previous years. In the “Notes” column after “DH” (stands for “donor history”), I have added comments about any single donations they have made over $100 since 2003. This will give you a better idea of the donor’s capacity/willingness to give at higher levels.

Priority: I have labeled the donors who I’d like us to focus on first with a “P1” in the priority column. These are donors with whom I think we will have the most success.
Conversation Tone: The next column is labeled “conversation tone” where I’ve suggested the “tone” with which you should approach the conversation. These are only suggestions. You will be a better judge of the appropriateness of the hard $1,000 ask as you begin talking and “feeling out” this person’s relationship with and attitude towards The Cedar. That being said, I have “tagged” donors with one of two suggested approaches:

Stewardship: This means that the conversation should take more of a “thank you so much, your support is important, we want to get to know you” tone. These donors are labeled as such for one of a few reasons a) they are relatively new donors, so we don’t want to say “can you give more” immediately after their very first donation to The Cedar, but we do want to start cultivating them so we can say “can you give more” at some point down the road b) they have recently increased their annual giving significantly, so, again, we don’t want to ask them for more right away, but an increase indicates that they might have the capacity to give more if cultivated properly. Also, we want to encourage them to continue giving at this higher level by showing that their support is appreciated and by getting them further invested and connected c) we believe that the donor is probably not in a position to donate large amounts (though you never know!), but we certainly want to maintain their support and keep them connected with The Cedar.

Cultivation: As opposed to stewardship, these are people who are probably more “ready” to be asked for a leadership donation. These are folks who have been longer-term donors and who have been donating at relatively the same level over the past several years. Because they have been supporters (and, presumably, patrons) of The Cedar for some time, it is more likely that they will respond favorably to an ask at a significant level.

You can find which PBDs you are assigned to in the “assigned to” column. Most of the PBDs are randomly assigned.
1. If there is someone on the list who you know, please “claim” the PBD by typing your name in the “assigned to” cell next to their name (you will likely have more success with this PBD than another board member because you have an established relationship.)
2. If you know someone who isn’t on the list but who could be a prospect, add this person to the list and “claim” the new PBD by typing your name in the “assigned to” cell next to their name. Here are some examples of potential additions to the list:
a) You know someone who really likes The Cedar but has never donated - maybe because they’ve never been asked
b) You know someone who doesn’t know about The Cedar but is invested/interested in local arts
c) You know someone who has a lot of money, and you think you could interest them in our organization

Color Codes: A row that is grayed means that a board member has completed a conversation or meeting with this person. A row that is highlighted in yellow means that a board member has completed a conversation or meeting with this person and it has resulted in a $1,000 donation OR the PBD has indicated that he/she will donate $1,000 next year or in the near future.

Notes from Adrienne: These are things I know about this person, information that I found as “notes” in our database, and information about any donations over $100 made since 2003 (“DH” stands for “donor history.”)

Board Member Notes: This is where you should record notes on your progress. Please date and initial all notes. For example: “Left vm 12/10 –rs;” “Sent email 04/12 –ard;” or “Spoke on the phone 04/15 and Meeting scheduled for 04/15 –ske;” etc. Use the contact report to type up, in detail, what you’ve learned about the PBD and what you discussed, but the “Board Member Notes” column on the spreadsheet should be used to record your contacts and any summarized or important information.

Follow up/Next Steps: Use this column to indicate what we should do next with this person. Are there outstanding questions this person has that need to be answered? Would The Cedar’s relationship with this person be furthered through an invitation to a specific event? Other?

B. Poke around the internet. You might be able to find more information about your “assignment” by searching their name on google. Although some may find it weird or intrusive if you let on that you know “too much” about them, many appreciate or even expect you to know something about them and their role in the community (for example, it would be reasonable and helpful to know if someone you are calling has been a major supporter of The Walker Art Center).

Step Two: Call your PBD and set up a meeting
If we do not have a phone number or email address for your assigned PBD, try looking it up online. I’d suggest “name” and “reverse address” search on whitepages.com. If you can’t find a phone number or email for your person, consider sending them a hand-written note explaining the purpose of your contact and asking them to contact you.

If we do have a correct phone number, your conversation could go something like this:

Hi is _____________ available?
Hi, my name is _________, and I’m a board member at The Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis. Did I reach you at an okay time?
First of all, I know you’re a Cedar donor and I want to say thank you so much for your support. I’m calling today to see if you might be willing to meet me for lunch or a cup of coffee. We’re making an effort to reach out to our community members, learn more about our donors and patrons, and build support for The Cedar. So I’m hoping we can get together and talk a little bit about your relationship with and investment in The Cedar, to get an understanding of what kind of role you think The Cedar plays in our community, and to solicit ideas and thoughts about The Cedar’s future. Are you willing to meet me for lunch or coffee in the next few weeks?
Note: If you’re calling a couple, don’t assume that one or the other makes the donation/financial decisions. You can ask something like “Would you, Sherry, or both of you be the best to meet with to discuss your involvement with The Cedar?”

Strategy suggestion: If you are nervous about “cold calling,” you might try “warming up” your PBD with the following strategy - Call the PBD at home during the day or at work during non-work hours (when you are most confident that you will reach their voice mail or answering machine.) This way, you can leave a message introducing yourself; this will not only apprise them of what you want before having a “live” conversation, but it allows them to call you back when it is convenient for them (or allows them to send you an email indicating the best time for them to talk.) I have always been a big fan of the “voice mail message, then email” contact. Leave a voice mail message introducing yourself and say something like “I’ll go ahead and send you an email as well in case that’s a better way to get a hold of you.” Then in your email, you can write, “I just left you a voice mail message, but I thought I’d try an email as well.” If you don’t have an email address for them, invite them to send you an email by leaving a message like “it would be great to talk to you. Feel free to give me a call back at xxx-xxxx or you can try emailing me at xxx@xxx and let me know the most convenient time for me to reach you.”

Step Three: Meet your “assignment”
During these meetings with PBDs, we want to 1) inform them about current initiatives at The Cedar, thus get them more invested in and excited about our organization, and 2) cultivate them to the point where we can successfully solicit them for $1,000 annually. I’m going to have a comprehensive cultivation plan for this group of folks, and these meetings are only the first step.

Basically, your job in this meeting is three-fold

1) Share information about The Cedar There are certain promotional materials that you should give to your PBD including:

1. 4-color Cedar brochure
2. 4-color glossy donor guide
3. Pledge form and return envelope
4. Cedar bumper sticker
5. Live at The Cedar CD: If they already have a “Live at The Cedar” CD, ask if they’ll give this to a co-worker, friend, or neighbor who hasn’t heard of our organization. This will be a good way to introduce who we are and what we do to more people.
6. Most recent newsletter
7. A pair of comp tickets: The idea behind the comp tickets is that we hope this person will share them with someone who hasn’t been to The Cedar before or who isn’t currently involved with us. The more people who know about us, the more people will buy tickets in the future, and the more people might become donors.

If you need any of these materials, let me know and I can mail you some.

Things you should make sure to communicate to your PBD:
-This past fall, we launched our “we are made of Cedar” annual fund campaign which will run
Through 2008. The campaign encourages Cedar community members to show they’re “made of Cedar” by becoming donors.

-The McKnight Foundation is contributing to our “We are Made of Cedar” annual fund campaign by matching every donation made in March and April dollar for dollar up to $10,000. This means your donation will count double – something to keep in mind when considering your donation to The Cedar this year.

Other interesting things you could share if you’d like:
• We ended 2007 without a deficit for the first time in nine years.
• In 2007, The Cedar saw a 61% increase in charitable contributions from
individuals and families and raised more money than any year in The Cedar’s history!
The Cedar was able to do the following in 2007:
• Purchase credit card machines, so we now accept credit cards at the box office and the concessions stand
• Tuck-point and paint the exterior of our building
• Purchase new chairs for our lobby
• Present international artists such as Marcel Khalife from Lebanon, Varttina from Finland, and The Gangbe Brass Band from Benin
• Host well-known, acclaimed artists such as Ryan Adams, Bruce Cockburn, and Dan Wilson
• Support emerging, independent, local artists such as Roma di Luna, JoAnna James, The Pines, Jeremy Messersmith, and The Owls

The Cedar will be able to do the following in the first quarter of 2008:
• Add an additional concessions area in the The Cedar’s main hall
• Host international artists Babylon Circus from France, Dervish from Ireland, Halle from Iran, and Vusi Mahlasela from South Africa
• Host emerging artists such as St. Vincent, Haley Bonar, and Brass Kings
• Partner with local, non-profit organization Project Success to put on concerts for underserved Twin Cities youth, the first of which was a special concert on MLK Day with African-American stringband The Carolina Chocolate Drops
• Facilitate hands-on workshops for underserved youth administered by Cedar artists in partnership with MacPhail Center for Music
• Replace our sound system with an in-kind donation from Electrovoice and a grant from Saint Paul Travelers totaling $200,000.

Note: Take “notes” about anything that your PBD gets especially excited about. There might be special initiatives that would excited your PBD enough to encourage them to give a one-time donation “above and beyond” their regular annual fund donation - we just need to figure out what this might be. The Cedar has several capital and special projects we would love to undertake, but it is difficult to prioritize all of these ambitions. If there is a donor who is interested in donating a substantial amount of money to any one project, that project could go up on our priority list. In the near future, I will have a strategic priorities document you can reference to discuss “hopeful projects” for The Cedar over the next five or so years.

2) Learn about your PBD This is the most important part of your meeting. People love talking about themselves, and they will feel great about the meeting if you ask a lot of questions and listen to what they have to say. The last four questions are very important from a donor cultivation standpoint.

First, get their updated contact information. As long as you have them sitting in front of you, make sure we have their current email address, postal address, and phone number.
Through your conversation, try to get answers to the following questions.
• Describe this person’s relationship with The Cedar Cultural Center
• What has been this person’s favorite or most outstanding Cedar experience?
• How well do they know what The Cedar is doing today? (Do they know about upcoming shows, website features, annual donor events, Nordic Roots Festival, volunteer opportunities, etc.) How do they get their information about what is happening at The Cedar?
• If they could change one thing about The Cedar what would it be?
• Share a copy of the mission statement. (It’s on the 4 color brochure) Do they think that the mission statement adequately encompasses and reflects what The Cedar does? Do they think The Cedar is fulfilling its mission? Is the Cedar successful at drawing patrons and artists that can benefit the most from the work of The Cedar?
• What is their impression of The Cedar’s reputation in the community? (The West Bank community, the non-profit arts community, the Minneapolis music community)
• What is this person’s current interest in The Cedar? Are they satisfied with their level of involvement with The Cedar? What could be done to enhance or strengthen their tie to the Cedar community? In what ways might they like to be further involved?
• What do you think this person’s financial standing is? Have they made a large financial commitment to one or more other non-profits during the past five years? Do they make regular gifts to other non-profit organizations?
• How have they been asked for donations to the Cedar? Are they happy with the ways in which they’ve been asked to support The Cedar and ways in which they’ve been communicated with about Cedar events?
• What do they believe are important factors in motivating a substantial gift to an organization like The Cedar?
• Where does The Cedar rank among their charitable giving priorities?
• If they were to make a major gift commitment today, what would they like to accomplish with their gift? Are there specific restricted areas that might compel them to give a gift or to give a larger gift?

3) Gauge if they are able and/or willing to donate $1,000 annually to The Cedar in the
near future. How near? This year? Next year? You don’t even need to make the hard solicitation – I can follow up with them. But I do want you to communicate something like this, “One of the reasons we’re meeting with donors and community members is to determine who of our supporters are willing and/or able to step up as leadership donors now or in the future. We’re hoping to create a group of donors giving at the $1,000 level. Do you see yourself as possibly being a leadership donor to The Cedar?” Again, you will be the best judge of what approach is most appropriate as the conversation unfolds and you understand more about this person’s relationship to The Cedar.

Make sure you actually say, in some way, “one thousand dollars” - even you just mention that we’re hoping to build leadership giving at this level. That way, I’ll know that they have a general idea what we’re thinking when I call them to follow up.

Step Four: Send a thank you note

Step Five: Write a contact report and pass on necessary follow-up information
I can follow up with these folks if they have specific questions you can’t answer, want to get involved by volunteering or serving on a committee, etc. Write up as much as you can about what you’ve learned about this person. Try to answer as many of the questions above as you can. I will follow up with further cultivation and a hard solicitation.

Organizational Goals 2007 and 2008

Last year, I identified and outlined goals for The Cedar based on information I gathered from meetings and conversations with board members and staff on what was happening/ what was going to happen in the organization. It is important for us (staff, board) to be on the same page here and ensure that we have activities in place that work towards these goals - not just to track internal growth and progress but to best reflect and articulate to private and corporate foundation partners the situation of our organization, why our initiatives are important, proof that we can and are effectively reaching our goals, and that they can make a difference with funding or increased funding.

Here is a picture of a man dressed as a tree. It has nothing to do with our goals, I just wanted to make this blog entry more interesting.






















Here are our current goals. Please provide feedback, comments, suggestions, additions.

1. Build a stronger financial situation Building a healthier financial situation will allow The Cedar to meet short-term operational needs as well as ensure The Cedar’s sustainability and longer-term success. Consistently growing our base of individual and foundation support will a) increase our ongoing “building renovation” funds as part of our operating expenses - over time, the limited funding we can allocate to building maintenance will cease to cover costs of building degeneration b) develop and build relationships with individuals and corporate and foundation grantors to better put The Cedar in a position to launch a capital campaign in two years c) increase our annual budget to allow for resources that will help us move towards our longer-term organizational goals including outreach to grow and diversify audiences, take more risks on lesser-known artists, and ability to pay larger performance fees for higher profile artists who serve specific audiences.

Progress in 2007: After running a deficit for nine years in a row, The Cedar finished 2007 in the black. The Cedar took a number of steps in 2007 to put the organization on track to secure its financial future. We changed accounting methods, implemented more comprehensive quarterly financial evaluations, and maximized human resources by shifting responsibilities. The Cedar increased charitable revenues from both individuals and private and corporate foundations by an aggregate 60% since 2005. In 2007, The Cedar raised over $100,000 in annual fund revenues, a 61% increase from 2006, and, in just 18 months, tripled the number of individuals and families donating to the organization. In 2007, The Cedar’s implemented mission-driven booking strategies that increased ticket revenues by 29% from 2006.

Goal for 2008: In 2008, The Cedar’s Executive Director will move from a part-time to a full-time position. Though this will increase organizational expenses, it will also free time for the Executive Director to help pursue additional revenue sources in strategeic booking and program development, build and create partnerships with individual and corporate/private foundation donors, and maximize operational efficiency. In 2008, The Cedar hopes to build on last year’s success and increase renewable, individual support and develop new partnerships with more corporate and private foundations. The Cedar will launch a new initiative to seek support and funding through sponsorship opportunities.

2. Increase number of people served Despite The Cedar’s recent success in growing its audience, many concerts are performed with empty seats in the hall. Attracting more audience members (either through selling more tickets or giving away tickets to targeted community members) will maximize the number of people benefiting from the services of The Cedar, increase exposure for Cedar artists, potentially increase earned ticket revenue, and increase the number of communities that know about our organization.

Progess in 2007: The Cedar implemented a better system to track audience fluctuations and event frequency. To build audience numbers, we booked an increased number of shows in 2007 that appeal to larger audiences and an increased number of shows that appeal to new audiences. In an effort to reach out and “tell our story” to a wider audience, The Cedar took out its first regular advertisement in The City Pages; The Cedar now holds a regular advertisement in popular weeklies City Pages and Vita.mn. In 2007, The Cedar started printing its newsletter in color to appeal to more people. The Cedar also evaluated its web presence and worked toward maximizing the effectiveness of its website through minor re-designs and by implementing annual fund campaign webpages.

Goal for 2008: In 2008, The Cedar will use survey results to put in place strategies and initiatives that will respond to our current audiences’ desires and reach out to communities we don’t currently reach. Potential initiatives include offering ticket discounts to encourage repeat attendance and to heavily advertise targeted Cedar shows to audience members who have expressed interest in a specific genre. We are also developing press contacts to increase exposure of the organization. In 2008, The Cedar will undergo a more comprehensive evaluation of its website and determine how to maximize web effectiveness and how to best use all available technical tools for marketing and outreach.

3. Attract and serve more diverse audiences The Cedar hopes to increase the diversity of its audiences by booking more artists who attract diverse audiences and who attract targeted, underserved audiences. As part of our mission to promote inter-cultural appreciation, we are striving to attract first or second-generation immigrants and native Minnesotans to the same performances. The Cedar also seeks to effectively reach out to the Twin Cities’ newer immigrant communities including East African, Latin, and Eastern European and to continue developing partnerships with community organizations to reach targeted audiences.

Progress in 2007: In spring 2007, The Cedar surveyed our audiences to collect feedback and gauge our audience demographics. The Cedar put in place strategies to increase age diversity in its audience by booking musicians who attract younger fans. The Cedar’s location neighboring the West Bank of the University of Minnesota and next to Augsburg College puts it in a good position to attract a college-aged crowd thus exposing a younger audience to international and local performing arts. Performances that were booked with the intention to build younger and college-aged audiences include Black-eyed Snakes, Dean and Britta, Lavender Diamond, El Perro Del Mar, and Andrew Bird. The Cedar also made progress in appealing to specific ethnic and immigrant communities with events such as a concert performance by Marcel Khalife, a Lebanese musician; The Cedar partnered with Mizna, a local Arab-American community organization, for the event.

Goal for 2008: In 2008, The Cedar would like to develop strategies and execute initiatives based on information gathered from the surveys with the purpose to diversify our audiences. We will evaluate our audience diversity related to race, income, geography, cultural identification, age, and identification with the GLBT community. We will determine which demographics are not being served by our work and develop strategies to engage these audiences. Potential action items include booking artists from communities missing from our audiences, giving away tickets to community centers that serve communities missing from our audiences, advertising in targeted local newspapers, adding newsletter drop sites to geographic areas in the Twin Cities from which we don’t draw audience members, and building an advisory committee of individuals from specific demographics to serve as a liaison between these communities and The Cedar.

4. Implement building and facility improvements The Cedar’s building is old and in need of repair. Because of a tight annual budget, facility upgrades are overdue. Increasing our annual operating budget will allow The Cedar to allocate more funds for building repair and maintenance. Executing needed capital improvements will provide a more pleasant experience for audience members, potentially make our facilities more handicap accessible, and make our building more attractive for the local community.

Progress in 2007: The Cedar made steps toward improving the physical condition of our building; we purchased new furniture for the lobby and purchased and installed a stereo that broadcasts the audio from the live show in the lobby. We also and tuckpointed and painted the building’s exterior.

Goal for 2008: With help of a capital grant from Saint Paul Travelers, The Cedar will replace its old, worn, and outdated sound system. This will provide a better quality experience for both the musicians and the audience. The Cedar will seek funding for the restoration of the historical marquee on top of the building which will restore a prominent landmark and will better advertise the venue. The Cedar will once again increase annual general operating money to be used towards building repair and maintenance. Completion of current operational goals will put The Cedar in a position to effectively execute a capital campaign which will allow for necessary capital improvements and renovations.

5. Increase focus on access and education The Cedar has always kept ticket prices low, offered opportunity to earn admission to shows through volunteering, and offered educational workshops throughout the year as part of its programming. We hope to expand these efforts by facilitating more in-school workshops with middle and high school students and offering more complimentary tickets to targeted community members who will benefit most from specific programs.

Progress in 2007: The Cedar has started to distribute more tickets free-of-charge to community centers and targeted households thus increasing access and providing opportunities to families and individuals who could benefit most from specific programs. To increase focus on education, The Cedar has sought funding to underwrite the commissioning of several international artists who will be performing at The Cedar to administer instructional workshops in local, urban middle and high school classrooms. In 2007, The Cedar developed new partnerships with Project SUCCESS and MacPhail Center for Music. MacPhail Center for Music offers music lessons to students of all ages; their students come from 220 zip codes and seventy percent are students of color. Project SUCCESS serves local, underprivileged youth and their families by offering access to the arts through free concert tickets and transportation to the events. The Cedar has committed to providing 50 to 300 complimentary tickets to one show per month to Project SUCCESS. In January, The Cedar exercised these new partnerships, serving both Project SUCCESS and MacPhail’s audiences, through the execution of a successful event with The Carolina Chocolate drops, an African-American stringband from the south. The Cedar commissioned The Carolina Chocolate Drops to expand its work in the Twin Cities; they not only performed their scheduled concert at The Cedar but also administered free workshops at MacPhail Center for Music and put on an additional concert on MLK day including a question and answer session specifically for students in Project SUCCESS. The Cedar was able to execute the project with funds from a Saint Paul Travelers Arts and Diversity Committee Grant.

Goal for 2008: In 2008, The Cedar hopes to build on the success of the Carolina Chocolate Drops project and get funding to execute more projects of a similar nature. The Cedar hopes to develop a program of concert performances and workshops that will not only serve Cedar audiences but youth and families involved with Project SUCCESS, MacPhail Center for Music, and Project for Pride in Living’s youth program. The Cedar also seeks to create new programs that engage young people with our organization. For example, The Cedar hopes to fund a program in partnership with South Senior High School which commissions South High’s web design class to create monthly podcasts for upcoming Cedar events.

6. Evaluate The Cedar’s fulfillment of its mission Given current efforts to increase number of people served and to attract and serve more diverse audiences, The Cedar will be identifying underserved populations in the Twin Cities and communities that aren’t currently served by our organization; The Cedar will be evaluating needs in our communities and how those needs can best be met through the work of The Cedar.

Progress in 2007: The Cedar’s board of directors, Executive Director, and Artistic Director worked toward better defining the organization’s criteria for programming. Because we are mission-driven and not-for-profit, The Cedar seeks to book programming that best serves its communities. The board put in place guidelines that will determine if, why, and when specific shows should be booked, if and how they serve a specific audience, and why a specific artist might be especially compelling or interesting as part of The Cedar’s programming. Identifying criteria for programming has the potential to increase audiences by reaching out to specific, new audiences that could be served by certain programs.

Goal for 2008: In 2008, The Cedar will seek more community input on booking and programming through contact tracking sheets and surveys. The Cedar also seeks to expand its programming by using concert performances by local artists or international artists as a nexus for a larger program that might include focus groups, interviews, published articles, educational workshops, or engaging specific audiences. This will better ensure that we are using concert events to fulfill our mission to facilitate cultural connection/gathering and/or cross-cultural appreciation.

2007 Development Report

Summary of 2007 Development Program

Fundraising revenues budgeted: last budget made for 2007 (August 2007):
$221,696 Grants
$105,138 Annual Fund
= $326,834 Total Fundraising Revenues Budgeted for 2007

Fundraising revenues in 2007 - estimated actuals:
$225,312 Grants
$101,425 estimated Annual Fund (numbers per financials for Jan-Nov plus ebase numbers for December)
= $326,737 Total Fundraising Revenues Estimated Actuals 2007

Fundraising revenues in 2005:
$161,372 Grants
$44,414 Individual Fundraising
= $205,786 2005 Total Fundraising Revenues 2005

We will have increased our development program by $120,951 since 2005 – a 59% increase

Notes on how donations are logged and tracked
In 2007, The Cedar logged fundraising revenues on the financial statements in one of three different categories: “annual fund,” “other donations,” and “grants.” The following are how these line items are defined:

Annual fund: Annual fund donations include all donations from individuals or households. This includes unsolicited (“unsolicited” in that I did not submit a grant proposal) donations from small family foundations. Annual fund money also includes contributions from corporations or businesses in the form of matching donations. Annual fund donations do not include corporate or private foundation grants or corporate sponsorships.

Other donations: In the past, annual fund totals according to the financial statements have included tips received at shows, which are not logged in ebase. Tips and annual fund donations were included in the same line item until 2007 when tips were separated into an “other donations” category. Tips are included in the fundraising numbers in this report so comparisons from year to year are more accurate. “Other donations” in the financial statements could also include charitable income like raffle sales.

Grants: Includes all grant money received from corporations or foundations as the result of a grant proposal.

Differences in financial statements vs. ebase: There are a number of reasons why annual fund totals according to ebase (our donor database) and annual fund totals according to the financial statements have discrepancies. Among them are:
1. Tip money. As stated, tip money was always included in the “donations” line item until 2007, but this money was never logged in ebase. As a result, monthly annual fund numbers according to the financials is almost always more than monthly annual fund numbers according to ebase (except in June and July when The Cedar goes dark).
2. Deposit lag: In ebase, I log/date donations based on when the donation was made according to the donor (this often means logging the donation according to the date on the check.) Though we were more conscious of making the two (ebase and deposit statements) more synchronized, this wasn’t the case in past years and will continue to cause discrepancies.

Notes re: recent development activity at The Cedar
Increase in Individual fundraising from Spring 2006 to Spring 2007

The following are logged individual fundraising revenues in the 12-month period from hiring of Development Director compared with the previous 12-month period (this is different from calendar/fiscal year). Reflects progress of increased development activities:

Jun 05 to May 06 $42,354 (ebase) $56,000 (financials)
Jun 06 to May 07 $77,345 (ebase) $87,049 (financials)

$34,991 additional according to ebase
$31,049 additional according to financial statements

In this case, ebase will be the most accurate reflection of results from development activities since discrepancies in tip money or “other donations” are due to attendance at shows or types of audiences and not fundraising efforts/activities.

Outliers: $13,250 of this additional fundraising revenue was due to large gifts ($1,000 or more)

Summary of grants from 2005 to 2006
In 2006, our funding was cut by $12,000 from the NEA. Additionally, we were cut $2,000 from the Norwegian Consulate. We didn’t receive the $1,000 from the Swedish Council nor $1500 from Swedish Embassy that we received in 2005. This totals $16,500 of non-renewable grant funding for 2006. This was made up for in a $15,000 Saint Paul Travelers Foundation grant and an increase in the ESEK of Finland grant.


Report on 2007 individual fundraising
2007 Budget 1 Created JAN 25: $74,000
2007 Budget 2 Created JUNE 7: $74,000
2007 Budget 3 Created JULY 20: $84,676
2007 Budget 4 Created AUGUST 1: $105,138 with $15,000 as “board responsibility”

2007 actuals per financial statements (preliminary guess – Jan-Nov annual fund numbers per financial statements plus December numbers per ebase): $101,425
2007 Actuals per ebase: $83,925
Under Most Recent Budget by $3,713

Increase since 2006
2006 total annual fund per financials: $62,635
2007 total annual fund per financials (guess): $101,425

2006 total annual fund per ebase: $53,040
2006 total annual fund per ebase: $83,925

(per financials) $38,790 increase from 2006 to 2007
(per ebase) $30,885 actual increase from 2006 to 2007

Year to year comparisons in fundraising numbers per financial statements:
2005: $44,414
2006: $62,635
2007: $101,425

Year to year comparisons in fundraising numbers per ebase:
2003: $36,550
2004: $29,851
2005: $36,450
2006: $53,040
2007: $83,925

2007 outliers/abnormalities to consider
We received approximately $16,000 in “big” donations ($999 and more) in 2007 that we didn’t receive in 2006. We lost approx $4,000 in “big” donations ($999 and more) that weren’t renewed in 2007 from 2006:

Donor Statistics
• 526 people donated in 2007 totaling $77,557.07 (this is total dollar amount from non-anonymous households and individuals not including matching gifts from organizations/corporations/businesses), which is 180 more donors than in 2006 (346 donors). This means that average gift on 2007 was $147.45. After subtracting two outliers (one $10k and one $5k gift), average gift is $118.92. Also keep in mind that a number of donors donated through facebook this year. These may be new donors, donors who gave previously but not in 2007, or donors who had already given in 2007. 80 individuals donated to The Cedar through facebook.com totaling $2,075.
• 13 businesses/organizations contributed matching donations to our annual fund totaling $4,790.06
• 182 individuals or households were new donors in 2007. This means that 345 donors were renewed or lapsed (had given before in Cedar history). 134 donors in 2007 had been lapsed donors (did not donate in 2006 but did donate at some point before then).
• 101 new donors in 2007 gave $50 or more in a single payment
• About 12,800 households received the campaign postcard (this went to people on our mailing list minus those we know have bad addresses minus donors 2004-2007) 3,894 of these postcards were returned, and as a result, their ebase records were deleted. 116 of these postcards were returned with a change of address, and as a result, the records were updated in ebase. 54 of these were returned and their record stayed in ebase due to historical log items, so the record was marked as having “bad/no address.” This means a total of 4,064 of 12,800 postcards (32%) were returned with bad addresses. We print 20,000 newsletters per month at a cost of $1,200 (plus $800 for set up.) We mail 13,000 every month at a cost of $2,300 for postage. Assuming a decrease of 20% of our printed newsletters, we save $240 a month on printing. Assuming a decrease of 32% of our shipped newsletters, we save $736 a month on shipping. This means that we will save $976 a month or $11,712 a year on newsletter printing and shipping. The mailer cost us approx. $4,430. This means that in the end, this mailer will save us $7,282 not taking into consideration the donation money we received as a result.
• After cleaning the data from returned postcards, we have 10,413 records in ebase. About 1,153 records have an email address and 5,296 records have a phone number (includes organizations/corporations as well as households/individuals). Many of these phone numbers are likely not correct.
• 1,789 individuals and families have donated to The Cedar in its history.
• 1,263 donors in Cedar history did not give in 2007.
• 346 people donated 2006. 136 of these donors did not renew in 2007 totaling $11,690 based on last donation amount. 44 people gave in 2005 and not since totaling $8,184. 47 people gave in 2004 and not since totaling $3,138.
• 210 individuals and families renewed their donations from 2006 (individuals and households who donated in 2006 AND 2007). This gives us a 61% renewal rate.
o Some of these donors (those who gave in 2006 but not in 2007) gave on facebook and therefore aren’t (yet) logged in ebase as 2007 donors
o 39 lapsed donors (donors who gave in 2006 not in 2007) gave $100 or more. 

Activity in 2007 to renew 2006 donations
• About 287 households received the campaign mailer (this went to donors 2004-2006 minus those who gave in 2007 minus those we know to have bad addresses in our system.)
• 226 people gave between 2004 and 2006 with no gift in 2007 (LAST GIFT 2004 – 2006) totaling $22,942.
• Of this group (donors 2004-2006 no gift 2007), 3 gave $1,000 or more, 9 gave between $250 and $500, and 51 gave $100 - $249. 

Activity to increase donor amounts in 2007
• 64 People were targeted for personal visits out of which ? were visited in 2007. I will gather statistics from just this group of 64: ____ of these didn’t give in 2007. Their renewed donations total ______.  This group’s last donations totaled ______ with an average donation amount of _______

Sue had a meeting with a donor who had been contributing about $100 per year for several years. Sue asked her to consider a $1,000 gift this year. On December 30, we received a $1,000 check from her.

Summary for 2007 corporate and private foundation fundraising
2007 Budget 1 Created JAN. 25: $187,500
2007 Budget 2 Created JUNE 7: $208,026
2007 Budget 3 Created JULY 20: $214,196
2007 Budget 4 Created AUGUST 1: $221,696

Renewable Grants from 2006: $159,687
2007 Total Grants Received per my records: $225,312
2007 Grants Received per financials: $229,000
Over most recent budget by $7,304
$69,313 increase from 2006

New grants in 2007:
Fredrickson and Byron $1,000
Nash Foundation: $2,000
Nash Foundation: $3,000
Sons of Norway: $500
LUSES: $2,135
Dain Rauscher: $2,000
Buuck Family Foundation: $3,000
Bush Foundation: $40,000
Elmer L and Eleanor J: $2,000

$65,625 in new and increased grant money in 2007
$55,635 of this is in new grants for 2007

2007 Private and Corporate Foundation Donors 
Augsburg Intern Grant $1,693
Fredrickson and Byron Foundation $1,000
McKnight Foundation $55,000
Nash Foundation $2,000
National Endowment for the Arts $18,000
Sons of Norway $500
LUSES $2,135
American Scandinavian $3,000
Norwegian Consulate $1,500
Target $40,000
Dain Rauscher $2,000
Buuck Family Foundation $3,000
ESEK of Finland $2,831
Barbro Osher Pro Suecia $10,000
Bush Foundation $40,000
MSAB $22,653
Elmer L and Eleanor J Andersen $2,000
Saint Paul Travelers $15,000
Nash Foundation $3,000
Total received 2007 $225,312

2006 Private and Corporate Foundation Donors
American-Scandinavian Foundation $5,000
Augsburg Intern Grant $1,693
Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation $10,000
ESEK of Finland $3,794
McKnight Foundation $42,500
MN State Arts Board $20,700
NEA-National Endowment for the Arts $18,000
Norwegian Consulate $3,000
Target $40,000
Saint Paul Travelers $15,000
Swedish Council of America $0
Swedish Embassy $0
Total Received 2006 $159,687

Other Statistics:
All audience members:
2007: 29,410. Average attendance: 219
2006: 27,798 Average attendance: 201
2005: 26,297 Average attendance: 220

Paid audience members only:
2007: Average attendance: 181.73.
2006: Average attendance: 176.82.
2005: Average attendance: 186.76.

Gigs/Events:

2007: 134 total gigs. Rentals: 14 + Fringe.
2006: 138 total gigs. Rentals: 3.
2005: 119 total gigs. Rentals: 11.

Fundraising Action Items and Expenses vs. Revenues

Below is a spreadsheet I've created that outlines annual fund "action items" for our end-of-the-year fundraising drive and associated expenses. The far right column shows cost or estimated cost of said activity. Many of the actions have no or minimal associated cost because they are in the form of phone calls or emails. The "big spender" is the postcard I will mail first class to everyone in our database - right around 13,000 households. To print just over 13,000, we're looking at $1,000. To mail them, we're looking at over $3,000. This alone is more than one third of our total annual fund spending (in printing, postage, etc.) for the year. I know it's important that we do this (our whole database what we've got for potential donors - of course, I am continually doing what I can to add and clean; I've been collecting and correcting contact information at shows, from surveys, from raffle ticket purchases, etc.), but spending this amount of money does make me nervous because we really have no idea how many of these addresses are good or how many of these people maintain a connection with The Cedar. Then again, we sort of have to find out the answers to these questions at some point unless we just want to only work with current donors (ignoring our mailing list for appeals) and adding to our pool only when we add new donors who might be roped in from website, show, or the newsletter. In the end, a strategy that doesn't use our mailing list will not build the base of support we need for The Cedar grow.

You probably can't read the spreadsheet following very well, but the images might give you an idea of how I've organized and kept track of targets, communications, and associated costs of fundraising actions.

The following is a summary of 2007 annual fund appeals and associated expenses, where applicable. This list has basically the same information as my spreadsheet, but it offers some different information and is organized differently.

Target: Current/Lapsed Donors - Renewal

Contact(s) to donors in first half of 2007
• Jan/Feb: Winter 07 Letter Estimated expense $400
Specs: This was sent ONLY to lapsed donors – those who gave 2000-2005, NOT those who gave 2006.
Description: A solicitation letter signed by Sue and personalized with a hand-written note from a house manager or board member.
• Email inviting patrons to take our survey and advertising the McKnight matching challenge
Specs: Sent to all for whom we have email addresses (e-newsletter and ebase) - about half of our donors are included in this.
• April: Summer 07 Mailer Estimated Expense $550
Specs: This was sent to 2006 and 2007 donors. The only people who would have received BOTH the winter 07 letter and the summer 07 mailer are those who didn’t give in 2006 and did give from Feb-April 2007. This was the first contact in 2007 with donors who gave in 2006.
Description: A “memo” thanking donors, announcing results of McKnight Challenge, asking donors to help us by encouraging friends to donate, solicitation to those who haven’t given yet in 2007, and invitation to take the survey.
Enclosures: two pledge forms w/return envelope, sticker, brochure, 2 newsletters.
• Email at the end of the season
Specs: Sent to all for whom we have email addresses (e-newsletter and ebase) - about half of our donors are included in this.

Sept: Connect with The Cedar
• Invitation to Connect with The Cedar Estimated Expense $700
Specs: Sent to donors 2004 – 2007 and a few scragglers from earlier years
Description: Invitation to donor reception. Solicitation in P.S.
• Email to Connect with The Cedar
Specs: Those who received invite for whom we also have email addresses
• Phone call to encourage attendance and solicit
Specs: A small handful of those who received invitations
Description: Calls from board members

Oct/Nov: Fall 07 Letter
• Email asking for feedback on our fundraising messages.
Specs: All donors for whom we have email addresses (approx. 300)
Description: Asking for their input on why they donate and how to build our fundraising case
• Mailer asking for feedback on fundraising messages, announcing campaign, soliciting donors no gift 2007 Expense: $1,235
Specs: All donors with postal addresses (who didn’t respond to email, approx. 600)
Description: Announces the campaign, asking for feedback on our fundraising messages, solicits those who didn’t give 2007, soft ask/asking for help acquiring donors from those who have given in 2007.
Enclosures: Letter with “feedback form” on the back, a one-page with “fundraising case” messages, a pledge form and return envelope.

Nov/Dec: Campaign solicitations
• Campaign Mailer Estimated Expense: $760
Specs: Sent to donors 2004-2006 (2007 donors?)
• Newsletter with insert Estimated Expense: $300
Specs: Sent to all who receive newsletter (all in database not coded “Bad/No Address” or “Do not mail.”
• Campaign email
Specs: Separate email sent to 2004-2006 no gift 2007 and 2007 donors
Description: Announces the campaign, solicits
• End of the year phone call
• “Last chance” email end of December

Dec/Jan
A follow-up thank you/donor report/And You? Buttons.

Ongoing
Thank you note after receipt of donation. Estimated Expense: $250

Target: People in our database (either post or email lists) – Renewal, Acquisition
(includes donors and non-donors)

Efforts to increase this pool: Postal and e-newsletter sign-ups at shows, database cleaning/updating, gathering information/contacts from survey and entering them into the database, collecting information from raffle sales at NRF

Contact(s) to people in our database in the first half of 2007
• Email inviting patrons to take our survey and advertising the McKnight matching challenge
Specs: Sent to all for whom we have email addresses (e-newsletter and ebase) - about half of our donors are included in this.
• Email at the end of the season
Specs: Sent to all for whom we have email addresses (e-newsletter and ebase) - about half of our donors are included in this.

Nov/Dec: Campaign Solicitations
• Campaign Postcard Estimated Expense: $4,428
Specs: Postcard sent first class to everyone in the database for whom we have a postal address and whose record is NOT coded “Bad/No Address”
• Newsletter with insert
Specs: Sent to all who receive newsletter (all in database not coded “Bad/No Address” or “Do not mail.”
• Campaign email
Specs: Separate email sent to 2004-2006 no gift 2007 and 2007 donors
Description: Announces the campaign, solicits
• “Last chance” email end of December

Target: Patrons - Acquisition
(people to come to shows and who may or may not be donors or in our database)

Efforts to increase this pool/to improve communication with this pool: Improved the website.

Fall 07
• NRF Raffle sales – email/solicitation from collected addresses
• Email to those who took the survey announcing results, winner, campaign, w/solicitation

Nov/Dec Campaign-related activities
• Campaign Bulletin board/posters at shows
• Campaign announcements at shows
• Campaign newsletter insert at shows
• Campaign related “Donor Guide,” pledge forms, donation box available for info. at shows

Throughout the year
• E-newsletter and postal newsletter sign-ups at shows
• Bulletin board announcements (expense included in “poster on ourside window)
• Announcements
• Pledge forms, printed donation information Estimated Expense: $254

Target: General Public – Acquisition

Nov/Dec Campaign-related activities
• Poster on outside window(s) Estimated Expense: $199
• Newsletter
• Website

Other: Targeted acquisition/Increase
April - Acquisition
• Acquisition/introduction mailer to a sample of people on the Walker’s donor list Estimated Expense: $250
Specs: Some people who give a lot to the Walker whose addresses I was able to find on whitepages
Description: A letter introducing The Cedar, inviting them to get involved, Live at The Cedar CD, Cedar brochure, campaign to an upcoming show

Oct-Dec - Increase
• Coffee Meetings
Specs: Current Donors
Description: Asking donors to give at the $1,000/year level
• Letter to the 30-60 households targeted for personal visits?
• Holiday card from the staff?
Specs: A holiday or new years card to the 60 or so households targeted to be solicited at the $1,000 level

Nov/Dec – Businesses/Organizations
• Appeal to businesses/organizations
Specs: businesses/orgs affiliated with The Cedar over the years
Description: Business/org “levels” of giving or sponsorships?


I’ve estimated a total of $9,571 will be spent in fundraising expenses by the end of 2007. This is about 2% of our operating budget (total operating expenses at $487,278.) This includes printing and postage, mainly. Expenses are described and itemized on the spreadsheet. Keep in mind that this does not include administrative costs.

Including administrative costs, an estimated $59,600, about 12% of our operating budget, is spent on fundraising expenses.

“Charity Navigator” is an organization/website that rates charities based in several categories. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=35 The Cedar has not yet been evaluated by Charity Navigator. The organization/website looks at an organization’s 990 to get its information.

One of the evaluation categories is “fundraising expenses” which evaluates the percent of the operating budget spent on fundraising expenses – lower being better. It’s not entirely clear whether administrative costs should be included in these expenses; there is a separate category for an “administrative expenses” evaluation. Here are fundraising expenses vs. operating expenses for some other Minnesota arts organizations according to Charity Navigator:

Minnesota Opera 10.6%
Walker 5.8%
Guthrie 5.9%
American Composer’s Forum 10.5%
Artspace 6.0%
Children’s Theater 8.9%

If you don’t include administrative expenses, The Cedar spends a way smaller proportion than other organizations on fundraising expenses. If you do include administrative expenses, we’re slightly higher than other organizations.

Charity navigator also evaluates based on fundraising efficiency or amount of money spent to raise a dollar. If we only look at annual fund giving (not foundation or corporation grants), and we don’t include administrative costs (I’m assuming administrative costs aren’t included here because administrative costs are another category; also, administrative costs would have to be weighed in against money raised from foundations), we spend 9 cents per dollar raised.

Budgeted dollars to be raised in 2007 $105,000
Estimated Dollars spent not including administrative $9,571
$0.09 spent per dollar raised

Compare this to other institutions/organizations fundraising efficiency according to Charity Navigator:

Minnesota Opera $0.13
Walker $0.05
Guthrie $0.6
American Composer’s Forum $0.13
Artspace $0.19
Children’s Theater $0.09

Charities Review Council, an organization that evaluates non-profits in Minnesota lists the following spending:

The Cedar 19.5% on management and 3.8% on fundraising
Walker 24.8% management and 5.3% on fundraising
The Guthrie 10.7% management and 6.2% fundraising
Minnesota Opera 19% management and 10.6% fundraising

Some things to consider:
Institutions like The Walker or the Guthrie are well-established and have been engaging patrons in fundraising campaigns for a long time. Because of this, it can probably be assumed, for example, that Guthrie and the Walker’s mailing lists are cleaner and more robust (therefore more effective) than ours. They’ve had the time and have already spent the resources (presumably) to clean them and develop the most effective prospective donor base. At The Cedar, we are doing this now.

The ways that evaluative entities critique organizations should be taken with a grain of salt. These are not necessarily the best ways to evaluate organizations and it isn’t really possible to evaluate all non-profit organizations (many with very different missions and operations) on an objective scale. Consider the following blog entry written about Charity Navigator http://www.netsquared.org/blog/holden/ever-taken-good-look-charity-navigator

An interesting article from the Milwaukee Journal I found posted on Charity Navigator’s website states that although Milwaukee area charities were evaluated as “spending their money wisely” – that is, spending about 8.7 cents per dollar raised on average –area charities are also struggling to increase revenues and grow overall. The article is here http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=613346

An article written in Chronicle of Philanthropy http://www.philanthropy.com/free/update/2007/05/2007051002.htm points out that these numbers can be apocryphal. Numbers aren’t necessarily always reported, recorded, or compared accurately.

Because of the robust marketing budget and efforts of institutions like The Walker and The Guthrie, they have to spend less to raise more. Obviously, the more dollars an institution spends on marketing probably means the better and more prevalent the organization’s reputation and the larger number of patrons thus the larger number of potential donors. Consider the case of Harvard University. Harvard raises by far the most money of any institutions of higher education in this country and probably the world. Many donors to Harvard aren’t even alums and aren’t even solicited by the institution – they just give because it’s “Harvard.” Because of its reputation and history, Harvard probably has to spend far less for each fundraising dollar raised. Obviously, The Cedar isn’t at a point yet where it is reaping benefits from a comprehensive marketing campaign or historical reputation.

Designing our communication materials 2

Based on my sketches, Diane put together a postcard and a poster.
































I'm still trying to put together the web piece of this, which is important and pretty urgent. I am hesitant to send out appeals that point to the website for information, and I'm hesitant to announce the campaign until we have adequate information and representation on the web. The obstacle I'm facing with getting the website in motion is that I'm not sure how much direction I need to offer; I'm also unsure about what kinds of things are easy or difficult to implement. I don't have graphic design applications, so I did my best using this simple "paint" tool through Appleworks which I'm pretty sure came with the computer. Here's what I came up with:

































I'd like to see the web with the same "look" as the other campaign materials. Obviously, it should have the same messages, the same images, and the same logo (And You? image.) I'd like to adopt colors for the campaign that will trigger recognition and add to the comprehensive and consistent "look." I think the orange/gold color that Diane used for the postcard works nicely.

These samples reflect what I'd like to see on www.thecedar.org/donate (The first image is the top of the screen and the second image is the bottom of the screen, appearing when you scroll.) The right panel would remain static throughout the various pages that link to "/donate." The list of white text on the right panel are the following links:

Becoming a donor
Fundraising goals
More about Sage
Read Sage's blog
Photo gallery
Videos
Tell your Cedar story

Becoming a donor - This link will include the pieces of our "fundraising case" demonstrating why donating is important, maybe some pie charts about how we spend our money, little FAQs about donating, etc. I will also include in this link information about the "donor incentives" - more details about the choice of three "thank you gifts" donors receive if they are among the first 100 donors at $50 or more to the campaign.

Fundraising goals - The "fundraising goals" link will look the same as the image I've put together for the bottom of the /donate page (but will not simply link back to the bottom of the /donate page.) I will add to this information about the "donor incentives" (this will be repeat information from the "becoming a donor page"), some information about what The Cedar will do with the money we raise, and some longer-term goals we have for The Cedar that can be accomplished after building a strong base of support.

More about Sage will basically be text of Interview Q and As that "tell Sage's story" about the role The Cedar has played in her life. Also include some photos of Sage (I have a lot.)

Sage's blog - there is a blog function right in drupal, so I'm hoping that we can get this page to link right to Sage's blog which she can add to by logging into the website (so there is not intermediary step)

Photo Gallery - photos of Sage doing things around The Cedar with clever captions

Videos - Funny videos that will increase web traffic, get attention, and hopefully encourage people to spend more time on the website. A few videos could be interviews with Sage talking about The Cedar. Other videos can be short, funny, and only loosely related (someone making a funny face, doing somersaults in The Cedar's hall or whatever)

Tell your Cedar story - I've already create a form through Drupal's "survey module" for this. I'm hoping that this page can just link to that form. Also, I'd like to see another photo here.

The turquoise box on the left panel underneath the photo of Sage has the text from the postcard, "Meet Sage.." etc. with the quote.

Designing our communication materials

I am not a graphic designer or a web designer; I don't really know the first thing about how to theme a website or use graphic design tools. I'm usually pretty okay at nailing the messages, purpose, and desired outcomes of marketing, solicitation, or cultivation pieces, but I rarely have the vision that dictates what web and print marketing should look like visually. Though folks like Diane and Carla are the talents behind the web and print design, I still have to provide some direction as far as content and look. Especially working at a small non-profit organization, I often have to "have my hands in a lot of pots" and do a lot of it myself. Even at Macalester where they have an entire college relations department to do this stuff for us, I had to basically sit down with a pencil and scratch paper and sketch out what I wanted. With a Cedar end-of-the-year campaign kicking off, I had to not only commit to our key messages but come up with some direction for how to communicate with our potential donor base through web and print marketing. So I did some cutting, pasting, and pencil scratching and went to Kinko's to have them scan in my pile of scratch papers with stick figures and scribbles.

PIECE ONE: POSTCARD
Here's what I've sketched for the postcard that will be sent first class to all households in our database (minus donors 2004 to 2007.) The reason for this mailer is twofold: First, we want to market our campaign to and solicit as many people as possible. Second, we need to clean up our database; we have a lot of old, dated records. Aside from wiping the whole thing clean and starting over, sending a first-class mailer (which means we'll receive bad address returns) might be the only way to do it. This also means that we have to design a postcard of the smallest size. Sending one of these first class is significantly less expensive than sending a larger postcard first class (especially when we're talking over 13,000 pieces). Here's the sketch:

Postcard, front:
















Postcard, front. Text, from the top:
"We are made of CEDAR" ("Cedar" in Cedar logo font.) Next to this, potentially a "campaign logo," which should be inserted as many times as is reasonable in all campaign materials and communications to stimulate visual recognition.
"Show us what you're made of. Donate today."
"THE CEDAR'S end-of-the-year fundraising drive starts November 1." (THE CEDAR in Cedar logo font.)
"Meet Sage, Cedar house manager, donor, volunteer, and intern."
"Sage says, 'The Cedar allows me to hear some of the best music from all over the world with amazing people from all walks of life.'" I'd still like to work with the quote a little bit. It's the right idea, but I'm not sure we've nailed it yet.
I'd like the photo to be cropped around Sage (as opposed to being in a "box") because I want the images to "flow" with the rest of the text, banners, or whatever. For example, I like how the images in our marketing brochure interact with the other colors and graphics:


















Though I don't want the mailer to be as dark in color as our marketing piece.

Also, the photo should be labeled something like "Sage, Cedar house manager, donor, volunteer, intern."

The following can be re-evaluated once we see what the text and images look like and how crowded everything is on this size postcard. Ideally, I'd like to also insert "Help us recruit 416 new donors to give $50" and "The first 100 donors at $50 get a Cedar CD, 2 tickets, or a tote bag."

Finally, at the bottom of the page, "For more information, visit www.thecedar.org/donate"

Postcard, back:















Postcard, back. Text, from the top:

"3 easy ways to donate."
"1. Online at www.thecedar.org/donate"
"2. Mail your donation form and payment to: 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454"
"3. Call us at 612-338-2674 ext. 103"
"For questions or more information, contact Adrienne at 612-338-2674 ext. 103 or adorn@thecedar.org"

PIECE TWO: MAILER/DONOR GUIDE
I'd like to send a more detailed, 4-color, glossy mailer to donors 2004-2006. I also want a general use "donor guide" that presents pieces of our fundraising case and provides information about why and how to donate to The Cedar. Instead of facilitating the design and printing of two totally different pieces, I decided that it might make sense to combine the two. I've therefore sketched out a 4 page booklet/mailer whose inside two pages serve as the "donor guide." In this format, all time-sensitive and merged information lives on the outside pages of the mailer. Here are the sketches:

Cover Page (Page 1 of mailer):
















Cover Page (Page 1). Text
Text/look of the cover page (page 1 of mailer) will be the same as the front of the postcard.

At the bottom of the page, insert the weblink: "www.thecedar.org/donate" or "visit us online at www.thecedar.org/donate" or "donate online at www.thecedar.org/donate."

Page 2-3 of mailer/Page 1 of the donor guide:


















Page 2 of mailer.
Left page. Text, from the top:
"Be among the first 100 campaign donors at $50 or more and receive your choice of the following thank you gifts"
Insert "campaign logo" as bullet points?
"Two tickets to January 18th (I have to check the date) performance of African American stringband The Carolina Chocolate Drops."
"A Live at The Cedar: Visionaries CD which includes live recordings of shows peformed at The Cedar."
"A (something descriptive) Cedar tote bag."

Below this, I'd like a (labeled) photo of the Carolina Chocolate Drops which, again, interacts with the rest of the page sort of like this:

















Page 3 of the mailer/Page 1 of the donation guide: (Remember that the middle pages of the mailer are doubling as a general "donor guide.")

Text, from the top:
THE CEDAR (in Cedar logo font)
"The Cedar 501c3 is an intimate performance venue in Minneapolis that has been presenting local, regional, national, and international music for 17 years."
"Our mission ('our mission' in bold) is to promote inter-cultural appreciation and understanding through the presentation of global music and dance."
The following is technically part of our mission statement, but it should be added as we see fit as the mailer comes together. I don't want too much text to make the piece look cluttered:
"The Cedar is committed to artistic excellence and integrity, support for emerging artists, diversity of programming, and community outreach."

"Meet Sage, Cedar house manager, donor, volunteer, intern. Sage joined The Cedar as a volunteer during her junior year of high school. Two years later, she started as a house manager and made an investment in The Cedar by becoming a top donor. Another year later, she started volunteering as an office intern."
"'I was looking for a way to give back to my community while expanding my musical tastes and exposure to local artists.'"

"When you donate to The Cedar, you support local, independent artists and help bring culture to Minnesota by allowing The Cedar to present a diverse mix of artistic programming from around the globe."

On the right side of this page in a "vertical banner:"
"We are made of CEDAR"
"Show us what you're made of. Donate today."

At the bottom of the page, insert the weblink

Page 4-5 of the mailer/Page 2-3 of the donor guide:

















Page 4 of mailer/Page 2 of donor guide
Left page. Text, from the top:

(in bold) "The Cedar depends on your charitable gifts." "Revenue from ticket sales only cover 46% of The Cedar's operating expenses. The Cedar books events that focus on service to the community rather than maximizing revenue. The larger number of individuals and foundations who support The Cedar financially means a larger number and variety of programming opportunities The Cedar can pursue."

Below this, a text box that personalizes the communication further by offering bits of information about Sage and her relationship with The Cedar. We haven't nailed all of this text yet, but something like:
"Spotlight on Sage (insert campaign logo)"
"Cedar jam you just can' get enough of: Tinariwen"
etc.

Another Sage photo to the right.

At the bottom of the page, insert the weblink.

Page 5 of mailer/Page 3 of donor guide:
Right page. Text, from top:

"With your help, The Cedar will be able to do the following in 2008:
"1. Bring back some of your favorite artists such as Bruce Cockburn, Dan Wilson, and Altan"
"2. Complete upgrades to our sound system, lobby, marquee and other capital improvements that improve the concert-going experience."
"3. Something else"

"Small donations count, too!"
"(in bold) A gift of any amount shows your support for The Cedar (end bold) When a large number of individuals donate to an organization, it demonstrates community support. Giving at any level makes an investment in and shows a vote of confidence for The Cedar."
"(in bold) Small gifts add up to make a significant financial impact."
"(in bold) High donor participation inspires others (end bold) Individuals with the capacity to make larger donations will be more likely to do so if other community members also support the organization."

"Sage says, 'The Cedar is important to me because it brings local people together with artists from around the world.'"

Weblink at the bottom.

Page 6-7 of the mailer/Page 4-5 of the donor guide:
















Page 6 of mailer/Page 4 of donor guide
Left page. Text, from top:
"3 easy ways to donate."
"1. Online at www.thecedar.org/donate"
"2. Mail your donation form and payment to: 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55454"
"3. Call us at 612-338-2674 ext. 103"
"For questions or more information, contact Adrienne at 612-338-2674 ext. 103 or adorn@thecedar.org"

Page 7 of mailer/Page 5 of donor guide
Right page:
Pledge form on the right half of the page with perforated edge. *The pledge form will me merged with donor "household name," address, phone, and email - maybe merged information can be highlighted or in a different color to bring attention to it? People will take a second look if they see their name, etc. On the side of the pledge form something like: "The information we have for you is filled into the form below. Please make corrections and fill in missing information.

My original pledge form template will be changed in the following ways:
1. Change "name" to "household name"
2. Top will say "I am made of CEDAR, too" (instead of "Yes! I would like to...")
3. Under email, a box to check that says "I would like to receive The Cedar's monthly e-newsletter"
4. Delete three check boxes

Back cover to mailer:
















The back cover will have the mailing information: merged address, return label, postage.

PIECE 3: POSTERS

The posters have a similar layout/text as I've explained and outlined for the mailer and postcard aside from one of the posters which I'd like to have a "thermometer." The idea is that I'd fill out the thermometer as the number of donors increases. Here are my sketches for the posters:































































PIECE 4: WEB

In order to effectively use the web for the current fundraising campaign, I've prioritized my suggestions for more effective web marketing (see "Website Thoughts" post.) I've targeted the easiest, most urgent changes that I think will allow for the most web traffic and best advertise the fundraising campaign.

The following should be implemented immediately:

1. Change the Upper left corner box on The Cedar's homepage. Wipe out the background picture and replace it with a plain dark purple background. In place of the current text, insert "THE CEDAR" in Cedar logo font in white with the address and phone number below.

2. Delete all of the links on the top left banner on the homepage. "Nordic Roots Gallery" and "Cedar Photo Gallery" should be consolidated as simply “Photo Gallery” and included as a sublink under “About.” Site Map doesn’t even work. I don’t see a need for “privacy policy,” but if we must, we could include that under “about” as well. Delete “music news” (including all side bars “jazz news” “folk news” etc. - I don't see this contributing anything to the main purpose of our site) and include “directions” under “contact.” If in the future we see a need/compelling reason for “music news,” we can include a “links” page under one of the main categories.

3. Change the main links banner to include only the following links:
About, Calendar, Tickets, Donate, Volunteer, Contact

We don’t need a link to the survey anymore. I’ll think about it and may want to add it under the donate page. “Cedar News” items can be included as a sublink under “About.”

4. On the right for newsletter sign up, change it to say this:

The Cedar’s monthly e-newsletter
(box to insert email)

Two radio buttons that say:
Sign me up!
Unsubscribe

5. Delete The Cedar “news feed”/links on the right panel. This is redundant. In its place, one link for “on sale” ticket announcements. Don’t need “Cedar News” title.


The following to be implemented once all content is ready and in place:

6. The DONATE page
The donate page should have the same "look," font, colors, etc. as the mailers. Diane is designing this "look."


I'd like to try to include all of the following information on the "donate" page without things looking too busy:

-“We kick off our end-of-the-year fundraising drive on November 1st!”
-Haven’t nailed the language yet, but something like “416 new donors to give $50 each by December 31st”
- A thermometer (for donor goal)
-The main photo
-Next to the main photo, some text like “Meet Sage. Cedar donor, volunteer, intern, and house manager.” And a quote by Sage with a link that says something like “read more.”
-Links including:
More about Sage
Becoming a donor
Read Sage’s Blog
Photo Gallery
Tell us your Cedar story
-A video clip with a title underneath like “hear what Sage has to say about supporting The Cedar

Here's a sketch:

















7. I want the fundraising drive to be featured on that right side bar where “Cedar News” now is. Something like “We are made of Cedar fundraising drive starts Nov. 1” with a link to the donation page and maybe a mini goal thermometer.