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The Power of PersuasionPutting the science of influence to work in fundraising

Loud and ClearCrafting messages that stick—What nonprofitscan learn from urban legends

Fostering High-Quality ConnectionsHow to deal with corrosive relationships at work

In 1981, Garrison Keillor, the popular host of Minnesota Public Radio’s satirical “A Prairie Home Companion,” offered listeners a free poster of his mythical sponsor’s “Powdermilk Biscuits.” To everyone’s surprise, more than 50,000 requests poured in; the station faced a $60,000 printing bill. To avert “financial disaster,” as MPR president William Kling later recalled, the station used the back of the poster to advertise products for sale, such as a Powdermilk Biscuits T-shirt. The idea worked. “I think we netted off that poster, which was really our first catalog, $15,000 or $20,000,” Kling said. “It instantly became clear that there were things like that you could do.”1

“Growing up was not so easy,” Alicia Erika Genisca told attendants of the Steppingstone Foundation’s 2004 fundraising gala. “My mother is a single parent, and at the time, she often worked two jobs just to put spaghetti and hot dogs on the table. She did all this while also attending college part time. But my mom saw the potential in me to excel beyond my surroundings.”

the Steppingstone Academy has shepherded underserved children in the Boston area from playground to capand- gown at top college preparatory schools, and then on to quality fouryear colleges. After completing Steppingstone’s 14-month-long academic program for elementary school students in 1993, Genisca went on to earn diplomas from Thayer Academy (Braintree, Mass.) in 1999 and from Johns Hopkins University in 2003. If her academic history is any indication, Genisca will march to “Pomp and Circumstance” once more in 2008, when she is slated to receive her M.D. from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Research Rules

In a preliminary online survey, we gathered simple demographic information like age and sex, while also posing deeper questions about interests and preferences. (Surveys can also be conducted via phone or snail mail.) We asked how often people visited the Web site, what they thought about Dr. Love’s work in the breast cancer movement, and how they liked to be contacted. We also asked questions about giving patterns, such as “Do you support other breast cancer organizations?” Picking the right – or wrong – questions is a sensitive business and central to a survey’s success, and we avoided specifics about giving amounts so as not to be too intrusive. (See sidebar for tips on survey research.)We supplemented these surveys with informal focus groups – small numbers of carefully selected individuals who share their opinions in a moderated roundtable discussion. Our focus groups were asked about their thoughts and feelings about Dr. Love, her foundation, and breast cancer organizations in general. (See sidebar at far right for tips on focus groups.)

Finding Focus With Focus Groups

A United Way affiliate has boosted its fundraising by breaking the rules

A Bold Idea Takes ShapeCorporate Cornerstones resulted from a fact-finding project that UWCNM launched in 1997. The project’s mission was to find out why people object to donating to charities in general, and to the United Way in particular. The agency found that two concerns top donors’ lists: nonprofits might use part of the gift to cover administrative costs, and donors might have no say in who benefits from the remainder of their pledge

When creating a cross-sector partnership with a company a nonprofit should:

In the for-profit world, the term “investment” has clear meaning and investors have sophisticated techniques for spotting and growing the most promising companies. Yet foundations and other nonprofit donors have not developed similar clarity or approaches. As a result, the nonprofit sector’s greatest gems often languish well below their full potential. By better translating for-profit concepts, donors can learn how to scout out and grow the best nonprofits. Likewise, certain nonprofits can take a page from business’s playbook and learn how to attract cash for expansion.

Achieving Breakthrough PerformanceFrom the Girl Scouts, to Partners In Health, to the city of Providence, R.I., great organizations have one thing in common: great managers. These managers, in turn, share four simple management principles that they use to guide organizations from mere mediocrity to stand-out stardom.

The Reality Underneath the Buzz of Partnerships

In a recent study of how foundations define and approach effectiveness, the Urban Institute surveyed 1,192 grantmakers. Sixty-nine percent reported they actively encouraged collaboration among grantees. Forty-two percent of these said they sometimes required partnering as a condition for funding.