Benevon Weblog

New Book!

We are delighted to announce the release of Terry Axelrod's newest book: Beyond the Ask Event—Fully Integrating the Benevon Model. This book explains how to take your organization's implementation of the Benevon Model to the next level of cultivating and connecting with donors. It will show you how to grow our mission-based Benevon Model into a comprehensive system that continually generates new supporters, many of whom will become major donors. This is a book for those truly committed to achieving long-term sustainable funding for their favorite nonprofit.

Beyond the Ask Event gives you the tools to build the bridge from the Ask Event^™ to sustainable funding and keep the pipeline filled with passionate donors. Chocked full of step-by-step exercises, scripts, templates, and checklists to guide your team through the process, Beyond the Ask Event is the one book you'll need to move forward if you are serious about attaining sustainable funding.

This book is available now on our online store and is also included in the Benevon Library.

"Three Critical Variables" by Terry Axelrod

There are three critical variables that must be in place if you are to be successful in achieving sustainable funding. The first of these three critical variables is: 25% of your Point of Entry^® guests are referring others.

Groups that regularly attain this standard find that everything else about the model glides into place. If your group is not having at least 25% of the people who attend your Point of Entry Events refer others to a subsequent Point of Entry, the problem is that your Point of Entry is not sizzling enough. While it may be enjoyable to you and a few of your inside staff, board, and volunteers, it obviously isn't getting the job done with the "real" guests.

Do not despair. This is a common problem. At our upper-level workshops, we often dissect Point of Entry Events under a microscope. We continue to find most Point of Entry Events over-inform and underwhelm their guests.

If a Point of Entry guest gets on a cell phone and calls a friend while leaving the event, saying, "You've got to see what I just saw," it is because they were sufficiently moved and excited by your work. People won't risk referring their friends to something that is just mediocre—it's got to be outstanding!

The second critical variable is: At least 10%–15% of Ask Event^™ attendees join the Multiple-Year Giving Society^™ each year (at one of your three established giving levels). If you can predictably count on meeting this standard each year, you do not have to ramp up the size of your Ask Event as a way to grow your numbers.

Knowing you will be adding new Multiple-Year Donors (who make five-year pledges of $1,000 a year or more) allows your giving society to grow over time and lets you focus more and more on these special major donors who have identified themselves as loyal supporters.

Rather than spending time making your Ask Event larger each year, you can focus on the other leverage points of the model—such as cultivating these prior Multiple-Year Donors to make subsequent Leadership/Challenge/major gifts, which can be announced at your Ask Event.

This 10%–15% standard is mandatory if you are planning to use the model to build sustainable funding.

The third critical variable is: Challenge or Leadership Gift of increasing size at each Ask Event, starting with a gift at least the size of your highest giving level. Like the other two critical variables, attaining this measure leverages the impact of the model.

Attaining these three critical measures over the next year is the single best predictor of your organization's likelihood of success in fulfilling your goals for sustainable funding.

"Reasons to Keep Having Ask Events" by Terry Axelrod

If you've had at least one Ask Event^™ and have been busy with all the special one-on-one attention you're giving to donors, you might wonder if it is even necessary to continue having Ask Events every year. The answer is an emphatic "yes!" When done in the context of implementing the full model, the Ask Event serves several critical purposes in growing the model.

Here are some reasons to keep having Ask Events:

• To focus your implementation of the model and drive the timeline for each part of the process.
  
  
• To add urgency to having Point of Entry^® Events and doing follow up.
  
  
• To give your Table Captains a purpose for inviting their friends to Point of Entry Events all year long.
  
  
• To get focused on a Challenge or Leadership Gift.
  
  
• To keep board members and volunteers connected to the mission, even if they attend as VIPs.
  
  
• To showcase your work publicly in your community.
  
  
• To attract people who you wouldn't otherwise know or think to invite to a Point of Entry.
  
  
• To give small to mid-sized donors an opportunity to start giving to you.
  
  
• To give Multiple-Year Donors an opportunity to make their annual pledge payment while they are inspired and reconnected.
  
  
• To allow Multiple-Year Donors to pay off or increase their pledge.
  
  
• To allow Multiple-Year Donors to see their community of friends who love and appreciate your organization.
  
  
• To remind donors of the difference their money makes.
  
  
• To generate new board members, team members, and volunteers.
  
  
• To remind everyone associated with the organization how proud they are to be associated with it.
  
  
• To allow you to honor any special donors or VIPs.
  
  
• To generate new Multiple-Year Donors each year (10%–15% of the guests).
  
  
• To keep the rhythm of the cycle going round and round and spiraling up and up.