“To consult, or not to consult” – that is the question. Or at least it would be if Hamlet were to ask it. Hamlet’s “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” make me think of fund-raising goals too great and resources to meet them too few. His “sea of troubles” sounds like an ocean of red ink.

If you’re exploring using outside professional fund-raising counsel for the first time, the journey is likely to take you to a country nearly as “undiscover’d” where no traveler returns as Hamlet’s oblivion. But, the land of fund-raising consultants is a place from which you can come back, and if you watch your step, with the competent and capable help you need.

Fund-raising consultants can be a godsend to non-profits. For organizations with an inexperienced, small, or nonexistent development staff, they can do everything from mentoring a budding development director to designing specific campaigns and tools to setting up the organizational structure for an ongoing fund-raising effort.

Larger organizations with considerable experience in fund-raising and a fully professional development staff can benefit from a consultant’s mastery of the process of initiating new types of fund-raising efforts and reorienting the development department.

Consultants Can Assist Organizations of All Sizes

Basically, there are two types of consultants:

1. National or regional firms offering a full range of services and a large staff experienced in all facets of fund-raising and well versed in the needs of all types of non-profit organizations.

2. Locally based individual consultants or minimally staffed firms that know a particular community’s fund-raising climate and resources and perhaps specialize in one or more broad types of non-profit organizations—the arts, education, health care, social services, etc.

…..Ay, There’s The Rub!

Generally, the first category of consultants will work only with organizations that have an established history of service and a successful fund-raising record. They are akin to investment brokers who will handle an individual’s account only if he or she has $100,000 on deposit. While their attitude may seem discriminatory and elitist, major consulting firms do not want to be confronted with organizational and board leadership problems, insufficient staff and volunteers, an indistinct mission, or any of the other likely deterrents to conducting a successful fund-raising effort.

They exist to bring more know-how to an organization which is already well-grounded and has the financial base to afford the not inconsiderable cost of their services. Such firms charge in the neighborhood of $1,250 a day plus expenses and are likely to require contracts of some length.

For non-profits that are smaller, less well-defined, new, or relatively inexperienced at fund-raising, consultants from the second grouping are likely to be able to do more and at a lower cost. Often, they are individuals who have a successful track record as development director at one or more organizations within the community. They know the lay of the land—who has given how much to what causes and who has the ability to lead a campaign.

Local fund-raising consultants can mentor an organization’s board and fledgling development staff. They are more likely to be able to help with any institutional problems hamstringing an organization’s fund-raising efforts. They probably have dealt with similar obstacles in the past while facing the same resource constraints. They are likely to be more willing and able to help an organization develop a workable strategic plan, write a clearer mission statement, enlarge its volunteer base, or undertake a maiden fund-raising effort. Their intimate knowledge of a community’s donor and volunteer base can make them invaluable. Many individual consultants and small firms will charge by the hour, and their daily rates are likely to be in the neighborhood of $500.

Fundraising Consultants for Campaign Planning and Management

A proposal from a first-class consulting firm, large or small, to act as counsel in a fund-raising campaign would likely include the offer to help determine:

• The Case For Support
• The campaign plan
• Key prospects and their suggested giving levels
• Individual strategies for major-gift solicitations
• Volunteer leadership
• Volunteer solicitors
• The proportion of gifts to be sought from trustees, other individuals, corporations and foundations
• The campaign goal

Consultants expect to be made familiar with an organization’s financial projections and strategic planning process, and to be involved in the articulation of its mission (at least in terms of how it will be presented during the campaign). Consultants need to meet and work with key staff members and trustees of the organization. The extent to which an organization must rely on consulting services for a campaign depends, to a great degree, on how much of the planning and execution of the campaign can be done by the development department. The less able the development department is to handle the planning and management of a campaign, the greater will be the organization’s need and outlay for consulting services.

Consultants should not be thought of as a replacement for either the staff or the volunteer leadership of a campaign; they are an addition to the campaign team, hired so that an organization can move more quickly and aggressively because of their added professional experience and judgment.

The best way to choose a consultant is to ask other non-profits in the community for recommendations and then interview those candidates who look as if they might fill the bill. Request a written proposal that includes a firm estimate of time and charges.

Always be sure to talk with both a principal of the consulting organization and the person who will be handling the assignment day to day, and include a cancellation clause in the contract that requires no more than 30-days’ notice.

Warning Signs and Practices to Avoid

1. Never hire consultants whose regimen and methodology are unyielding. Consultants should be flexible in the services they provide and willing to adapt to an organization’s processes.

2. Never hire consultants who request they be paid a percentage of the funds raised in a campaign. This is regarded as unethical in the industry and can result in serious and lasting consequences for non-profit organizations. See my article The Argument Against Paying Development Professionals Based Upon The Amount Of Funds Raised For Non-Profit Organizations

3. Never hire consultants unless you are committed to taking their advice and following their counsel. To do otherwise is to throw your money away.

4. Never hire consultants to ask for the money. That’s the job of your volunteers. It’s the responsibility of the board. See my article Asking For The Money Is The Job Of The Leadership And Friends Of A Non-Profit Organization: Never Hire Someone To Do What Is Their Responsibility

To Consult, Or Not To Consult

If you go into the process of picking a fund-raising consultant with the confusion of a Hamlet, then tragedy does await. But, choose carefully, with an understanding of what it is you really want to achieve and you can hit today’s goals while laying the groundwork for future success. As Shakespeare said in a cheerier reflection on problems and solutions, “All’s Well That Ends Well.”

I have presented fund-raising workshops in many countries outside North America during a professional career of more than 35 years. I have also presented fund-raising workshops to numerous foreign visitors in the United States who were representing charities in their respective countries. In every case, the people who attended my workshops came from nations in which there was neither a tradition nor an established process of individual or corporate philanthropy toward charitable and cultural agencies or non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Yet despite such challenges, people from around the world sought advice and guidance regarding the U.S. philanthropic-style of fund-raising. They did so because they recognized that government support of charities, cultural bodies and NGOs in their countries was rapidly eroding and in danger of disappearing altogether. As a result, they were both willing and eager to learn how to fund-raise in the American style.

“Just show us how to do it,” they told me. “We will find a way to make the process work for us.”

Many of them succeeded in dramatic fashion. And this article is intended to convey the message that you can make it work, too.

A Heritage of Giving

The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom share a long-standing tradition of philanthropy. Fund-raising for charitable organizations that promote human welfare — as well as for such cultural entities as art museums and orchestras, and for NGOs that do good works — is, therefore, both accepted and encouraged in our societies.

While the U.S. and some other countries enjoy a long heritage of private support for charitable organizations, individuals in other countries are just as caring and supportive as Americans, Canadians and Britons. Until now, however, the philanthropic process of raising money has been entirely unknown to them or, at best, only recently introduced.

But the fund-raising process should be the same no matter where it is practiced. The only element missing in countries with young or newly emerging non-profit and NGO charitable organizations is the philanthropic system itself and the habit of fund-raising. These are, of course, formidable challenges. But I know from experience that they can be overcome.

Where Do You Stand?

First, let’s determine exactly what challenges you may face by reviewing the following questions:

1. Is there little or no tradition or habit of fund-raising in your country?

2. Are there few, if any, favorable tax provisions or other incentives in place to encourage charitable giving by individuals and corporations?

3. Is there a long-standing tradition of parents bequeathing all, or most, of their assets to their children?

4. When government funding of non-profit organizations and NGOs is cut, do non-profit organizations in your country turn first to the international community for support, rather than developing fund-raising capabilities at home?

5. Regarding the seeking of funds from the international community, on the other hand, does your government inhibit foreign funding from coming into your country?

6. Do some in your government discourage the work of charities for selfish gain? Do they themselves secure funding which they directly apply to the public’s needs so they can make their constituents beholden to them, thus helping those officials retain their positions in the government?

7. Are your government’s laws, regulations, and its general oversight of charities operated through a maze of bureaucracy whose red tape makes it harder for charitable organizations to be established in the first place and to freely function later?

If you answered “Yes” to even one of these questions, you already know that change will be difficult to initiate. But the charitable impulse is alive in everyone, no matter where they live. And it is your job as a fund-raiser to introduce in your country or to your charitable organization the successful philanthropic fund-raising system we use in the U.S.

Growing the Philanthropic “Habit” in Your Country

It is likely that you will need to start a new philanthropic “habit” where none exists. This can be accomplished by patiently and politely introducing people to the process of fund-raising and explaining why it is necessary. You should also explain that such expressions of charity and compassion can be just as rewarding to the individual as helping a neighbor in need.

To assist non-profit organizations in building the philanthropic spirit and the habit of giving in your country, you must show potential donors that all contributions will be used in exactly the way each organization promises. Openness, honesty and reliability are key issues if you wish to build trust among potential donors, so you must prove not only the value of an organization’s work, but also the efficiency and honesty with which it delivers its programs and services. Only then are you ready to begin real fund-raising.

Understanding the Fundamentals of Fund-Raising

I can tell you from my own experience that the American process of fund-raising will work as well for your non-profits and NGOs as it does in the United States. First, however, you need to understand the process yourself before you can convey it to others.

Many people think of fund-raising as the essence of myth and magic: What mere mortal can expect to succeed? But this is merely an excuse for a failed fund-raising effort. The truth is that successful fund-raising is simply the product of hard work by dedicated people who are thoroughly prepared for the job.

A successful fund-raising campaign is not magic. It is a straightforward process of executing well-defined tasks that are arranged in a step-by-step progression. I know this to be so because I have seen it done over and over again. In fact, I have never found a fund-raising campaign to be an impossible task — inside or outside the United States — if it is well-planned and well-executed.

The best way for you to begin your fund-raising campaign is to explain each of its components individually and in their proper order to your organization and to prospective donors. Taking these early steps helps you to establish your overall goals, divide responsibilities for tasks and gain a measure of acceptance from people who may later be asked to provide you with funding.

The very first task you should undertake is to lead the organization itself through an evaluation of its own capability to raise money. To that end, I suggest you follow the link below to my Web site, where you will find a checklist that can be used to evaluate your organization’s fund-raising readiness: Check Out Your Organization’s Fund-Raising Readiness And Learn The Secret Of Fund-Raising Success

On the list, check each statement that you can honestly claim to be true for your organization. When you have gone through the entire list, I suggest that you reread it to make sure you understand each affirmation. Don’t let their brevity get in the way of developing a full understanding of what they represent. You should evaluate their relevance to your particular situation, look for ways to maximize their effectiveness and value for you, and consider adaptations and adjustments that better tune them to your organization.

Of those forty-one campaign-readiness affirmations, you may find a number of them missing from your plan. You may have others in place, but not to the degree they should be working. What can you do to install the new components and improve the others? Below you will find links to my “Libraries” of fund-raising material. An examination of the table of contents of my “Fund-Raising Forum Library,” will point the way to articles which specifically address each of the affirmations in working detail for you to follow, step by step to meet your goal to develop, produce and implement the best fund-raising campaign possible to meet your needs.

You will be in position to plan and execute your fund-raising campaign with a command and control of each and every one of those components in their operating progression. For example, to touch on just a few of those steps in the fund-raising process, you will learn how to:

• develop a mission statement.
• be certain that you have effective and fully engaged leadership from a Board of Trustees.
• know how important it is for your organization to have a written and reliable long range strategic plan.
• identify potential donors who care about what you do, or who could care.
• ensure that you get your financial house in order to know exactly what it costs to operate your organization.
• develop and set fund-raising goals.
• write a compelling case for support of your mission.
• rate and evaluate your prospective donors in order to allow them to know what you would like from them.
• recruit the fund-raising campaign’s volunteer leadership and solicitation team.
• produce effective campaign communications and publicity plans.
• learn how to ask for the money
• manage and produce campaign progress reports.
• and much more.

At the same time, of course, you must ensure that the organization’s leaders embrace and will use the U.S.-style fund-raising process. Once those tasks are accomplished, you must introduce the process to your constituents and to the public with a campaign that accelerates their acceptance of the concept by increasing their awareness and building their trust.

Raising Money In The United States To Support Charities In Other Countries

The following are examples of often-asked questions regarding the raising of funds in the United States for use to directly support charities in other countries:

“A group of us here in the US care deeply about the plight of orphans in (Country). We know of a specific orphanage there in a village, and we want to raise funds in the US to directly support that organization. Can we start our own non-profit to do so? Or can we find an existing non-profit based in the US with a similar mission to ours, which could act as a “Sponsor” of sorts so we can raise funds which will go to the orphanage?

Conversely, many times those who operate charities in countries other than the United States, themselves inquire and search in the US for such “Friends” who would take their organization under their care and work to raise funds in the ways described above.

Unfortunately, neither option will work very well, and it is necessary to turn from the idealism of achieving such admirable humanitarian goals, to the realities of real and quite formidable laws and regulations. This is a complex area of tax law that should be reviewed with legal and tax counsel based on the foreign and US specific situations. Anyone seeking to work to either option, must consult the IRS.

While it is OK to form a 501(c)(3) charity to help foreign orphans, it is not OK to form a 501(c)(3) charity to support a named foreign orphanage. Thus, in the example above, tax-deductible funds could be raised in the US, but they would need to be distributed to orphanages in general. New rules have been put in place that will make supporting the operations of organizations based outside the US even more difficult. This in addition to the efforts by the Treasury and other federal agencies to prevent passing funds to terrorist organizations.

Although an organization formed in a foreign country can be recognized under section 501(c) (3), U. S. Federal tax law generally does not allow tax deductions for contributions to foreign charities. Sometimes donations are deductible, however, by reason of a specific treaty between the US and the foreign country. The fact that contributions are not tax deductible for U. S. donors may make it hard to find willing donors.

Regarding the question posed above for some to form a US affiliate, unfortunately, it is IRS policy to deny a 501(c)(3) application from a group formed to support a named charity in another country. Giving 501(c)(3) status to these organizations would make it too easy for taxpayers to skirt the law. If anyone decides to form a US group to make grants to foreign charitable organizations, they will have to show the IRS that the organization is not controlled by, or otherwise obligated, to transfer donations to any specific foreign entity.

Additional Resources

All of these written materials are based on the hundreds of fund-raising workshops I have presented over the years and from my scores of consulting engagements. When you read them you will find that the experience is almost the same as if we were discussing your fund-raising questions, challenges and opportunities face-to-face.

I encourage you to review as many articles, exhibits and documents as you can. I hope that you will find them to be of value and support as you develop and conduct the successful fund-raising campaigns your organization needs and deserves to thrive in your country.

What are your comments and questions? I would be happy to hear from you.

Your Organization’s Fund-Raising Readiness And Learn The Secret Of Fund-Raising Success by Tony Poderis

Fund-Raising Forum Library other feature articles by Tony Poderis

Exhibit & Document Library free tools provided by Tony Poderis

Additional resources for fundraisers outside the US, listed by country and/or region.

Fundraising, Philanthropy Trends Around the World by Sandra Sims

Caveat: I am not an attorney, nor am I giving legal advice. The broad picture presented is intended to help focus the desires of those in the US who are sympathetic with a charitable cause in another country, and those who are operating charitable organizations in foreign lands, to take great care to follow every legal and regulatory path to satisfy their intentions before they go about raising money.