Cultivating your garden... and your donors

Ronni Reich // April 2023

As you gaze hopefully at Roger's (soon to reappear) salvia and lavender above and read our April newsletter, take a moment to turn on our?Spring-themed Spotify playlist. It'll warm your spirits... until the weather gets around to it.?

While April showers will?eventually?bring May flowers to the blustery Northeast (where we are), we’re in that very specific time of year when we have neither a winter wonderland, nor a gorgeous and fragrant riot of greenery and blooms.

It’s all just a bit…?grey.

That’s okay, though,?because we’re spending the time thinking ahead to our growing season, and our collective crops of tulips, roses, berries, salvias, and tomatoes.?

We’re sketching out our plots, ordering seeds, planning to?ward off the deer, and looking up recipes for the produce we’re going to grow. And while we’re thinking about cultivation, we’re turning our thoughts to our favorite organic projects: growing strong brands to support our clients’ fundraising goals.

Much like apples in April, money, of course, doesn’t grow on trees. But there are certainly ways to sow the seeds to encourage donations—starting with a compelling, differentiated brand.?

Across your organization, it’s essential to have:

• a compelling vision that donors can get behind;
• messaging that engages audiences in your story—and moves them to care;
• design that conveys who you are and embodies the attributes you want to be associated with; and?
• a digital presence that encourages engagement and inspires action.?

With spring finally here (even if we can’t see much evidence of it yet), many of you are nearing the end of your fiscal years and looking to meet your goals during an uncertain financial time. Some of you are also undertaking capital?campaigns?to?respond to shifts in priorities following the upheaval of the last few years, and to increase your capacity to fulfill your mission and vision.

Across sectors,?we?are?working?with?our clients to evolve both the thinking and tools to make the most of the opportunities at hand.?

Just as we do when planning our gardens, we start with the big picture—determining what strategies and positioning can help you thrive. We audit the landscape of competing organizations to stake out a place in the soil where you can flourish. We think about what core attributes make up the identity that you want to convey—a crowd-pleasing classic rose, an exclusive heirloom tomato, a vivacious hibiscus—and how that can translate to the way you write, speak, and design.

This process lays the groundwork for messaging and visual systems that can connect with all of your constituents—and can also be tailored to specific audiences and opportunities. You then have the tools to develop print and digital collateral across fundraising and marketing, so that whether your constituents are viewing your website or a fundraising-specific brochure—and whether they’re a new supporter or a planned giving prospect—they develop a cohesive, positive impression that stays with them.

While we can’t promise to make it rain, your cultivated brand can prepare?the soil for success. When you convey your value in distinctive, engaging, and inspiring ways, you create the ideal conditions for a fruitful harvest.

Where we've been... and where we'll be

• CASE D. 1 + D. 2 Conference?(March 12-14): Meg Tripp was glad to connect with a fantastic group of higher ed?advancement professionals in March.
• AFP Massachusetts Fundraising Day?(April 26): Meg Tripp and?Ronni Reich will be in Boston to participate in?this great annual event for fundraisers.?
• Connecticut Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) Advancement Conference?(April 27): Ronni Reich and?Meg Tripp will be manning our table at CAIS's event on?Quinnipiac's North Haven, CT campus,?and attending a day full of?valuable sessions this year.?
• Opera America Conference?(May 17-20): Ronni Reich will be representing us in Pittsburgh this year, including a plenary panel on audience-building.?Make sure you say hello!
• League of American Orchestras: “Bridges to the Future"?Conference”?(June 14-16):?Roger Sametz and Ronni Reich will join many of our clients at this exciting event (also in Pittsburgh)!?

What we've been up to...

We're thankful to be starting some new relationships, and collaborating on?new projects with our existing clients. Here's a sampling of who we're working with right now:

• Curtis?Institute of Music
• Hartford Symphony Orchestra
• Harvard Medical School
• Jacksonville Symphony
• MarketPlace Development / New England Development
• MassArt
• MIT Office of Sustainability
• New Jersey Symphony
• Olin College of Engineering
• Orchestra Lumos
• Segerstrom Center for the Arts
• The Cambridge School of Weston
• The Rashi School
• The Wheeler School

What we've been reading...

• CCS Philanthropy?Pulse:?This annual publication from our frequent collaborators at CCS Fundraising provides a window into the fundraising practices of nearly 1,200 organizations across nonprofit sectors based on data collected in late 2022.?
• Symphony Magazine: Building Boom, Part 2:?League of American Orchestras' spring issue takes a look at how orchestras and music organizations (including Sametz client, Curtis Institute of Music)?are evolving their buildings?beyond the practical matters of good acoustics or a cool design.. and discovering how?orchestras’ homes tell people who they?are and what they?do.
• Inside Higher Ed: Application Numbers Are Up:?Will this upward trend translate into the numbers admissions professionals are truly hoping to see?
• GBH April Drop:?From Marathon Monday to First Monday at Jordan Hall, James Bennett II looks at all there is to see and do in Boston and beyond this month.