FY23 Development and Marketing Plan 

       Updated 9/20/22

   

 

Financial Goals

 

FUNDRAISING GOALS

FY22

FY23

 

Actual

Goal

Individual Donations

80,928

80,000

Foundation Grants

59,095

70,000

Government Grants

18,500

3,000

Corporate Contributions

1,166

3,000

Program Ads

250

1,500

Music downloads, CD sales

299

300

Fruit fundraiser

1,297

1,300

Online auction

4,915

0

TOTAL UNRESTRICTED

166,450

159,100

 

Strategic Goals:  Development 

 

• ​

Key Results

Increase individual annual giving 

• $80,000 in total individual giving  

• 100% board participation

• 75% singer participation rate

• 175 total individual donors

• 20 donors giving $500 or more

• Develop a donor cultivation pipeline

• 2 new Sostenuto donors

Increase grant and corporate giving

• 100% retention of existing grant relationships at current giving level

• 2 new grant relationships

• 3 new corporate giving relationships

Deepen relationships with existing donors

• 100% personal thank you notes within 48 hours of donation

• 4 personalized communications to each donor of >$500 

 

1. Annual Fund Solicitation Strategies

 

1. Personal Solicitation Campaign

To be combined with/facilitated through Direct Mail appeals and personal contacts (as detailed below).

 

1. Board Solicitation                     

Time Frame:                                                   Pledges in October, gifts by June 30, 2023

FY23 Goal:                                                        100% giving 

 

1. Singers Participation

Time Frame:                                                   September 26, 2022 – June 30, 2023

FY23 Goal:                                                        75% participation 

                                                                                  

1. Sustainers appreciation

Thank you/year-end tax acknowledgment letter sent to recurring donors sent in early January

 

1. At Concert Appeals

1. Curtain Talks – Donor thanks during curtain speeches at each performance (include sponsor recognition when appropriate)

2. Donor Reply Envelopes in concert programs

3. QR code and text-to-give number printed in programs

 

c.     Special Fundraising Events and Activities

1. Creation/Season sponsorship campaign, September 26-October 20

2. Fruit fundraiser, deadline October 25, 2022

3. Giving Tuesday, November 29, 2022

4. Calendar-year-end campaign, December 2022

5. 401 Gives, April 1, 2023

6. Season end campaign, June 2023

7. Spring fundraising event?

 

d.     Direct Mail

 

1. Season brochures

Mailing list (donors, ticket buyers, workshop attendees, community partners)

Time frame:                                                    

 

1. Creation Postcards

Time frame:                                                    Mailing 9/22/22

 

1. Creation/Season Sponsorship Campaign

                4-page flyer sent to mailing list, local businesses, community partners

       Time frame:                                                     Mail 9/26/22

 

1. Donor Newsletter

Print newsletters sent to mailing list. Details on Creation, Messiah, and 

Time frame:                                                     Mail 10/14/22

                  

1. Calendar year-end appeal

Personalized letters to LYBUNT and SYBUNT donors

Time frame:                                                     Mail 12/5-9

 

1. Holiday cards

Target Time frame:                                    Mail12/12

                                                                                  

1. Calendar year tax letters

Time frame:                                                     Week of 1/2

         Send donation summary letters to donors who gave multiple gifts in 2022

 

1. Donor Newsletter

       Print newsletters to mailing list. Details on March concert, Verdi, Spring Sing

Time frame:                                                     Week of 1/6                         

 

1. Postcards for March Concert

Time frame:                                                     Week of 2/13

 

1. Fiscal year-end Appeal

Mail-merge direct mailing to all donors/subscribers/ticket holders; personalized letters to LYBUNT and selected SYBUNT donors 

Time frame:                                                     June 1-5 

                                                                                                   

 

e.     Online/Email Appeals

                                    

Cyber Monday, 11/28

Giving Tuesday, 11/29

Calendar Year-End, throughout December

401 Gives, April 1
Spring fundraising, throughout June

 

       f.       Grants

Time Frame:                                          Throughout year

FY23 Goal:                                               $70,000

 

g.     Corporate Support

         This category includes corporate matching gifts and direct program support, program book ads, concert/season/musician sponsorships. Expanding corporate support is a strategic priority for FY23.

 

Time Frame:                                          Throughout year

FY23 Goal:                                               $4,500

                                                                        

 

1. Cultivation Strategies

 

Customer Service Management (CRM). Audience development and organizational marketing are cornerstones of donor cultivation. Learning more about our donors and tailoring communications accordingly is a priority for this season, to that end, we will upload donor and ticket information to CiviCRM, a free, open-source customer relations management (CRM) platform.  

Timeline:  

Initial setup by October 15, so that we have the framework ready to download ticket info from EventBrite. This phase will include information for the past three years only. Formatting and uploading historical data from our Filemaker database (2002-2020) is not an immediate priority, but the goal is to finish this task by season’s end. 

 

We continually seek to add prospects to our audience and donor bases and develop them to become active supporters and regular donors. An ongoing research and identification strategy is essential, as is accurate recording of all information gathered.  

 

Member, Volunteer, and Donor Recognition

 

Conveying appreciation to existing members, volunteers, and supporters is critical. 

 

1. Communications

2. Send birthday e-cards to members and emeriti. 

3. Phone call to top friends and major donors, inviting them to concerts.

4. Send thank-you cards after each concert to attendees, invite them to join our mailing lists to receive more information about the next concert. 

5. Send holiday cards to mailing list, with personalized notes to top friends and major donors--no solicitation, just appreciation for another year of support. 
    

1. Monitoring Plan and Process

• The Resource Development Committee will meet regularly to review the progress of the development plan and identify problems and solutions.

• Staff and committee chair will discuss progress and issues on a regular basis.

• Resource Development Committee will discuss the plan and provide progress reports at board meetings. 

• Staff will provide financial and statistical data to aid progress evaluation of the plan.

 

1. Master Calendar FY23: 

 

July:

         1-7:         Thank-you letters for end-of-season donations, online auction

31:           Deadline: RISCA report due, FY22 

         31:           Deadline: RISCA agreement due, FY23

 

August:

         1-31:      Develop marketing materials with graphic designer, including RI Phil program 

And ad for October issue of Rhode Island Monthly

         25:           Direct Mail:  Season brochure

 

     September:

                  16:           eBlast: Creation tickets available

                  22:           Direct Mail: Creation postcards

                                    Press Release:  Creation 

                  23:           eBlast:  Creation follow up (with clip of rehearsal)

                                    Add Creation to online calendars 

                  24:           Apply for Textron Charitable Trust Event Sponsorship

                  25:           Apply for Pawtucket Credit Union Community Sponsorship (In Harmony)

                  26:           Direct Mail: Sponsor solicitation (mailing list, selected businesses)

                  27:           Send email to church music directors 

                  28:           Develop short list of synagogues, send email

                  30:           Deadline: Reports for Wachner Funds A and D

                                    Deadline:  Amphion Foundation Grant application 

                                    eBlast for fruit fundraiser

 

    October:

                  1-10:      Set up CiviCRM, upload donor, member, and ticket data

1:              Deadline: Apply for RISCA Project Grant 

                  3:              Apply for Rislof Foundation grant 

                                    Press release:  In Harmony staff

                  4:              Make coffee date with trustee of HMP Foundation

                  5:              Apply for Carter Family Trust grant 

                  6:              Follow-up phone calls on 9/26 mailing

                  7:              eBlast: Creation

                  10:           Review CRM for ticket patterns, list people who haven’t attended for a while

                  11:           Send personalized notes to donors, inviting them to October concert

14:           eBlast

                  Direct Mail:  Donor newsletter

17:           Phone calls to donors ($100 and up) who haven’t yet purchased tickets 

18:           Send email with parking map to ticket purchasers

Set up similar, automatic email that later buyers will receive upon purchase

21:           eBlast: Fruit fundraiser ending October 25

                  Deadline: Creation program book to printer

28:           eBlast

30:           CONCERT: Creation

31:           Send thank-you emails to concert attendees, invite them to join mailing lists   

     

November:

                   1-4:        Update direct mail list, design annual holiday card 

                   1:             Deadline: BankNewport event sponsorship application (March concert)

                    4:           eBlast: Messiah

  8:           At rehearsal, encourage Singers participation in annual holiday card

11:          Veterans Day, email and social 

                  14-18:   Phone major (non-singer) donors, invite to Messiah

18:           eBlast:  Messiah, Giving Tuesday 

                  24:           Thanksgiving, email 

                  28:           Deadline: Providence Journal Charitable Fund

•                   Cyber Monday (Amazon Smiles, Giving Tuesday reminder)

                  29:           eBlast: Giving Tuesday

     

• ​

                  1:             Giving Tuesday thank-you via Facebook, emails, letters

                  2:              eBlast: Messiah

                  4:              CONCERT:  Messiah        

                  5-7:         Get ticket list from RI Phil, send email thank-you notes, invite to subscribe 

                  8-9:         Year-end giving – Personalized letters to LYBUNT/SYBUNT donors

                                    Update mailing list

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21-22:   Send targeted email to donors who have not yet responded

25:           eBlast: Christmas

30:           Send last-chance-in-2022 email to non-responders

 

     January:

                   1:             eBlast: Happy New Year

                   2:             Press release: March concert

                  3-6:         List March concert on online calendars

                   4:             Mail tax letters to donors who gave multiple gifts

                  13:           eBlast

                  16:           Direct Mail:  Donor newsletter (no solicitation)

                  27:           eBlast

 

     February:

                  1:              Deadline: Submit final report for Ocean State Charities Trust FY22 grant

                  3:              Deadline: Apply for Dale Warland Singers Commission Award

                                    Deadline: Apply for Alice Parker Fund Award

                  4:              Direct Mail: Send Valentine’s Day cards to top donors (no fundraising)

                  10:           Direct Mail: Send postcards for March concert

                  28:           Deadline: Submit final report for Choral Arts New England FY22 grant

 

     March:

                  11:           CONCERT:  Duruflé Requiem

                  12:           CONCERT:  Duruflé Requiem

13:           Send email thank-you to concert attendees

17:           eBlast: 401 GIVES

                  22:           Deadline:  Final report for June Rockwell Levy Education grant, FY23

Deadline:  June Rockwell Levy, Arts & Culture application for FY24

                  24:           eBlast: 401 Gives

                  25:           Deadline – Providence Journal Charitable Fund, In Harmony

                  31:           eBlast: 401 Gives

     

April:

                  1:              401 Gives

                  3:              Thank-you letters to 401 Gives donors

                  14:           eBlast, Verdi Requiem

                  28:           eBlast, Verdi Requiem

     May:

                  3:              Last rehearsal before concert week, “soft deadline” for Singers giving

                  5:              CONCERT:  Verdi Requiem      

6:              CONCERT:  Verdi Requiem

8-10:      IF we get ticket list from RI Phil, send thank-you notes, subscribe invitation.

8:              eBlast: “Thank you for a great season!” email to general mailing list

15:           Send 2023-24 season announcement

16:           Send press release

                  

     June:

5:              Direct mailing campaign:  Letter with return donation envelope to all donors/subscribers/ticket-holders who have not yet donated 

6:              Annual meeting

9:              eBlast:  Thank those who have supported us and telling those who haven’t that there’s still time .

22:           Send targeted email appeal to people who haven’t yet donated

30:           eBlast:  Final appeal  to people who haven’t donated