In light of the recent incident at San Diego State University, fraternities have been under fire in the media. In a May 9 article, ABC News questions if fraternities should shut down, or if involvement in Greek life is a positive experience for undergraduates.  

Click here to view the full article.

What do you think of this current crisis in Greek life, and what are your thoughts on overcoming it?

Add your comment below.

Have you become numb to the piles of junk mail you receive in your mailbox every day? So have we. It is no surprise though…the average person receives more than 250 pieces of direct mail each year. Of all of that direct mail, nearly half, 44%, is thrown away unopened.

However, there is a reason its still an extremely viable channel to communicate to people. Think about when direct mail has been effective in getting you to open it, read it, and most importantly take action. Its usually because its truly personalized, its been relevant to you, and it has something truly of value to you inside. When a direct mail appeal accomplishes these goals, it can make a powerful impact on your fundraising results. Our new white paper illustrates how to develop an appeal that works - providing specific practices on how to take your direct mail efforts to a new level, increase your response rates, raise more money with larger average gifts, and give you a great ROI.

Read “Appeals that Work: Proven Practices for Increasing ROI on Direct Mail Solicitation for Non-Profit Annual Funds and Membership Organizations”

These days I’m feeling like many decision makers, both in non-profit and for-profit organizations, have forgotten about a basic principles of business – when and why to invest money, and when and why to cut expenses and become “penny wise.”

Not all spending is an expense. Just like in our day to day lives, there is good spending and bad spending. For example I have been taught to buy a home because it will appreciate 5-10% a year plus tax incentives, and I’ve been taught to drive a sensible, usually used car. Why? Simple…because one appreciates and one depreciates.

The ticket to a successful organization is to invest in its growth. Growth does not come on its own…the efforts to achieve that growth are not simply line items on the balance sheet. Invest in building a relationship with your members…invest in nurturing lines of communication with them…because those will pay you back in kind. That is a sound investment. Strangers seldom give. To attract real support, you must involve your best prospects in your organization—a process called cultivation—as soon as possible! Many non profit organizations emphasize how much they need rather then telling donors why their missions are important.

Is communication an expense or and investment? It’s a myth that you cannot afford it. No matter how desperate your organization is, it is not about the needs you have, it’s about the needs you meet. You must invest in your membership and your prospects and have a dialog with them. Communicate regularly, not just when you need money.

It is not hyperbole to say that even a smaller membership organization, if they invest in communicating with their members, can achieve $1 million in a capital campaign. If that proposition were a mutual fund you would be asking yourself whether the risk outweighs the rewards. But you also would know that putting your money in a savings account and not a mutual fund will not get you to retirement. In other words, doing nothing is actually, over the long term, much more risky than making the investment.

The organizations you lead are no different. Make the investment in what matters…invest in your members that is the greatest asset you have and will yield you the best ROI.

Taking care of your organization is like taking care of your body…its not easy…sometimes it’s a hassle…and its hard work. We all know we need to get into the gym more and eat better, but easier said than done. Until we run into health problems, at which point it’s too late.

The same can be said about your organization, regardless of whether its a fraternity, sorority, non-profit or other member-based group…you need to start your “health regimen” TODAY, don’t procrastinate!

Now is a perfect time:

• The Greek system is on an up tick nationwide due to best fall recruiting in over 15 years…
• Your fraternity house is not getting younger nor are construction costs coming down…
• The competition for your members’ dollars is INCREASING and getting more sophisticated by the hour…YMCA, Church, United Way, Schools, University, etc…
• Each month you wait your database is getting more outdated and less effective…

The longer you avoid the gym, the harder and longer it takes to get back in shape. Raising significant funds for an organization take 3-5 years of relationship building and “friend-raising.” There is no time like the present, the reality is you cannot afford NOT to start now.

Midas Muffler used to have a great ad campaign which said, “Pay me now or pay me later,” meaning pay for the $49 for the muffler today so you’re not forced to pay the $700 when your card breaks down. Why is your organization any different?

The “Solution Selling” concept is defined as being “based on the premise that, regardless of industry, the needs, goals, and value to the customer are more important than the specific product or service features during the decision-making process.”

Seems pretty simple, sounds almost obvious. But its much more difficult to put it into practice, especially for the membership organization industry.

The greatest investment any organization can have is to listen to the marketplace. It is oh so easy to allow day-to-day tasks, operations and board meetings to get in the way of staying closer to the members of your group (i.e the CUSTOMERS).

It comes down to simply this: The greatest organizations will be the ones that listen to their members the most!

Why? Because its the end stakeholders that ultimate need to hand over their hard-earned money to you for your product, your service, or in an organization’s case, your cause and mission.
In a past life I headed up Sales and Marketing for a branded footwear company called Airwalk. I find that the membership organization industry is a lot like Airwalk’s trade customers, like Footlocker. The reality was, Footlocker didn’t know about what shoes a teenager wanted. And the more they thought they knew, the more they got it wrong. The reality is that the consumer, in this case the 16 year-old, is the one who should ultimately have the power. Those who listen best will win…just look at Steve Jobs.

Which begs the ultimate question…are you listening to your members? Does your organization know what your members really want? Are you having a dialog with the membership that is meaningful to both you and them? If not, does your organization know how to get that information, and then deliver on it to achieve your mission?

If not, I urge you to assemble the tools and develop the processes to enable that dialog…TODAY. For with that dialog, you will find happy members and greatly increased giving…which ultimately will make your group “The Greatest Organization.”

This is the first post on the Affinity Connection Blog. You’re going to be reading a lot of great stuff here. If you are interested in growing your organization, helping it achieve long term success and health, driving more dollars and donors, and improving your communications with your membership, you’ve come to the right place.

Let us know what you think, we’d love to hear from you.

Enjoy!