RGME Fundraising and Donor Relations: SOP

April 30, 2024 in Uncategorized

RGME
Fundraising and Donor Relations:
Statement of Operating Procedures (SOP)

Version 1.2

(Posted on 29 April 2024)

Contents

Purpose

Scope

Fundraising

Annual Appeal Letter

Facebook Birthday Fundraiser

MightyCause “Giving Tuesday” and Other Fundraisers

Eventbrite

Grants

Estate Gifts

Fundraising Expenses

Endowment

Constable Fund

Donor Relations

Thank-You Notes

Tax-Deductible Receipts

Privacy Policy

Donor Promise

Donor Tiers

Donor Contact Information

Purpose

This document sets out the processes and procedures by which the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence (RGME) performs fundraising and donor relations activities.

Scope

This document applies to all fundraising and donor relations activities undertaken by the RGME or those acting on the behalf of the RGME, including but not limited to our Director, Trustees, Associates, Volunteers, Friends, Contractors, and Vendors.

Fundraising

RGME Website

The official RGME website describes our fundraising goals, offers portals for online donations in funds, and provides a downloadable donation form for other methods such as by cash or check.  (See Donations and Donations and Contributions.)

The RGME also welcomes donations in kind, in non-cash contributions and pro-bono contributions.

Annual Appeal Letter

Every year, the Director or designate shall form an ad hoc group of trustees or also others to draft an appeal letter.  The Research Group will draft an appeal letter and the Director, in consultation, will approve the final draft.  The Director or designate will form a list of donors and potential donors and mail or email a copy of the appeal letter to each donor address on file.  The timing will aim for mid-November for annual appeals, whilst other occasions, purposes, or donors’ habits could call for similar approaches, as required. (See the 2024 Anniversary Appeal and 2024 Anniversary Endowment Appeal.)

The appeal letter contains information about what the Group does and what the Group is requesting money for.  A supplement may provide details for donors wishing further information.

The appeal letter and the donation form/portal will provide donors the option to set up a regular/recurring donation (e.g. annually, quarterly, or monthly), and for gifts or bequests of funds or other instruments.

Facebook Birthday Fundraiser

The Director or designate will run annually a Facebook Birthday Fundraiser, as prompted by Facebook.

MightyCause “Giving Tuesday” and other Fundraisers

The Director or designate will run a MightyCause fundraiser annually for Giving Tuesday Fundraisers, as prompted by MightyCause, or other fundraisers through MightyCause as occasions arise.

Anniversary or other Appeals

For some occasions or purposes, such as RGME Anniversaries or Anniversary Years, specific needs, or Designated Funds (Endowment, Constable Fund, or others as they are created), the Director or designate will run fundraisers in their aid.  The letter will be prepared by the Director or designate in consultation with donors, relevant RGME committees, or others.  The timing would co-ordinate with the specific need or fund.

Eventbrite

Online events will include a fundraising link using the Eventbrite donation feature.

Grants

On an ad hoc basis, no less than one per calendar year, the Director or designate will determine which grants the RGME ought to apply for, and will prepare and submit grant applications, or direct others to do so, in collaboration and/or consultation.

Estate Gifts

For donors of X tier and above, the Director or designate will have a conversation no less than annually about whether the donor wishes to include a charitable gift to the RGME in their will (unless the donor has expressed a desire not to have this conversation).

For donors who have indicated their intention to leave a charitable gift, the Director or designate will touch base with them every five years to gather info to update our records about what is planned for the charitable gift.

Fundraising Expenses

Customarily the RGME spends no more than $850 per year on fundraising.

The RGME will not hire fundraisers.  The work of fundraising will proceed by volunteers.

Endowment

The Endowment Fund at present is kept in a savings account. As it grows, the RGME will revise its management appropriately.

Constable Fund

The Constable Fund is gathered in a bank account awaiting a sufficient amount for specific purposes respecting the interests and wishes expressed for the RGME by its honoree, Giles Constable (1929–2021), Honorary Trustee, regarding its management, maintenance, research projects, and activities.  Depending upon the available amount, the purposes are to be identified in consultation with the donors and others among his students, colleagues, and friends in the RGME.

Donor Relations

Besides those forms set out in other parts of this document, Donor Relations for the RGME will take several ‘tailored’ forms of approach and times or routines for them.

Thank-You Notes

Templates for thank-you notes will be prepared as guides or prompts for their issue.

Donations of greater than $2,000 are considered unusual gifts and warrant prompt thank you notes.  The Director or designate will mail thank you notes to the donor’s address no later than 10 calendar days after the receipt of each unusual gift.

All other donations of $250 or greater warrant a thank-you note, which the Director or designate will post no later than the end of the calendar year after the donation has been received.

Donations less than $250 warrant thank-you e-mails, which the Director or designate will send no later than the end of the calendar year after the donation has been received.

Tax-Deductible Receipts

In keeping with our Recognition as a Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the Director or designate will issue donors annual tax-deductible receipts for funds or non-cash charitable donations, in adherence with all applicable laws and regulations.

Privacy Policy

The RGME will maintain and adhere to a privacy policy, written in plain language, which demonstrates the utmost respect for our donors’ personal information. It is published on the RGME website (RGME Privacy Policy Statement).

Donor Promise

The RGME will maintain a “Donor Promise” document, the purpose of which is to communicate to donors clearly and succinctly how we intend be a good steward of the donations they have entrusted us with.  It will include information about how donors might request changes.

Donor Tiers

The RGME will segment its donors appropriately, with the following objectives:

  • Demonstrate appreciation and recognition of our donors.
  • Increase revenue.

Donor Contact Information

The Director or designate will maintain donor information in a spreadsheet.  The spreadsheet will be backed up on storage that resides in a separate physical location from the primary copy (e.g., on a hard drive in a safety deposit box, and/or in a secure cloud environment). The back-up will not be a synced copy — it will be maintained in such as manner that accidental deletions, edits, and/or corruption of the primary copy will not affect the back-up.

The Director or designate will back up donor contact information at least monthly. Old backup copies will continue to be stored, rather than deleted or overwritten. In the event that a donor requests that all their personal information be removed/deleted, all back up copies containing that info will need to be modified in order to comply with the request.

Donors may request updates to their contact information, by various means as appropriate, including mail or email. The Director or designate will update the donor contact information upon request.

Donor Acknowledgment and Appreciation

The RGME will maintain lists of Donors and Contributors on its website, if they allow, to honor their donations in funds and/or contributions in kind. These lists will distinguish the two classes, funds and contributions respectively, for which some persons would appear in both lists.  In each case, permission will be sought to allow the publication on the list.

The lists would not solely be year-dependent, as they gather the names of individuals or entities that have given funds or contributions over longer time-periods, and might include annual groupings for more recent donations. For the list of Donors, the new Tiers of donation would appear, as the donors might permit.

These lists will appear on the RGME website. They will be updated regularly by the Director or designate.

Friends of the Research Group on Manuscript Evidence

The RGME will form a group of “Friends of the RGME” which gathers both Donors and Contributors, as well as others as requested, for special communications, activities, workshops, commemorative items, or other forms of recognition, so as to cultivate participation in the RGME community in ways other than, or alongside, the official events open more widely.

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Update:

Now see

We welcome you to join us.

The Friends of the RGME welcomes Donors, Contributors, Associates, Volunteers, and newcomers wishing to participate in our activities and belong to our community.

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Questions or Suggestions?

Please Contact Us or visit

We invite you to join:

Donations and contributions, in funds or in kind, are welcome and easy to give.  Given our low overheads, your donations have direct impact on our work and the furtherance of our mission.  For our Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, your donations may be tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law.  Thank you for your support!

We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at our events.

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