Discovering common affinity – you know that they already care about what you care about and that you have a tangible connection
	Who you know . . . or who you know that knows who you want to know and carefully choose who makes the approach
	Serving the potential champion or celebrity as you would any other client. Offer them or their loved ones your services. Earn trust and respect before you approach that person to make any request of them
	Doing due diligence on the potential champion or celebrity before contacting them
	Recognizing that the role and expectations for a “philanthropic champion” (Gates, Soros, Slim) are different from those for a “celebrity supporter” (Bono, Cher, Hanks)
	Not begging, but adding value for value
	Knowing what they want more than money and demonstrate how your nonprofit’s values match their values
	Cutting through the red tape and going direct when ever possible and not being filtered out by their gate-keepers but rather engaging their assistance
	Defining in advance what would cause you to “cut your champion or celebrity loose” and have agreement with your board to do it if necessary
	Seeking out those who haven’t already been “over-asked”
	Using your time and resources wisely and not neglecting your other essential sources of financial support
	Make it fun to give . . . their way . . . while advancing your nonprofits mission

Action Step

1.	Craft a compelling, memorable and engaging 30 -second story about your NGO based on your mission. 1Practice telling it everyday, everywhere to everyone and invite your staff, supporters and board to do the same
2.	Translate your 30-second story into a five word slogan that says it all (As Peter Drucker says, “If you can’t put it on a t-shirt you don’t know what it is.”)
3.	Get you board’s buy-in to a strategy for utilizing a champion and train them in recruitment steps
4.	Do basic research on www.google.com , www.verotel.com, the tabloids and celebrity news media shows to identify likely matches
5.	Invite your supporters to scan for and bring to your attention stories of Philanthropy Champion or Celebrity
6.	Discover whether your NGO’s values match their values and behaviors: How they are viewed by your other major donors and by those you serve Their business and personal ethics Their history of past involvement with NGO’s Any past or pending legal complications
7.	Have you weighed the pros and cons of philanthropy champion involvement? Potential Pros of Philanthropic Champions Credibility for your cause Able to draw other affluentials Name recognition for your cause Major gifts Can contribute business savvy to your nonprofits success Can stimulate self-study that would not otherwise have happened Potential Cons of Philanthropic Champions Can be hard to reach Can be skeptical of any nonprofit that uses the traditional charity model vs social entrepreneurial model Can use money and personal priorities to shift the nonprofit off course or away from its mission Can be temperamental and high maintenance
8.	Have you weighed the pros and cons of celebrity involvement? Potential Pros of Celebrities Credibility for your cause Able to draw other celebrities Name recognition for your cause Can attract different generations Can make giving by others fun Potential Cons of Celebrities Can be high maintenance Sometimes self-serving at the NGO’s expense May be flaky and not show up Often not major donors of dollars May have short term interest and involvement May need a values and procedures orientation as to how nonprofits operate
9.	Have you decided how you want to involve philanthropy champions and celebrities . . . and verified how they do and don’t want to be involved? Some Options Spokesman Door opener to other influential donors Honorary board member Video tape narrator Speaker at fund raising gatherings Seller of gala tickets Available to mix socially with other donors
10.	Have you used these avenues to reach them? Some Options Family or hometown contacts Their financial advisors, attorney, publicists, agents, talent agency Other philanthropic champions or celebrities College classmates or business associates Going where they go without being a pest Talking with reporters who have interviewed and written about them Direct appeals for a philanthropic champion or celebrity placed in the media
11.	Do you know how they want to be acknowledged . . . and not acknowledged for each major gift (get specific) 2and are you willing to acknowledge them their way?
12.	Do you have one staff member and/or board member who relates well to them and who will make that time commitment?
13.	Have you linked and leveraged this kind of support to your other annual appeal, special events, and other fundraising?
14.	Have you diversified your sources of support so that if our philanthropy champion or celebrity went away, you’d still be able to operate?
15.	Have you explored “for-profit-philanthropy” and entrepreneurial collaborations with these champions and celebrities and structured them in a way that does not jeopardize your tax exempt status or credibility?
16.	Are you enjoying working with this philanthropy champion or celebrity?
17.	Have you debriefed each philanthropy champion and celebrity relationship to claim the learning value and put that to work within your organization as well as shared with the NGO sector, a generic summary of what was learned (without naming names)?
18.	Your question here: