Wealth & Finance International - Business Awards 2015

www.wealthandfinance-intl.com 29 Our mantra with regards to client service is that we are always available. We have clients around the country and around the world, meaning that we must be ready to adapt and utilize a combination of phone, email and face-to-face meetings to maintain consistent communication. We know that there is no substitute for sitting down across the table with some- one to brainstorm and strategize, so we also make a point to see every domestic client on a quarterly basis, and at least once or twice per year for international clients depending upon their travel schedules, distance and budgets. As we are a boutique agency and work in cross-departmental teams, there is always someone available who is completely aware of a client’s status and who can provide help at a moment’s notice. But, we also realize that getting to know clients on a more personal level can be the key to productive working relationships, fostering openness, camaraderie and dialogue. As such, we have regular informal gather- ings both on and off-site, encouraging staff to get to know each of our clients in a less formal environment. We believe that by having a personal connection with colleagues and clients, a healthy and friendly collegial work environment is created. We are proud of the level of partnership and collaboration that this allows us to bring to our work with our clients – mak- ing a difference for local organizations in New York City like the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, as well as large international clients like TechnoServe. As a long-time partner of Faircom New York, Inner-City Scholarship Fund, working as part of the Archdiocese of New York, services hundreds of thousands of children living in some of the poorest neighbourhoods of New York City. And, as with many other non-profits, they see revenues slow considerably during the month of April. Indeed, industrywide, this month is soft for fundraising in the United States, due to the overlap with tax season. Many organizations will even elect to not pursue any fundraising mailings at that time – a practice of which we typically agree. However, for Inner-City Scholarship Fund, holding off on a revenue-gen- erating opportunity was not an option, because their students rely on the generosity of others to provide educational opportunities. We worked with them closely to determine how to maximize returns using their most powerful asset – a prominent religious leader in the New York metropolitan area who could give voice to the organization’s needs and entice donors to give. Incredibly, this was one of their most successful campaigns of the year, with untold benefit to the impoverished communities served by Inner-City Scholarship Fund. While a newer client, the international development organization TechnoS- erve has quickly become indicative of our approach to integrated strategies to bring fundraising initiatives to the next level. TechnoServe utilizes busi- ness solutions to tackle poverty in the developing world – creating lasting impact and change in communities by empowering enterprising people to build competitive businesses, farms and industries. The organization joined us with a robust direct mail program already in place, but their communica- tions channels across the print and digital spaces had very little to do with one another. A disconnect in messaging can of course lead to a fractured identity, which is detrimental not only to brand awareness but also fundrais- ing returns. Building from this, we saw great potential in growing revenue by integrating the digital space with their offline messaging, both to generate new revenue online and to increase revenue from offline donors who were presented with a cohesive brand message on all channels. Even more, we looked outside of our initial scope of work with TechnoServe to uncover innovative opportu- nities to develop brand awareness, including new approaches to content marketing and social video that allow TechnoServe’s message to break through in a crowded non-profit field. Beyond our integrated work with domestic-based clients, Faircom New York leads the market in fundraising and communications for interna- tional clients entering the American market. We work with each on spe- cific targets of building awareness and support here in the United States, often at a very high level. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach for these clients, we utilize our expertise in the United States to provide each organization with a market analysis relevant to their mission and goals. This is more than a simple investigation of competitors as we dig deep to examine potential donors amongst high net worth communities, foundations and corporations, eventually building to a tailored fundrais- ing strategy capitalizing upon potential opportunities. We supplement this with executive coaching and background support throughout the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of relationships, including cre- ative content development. Understandably, such a global client base demands that we work around the clock and in multiple locations – truly engaging in fundraising without frontiers. Thus our team is integrated across offices in New York, Paris, Geneva and soon Hong Kong, with other country offices led by fundraising authorities Antoine Vaccaro and Christophe Bec. By being present in these capitals of fundraising – historic, as well as emerging, in the case of rising Asian philanthropy – we ensure that our collective finger is on the pulse of our clients’ audiences. This enables us to provide the highest quality of service to our clients for having face-to-face discussions closer to their homes, as well as equipping us to organize fundraising events wherever the market is strongest. Whether our clients are domestic or international, large or small, we are only capable of maintaining our value by staying on the cutting edge of the industry. As we look to the future, we know that the industry will con- tinue to move quickly and constantly evolve as technologies shift. With growing economic constraints on households as well as a consistent rise in the number of non-profits in the market, the amount of money that individuals have to give is increasingly precious, and in high demand. As such, our learning and professional development never stops, with staff from multiple country offices attending and presenting at sev- eral national and international fundraising conferences each year to keep abreast of industry trends. This is supplemented by out-of-office seminars and courses for staff, as well as a broad library of online and print publications covering the many sectors of non-profit fundraising. We also understand it is essential that our clients are aware of the latest trends and metrics, and so we create industry analyses to be distributed internally and externally, built from industry benchmarks but informed by our close eye on the results and data of our own campaigns. Importantly, each and every analysis is informed by our collective experi- ence working with and listening to the more than 100 clients in our portfolio. Day and night, we learn about their internal operations and fundraising priorities and endeavour to learn everything we can about their missions and programs outside of our contracted scope of work. It is only through a deep knowledge of each organization that we are able to provide thoughtful and unique strategies to increasing their footprint in the fundraising industry – and thereby propelling them to provide incredible services in their fields. Looking to the future, Faircom New York continues to meet the challenge of being flexible in order to succeed. As we have in the past, we will grow, adapt and evolve to the changing market. Indeed, we were once focused entirely on direct marketing through print, but saw many years ago the need to expand our services – maturing into the multi-channel agency you see today. Whatever the future brings, Faircom New York will rise to meet the challenge – empowering our non-profit partners in the process.