Last Look: Rebecca Raible, director of development, Equal Justice USA

Rebecca Raible, director of development, Equal Justice USA

FS: How do you reach out to supporters and potential supporters in ways other than purely fundraising? Are you engaged with social media sites and online social networking?
RR: We are in the process of developing our social-media strategy. We are also renovating our Web site and getting a more sophisticated database to help us manage these new types of donors, which we will be attracting in the near future.

FS: Can you describe a recent successful fundraising effort?
RR: We are currently working with our board and staff to help them become more comfortable with fundraising. We are working with them to make contact with our current donors as well as people they know. Our goal is for the board and staff to learn firsthand from the experience of reaching out to their friends and family and our closest donors that: 1) Once a relationship is established, the ask comes easier; and 2) Once people feel a real connection to the issue and the organization, they feel even better about their giving.

FS: Any major difficulties or setbacks you've faced along the way? Things you would do differently with your fundraising?
RR: The economy has been a major setback in fundraising departments everywhere, but keeping a positive attitude, making fundraising something that everyone in the organization both understands and feels comfortable doing, and investing in the future of the organization — not just the immediate present — have become my coping mechanisms to weather the economic downturn as a fundraiser.

FS: What advice would you give to organizations similar to yours, in size and annual operating budget?
RR: Invest in strengthening your organization's donor relationships, and expand your outreach by training your board and staff to help. Current donors, board and staff are our best and most accessible resources.

Equal Justice USA
20 Jay St., Ste. 808
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718.801.8943
Annual Operating Budget: $891,000
Annual Contributed Income: 12 percent individuals, 88 percent foundations
Mission: Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) is a national, grassroots organization working to build a criminal justice system that is fair, effective and humane, starting with repeal of the death penalty and increased services to families of homicide victims. EJUSA has been a longtime leader in the movement to repeal the death penalty, partnering with state organizations to strengthen and train local leadership, provide intensive, strategic support, and build grassroots campaigns that win. We have helped promote a deeper understanding about the death penalty's harmful impact on families of murder victims and the need to refocus resources toward more common-sense criminal-justice policies, with an emphasis on increasing services for these families.
Number of employees: Eight full-time staff, one development director solely devoted to fundraising

Joe Boland is copy editor and staff writer for the Target Marketing Group at FS’ parent company, NAPCO. Reach him at jboland@napco.com

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