Key “Secret” to Making a Good Second Impression on Nonprofit Donors

In Part 1 of this 3-part series about the too-often-overlooked “secret” strategy of making good impressions, I discussed the critical importance of making a good first impression. Because, it sets the tone and establishes trust – a necessary foundation for any lasting relationship, and a defining concept in the donor/charity relationship.

Because trust plays such a pivotal role in fostering giving, it’s maintenance is equally as important as its establishment. In fact, the care and nurturing of trust is required to deepen commitment — a means of impacting future positive donor behavior. Studies conclude that “higher levels of trust improve the likelihood that a relationship will be entered into. They also illustrate that, where a relationship already exists, higher levels of commitment will be generated by virtue of the presence of trust and that higher levels of both sales and loyalty will accrue as a consequence.”[1]

This means going beyond making a good first impression.

Today, we’re going to look at what comes next.

2. Second Impressions Seal Donor Commitment

One of the things that distinguishes the donor/charity relationship from that of the customer/company is the intangible nature of the exchange.

Donors give money, and charities give back something impalpable – making it harder for them to judge whether they made a good decision. Since donor-consumers often lack objective criteria to assess the performance of the relationship into which they’ve entered (whether the TV worked or the food tasted good), it is incumbent on nonprofits to provide means for them to see, hear, touch and otherwise sense the impact of their philanthropy.

The best way I’ve found to do this it is with a welcome program inspired by a neighborhood “welcome wagon.” But since it’s cost-inefficient to show up at every new donor’s doorstep with a literal basket filled with warm muffins, your most effective choice is probably to roll out an evocative welcome series of personalized emails. And it happens – within a month – of the donor’s first gift.

Automated Welcome Series

Like a welcome wagon, your series should be friendly, enthusiastic and demonstrative of the good decision your “new neighbor” made to move into your community.

Beyond a single thank you, a 3- to 5-part automated email welcome series can make supporters feel genuinely appreciated. Because you don’t just take the gift and run. You manifest, in writing, how their gift is having a demonstrable impact. You invite them to get involved in other ways. And you follow through on promises. This fosters trust, and assures the warm glow of giving continues.

What exactly is the power of a welcome series?

The power is two-fold:

1. It’s in the quick burst of recognition your donor receives – while their decision to give is still fresh.
2. It’s in the emphasis on community – the donor is assured they belong.

SECRETS TO SUCCESS:

(1) It’s best to schedule this series within the first 30 days.  You are gently introducing folks to your cause and embracing them as part of your community. The goal is to embrace, not isolate. Donors want to feel you care about them as much as they care about you.

(2) Approach donors as personally as possible. Segment automated journeys by audience, interest, or action to customize communications. When your CRM and email platform are integrated, this will streamline your workflow so you need not rely on memory or manual input. NOTE: You might consider first-time givers who come to you as event attendees, tribute donors or via a peer-to-peer campaign somewhat differently, as they generally give at the request of a friend, colleague or family member. Reference the event/activity to capitalize on the connection and warmth they felt at the time they gave.

(3) Have messages sent from a real person. With real contact info. Don’t use a generic organizational email like info@ or noreply@. People should be able to easily connect with you if they have questions.

(4) Set up the promise – so you can deliver on it later. Let supporters know what content they can expect to receive from you (e.g., list of volunteer opportunities; invitations to events; impact stories; advocacy alerts, and timely news).

(5) Send the content you promised to send – one piece at a time. This gives donors a clear CTA each time (e.g., volunteer; attend a program; download a contact sheet, complete a survey; watch a video, etc.).  

(6) Concretize the impact. Use stories, photos, or videos to show what the gift accomplished, transforming an abstract contribution into real-life change.

(7) Space the pacing – wait two to four days between emails. The goal is to maintain engagement, without overwhelming folks.

(8) Don’t ask for another donation, yet. Prioritize gratitude over asks by taking this time to nurture the relationship.

Commitment Works Best When It’s Shared

Every time you make donors feel like friends and kindred spirits, who share the values your organization enacts on a daily basis, you create a commitment win/win.

Let me illustrate with a true story. My husband and I frequent a mom and pop café for lunch on a regular basis. It began with one visit in their parklet during the pandemic. The next visit, they welcomed us like old friends. Early on, they began anticipating our needs; then, delivering. Now, four years later, every time we walk in they bring us our favorite beverages — before we’ve even placed our order. Sometimes they present a free dessert. Once they pushed some sushi-grade salmon on us so we could take it home for our anniversary dinner. Sometimes we reciprocate with fruit from our garden or home-baked cookies. Just as important, we send all our friends there and leave positive reviews. They proclaim us their “favorite customers.” We’re both committed to this relationship – and we both demonstrate it on an ongoing basis.

Like the first time these café owners made us feel at home, a donor welcome series increases commitment by shifting the relationship from a one-time transaction to a shared mission. Strangers become friends. Two-way dialogue begins.

Another way to view this is through the lens of reciprocity – one of Robert Cialdini’s six principles of influence. If someone favors us, we want to return the favor. If we favor someone else, we’re wired to expect a reciprocal effort. (And it’s not just humans; even orangutans learn to trade favors.)

Favor trading kick-starts the trust building process. While donors begin to develop confidence in you, you begin to uncover what motivates them and what projects they care about most. You’ve now set yourselves up for a successful long-term relationship.

Stay tuned for secret #3!

Want More Donor Retention Tips?

Get my Donor Retention and Gratitude Playbook with 6 separate companion guides (purchase individually or at a bundle bargain discount).  Taken together, they include everything you need to raise more money — by keeping more current donors and increasing their average gift! It’s filled with hands-on, practical information garnered from my 30+ years working in the nonprofit trenches. The Attitude of Gratitude Donor Guide alone is 98 full pages, with lots of ready-to-use samples and templates. You’ll save almost a third if you buy them all together in the ‘bargain bundle’.  I promise if you read these Guides, and put the recommended strategies into action, you’ll keep more donors and raise more dollars.

If you’re not happy, all Clairification resources come with a no-questions-asked, 30-day, 100% refund guarantee.

[1] Anderson, E., & Weitz, B. (1989). Determinants of continuity in conventional industrial channel dyads. Marketing Science, 8, 310-323.; Blau, 1964 Exchange and power in social life. New York: John Wiley; Dwyer & Oh, 1987 Output sector munificence effects on the internal political economy of marketing channels. Journal of Marketing Research, 24, 347-358.

Image courtesy of saeed karimi on unsplash.