A strong first impression sets the tone for everything that will follow. We all know this. But we don’t always live this. Especially in our relationships with donors. But, making a good first impression is critical if you want to keep your donors close. Why? Because, if you don’t, you’ll lose than 80% of…
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This article is about the psychology of securing lasting donor commitments.
Something that’s critical in a world where less than one in five of new donors renew
It relates to one of Robert Cialdini’s principles of influence and persuasion: “commitment and consistency.”
The main point is this:
Because people are wired to want to be consistent.
That to which we commit, especially publicly, becomes congruent with our self image.
What does this mean for you as a fundraiser?
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Every organization should have a major gifts program. That’s where much of the philanthropic money is.
It’s a rare organization that has a mailing list large enough to raise a million dollars from a million different $1 donors. But most organizations do have major donor prospects hiding in plain sight.
Your job is to find them, then move them along a cultivation path that prepares both them — and you — to make an ask that results in a values-based exchange.
In Part 1, we covered the first five secrets to major gift fundraising success: choosing your major gift amount, finding the right prospects, creating the right case for support, building a gift chart, and knowing when to ask.
Today, we’ll cover the final five — the secrets to working the plan you’ve developed.
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