The job of the smart fundraiser is inspiring passionate philanthropy to make people’s lives better. I know you’re smart, because you’re reading this article! But none of us is born with a fundraising gene. And no one ever really teaches us how to write a smart fundraising appeal. We copy from our predecessors. Or maybe read…
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Remember learning your multiplication tables? The concept is powerful for fundraising!
People love to S-T-R-E-T-C-H their dollars.
This is the basic psychology underlying “BOGO” (Buy One; Get One free) and “2 for the price of 1” sales. For a variety of reasons, we’re crazy about getting a good deal!
If I get more for my money, that’s smart.
It’s frugal to find ways to leverage our family’s spending.
I like to use my money in the most effective way I can.
It’s easy to apply these desires – to be smart, frugal and effective — to the creation of compelling fundraising offers.
All you have to do is go back to third grade!
2 X 1 = Twice as much!
Why not put that education to use in order to create your most compelling fundraising appeal? An offer your donors will have trouble refusing!
When you show your donors how you can leverage their donation to accomplish more than they even imagined, you greatly increase the likelihood they will respond to your call to action.
Let’s take a look at the best ways to accomplish this objective.
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Congratulations! Whether you’re planning a stand-alone auction or adding an auction to an existing event, these fun-filled bidding extravaganzas serve multiple purposes. They’re hard work (after all, anything worth doing takes dedication, energy and time), but well worth the effort when done well. They can help you: Raise money. Provide additional value and entertainment…
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Here comes my occasional “Do’s vs. Don’ts” feature, where I share with you something arriving in my mailbox that seems a good ‘teaching opportunity.’
Today we’re going to review a fundraising campaign thank you email.
It’s very simple, which is why I’ve selected it. Because simple can be deceptive. So much so, in fact, that putting it together may seem unworthy of a strategic approach. Gosh darn it — we had a successful campaign and now we’re simply closing the loop and letting our community know it was a success. How much time investment is merited here, really? Come on! Just the fact we’re sending this is good, right?
Wrong. Alas, as the old adage goes, anything worth doing is worth doing well. Otherwise, you might inadvertently create an unintended consequence.
You may think I’m picking nits. Perhaps. But if you’ve got nits, they’re pretty uncomfortable. And that’s how this email made me feel. Except… for the parts that didn’t make me feel that way. This email is a melange of do’s and don’ts.
We’ll take a look at the various elements; then assess what works/doesn’t work.
There’s (1) a subject line, (2) the email itself, and (3) what happens if/when you click through and are transported to the donation landing page.
I’ll ask you some questions.
First, I’d like you to think about your answers and jot them down.
Second, I’ll tell you what I think.
Third, if you disagree with me please let me know in the comments below.
Really take the time to notice what you like and don’t like.
I promise you’ll learn a LOT more this way. We learn best by doing.
Seriously, I mean it.
Let’s begin at the beginning.
This may help: Take three minutes and jot down your answers to the first three questions on a piece of paper or your screen. I want to know if what was in the subject headline would have caused you to open the email or hit ‘delete.’ If you’d open it, why?
Okay. Ready to learn what I think thus far, and also see what else we’re working with?
Let’s begin!
Does your nonprofit promote stock gifts? You should!
A groundbreaking study by Dr. Russell James J.D., Ph.D., CFP®, professor in the Department of Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University, found nonprofits that consistently received gifts of appreciated stocks grew their contributions six times faster than those receiving only cash.
This is HUGE.
If you learn to ask for gifts from appreciated assets you’ll get more generous gifts. The study shows:
The most productive strategy is simply to accept gifts of stock.
But it’s up to you to offer up this giving framework to your supporters. Otherwise, they’re apt not to see this as an opportunity.
And speaking of ‘framing,’ this can establish a persuasive reference point for would-be donors. Researchers have found people don’t treat all their money as if they have one big pool of it.
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Taking the time to look at your fundraising message with a critical eye can help you raise a lot more money.
You see, there are right and wrong ways to talk with prospective donors. You’ve likely read a lot on this topic (I know I’ve certainly written a lot on this topic – for starters see here), yet it bears repeating. If you fail to put your best foot forward, you’re going to end up shooting yourself in that foot!
That’s why I’ve developed this checklist to help you get your full share of the philanthropy pie.
As you read through this checklist the “to do” part of the equation may sound completely logical at first blush. You may think “of course we do this!”
Good for you. That means you’re thinking correctly.
But… sometimes good intentions get lost in translation during the executing phase. Because a lot of things you shouldn’t be doing creep in and tend to cancel out the good things. And this holds true in spades if you’re generating your letter through ChatGPT or some other AI-enabled app.
Grammatical is not emotional.
There’s nothing wrong with good grammar, of course. But sometimes the best fundraising letters break the rules a bit to come across as conversational. And they borrow from principles of psychology, neuroscience and behavioral economics to ramp up the persuasion [TIP: You might want to check out this book.]. Your goal is not to show you can write a coherent sentence. It’s to move your message recipient towards a desired action.
So I encourage you to consider the “do NOT do” part of the equation as well. Then double check your work. Why? Because this stuff is tricky.
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Did you ever wonder if there is a foolproof way to communicate with donors?
Actually, there is!
And it’s not about process.
It’s about another ‘P’ word.
Can you guess?
I’ll give you a hint.
It relates to the secret business your nonprofit is in.
You may think you’re in (arts, healthcare, human services, environment, social justice, animal rescue, education or whatever) but, fundamentally, your core business is something else. Something deeper.
Something that emanated from whoever founded your nonprofit.
Without this special something, your nonprofit wouldn’t exist.
Have you figured it out?
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Here comes my occasional “Do’s vs. Don’ts” feature, where I share with you something arriving in my mailbox that seems a good ‘teaching opportunity.’
Today we’re going to review a year-end annual direct mail appeal strategy.
We’ll take a look at the various elements; then assess what works/doesn’t work.
I’ll ask you some questions.
First, I’d like you to think about your answers and jot them down.
Second, I’ll tell you what I think.
Really take the time to notice what you like and don’t like.
I promise you’ll learn a lot more this way. We learn best by doing.
Seriously, I mean it.
Let’s begin at the beginning.
Carrier Envelope
Some identifying information has been removed for purposes of confidentiality. I’m not here to shame. Just to teach.
I’ll wait…
Have your answers?
Okay!
Ready to learn what I think thus far, and also see what else we’re working with?
Let’s begin!
Are you thinking “It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Kaching!?”
Oh, dear.
That’s akin to making the holidays all about the commercial aspects, and losing sight of the season’s wonder, awe, gratitude, love, and warmth of community.
Yes, many nonprofits raise the lion’s share of their annual fundraising goal in the last few months of the year. In fact, December accounts, on average, for 31 to 50% of all contributions from individuals. So, you’re to be forgiven if you’re excited to see the money come flowing into your coffers.
But, just because it’s solicitation time does not mean it isn’t cultivation/stewardship time.
It’s not just about the money.
How you spread love through your mission-focused work.
How you love your supporters.
How love, not money, is at the heart of all philanthropy (philos/love + anthro/humanity).
Even though you’re ramping up fundraising activities this month, you can’t lose sight of your donor. And what’s in it for them if they give to you. So, ask yourself:
You may if your year-end fundraising looks mostly like this:
Such admonitions are all about you, your deadlines and money.
They are things people think about with their brain, not their heart. With their reasoning, not their emotions. WIth the part of their brain that makes them give a token or habitual gift, not a thoughtful or passionate one.
And once the gift comes in, then what?
If a donor makes a gift and you simply dispense an automated thank you, and nothing more, that’s not a donor relationship. That’s a transaction
If you get all ATMy at this time of year you’re going to lose these donors by this time next year. Or you won’t get them to give more. Or tell their friends how great you are. Or do any of the other things that donors do when they love you.
One-time gifts are here today, gone tomorrow. In fact, a whopping 80%+ of first-time donors won’t give again.
Transactions won’t help you next year or the year after that.
No. You’ve got to transform the transactions into something longer lasting.
Yes, you’re going to ask — maybe multiple times — at this time of year. But to get the desired response – and feeling — you still have to ask the right way.
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Do you want to risk not receiving generous gifts you could have otherwise received, just because you failed to go the extra mile to share relevant, useful and even critical information? Or because you just did the most basic things, failing to do what would have made your communications really stand out?
Your job as a philanthropy facilitator is to do everything in your power to make giving to you as easy, joyful and rewarding as possible.
Everything.
Do you?
Doing everything means
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