There are two reasons you should do a donor survey.
Donor surveys offer you a “twofer.” One is for you (useful information); the other is for your donor (a way to usefully participate other than giving money).
Let’s begin with the latter reason.
I have a dream for 2016– and beyond. I have a dream this is the year your organization will move beyond defining yourself by what you’re not (nonprofit) and will begin to define yourself by what you are (social benefit). I have a dream this is the year your people will move from an attitude of taking and hitting people up (aka “fundraising”) to a mindset of giving and lifting people up (aka “philanthropy”). I have a dream this is the year your staff and volunteers will move from enacting transactions to enabling transformation.
I have a dream you will think big, because thinking small will not get you where you need to go. You will understand there is great power in a big, wildly exciting vision. You will share this vision broadly to attract people — and financial resources — to your cause. You will no longer be content to remain a “well-kept secret.”
I have a dream you will learn who your best influencers and advocates are and you will embrace them. You will recognize you are no longer your best messenger. You will understand that many forces beyond you influence your donor’s decision to invest with you, and you will expand your thinking and operations from a one-dimensional to a multi-dimensional model. You will allow your constituents to engage with you at multiple points of entry, and to move freely between these points during the life cycle of their engagement.
I have a dream you will push yourself and your organization towards transformative change.
Happy New Year!
Here comes the first 2016 “Clairity Click-it” — an eclectic kick-off to the year.
I find so many great resources across the World Wide Web, some from other disciplines, and I want to share those I find most helpful. There’s so much the nonprofit sector should be learning and borrowing from others – we don’t always need to reinvent the wheel!
I’m also trying something new this year – “Dive the Five.”
I’ve selected five major themes to discuss with you this year in depth. Strategies that are so important to your success in 2016 – and beyond – that I want to be certain (1) you’ve got them on your priority list, (2) will begin to dedicate some serious resources towards them, and (3) will practice them regularly, until they become almost second nature.
If you learn to “Dive the Five” you’ll be able to raise money for anyone, any place, any time.
It’s boring them to tears.
Actually, let me rephrase. Not to tears. That would mean they’re feeling an emotional connection. Sadly, they’re not.
You’re not making the impact you need to make to keep your donors, let alone get them to give more the next time you ask.
Why?
Let me tell you what I learned from Penelope Burk, Donor-Centered Fundraising author, about 15 years ago. It fundamentally changed the way I communicate with donors.
This week’s Click-it is more of a holiday season “Open-it” collection of gifts. For the second year in a row, I’ve gone shopping and will offer you one or more free gifts every week from now until the end of the year.
These are all good. And the first one today is a real doozy — a gift to me that I’m “re-gifting!”
Want to keep more donors? It’s simple really.
What it all boils down to is one key idea. YOU.
You and the role you play in assuring your donor gets lasting satisfaction from their gift.
A prompt, personal thank you is a beginning. Yet it won’t have lasting effect.
You must go above and beyond the “donor receipt” —
I’m about to clairify a subtle but very important point about what motivates philanthropic giving. After all, that’s what the “Clairification” blog is all about.
It’s often said that people give to people. So true.
But people are funny.
People will often give more to people who show them the pain that can be avoided through their gift rather than the people who show them the good that can be gained.
Seems counter-intuitive, right?
Absolutely. So here’s a little reminder that people don’t always behave as you might intuitively believe they would. Which is why fundraising is part art and part science. And here’s something we know from the research:
The Click-it is early this week since year-end is fast approaching, and I couldn’t wait to share these awesome tips to help you plan your year-end campaign! I’ve got a bit of everything here – from finding email addresses to build your online mailing list… to tips on getting appeals read… to making sure you’re not missing any tricks… to social sharing strategies… to best email subject lines… to Giving Tuesday — and more! I’ll no doubt have even more for you before the end of the year, but now is really the time to get started. Don’t delay. [If you really want to assure you don’t miss a trick, scroll down to the bottom and check out the webinar I’m offering with the Foundation Center on the 17th]
By now I hope you’ve read the latest Fundraising Effectiveness Survey results and know that, on average, U.S. and UK nonprofits are retaining only 41% of their donors. This is abysmal, and it makes me sad.
When I started out in fundraising, many moons ago, I consistently retained 60 – 70% of my donors. And I thought that was insufficient!
While there are all sorts of reasons this is happening, what matters most is stopping the attrition before your nonprofit withers and dies. Because at these rates, after seven years you’ll only have 10 out of 1,000 new donors you acquire today. You read that correctly! Did I mention that first-time donor retention rates are only 27%?
What if we said “Give Where Most Moved” instead? No one likes to be scolded. Yet most nonprofits make a practice of regularly admonishing supporters to give “where most needed.” You probably think this is a good thing. After all, it gives you the greatest flexibility. Right? Wrong. Think again. You’ll have a lot …
As a fundraising professional, relationship building with donors is an ongoing process and communication is an important part of that process. Stories are a great communications tool that you can use to tell donors about their impact in a tangible and easy to understand manner.
Storytelling seems to be everywhere these days. Non-profits are actively trying to use stories to engage their current and new donors. Is your non-profit trying to tap into the power of stories? Perhaps it’s been a positive experience for your organization. But maybe you have faced some challenges.
One of the biggest challenges with storytelling is being able to tell a great story. A story that really stands out from the pack and resonates with your donor audience. A story that, ultimately, compels action.
This week is all about your donors: keeping them; communicating with them, taking care of them and meeting them where they are. I’ve got several really useful articles for you. Not too many. It’s summer, after all! Plus, as always, some terrific upcoming learning opportunities for you.
Donor Retention
It’s common for retail businesses to adopt the mantra: “The customer is always right.” But when’s the last time you heard “The donor is always right?” Too often, the opposite is true.
I hear a lot of complaining about donors. They should do this (e.g., give because it’s the ‘right’ thing to do; be compliant and not make us work so hard); they shouldn’t do that (e.g., give any way other than ‘unrestricted’; require reports that take us hours to complete). I don’t hear enough of “What can we do to delight our donors today?”
What can you do to delight your donors?
This week is all about what we need to do, collectively and within our organizations, to assure a bright future for philanthropy. I’ve gathered articles from some of the leading thinkers and researchers in the civil sector. This is important stuff — and one “Click-it” you won’t want to miss! Plus, as always, some great learning opportunities for you (scroll to the bottom).
In my work with nonprofits, especially the small to medium-sized ones (but sometimes the big ones too!) there’s one question many of you struggle with:
Gosh dang it! How on earth do you develop a system that assures thank you’s really get out in 48 hours?
The good news is: You’re not alone. The even better news is: I’m going to give you the answer to your question.
Everyone wants to develop a major gifts program. Or to strengthen their existing major gifts program. Why? Because they want to raise more money.
If you approach major gifts development solely from this perspective you’ll ultimately fail.
You might raise more money for a little while. But over the long-term you’ll lose more support than you gain. Because it’s not just about money.
Did you know you’re 85 percent on your way to securing a gift if you can get your prospect to agree to a visit? So says veteran major gifts fundraiser Jerold Panas in his iconic book, Asking. He also says, “If you want to milk a cow, sit by its side.”
But … how do you get the cow to cooperate? Ay, there’s the rub.
It just is. People screen phone calls. They don’t answer emails. They’re busy. And, let’s face it, they know what this is about. Once you get in the room with them, you have your chance to win them over. But how to get there?
I have a dream for 2015 – and beyond. I have a dream this is the year your organization will move beyond defining yourself by what you’re not (nonprofit) and will begin to define yourself by what you are (social benefit). I have a dream this is the year your people will move from an attitude of taking and hitting people up (aka “fundraising”) to a mindset of giving and lifting people up (aka “philanthropy”). I have a dream this is the year your staff and volunteers will move from enacting transactions to enabling transformation.
I have a dream you will think big, because thinking small will not get you where you need to go. You will understand there is great power in a big, wildly exciting vision. You will share this vision broadly to attract people — and financial resources — to your cause. You will no longer be content to remain a “well-kept secret.”
I have a dream you will learn who your best influencers and advocates are and you will embrace them. You will recognize you are no longer your best messenger. You will understand that many forces beyond you influence your donor’s decision to invest with you, and you will expand your thinking and operations from a one-dimensional to a multi-dimensional model. You will allow your constituents to engage with you at multiple points of entry, and to move freely between these points during the life cycle of their engagement.
I have a dream you will push yourself and your organization towards transformative change.
How did your #GivingTuesday go? I’m hoping it was a great success from your perspective, but what about your donor’s perspective? What can you do to assure your donors feel like the heroes they are for making your mission possible?
Right off the bat, make sure you have a robust gratitude program in place. Thank them. Then thank them again. All through the year. The more consistently you practice gratitude, the better. If you don’t have a documented donor acknowledgment program in place, now’s the time to begin.
Whatever you do, don’t just stuff your “#GivingTuesday donors into your database, send out automated receipts, smack your lips and count up the results to report to your board. Really, truly make sure these folks feel thanked for having done something selfless and special.
Then, next year…
I decided to write this post due to the number of times nonprofits ask me “How often should we mail to our donors?” The corollary question is “How often can we ask people to give?”
The answer?
Well… if there was one quick answer I wouldn’t have needed to write a whole article. I’d just have given you a headline with a definitive response!
I know you want a definite answer.
And I could give you one. But it wouldn’t be the truth. Because the truth is different for every nonprofit. And the truth will even be different for your nonprofit at different points in your life cycle.
There are two definitive things I can tell you:
We’re fast approaching the giving season. What better time to think about ways we can give back to our donors? If you’re developing a gratitude culture, you’ll do this by being donor-centered with every communication to your supporters. You’ll do it by acting ethically and putting your donors needs first. And you’ll do it by honoring your donors and rewarding them for being the amazing people they are. Here are some articles to help you be the best you can be.
Here are a bunch of October goodies for you. Treats to get you thinking about the role of philanthropy in society… habits of the most effective fundraisers… what it takes to grow loyal supporters… how to assure your website visitors don’t run from you screaming in horror… and much more. And these treats won’t even give you cavities! Don’t miss the special offers at the bottom of the post.
Donor Communication Special Edition
I cannot say this strongly enough. Do not segregate marketing and fundraising as separate silos.
When it comes to fundraising, communication with your donors should not be an “add-on.” Nor should it be relegated to the marketing department. As the guru of donor-centered fundraising, Penelope Burk, states:
It is a core fundraising function that produces long-term income security. Make meaningful communication with donors your development department’s top priority.
Here are some tips from experts across the web to show you how to do a more effective job with your donor communications.
Here’s a timely October Click-it to help you get ready to communicate in a donor-friendly fashion with all your supporters this fall. It’s giving and gratitude season, so grab yourself some great advice and be thankful — for the wisdom of the experts and for your donors. May the force be with you.
And don’t miss some timely October announcements below.
Why and How to Invoke the Power of Thank You
My mother was known for having impeccable manners. At her memorial service, it seemed as if every other person who shared a memory talked about her manners. They did so not in a nitpicking way, but in a loving way. It seemed she always knew just the right thing to do to show her appreciation.
Maybe that’s why I love writing thank you notes. Seriously, it’s my favorite thing to do in all of fundraising. And it’s undoubtedly why, when I first heard Penelope Burk speak in 2001, it completely changed my approach to the practice of development.
If you’re not retaining as many donors as you’d like, you’ve no one to blame but yourself. And I’m here to tell you why.
I’m serious. How you handle donor acknowledgements is that important. Yet, sadly, most of you do an absolutely rotten job of showing your donors how much they mean to you.
Part of the problem is due to focusing on acquisition at the expense of retention. Most executive and development directors don’t even know their retention rates without looking them up.
DUDES! Your retention rates should be on the tips of your tongues! If you don’t know how you’re doing, how can you improve?
Donor retention has continued to plummet every year for the past seven years. It’s really, truly an awful problem. For some unknown reason, all that hard work you put into acquiring new donors is, seemingly, being wasted. Why?
I recently asked folks what ONE word they would use to sum up what is needed to transform donor loyalty. I received some interesting answers and thought I’d share them with you, along with my comments, here. First, let me remind you of my own Big Secret — the one principle I’ve found that makes the greatest difference to long-term, sustainable fundraising success:
You’ve probably heard this advice before. “Make your donors your heroes.” It’s a lot easier said than done.
As Jeff Brooks opined in You and your donors: Who’s the sidekick?, too often we get it backwards and tell donors how awesome we are; then we ask “How’d you like to be my sidekick?” Rather, we should think of ourselves as their sidekick.
One nonprofit director who truly understands this is Julia Wilson, E.D. of One Justice. [A former client of mine, I keep my eye on them like a proud Mama hen watching her little baby chick fly boldly off on her own). After their most recent, highly successful fundraising event, Julia wrote to me saying:
Philanthropy, Not Fundraising
For too many nonprofits something isn’t working. Change is happening at a rapid pace while people try to employ yesterday’s ‘best practices,’ seeming to work harder and harder to make do with less — while needing to serve more.
Before the digital revolution, an information imbalance existed. This facilitated a one-way ‘push’ model of marketing/fundraising. We could define our own brand and sell it. Guess what?
In Part 1 we covered 5 steps to woo your donors with a communications strategy. Today we’ll look more closely at 9 key communications tools you can use effectively to build closer relationships with your supporters. Some are extraordinarily simple. It’s just that many nonprofits fail to use these tools consistently, or well. If you make a practice of doing so, you’ll be well ahead of the game.
Imagine what it would mean to your mission if you doubled the lifetime value of all of your current supporters.
I recently listened in on an interview between Gail Perry and Jay Love of Bloomerang. It’s a great listen, and the two of them fired me up to write another post on the importance of focusing your efforts on donor retention.
Do you know even know what percentage of donors you’re retaining? According to Jay, less than 5% of fundraising offices know this answer! So, you’re not alone. But you can do better.
At least if shouldn’t be so hard. After all, the commercial sector manages to retain 94% of their customers. Then why does the nonprofit sector only manage to retain 41%? Even worse, new nonprofit donor retention is only 19%, down from 27% in 2011. That’s abysmal. What’s going on?
Why are our for-profit brethren beating the pants off of us when it comes to retention?
It’s not about the money. It’s about the mission and the impact. This year-end fundraising blog post from 2013 by a recent nonprofit client of mine, One Justice, absolutely nails why we ask folks for support. It’s about what will happen if we don’t engage in fundraising.
I encourage you to read and consider the full post. For while we may be at the beginning of the calendar year, there’s no reason you can’t use the key elements of this approach year-round. It’s not just about the prose; it’s about the attitude.
| Are you focused on the gift or the giver? |
In a recent webinar I presented about How Creative Thank Yous and an Attitude of Gratitude Can Supercharge Your Fundraising, it became apparent there’s one question many of you struggle with:
Gosh dang it! How on earth do you develop a system that assures thank you’s really get out in 48 hours?
HERE’S THE BIGGEST SECRET:
Such great links this week. Let’s get started!
Corporate Partnerships
Click-It: Safeway Foundation: 6 Tips on How to “Partner” with a Corporation Thanks to the folks at Third Sector and guest blogger Christy Duncan Anderson, E.D. of The Safeway Foundation for this great insider perspective on the sometimes mysterious business of securing business sponsors.
Want your donors to sustain you? Then you can’t consume them in five minutes.
Yet all too often nonprofits treat their donors exactly like a gumball dispensed from a machine. Chew it up. Spit it out. Done.
Oh, yeah… maybe you send a quick thanks to whoever gave you the change to buy the gum. But that’s as far as your gratitude takes you. You’re over it. You never even think about that gumball again. You probably can’t even remember what color it was. You’re off hunting down your next snack.
Little snacks are nice. But they won’t sustain you over time.
One-time donations are the same way. And they’ll stay that way – one time – if you treat them the way you treat your gumballs.
I’m trying something new. I must read over 100 articles every week, and many of them say things with which I agree. In fact, some say them better than I could have said it (Yup!). So I’m putting together the very best in an easy-to-“click-it” format with links to this week’s best and brightest in fundraising, marketing, social media, leadership, change and all the good stuff. You’ll find it to be an eclectic array, often sourced from more than one discipline, as I believe we can learn a lot from our colleagues in other sectors.
Of course, I can’t help but add in a few comments of my own. I hope you’ll find it useful. Let’s begin:
To build authentic rapport with folks you must show them you care. And the simplest way to demonstrate affection is through a heartfelt ‘Thank You.’ It can be in person, in writing, over the phone, through a text, via video or any which way you choose.
The key is to begin with thank you, and make it personal and prompt.
Here’s a personal example. Recently my son found he’d have an unexpected layover in San Francisco. I jumped at the opportunity to join him for dinner, though it meant cancelling plans with my friends. The next morning, as he was getting on the plane, he texted them: “Thanks for changing your plans so I could see my Mom. I appreciate it.” You may be thinking ‘no big deal.’ But it IS a big deal. He showed my friends he saw their flexibility as a gift. And someone (who?) taught him to always send a thank you for a gift. My friends were touched. Mama was proud.
Look for the hidden gifts and thank folks for them. (Click to Tweet) My friends gave me and my son a hidden gift. I’m guessing your donors do this too. They remember to send in a matching gift form. They agree to make a few phone calls. They send you their alma mater’s newsletter as a sample. All these things are worthy of acknowledgment. Send great thank you letters for cash donations too, of course. But endeavor to touch your supporters whenever and wherever you can.
My recent post about showing your donors you know them* through personalization struck a big chord. Folks have asked for more tips on the subject of building and sustaining meaningful, loyal relationships, so I’ve taken the liberty of sharing this article originally published in The Bridge. The 5 tips are towards the bottom, so scroll down if you’re impatient. Okay…
Nonprofits wanting gifts should give them. Relationships work that way. Give and get.
This principle of reciprocity applies in spades to social media. Generosity begets generosity.
What you don’t want to do with social media is:
Once upon a time I knew what I was doing. I attended The Fundraising School, discovered a host of tried-and-true techniques, mastered the art and science of fundraising transactions and went forth to apply the tools at my disposal. Money was raised.
Fast forward several decades, to sometime about five years ago. I had a dawning realization. I no longer knew what I was doing. I had somehow entered “wing and a prayer” territory. The culprit? Revolutionary and disruptive technology that, simply put, has ended “business as usual.”
What can you think of that has been done the same way for 50 years? For too many nonprofits the answer is fundraising and marketing (aka “development”). And it’s beyond time for a change. In fact, a sea change. It turns out Bob Dylan got it right.
Here comes this month’s *SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you):
I’m still using the word fundraising. In fact, my most recent post was To Sell is Human; To Give, Divine – Why We’re All in Fundraising Now. I received a lot of feedback (mostly embracing) on the first post in my 2013 Series: Philanthropy; Not Fundraising. But there’s evidently some confusion. So, let’s clairify.
If you want to move from a culture of transactions to one of transformation don’t get bogged down worrying about semantics! You say potato; I say potahto… a rose by any other name… It’s the concept I’m hoping you’ll grasp. The point is to come from a place of love; not need. A place that centers on our donor; not us. A place that is deeply relational; not one-sided.
Let me share a few comments I received and contribute my thoughts:
Here comes this month’s *SMIT (Single Most Important Thing I have to tell you): The foundation of all fundraising and nonprofit marketing is relationships. Thanks to Katya Andreson for great inspiration in 6 tried and true truths about my work . I told her I was going to post these fundamentals above my computer –…
What if we said “Give Where Most Moved” instead? Too many folks still worship at the altar of unrestricted giving. I recently came across an article on NPR’s site, Disaster Donations Surge, But What About Tomorrow?, in which Eileen Heisman, the CEO of National Philanthropic Trust, admonishes potential donors to be loyal in…
Are you focused on the gift or the giver? Thanking donors is the one thing most nonprofits do not spend enough time thinking about. Too often I find that staff spend 95% of their time crafting the fundraising appeal and getting embroiled in project management – design; layout; ing, postage, etc. Finally, the letter (or…
What do we want most to sustain our nonprofits? Loyal donors, natch! How do we get them? Oh, that’s simple. We badger them for gifts. When they give, we warehouse them in our database. We then send a form letter (pretending it’s personal because we use their given name and indicate their gift was earmarked…
How often do you gift this gift to donors? I’ve personally declared November ‘Gratitude for Blessings’ month. For me, this means finding opportunities to demonstrate gratitude. And today I’m grateful for you, my readers. Whereas donors are the center of your nonprofit’s universe, you are the center of mine. When I can’t share my ideas, …
How do you show donors you’re thankful? November culminates [in the United States] with a feast of Thanksgiving for all with which we are blessed. Our greatest blessing in the public benefit sector is the donors who support our work and enable us to fulfill our vital missions. Last month I talked a lot about…
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there” – Lewis Carroll When we simply engage in incidental cultivation and stewardship – a meeting here, a party there – the only place we get to is the meeting or the party. Is that our goal? If at the end of the…