I recently received a prickly thank you letter that made my blood boil. Not because it was so bad, but because it wasn’t good. It didn’t make me want to renew my support. And that’s unforgiveable. Because the point of the first gift is to get a second one. Otherwise, donor acquisition costs you …
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There’s a lot about fundraising folks take for granted. And not in a good way. Because… much of it is untrue!
In fact, if you, your executive director, your board members or anyone else where you work subscribes to these fictions you’ll be in for a lot of pain and suffering. You won’t raise near the money you could otherwise raise. And you won’t enjoy your work.
But there’s a fix!
In the past I’ve written about certain self-evident fundraising truths. Truths you want to hold close to become a fruitful philanthropy facilitator. The problem? These tenets I call truths are too often not apparent at all.
Why?
A disinformation campaign is unconsciously being waged by leaders who:
Oh, dear. Guess what?
Like anything else worth doing, fundraising must be done well to succeed.
You get out of it what you put into it. That’s the unvarnished truth — the truth that shall set you free!
Sadly, if you believe any of the following untruths, your fundraising program is in jeopardy. And so is your mission. Let’s break these down.
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What’s in a name?
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” said Shakespeare.
But, would it?
Seth Godin thinks words matter. As do I.
Just?
The meaning of the word is the reason we used the word.
If we don’t agree about the meaning of the word, we haven’t communicated.
Instead of, “that’s just semantics,” it seems more productive to say, “I’m confident we have a semantics problem.”
Because that’s all of it.
The way we process words changes the way we act. The story we tell ourselves has an emotional foundation, but those emotions are triggered by the words we use.
Not just.
Especially.
— Seth Godin
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion it has taken place.” So says Hugh MacLeod of Gaping Void Culture Design Group, noting your words may or may not incorporate ‘signifiers’ that open the listener/reader to the possibilities they might encourage.
Opening people up to new possibilities is, after all, at the heart of what organizations seeking to enact change do.
The meaning of words changes over time. Your task is to assure the ones you use will be understood as you intended.
For example, when someone considers contributing to your organization, what does your appeal actually communicate to them? Does asking for a ‘donation’ make them feel uplifted by the possibility they can create a positive outcome. Or does it convey all you care about is their money? Does saying “any little bit helps” make them feel important and empowered? Or does it convey their gift is but a drop in the bucket?
Choose words appropriate to what you want your audience to feel.
You have the power to give would-be supporters the meaning they seek.
Let’s look at how some of the words nonprofits commonly use get their meaning, how this meaning may be interpreted by your constituents, and how you may wish to express yourself differently in order to choose the words most appropriate for your group and for the purpose of your communication.
Maybe that’s okay. Or perhaps
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In my last article, I wrote about why establishing and building trust should be part of your nonprofit and personal mission.
Because trust is the foundation of all lasting relationships.
If you don’t build trust, or if you somehow manage to destroy it, you’re going to lose your donor.
It’s an uphill battle, requiring a proactive approach.
Sadly, most nonprofits do a profoundly poor job of this. By now you’re likely familiar with the stats on donor retention from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project. The most recent report revealed only 13.8% of first-time donors renewed. Only half of all donors renew, which is still an appallingly low rate — but certainly speaks to the importance of securing a second gift..
If you want to improve on these retention rates (and you definitely can!), I’m going to suggest you develop a plan to build trust.
Trust is built not simply by what you say, but by what you do. Not just once, but consistently over time.
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For good things once a year is not enough. Why do so many of us only eat turkey once a year? Or pumpkin pie? I’ve no idea! It’s surely not rational. These are special foods we value and take great delight in. Yet we get into a bad habit of thinking on auto pilot. If it’s not Thanksgiving, the idea of roasting a turkey or making cranberry sauce doesn’t even enter most or our heads. And egg nog, hot mulled cider, panettone and stollen are mostly Christmas things. And then there are the once-a-year only potato latkes. Why are we missing out on an opportunity for greater joy and satisfaction?
When things are good, they bear repeating.
And this is most certainly the case with expressing gratitude to your valued supporters!
“Joe, hello! I just called because, in thinking over the past few days about all for which I’m grateful, I realized I’m grateful for you and all you do to make our community a more caring place. I just wanted you to know how much your support is appreciated. Thanks so much, and may the new year bring many blessings.”
This relates to one of Robert Cialdini’s principles of influence and persuasion: “commitment and consistency.”
The main point is this:
Because we 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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… if you do nothing proactive to make them want to stay. You’re working hard to bring in as many donations as possible this year. And you’re being successful. Yay you! But, wait. There’s an “uh oh” looming around the corner. Today we’re going to take a lo at why many of your donors may…
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Studies show one-fourth of all charitable giving happens in December. For some organizations (maybe yours?), it’s as much as one-third. Year-end fundraising is not chopped chicken liver!
While you absolutely should be using multiple fundraising channels to get best results, right now whatever you’ve got planned for offline is pretty much cooked. So your best bet for boosting year-end results is digital.
What do you have planned online between now and December 31st?
The 2024 M+R Benchmarks Study found nonprofits raise anywhere from 17% to 34% of their online revenue in December, depending on their cause. For well over a decade, the last week of the year – and particularly the last day of the year– have been huge for online fundraising.
To boost your year-end fundraising success, you need to craft an email offer your donor can’t refuse.
If you’ve not yet planned your campaign, start here — and now. If you’re ready to go, take a moment to check your plan against these tips. In a nutshell, you need three things for any effective fundraising offer:
It’s really that simple, but let’s get a little more into the weeds so you’ve a better idea how to execute these three offer components.
BOO!
Halloween is creeping up on us, so I’ve got some really scary stuff for you!
Don’t get too spooked. There are also a few treats.
In fact, you’ll get eight delicious goodies — in the form of “to-do’s.”
But first… the bad news.
No bones about it, you’re frightening folks away if you’re committing any of these 8 boo-boo’s!
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In Part 1 of this two-part series of “Top 10 Strategies to Prepare for Fall Fundraising” we covered.
Today we’ll look at:
Ready to get all your ducks in a row?
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