Reignite your fundraising: donor communications

Whenever I am at a conference or meetings about fundraising and non-profit development, donor communications is always a topic. Great ideas and solutions are shared and everyone seems to leave with a list of initiatives they will work on when they get back to their organization.

And then everyone gets busy. Many of those wonderful ideas are left as notes and don't become reality.

As we reignite our fundraising, here are two opportunities:

First, consider that simply thanking a donor isn't enough if you want to build a relationship with them and create a long-term desire to support your organization. Actions you can take include a phone call to your donor upon receiving a donation; adding a personal note on the thank you letter (and please sign the letter, don't use a stamped signature!); ask you CEO or a board member to follow up with a phone call to thank. Then, you can really take the relationship to another level by letting them know how you spent their donation!

Yes, a few months after their donation let them know how you spent it. That makes all of the difference in the world to your donor.

Second, create a very personal communication between you and a group of your donors. Mine is a monthly impact email I send to major donors. Directly from me to them, very short, containing information that lets them know how their giving impacts our mission. This has been very well received by donors and has allowed me to engage them on a higher level.

Don't let the communication stop there. Check in every once in a while. Ensure that the only time you are speaking with them is not when asking them to consider their next donation.

More ideas to come!

Thanks for reading!

Individual giving - thanking donors

When boards and non-profit leadership talk about fundraising, individual donors are typically, and easily, talked around or even not thought about. Meanwhile, so many of us have donor retention rates under 40% and direct mail response rates are under three percent. I can see why many in our world don't see the intense value of individual donors, or even think that there is a way to increase the amount of individual giving for their non-profit.

Although I subscribe to the philosophy of donor-centered giving, I'm not even writing about that. I think many non-profits have a lot of work to do even before they start working within the ideas of being donor-centered.

Here's an example. A few months ago I attended a luncheon that was a fundraiser for a popular LA-based non-profit. It was my first time attending one of the events and I was blown away by what they presented, so much so that I made a donation.

First donation to them ever. I felt so good about being part of their incredible impact.

Time when by and one day we received their newsletter. It reminded me that I hadn't received a thank you letter or a tax letter yet. 

More time went by, and six weeks after I made the donation I received my thank you/tax letter.

Six weeks! Seriously? I couldn't believe it.

Even though I am now on their mailing list, I don't feel any more a part of them as I did before I made the donation.

I like what we do at the non-profit I fundraise for. Once we see a donation we call the donor to thank them. This happens within 24 hours of receiving the donation. Then a thank-you letter goes out within three days. Three days is the absolute latest it will go out, that's our goal. It doesn't mean that we don't do all we can to get the letter out earlier.

Individual giving can change your mission and impact. It's much more sustainable than corporate giving and even foundation giving. Growing your donor relationships will be totally worth your while. You can start by thanking them.

Thanks for reading.

Time to reignite your fundraising?

I've presented conference sessions called "Reignite your fundraising" and love engaging with other fundraisers and development peers about my ideas regarding what we can do to take our fundraising to another level.

Before, I begin, it's important to note that although the title of this post if about reigniting your fundraising, all of this starts with you.

I recently ran into a donor who was volunteering at our office. I shouldn't say "ran into", as I heard her voice and immediately got up and went to greet her. I was ecstatic to see her and thanked her for a recent generous donation.  Of course that wasn't the first time I thanked her as I called her the day of the donation and then sent a thank you letter. Nonetheless it was my excitement in seeing her that made her day.

"The person before you didn't even know my name. Every time he saw me I had to re-introduce myself."

Reigniting your fundraising will only work if you are on board, if you have endless energy and passion for your cause, and if you are willing to be the main cheerleader.

Let's start.

My first idea is to respond to a donor email with a phone call.  You will surprise them, and your relationship with them will be stronger. In other words, you are investing in the donor relationship. Building these relationships is key in reigniting your fundraising. Try it.

Speaking of the phone, I suggest getting used to using it. Email doesn't show emotion. A donor can't hear your excitement over email. So call them. Once you see their donation pick up the phone. It changes everything.

Another reason to use the phone more and email less is that, especially in huge cities like Los Angeles where I live, face to face meetings with donors don't happen as often. The phone call brings at least a little bit of a personal touch to the relationship.

More to come.

Thanks for reading

We must be inclusive in fundraising

I recently met with a development person from an organization that we support financially. We are new to LA and they were one of the first organizations we donated to upon our arrival one year ago. Our first donation was not our last, and now we are "members" as well as being vocal supporters.

NOTE: As long as I have been writing this blog and as long as I have had my @FundraiserDan Twitter account, I have gone out of my way to keep my fundraising world separate from my personal world. With this encounter that I am writing about, I believe it's necessary to bring in my personal life. I won't necessarily make a habit of it.

Donors come from all walks of life. We are different genders, races, martial statuses, gender identities, orientations (as in sexual), faiths, classes and this list could go on and on.

We as development professionals and fundraisers need to be inclusive. Yes, there are some non-profits that might not want donations from certain parts of society, yet for me, serving and agency that advocates for abused kids, I work to be as inclusive as possible, and as honorable as possible to all donors.

I say "I work to be" because I give it an honest try. I may not always succeed.

From how we use salutations in our donor letters to how we refer to a donor's significant other, to how and who we thank, this is something we really need to pay attention to.

As a donor and a huge supporter, I was pretty disappointed when the development person I was meeting with referred to my husband as my partner. In our conversations prior I had used the term husband and even in that same conversation I had used the word husband twice.

I'm sure it was not her intention, but in one swift sentence, she demeaned my marriage.

Too sensitive, no way. This is a new world. Yes, gay people are actually married these days (and have been for over 10 years.) Let the donor inform you as to how you should be referred to or as, and I did that.

Yes, not all gay couples are married, or want to be. I am, and I very much do.

We have to pay attention to this. And not only this. Gender pronouns are important, as is making sure we thank the wife if she is the donor or at least both people in the couple. Too many donors are thanked via their spouse and their spouse only.

If you don't know, ask. I assure you there will not be any offense taken. In fact, you might just catapult the level of your donor relationship.

Thanks for reading.

August is almost December in the fundraising world

Yes, it's already August.

August is the time I create our end of year fundraising plan. What does it look like? What would success look like? Who is involved? When does it officially begin?

August is the time to create your end of year fundraising plan. Invite your team for a meeting. Ask everyone to bring their calendars, creativity and ideas.

Sitting down with your elite team of fundraisers and development staff (you choose who this is for you) start plugging in dates. I start further out and work back. For example, when do do I actually want our first direct mail piece of the campaign to land? I write that in and then work back all the way to the date where we first discuss the piece.

Who do I want to be involved in the end of year fundraising? Do we do just one mailing or more? Any events?

#GivingTuesday is right in the middle of my typical campaign so I have begun using that to support my efforts. Any board or other donor holiday parties or gatherings can be helpful too.

Then there all of the face to face meetings with donors, my favorite!

Finally, when everyone else is taking off, the last few days of the year here are spent calling every donor who gave the year prior but has not yet given. It could be several hundred calls. Where I currently work, our office is actually closed the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Yet the development team is here making calls, answering the phones and making sure we are here for any last minutes donor needs. Then we take the next week off!

How you work your end of year fundraising is all up to you. It can be the most fun part of your year. The main thing is to start planning it now.

Thanks for reading!