What kind of experience are you giving your donors when they interact with your organization? Is it good, bad, or somewhere in between? It’s important for you to look at things from their perspective, not yours. Let’s examine some of the different aspects of fundraising and donor communication to see what kind of experience you’re giving your donors.

The Fundraising Appeal Experience

Your donor receives an appeal from you. At least one appeal per campaign should come by mail because your donor will be more likely to see it and take action. It’s also a more personal way to connect. Donors can get a lot of fundraising appeals from many different organizations, especially on GivingTuesday and at year-end. What are you doing to make yours stand out?

Does your appeal address your donor by name and take into account any past giving? Is it easy to read (and scan) and include a story and a clear, prominent ask that lets the donor know how she can help make a difference for your clients/community?

Or is it a generic, long-winded mess in a tiny font? Are you using jargon and other language your donor won’t understand? Are you focusing too much on your organization so your donor feels like an afterthought?  

You only have a few seconds to capture your donor’s attention and get her to make a donation. If this is not a good experience for her, then I think you know what will or won’t happen.

The Giving Experience

Congratulations, someone has decided to donate to your nonprofit. Since most people give online, I’ll focus on that first.

They’re on your website ready to give. How’s that going to go? Does your Donate Now button stand out? Do you have a branded donation page (worth the investment) that’s easy to use and navigate? That means keeping it simple without too many fields to fill out and not making people set up an account. Be sure it’s focused on making a donation. You can include information about volunteering and other ways to get involved elsewhere, such as a thank you landing page. You don’t want to distract people from giving. It also needs to be accessible on a mobile device. If your donation page is a pain to deal with, you run the risk of someone giving up and not donating. 

Speaking of websites, your entire site needs to provide a good experience for your donors, as well.

While many donors give online now, some people are not comfortable doing that. Be sure your direct mail appeal includes a reply envelope/card so someone can send you a check. You can help your donors by filling out their name, address, and past giving amounts on the reply form. Depending on your CRM/database, you may be able to customize gift amount strings. Your mailing address should be included in your email appeal and on your website. 

Other donors may want to call you with a credit card number. Is it easy to reach you by phone? Several years ago I was working with an organization that was holding an event. Someone wanted to register by phone and the staff person tried to get her to register on their website. Hello, she wouldn’t have called you if she wanted to do that.

Every donor is different. Some donors are comfortable using their cell phones to make a donation and others aren’t. Many donors might see your letter and then go on their computer to give. Offer different options so you can meet your donors where they are to give them the best giving experience. 

The Thank You Experience

Okay, now your donor has made a gift (yea!), but her journey isn’t over. In fact, it’s just beginning.

If someone donates online, what happens next? Is she directed to a thank you landing page that showers her with appreciation or does it look like a transactional receipt? It’s not that hard to make an engaging landing page, maybe one that says Thank you, Diane! and includes a thank you photo or video and other ways to get involved.

The same goes for the automatically generated thank you email. Make sure your donor experiences some gratitude here. There’s no reason why you can’t craft an engaging thank you message. You could go one step further and have Development staff send an additional personal thank you email message to donors. Also, make sure the subject line says something like Thank you, Diane! or You did something great today! and not Donation Received. 

All donors whether they give online or by other means get a thank you by mail or phone. Donors may miss your email, but something by mail or phone will stand out. If you can send a handwritten thank you card or make a thank you call, you’re doing more than most organizations.  

At the very least, send a thank you letter, maybe with a short personal handwritten note. The recommendation is to get thank you letters out within 48 hours. If that’s going to result in a mediocre letter (which many of them are), then it’s okay to take a week to produce an amazing letter. An amazing letter is one that’s personal and takes into account whether a donor has given before. It’s also all about thanking the donor – not bragging, explaining what your organization does, and asking for another gift.

Don’t wait too long, though. What are telling your donors if it takes you months to send a thank you letter? They deserve a better experience.

To give your donors the best thank you experience, make a plan to show gratitude once a month. Use this opportunity to send a handwritten note. It’s always a welcome surprise if you do.

The Donor Engagement Experience

Showing gratitude is just one way to engage with your donors. They also want to hear how their gift is making a difference.

You may send newsletters, impact reports, and other updates, but what kind of experience are you providing? Are you sharing stories and other content you know your donors will be interested in? Or is your newsletter or impact report just one big, boring bragfest? Even if you’re sharing stories, are you making them engaging? 

Are you getting to know your donors? You could send them a short survey and ask what drew them to your organization. Do you send welcome packages to new donors? Do you do something special for long-term donors? Do you invite donors to engage with you in other ways, such as volunteering?

Keep in touch with your donors at least once a month. A communications calendar will help you with this. Remember the ask, thank, report, repeat formula. If all you do is send generic appeals, you’re not giving your donors a good experience.

Think of your donors at every level of their journey to give them the best experience possible.