donor engagement

How Making Wise Investments Can Help You Raise More Money

Ann Green Communications, database, direct mail, donor engagement, donor retention, monthly donors, planning , , , , ,

In most instances, nonprofit giving declined again in 2023. If you’re interested in the numbers, here are the latest results from M + R Benchmarks.

If your giving has gone down, you may have cut back on some expenses. While that’s understandable on one level, you need to be careful before you nix something you think you can’t afford. It may be something you should be investing in.

Instead of going on autopilot and saying “We can’t afford this,” think about how you can make wise investments. Stay away from the scarcity mindset. It’s often not helpful.

Here are a few areas you should be investing more money in. The good news is if you do it well, these investments can help you raise more money.

Invest in a good CRM/database

Plain and simple, a good CRM (customer relationship management)/database can help you raise more money. You can segment your donors by giving amount and politely ask them to give a little more in your next appeal – $35 or $50 instead of $25. Many organizations don’t ask their donors to upgrade their gifts and you’re leaving money on the table when you neglect to do this.

A good database can help you with retention, which will save you money since it costs less to keep donors than to acquire new ones. Donor retention continues to be a huge problem.

Many CRMs have built-in payment processors. If not, invest in a good one. 

Your CRM will let you personalize your letters and email messages. Make sure to invest in a good email service provider, too. Personalized letters and messages mean you can address your donors by name and not Dear Friend. You can welcome new donors and thank current donors for their previous support. You can send targeted mailings to lapsed donors to try to woo them back. You can send special mailings to your monthly donors. You can record any personal information, such as conversations you had with a donor and their areas of interest.

In short, you can do a lot with a good CRM/database. Invest in the best one you can afford, and Excel is not a database.

If you’re worried about spending $50 to $100 a month on a CRM/database, you may be able to recoup that expense if you can ask for an upgrade and personalize your communication.

Invest in direct mail

You may not use direct mail that much, especially over the last few years. Some organizations were never or rarely using it before the pandemic.

If that’s the case for you, you’re missing out on an effective and more personal way to communicate with your donors. Think of the enormous amount of email and social media posts you receive as opposed to postal mail. Your donors will be more likely to see your messages if you send them by mail.

Yes, direct mail is more expensive, but you don’t have to mail that often. Quality is more important than quantity but aim for at least three or four times a year, and don’t just send fundraising appeals.

Give some thought to what you send. Some ideas, besides appeal letters, include thank you letters/cards; Thanksgiving, holiday, and/or Valentine’s Day cards; infographic postcards; two-to-four-page newsletters; and impact reports. You could put a donation envelope in your newsletter to raise some additional revenue, but do not put one in a thank you or holiday card. I wouldn’t recommend putting one in an impact report either, especially if you only do one a year.

Shorter is better. Lengthy communication will cost more and your donors are less likely to read it. 

A few ways you can use direct mail without breaking your budget are to clean up your mailing lists to avoid costly duplicate mailings, spread thank you mailings throughout the year – perhaps sending something to a small number of donors each month, and look into special nonprofit mailing rates. You may also be able to get print materials done pro bono or do them in-house, as long as they look professional.

Of course, you can use email, but your primary reason for communicating that way shouldn’t be because it’s cheaper. Both direct mail and email have their place, but in many cases, direct mail is more effective. They also work well when you use them together.

Invest in monthly giving

If you don’t have a robust monthly giving program, you’re missing out on a great way to raise more money. Monthly giving is one of the few types of fundraising that saw an increase last year. It’s good for all nonprofit organizations, but it’s especially beneficial for small nonprofits.

All it takes is for someone to start giving $5.00 or $10.00 a month (hopefully more). These small gifts add up. Also, the retention rate for monthly donors is around 90%. Plus, they’re more likely to become mid-level, major, and legacy donors.

This is why having a good CRM is so important. It will help you find potential monthly donors and segment your current monthly donors so you can send them specialized donor communications. 

Don’t wait any longer to invest in this proven way to raise more money. If you already have a strong monthly giving program (kudos to you), take the next step and invest in mid-level donors and so on.

Invest in donor communications

By donor communications I mean thank you letters/notes, newsletters, and other updates. Some organizations don’t prioritize these and want to spend their time “raising money.” They don’t seem to realize they can raise more money with better donor communications. Remember this formula – ask, thank, report, repeat.

Don’t skimp on your communications budget. Creating thank you cards and infographic postcards is a good investment and a necessity, not a luxury. Thank you cards are a much better investment than mailing labels and other useless swag.

Maybe you need to reallocate your budget to cover some of these expenses. You could also look into additional sources of unrestricted funding. 

Of course, you can also use email and social media to communicate with donors. This reiterates the need for a good email service provider with professional looking templates for your email newsletter and other updates.

Invest in infrastrucure

We need to stop treating overhead or infrastructure as something negative. Most individual donors don’t care about overhead, anyway. However, some funders want us to spend our budget on programs, but how can we successfully run our programs if we don’t have enough staff and can barely afford to pay the people we do have? A rotating door of development staff makes it hard to maintain those important relationships. We also have to pay rent and other expenses (including a CRM, direct mail communication, etc.).

Until these funders stop worrying so much about overhead, you may want to invest some time in finding unrestricted funding sources – often those important individual gifts, such as monthly donations and mid-level/major gifts. 

Don’t limit yourself by saying you can’t afford certain expenses. If you make wise investments, you should be able to raise more money.

Is Your Nonprofit Newsletter Engaging or Boring?

Ann Green Communications, direct mail, donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, email, newsletter, writing , , , , ,

In theory, a newsletter can be a great way to engage with your donors. In reality, that doesn’t often happen because most donor newsletters can be used as a cure for insomnia. They’re too long and filled with boring articles that brag about how wonderful the organization is.

A newsletter is a vital part of the ask, thank report, repeat formula and you can’t just go through the motions. The good news is it’s possible to create an engaging newsletter your donors will want to read. Here’s what you need to do.

Think about what your donors want

You need to include content that will interest your donors. Do you think your donors would rather read an article about your CEO receiving an award or one about Kara, a single mother who is having trouble making ends meet, but is grateful because thanks to your generous donors, she can get food for her family at the Eastside Community food pantry? 

The answer should be obvious. Your donors want to hear about how they’re helping you make a difference for your clients/community. Before choosing content, think carefully about whether or not your donors would be interested in it. 

If you’re a larger organization, you could create different newsletters for different programs or one specifically for monthly donors.

You need a print newsletter

You may opt not to do a print newsletter because it’s expensive and takes too much time, but you’re making a mistake if many of your donors prefer print.

I think you’ll have more success if you can do both print and email newsletters. I recommend a short email newsletter once or twice a month and one to four print newsletters a year.

Donors are more likely to see any communication that comes in the mail, as opposed to the enormous volume of email most of us get.

Follow the Domain Formula, which was developed by the Domain fundraising group. A couple of things they recommend is to send your print newsletter only to donors and to put it in an envelope, not send it as a self-mailer.

They also recommend putting a donation envelope in your print newsletter. This is a proven way to raise additional revenue and you may be able to recoup your expenses. Print newsletters are a great way to boost your retention rate.

You can also save money by creating a shorter print newsletter (maybe two pages instead of four) or only mailing it once or twice a year. You can print them in-house, as long as it looks professional.

Be sure you have a clean mailing list. If you can get rid of duplicate and undeliverable addresses, that’s another way to save a little money.

Remember, donors are more likely to read a print newsletter. But ask them what they like, and listen to what they say. If a majority of them prefer print, then you need to find a way to accommodate them.

Give some thought to your email newsletter

Your print and email newsletter are separate entities. Therefore, you shouldn’t email people a PDF of your print newsletter. Use an email service provider and a newsletter template to create the best experience for your readers.

Send your email newsletter to anyone who signed up for it and only to people who signed up to receive it. This can be both donors and non-donors. It could be a good cultivation tool for future donors. Give people ample opportunities to sign up for your e-newsletter, but understand not everyone will want to receive it.

Use an engaging subject line (something like Learn how you’re helping families find a home and not April newsletter) so you can stand out in your donor’s inbox. And be sure people can read it on a mobile device. You can also get a little creative with your e-newsletter by including a short poll or quiz.

Share your stories

Stories are the most important part of a nonprofit newsletter (print and email). Each newsletter needs to begin with a compelling story. If you’re making a difference, you have stories to tell.

Client stories are best, but you could also do profiles of volunteers, board members, and donors. Focus on what drew them to your mission (more on that below).

Create a story bank that includes at least four client stories to use every year.

Don’t stray from your mission

A common article I see in many nonprofit newsletters is one about a foundation or major donor giving a large gift. This may be accompanied by a picture of someone holding a giant check. Of course, you should recognize these donors (and all donors), but why is this gift important? How will it help your clients/community?

For example – This generous $50,000 grant from the Eastside Community Foundation will help us serve more students in our tutoring program. Many students fell behind during remote learning and are still struggling to catch up.

Something else I see a lot is a profile of a new board member. Instead of focusing so much on their professional background, let your donors know what drew them to your organization. We welcome Lisa Miller, Vice President of First National Bank, to our board. Lisa has a brother with autism and is very passionate about finding ways for people with autism to live independent lives. 

Write to your donors

Write your newsletter in the second person, emphasizing you much more than we. Be personal and conversational. Say – You helped Kara feed her family or Because of donors like you, X number of families have been able to get healthy food every week. This is important because so many families are struggling to make ends meet right now.

Leave out jargon and other language your donors won’t understand. Write as if you’re having a conversation with a friend.

I’m not a fan of the letter from the CEO because those tend to be organization-centered instead of donor-centered. If you feel you must include one of these, be sure to thank your donors. And if you’re mailing your newsletter in an envelope (recommended), do a separate letter and don’t make it part of the newsletter. 

Pour on the appreciation

Never miss an opportunity to thank your donors. You couldn’t do your work without them. Every one of your newsletters needs to show gratitude and emphasize how much you appreciate your donors.

Make it easy to read (and scan)

Most of your donors aren’t going to read your newsletter word for word, especially your e-newsletter. Include enticing headlines and email subject lines (if you don’t, your donors may not read it at all), at least a 12-point font, and lots of white space so your donors can easily scan your newsletter.

Stick to black type on a white background as much as possible. Colors are pretty, but not if it’s hindering your donor’s ability to read your newsletter. Photos can be a great way to add some color, as well as tell a story in an instant.

Use the inverted pyramid and put the most important story first (client story or profile), keeping in mind your donors may not get to all the articles.

Short and sweet

Your print newsletter should be no more than four pages. Limit your monthly email newsletter to three articles. Some organizations send an e-newsletter twice a month. Those should be even shorter – maybe just two articles. People have a lot going on and don’t want to be bombarded with too much information.

Shorter, more frequent updates, are often better.

Other ways to update your donors

For some of you, putting together a newsletter may be too much to take on. You don’t have to do an actual newsletter, but you do need to keep your donors updated.

Do what you can, but be sure to update your donors at least once a month. You may find you have more success with shorter, more frequent email updates and postcards with an infographic a few times a year. You could also send a Donor Care Letter. 

Take time to create a great newsletter that will engage your donors and not bore them.

Why, Oh Why

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor engagement, impact report, newsletter, thank you letters, writing , , , , , ,

A common problem with nonprofit communication is that it’s not focused on why something is important. There’s usually a lot of what and how, but not much why.

The typical fundraising letter and newsletter article rambles on about accomplishments without explaining why something matters. Some organizations also like to pour on the statistics. These numbers don’t mean much without more information.

As you work on your messages, you need to dig deep into why something is important. Think of a four-year-old who keeps asking “but why?” over and over again.

Why is what you do important?

Here’s something you might see in a newsletter or impact report.

We expanded our tutoring program to four more high schools.

Okay, but why is that important?

To serve more students.

That’s good, but why is that important?

After six months of weekly tutoring sessions, 85% of the students in our program have improved their math skills, as well as their grades. Many of these students fell behind during remote learning and are still struggling to catch up.

There you go. Tell your donors about the impact you’re making.

Why should someone donate to your organization?

Do your appeals focus on why it’s important to donate to your organization?  Instead of saying something generic like please donate to our year-end appeal, tell a story emphasizing why someone should donate to your organization.

David, a 10th grader at Wilson High School, dreads third-period algebra. It just doesn’t make sense to him. He’s always had trouble with math, but it was even harder during the height of the pandemic when they had to resort to remote learning. He’s been struggling to catch up and was afraid he was going to fail. 

Then David started weekly tutoring sessions with Steven, a volunteer tutor. It was difficult at first, but thanks to Steven’s patience and guidance, David got a B on his last test. 

Many other students fell behind during remote learning and could use a tutor. After six months of weekly tutoring sessions, 85% of the students in our program have improved their math skills. With your help, we can expand our program to serve more students in more schools.

Again, focus on why.

Why is your donor’s gift valuable?

When you thank your donors, do you tell them why their gift is valuable? Give a specific example.

Thank you so much for your generous gift of $50. This will help cover the expenses of our one-to-one weekly tutoring sessions. After six months of these tutoring sessions, 85% of the students in our program have improved their math skills. This is crucial since many of these students fell behind during remote learning and are still struggling to catch up.

It’s all about the why.

Why are you sharing this information?

When you write a newsletter article or something for an impact report, why are you including that information? Will this be something of interest to your donors?  If it’s focused too much on your organization and sounds like you’re bragging, then most likely not. 

Your donors want information that lets them know how they’re helping you make a difference and why that’s important. Sharing stories is a great way to do that.

Why do you appreciate your donors?

Finally, do your donors know why you appreciate them? You need to tell them this again and again.

Thank you so much for doing your part in helping high school students boost their math skills. We couldn’t do this without you.

Always, remember to focus on why.

How to Improve Your Communication for Better Donor Engagement

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor engagement, donor-centered, planning, stories, thank you letters, writing , , , , , , , ,

In my last post, I wrote about potential missed opportunities for donor engagement. You may think you’re practicing donor engagement by sending thank you letters and an e-newsletter, but is the content actually engaging? It’s often formulaic and just downright dull.

Many nonprofits send all their donors the same appeal and thank you letters. In these letters, they never thank a donor for their past support or acknowledge they’re a monthly donor.

If that’s not bad enough, many of these letters use vague and impersonal language and even worse, jargon.

It sounds obvious, but your donor engagement should be engaging. If it’s not, it’s time to move away from generic and impersonal communication. Your donors deserve better. Here are a few suggestions to help you improve your donor communication.

Segment your donors

Your donors aren’t the same, so they shouldn’t all get the same letter or other types of communication. Segment your donors into different groups as much as you can. At the very least, create different letters for new donors, repeat donors, and monthly donors. You can also personalize letters to lapsed donors, event attendees, volunteers, etc.

I emphasize segmenting your donors a lot in my posts because it’s so important. Both because it allows you to send your messages to the right audience and you can personalize those messages. Donors like it if you recognize their past giving or anything that shows them this is more than a generic, one-size-fits-all message. 

Also, please stop sending Dear Friend letters. You’re not being a good friend if you don’t even use your donors’ names.

I know this will take more time, but it’s worth the investment. So is a good CRM/database to help you with this. Your donors will feel appreciated and are more likely to give again, possibly at a higher level.

Use language your donors will understand

If you use vague, generic language and jargon, you’re going to instantly bore and/or confuse your donors. Most of your donors don’t have a medical or social services background. They don’t use terms like food insecurity, at-risk populations, and underserved communities – and neither should you. Stay away from insider language. 

Connect with your donors by using language they’ll understand. Instead of writing about food insecurity, give an example of a single mother choosing between buying groceries and paying the heating bill.

What do you mean by at-risk or underserved? Are high school students less likely to graduate on time? Do residents of a certain community not have good health care nearby? Is housing too expensive? Get specific, but at the same time, keep it simple. Also, terms like at-risk and underserved undermine your clients/community. Remember, these are human beings you’re writing about.

A great way to break free from generic language and jargon is to tell stories. Most people respond better to a human-interest story than a bunch of boring statistics.

Make time for improvement

You may be between fundraising campaigns right now and have a little more time (or maybe not). If so, work on segmenting the donors in your database, if you haven’t already done that. Segment your donors on an ongoing basis. For example, some of your single-gift donors may have upgraded to monthly. If you can do this after every campaign, you should have fairly up-to-date information on your donors.

In addition, dust off those templates and freshen up your appeal letters and thank you letters. Situations throughout the world keep changing and your communication needs to be relevant. Create letter templates for different donor groups and replace your vague, generic language with something clear, conversational, and specific.

You can also use this time to add new stories to your story bank or start putting one together, if you don’t already have one.

Have someone outside of your organization, a friend or family member, look at your messages. Something that’s clear to you may confuse others.

Create communication that shows your donors how much you appreciate them by recognizing who they are and giving them engaging content they can relate to.

Are You Missing Out On Opportunities To Engage With Your Donors?

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor-centered, monthly donors, thank you letters , , , , ,

I recently finished tallying last year’s donations for our taxes. Always a fun task. Going through all the donation letters and emails triggered a few insights I’d like to share. Chances are, you’re missing out on opportunities to engage with your donors.

Sending a yearly donation summary is very helpful

Most of the gifts I make are monthly donations and organizations that sent a summary of all those gifts made it so much easier for me. I also made additional contributions to some of those organizations.  

You may not need to send a summary if someone just made one gift. Your thank you letter can include the important tax information, but there’s no guarantee your donors will keep that.

My suggestion is to send all your donors a yearly summary of their gifts the following January. Send it by mail, if you can. This is also an opportunity to reach out. Make it more than just a receipt. Thank your donors and let them know how their gift(s) helped your clients/community during the past year. Some organizations send two pages – one is a thank you letter and the other is a list of all the donations.

If you don’t send a summary, donors have to go through their donation records and credit card statements and that’s just tedious. 

The Case of the Missing Monthly Donations

One organization mailed me a yearly summary letter that included a short handwritten note and a list of my monthly donations from last year, which was good. What wasn’t so good was it didn’t include any donations from November and December. When I went online to check my credit card records, I discovered I wasn’t charged for January and February either.

I’m not sure why that happened. I set up the monthly donation in November 2022, so maybe it expired after a year. My credit card is good for a few more years. Maybe they changed their payment processor. Sometimes monthly gifts mysteriously stop.

I wonder why someone from the organization didn’t notice this and contact me about it. 

The lesson here is to pay attention to what’s going on with your monthly donors. Put a system in place where you can flag expiring credit cards. Better yet, invest in a payment processor that automatically updates credit cards. And, if you do change your payment processor, make it easy for donors to switch to the new one.

You don’t want any of these donations to slip through the cracks. Even though many monthly donations are $5.00 or $10.00 a month, these small donations make a difference. The organization I mentioned above missed out on four months of revenue from me. Most likely I wasn’t the only one.

Monthly donors are some of your most valuable donors. Ignore them at your peril.

Donor communication is a mixed bag

My folder of donation acknowledgment letters was bursting from the seams, so I recycled ones that were a few years old. I also keep thank you cards and print pieces I like to use as examples of good donor engagement. I recycled some of those too, although there weren’t as many of them (read on). 

It shouldn’t surprise you that some organizations do a better job of communicating with their donors than others. A few knock it out of the park, but most range from okay to nonexistent.  

Some examples of good print communication from my folder include postcards, handwritten thank you notes, short impact reports, a welcome package, holiday cards, and a note from a child with cancer. You’ll notice most of these are relatively short pieces. There’s no need to create something long (and often boring).

If you’re not communicating by mail, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to engage with your donors. Mail is more personal and your donors are more likely to see it. Good communication also includes content that focuses on how your donors helped you make a difference and not on your organization. Try to mail something besides fundraising appeals at least three or four times a year.

Of course, you’ll use email and social media more often. Unfortunately, a lot of electronic communication is not inspiring. I noticed that when I was going through my email gift acknowledgments. 

If you use PayPal for your monthly donations, they send a receipt each month, and all it is is a receipt. In some cases, that’s the only time I hear about that gift. Are you letting PayPal do your work for you?

Other organizations do send their own automated monthly gift acknowledgments/receipts and that’s about it. I’ve mentioned before that these can be helpful, but don’t count as a legitimate thank you or any type of donor communication.

Here’s another missed opportunity. There’s no reason your automatic thank you email, whether it’s for a monthly or one-time gift, can’t be warm and personal. If you send monthly gift acknowledgments, update the content periodically. Kelly McLaughlin of From Scratch Fundraising recommends blind copying a staff person on those automatically generated emails and having that person send an additional more personal email. At the very least, you can differentiate between new gifts and repeat gifts. 

And while you’re at it, make your email subject line more engaging. Say something like Thank you, Julie! or Look at the difference you made and not Donation Received or anything that includes the word transaction.

I’ve found it’s often the same few organizations that go the extra mile, so the rest of you need to step up. Don’t miss out on these opportunities to engage with your donors. Always remember that better donor communication will help you raise more money.

Image Credit: www.epictop10.com

Spring Into Action by Paying Attention to Your Donor Retention

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, donor-centered, planning , , , , ,

Donor retention is a perennial problem for nonprofit organizations. Many organizations spend all this time and energy on acquiring donors, concentrating more on volume and don’t seem to be concerned that they’re churning through different donors year after year. Just like the flowers and plants in your garden, you need to give them care and attention. 

You should be keeping track of your retention rate. If you’re losing donors, it could be because you’re either not communicating enough or communicating poorly. Fortunately, this is something you can fix, but donors don’t magically donate, or more important, keep donating to your organization.

You need more than luck to keep your donors

Building relationships with your donors is one of the most important components of fundraising.

Donor relations should be easier than raising money and it can be fun, too. Make it a priority, as well as something you do throughout the year.

But it will take more than leprechauns granting wishes. If you want to keep reaching for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, you’ll need to work at it. If you ignore your donors or communicate poorly, they’re unlikely to donate again.

One-and-done fundraising is just March Madness

In NCCA men’s college basketball, players are eligible for the NBA draft after playing one season. This is known as one-and-done. If you watch the men’s tournament, it’s likely many of the players won’t be around next year. Both the men’s and women’s tournaments are also referred to as March Madness, although the one-and-done policy doesn’t apply to women’s basketball.

Another place you’ll find one-and-done is in nonprofit fundraising. The donor retention rate for first-time donors is around 25%. Obviously, we can do better.

If you can get your first-time donors to give again, it’s much more likely they’ll keep giving. That second donation is known as the golden donation (that pot of gold?). This is why it’s important to engage with your new donors and send them a welcome package right after their first gift. But don’t neglect your longer-term donors. You also want to make them feel special.

A time for new beginnings

Spring is just around the corner (hopefully) and it’s a time for new beginnings. Maybe you can share a new initiative that you were able to launch with your donors’ help.

Speaking of new beginnings, how are you engaging with your first-time donors?  That welcome package, which I hope you sent, is just the first step. Keep letting them know how much you appreciate this new relationship. If you don’t, it’s likely to be a short relationship. 

A consistent stream of donor communication is crucial

Here in the Boston area where I live, we have the most inconsistent weather. Not that long ago it was almost 60 one day and it struggled to stay in the 30’s the next, although we’ve had very little snow this winter.

Inconsistent levels of donor communication should have no place in the nonprofit world. You don’t want to barrage donors with appeals and then go silent for a while.

Ideally, you want to reach out somewhere between once a week and once a month. And not just with appeals. You need to thank donors and share updates.  Follow the ask, thank, report, repeat formula. This is essential for good donor retention.

A communications calendar will help. So will sending shorter, more frequent updates.

Spring forward to reach out to your donors

March may be a slower time for you. Maybe you have a fundraising campaign or event planned this spring. If so, you definitely want to engage with your donors first. If you don’t have anything scheduled for a while, these in-between times are just important. 

As you’ll notice, I’ve made references to a bunch of March themes – St. Patrick’s Day, daylight saving time (going back on daylight saving time is one of my favorite times of the year), March Madness, and spring. But you don’t need a holiday, special occasion, or a theme as a reason to reach out to your donors. Do it just because they’re great and you can’t do your work without them.

Keep focusing on better donor retention. You should be more successful if you do.

5 Creative Donor Appreciation Ideas for Small Nonprofits

Ann Green donor engagement, donor relations, donor-centered, events, gratitude, planning, video , , , , , ,

Thanking donors is crucial for securing gifts—especially for small nonprofits trying to build a support base. Show your gratitude with these creative ideas.

By Logan Foote

Building relationships is crucial for nonprofits to grow their impact. For small nonprofits in particular, these relationships are critical to growing and scaling your work to drive additional impact. A big part of such relationships is thanking donors and partners for their continued support and generosity. Truly, every donor deserves a heartfelt thank-you message for their contributions and gifts, but you can take it to the next level and make a lasting impression with an appreciation event or customized outreach.

Fun, memorable donor appreciation events and initiatives function to build a sustainable support network for your small nonprofit. Consider these appreciation ideas to thank your donors in a new and memorable way.

  1. Exclusive Events & Activities

An event designed exclusively for donors shows how much you value their support and your relationship with them. These can be tacked on to an existing event, such as your charity golf tournament, annual conference, or gala. The point is to limit it to “donors only” to reward them for their generosity. 

For instance, let’s say you’re organizing a charity golf tournament to raise money for your work. You might invite donors to an exclusive reception the day or evening before the tournament, complete with refreshments, tee times, access to the driving range, and branded merchandise as a thank you for their donations. Another idea is to have a specific flight (a series of smaller competitions within a golf tournament) or round of the tournament that’s just for donors, with special prizes for the flight’s winners.

  1. Behind the Scenes Tours

Your donors care about your mission’s progress and are investing in your daily operations by donating. Give them a new perspective on the work they’re supporting with a behind-the-scenes tour. Continuing with the golf tournament example, you might invite donors to visit while you’re prepping player gift bags or auction items. Or perhaps ask them to participate in a tour of your facility to see how your programs operate and even interact with some beneficiaries (with their permission). 

  1. Storytelling Events

Storytelling is the linchpin of your nonprofit’s case for support, so holding an event centered around that is a way to share your mission’s impact in a social setting. Invite donors to an event with a meal or refreshments and a series of stories shared by your nonprofit’s beneficiaries. Donors will have the chance to network with other donors and make connections with beneficiaries. Consider premiering any new videos or unveiling new initiatives at such an event, not only to give donors a sneak peek, but to help them want to have a stake in your organization’s future. 

Another idea is to tie storytelling into your nonprofit’s charity auction. After you’ve completed reporting from the auction and determined who made the largest contributions by purchasing the big ticket items, invite them to a storytelling event. Share in-depth insights into the impact of the money raised and how it plays into your overall mission. Donors will love the chance to meet and get to know other supporters while learning more about your organization’s future.

  1. Donor Appreciation Wall

A donor appreciation wall immortalizes your nonprofit’s most impactful donors. It’s a meaningful way to add these donors to your organization’s collective history. Place such a wall in a high visibility location, such as the entrance to your office or other facility. You can add your nonprofit’s own twist to this classic appreciation idea by determining how you’ll segment out donors on the wall and how each should be recognized. Consider these ideas:

  • Giving Tiers. Tailor these to your nonprofit to recognize major contributors to your fundraising efforts. According to Double the Donation, a common tier structure used by many organizations is bronze, silver, gold, and platinum donors and sponsors.
  • Legacy Leaders. This idea works well for younger nonprofits that are in growth mode and relied on these gifts to get their work off the ground. More established nonprofits can retroactively add donors who have significantly contributed to your growth over time. 
  • Community Champions. You might recognize donors who also volunteer their time and advocate for your nonprofit to their networks to this group. 

Other categories could include donors who contributed to fundraising events, funded a specific project or program, or contributed to a capital campaign. As your nonprofit grows, add more tiers to your appreciation walls. Be sure to plan your design with future growth and recognition in mind. You might even ask donors for their feedback on the new groupings before you finalize your thank you plan.

  1. Customized Videos

Video is an incredibly powerful tool that nonprofits should leverage whenever possible. Creating customized videos expressing your gratitude to donors is yet another way to build and strengthen relationships with your organization. These types of thank you videos don’t have to be complicated or expensive—in fact, anyone with a laptop or smartphone can make one!

Work with your organization’s president, executive director, or even a beneficiary to assist you in creating the content. Ask them to create video snippets that address each donor by name and reference the specific fund, campaign, or event they’ve contributed to. For instance, if a donor who attended your charity golf tournament excelled at one of your on-course games, won the tournament, or got a hole-in-one, be sure to mention their involvement and thank them for their participation.

In terms of logistics, batching out this personalized content will streamline the production process and the customized portion can be added to video clips that provide additional context about your work. 

Wrapping Up

Thanking donors is crucial to retaining them over time. It does add another step to the process and potentially some expense, but it should be factored into your budgets and fundraising plans whenever possible. You might think that cutting down on thank you efforts is an option to improve fundraising efficiency, but it would be at the expense of donor stewardship and relationship development. The donor appreciation ideas outlined in this post can help your nonprofit strengthen your donor relationships to keep their support well into the future.

Logan Foote, Sales and Education Manager at GolfStatus, has been around the game of golf nearly his entire life. He first picked up a club at the age of four, and despite thousands of attempts, he’s never had a hole-in-one. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and pursued a career in sales. Logan came to GolfStatus in 2017, where he channels his passion for golf to help nonprofits raise money through the game. As Sales and Education Manager, Logan oversees a team that works with thousands of nonprofit clients to maximize their golf fundraisers with the GolfStatus platform, and shares his golf fundraising expertise through GolfStatus’s free educational webinars. He lives and golfs in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife and three sons.

Are You Following the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat formula?

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, fundraising, gratitude, impact report, newsletter, thank you letters, writing , , , , , ,

You may be familiar with the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat formula in fundraising. If not, you should be. Organizations that follow that tend to be more successful. 

Many organizations just practice Ask, Ask, Ask. If that’s the case for you, are you raising the money you need? Because what’s most important is to thank and report before you ask for another donation. Going a step further, fundraising expert Penelope Burk recommends seven touches before asking for another gift.

Of course, formulas are good in theory, but you can’t just go through the motions. Some organizations practice Ask, Bore, Brag. If you do it well, the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat formula can help you raise more money, build relationships, and boost your retention rate.

Asking for donations is not all or nothing

Many nonprofit organizations spend a lot of time asking and not that much on thanking and reporting.

At certain times of the year, such as GivingTuesday and year-end, nonprofits blast donors with a bunch of generic appeals. Other organizations are skittish about asking for money. They might bury the ask in the appeal or think donors don’t want to give during a recession or a pandemic (absolutely not true).

A good fundraising appeal starts with a story followed by a clear, prominent ask. You’ll want to repeat your ask at least once more in the appeal.

Your fundraising appeal shouldn’t be focused too much on your organization – rambling on about how great you are. Your organization may be great, but let your donors figure that out. Your donors are the ones who are great and they want to hear how they can help you make a difference for your clients/community.

Segment your appeal to the appropriate audience. Thank past donors or reference your relationship to a potential donor. Maybe they’re event attendees, volunteers, or friends of board members.

Address your appeal to a person and not Dear Friend.

Don’t use jargon or other language your donors won’t understand. Instead of saying we’re helping at-risk youth, say something like – With your support, our tutoring program can help more students graduate from high school on time. 

Your appeal should make people feel good about donating to your organization.

You can and should also thank and update/report back to your donors in your appeal.

Thanking your donors means thanking your donors

Your thank you letters/emails/handwritten notes need to be all about thanking your donors. Sounds obvious, right, but many thank you letters don’t do a great job of saying thank you.

First, your thank you letter (or better yet, a handwritten note) needs to open with something like You’re incredible! or Thanks to You! and not On behalf of X organization.

It shouldn’t come across as transactional and resemble a receipt. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. Yes, you need to acknowledge the donation is tax-deductible, etc, but most donors are more concerned about how their gift made a difference.

You also don’t need to explain what your organization does or ask for another gift. Remember, this is the thanking phase.

Let your donors know the impact of their gift. For example – Thanks to your generous donation of $50, a family can get a box of groceries at the Eastside Community Food Pantry. This is crucial since we’re seeing more people come in due to rising food prices.

Address your thank you letter to a person and not Dear Friend.

Recognize each donor. Is this the first time someone has donated? If someone donated before, did she increase her gift? Acknowledge this in your letter/note.

While you shouldn’t ask for a donation in a thank you letter, you can provide an update.

Let your donors know the impact of their gifts

The most common way to report back or update donors is with a newsletter. These can be print, electronic, or a combination of both. You should definitely thank your donors in your newsletters and other updates. You can also ask for a donation. Many organizations put a donation envelope in their print newsletter and it’s a good way to raise additional revenue. It’s less successful in an e-newsletter. If you include too many calls to action in an email message, sometimes donors don’t respond to any of them. Also, if you do include an ask in your newsletter, make sure some of your other updates don’t include a donation request.

Your newsletter shouldn’t sound self-promotional and focus on all the wonderful things your organization is doing. Donors want to see the impact of their gifts, not hear you brag. Share at least one story. Client stories are best. Use phrases like Because of you and Thanks to donors like you. In addition, include engaging photos and other content your donors would like to see.

Another way to update your donors is with an impact report. I like that term better than annual report. You can also do one of these more than once a year. Shorter, more frequent updates are better than one of those long, boring traditional annual reports. Be sure to focus on how your donors helped you make a difference. I’m not a fan of asking for a donation in an impact report, but you will want to pour on the gratitude. 

Something else you can do is to send something called a Donor Care Letter. It’s a way to share updates without putting together an actual newsletter. I always like to recommend engaging by mail. If you’re worried about costs, reach out with a postcard. You can and should also send frequent updates by email and social media.

Repeat this throughout the year

The key word here is repeat. Be sure to follow the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat formula throughout the year. Most likely, you’ll need to do more thanking and reporting than you’re doing right now. Try to stay in touch with your donors at least once a month. A communications calendar can help you with this.

Remember, the Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat formula should help you raise more money, build relationships, and boost your retention rate. The Better Fundraising Co. refers to this as the Virtuous Circle.

3 Ways to Enhance Donor Experiences with Digital Waivers

Ann Green donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, events, gratitude, technology, volunteers , , , , , ,

Leveraging data and making tweaks to donor-facing forms helps your nonprofit build stronger relationships. Learn how digital waivers improve donor experiences.

By Logan Lewis 

In 2023, donor retention was down significantly from the previous year. The number of new retained donors, or those who gave the previous year but never before, dropped by 18.7%. This trend goes hand in hand with lowered participation rates and a dip in the total number of donors supporting nonprofits.

In response to these patterns, nonprofits are advised to focus on stewarding existing supporters to build a strong base of loyal donors. This involves practices like frequently recognizing and showing gratitude to donors, creating multichannel fundraising and marketing campaigns, and improving the overall donor experience.

While boosting the quality of donors’ experiences can be easier said than done, making a small change like switching to digital waiver software can have significant, unexpected impacts. In this guide, we’ll explore how to use your waivers to build stronger relationships with your donors.

Offer accessible, convenient waivers.

Your nonprofit may use waivers for its volunteer opportunities or before fundraising events. These forms are designed to help protect your organization from costly potential legal issues.

However, traditional paper forms do have their drawbacks. Specifically, they are not sustainable, make it difficult to accommodate special needs, and can be cumbersome for supporters to complete on-site at events.

Fortunately, digital waivers provide a way to get around these issues. As Smartwaiver’s guide to creating a digital waiver explains, these waivers offer “increased accessibility through multiple language options and the ability to access waivers ahead of time, from anywhere.” This means supporters can access the waiver online through any device and complete it before the event. 

Online forms can be much easier for those with disabilities or other impairments to access and complete. For instance, digital documents can be read out loud to signees by screen readers, and visual elements like color contrast, screen brightness, and text size can easily be adjusted.

Create donor segments.

In addition to improving the waiver process itself, digital waivers provide easy access to important donor data. This data can be used to group donors based on shared characteristics, a process called donor segmentation. 

For example, you’ll have access to information like the donor’s birthdate, which tells you which generation they belong to. Or, you can track past waivers they’ve signed to see which types of events they usually attend, learning which projects they have an affinity for. 

These segments can be based on any factors that are useful to your nonprofit and its donor retention strategies. Common segment categories include demographics, psychographics, philanthropic history and behavior, and communication preferences. Segmenting your donors based on categories like these can be used to improve experiences with your organization in a variety of ways, including:

  • Tailoring marketing messages. Based on factors like supporters’ ages, communication preferences, and affinities for certain projects or causes, tailor the marketing messages you send to them. For example, if a supporter belongs to an older generation, you might opt to send them emails or direct mail rather than targeting them with text messages or social media ads. This increases the chance that they will engage with those messages and complete the desired action, such as donating or visiting your website.
  • Identifying loyal supporters. Make note of attendees and volunteers who also donate in addition to coming to events—these are likely your most fervent supporters. Create donor segments for these supporters to thank them for their support, provide exclusive updates, and offer early access to merchandise. Additionally, make sure to tailor your ask amounts based on these donors’ past contributions (i.e., don’t request a large donation for your year-end fundraiser when they’ve already donated their time and money throughout the year).
  • Recommending other ways to engage. With digital waivers, you can easily track an individual’s past involvement. For example, by searching a supporter’s name, you can view all of the events they’ve attended in the past and determine which projects, causes, and types of events they most enjoy. Create affinity groups for donors based on what they are passionate about, and send them messages inviting them to get involved in new ways that align with their interests.  

While every nonprofit looking to better engage and retain donors should segment and target its audience with tailored communications, this strategy is particularly important for organizations working with a limited budget. When you can reach and engage donors more effectively, you’ll have a higher return on your investment in marketing—in other words, you’ll earn more revenue per dollar spent on outreach.

Show gratitude to donors.

Demonstrating appreciation for your supporters’ involvement is one of the most important parts of donor stewardship. According to Double the Donation, strategies like mailing letters, calling donors, and even sending gifts are great ways to engage donors and show your gratitude. Additionally, taking the time to thank existing donors is much more cost-effective than recruiting large numbers of new supporters. 

The data from your digital waiver forms can help you customize each message, improving and personalizing the experience for recipients. For example, let’s say you want to thank supporters for attending and donating at a recent event. Reference each waiver to uncover helpful information such as:

  • Donors’ full names: Start your message on a personal note by greeting the recipient by name. “Dear Melissa” is much warmer than a boilerplate greeting like “Dear Donor.”
  • Contact information: Reach out to supporters through the contact information they provide on the form. Consider adding a field that asks them to identify their preferred communication method.
  • The event attended: Mention the specific event the volunteer participated in and highlight the impact that event had on your organization. After a beach clean-up day, for example, you might inform volunteers that the team was able to clean up 300 pounds of trash.
  • The role the supporter played: Ideally, you should have different forms for attendees and volunteers. Make sure to thank the recipient for their specific contributions, whether they attended or volunteered.
  • Donations made (if applicable): In addition to thanking the donor or volunteer for attending the event, show your gratitude for their financial support. Cross-check with your donation platform and reference the exact gift amount in your message. 
  • Feedback: Depending on which questions and fields you include on the waiver, supporters may have the opportunity to leave their thoughts about your organization, the event, or the waiver process. Be sure to address any feedback in communications to the supporter. 

Remember to consider the timing of these messages. Send initial thank-you messages for donations within 48 hours after the gift is made. Additionally, send “just because” messages throughout the year to stay at the top of donors’ minds. For example, you might send donors eCards or handwritten letters during the holiday season, on birthdays, or around the anniversary of their first donation.

To keep your nonprofit safe in times of economic uncertainty and falling donor participation, it’s critical to look after the donors you do have. Using digital waivers helps you unlock clues about donors’ preferences and passions so you can create convenient, personalized, and authentic experiences that make them want to continue supporting your mission. 

Logan Lewis is the Content Coordinator at Smartwaiver, the leading digital waiver service trusted by thousands of organizations around the world.

Don’t Your Donors Deserve to Feel Appreciated?

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor-centered, gratitude, planning, thank you letters, writing , , , , , ,

We all like to feel appreciated and that includes your donors. Thanking your donors should be a priority for your nonprofit organization. Is that the case? Unfortunately, the answer is usually no.

Thanking your donors is not just something you do after you receive a donation and then do nothing for a while. You need to show gratitude all year round and with Valentine’s Day coming up, that’s a great opportunity to thank your donors and show them how much you appreciate their support.

Maybe you would rather not go the Valentine’s Day route, which is understandable, although Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be just for couples and the world could use a little kindness right now. 

That said, you should still do something to show appreciation this month (and every month). The holidays are over and February can be a dreary month if you live in the Northern Hemisphere. Sunshine is in short supply where I live right now. Your donors could use a little pick-me-up.

This is also a good opportunity to keep in touch with the people who gave to your year-end appeal, especially first-time donors. If you haven’t shown any appreciation since your year-end appeal, you don’t want to wait much longer.

Your donors have the option to give to countless nonprofit organizations, but they chose yours. Keep this quote from Mark Phillips in mind – “They are not your donors; you are one of their charities.” Don’t they deserve to feel appreciated?

Here are a few ways you thank your donors throughout the year.

Create a thank you photo

Make your donor’s day with a great photo like this one.

You can send thank you photos via email and social media, use one to create a card, and include one on your thank you landing page.

Make a video

Videos are a great way to connect with your donors. They’re simple, yet effective, so don’t worry if you weren’t a film major. It’s not hard to create a video.

One idea for your video is to show a bunch of people saying thank you. You’ll want your video to be short, donor-centered, and show your organization’s work up close and personal. You can also create personalized videos, which are always a nice gesture.

Your thank you landing page is the perfect place to put a video. This is your first opportunity to say thank you and most landing pages are just boring receipts (and receipts fall short when it comes to showing gratitude). You can also put your thank you video on your website and share it by email and social media.

Send a card

A handwritten thank you card will also brighten your donor’s day. If you don’t have the budget to send cards to everyone, send them to your most valuable donors. These may not be the ones who give you the most money. Do you have donors who have supported your organization for more than three years? How about more than five years? These are your valuable donors. Don’t take these donors for granted.

That said, I do think you should make every effort to send a card to ALL your donors at least once a year. You can spread it out so you mail a certain number of cards each month, ensuring all your donors get one sometime during the year. You could also opt for a thank you postcard.

Many organizations don’t send thank you cards, so you’ll stand out if you do.

Share an update 

In addition to saying thank you, share a brief update on your success and challenges. Emphasize how you couldn’t have helped someone without your donor’s support. For example – Thanks to you, Jeffrey won’t go to bed hungry tonight. His family has been struggling to make ends meet right now.

Phrases like Thanks to you or Because of you should dominate your newsletters and updates.

How you can do better

Make this the year you do a better job of thanking your donors. Remember, it should be a priority.

Thank your donors right away and send a thank you note/letter or make a phone call. Electronic thank yous aren’t good enough.

Be personal and conversational when you thank your donors. Don’t use jargon or other language they won’t understand. Write from the heart, but be sincere. Give specific examples of how your donors are helping you make a difference.

Also, make sure your thank you note/letter puts gratitude front and center. You don’t need to explain what your organization does, brag, or ask for another donation. You have plenty of opportunities to ask for donations, and if you do a good job of thanking your donors you can raise more money. Plain and simple, the purpose of a thank you letter is to thank your donors.

I’m a big fan of communicating by mail, even if it’s only a few times a year. It’s much more personal. Yet, many nonprofits are skittish about spending too much on mailing costs.

If your budget doesn’t allow you to mail handwritten cards, is there a way you can change that? You may be able to get a print shop to donate cards. You could also look for additional sources of unrestricted funding to cover cards and postage. Think of these as essential expenses for your essential donors.

Maybe you need a change of culture – a culture of gratitude. This comes from the top, but you also need to get your board, all staff, and volunteers invested and involved in thanking your donors. 

You can’t say thank you enough. Make a commitment to thank your donors at least once a month. Create a thank you plan to help you with this. Planning ahead and creating systems makes a difference.

Keep thinking of ways to let your donors know how much you appreciate them. You don’t even need to wait for a holiday or special occasion. Just thank your donors because they’re amazing and you wouldn’t be able to make a difference without them. Don’t they deserve that?

Read on for more information about how you can make your donors feel appreciated.

Donor Recognition: When & How to Acknowledge Supporters

26 Techniques to Thank and Inspire Your Donors

11 Creative Ways to Thank a Donor