donor engagement

The Many Forms of Nonprofit Stories

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, photos, stories, video, writing , , , , ,

Stories come in many forms. You can tell a story with words, pictures, and videos. I prefer written stories, but others are drawn to videos. Some people might not have the time or energy to look at anything but a photo or infographic.

Your nonprofit organization needs to share stories using all these forms. Sharing stories will help you connect with your donors.

Donors want to hear your stories

I imagine you’re not using stories as much as you should. That’s a mistake because people respond better to stories than a bunch of facts and statistics. Stories bring the work you do to life by using everyday language to create a scene.

You may be reluctant to use stories because it’s more work for your organization, but that shouldn’t stop you. Make time to come up with some engaging stories.

Your stories need to be relevant

Update your stories at least once a year. They need to take the everchanging current situations into account. How are the economy, the aftereffects of the pandemic, discrimination, climate change, etc impacting your clients/community right now?

Create a culture of storytelling

If you create a storytelling culture in your organization, you can make storytelling the norm instead of the exception.

Work with your program staff to create stories that will help you connect with your donors. Everyone needs to understand how important this is. Share stories at staff meetings and/or set up regular meetings with program staff to gather stories. 

When you put together a story, ask.

  • Why is this important?
  • Who is affected?
  • Why would your donors be interested in this story?
  • Are you using clear, everyday language (no jargon) to make sure your donors understand your story?
  • How are your donors helping you make a difference or How can your donors help you make a difference?

Client or program recipient stories are best. Remember, donors want to hear how they’re helping you make a difference for your clients/community.

Another way to find stories is to put a Share Your Story page on your website. This could be a good way to get some current, relevant stories.

Your stories aren’t about your organization

Keep in mind that your stories aren’t about your organization. Your organization may have had to make a lot of changes over the last few years to do some of the work you do, but that’s not your story. Your story is why this is important for the people/community you work with. 

Maybe you had to change the way you run your food pantry, but what’s most important is that people in your community continue to have access to healthy food. 

Make your stories personal 

Tell a story of one (person or family). Use people’s names to make your stories more personal. I realize you might run into confidentiality issues, but you can change names to protect someone’s privacy. You could also do a composite story, but don’t make up anything.

Use different stories for different types of communication

Create a story bank to help you organize all your stories. You want to use stories as much as possible. Use them in your appeals, thank you letters, newsletters, updates, impact (annual) reports, website, blog, and other types of social media. 

While you can come up with some core stories, they’ll be slightly different depending on the type of communication. 

In a fundraising appeal (all appeals should start with a story), you want to highlight a problem or need. Let’s return to the food pantry example. Here you can tell a story about Melanie, a working single mother with three kids who’s having trouble feeding her family because of rising food costs and cuts in benefits. 

In your thank you letter, you can let your donor know that because of their generous gift, Melanie can get healthy food for her family at the Eastside Community Food Pantry.

Then in your newsletter, impact report, or update, you can tell a success story that because of your generous donors, Melanie doesn’t have to worry so much about how she’ll be able to feed her family.

Tell a story in an instant with an engaging photo

You’ve probably heard the phrase a picture is worth a 1000 words. Cliche, yes, but it’s true.

You can capture your donors’ attention in an instant with an engaging photo. That doesn’t mean one of your executive director receiving an award. Use photos of your programs in action or something else that’s engaging.

Print newsletters and impact reports tend to be dominated by long-winded text. Most of your donors won’t want to read the whole thing. But if you share some engaging photos, they can get a quick glance at the impact of their gift without having to plow through a bunch of tedious text.

Photos can enhance your print communication by breaking up the narrative. You can also complement your written stories with photos. If you’re worried about mailing costs, postcards and other short pieces with photos are the way to go. You could even do a Postcard Impact/Annual Report.

If you use social media, you need to communicate several times a week. As your donors scroll through an endless number of posts, an engaging photo can stand out and get their attention.

Use photos everywhere – fundraising appeals, thank you letters/cards, newsletters, impact reports, updates, your website, and social media. Create a photo bank to help you with this.

It’s fine to use the same photos in different channels. It can help with your brand identity. Be sure to use high-quality pictures. Also, make sure your photos match your messages. If you’re writing a fundraising appeal about children who aren’t getting enough to eat every day, don’t use a picture of happy kids.

Work with your program staff to get photos and videos (more on videos below). Confidentiality issues may come up and you’ll need to get permission to use pictures of kids.

Showcase your work with a video

Videos are becoming a more popular way to connect. They can be used to show your programs in action, share an interview, give a behind-the-scenes look at your organization, or my favorite – thanking your donors. 

I would definitely recommend creating a personalized thank you video. If that’s not possible, you can make a general one.

Make your videos short and high quality. Short is key. If your video is more than a couple of minutes, your donors may not bother to watch it. 

You can use videos on your website, in an email message, on social media, and at an event.

Spiff up your statistics by using infographics

A typical impact report is loaded with statistics. You want to share these, along with your accomplishments, but you don’t want to overwhelm your donors with a lot of text.

Why not use an infographic in your impact report instead of including the usual laundry list of statistics and accomplishments? 

Infographics are also great in other types of communication such as newsletters and updates. Good visuals will enhance both your print and electronic communication.

Connect with your donors and keep them engaged by using all types of stories.

Prioritize Gratitude by Creating a Thank You Plan

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

Thanking your donors is just as important, if not more important than fundraising. Yet many organizations spend a lot of time putting together a fundraising campaign and treat thanking their donors as an afterthought.

Donor retention continues to be a problem. Prioritizing gratitude and donor relations will help. If you don’t do a good job of thanking your donors, as well as building relationships throughout the year, you’ll have a hard time getting people to people to donate again.

This is why having a thank you plan is crucial. It’s not only important when you’re running a fundraising campaign, but also during the “between times.”

Many organizations just thank their donors after they receive a gift and then disappear until the next fundraising appeal. Your donors deserve better than that. 

Thanking your donors is something you need to do throughout the year – at least once a month, if you can. A thank you plan will help you stay focused on gratitude all year round.  

Here’s what you need to include in your thank you plan.

Plan to make a good first impression with your thank you landing page

Your landing page is your first chance to say thank you and it shouldn’t resemble Amazon checkout. It should make a person feel good about giving a donation.

Open with Thank you, Kara! or You’re amazing! Using a person’s name is always good. Include an engaging photo or video and a short, easy-to-understand description of how the donation will help your clients/community.

If you use a third-party giving site, you might be able to customize the landing page. If not, follow up with a personal thank you email message within 48 hours.

Plan to write a warm and personal automatic thank you email

Set up an automatic thank you email to go out after someone donates online. This email thank you is more of a reassurance to let your donor know you received her donation. You still need to thank her by mail or phone.

Just because your thank you email is automatically generated, doesn’t mean it needs to sound like it was written by a robot. Write something warm and personal. Again, be sure to address your donor by name.

Give some thought to the email subject line, too. At the very least make sure it says Thank You or You did something great today and not anything boring like Your Donation Receipt or Donation Received. And please stop using words like transaction and processed. A donation is not a transaction. It’s the start or continuation of a relationship.

Put all the tax-deductible information at the end of your email, after you pour on the appreciation.

Plan to thank your donors by mail or phone

I’m a firm believer that every donor, no matter how much she’s given or whether she donated online, gets a thank you card or letter mailed to her or receives a phone call.

Try to thank your donors within 48 hours or within a week at the latest. That might sound hard to do, but it will be easier if you plan to carve out some time to thank your donors each day you get a donation. Remember, thanking your donors should be a priority. If you wait too long, you’re not making a good impression.

Instead of sending the usual generic thank you letter, mail a handwritten card or call your donors. Find board members, staff, and volunteers to help you with this. Make sure to get your team together well before your next fundraising campaign so you’re ready to go when the donations come in. 

I’m a big fan of handwritten thank you cards and you’ll stand out if you can send one. I get a few of them a year and they tend to come from the same organizations, which shows you what they prioritize! These may be more feasible than making phone calls. Not everyone likes to get phone calls, but some people do. This is why it’s important to know your donors’ communication preferences (more on that below).

Here’s a sample thank you note that could also be used as a phone script.

Dear Jason,

You’re amazing! Thanks to your generous donation of $50, we can continue to provide neighborhood families with healthy food. This is great. We’re seeing more people come in right now because of rising food costs and cuts in benefits.

We really appreciate your support over the last four years.

Sincerely,

Lisa Barnes

Board Member, Eastside Community Food Pantry

If you can’t send handwritten cards or call all your donors, send them a personal and heartfelt letter. If you’ve been using the same letter template for a while, take time to freshen it up. Don’t start your letter with On behalf of X organization, we thank you for your donation of…. 

Open your letter with You’re incredible or Because of you, the Miller family can finally move into their own home. Create separate letters for new donors (new donors should also get a welcome package), renewing donors, and monthly donors. Be sure it’s personalized and include at least one photo.

It doesn’t need to look like a form letter. You could use a different format, such as a postcard. For a thank you right after a gift, I would put a postcard in an envelope. You can send stand-alone postcards at other times of the year.

Your thank you should be all about thanking the donor – no bragging, no explaining what you do, no asking – just thanking.

You can add a personal handwritten note to the letter, preferably something that pertains to that particular donor. For example, if the donor has given before, mention that. Hand sign the letters, if you can.

Just like with fundraising appeals, your envelope matters. Use something besides a white #10 envelope. It shouldn’t look like a bill or junk mail. Keep thinking about making it personal. Hand address the envelopes if possible or print directly on them. Use stamps, if you can. I recommend investing in Thank You stamps.

In addition, write your thank you letter at the same time you write your appeal letter. Make sure they’re ready to go as soon as the donations come in. Don’t wait three weeks. Timeliness is important, and so is quality.

Plan to keep thanking your donors all year round

This is where having a thank you plan makes a difference because as I mentioned before – thanking your donors is something you must do all year round. 

You can use your communications calendar to incorporate ways to thank your donors, but why not go one step further and create a specific thank you calendar?

Remember to try to say thank you at least once a month. Here are some ways to do that. 

  • Send cards or email messages at Thanksgiving, during the holidays, on Valentine’s Day, or mix it up a little and send a note of gratitude in June or September when your donors may not be expecting it. Try to send at least one or two gratitude messages a year by mail, since your donors will be more likely to see those. And you don’t need a holiday or special occasion to thank your donors. Thank them just because….
  • Invite your donors to connect with you via email and social media. Keep them updated on your success and challenges. Making all your communications donor-centered will help convey an attitude of gratitude. Be sure to keep thanking your donors in your newsletter and other updates. Emphasize that you wouldn’t be able to do the work you do without their support.
  • Create a thank you video and share it on your thank you landing page, by email, and on social media. Go one step further and personalize it. 
  • Reach out to your donors on the anniversary of their giving (not your organization’s anniversary). Don’t overlook your dedicated, long-time donors.
  • Send a warm-up letter or email about a month before your next campaign (no ask). This is a great way to show appreciation BEFORE you send your appeals.
  • Hold an open house or offer tours. You could also create a virtual tour or a behind-the-scenes look at your organization.
  • Keep thinking of other ways to thank your donors. You can repeat some of the ones listed above over the year.

The tactics that work best are going to differ for each organization. I would definitely send something by mail a few times a year. Email and social media may not be as successful, especially if your donors don’t use electronic communication very much. 

I recommend surveying your donors to find out their communication preferences. What do they like – mail, email, phone, text, social media, video, or a combination of those?  Find out their interests, too. This will help with your engagement.

Creating a thank you plan will make it easier to keep showing appreciation to your donors all year round. You need your donors, so don’t hold back on that always-important gratitude.

What is a Call-to-Action? A Quick Guide for Nonprofits

Ann Green Communications, donation page, donor engagement, fundraising, website , , , ,

A well-worded call-to-action (CTA) can encourage your nonprofit supporters to engage with your cause in a myriad of ways. Learn more about CTAs in this guide!

By Ira Horowitz

Your nonprofit exists because you’re seeking to enact positive change in your community, whether that means tutoring at-risk high school students, cleaning local beaches, or providing meals to unhoused people. 

However, you can’t do it alone—you need your supporters to help you make that positive change happen. This means you have to not only inspire your supporters by informing them about your cause and opportunities to get involved, but also explicitly ask them to take action. 

That’s where calls-to-action (CTAs) come in. By incorporating well-worded and carefully-designed CTAs into your marketing materials, you can encourage your supporters to take the necessary steps to put their passion for your cause into action, whether you want them to donate, volunteer, attend an event, or simply learn more about your organization. 

Let’s take a deep dive into the specifics of CTAs to help you get started! 

Calls-to-Action (CTAs): An Overview

A call-to-action (CTA) is a short statement or phrase that compels someone to take a specific action. Here are some examples of everyday situations in which we’re compelled to take action thanks to a CTA: 

  • In social media posts: “Follow us,” “Click the link in our bio,” “Comment below” 
  • In TV commercials: “Visit our store,” “See it in theaters this Friday,” “Talk to your doctor today about…” 
  • On mobile apps: “Download now,” “Try for free,” “Upgrade to premium” 
  • On billboards: “Call now for a free quote,” “Book your vacation now,” “Take the next exit to…” 
  • On websites: “Sign into your account,” “Find a store,” “Learn more about us” 
  • In emails: “Register for our upcoming event,” “Shop this exclusive sale,” “Learn more”  

Recognizing the everyday places where you’re called to action can help you determine how you can better leverage CTAs for your nonprofit. For example, as you get better at identifying CTAs, you might find you could do a better job of writing CTAs in your Google Ads copy, on your donation form, or in your spoken presentations. 

4 Forms CTAs Can Take Online

Depending on the medium they’re presented in, CTAs can take different forms. While you may include CTAs on physical marketing materials (such as posters or direct mailings) or tap into channels like TV or radio, your online assets (such as your website) will likely be where you focus on driving action and engagement among your community of supporters. 

Here are some of the most popular types of online CTAs to keep in mind: 

  • Buttons: A button CTA is a clickable button with CTA text on your website, such as “Donate now” or “Login to your account.” 
  • Text: Sometimes a CTA can easily be woven into website page copy, linking to a resource for taking action or simply inspiring action. Here’s an example: To learn more about our mission, visit our “About Us” page.” In this case, you could add a link to the words “visit our ‘About Us’ page.” 
  • Pop-up CTAs: Although website pop-ups are controversial, they can be effective when used sparingly. For example, you might use a pop-up on your website that has a CTA to encourage visitors who have been on the site for a certain amount of time to subscribe to your email newsletter. 
  • Image CTAs: Similar to button CTAs, image CTAs are images that have CTA text and a link to whatever action page you’re trying to get your website visitors to check out. 

It’s up to you to determine which type of CTA will work best in your online marketing materials. Start by deciding which action you want your supporters to take and how you want to communicate that action. 

For example, you might want to encourage website visitors to donate through your online donation page. To do so, you could include a button CTA on your website’s homepage that says “Give Now” and links to the donation page. On the donation page, you could feature an eye-catching image of your beneficiaries and a paragraph explaining why donations help make your work possible. Then, you could end the paragraph with one last inspiring call-to-action sentence that says, “Donate today to help us change more lives for the better.” 

While you don’t want to overwhelm your supporters with too many CTAs, having multiple touchpoints like this on the journey to a completed action can encourage potential supporters to follow through and make a move!

How to Create Effective CTAs

No matter the type of CTA you end up using, there are some universal best practices for making your CTAs as effective as possible: 

Use strategic wording.

Choose the words for your CTAs with care so you can catch your supporters’ attention. Start with an action verb like join, sign up, discover, explore, donate, give, register, or shop. You should also choose words that instill a sense of urgency in your audience such as now, today, limited time, or exclusive. 

Example: “Donate today to save more sea turtles” is a much more effective CTA than a generic “Donate.” 

Make it brief.

When creating a CTA, get to the point by using only a few words. This will help you clearly communicate what you need your supporters to do. Plus, keeping your CTAs short ensures that you leave no room for misunderstanding. 

Example: “Register today for our bikeathon on July 11” will likely encourage more event registrations than “We are hosting a bikeathon soon and hope to see you there as a participant or volunteer. Please visit our registration page to get started.”   

Make careful placement decisions.

Where you put your CTAs on your website matters. After all, you need to ensure that they stand out from your other content and resources so they’re easy to see and click on. 

Example: You decide to put your “Donate Now to End Cancer” button in your static menu at the top of your web pages instead of at the bottom so it’s always visible no matter where your visitors go on your website.  

Pay attention to the visual design.

According to Cornershop Creative, color and specific styling are essential to creating a great CTA. Your designs should be eye-catching and consistent with the branding and style of your website. 

Example: You create an image CTA to encourage more people to sign up to foster shelter animals. You use your organization’s brand colors—red, white, and purple—and include an image of a shelter animal that is currently part of your foster program. 

Test and optimize.

As you begin adding CTAs to your website and other marketing materials, it may be helpful to test out different versions. Try asking a small group of your team members to identify what wording, visual look, and placements they think will be most effective for encouraging people to act. You can formalize this process using A/B testing.

Additionally, on your website, pay attention to how well your CTAs help boost conversions on your most important action pages, like your donation page or event registration page. You can monitor conversions with Google Analytics and use the insights you gather to improve your CTAs.

3 Examples of Eye-Catching CTAs

Still need some inspiration for creating a great nonprofit CTA? Check out these three examples of CTAs your organization can emulate. 

1. American Cancer Society 

The CTAs on the American Cancer Society website are brief and clear, encouraging visitors to act quickly. 

The American Cancer Society homepage features a few CTAs without overwhelming its website visitors. Here are a couple of standout CTA moves that inspired us: 

  • The “Donate” button in the top right corner is bright red and features the image of a heart, which helps it stand out and emphasizes the difference a donation can make to those whose lives have been affected by cancer. 
  • The “Learn About Screening” CTA in the center of the screen is paired with an image of real people and language that encourages authenticity and getting a screening to stay healthy.

2. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

The CTAs on the ASPCA website have bright colors, emotionally-evocative images, and prominent placement to help encourage action. 

ASPCA does an excellent job of making its CTA buttons stand out with bright orange coloring and bold white text. The text and pictures that accompany the buttons on its rotating banner image also pull at your heartstrings and encourage you to give. 

In particular, the phrase “63¢ a Day Can Help Her Survive” not only implores website visitors to contribute a donation but also highlights how easy it is to make a difference to an animal in need. 

3. Save the Children 

The CTA on the Save the Children homepage is brief and encourages urgent action. 

The Save the Children website reserves the color red for its most important website elements—its logo and CTA buttons, helping them stand out against a white and gray background. Here are a few other reasons we love their CTAs: 

  • The phrase “For many kids living in poverty, summer isn’t fair” is effective in evoking emotion in website visitors.
  • This main button CTA is paired with an image of a child, emphasizing the human aspect of the organization’s mission.
  • Save the Children uses the word “now” to instill urgency in its website visitors, encouraging them to give right away.

CTAs are small additions that can make a big difference for your nonprofit. Use these examples and tips to start creating (or fine-tuning) your organization’s CTAs and pulling in more support for your mission. 

And, if you need the help of an expert, invest in a web design partner that can help you with everything from designing your website to crafting CTAs and beyond! 

With 15 years of experience, Ira Horowitz is an expert in nonprofit online communications and online fundraising. His work has resulted in increased funds and resounding supporter engagement for hundreds of organizations.

Ira oversees Cornershop Creative’s project management team and works with clients to provide them with the best possible final product. He also manages all of their strategic engagements and helps guide nonprofits to determine their long-term strategy goals for online communications.

Rise Above Mediocrity With the 5 C’s of Good Nonprofit Communication

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, fundraising, thank you letters, writing , , , , ,

Unfortunately, a lot of nonprofit communication is not that great. Something that can help is the 5 C’s. Keep these in mind when you’re writing a fundraising appeal, thank you letter, update, or any type of donor communication.  

Is it Clear?

What is your intention? What message are you sending to your donors? Are you asking for a donation, thanking them, or sharing an update? 

Whatever it is, make sure your message is clear. If you have a call to action, that needs to be clear, as well. You also want to stick to one call to action. Don’t distract your donors with too many choices. If you ask them to make a donation, volunteer, and contact their legislators in the same message, you run the risk of them not doing any of those.

You want your message to produce results. Plain and simple, your fundraising appeal should entice someone to donate. Your thank you letter should thank your donors (no bragging or explaining what your organization does) and make them feel good about donating.

Use language your donors will understand (no jargon). Keep out terms like food insecurity and underserved communities. Just because something is clear to you, doesn’t mean it will be clear to others. 

Is it Concise?

Can you say more with less? Eliminate any unnecessary adverbs, adjectives, and filler. Make your point right away. Concise writing doesn’t mean you need to be terse or all your print communication has to be one page. Sometimes it will need to be longer, but the same rules apply. 

Nonprofit organizations like to pack a lot of information into their monthly/quarterly newsletters and impact reports, but many donors won’t read something if it looks like it will be too long. 

Shorter, more frequent communication is better. This applies to the example I gave above about not putting more than one call to action in a message. You’ll have better results if you send separate messages for each call to action.

Also, most people skim, so use short paragraphs and lots of white space, especially for electronic communication.

Make all your words count.

Is it Conversational?

Write as if you’re having a conversation with a friend and be personable. Use the second person – where you refer to your donors as you and your organization as we. Remember to use you much more than we. 

Avoid using jargon, cliches, multi-syllable words, and the passive voice. Is that the way you talk to your friends? I hope not.

You may think you’re impressing your donors by using jargon and big words, but most likely you’re confusing them or even worse, alienating them. Connect with your donors by using language they’ll understand.

Is it Compelling?

Is whatever you’re writing going to capture someone’s attention right away and keep them interested? The average human attention span is eight seconds, so the odds are stacked against you. If you can’t stand out, your donors are going to move on to something else.

Start with a good opening sentence. Leading with a question is often good. Stories are also great. 

Put a human face on your stories and keep statistics to a minimum. Start a fundraising appeal with an engaging story that leads to a call to action.

Are you establishing a connection?

Donors are drawn to your organization because they feel a connection to your cause. You also need to establish a connection with them. You can start by segmenting your donors by different types, such as new donors, current donors, and monthly donors. 

Get to know your donors better and give them content you know they’ll be interested in. Hint – it’s not bragging about your organization. They want to know how they’re helping you make a difference for your clients/community. They also want to feel appreciated. Focus on building and sustaining relationships.

Rise above mediocrity and keep these 5 C’s in mind to help ensure good communication with your donors.

How to Build Your Recurring Giving Program: 4 Tips

Ann Green donation page, donor engagement, fundraising, monthly donors, website , , , ,

Recurring donors can provide valuable sustainable revenue for your nonprofit. Tap into the vast potential of a recurring giving program with these four tips.

I’m a big fan of recurring giving. It’s a great way to both boost revenue and your retention rate. In this guest post, Philip Schmitz of CharityEngine lets you know how you can build your recurring giving program.

By Philip Schmitz 

Acquiring recurring donors for your nonprofit can revolutionize your fundraising progress, helping you efficiently and effectively achieve your goals. You’ll need to invest time and resources to attract new support for your mission, but chances are you already have untapped potential in your existing connections.

To help you secure a reliable source of funding with recurring gifts, we’ll walk through these four essential tips:

  1. Add a recurring giving option to your donation page.
  2. Market your recurring gifts program.
  3. Leverage your CRM to boost recurring giving.
  4. Report the impact of recurring donations.

From regular volunteers to small-level repeat donors, your organization already has people dedicated to driving your nonprofit’s impact. Give them the opportunity to invest in your cause for the long run by establishing a recurring giving program.

1. Add a recurring giving option to your donation page.

Your nonprofit’s donation page is the primary location for prospective donors to give in support of your mission. Therefore, it’s essential to design your online giving page with everything that supporters may need to maximize their contributions.

As you optimize your donation page for recurring gifts, consider the donor experience. Make it easy and convenient for them to participate. Your donation form should have a checkbox option that allows donors to turn their donations into monthly gifts. Additional ways to further optimize your donation page include:

  • Specifying the impact of each recurring gift amount. Inspire your supporters to take action by giving examples of how each recurring giving amount will contribute to your organization’s on-the-ground impact. This allows them to see how they can make a tangible difference in your cause. For example, an animal welfare nonprofit could write that $20 will provide a shelter dog’s meals for one month, while $50 will cover its medical treatments.
  • Allowing donors to manage their accounts. Offer your donors the flexibility to change their account profiles, recurring gift amounts, payment methods, and any other relevant information online. Your supporters will feel much more comfortable getting involved in your recurring giving program if they have the freedom to adjust their enrollment whenever they’d like.
  • Accepting multiple secure payment options. Facilitate recurring payments by having multiple payment options featured clearly on your nonprofit’s donation page. Donors should be able to pay for recurring gifts with their debit or credit cards, by direct deposit, or using mobile payment services like PayPal.
  • Ensuring your giving page is mobile-friendly. These days, much of the world’s online interactions occur on mobile devices. Whether they’re on the go or relaxing at home, make sure your potential donors can access a high-quality version of your donation page on their tablets or smartphones as well.

According to 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics, recurring donors contribute 42% more per year than one-time donors. Make the most of this valuable opportunity by setting up your online giving page to promote recurring giving.

2. Market your recurring giving program.

The success of your nonprofit’s recurring giving program depends on how well you spread the word. It’s crucial to not only make your supporters aware of this option, but also motivate them to become recurring donors. Send email updates to your existing donors with information on how to enroll in recurring giving, along with how these gifts will benefit your nonprofit.

To notify as many potential donors as possible, disperse your communications across multiple channels. Appeal to younger donors by creating memorable and engaging social media posts that promote your program. And, as you approach the end of the year, CharityEngine’s year-end giving guide recommends checking back in with your recurring donors and encouraging new enrollment during this popular giving time.

Go further with your marketing by creating a page on your website specifically for your recurring giving program. This will ensure that your supporters have a single, authoritative resource on all there is to know about the program, including the steps for opting in and who to contact with any additional questions.

Tie together all of your web pages and communications with consistent branding and visuals such as your organization’s colors, logo, and photos related to your mission. This way, prospective donors can feel confident that enrolling in the program will directly benefit your nonprofit.

3. Leverage your CRM to boost recurring giving.

Aside from having a CRM with billing software to automatically process recurring donations, use its capabilities for data-driven outreach. The more you understand your supporters, the better you can appeal to them to participate in your recurring giving program.

Segment your donors based on the information in their profiles and tailor your communications to those who may be most interested in becoming recurring donors. Look for repeat donors who tend to give relatively small amounts. They’d likely be receptive to automated monthly payments to support your cause. Some common ways to segment your donors include:

  • Giving history
  • Relevant interests
  • Past involvement with your nonprofit
  • Communication preferences

With these donor segments, you’ll be able to boost the effectiveness of your communications by sending messages that are more relevant to your individual supporters. They’ll feel more valued if you acknowledge their preferences and interests when reaching out about your recurring giving program. 

Furthermore, you can use the recurring gift data you collect in your organization’s CRM to personalize messages to your existing recurring donors as well. For instance, if they tend to give $15 a month, your next email to them could suggest that they increase their monthly gift to $20 a month to power your upcoming initiatives.

4. Report the impact of recurring donations.

The key to maintaining long-lasting support for your nonprofit is regularly updating and thanking your supporters. Even though their gifts are automated, your recurring donors still need to be recognized for their contributions each time they give. 

Be sure to have automatic follow-up emails in place to confirm and express gratitude for every recurring donation you receive. Remember to personalize each message with the donor’s name to show them that your organization values them as an individual. For additional ways to appreciate your recurring donors, consider the following ideas:

  • Mail handwritten thank-you cards at least once a year.
  • Host exclusive monthly donor appreciation events.
  • Spotlight longtime recurring donors as part of your nonprofit social media strategy.
  • Send small gifts of branded merchandise.

By communicating the impact of their contributions and the goals you’ve been able to achieve with their help, you’ll ensure that supporters stay enthusiastic about supporting your mission. Incorporate key data points into a powerful impact story to help them emotionally connect with the positive change they’re contributing toward.

Take advantage of your CRM’s capabilities to guide your communications about recurring giving and more. Your current donor profiles are incredibly useful for identifying ways to encourage further engagement from your supporters. Prioritize your donors’ interests to maximize your fundraising results. With a data-driven approach, you’ll be able to build an optimized recurring giving program that opens up a source of sustainable revenue for your nonprofit.

Philip Schmitz is the CEO and founder of cloud-services leader BIS Global, creators of the CharityEngine fundraising & communications technology platform. Founded in 1999, Phil has managed the vision and strategy for BIS’s suite of integrated business applications & hosting tools used by more than 400 businesses & non-profits.

Don’t Take a Vacation from Your Donor Communication

Ann Green Communications, direct mail, donor engagement, donor relations, donor-centered, gratitude , , , , ,

It’s summer! More people may be traveling this summer and I hope you’ll also get a chance to take a vacation (or a staycation). I can’t say we’re living in normal times. There’s a lot going on, including an uncertain economy. Fundraising numbers are down and who knows how year-end will go, but it’s important to stay strong and not pull back.

This may be a quieter time for your nonprofit, but you don’t want to be too quiet and ignore your donors. Something the pandemic taught us is we should communicate more during tough times. This would be a great time to do some relationship building. 

You should be communicating with your donors at least once a month and that includes the summer months. Don’t make the mistake of taking a vacation from your donor communication. Continuing to stay in touch with your donors will help you when you launch your fall fundraising campaign. 

Maybe this sounds impossible, especially if you’re a small organization, but you can do this!

Here are a few ways you can connect with your donors this summer, as well as throughout the year, and build those important relationships. 

Make your donor’s day with a handwritten thank you card

Nonprofit organizations don’t thank their donors enough. You don’t need a reason to thank your donors. Just do it and do it often. You’ll stand out if you do.

This is a good time to do something personal, such as sending a handwritten thank you card. Pour on the gratitude and let your donors know how much you appreciate them.

You only need to write a few sentences, but make it warm and friendly. You can even think of it as having a conversation with a friend. Get board members and other volunteers to pitch in and help.

Send a postcard

It used to be fairly common for people to send postcards when they went on vacation. I don’t know how many people still do that, although I always enjoy receiving them.

Postcards are a great way to connect with your donors. Communicating by mail is more effective than electronic communication. I know mail is expensive, but a postcard shouldn’t cost too much. Your donors are also more likely to see your messages if you send them by mail. 

You can say thank you, share an update, or a combination of both. Besides feeling appreciated, donors also like to hear how their gift is making a difference. You could consider an infographic postcard.

Sending something by mail is an investment that could pay off if your postcard (or handwritten card) entices a donor to give again and possibly upgrade.

Email and social media are okay, too.

While it’s important to stay in touch once a month, it may not be possible to use direct mail that much. You can also use email and social media. Email has an advantage here because you can personalize your messages and the engagement levels are better, although not as good as direct mail.

You could send your donors a thank you photo or video. Maybe you already do a monthly e-newsletter. Jazz it up a little. You could even make it shorter. Share a story that lets your donors know how they’re making a difference for your clients/community.

You don’t need anything fancy and make it easy for yourself by keeping it simple. There are so many ways to thank your donors and share an update. It’s okay to have a little fun and get creative.

Tie in current situations

We’re facing a lot of economic uncertainty, but donors want to help if they can. 

Will certain policies or budget cuts affect your organization? Many states have issued their budgets for the next fiscal year.

Share ways your donors can help – perhaps by contacting their legislators, volunteering, or making a donation.

Advocacy alerts can be a great way for people to engage with your organization. Be sure to thank participants and keep them updated on any outcomes.

When all levels of government make funding cuts or policy changes, the need in the community grows, which puts more burden on nonprofit organizations. Remember, some donors will step up and help, if they can. 

Make room for improvement and plan ahead

The summer can be a good time to make improvements in your existing communication. Spend time finding some engaging stories and photos for your newsletters and other updates. This is also a good time to warm up your donors for your fall campaign.

Start working on your appeal and thank you letters for your next campaign. Make sure they focus on building relationships and are donor-centered. Segment your donors by different types – new, renewing, monthly, etc.  Also, make sure your CRM/database is up to date.

If you’re feeling pinched financially, you may want to start your fall campaign earlier – September/October instead of November/December. A few ways to raise additional revenue are to invite current donors to join your family of monthly donors and reach out to your lapsed donors.

For now, keep relationship building front and center. Keep communicating with your donors. They want to hear from you. Don’t take a vacation from your donor communication.

4 Storytelling Tips for Your Online Donation Page

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, fundraising, stories, website, writing , , , , ,

Storytelling is a powerful way to strengthen people’s connection with your cause and inspire support. Use these storytelling tips for your online donation page.

By Murad Bushnaq

People have been telling stories for at least 30,000 years. Whether we’re sharing them out loud, in writing, or with pictures, stories unite us through empathy and understanding. 

Because of this, storytelling is an essential skill for nonprofits to master. By telling stories that help people connect with your cause, you’ll generate more support to push your organization closer to achieving its mission.

While you won’t be recording stories on cave walls as people did thousands of years ago, thanks to modern technology, you have many excellent tools at your disposal for sharing stories related to your cause, such as your nonprofit’s website. Your donation page, in particular, is an essential place for inspiring donors to support your organization.

We’ve rounded up four tips for leveraging your content management system (CMS) to help you make the most of your donation page’s storytelling potential:

  1. Incorporate engaging visuals.
  2. Share real people’s stories.
  3. Use emotionally compelling language.
  4. Craft strategic CTAs.

As you begin to enhance your donation page and other parts of your website with strong storytelling, think about which stories will resonate most with your audience members. Keeping your audience in mind ensures that your stories will leave a lasting impression, inspiring ongoing support.

1. Incorporate engaging visuals.

In some ways, a picture can be worth a thousand words. While effective writing is vital to sharing your organization’s stories, images can enhance your message by conveying what words cannot. Visual storytelling has the power to stir up emotions upon just the briefest of glimpses, elevating the information spelled out on the page.

As you begin selecting your nonprofit’s visuals and planning how you’ll incorporate them into your donation page, keep these tips in mind:

  • Photos of your beneficiaries can cultivate empathy. Tap into your supporters’ empathetic side by featuring pictures of your nonprofit’s beneficiaries on your donation page. This allows prospective donors to see who their donations are helping and how they’re actively making a difference in people’s lives. Of course, you’ll want to get permission from your beneficiaries first.
  • Ensure that your images match your nonprofit’s branding. Unify your donation page by ensuring that the visual branding is consistent with the rest of your website.
  • Use your CMS to optimize your images. The right nonprofit CMS can ensure that your images are up-to-par for a professional and conversion-driving donation page. Use your CMS to convert your images to web-friendly versions and resize them appropriately. Additionally, you can zoom and crop your images to get your desired focus.
  • Consider adding other multimedia elements. Consider adding a short video or audio clip to your donation page to further encourage donors to give. Incorporate these elements thoughtfully—they should compel supporters to complete the giving process, rather than distract from it.
  • Tie relevant images to your suggested donation amounts. By adding relevant images to the suggested donation amounts on your page, you can make it easier for prospective donors to visualize the specific impact their gifts will have, whether that’s providing meals to shelter animals with a donation of $10 or covering their medical treatment with a donation of $50.

Pet Rescue’s online donation page includes images with each of its programs so supporters can see the impact their donations will have.

To maximize your results, take a look at other stellar donation page examples, like Pet Rescue, for inspiration and guidance. Morweb’s list of the best nonprofit websites walks through a number of additional websites that effectively convey the organization’s purpose and provide an excellent user experience.

2. Share real people’s stories.

In addition to including pictures of your nonprofit’s beneficiaries on your donation page, share their written stories so your supporters can associate a name and a face with your cause. This ensures that your mission stands out from the crowd and compels donors to take action.

Some impactful ways to share people’s stories on your donation page include:

  • Presenting a story about a specific individual at the top of your donation page. When a potential donor navigates to your donation page, your goal is to have them complete the giving process. Grab their attention at the top of your page by sharing a specific beneficiary’s story. Keep the written copy concise, describing the individual’s background and clearly explain how the donor can help make a difference.
  • Using your CMS to create a section of “testimonials” for supporters to scroll through. Gather quotes from your beneficiaries to use as short testimonials on your page. This allows you to communicate multiple stories at once without slowing donors down in their giving journey.
  • Adding a gallery of beneficiary pictures that lead to specific stories. For those of your supporters interested in exploring more about your impact, use your CMS to create a gallery of pictures that act as buttons to access specific beneficiary stories. A striking visual and a call to action (CTA) like “Read Joseph’s recovery story” or “Learn more about Whisker’s adoption journey” can capture donors’ interest and motivate them to read.

No matter how you decide to share your beneficiaries’ stories, remember that they are real people. Use plain language and aim to capture their real voices, perspectives, and journeys. This ensures that your stories feel more authentic to donors, which adds legitimacy to your nonprofit’s cause. Once again, be sure to ask permission to include your beneficiaries’ stories, and you always have the option of changing peoples’ names to protect their privacy.

3. Use emotionally compelling language.

Every word in a story counts, contributing to its overall message and emotional impact. Therefore, it’s essential to be thoughtful with your words when writing a story to share on your donation page.

Use these best practices to tap into your readers’ emotions:

  • Be descriptive. Remember when your high school English teacher taught you the “show, don’t tell” rule? It still applies here. For instance, if you’re an animal shelter, go beyond sharing that you recently took in a homeless dog and found it a home. Describe the conditions you found the dog in, then elaborate on how the dog looks and behaves after you saved it. Descriptions and details make your story much more emotionally captivating.
  • Include the donor in the story. According to GoodUnited, the more personal your messaging is, the more impact you’ll have on each reader. Use pronouns like “you,” “your,” “we,” and “our” so donors can feel a part of your story’s narrative. This will make them more invested in your nonprofit’s cause. For example, you might write a sentence like, “Because of donors like you, we were able to provide 500 meals to families in need.”
  • Illustrate how your organization can provide solutions to problems. A story needs both a conflict and a resolution. Once you’ve presented donors with the problem you’re focused on solving, indicate how, with their support, you’re going to solve it. This can go a long way toward convincing donors that your organization is the one they should support because you’ll be able to make an actual difference.

You don’t need to be a trained writer to construct an emotionally engaging story for your donation page. Simply focus on providing details and emphasizing the solutions to the problem you’re aiming to address. This way, you can effectively build an emotional connection between readers and your cause.

4. Craft strategic CTAs.

A call to action (CTA) is a statement that encourages someone to complete an action. On your nonprofit’s donation page, you should feature CTAs encouraging your donors to take action after learning about your cause or a specific beneficiary’s experience with your organization. Those CTAs can lead donors to:

After someone donates online they should be taken to a thank you landing page. Besides saying thank you, you can include other CTAs that provide additional engagement opportunities for your donors, so be open to incorporating them into your storytelling.

  • Subscribe to your email newsletter.
  • Register for an upcoming event.
  • Sign up for a volunteer opportunity.
  • Advocate for your cause online.
  • Share your donation page on social media.

When crafting a CTA, keep it clear and simple, but remember to make it specific to your cause. For instance, “Give now to help stomp out cancer” will be more effective than just “Give now.”

Additionally, you can use your CMS to make your CTAs into buttons that link to other resources, like your donation form or volunteer page. Including these within a story can break up the text and ensure that when a supporter feels inspired to act, they can do so right away.

The Gist

By leveraging powerful storytelling, your nonprofit can level up its donation page and inspire more supporters to give. As you’re tapping into the human element of your stories and using your CMS to enhance them with visuals and CTAs, remember to track metrics such as the average time visitors spend on the page to evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts.

As you delve deeper into optimizing your donation page, take a look at donation page templates if you need a little added guidance. Stories, when crafted well, can motivate supporters to act and stay invested in your nonprofit for the long term. By continually fine-tuning your storytelling efforts, you’ll improve your results over time and boost the revenue you need to further your purpose!

Murad Bushnaq is the Founder and CEO of Morweb. Since its inception in 2014, Murad has acted as Creative Director and Chief Technologist to help nonprofits spread their vision online through engaging design, intuitive software, and strategic communication.

How You Can Simplify Your Donor Communication

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, planning, website, writing , , , ,

Over the years I’ve realized the importance of keeping things simple. We have so many choices of activities to fill our time (many of them involving screens), but I often find pleasure in simple things such as taking a walk, reading, and doing yoga.

Keeping it simple doesn’t have to mean a bare-bones existence. There’s a Swedish term called lagom meaning everything in moderation or not too much, not too little. Or think of Goldilocks and choose what’s “just right.” This can apply to how much information we take in about the economy, politics, discrimination, climate change, etc. – enough to know what’s going on, but not too much so it’s overwhelming. 

Keeping things simple is also important for your nonprofit organization. There’s a lot of uncertainty out there. Fundraising numbers are down. Maybe you’re struggling to get things done.

Even so, you need to continue to raise money and communicate fairly regularly with your donors, while not taking on too much. Donors may be navigating uncertain situations, but they want to help if they can and they want to hear from you. What they don’t want is a lot of complex content and too much information.

Here are a few ways to simplify your donor communication without making it too difficult for you.

Keep it simple by planning ahead

If communicating regularly with your donors sounds overwhelming, plan ahead by using a communications calendar. You should be in touch every one to two weeks, if possible. Otherwise, aim for once a month. Fill your calendar with different ways to do that and update it as needed. A good rule of thumb is – ask, thank, report, repeat. And as I mention below, you can keep it simple with shorter communication.

Keep it simple by sticking to one call to action

Your communication needs to be clear. Before you send an email message or letter, ask what is your intention? Is it to ask for a donation, say thank you, or send an update?

Stick to one call to action. Suppose you send a message that includes requests for a donation, volunteers, and for people to contact their legislators. It’s likely your donors won’t respond to all of your requests and may not respond to any of them. Send separate messages for each request. 

You’ll also have better results if you send your messages to the right audience. For example, if you’re looking for volunteers for an event, reach out to past volunteers and ask them to bring a friend, as opposed to sending out a message to everyone on your mailing list. This way you won’t be subjecting people to messages that may not be relevant to them.

In your fundraising appeals, don’t bury your ask. You can start with a story, followed by a clear, prominent ask. Recognize your reader. Thank previous donors and invite potential donors to be a part of your family of donors.

Your thank you letter or email should thank the donor. Simple, right? Make them feel good about giving to your organization. Welcome new donors and welcome back returning donors. You don’t need a lot of wordy text explaining what your organization does.

Keep your messages simple, yet sincere, and include a clear call to action.

Keep it simple with shorter, easy-to-read messages

Plain and simple, if your communication is too long, most people won’t read it. 

Limit print communication, such as newsletters and impact/annual reports, to four pages or less. Your email messages should be just a few paragraphs. On the other hand, you don’t want to be terse or say too little.

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” Mark Twain

Be sure your communication is easy to read and scan. Use short paragraphs, especially for electronic communication, and include lots of white space. Don’t clutter up the page. Use at least a 12-point font with dark type on a light background – basic black on white is best.

Keep it simple by using conversational language

I find it annoying when I read an appeal letter or newsletter article that sounds like a Ph.D. thesis. Write at a sixth to eighth-grade level. That’s what most major newspapers do. This is not dumbing down. You’re smartening up by ensuring your donors will understand you. There are programs out there that can help you determine the reading level of your content. Plus, you can raise more money if your messages are easy to read.

Keep out jargon and other confusing language. Instead of saying something like – We’re helping underserved communities who are experiencing food insecurity, say  – Thanks to donors like you, we can serve more families at the Northside Community Food Pantry. 

We’re seeing real people being affected by real problems. Don’t diminish this with jargon and other vague language.

Use the active voice and there’s no need to get fancy by using a lot of SAT vocabulary words. Again, you want your donors to understand you.

Keep it simple by creating a clutter-free website

Your website is still a place where people will go to get information. Make sure it’s clear, clutter-free, and easy to read and navigate. Don’t forget about short paragraphs and lots of white space.

One of the most important parts of your website is your donation page. It needs to be easy to use and collect enough information without overwhelming your donors. If it’s too cumbersome, they may give up and leave. What’s known as form abandonment can happen on other web pages, too.

If it’s a branded donation page (e.g. not a third-party site), make sure it’s consistent with your messaging and look. Don’t go too minimalistic, though. Include a short description of how a donor’s gift will help you make a difference, as well as an engaging photo.

Make it easier for your nonprofit and your donors by keeping things simple.

Give Your Donors The Best Experience Possible

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor-centered, fundraising, thank you letters, website , , , , ,

It’s time to put yourself in your donor’s shoes. What kind of experience are you giving them when they interact with your organization? Is it good, bad, or somewhere in between?  Let’s look at 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. 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 know the donor know how she can help make a difference for your clients/community?

Or is it a generic, longwinded 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 reader feels like an afterthought?  

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

The Giving Experience

Congratulations, someone has decided to make a donation. 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? 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. 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, not everyone is comfortable doing that. Be sure your direct mail appeal includes a reply envelope so someone can send you a check. Your mailing address should be included in your email appeal and on your website. 

Other donors may want to give by phone. Is it easy to reach you by phone? Several years ago I was doing work 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. Um, she wouldn’t have called you if she wanted to do that.

Meet your donors where they are to give them the best giving experience. 

The thank you experience

Okay, your donor has made a gift, 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 Kim! 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, personal thank you message.

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 do a handwritten thank you card or make a thank you call, all the better.  

At the very least, send a thank you letter, maybe with a short personal 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 a stellar letter. A stellar letter would be 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 out 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 this.

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 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 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.

Does Your Audience Understand You?

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor-centered, writing , , , ,

One of the most important aspects of communication (written and verbal) is to make sure your audience understands you. There are many reasons this doesn’t happen. In nonprofit communication, people will overcomplicate things or use jargon and other language donors don’t understand. Some people like to show off their big vocabulary.

The problem is if your audience doesn’t understand you, you can’t connect with them. You may have trouble convincing them to take action, such as making a donation.

Remember, you are not your audience and you need to keep them in mind when you communicate with them. Here’s what you need to do to make sure your audience understands you.

Write at a sixth to eighth-grade level

This is not dumbing down. You’re smartening up, so you can ensure your donors will understand you.

I find it annoying if I come across a word I don’t understand and have to look it up. I have a pretty good vocabulary, but wonder why the writer didn’t use a more understandable word. Some people might not bother to look something up and then won’t know what you’re trying to convey.

Maybe we’re going back to our school days when we were encouraged to use all those big vocabulary words we studied or write lengthy, complex essays.

A readability tool, such as Flesch Kincaid, can help you with this.

Stop using jargon

One of the biggest culprits here is using jargon. Over the last three years, we’ve seen many examples of real problems affecting real people. We’ve also seen more authenticity. Yet, some nonprofit organizations are still using jargon in their donor communication.

They may be using the same, boring templates they’ve used for years or they’re so used to some of these terms that they don’t realize these terms fall flat with their donors. I think people use jargon because it’s insider language that makes them feel like they’re “in the know” in their professional community. It’s easy to slip into jargon mode in your work environment. But the danger comes when jargon creeps outside of your insular world and into your donor communication.

Sometimes we get lazy and use jargon when we can’t think of anything fresh and original. Instead, you see appeal letters, thank you letters, newsletter articles, and impact reports laced with cringe-worthy terms such as food insecurity, at-risk youth, and underserved communities. While donors may know what some of these terms mean, they’re vague, impersonal, and can come across as demeaning.

How to break free from your jargon

You may know you need to freshen up some of your messages, but aren’t sure how to start. 

Sometimes you need to give a little more information. Let’s look at these problem terms and what you can say instead. You may use some of these terms internally and they might be in your mission statement, but please try to limit them when you communicate with your donors.

  • Food insecurity The USDA defines it as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” Yikes, that’s a mouthful! I’ve never liked the term food insecurity because it’s so impersonal. We hear this term a lot right now because it continues to be a big problem. Let’s go a step further and put it in human terms by describing a situation where a single mother has to choose between buying groceries and paying the heating bill.
  • At-risk means there’s a possibility something bad will happen. Instead of just saying at-risk students or youth, tell a story or give specific examples of something bad that could happen or has happened. Our tutoring program works with high school students who are more likely to fail their classes, be held back, and drop out of school. Remote learning didn’t work for many of the students in our community and they have fallen behind. 
  • Underserved means not receiving adequate help or services. Instead of saying we work with underserved communities, explain what types of services these residents don’t receive. Maybe it’s healthcare, affordable housing, decent preschool education, or all of the above. Tell a story or give a specific example. Diana has to take two buses to see a doctor for her diabetes, because there isn’t a good healthcare facility in her community. She often feels wiped out after these trips, so sometimes she skips her appointments.

Another way to help you transition from jargon to understandable language is to stop using it in your work environment. That means at staff meetings and in interoffice written communication. Maybe you go so far as to re-write your mission statement to make it more conversational. And telling staff and board members to recite your mission statement as an elevator pitch is a bad idea unless you can make it conversational.

Tell a story

This is why stories are so important. You can get beyond that vague, impersonal language and jargon and let your donors see firsthand how they’re helping you make a difference for your clients/community.

Visualize your reader 

Donor or audience personas can be useful on many levels. How much do you know about your donors? The average age of a donor is 64. That’s something to take into account. So is what drew them to your organization.

I always like to use this analogy. Imagine you’re at a family gathering and you’re explaining what your organization does to your 75-year-old Aunt Shirley, or maybe it’s Uncle Ted. Does she look confused and uninterested when you use terms like underserved and at-risk, or does he perk up and want you to tell him more when you mention you’ve been able to help homeless families move out of shelters and into their own homes?

Imagine who’s reading your fundraising letter or other type of communication. Most likely, your donors don’t have a medical or social services background. They also don’t have a lot of time to look up something they don’t understand. 

What they do want is a personal connection and to be able to understand you.