multichannel

How Your Nonprofit Can Stand Out in a Sea of Information

Ann Green Communications, direct mail, donor-centered, email, multichannel, planning, writing , , , , ,

Our world is packed with information, too much at times. When I was growing up, we just had a few TV channels to choose from. Now there are countless streaming options. We also have email, the internet, and social media, just to name a few. It’s a lot!

How does your nonprofit organization compete with all this? You need to communicate regularly with your donors and you need to do it well. But in this sea of information, they might miss your messages. 

Here are a few ways you can make your messages stand out and get noticed. 

What’s your intention?

What’s the purpose of your message? What do you want your reader to do? Are you asking for a donation? Maybe you’re thanking your donor or sharing an update.

Think from your reader’s perspective. What would she be interested in or what would make him take action?

Don’t muddle your messages with too much information. Keep it simple and stick to one call to action or type of message. If you ask someone to make a donation, volunteer, and contact their legislators in the same message, they may not do any of that.

Choose the right channels

Most likely you’ll use more than one channel to communicate. Pay attention to the channels your donors are using and focus your efforts there.

Email may be your primary mode of communication and there’s a reason for that. It’s fast, easy, relatively inexpensive, and almost everyone has an email address. You can quickly get a message out to a lot of people. Also, unlike social media, it’s something you can control. You don’t have to rely on a social media algorithm to hope your message ends up in your donor’s feed.

The downside is people get an enormous amount of email from a variety of different sources. Political organizations and candidates here in the U.S. send a ton of email messages and it’s only going to get worse as the 2024 election approaches. I tend to ignore a lot of those emails and then end up missing something important. Plan a strategy to help you break through the noise. 

Plus, the average email open rate is around 20%. And, social media is often just a lot of a lot.  

You can see how easy it is for your electronic messages to get lost in the shuffle. Your donors may just tune things out, even if you have something engaging to share. 

While you’ll likely use electronic communication pretty regularly, don’t discount direct mail. Your donors are more likely to see these messages. We get far less postal mail than electronic communication. Also, someone can put a piece of mail aside and look at it later. Don’t count on that happening with any type of electronic communication. You can also communicate by phone. This is a great way to thank your donors.

Going multichannel is usually your best bet. This is very common for fundraising campaigns and inviting people to events, as well as including a link to your email newsletter on your social media platforms. This way if people miss your initial message on one platform, they may see it on a different one. You’ll also want to send regular reminders for fundraising appeals and event invitations.

Get noticed right away

Your donors have a lot going on and you need to capture their attention right away.

Your fundraising letters and anything else you send by mail need to look appealing enough to open. You could put a tagline on the envelope. That doesn’t mean something like It’s Our Annual Appeal. Try something like – How you can help families move into their own homes. or THANK YOU!

Your envelope should look personal and not resemble a bill or junk mail. A few ways to make your mail stand out are to use something other than the usual white business envelope, hand address your envelope, and use stamps.

Once your donor opens your fundraising appeal, lead with a story followed by a clear, prominent ask. When they open your thank you letter, they should be greeted with gratitude.

A good subject line is the key to getting someone to open your email message. Keep in mind that your donor’s inbox is bursting with messages. Don’t use something boring like April e-newsletter or Donation Received. Entice them with Learn how you helped the Stevens family find their own home or You just did something amazing today! Putting someone’s first name in the subject line can also help with open rates.

Keep them engaged once they open your message.

Keep it short

In many cases, a shorter message is best. You want a good balance between saying too much and saying too little. All your words should count, so be careful about adding too much filler. That often includes bragging about your organization and explaining what you do.

Keep in mind the average human attention span is about eight seconds.

Your goal is to get your donors to read your messages. If it looks long and boring, they probably won’t bother.

Make it easy to read and scan

Besides sending a short message, use short paragraphs and lots of white space, too. Your messages need to be easy to read and scan in an instant. Most people aren’t going to read something word for word. Be sure they can quickly get the gist of what you want to say. Don’t use microscopic font either – use 12 point or higher.

Be personal and conversational

Write directly to your reader using clear, conversational language – no jargon. Don’t confuse your donors with generic messages.

Don’t cast a wide net

It’s important to send your messages to the right audience and your audience isn’t everyone.

You’ll have more luck with a fundraising appeal when you send it to past donors or people who have a connection to your cause. The same is true for event invitations or recruiting volunteers.

You may want to reach out to as many people as possible, but that won’t guarantee you’ll get more donations or event attendees. Segmenting and engaging with the right audience will bring you better results.

Be a welcome visitor

If you communicate regularly and do it well, your donors should recognize you as a reputable source and are more likely to read your messages. If all you do is send them generic fundraising appeals, prepare to be disappointed.

When you send email, make sure people know it’s coming from your organization. In the from field, put DoGood Nonprofit or Nancy (Jackson), DoGood Nonprofit. If you just put a person’s name, people may not know who it’s from and ignore your message, unless that person is well known to your readers.

Only send email to people who have opted into your list. Otherwise, you’re spamming them. Some people will choose not to receive email from you and that’s okay. The ones who do are interested in hearing from you. Give people the option to unsubscribe, too. Measuring your email metrics will help you communicate more effectively. 

When you send email, it’s important to strike a balance between being known and being annoying. Unlike the political organizations I mentioned above, many nonprofits don’t communicate enough. Be sure to reach out anywhere between once a week and once a month.

Even though people only get a few pieces of mail a day, most of it’s junk mail. You never want any of your letters, newsletters, or postcards to be perceived as junk mail (see above).

By putting in a little time and effort, you can help ensure that your messages stand out in a sea of information.

How You Can Plan a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign

Ann Green appeal letters, fundraising, multichannel, year-end appeal , , ,

Year-end fundraising season is starting to get underway. I’m already seeing appeal letters in my mailbox and this is just the beginning.

Speaking of appeal letters, you should plan to send one by mail. I know email is easier and less expensive, but people respond better to mail and it’s well worth the investment. 

However, if you just send one fundraising letter and wait for the donations to come in, prepare to be disappointed. Your donors have a lot going on and may put your letter aside to handle later, and then never get to it.

Of course, you can also send email appeals, but you’ll need to plan to send more than one appeal due to the enormous volume of email people receive. Some donors will respond to the first appeal, but most are going to need a few reminders.

Your fundraising campaign will be more successful if you use a combination of mail, email, social media, and phone calls. Some donors may respond to your direct mail piece but will donate online. This is what I usually do. Others will see your email message but prefer to send a check. You could also include a text to give option.

You’ll have a lot of competition since you’re not the only organization seeking year-end donations. Most nonprofits rely on year-end for the bulk of their fundraising. Plus, donors may be overwhelmed with everything that’s going on in the world, but they still want to help.

This is why you need a multichannel fundraising campaign with a series of asks.

BEFORE YOU START

Clean up your mailing lists/database

If you haven’t already done this, clean up and organize your mailing lists/database. Do you have both postal and email addresses for all your donors? Be sure to segment your donors into different groups (current, monthly, etc), as well. Having good donor data is essential.

Make it easy to donate online

You need to have a donation page that’s engaging and easy to use on all platforms, including mobile. Test all links in email messages and social media posts. The last thing you want is a donor contacting you about a broken link or have to hunt around on your website for a link to your donation page.

When you’re ready to launch your campaign, include a blurb on your homepage that says your year-end campaign is underway. Make sure your donate button is in a prominent place.

Which channels do your donors use?

Don’t spend a lot of time on channels your donors aren’t using. Figure out in advance where you want to focus your efforts.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE AND STRATEGY

Come up with a schedule of when the appeals will go out. I’ve created a sample schedule below. Of course, you can adjust the time frame as needed and use this for campaigns at other times of the year. 

That said, I do recommend starting your year-end campaign sooner rather than later. Remember, you’re not the only game in town. If you’ve already mailed your appeal, you can start planning your reminders.

Also, if you haven’t already done this, you could send your donors a warm-up letter or email before you launch your campaign.

October 25

Give your supporters a heads-up by email and social media. Let them know your year-end campaign is underway and they should receive a letter from you soon, provided you have their mailing address. Encourage them to donate online right now. This means your donation page needs to be in great shape.

Keep in mind the fact your year-end campaign is going on will matter to some donors and not to others. Use an enticing subject line such as  – How you can help local families put food on the table.  

Make sure it’s obvious your message is coming from your organization so you have a better chance of getting it opened. 

Week of October 30

Mail your appeal letters.

Week of November 6

Start sending follow-up reminders via email and social media. Weekly or regular reminders are a proven way to help you raise more money. If possible, don’t send reminders to people who have already donated. Otherwise, be sure to thank your recent donors. You can even phrase your reminders as more of a thank you or an update.

Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our year-end appeal. We’re well on our way to serving more families at the Eastside Community Food Pantry. This is crucial. We’re still seeing more people coming in because they’re having trouble affording groceries.

If you haven’t donated yet, please help us out today by visiting our website (include a link to your donation page) or sending us a check (provide address).

Week of November 13

Send another round of reminders. People get so much email now and may not have seen your earlier messages.

Week of November 20

November 23 is Thanksgiving in the U.S. I would recommend not sending a reminder this week and focus 100% on gratitude. Send your donors a Happy Thanksgiving message, preferably by mail, but an electronic message is fine. Your donors are going to be busy getting ready for turkey day and may not have time to donate that week, but would appreciate a heartfelt thank you from you.

For those of you outside of the U.S., this can also be an opportunity to show some donor appreciation. Even though you’re focused on year-end fundraising, you also need to communicate in other ways right now.

Week of November 27

November 28 is GivingTuesday so you could tie that into a reminder message. You may already have a campaign planned.

Your donors’ inboxes will be bursting at the seams on GivingTuesday and your messages can easily get lost in the chaos. Make your messages stand out and remember to show some gratitude, too. 

Also, not all of your donors will care that it’s GivingTuesday. Focus on how they can help you make a difference.

Make sure your reminders, as well as any GivingTuesday messages, don’t look like spam. And, keep it positive. Don’t make your donors feel bad because they haven’t donated yet.

Week of December 4

Start making reminder calls, along with sending electronic messages. If time is an issue, you could just call people who have donated before. That’s probably most effective. Leaving a voice mail message is fine. 

It’s a busy time of the year and your donors may need a gentle prompt.

The rest of December and beyond

Keep sending reminders throughout December. It’s tricky because you want to get your messages across without being annoying. This is another reason why you should only send reminders to people who haven’t donated yet.

Be sure to keep up with your donor communication (newsletter and other updates). Remember, you don’t want the only messages your donors receive to be fundraising appeals. December is also a great time to show some appreciation and send holiday greetings.

The end of December is the busiest time of this already busy fundraising season. Send a reminder email on December 29th, 30th, and 31st. This is also proven to be an effective strategy. And, it’s especially relevant if your fiscal year ends on December 31 or your donor wants to give before the end of the calendar year.

Even though you’re trying to raise money, don’t forget about building relationships, too. That’s just as important.

Look to see who hasn’t contributed yet. Concentrate on people who are most likely to donate, such as past donors. You may need to send another letter or a reminder postcard to donors who don’t use electronic communication. The more you can personalize it, the better.

You can continue following up in the New Year when donors aren’t as busy.

Once is not enough. Your fundraising campaign will be more successful with multiple asks and by using multiple channels. Good luck!

Your Fundraising Campaign Will be More Successful if You Go Multichannel

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, database, fundraising, multichannel, planning , , ,

Year-end fundraising season is starting to gear up. I’m already seeing appeal letters in my mailbox and this is just the beginning.

Speaking of appeal letters, you should plan to send one by mail. I know email is easier and less expensive, but people respond better to mail and it’s well worth the investment. 

However, if you just send one fundraising letter and wait for the donations to come in, you’ll be disappointed. Your donors have a lot going on and may put your letter aside to handle later, and then never get to it.

Of course, you can also send email appeals, but you’ll need to plan to send more than one appeal due to the enormous volume of email people receive. Some donors will respond to the first appeal, but most are going to need a few reminders.

Your fundraising campaign will be more successful if you use a combination of mail, email, social media, and phone calls. Some donors may respond to your direct mail piece but will donate online. This is what I usually do. Others will see your email message but prefer to send a check. You could also include a text to give option.

You’ll have a lot of competition since you’re not the only organization seeking year-end donations. Most nonprofits rely on year-end for the bulk of their fundraising. Plus, donors may be overwhelmed with everything that’s going on in the world, but they still want to help.

This is why you need a multichannel fundraising campaign with a series of asks.

BEFORE YOU START

Clean up your mailing lists/database

If you haven’t already done this, clean up and organize your mailing lists/database. Do you have both postal and email addresses for all your donors? Be sure to segment your donors into different groups (current, monthly, etc), as well. Having good donor data is a must.

Make it easy to donate online

You need to have a donation page that’s engaging and easy to use on all platforms, including mobile. Test all links in email messages and social media posts. The last thing you want is a donor contacting you about a broken link or have to hunt around on your website for a link to your donation page.

When you’re ready to launch your campaign, include a blurb on your homepage that says your appeal is underway. Make sure your donate button is in a prominent place.

Which channels do your donors use?

Don’t spend a lot of time on channels your donors aren’t using. Figure out in advance where you want to focus your efforts.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE AND STRATEGY

Come up with a schedule of when the appeals will go out. I’ve created a sample schedule below. Of course, you can adjust the time frame as needed and use this for campaigns at other times of the year. 

That said, I do recommend starting your year-end campaign sooner than later. Remember, you’re not the only game in town. If you’ve already mailed your appeal, you can start planning your reminders.

Also, if you haven’t already done this, you could send your donors a warm-up letter or email before you launch your campaign.

October 26

Give your supporters a heads-up by email and social media. Let them know your year-end appeal is underway and they should receive a letter from you soon, provided you have their mailing address. Encourage them to donate online right now. This means your donation page needs to be in great shape.

Keep in mind the fact your year-end appeal is going on will matter to some donors and not to others. Use an enticing subject line such as  – How you can help local families put food on the table.  

Make sure it’s obvious your message is coming from your organization so you have a better chance of getting it opened. 

Week of October 31

Mail your appeal letters. I know mid-term elections are coming up in the U.S., but that doesn’t always affect nonprofit fundraising.

Week of November 7

Start sending follow-up reminders via email and social media. Weekly or regular reminders are a proven way to help you raise more money. If possible, don’t send reminders to people who have already donated. Otherwise, be sure to thank your recent donors. You can even phrase your reminders as more of a thank you or an update.

Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our year-end appeal. We’re well on our way to serving more families at the Eastside Community Food Pantry. This is crucial. We’re still seeing more people coming in because of rising food costs.

If you haven’t donated yet, please help us out today by visiting our website (include a link to your donation page) or sending us a check (provide address).

Week of November 14

Send another round of reminders. A reminder this week is important, especially if your donors have been blasted with political emails and may not have seen your earlier messages.

Week of November 21

Send a reminder, along with a Happy Thanksgiving message. You could skip the reminder and make this week all about gratitude.

Week of November 28 

November 29 is #GivingTuesday so you could tie that into a reminder message. You may already have a campaign planned.

Your donors’ inboxes will be bursting at the seams on #GivingTuesday and your messages can easily get lost in the chaos. Make your messages stand out and remember to show some gratitude, too. 

Also, not all of your donors will care that it’s #GivingTuesday. Focus on how they can help you make a difference.

Make sure your reminders don’t look like spam. And, keep it positive. Don’t make your donors feel bad because they haven’t donated yet.

Week of December 5

Start making reminder calls, along with sending electronic messages. If time is an issue, you could just call people who have donated before. That’s probably most effective. Leaving a voice mail message is fine. 

It’s a busy time of the year and your donors may need a gentle prompt.

The rest of December and beyond

Keep sending reminders throughout December. It’s tricky because you want to get your messages across without being annoying. This is another reason why you should only send reminders to people who haven’t donated yet.

Be sure to keep up with your donor communication (newsletter and other updates). You don’t want the only messages your donors receive to be fundraising appeals. December is also a great time to show some appreciation and send holiday greetings.

The end of December is the busiest time of this already busy fundraising season. Send a reminder email on December 29th, 30th, and 31st. This is also proven to be an effective strategy. And, it’s especially relevant if your fiscal year ends on December 31 or your donor wants to give before the end of the calendar year.

Even though you’re trying to raise money, don’t forget about building relationships, too. That’s just as important.

Look to see who hasn’t contributed yet. Concentrate on people who are most likely to donate, such as past donors. You may need to send another letter or a reminder postcard to donors who don’t use electronic communication. The more you can personalize it, the better.

You can continue following up in the New Year when donors aren’t as busy.

Once is not enough. Your fundraising campaign will be more successful with multiple asks and by using multiple channels. Good luck!

  •                                                

5 Ways to Optimize Your Web Presence for Mobile Donors

Ann Green email, fundraising, multichannel, social media, website , , , ,

Your website is the main factor in increasing your nonprofit’s online visibility. Here’s how to attract more mobile viewers by optimizing your website.

By John Killoran 

Social network user login, website mock up on computer screen, tablet and smartphone

Developing your website and ensuring your donors have the ability to notice you, learn about your story, and donate to your organization online was a great undertaking for you. You probably saw a spike in donations and donor engagement. But did you know there’s a way to make online giving even more effective?

Mobile search traffic has increased over time, and it shows no sign of stopping. The majority of nonprofit website traffic came from users on mobile devices — 54%, with 46% of traffic from users on desktop devices. So, your nonprofit should invest in optimizing your donation page to be mobile-friendly to accommodate these users. By adjusting your nonprofit website design and donation opportunities to appeal to mobile donors, you open up a new avenue for giving to your nonprofit organization.

In order to effectively appeal to and communicate with your mobile donors, your organization should:

  1. Optimize your donation page.
  2. Launch a text-to-give campaign.
  3. Maximize your social media campaign.
  4. Incorporate mobile-optimized emails.
  5. Host a pledge campaign.

Ready to learn more about mobile-friendly design? Let’s get started!

1. Optimize Your Donation Page

Your online giving form is the first place to start your mobile optimization processes. Submitting online donations is already incredibly convenient for your supporters. But making your online giving form mobile-optimized makes it easy for people to give from any device, further growing your potential donor base.

Your donation page is a crucial aspect of your website and should be mobile-responsive. A mobile-responsive site is one that automatically adjusts to fit the screen on which it is displayed. This means the online resource is visually appealing and accessible on smartphones, tablets, and desktops alike. Make sure your online donation platform provider offers the ability to adjust form elements such as:

  • Images. There’s nothing worse than having to scroll across a webpage on your phone to try to see an entire image! Make sure your images are visible, clear, and size-adjustable depending on the screen they’re viewed on.
  • Straightforward text. Eliminate unnecessary “fluff” text from your donation page. Lots of text can look bulky on a smaller screen. Limiting this text to only include essential information and calls-to-action will make it easier for donors to read or skim the page.
  • Customized (and limited) information fields. Typing lengthy information onto a form on a computer is much easier than on a cell phone. Most of us type much faster with a keyboard than on a touchscreen. Therefore, limit the amount of information you require from mobile donors on your donation page to speed up the process.
  • Page Speed. A speedy page load time is important because conversion rates drop heavily on slow sites. In fact, the probability of a bounce (when users quickly exit the page) increases by 37% from 1 second to 3 seconds of loading time. You certainly don’t want your donor to click off because the page speed is wasting their time! Increase your page speed by minifying code, reducing redirects, and compressing images.

Ensuring your donation page is welcoming to all visitors, whether they access it from their computer or from their mobile device, is a key factor to improve higher donation rates. So, be sure to accommodate your givers who are on the go! 

2. Launch a Text-to-Give Campaign

In addition to optimizing your usual online fundraising page, a great investment to encourage mobile donations from your donors is including giving options on native texting platforms, otherwise known as text-to-give. As the name suggests, text-to-give encourages donors to text their donations to organizations.

Depending on the software you choose, you may encounter different models of the text-to-give collection process. Your provider should:

  • Offer your organization a text-to-give number. This is the number your donors can text in order to donate. The number may be a complete 10-digit phone number or simply 5 digits. Whichever you choose, your donors can text their gift amount to your organization’s number when prompted.
  • Collect your donor’s contact information. This is especially relevant for first-time donors who have not yet filled out any contact information with your organization. They may receive a link that will redirect them to a complete contact form. This information is critical for follow-up communications and increasing donor retention. 

Mobile giving with a text-to-give campaign is a great resource to combine with other unique fundraising ideas and marketing materials. For instance, if you host a fundraising event, announce your text-to-give number over a loudspeaker so your attendees can donate from the event. Or, you can post your text-to-give number on your social media platforms so your mobile viewers don’t even have to put down their devices.

3. Leverage Your Social Media Presence

One platform nonprofits often already take advantage of is social media. Social media is a huge driver of mobile phone use, so it makes sense to integrate it into your mobile fundraising strategy! 

Increasing your social media presence increases the likelihood your followers will see your organization’s latest updates when scrolling through their news feed and interact with your content. Bolstering your presence by posting is just the tip of the iceberg to using your social media to its fullest extent.  

You also have the ability to spread fundraisers through social media platforms for people to view (and donate to) from their mobile devices. Two of the online fundraisers most suitable for social media promotion are:

  • Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding enables your organization to collect small donations from a wide audience, making the vast reach of social media the perfect platform to promote such campaigns. Conduct research on the various providers to make sure you choose the website that will best suit your organization in terms of fees and platform capabilities. Then, determine what incentives you’ll offer to donors at different tiers. A popular prize that your nonprofit might already produce is branded merchandise.
  • Peer-to-peer fundraising. Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns are similar to crowdfunding in that you are collecting small donations from a wide audience. However, these campaigns differ in how those donations are collected. With peer-to-peer fundraising, you invite your supporters to create fundraising pages and raise money on your behalf across their respective networks. This works perfectly on social media because your participants can effortlessly share their campaigns on their accounts for their followers to see and donate to.

Both of these fundraising opportunities are more frequently accessed on mobile devices as opposed to computers because of their reliance on social media. Therefore, increasing your visibility with more frequent posts and starting a mobile-minded fundraiser is a great way to entice your wide audience of donors who are checking social media on their smartphones.

4. Incorporate Mobile-Optimized Emails

One of the cornerstones of online fundraising outreach is email. Chances are, your nonprofit already uses this tried-and-true method. But, are your emails optimized for mobile viewers?

Optimizing your email content is very similar to optimizing your general website or donation pages. Take the necessary steps to ensure your emails are visually appealing on screens of all sizes. This includes properly sizing your images, limiting the amount of text you use, and resizing the font for a mobile screen. 

In addition to optimizing your emails’ visual appearance, you can do even more to increase the success of your donation emails. For instance, you can:

  • Include actionable donation buttons. Ensure the buttons you use in your emails quickly and easily lead donors to your donation page. You may also choose to include a link to your text-to-give number or your campaign information landing page. Increasing the size of these buttons for mobile viewers can make them easier to see (and click!) from a smaller screen.
  • Connect your emails to other platforms. Be sure your donors have an easy way to access the other donation platforms you have available online. For instance, including linked social media buttons will instantly connect your supporters to your profiles, and by extension, marketing for future campaigns.
  • Feature a calendar with donation opportunities. Be sure your supporters know about your nonprofit’s upcoming events by using a calendar feature. This may include volunteer opportunities for them to donate their time as well as upcoming fundraising campaigns to get involved in.

Marketing emails, such as email newsletters, are a donation opportunity that your nonprofit should leverage. Many of your supporters likely check their email from their phones, so be sure they have direct access from that device to other donation opportunities.

5. Host a Pledge Campaign.

Imagine you’re hosting a fundraising campaign that your donors are excited about. However, there are a number of your supporters who can’t give to your organization right at this moment, even though they want to.

Pledge campaigns are designed to help your organization still profit in these types of situations. You can appeal to those people who can’t give right now, but have the heart and the desire to show their support and donate in the future.

Pledges are the promises of future donations. For instance, a donor can pledge $100 now, then actually give the money to the organization next week once they cash their paycheck. Choose an online tool with the option to optimize your pledge campaign for mobile devices. Situations in which a mobile-optimized pledge campaign may come in handy include:

  • Social media fundraising pushes. In addition to your typical fundraising promotions featured on social media, give people the option to participate in your pledge campaign. This gives them a quick option to give while they’re feeling inspired by your or your supporters’ messages.
  • Busy holiday seasons. While the year-end months are an extremely charitable time, some donors might need to postpone their giving until after the holiday season due to money spent on presents, food, and travel. A pledge provides the flexibility for them to get back on their feet and still make a difference for your nonprofit once they’re able to.

Be sure to pick a pledge fundraising tool that offers mobile customization for your organization. Pledge buttons included on these screens can help boost the user’s ease of using the tool as well.

Optimizing your web presence over a variety of pages and platforms can help boost your donations by increasing the available giving opportunities. So, it’s worth putting forth your time and money towards whichever strategies work best for your nonprofit. After all, who wouldn’t love the opportunity to give to your organization without having to put down their phone?

John Killoran is an inventor, entrepreneur, and the Chairman of Clover Leaf Solutions, a national lab services company. He currently leads Clover Leaf’s investment in Snowball Fundraising, an online fundraising platform for nonprofit organizations. 

Snowball was one of John’s first public innovations. It’s a fundraising platform that offers text-to-give, online giving, events, and peer-to-peer fundraising tools for nonprofits. By making giving simple, Snowball increases the donations that these organizations can raise online. The Snowball effect is real! John founded Snowball in 2011. Now, it serves over 7,000 nonprofits and is the #1 nonprofit fundraising platform.

How You Can Make Your Messages Stand Out

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, fundraising, multichannel, writing , , , ,

Do you feel as if information overload is getting worse every year? There’s so much going on right now. Getting your messages out is never easy, but like everything else, it’s gotten a whole lot harder over the past two years.

Your nonprofit organization needs to continue communicating regularly with your donors and you need to do it well. With everything that’s going on, it’s possible they’ll miss your messages. 

Here are a few ways you can make your messages stand out. 

What’s your intention?

What’s the purpose of your message? What do you want your reader to do? Are you asking for a donation? Maybe you’re thanking your donor or sharing an update.

Think from your reader’s perspective. What would she be interested in or what would make him take action?

Don’t muddle your messages with too much information. Keep it simple and stick to one call to action or type of message. 

Choose the right channels

Most likely you’ll use more than one channel to communicate. Pay attention to the channels your donors are using and focus your efforts there.

Email may be the primary way you’re communicating right now and there’s a reason for that. It’s fast, easy, relatively inexpensive, and almost everyone has an email address. You can quickly get a message out to a lot of people. Also, unlike social media, it’s something you can control. You don’t have to rely on a social media algorithm to hope your message ends up in your donor’s feed.

The downside is people get a huge amount of email from a variety of different sources. Plus, the average open rate is around 20%. I don’t know what’s going on in the conservative world, but some liberal political groups send way too much email, which I pretty much ignore. And, social media is often just a lot of of a lot.  

It’s easy for your electronic messages to get lost in the shuffle. Your donors may just tune things out, even if you have something engaging to share. 

While you’ll likely use electronic communication pretty regularly, don’t discount direct mail. Your donors are more likely to see these messages. We get far less postal mail than electronic communication. Also, someone can put a piece of mail aside and look at it later. Don’t count on that happening with any type of electronic communication. You can also communicate by phone. This is a great way to thank your donors.

Going multichannel is usually your best bet. This is very common for fundraising campaigns and inviting people to events, as well as including a link to your e-newsletter on your social media platforms. This way if people miss your initial message on one platform, they may see it on a different one. You’ll also want to send regular reminders for fundraising appeals and event invitations.

Get noticed right away

Remember, your donors have a lot going on and you need to capture their attention right away.

Your fundraising letters and anything else you send by mail needs to look appealing enough to open. You could put a tagline on the envelope. That doesn’t mean something like It’s Our Annual Appeal. Try something like – How you can help families put food on the table. Your envelope should look personal and not resemble a bill or junk mail.

“Dale’s” mail

Once your donor opens your fundraising appeal, lead with a story followed by a clear, prominent ask. When they open your thank you letter, they should be greeted with gratitude.

A good subject line is the key to getting someone to open your email message. Keep in mind that your donor’s inbox is bursting with messages. Don’t use something boring like April e-newsletter or Donation Received. Entice them with Find out how you helped families put food on the table or You just did something amazing today!  

Keep them engaged once they open your message.

Keep it short

In many cases, a shorter message is best. You want a good balance between saying too much and saying too little. All your words should count, so be careful about adding too much filler. That often includes bragging about your organization and explaining what you do.

Keep in mind the average human attention span is a mere eight seconds.

What’s in My Inbox | Shorter attention spans means you need to deliver with your enews

Your goal is to get your donors to read your messages. If it looks long and boring, they probably won’t bother.

Make it easy to read and scan

Besides sending a short message, use short paragraphs and lots of white space, too. Your messages need to be easy to read and scan in an instant. Most people aren’t going to read something word for word. Be sure they can quickly get the gist of what you want to say. Don’t use microscopic font either – use 12 point or higher.

Be personal and conversational

Write directly to your reader using clear, conversational language – no jargon. Don’t confuse your donors with generic messages.

Don’t cast a wide net

It’s important that you send your messages to the right audience and your audience isn’t everyone.

You’ll have more luck with a fundraising appeal when you send it to past donors or people who have a connection to your cause. The same is true for event invitations or recruiting volunteers.

You may want to reach out to as many people as possible, but that won’t guarantee you’ll get more donations or event attendees. Segmenting and engaging with the right audience will bring you better results.

Be a welcome visitor

If you communicate regularly and do it well, your donors should recognize you as a reputable source and are more likely to read your messages. If all you do is send them generic fundraising appeals, then it’s time for a change.

When you send email, make sure people know it’s coming from your organization. In the from field, put DoGood Nonprofit or Brenda Davis, DoGood Nonprofit. If you just put a person’s name or info@dogoodnonprofit.org, people may not know who it’s from and ignore your message.

Only send email to people who have opted into your list. Otherwise, you’re spamming them. Some people will choose not to receive email from you and that’s okay. The ones who do are interested in hearing from you. Give people the option to unsubscribe, too.

Even though people only get a few pieces of mail a day, most of it’s junk mail. You never want any of your letters, newsletters, or postcards to be perceived as junk mail (see above).

By putting in a little time and effort, you can help ensure that your messages stand out.

3 Strategies for Nonprofit Messages that Stand Out in Donors’ Mailboxes

How to Write Awesome Emails Your Donors Want to Read

The Importance of Having a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign

Ann Green appeal letters, database, donor-centered, fundraising, multichannel, planning , , , ,

Year-end fundraising season is starting to gear up. I just returned from a short vacation and came home to a mailbox that included a bunch of appeal letters, and this is just the beginning.

Speaking of appeal letters, you should plan to send one by mail. I know email is easier and less expensive, but people respond better to mail and it’s well worth the investment. 

However, if you just send one fundraising letter and wait for the donations to come in, prepare to be disappointed. Your donors have a lot going on and may put your letter aside to handle later, and then never get to it.

Of course, you can also send email appeals, but you’ll need to plan to send more than one appeal due to the enormous volume of email people receive. Some donors will respond to the first appeal, but most are going to need a few reminders.

Your fundraising campaign will be more effective if you use a combination of mail, email, social media, and phone calls. Some donors may respond to your direct mail piece but will donate online. Others will see your email message but prefer to send a check.

You’ll have a lot of competition since you’re not the only organization seeking year-end donations. Most nonprofits rely on year-end for the bulk of their fundraising. Plus, donors may be overwhelmed with everything that’s going on in the world, but they still want to help.

This is why you need a multichannel fundraising campaign with a series of asks.

BEFORE YOU START

Clean up your mailing lists/database

If you haven’t already done this, clean up and organize your mailing lists/database. Do you have both postal and email addresses for all your donors? Be sure to segment your donors into different groups (current, monthly, etc), as well.

5 Data Hygiene Methods for Your Nonprofit

Make it easy to donate online

You must have a donation page that’s engaging and easy to use on all platforms, including mobile. Test all links in email messages and social media posts. The last thing you want is a donor contacting you about a broken link or have to hunt around on your website for a link to your donation page.

When you’re ready to launch your campaign, include a blurb on your homepage that says your appeal is underway. Make sure your donate button is in a prominent place.

Which channels do your donors use?

Don’t spend a lot of time on channels your donors aren’t using. Figure out in advance where you want to focus your efforts.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE AND STRATEGY

Come up with a schedule of when the appeals will go out. I’ve created a sample schedule below. Of course, you can adjust the time frame as needed and use this for campaigns at other times of the year. 

That said, I do recommend starting your year-end campaign sooner than later. Remember, you’re not the only game in town. If you’ve already mailed your appeal, you can start planning your reminders.

Also, if you haven’t already done this, you could send your donors a warm-up letter or email before you launch your campaign.

October 27

Give your supporters a heads up by email and social media. Let them know your year-end appeal is underway and they should receive a letter from you soon, provided you have their mailing address. Encourage them to donate online right now. This means your donation page needs to be in great shape.

Keep in mind that the fact your year-end appeal is going on will matter to some donors and not to others. Use an enticing subject line such as How you can help local families put food on the table.  

Make sure it’s obvious your message is coming from your organization so you have a better chance of getting it opened. 

Week of November 1

Mail your appeal letters.

Week of November 8

Start sending follow-up reminders via email and social media. Weekly reminders are a proven way to help you raise more money. If possible, don’t send reminders to people who have already donated. Otherwise, be sure to thank your recent donors. You can even phrase your reminders as more of a thank you or an update.

Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our year-end appeal. We’re well on our way to our goal of moving into a larger facility. This is crucial. We’re still seeing more people coming into the food bank and can barely function in our current location.

If you haven’t donated yet, please help us out today by visiting our website (include a link to your donation page) or sending us a check (provide address).

Week of November 15

Send another round of reminders.

Week of November 22

Send a reminder, along with a Happy Thanksgiving message. Or skip the reminder and make this week all about gratitude.

Week of November 29 

November 30 is #GivingTuesday so you could tie that into a reminder message. You may already have a campaign planned.

Your donors’ inboxes will be bursting at the seams on #GivingTuesday and your messages can easily get lost in the chaos. Make your messages stand out and remember to show some gratitude, too. 

How to Make Your Nonprofit Messages Stand Out

Also, not all of your donors will care that it’s #GivingTuesday. Focus on how they can help you make a difference.

Make sure your reminders don’t look like spam. And, keep it positive. Don’t make your donors feel bad because they haven’t donated yet.

Week of December 6

Start making reminder calls, along with sending electronic messages. If time is an issue, you could just call people who have donated before. That’s probably most effective. Leaving a voice mail message is fine. 

It’s a busy time of the year and your donors may need a gentle prompt.

The rest of December and beyond

Keep sending reminders throughout December. It’s tricky because you want to get your messages across without being annoying. This is another reason why you should only send reminders to people who haven’t donated yet.

Be sure to keep up with your donor communication (newsletter and other updates). You don’t want the only messages your donors receive to be fundraising appeals. December is also a great time to show some #donorlove and send holiday greetings.

The end of December is the busiest time of this already busy fundraising season. Send a reminder email on December 29th, 30th, and 31st. This is also proven to be an effective strategy. And, it’s especially relevant if your fiscal year ends on December 31 or your donor wants to give before the end of the calendar year.

Even though you’re trying to raise money, don’t forget about building relationships, too. That’s just as important.

Look to see who hasn’t contributed yet. Concentrate on people who are most likely to donate, such as past donors. You may need to send another letter or a reminder postcard to donors who don’t use electronic communication. The more you can personalize, the better.

You can continue following up in the New Year when donors aren’t as busy.

Once is not enough. Your fundraising campaign will be more successful with multiple asks and by using multiple channels. Good luck!

Direct Mail in a Multi-Channel Fundraising Strategy

A Roadmap to Multichannel Marketing For Nonprofits

12 Year-End Fundraising Email Examples to Add to Your Campaign

Raise More Money With a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign

Ann Green appeal letters, fundraising, multichannel , , ,

Year-end fundraising season is starting to gear up. This is a year-end like no other. The pandemic, economic downturn, heightened awareness of systemic racism, climate disasters, and political turmoil have turned our world upside down. Yet, the need for your services is growing among all this. 

If you’ve always relied on year-end for the bulk of your revenue, but are thinking about sitting this one out, please don’t do that. As I’ve emphasized over the last several months – don’t stop fundraising. 

Yes, it’s hard, but donors will help if they can. You should also try to mail an appeal letter. People respond better to mail and it’s well worth the investment. 

However, if you just send one fundraising letter and wait for the donations to come in, prepare to be disappointed. Your donors have a lot going on and may put your letter aside to handle later, and never get to it.

Of course, you can also send email appeals, but you’ll need to plan to send more than one appeal due to the enormous volume of email people receive. Some donors will respond to the first appeal, but most are going to need a few reminders.

Your fundraising campaign will be more effective if you use a combination of mail, email, social media, and phone calls. Some donors may respond to your direct mail piece but donate online. Others will see your email message but prefer to send a check.

You’ll have a lot of competition since you’re not the only organization seeking year-end donations. Plus, donors are just generally overwhelmed with everything that’s going on, but many do want to help.

This is why you need a multichannel fundraising campaign with a series of asks.

BEFORE YOU START

Clean up your mailing lists/database

If you haven’t already done this, clean up and organize your mailing lists/database. Do you have both postal and email addresses for all your donors?  Be sure to segment your donors into different groups (current, monthly, etc), as well.

7 strategies for keeping your nonprofit donor database clean

Make it easy to donate online

You must have a donation page that’s engaging and easy to use on all platforms, including mobile. Test all links in email messages and social media posts. The last thing you want is a donor contacting you about a broken link or have to hunt around on your website for a link to your donation page.

When you’re ready to launch your campaign, include a blurb on your homepage that says your appeal is underway. Make sure your donate button is in a prominent place and stand out even more with a heartfelt appeal message referencing the current situations.

Which channels do your donors use?

Don’t spend a lot of time on channels your donors aren’t using. Figure out in advance where you want to focus your efforts.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE AND STRATEGY

Come up with a schedule of when the appeals will go out. I’ve created a sample schedule below. Of course, you can adjust the time frame as needed and use this for campaigns at other times of the year. For those of you in the United States, I’d wait until after the upcoming election.

That said, I do recommend starting your year-end campaign sooner than later. If you’ve already mailed your appeal, you can start planning your reminders.

November 4

Give your supporters a heads up by email and social media. Let them know your year-end appeal is underway and they should receive a letter from you soon, provided you have their mailing address. Encourage them to donate online right now. This means your donation page needs to be in great shape.

Keep in mind that the fact your year-end appeal is going on will matter to some donors and not to others. Referencing the current situations will help. Use an enticing subject line such as How you can help local families put food on the table.  

Make sure it’s obvious your message is coming from your organization so you have a better chance of getting it opened. 

Week of November 9

Mail your appeal letters.

Week of November 16

Start sending follow-up reminders via email and social media. Weekly reminders are a proven way to help you raise more money. If possible, don’t send reminders to people who have already donated. Otherwise, be sure to thank your recent donors. You can even phrase your reminders as more of a thank you or an update.

Thank you so much to all of you who donated to our year-end appeal. This has been a tough year, but we’re well on our way to our goal of serving more local families at the food bank. This is crucial. Our numbers have tripled since March.

If you haven’t donated yet, please help us out today by visiting our website (include a link to your donation page) or sending us a check (provide address).

Week of November 23

Send another reminder, along with a Happy Thanksgiving message. Show some gratitude to your donors.

Week of November 30

December 1 is #GivingTuesday so you could tie that into a reminder message. You may already have a campaign planned.

Your donors’ inboxes will be bursting at the seams on #GivingTuesday and your messages can easily get lost in the melee. Make your messages stand out and remember to show some gratitude, too. 

Don’t just send generic weekly reminders. Also, keep it positive. Don’t make your donors feel bad because they haven’t donated yet.

Week of December 7

Start making reminder calls, along with sending electronic messages. If time is an issue, you could just call people who have donated before. That’s probably most effective. Leaving a voice mail message is fine. 

It’s a busy time of the year and your donors may need a gentle prompt.

The rest of December and beyond

Keep sending reminders throughout December. It’s tricky because you want to get your messages across without being annoying. This is another reason why you should only send reminders to people who haven’t donated yet.

Be sure to keep up with your donor communication (newsletter and other updates). You don’t want the only messages your donors receive to be fundraising appeals. December is also a great time to show some #donorlove and send holiday greetings.

The end of December is the busiest time of this already busy fundraising season. Send a reminder email on December 29th, 30th, and 31st. This is also proven to be an effective strategy. And, it’s especially relevant if your fiscal year ends on December 31 or your donor wants to give before the end of the calendar year.

Even though you’re trying to raise money, don’t forget about building relationships, too. That’s just as important.

Look to see who hasn’t contributed yet. Concentrate on people who are most likely to donate, such as past donors. You may need to send another letter or a reminder postcard to donors who don’t use electronic communication.

In addition, plan to get in touch with your lapsed donors at the beginning of January.

Once is not enough, especially this year. Your fundraising campaign will be more successful with multiple asks and by using multiple channels. Good luck!

Multi-Channel Fundraising: What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know

How to Make a Multichannel Fundraising Ask: the Basics

Whatever You Do, Don’t Stop Fundraising

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor-centered, fundraising, multichannel, writing , , , ,

3344881392_250068bc15_wNo doubt the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting your nonprofit organization, possibly severely. You need revenue to cover both planned and unplanned expenses.

You may have already heard this over the last few weeks, but I’m going to repeat it. 

Don’t stop fundraising

Keep up with what you’ve already planned and make adjustments as needed. Here are some suggestions to help you during this time.

Look at your fundraising plan

I really hope you have a fundraising plan for 2020. If you don’t, you should put one together, even though you’re probably overwhelmed with current needs now. At the very least, put together a plan to take you through the next few months.

For those of you who already have a plan, take a look at yours. Maybe you have a spring appeal, and you should still carry that out. Maybe you have an event planned. Is this something you can postpone or do you need that expected revenue now? You may need to conduct an emergency campaign to cover additional expenses that have incurred right now. I’ll cover these in more detail below.

Goodbye generic appeals

This is not business as usual. You must specifically mention how the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting your organization. Don’t send a generic appeal like the one Jeff Brooks mentions in this post.

Fear makes bad fundraising — when it most needs to be good

If you’re already planning a spring appeal, go ahead with it. Hopefully, you haven’t pre-printed letters with no mention of the current situation. If so, you’ll need to add something to the mailing, maybe on a half sheet of paper. If your letters have already gone out, then you’ll need to reference COVID-19 in your follow-up communication.

Many organizations are launching emergency appeals. Run it like any other campaign, making it multi-channel with multiples asks. The post below lays out the components of a multichannel campaign. A couple of things I want to highlight are creating a specific donation page and trying not to send follow up appeals to people who’ve already donated to your emergency campaign.

Once is Not Enough – Why You Need a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign

Get specific. How can your donors help the people/community you serve? Maybe you run a tutoring program that now needs to go virtual, but some kids don’t have access to computers, so you need to raise funds to get them laptops or Chromebooks. Perhaps your food pantry is seeing a higher volume right now.

Segment your appeals as much as possible. This will help give your appeals a more personal touch.

The Importance of Segmenting Your Donors

Emphasize monthly gifts. A monthly donation may be more feasible for your donors at this time. You can also ask your monthly donors to upgrade or give an additional gift. 

How Monthly Giving is a Win-Win for Your Nonprofit

Don’t be afraid to be honest with your donors. If you’re anticipating a shortfall, let them know that. Keep them apprised of your goals – you need to raise $25,000 or buy 25 laptops.

Don’t treat this like the usual year-end money grab. Send nuanced appeals that specifically tell your donors how they can help.

Reach out to your major donors

Your first contact with your major donors needs to be a check-in. See how they’re doing. Then make a plan on how to proceed. These posts offer some guidelines.

4 Ways to Engage Major Donors During the Covid-19 Crisis

Questions and Answers in a Time of Crisis

Hold a virtual event

If you have an event scheduled this spring, you’ll need to figure out your best course of action. Most likely you’re counting on that projected revenue. You could postpone it, but we still might not be able to hold an in-person event three to six months from now.

Some organizations are holding virtual events or asking people to donate to what would have been your event or walkathon. If you have a walkathon or 10K planned, you could ask participants to raise money for you. This is risky because people have a lot going on in their lives and may not want to do that right now.

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR FUNDRAISING EVENT IS CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus Impacting Your Nonprofit? Here’s What to Do

Seek other sources of support

The CARES act, recently passed by Congress, may offer some relief. 

Breaking down the CARES Act:  How the New Stimulus Bill Could Provide Relief for Social Good Organizations

U.S. Nonprofits and Suppliers: What You Need to Get an Emergency Forgivable Covid-19 Loan

Your state and local government may also offer relief packages. I know in Boston, the city has put together the Boston Resiliency Fund, which is supported by individuals, foundations, and corporations.

Your current grant funders, as well as your local community foundation, may be able to help. Vu Lee of NonprofitAF (a must-read blog) is asking foundations to step up by increasing their payout rate and simplifying the application process. Both are long overdue.

10 archaic and harmful funding practices we can no longer put up with

Corporations could also help by providing a donation or matching funds. Large corporations that are doing a thriving business right now should do their part. I’m looking at you, Amazon, and our household is contributing to your increasing revenue. Personally, I think Amazon should give generously to communities and nonprofits, and that includes increasing the amount they give through Amazon Smile. 

Fundraising in the future

Like everything else right now, we’re changing the way we do things. Whether it’s Congress coming together (sort of) to pass bipartisan legislation to me realizing doing yoga almost every day is helping me get through this time.

From now on let’s strive for better fundraising appeals. Ones that are more personal and specific. Some of us have realized the importance of planning ahead and having a plan in the first place.

My hope is people should help as much as they can – whether it’s an additional $25 or something in the millions.

Finally, give a round of applause to health care workers and anyone else out on the front lines – grocery store workers, Amazon employees, delivery people, postal workers, etc. Kudos to all of you!

Read on for more information about fundraising during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Fundraising Action Plan for Crisis Response

To Ask or Not to Ask – Today’s Nonprofit Coronavirus Question

Once is Not Enough – Why You Need a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign

Ann Green appeal letters, email, fundraising, multichannel, planning , , , ,

9302746500_abac718b17_wYear-end fundraising season is starting to gear up. Perhaps you’ve already mailed an appeal letter or are planning to in the next couple of weeks.

Planning is the key word here. If you just send one fundraising letter and wait for the donations to come in, prepare to be disappointed. Your donors are busy and may put your letter aside to handle later, and never get to it.

You may be thinking of not using direct mail at all because it’s too expensive and only sending email appeals. That’s a mistake. Direct mail is still a viable way to communicate and well worth the investment.

Of course, you can also send email appeals, but you’ll need to plan to send more than one appeal due to the enormous volume of email people receive, especially at this time of the year. 

Some donors will respond to the first appeal, but most are going to need a few reminders.

Your fundraising campaign will be more effective if you use a combination of mail, email, social media, and phone calls. Some donors may respond to your direct mail piece but donate online. Others will see your email message but prefer to send a check.

You’ll have a lot of competition since you’re not the only organization seeking year-end donations. Plus, you’re competing with a deluge of email and social media posts from a variety of sources.

This is why you need a multichannel fundraising campaign with a series of asks.

BEFORE YOU START

Clean up your mailing lists

If you haven’t already done so, clean up and organize your mailing lists. Do you have both postal and email addresses for all your donors?  Be sure to segment your donors into different groups (current, monthly, etc), as well.

6 Steps to Direct Mail List Management

Clean Up Your Email List With These 3 Simple Steps

Make it easy to donate online

You must have a donation page that’s engaging and easy to use on all platforms, including mobile. Test all links in email messages and social media posts. The last thing you want is a donor contacting you about a broken link or have to hunt around on your website for a link to your donation page.

When you’re ready to launch your campaign, include a blurb on your homepage that says your appeal is underway. Make sure your donate button is in a prominent place and stand out even more by including an engaging photo to draw people in.

Which channels do your donors use?

Don’t spend a lot of time on channels your donors aren’t using. Figure out in advance where you want to focus your efforts.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE AND STRATEGY

Come up with a schedule of when the appeals will go out. I’ve created a sample schedule below. Of course, you can adjust the timeframe as needed and use this for campaigns at other times of the year. That said, I do recommend starting your year-end campaign sooner than later. If you’ve already mailed your appeal, you can start planning your reminders.

November 6

Give your supporters a heads up by email and social media. Let them know your year-end appeal is underway and they should receive a letter from you soon, provided you have their mailing address. Encourage them to donate online right now. This means your donation page needs to be in great shape.

Keep in mind that the fact your year-end appeal is going on will matter to some donors and not to others. Use an enticing subject line such as How you can help Lisa learn to read.

Make sure it’s obvious your message is coming from your organization so you have a better chance of getting it opened. Get noticed on social media by using an engaging photo.

Week of November 11

Mail your appeal letters.

Week of November 18

Start sending follow-up reminders via email and social media. If possible, don’t send reminders to people who have already donated. Otherwise, be sure to thank your recent donors. You can even phrase your reminders as more of a thank you or an update.

Thanks so much to all of you who donated to our year-end appeal. We’re well on our way to our goal of serving more kids in our tutoring program. If you haven’t donated yet, please help us out today by visiting our website (include a link to your donation page) or sending us a check (provide address).

Week of November 25

Send another reminder, along with a Happy Thanksgiving message. Share a success story in your appeal.

Week of December 2

December 3 is #GivingTuesday so you could tie that into a reminder message. You may already have a campaign planned.

Your donors’ inboxes will be bursting at the seams on #GivingTuesday and your messages can easily get lost in the melee. Make your messages stand out and show some gratitude, too. 

Don’t just send generic weekly reminders. Also, keep it positive. Don’t make your donors feel bad because they haven’t donated yet.

Week of December 9

Start making reminder calls, along with sending electronic messages. If time is an issue, you could just call people who have donated before. That’s probably most effective. It’s a busy time of the year and your donors may need a gentle prompt.

The rest of December and beyond

Keep sending reminders throughout December. It’s tricky because you want to get your messages across without being annoying. This is another reason why you should only send reminders to people who haven’t donated yet.

Be sure to keep sending your newsletter and other updates. You don’t want the only messages your donors receive to be fundraising appeals. December is also a great time to show some #donorlove and send holiday greetings.

The end of December is the busiest time of this already busy fundraising season. Send two or three reminder emails during the last week of December, including one on the 31st. This is especially relevant if your fiscal year ends on December 31 or your donor wants to give before the end of the calendar year.

Even though you’re trying to raise money, don’t forget about building relationships, too. That’s just as important.

Look to see who hasn’t contributed yet. Concentrate on people who are most likely to donate, such as past donors. You may need to send another letter or a reminder postcard to donors who don’t use electronic communication.

In addition, plan to get in touch with your lapsed donors at the beginning of January.

Your fundraising campaign will be more successful with multiple asks and by using multiple channels. Good luck!

More on multichannel fundraising.

Why Every Fundraising Campaign Should Be a Multi-Channel Campaign

How to Make a Multichannel Fundraising Ask: the Basics

 

Don’t Get Lost in the Shuffle – Make Your Messages Stand Out

Ann Green Communications, donor-centered, multichannel, writing , , ,

4698746521_0f3d47dd0f_mInformation overload is an understatement right now. We’re bombarded by messages of all kinds from many different sources.

How can your nonprofit keep up with all this? You want to communicate with your donors, but you don’t want your messages to get lost in the shuffle. It won’t be easy, but here are a few ways to make your messages stand out.

What’s your intention?

What’s the purpose of your message? What do you want your reader to do? Maybe it’s to donate, volunteer, attend an event, or contact her legislators. Maybe you’re sharing an update.

Think from your reader’s perspective. What would she be interested in or what would make him take action?

Keep it simple and stick to one call to action.

Choose the right channels

Most likely you’ll use more than one channel to communicate. Pay attention to the channels your donors are using and focus your efforts there.

Email is often the primary way nonprofits communicate and there’s a reason for that. It’s fast, easy, relatively inexpensive, and almost everyone has an email address. You can quickly get a message out to a lot of people. Also, unlike social media, it’s something you can control. You don’t have to rely on a social media algorithm to hope your message ends up in your donor’s feed.

But email has its drawbacks. People can get hundreds of emails a day plus messages from other sources such as social media. It’s easy for your messages to get lost in this melee. I often don’t read all my email. I usually scan through the burgeoning list to see what looks interesting. That, of course, depends on if I even have time to look at my email.

Some email messages, such as a fundraising appeal or an event invitation, you’ll probably need to send more than once. Try not to send messages to people who have already responded.

You can also go multichannel. For example, include a link to your e-newsletter on your social media platforms.

While you’ll likely use electronic communication pretty regularly, don’t discount direct mail. Your donors are more likely to see these messages. We get far less postal mail than electronic communication. Also, a person can put a piece of mail aside and look at it later. Don’t count on that happening with any type of electronic communication.

Get noticed right away

A good subject line is the key to getting someone to open your email message. If he doesn’t bother to open it, all your work has gone to waste.

Give some thought to it. Instead of Donate to our Spring Appeal or May 2019 Newsletter, try Find out how you can help Michael learn to read or Thanks to you, Dara won’t go to bed hungry tonight.

For postal mail, consider an engaging envelope teaser or a colored envelope with a stamp. You don’t want your letter to look like junk mail.

Keep it short

Your next step is to get your donor to read your message. Keep her interested. With email, yours may be one of hundreds she’ll receive that day, along with whatever else is going on in her life.

Make your messages short, but engaging, and get to the point right away.

Keep this in mind when you send your e-newsletter or updates. You might want to consider a two-article newsletter twice a month instead of one with four articles (and it’s unlikely your donors will read all four articles) once a month.

Given the cost of direct mail, why send a six-page annual report when you can wow your donors in an instant with an infographic postcard?

Photos and other visuals can be a great way to stand out, especially on social media.

Make it easy to read and scan

Besides sending a short message, use short paragraphs and lots of white space, too. Your messages need to be easy to read (and scan) in an instant. Don’t use microscopic font either.

Be personal and conversational

Write directly to your reader using clear, conversational language – no jargon. Address your message to a person – Dear Janet and not Dear Friend.

Segment your lists so you can personalize your messages. For example, you’ll create different messages for current donors, potential donors, and monthly donors.

Don’t cast a wide net

It’s important that you send your message to the right audience and your audience isn’t everyone.

You’ll have more luck with a fundraising appeal when you send it to past donors or people who have a connection to your cause. The same is true for event invitations or recruiting volunteers.

You may want to reach out to as many people as possible, but that won’t guarantee you’ll get more donations or event attendees. Segmenting and engaging with the right audience will bring you better results.

Be a welcome visitor

If you communicate regularly and do it well, your donors should recognize you as a reputable source and are more likely to read your messages. If all you do is blast them with generic fundraising appeals, well good luck to you.

Make sure people know your email is coming from your organization. In the from field, put DoGood Nonprofit or Lisa Wilson, DoGood Nonprofit. If you just put a person’s name or info@dogoodnonprofit.org, people may not know who it’s from and ignore your message.

Only send email to people who have opted into your list. Otherwise, you’re spamming them. Some people will choose not to receive email from you, and that’s okay. The ones who do are interested in hearing from you. Give people the option to unsubscribe, too.

Even though people only get a few pieces of mail a day, most of it’s junk mail. You never want any of your letters, newsletters, or postcards to be perceived as junk mail.

It’ll take a little more work, but it’s possible to make your messages stand out so you don’t get lost in the shuffle.