appeal

Why You Need to Plan a Multichannel Fundraising Campaign

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

Year-end fundraising season is here. 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, texts, 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 and send reminders by text.

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.

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, texts, 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. You also run the risk of someone not donating at all.

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

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. 

I usually recommend starting your year-end campaign sooner rather than later to get ahead of your competition. Here in the U.S., we have an election coming up on November 5. Fundraising experts are mixed on whether elections affect nonprofit donations. However, many people are going to be distracted by the election. Also, if your donors give to political candidates, they’re being bombarded with email and text messages. It’s replication gone wild.  

If you’re outside of the U.S., you can begin your campaign whenever it makes sense and if you’ve already mailed your appeal, you can start planning your reminders.

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

October 30

Give your supporters a heads-up by email and social media. Let them know your year-end campaign is about to launch 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 November 4

Mail your appeal letters, maybe mid-week so they arrive after the election.

Week of November 11

Send an appeal by email. You could also reach out by text and social media if your donors are receptive to those. Use the same messaging as you did in your appeal letter.

Week of November 18

Start sending follow-up reminders via email, text, 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 Westside 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 25

November 28 is Thanksgiving in the U.S. I would recommend taking a pause from your fundraising 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 December 2

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

Love it, hate it, or somewhere in between, 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. If you’re not participating in GivingTuesday, you’ll want to send a reminder on a different day.

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 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. Leaving a voice mail message is fine. 

Sending a text message as well as an email can improve your chance of getting a donation.

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 your 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!

Why Segmenting Your Donors Makes Sense

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, database, donor relations, donor retention, fundraising, thank you letters , , , , ,

Segmenting your donors makes sense on every level. If you’re running a campaign, you can send different letters to different types of donors or segment by gift amount and encourage them to upgrade. You can also create a new donor welcome series, a special thank you mailing for monthly donors, or reach out to lapsed donors.

Your donors are not the same. Some donors have given for at least five years (these donors should get a lot of attention). Some are monthly donors. Yet, many nonprofit organizations fail to recognize that and send everyone the same messages. 

I often receive generic, one-size-fits-all communication from organizations that don’t acknowledge I’m a longtime donor or recognize that I’m a monthly donor. How do you think that makes me feel?

Besides creating a personal connection, another benefit of segmenting your donors is it can help you raise more money and boost your retention rate. If you haven’t been segmenting your donors and have been struggling with meeting your revenue and retention goals, that may be why.

Isn’t it time for you to start segmenting your donors? If you’re already segmenting your donors, kudos to you!

You may be worried about how much time this will take. Plus, you don’t think your current CRM/database can handle it and it will cost too much to get a better one. 

In reality, it may cost you more not to segment. A good CRM/database is worth the investment because segmenting your donors will help you with retention, which costs less than trying to find new donors. 

Your appeals and thank you letters will stand out if you can personalize them and not send everyone the same generic letter. You don’t need to create a 100 different types of letters, though. Four or five should be sufficient. 

Here are a few different types of donor groups to help get you started. Remember, investing in a good CRM/database will help you with this.

Current single gift donors

An appeal letter to current single gift donors (Monthly donors get their own appeal. More on that below.) must acknowledge their past support. You can segment donors by gift amount and use this opportunity to ask for an upgrade. Many organizations don’t do this, but it’s a good way to increase your revenue.

Your donors will be more receptive to upgrading their gifts if you’ve been doing a good job of thanking them and staying in touch throughout the year.

If these donors give again, they should get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter letting them know how much you appreciate their continued support. If they’ve upgraded their gift, be sure to acknowledge that, too. 

Potential/new single gift donors

If you’re sending an appeal to someone who’s never donated to your nonprofit before, what is your connection to them? Are they volunteers, event attendees, or people on a list you purchased?

The more you can establish a connection, the better chance you have of getting a donation.

The retention rate for first-time donors is terrible. One of the reasons is poor communication. You can help boost your retention rate by making your new donors feel special.

New donors should get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter welcoming them as donors. Invite them to connect with you in other ways such as signing up for your newsletter, following you on social media, and volunteering.

Then a week or so later, send them a welcome package by mail or email. Personalization is essential for new donors.

One of the biggest hurdles nonprofits face is ensuring first-time donors give a second time. If they keep giving after that, they’re showing their commitment to your organization. That’s why the second gift is called a golden donation. Don’t blow it by ignoring this.

New monthly donors

Brand new donors who opt for monthly or other recurring donations get the same special thank you treatment mentioned above. Welcome them to your family of monthly donors. 

Your current monthly donors must get their own appeal that recognizes them as monthly donors. In this appeal, you can either ask them to upgrade their gift or give an additional gift. 

When your donors give an additional gift or upgrade their monthly gift, they, of course, get an amazing thank you.

Current donors who become monthly donors

Your current donors who decide to become monthly donors are also showing their commitment to you. They get a handwritten note, phone call, or letter thanking them for their continued support and for joining your family of monthly donors. From now on they should get specialized appeals and other communication targeted to monthly donors. 

Segment as much as you can

While I’ve suggested a few ways you can segment, there are many more options. You can segment by gift amount and number of years someone has been a donor. You can segment volunteers, event attendees, lapsed donors, and non-donors. You can also use segmentation in other types of communication, such as creating a special newsletter for monthly donors (or at the very least including a cover letter for monthly donors with your newsletter) and sending handwritten notes to people on their donor anniversary.

Segmenting your donors makes a difference

Spend some extra time segmenting your donors into different groups. Unfortunately, if you don’t, you’re missing out on opportunities to connect with your donors, raise additional revenue, and boost your retention rate. 

7 Donor Segmentation Strategies for Personalized Messages

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, fundraising, planning, thank you letters , , , , , ,

Segmenting your donors allows you to send personalized messages that resonate with them and increase engagement. Check out these donor segmentation strategies.

By Gabrielle Perham

With so much information available at their fingertips, it can be overwhelming and difficult for your supporters to fully absorb it all. Among the thousands of brands, businesses, and other charitable organizations out there, your nonprofit has to figure out how to cut through the clutter and stand out to current and potential donors.

One of the top ways to grab donors’ attention is segmentation. By grouping donors into relevant segments, you can develop personalized messages that resonate with different subsets of your audience and encourage them to continue lending their support.

In this guide, we’ll present several different donor segmentation strategies your organization can leverage to personalize its communications.

1. Demographics

One of the simplest ways to segment your donors is by demographics. This information helps you understand your donors’ backgrounds and communication preferences. Demographics encompass a variety of different data points, such as:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Level of education
  • Income range
  • Marital status
  • Geographic location

Insights from demographic data can help you learn more about your supporters and how they want to engage with your organization. For example, let’s say you segment donors by age and find that you have a large proportion of Millennials in your supporter base. Using that information, you can launch campaigns on the platforms Millennials are most likely to frequent, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Alternatively, you may use location data to send specialized newsletters highlighting relevant events and opportunities in people’s local areas. Start by determining which cities are most popular among your donor base. Then compile events hosted by your organization and similar nonprofits that your supporters might be interested in attending.

If you don’t have the demographic data you need readily available, consider enhancing your database through a demographic data append. This process involves using third-party sources to supplement your database and learn more about your supporters.

2. Giving History

Group donors based on their giving history, frequency, and patterns to tailor your fundraising strategies and stewardship efforts accordingly. Examples of segments in this category may include:

  • One-time donors
  • Recurring donors
  • Major donors
  • Campaign or cause-specific donors

Align your communication frequency with donors’ giving frequency. For instance, you may send monthly donors an update about the impact of their contributions once a month whereas you may contact annual donors every quarter with updates on your work.

You can also use giving history data to match your appreciation methods to donors’ level of commitment to your organization. For example, you should reserve more personal outreach methods, like phone calls, and more intensive donor appreciation tactics, like a donor wall, for major donors.

3. Donor Lifecycle Stage

Segmenting donors based on where they are in the donor lifecycle helps you meet their specific needs and move them through the donor journey more efficiently. The segments you create based on lifecycle stage may include:

  • New donors
  • Active donors
  • Lapsed donors
  • Reactivated donors
  • Donors with upgrade potential

This segmentation strategy can set you up for long-term, sustainable success by focusing on retaining current donors and re-engaging lapsed donors. You may send new donors background information about your organization while you thank active donors for their continued support. Use more urgent calls to action to win back lapsed donors and welcome reactivated donors back to your organization with updates on what they’ve missed.

4. Engagement Level

Some of your donors are likely involved in other aspects of your organization beyond donating. Maximize donor involvement and participation by sending them relevant communications based on their engagement level and history. 

For instance, you may create segments for donors who are also:

  • Regular volunteers
  • Event attendees
  • Advocates of your cause
  • Peer-to-peer fundraisers

Show donors that you care about their nonmonetary contributions to your organization by referencing their specific involvement in donation requests and thank-you messages, and send them information about upcoming opportunities they may be interested in.

5. Charitable Interests

If your mission encompasses a broad array of different cause areas and services, you may segment donors based on which causes, programs, or initiatives they’re most interested in supporting. These groups allow you to reach out to your donors with personalized appeals for relevant campaigns and offer opportunities that resonate with them.

For example, United Way’s website explains that the organization has three focus areas: health, education, and economic mobility. Depending on which areas their donors are most passionate about, this nonprofit’s fundraising team may group donors into three corresponding segments and send them updates and appeals related to their interests.

6. Giving Capacity

When you know donors’ giving capacity, you can tailor your donation asks accordingly and identify potential major donors. To determine giving capacity, conduct a wealth screening that examines the financial means of your existing donors.

According to AlumniFinder, wealth screening provides your organization with the following donor data points:

  • Business affiliations
  • Stock ownership
  • Home value

Besides determining giving capacity, this information can also help you capitalize on matching gift opportunities. 360MatchPro’s matching gift statistics guide explains that although many employers will match their employees’ donations to eligible nonprofits, 78% of donors are unaware if their company offers matching gifts. 

To raise awareness of matching gifts and secure more donation revenue for your organization, use employer data from your wealth screening to group employees who are eligible for matching gifts and highlight these opportunities for them.

7. Communication Preferences

Collect and store information about your supporters’ communication preferences in your donor database so you can reach your audience on the platforms they prefer, increasing the likelihood of engagement.

Survey your donors to determine whether they’d like to be contacted via one or all of the following:

  • Email
  • Direct mail
  • Phone calls
  • Social media
  • Text messages

Then, create relevant groups in your database, and sync them with your email marketing and social media management platforms so you can easily communicate with your supporters on their preferred channels.

Engaging your donors means keeping your organization top of mind through innovative, personalized communications. By segmenting your donor base, you offer a better, more individualized supporter experience and can build stronger donor relationships. Don’t be afraid to create more specific segments within these groups, too; the more specific you can get, the more relevant your communications will be.

Gabrielle Perham is the Director of Marketing & Sales Operations for Deep Sync. She joined the organization in 2017 and brings 20 years of experience in strategic marketing, branding, communications, sales enablement, and digital marketing. With a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-it-done attitude and a big-picture mindset, Gaby loves solving marketing and business challenges. She earned both a B.S. in Marketing and an M.B.A. in Marketing Management from the University of Tampa. Gaby enjoys spending time with her fiercely outspoken daughter; hiking and kayaking; rocking out in the first row of a live show; and giving back to her local community. 

What Kind of Experience Are You Giving Your Donors?

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donation page, donor engagement, email, fundraising, newsletter, thank you letters , , , , , ,

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

The Fundraising Appeal Experience

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

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

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

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

The Giving Experience

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Thank You Experience

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Donor Engagement Experience

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

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

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

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

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

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.

How You Can Improve Your Donor Communication

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor relations, donor-centered, newsletter, thank you letters , , , , , ,

One of the many lessons since the pandemic started is generic, organization-centered communication has to go.

I know there has been some conflict about donor-centered vs community-centered over the last two years and I think we can have both. What you don’t want is to be organization-centered. You can’t communicate with your donors without focusing on them. This is true for any type of audience. Write to your readers.

Explained: Donor-Centric and Community Centric Fundraising

We’re also seeing real people with real problems. Using vague, generic terms such as at-risk and underserved is demeaning to your clients/community.

You can do better if you make some of these improvements to your donor communication.

Fundraising Appeals

  • Your fundraising appeal shouldn’t be focused too much on your organization – rambling on about how great you are. Your organization may be great, but let your donors figure that out. Your donors are the ones who are great, and they want to hear how they can help you make a difference for your clients/community.
  • Segment your appeal to the appropriate audience. Thank past donors or reference your relationship to a potential donor. Maybe they’re event attendees, volunteers, or friends of board members.
  • Address your appeal to a person and not Dear Friend.
  • Don’t use jargon or other language your donors won’t understand. Instead of saying we’re helping at-risk youth, say something like – With your support, our tutoring program can help more students graduate from high school on time. Many students fell behind when the pandemic started.
  • Your appeal should make people feel good about donating to your organization.

Thank you letters

  • Your thank you letter shouldn’t come across as transactional and resemble a receipt. This is one of my huge pet peeves. Yes, you need to acknowledge the donation is tax-deductible, etc, but most donors are more concerned about how their gift made a difference.
  • Your thank you letter (or better yet, a handwritten note) needs to be filled with appreciation. Start your letter with You’re amazing! or Thanks to You!, and not On behalf of X organization.
  • Address your thank you letter to a person and not Dear Friend.
  • Tell your donors the impact of their gift. For example – Thanks to your generous donation of $50, a family can get a box of groceries at the Westside Community Food Bank. This is crucial since we’ve been seeing triple the number of people over the past two years.
  • Recognize each donor. Is this the first time someone has donated? If someone donated before, did she increase her gift? Acknowledge this in your letter/note.

Newsletters

  • Your newsletter shouldn’t sound self-promotional and focus on all the wonderful things your organization is doing. Since the pandemic started, I’ve seen organizations patting themselves on the back because of all the changes they needed to make to their programs. What’s most important is how this is affecting your clients/community. Yes, you may have changed the protocols (possibly several times depending on COVID positivity rates) at your homeless shelter, but that’s because you needed to continue to offer a safe place to those who need it.  
  • Write your newsletter in the second person. Write to the donor and use the word you more often than we. How to Perform the “You” Test for Donor-Centered Communications – Do You Pass? Keep in mind, all your donor communication should be written in the second person. It’s much more personal.
  • Include stories about clients, engaging photos, and other content your donors like to see. Remember, donors want to see the impact of their gift.
  • Use the right channels. Perhaps you only send an e-newsletter, but some of your donors prefer print.
  • Show gratitude to your donors/supporters in your newsletter.

These suggestions for improvement can be used in other types of donor communication such as annual reports, your website, email messages, and social media posts.

Better donor communication can help you build relationships. This is especially important now when your goals should be donor retention and sustaining long-term donors.

9 Best Practices for Communications That Stand Out

Nonprofit Communication Best Practices To Make Communications More Impactful 

Improving Donor Communications: 7 Tactics to Keep In Mind

Image credit –  www.epictop10.com

How to Move Away From Your Generic Communication

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor-centered, fundraising, thank you letters, writing , , , , ,

40508943681_0fa174264e_wAre you guilty of sending all your donors the same appeal and thank you letters? In these letters, you never thank a donor for their past support or acknowledge they’re a monthly donor.

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

You can do better, and frankly, you have to do better. Generic communication isn’t going to help you keep your donors.

Move away from anything generic and create something more personal. Here’s how.

Segment your donors

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

I emphasize segmenting your donors a lot in my posts because it’s so important. Donors like it if you recognize their past giving or anything that emphasizes this is more than a generic, one-size-fits-all message.

The Importance of Segmenting Your Donors

Beginner’s Guide to Nonprofit Donor Segmentation

And while we’re on the subject of personalization, let’s stop sending Dear Friend letters, as well. You’re not being a good friend if you don’t even use your donors’ names.

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

Use language your donors understand

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

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

What you mean by at-risk or underserved? Are high school students less likely to graduate on time? Do residents of a certain community not have good health care nearby? Is housing too expensive? Get specific, but at the same time, keep it simple.

You May Love Your Jargon, But Your Donors Don’t

How Jargon Destroys Nonprofit Fundraising & Marketing

4 Reasons to Stop Using Nonprofit Jargon

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

Tell the Stories Your Donors Want to Hear

On the road to improvement

You may be between fundraising campaigns right now and have a little more time. If so, start segmenting the donors in your database, if you haven’t already done that. Segmenting your donors isn’t a one-time deal. Make changes if you need to. For example, some of your single-gift donors may have upgraded to monthly. If you can do this after every campaign, you should have pretty up-to-date information on your donors.

In addition, dust off those templates and freshen up your appeal letters and thank you letters. Create letter templates for different donor groups and replace your vague, generic language with something clear, conversational, and specific.

Have someone outside your organization, a friend or family member, look at your messages. Something that’s clear to you may mean nothing to others.

Move away from your generic communication with something that shows your donors how much you appreciate them by recognizing who they are and giving them engaging content they’ll relate to.

Break Free From Your Generic Communication

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, donor relations, donor-centered, thank you letters, writing , , , , ,

4002324674_cc8c5b9d3e_zHow many times have you received an appeal or thank you letter that never mentions your past giving or that you’re a monthly donor? All you get is a generic, one-size-fits-all letter that doesn’t acknowledge who you are. Chances are most of the other donors of that organization are getting the exact same letter.

This happens way too often and it’s a problem. Your donors aren’t the same, so they shouldn’t all get the same letter. Another problem is these letters continue with the generic theme by using vague language and even worse – jargon.

Break free from your generic communication and create something more personal. Here’s how.

Segment your donors

Segment your donors into different groups as much as you can. At the very least, create different letters for new donors, repeat donors, and monthly donors. You can also personalize letters to lapsed donors, event attendees, volunteers, etc.

Strengthen Your Donor Segmentation: 7 Successful Strategies

4 SIMPLE DONOR SEGMENTS THAT WILL MAXIMIZE YOUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS

Thank your donors for their previous gifts and/or upgrades. Speaking of upgrades, many organizations don’t ask donors to increase their gifts because they’re sending everyone the same, generic letter. If you don’t ask, you most likely won’t receive. One reason (among many) to segment your donors is it can help you raise more money.

You can craft an appeal like this – Thank you so much for your donation of $50 last year. Could you help us out a little more this time with a gift of $75 or even $100? This way we can help more homeless families find housing.

Also, giving donors the amount of their last gift helps them out. Donors are busy and give to other organizations besides yours. They may not remember what they’ve given before.

Although, even if you ask for an upgrade, it may not happen if you ignore your donors or only blast them with appeals. You need to practice good donor relations, too.

Top 10 Ways to Upgrade Nonprofit Donors

And let’s stop sending Dear Friend letters, as well. You’re not being a good friend if you don’t even use your donors’ names.

Yes, this will take more time, but it’s worth the investment. So is a good database to help you with this. Your donors will feel appreciated and may give you more money.

Generic language is uninspiring and confusing

If you’re bombarding your donors with vague, generic language or jargon, you’re going to bore and/or confuse them pretty quickly. Most of your donors don’t have a medical or social services background. They don’t use terms like food insecurity, at-risk populations, and underserved communities and neither should you.

Use language they’ll understand. Instead of talking about food insecurity, give an example of a family choosing between buying groceries and paying the heating bill. What you mean by at-risk or underserved?  Are high school students less likely to graduate on time? Do residents of a certain community not have good health care nearby? Get specific, but at the same time, keep it simple.

Deconstructing Your Jargon

Green Eggs and Ham. The quintessential primer for nonprofit donor communications.

Another way to burst past generic language and jargon is to tell stories. Most people respond better to a human-interest story than a bunch of boring statistics.

If You’re Making a Difference, You Have Stories to Tell

How you can do better

You may be between fundraising campaigns right now and have a little more time (or maybe not). If so, now is a good time to start segmenting your donors in your database, if you haven’t already done that. Also, segmenting your donors isn’t a one-time deal. Make changes if you need to. For example, some of your single-gift donors may have upgraded to monthly.

In addition, dust off those templates and freshen up your appeal letters and thank you letters. Create letter templates for different donor groups and replace your vague, generic language with something clear, conversational, and specific.

Have someone outside your organization, a friend or family member, look at your messages. Something that’s clear to you may mean nothing to others.

Take time to break free from your generic communication with something that will show your donors how much you appreciate them by recognizing who they are and giving them content they can relate to.

Is This The Best You Can Do?

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

3986997574_5aa55585a4_mI sometimes wonder if nonprofit organizations are doing the best they can when they communicate with their donors. Unfortunately, there are a lot of examples of poor communication out there.

It doesn’t have to be like this. You can do a better job of communicating with your donors if you make an effort.

Does your thank you letter make your donors smile?

I find some of the worst examples come from thank you letters or what I like to call the thank you experience (for online donors it’s the thank you landing page, thank you email, and a thank you by mail or phone). Often it’s a lack of thank you experience.

At the end of last year, I gave an example of a thank you landing page and thank you email which were basically just transactional receipts. Some Observations From the Year-End Fundraising Season

This organization also sent a thank you letter about a week after I made the donation. I was pleasantly surprised because most nonprofits don’t mail a thank you letter if you donate online, although they should.

My good feelings vanished when I saw this letter was also just a receipt. It was from the Chief Financial Officer and opened with – This letter serves to acknowledge receipt by X Organization of a donation of X dated 11/27/18. Then it when on to say my husband and I may be entitled to claim a tax deduction. At the very end, the organization said – Thank you for your generous contribution.

This organization seems to think the most important part of a donation is the tax deduction rather than making the donor feel appreciated.

The organization redeemed itself a little by sending another letter from the President, which was dated January 10. This was an actual thank you letter, although not an outstanding one (more on that in a future post).

The problem here is this organization left me with a bad impression by making their initial thank you a receipt. I should have received the actual thank you letter at the beginning of December, not six weeks after I made the donation.  I would have combined the two letters, leading with the thank you and including the tax-deductible information at the end.

Contrast this with a rare handwritten thank you note I received from Reach Out and Read, which gave specific examples by telling me my gift will enrich the lives of children by providing them with books at their wellness visits. and Their parents will receive information about the importance of reading to their children daily.

One question you can ask yourself as you write a thank you letter is will this letter make my donors smile?  It won’t if it’s like the first example but should if it resembles the second one.

I encourage you to spend six minutes watching this video How to write a great thank you letter to your year end donors, which will help you create a thank you letter that will make your donors smile.

One key to good thank you letters is giving it the personal touch. TY Thursday: A Personal Letter is Better Than a Personalized One

Fundraising appeal dodgeball

#GivingTuesday and the end of December bring back memories of playing dodgeball in gym class. Nonprofits are hurling a constant stream of email appeals with pleas for “last chance to donate.” Really, you can’t donate after December 31?

I was barraged with emails at the end of December even though I gave gifts in November or am a monthly donor. Most were just generic appeals, although a few added a thank you to people who have already donated. Personalization didn’t exist.

Fundraising letters weren’t much better. Organizations I don’t support tried to entice me with useless mailing labels and notepads. Organizations I do support don’t acknowledge my past giving.

To paraphrase one of my favorite Seth Godin quotes – More isn’t better. Better is better. –  Instead of a constant blast of appeals, work on making them better.

5 Lessons From Year-End For Fundraisers Like You

Donors Are Ticked Off By Excess Solitication

What’s holding you back?

Now that we’re in the New Year, this is a good time to figure out how you can make improvements in your donor communication.

Although a handwritten thank you note is better than a letter, you may not be able to send notes to all your donors. But that shouldn’t stop you from writing a good, heartfelt letter. Also, show your online donors some love by sprucing up your landing page and thank you email so they don’t resemble a receipt.

Maybe you can write short, personal notes on your thank you letters. Recruit board members and volunteers to help you with this.

Perhaps you’ve been sending the same boring appeal letters and thank you letters for years. Write a better letter that focuses more on relationships with your donors instead of a transaction.

Segment your donors. At the very least, thank current donors for their past support. Investing in a good database will help this.

Take time to make improvements in your donor communication so your donors don’t wonder – Is this the best you can do?

How to Write an Appeal Letter that Stands Out

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

2651935525_8caf84f515_mLabor Day has come and gone. It may still feel like summer, but fall is coming up quickly.

Fall is a busy time of the year, especially for nonprofits who do a year-end appeal. Hopefully, you’ve started planning your appeal. Now you need to think about writing it.

Your donors will receive a multitude of appeal letters this fall and many of them will be the same old generic, boring appeal.

You can make yours stand out by giving some thought to it. Here’s how.

Make a good first impression

First, you need to get your donors to open your letter. If you can’t get them to do that, then all your hard work has gone to waste.

Perhaps you’d like to include a teaser on the outer envelope. That doesn’t mean one that says 2018 Annual Appeal. Instead, say something like Learn how you can help Jessica learn to read.

You want to be both personal and professional. If hand addressing the envelopes isn’t feasible, make sure your mailing labels look clean, are error-free, and aren’t crooked. Use stamps if you can.

Create an inviting piece of mail.

Share a story

Start your letter with a compelling story. Focus on a person or family and not your organization. Your donors want to hear about the people they’ll be helping. For example, you could tell a story about how Jessica struggled with reading until she started tutoring sessions with Lisa, a local college student.

You could also share a first-person story from a client/program recipient.

Include a photo

Include an engaging color photo in your letter or on your pledge form. Photos can tell a story in an instant.

Here’s more information on creating stories and photos.

If You’re Making a Difference, You Have Stories to Tell

A Picture Really is Worth a 1000 Words

Then you need to ask

Ask for a donation at the beginning of the next paragraph (after the story). Make sure it’s prominent and clear. Also, ask your current donors if they can give a little more this year.

Phrase your ask like this – We’re so grateful for your previous gift of $50. Could you help us out a little more this time with a gift of $75?

If you’ve been doing a good job of engaging your donors throughout the year, they shouldn’t mind if you ask for a larger gift. Including the amount of your donor’s previous gift is helpful since people often don’t remember what they gave before.

You must be donor-centered

Don’t make your letter all about your organization. Show how your donors can help you make a difference and how much you appreciate your donor’s role in that. Make your donors feel good about supporting your nonprofit.

Share your success

Highlight a few accomplishments from the year and show how you plan to continue your good work with your donor’s help. Remember to stay donor-centered!

Make it personal

Send different letters to current donors, monthly donors, lapsed donors, people on your mailing list who haven’t donated yet, event attendees, volunteers, and friends of board members.

Your appeal will stand out if you can personalize it. At the very least, you must do these two things.

Send a personalized appeal to current donors. Let them know how much you appreciate their support.

Also, send a specific appeal tailored to monthly donors, giving them the recognition they deserve. You can ask them to upgrade, too.

Go the extra mile for your donors, so they’ll continue to support you.

Your letter should also have a personal salutation and not be addressed to Dear Friend, which is really more like Dear Anonymous Stranger.

Make it easy for your donors

Include a return envelope with amounts to check off or an envelope and a pledge form. Show what each amount will fund. Do this on your donation page, too.

How To Create Donation Tiers That Drive Donations

Some donors may prefer to donate online. Direct them to a user-friendly donation page on your website.

11 Donation Form Best Practices to Inspire Your Online Fundraising

Offer a monthly or recurring giving option

Monthly gifts can generate more revenue and improve donor retention. Encourage your donors to give $10 or $20 a month. If they do, you’re getting gifts over $100 each!

The Elements of a Successful Monthly Giving Program

Warning – do not ask your current monthly donors to become monthly donors. That’s one reason why they need their own appeal.

Your letter must be easy to read (or scan)

Use short paragraphs and bulleted lists, along with bold or color for keywords, but keep it tasteful. Make it easy to read and scan. Most people won’t read your letter word for word. Use a simple font and 14-point type.

It’s fine to go over a page, especially if you’re breaking up the text with a photo and short paragraphs, but I wouldn’t go over four pages. You can also add a quote or short testimonial. These can be powerful and it helps break up the narrative.

Think of your letter as a conversation with a friend

One tip for good writing is to think of your letter as a conversation with a friend. That means not using jargon like at-risk youth and underserved communities. Be specific and use everyday language. Refer to your reader as you and use you a lot more than we. How to Perform the “You” Test for Donor-Centered Communications – Do You Pass?

Too many editors spoil the appeal

Your entire staff doesn’t need to be involved in writing your appeal. Generally, the more people you involve in writing your letter, the worse it becomes. Fundraising Consultant Tom Ahern refers to this as letter writing by committee.

Your best writer should craft it and then turn it over to your best editor. Whoever signs the letter (your Executive Director?) can take a quick look at it, but don’t send it to a committee.

Besides weakening the content, involving more people takes extra time.

Leave a good lasting impression

Repeat your ask at the end of the letter. Don’t forget to say please and thank you.

Be sure to add a PS. People often gravitate to the PS as they scan the letter, so include something that will capture their attention. Here you could emphasize monthly giving, ask if their company provides matching gifts, or thank them for being a donor.

Get your pens out

Include a short handwritten note, if you can. Make it relevant to each donor, such as thanking her for a previous donation or letting him know it was nice to see him at a recent event. Hand sign the letters in blue ink.

Are you ready?

Stand out with an appeal letter that will capture your donors’ attention and bring you the donations you need. Good luck!

Read on for more advice on writing an appeal letter that stands out.

Don’t Make These Mistakes with Your Year-End Appeal

Don’t Make These 5 Mistakes In Your Fundraising Appeal Letter

How to Write Superior Nonprofit Fundraising Appeals: Avoid Jargon

[INFOGRAPHIC] How To Write An Annual Fundraising Appeal Letter