fundraising

The Importance of Ask, Thank, Report

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

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

It’s also referred to as Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat, because it’s something you need to keep doing. And what’s most important is to thank and report before you ask for another donation. 

Of course, formulas are good in theory, but you can’t just go through the motions. Done well, the ask, thank, report, repeat formula can help you raise more money, build relationships, and boost your retention rate.

Asking for donations is not all or nothing

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

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

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

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

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

Address your appeal to a person and not Dear Friend.

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

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

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

Thanking your donors means thanking your donors

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keep your donors updated

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

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

Another way to update your donors is with an impact report. I like that term better than annual report. You can also do one of these more than once a year. Shorter, more frequent updates are better than one of those long, boring traditional annual reports. Be sure to focus on how your donors helped you make a difference and don’t ask for a donation in your impact report. 

Something else you can do is to send a Donor Care Letter. It’s a way to share updates without putting together an actual newsletter. You can and should also send frequent updates by email and social media.

Repeat this throughout the year

Be sure to follow the ask, thank, report formula throughout the year. Most likely, you’ll need to do more thanking and reporting than you’re doing right now. Try to stay in touch with your donors at least once a month.  A communications calendar can help you with this.

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

Why Your Nonprofit Needs to Invest in Monthly Giving

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, fundraising, monthly donors , , , , ,

Monthly giving is continuing to gain momentum and that’s always good, especially in this time of financial uncertainty. Let’s keep this up! If your organization doesn’t have a monthly/recurring giving program or it’s fairly small, now is a great time to start or grow your monthly giving.

In this post, I’ll tell you why monthly giving is so important for your nonprofit, how to start or grow your program, and how to nurture it going forward. 

Monthly giving helps you raise more money

Monthly or recurring donations can help donors spread out their gifts and it’s easier on their bank accounts. They might be apprehensive about giving a one-time gift of $50 or $100. But if you offer them the option of giving $5 or $10 a month, that may sound more reasonable. 

It can also give you a consistent stream of revenue throughout the year instead of at certain times, such as when you do individual appeals and (virtual) events and when grants come in.

Monthly gifts are smaller, but you can raise a lot of money with lots of small donations. Political candidates do it all the time. Also, monthly gifts aren’t as small as you think. The average is over $20 a month.

It can also be a more feasible way to get larger gifts. A gift of $100 a month may be more appealing to a donor than giving a large sum all at once. Even if they start with a smaller donation, monthly donors are more likely to become major donors and legacy donors.

It raises your retention rate, too

The retention rate for monthly donors is an impressive 90%. That’s significantly higher than other retention rates. 

One reason is that monthly gifts are ongoing. But your donors have agreed to that, so this shows they’re committed to your organization. 

These are long-term donors and long-term donors should always be one of your priorities.

How to get started

If you don’t already have a monthly giving program, make this the year you start one. Remember, it will help you raise more money, which is even more important during these uncertain times.

A good way to start is to invite your current donors to become monthly donors. Your best bet for monthly donors are people who’ve given at least twice. These are donors who have shown a commitment to you.

That doesn’t mean you can’t ask first-time donors. This could be a good way to connect with donors from your most recent campaign. And if you haven’t officially welcomed your new year-end donors, do that now. 

Make monthly giving the go-to option

Put monthly giving front and center in all your campaigns. It should be an easy option on your donation page. Include it on your pledge form and make it a prominent part of your appeal letter, maybe as a PS.

I can speak from personal experience that once I started giving monthly, that’s the way I wanted to give to all organizations. Your donors would probably agree. Each year I’m happier to see that more organizations are jumping on the monthly giving bandwagon.

Organizations that don’t offer a monthly giving option are making a mistake. Some have a minimum donation, which I would also not recommend, if possible. If you do have a minimum, make it $5 a month instead of $10. 

If your reason to have a minimum donation amount is to save money on your expenses, is that happening if your minimum deters someone from giving at all? You often have to invest a little to raise more money. And you should raise more money with a monthly giving program.

Make your monthly donors feel special

You need to do a good job of thanking your monthly donors. Go the extra mile and segment your monthly donors into new monthly donors, current monthly donors, and current donors who become monthly donors.

This way you can personalize their thank you letters to make them feel special. Be sure to mail a thank you letter, or even better, send a handwritten note. An email acknowledgment is not enough.

Many organizations send a monthly acknowledgment email or letter, and most are just okay. Some are basically only receipts, and as I mentioned in a recent post, your thank yous need to be more than a receipt. Yes, it’s helpful to know the organization received your donation, but you’re not practicing good donor stewardship if that’s all you do.

You could spiff up these monthly acknowledgments, both by making them sound like they were written by a human and not a robot, and by providing some engaging updates.

One thing you should do is send your donors an annual summary of their monthly gifts. This is extremely helpful for people who itemize deductions. Make this letter more than just a receipt and use this opportunity to connect with your donors. Pour on the gratitude and let them know how their monthly donations are helping you make a difference.

Reach out at least once a month

Your monthly donors made a commitment to you by giving every month. Make the same commitment to them by reaching out at least once a month.

You could create a special newsletter for monthly donors or include a cover letter referencing monthly donors. If that’s too much, you could give a shout out to your monthly donors and include information on how to become a monthly donor in your newsletter.

A thank you video is always welcome. Consider personalizing it, if you can. You could also provide other video content, such as a virtual tour, for your monthly donors.

You could include a list of your monthly donors in a newsletter, annual report, or on your website. Donor lists are just one of many ways to show appreciation and not the only one, so do much more than just that. Of course, honor any donor’s wish to remain anonymous.

Thank yous, newsletters, and updates are not a one-time time deal. Keep it up throughout the year. Many nonprofits start out communicating regularly with their monthly donors and then disappear after a couple of months. Always make a point to stay in touch with your donors.

Create a special section in your communications calendar specifically for monthly donors to help you with this.

Go all out for your monthly donors

I highly recommend a contact person for your monthly donors in case they need to update their credit card information or make a change to their gift, hopefully an upgrade. Include this information in their welcome letter or email. If you send a monthly acknowledgment email, be sure to include a link where your donor can make changes.

Another way to help out your monthly donors is to let them know when their credit cards are about to expire. Don’t rely on your donors to remember this, because most likely they won’t. You also don’t want to miss out on any revenue. Remember, small donations add up.

Set up a system where you can flag credit cards that will expire in the next month or two. Then send these donors a friendly reminder email/letter or give them a call. 

My monthly giving credit card expired last fall. Only a couple of organizations contacted me before the expiration date and one was quite adamant and even contacted me before I received my new card. Of course, a few slipped through the cracks and I didn’t hear from these organizations until after the donations didn’t go through. Remember to take the lead on this.

You could encourage donors to give via an electronic funds transfer from their bank account instead. Then neither you nor your donors need to worry about expiring credit cards.

Once a monthly donor, always a monthly donor

Once someone becomes a monthly donor, you must always recognize them as such. You most certainly should send fundraising appeals to monthly donors, but not the same ones you send to other donors.

You can ask your monthly donors for an additional gift during one of your fundraising campaigns, but you MUST recognize they’re monthly donors. For example – We really appreciate your gift of $10 a month. Could you help us out a little more right now with an additional gift? People in our community are having a hard time paying their heating bills because of rising fuel costs.

You can also ask your monthly donors to upgrade their gifts after a year or so. Be as specific as possible – We’re so happy you’re part of our family of monthly donors and are grateful for your gift of $5.00 a month. Many families are having trouble making ends meet and we’re serving triple the number of people at the Eastside Community Food Pantry right now. Could you help us out a little more with a gift of $7.00 or even $10.00 a month?

If you send the usual generic appeal, imagine your donor saying – “I already give you $10 a month and you don’t seem to know that.”

But if you let those committed monthly donors know you think they’re special, they’ll be more likely to upgrade or give an additional gift. Many monthly donors have stepped up and given additional donations over the last three years. That’s what you want. And, if they do give an additional donation, be sure to thank them for that. Here’s the opening from a great thank you card I received – “How generous of you to make a gift that goes above and beyond your monthly donations.“

Be sure to invest in this proven way to raise more money, boost donor retention rates, and provide an easier giving option for your donors. 

Building Relationships is Just as Important as Raising Money

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

Why does making a donation often feel like a transaction? Organizations get so caught up in the raising money part that they forget about building relationships with their donors.

Giving Tuesday is the worst example of this, with Year End close behind. Generally, it happens way too often.

Remember this – Building relationships is just as important as raising money. 

It’s hard to keep raising money if you don’t build a good relationship with your donors. The two go together. Every single interaction with your donors needs to focus on building relationships. That includes fundraising appeals. It’s possible to raise money and build relationships at the same time.

Follow this formula – ask, thank, update, repeat. Thanking and updating should naturally evolve into building relationships, although that doesn’t always happen.

You’ll have more success if you move away from transactional fundraising and focus on building relationships. Here are some ways to do that.

Stop using transactional language

First, the word transaction should not appear anywhere in your fundraising. Sometimes I see the words “Transaction complete” after I make an online donation. That’s not giving me a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling at all. I made a gift, not a transaction.

Even more prevalent is the word receipt, which is often used in lieu of thank you. After a donor makes a gift, they should feel appreciated. 

An email subject line is one of your first chances to connect with your donor. How would you feel if this is what you saw? 

“Your Recurring Donation Receipt” 

“Donation tax receipt”

This again is emphasizing the transaction. Payment information should not be the lead of any type of thank you. Where are the words thank you?

It’s not easy to find good thank you email subject lines. Here are some that are better.

“Thank you for your generous monthly gift”

“You are wonderful!”

“Thank you for investing in Peace!”

“Your monthly gift in action” 

That last subject line leads into an email that emphasizes how the donor is helping that organization make a difference, which is a good example of building relationships.

When organizations lead their fundraising appeals by saying “It’s our year-end appeal” or “It’s GivingTuesday,” they’re not connecting with their donors by concentrating on why donors give. 

Many donors don’t care that it’s your year-end appeal. They care about your work and want to help. Instead, say something like – How you can help families put food on the table. 

Make relationship building part of your fundraising campaigns

You need to build relationships before, during, and after each of your fundraising campaigns. Keep this in mind – Your Fundraising IS Your Relationship.

Before your next appeal, send your donors an update to let them know how they’re helping you make a difference. This is especially important if you do more than one fundraising campaign a year. You don’t want your donors to think the only time they hear from you is when you’re asking for money.

Segment your donors

One way to help ensure you’re focusing on relationships is to segment your donors and personalize your appeal letters and other types of donor communication. 

Don’t send the same appeal to everyone on your mailing list. What is your relationship with these individuals? Maybe they’ve given once or many times. Perhaps they’re event attendees, volunteers, e-newsletter subscribers, or friends of board members. Mention your relationship in your appeal letter. For example, thank a long-time donor for supporting you these past five years.

Monthly donors get their own appeal letter. This doesn’t happen enough and it’s one of my biggest pet peeves. Build relationships with these committed donors. Recognize they’re monthly donors and either invite them to upgrade their gift or give an additional donation.

Create an attitude of gratitude

Your focus on building relationships continues when you thank your donors. Many organizations do a poor job with this. Send a handwritten note or make a phone call, if you can.

Welcome your new donors. Let them know how much you appreciate this new relationship. If you don’t, it’s likely to be a short relationship.

Be sure to also shower your current donors with appreciation so you can keep your relationship going. Do something special for donors who have supported you for several years.

Make sure your donors get a heartfelt thank you, not something that resembles a receipt.

Thanking donors is something you can do at any time of the year. I think one of the best ways to connect is by sending a handwritten note. I just received a handwritten thank you note acknowledging my two-year anniversary as a donor. It always warms my heart when an organization connects in this way.

Holiday cards are a nice way to reach out, but don’t put a donation envelope in one. You have other opportunities to make appeals. Make it 100% about showing appreciation.

You can also send thank you cards at other times of the year. If money is tight, spread out your mailings over the year so each donor gets at least one card.

Don’t miss out on opportunities to build relationships

There are many ways you can build relationships with your donors throughout the year. 

You can give donors other opportunities to connect, such as volunteering, participating in advocacy alerts, signing up for your email mailing list, and following you on social media. You could also offer virtual or in-person (if it’s safe) tours.

Newsletters and annual reports that focus too much on the organization are the equivalent of being at a party where someone just talks about himself and you may as well not even be there. Done well, a newsletter, annual report, or another form of an update can be a good relationship-building tool.

I’m amazed that after I attend an event, support someone in a walkathon, or give a memorial gift, most organizations don’t do a good job of building a relationship. I could be a potential long-time donor. Personally, I would never give a memorial gift or support someone in a charity walk if I didn’t believe in that organization’s cause. Don’t miss out on a potential opportunity to build longer-term relationships.

You’ll have a better chance of building relationships if you can tap into your donors’ passions and interests.

Hold a relationship-building day

My main objection to giving days, such as GivingTuesday, is they focus so much on asking. What if we put all the time and energy we focus on giving days into a relationship-building day?

I’m not saying you can’t participate in giving days, but instead of the relentless begging, follow the formula above and build relationships before, during, and after your appeal.

Of course, you could choose not to participate in a giving day and have an all-out relationship-building day instead.

Build relationships all year round

It’s easier to stay focused on donors when you’re sending an appeal or thank you, but this is just the beginning. Many organizations go on communication hiatus at certain times of the year and that’s a huge mistake. Ideally, you should keep in touch with your donors every one to two weeks, once a month at the most.

Always stay focused on relationships. Good relationships with your donors will help you raise more money and keep your donors for a long time. 

Steps You Can Take to Ensure a Successful 2023

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, fundraising, marketing, monthly donors, thank you letters , , , , , , ,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a nice holiday and weren’t affected by severe weather and flight cancellations. My family rented a house on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland that wasn’t well suited for temperatures in the teens, but fortunately our return flight on Southwest took place after they were “back to normal.”

Now that the New Year is here do you wonder what’s ahead for us? The last three years have brought about so much change and uncertainty. Sometimes it’s hard to predict what’s going to happen next. 

I’m sure your nonprofit continues to face challenges, but since the pandemic started many organizations were able to confront these challenges and make changes to the way they ran their programs and implemented their fundraising and communications. Some were successful and some weren’t.

If 2022 was not a successful year for your organization, you can work to make 2023 a better year. 

Here are some ways to ensure a more successful year.

Have a plan in place

You must have fundraising and communications/marketing plans. If you haven’t put together these plans yet, do that now! 

You know from past experience that you may need to make changes to your plans. In 2020, organizations that were able to make changes to a plan already in place were most successful.

Take a look back at 2022 to see what worked and what didn’t in your fundraising and communications/marketing. Incorporate what you’ve learned into your 2023 plans. 

Be sure your fundraising plan includes a diverse stream of revenue. Individual giving has proven to be successful. A lot of small donations can add up! Start or grow your monthly giving program (more on that below). Also, look into major and legacy giving. 

You can apply for grants and hold events, but those sometimes require more effort than its worth. Invest in strategies that make sense for your organization.

Revisit your fundraising and communications/marketing plans regularly and make changes as needed. Do this at least every two to three months.

Make sure that donor relations and donor retention are part of your fundraising plan. Those are key to your success.

Pay attention to your donor retention

Many donors have stepped up over the past three years to support nonprofit organizations. You don’t want to lose these valuable donors.

Donor retention should be a priority. You’ll have more success if you work to keep the donors you already have instead of focusing on getting new ones.

First, if you don’t already know it, figure out your retention rate. Do this after every fundraising campaign.

If it’s low, it’s something you can fix, usually with better communication. Donor retention is a huge problem for nonprofits. Your goal should be to have donors who support you for a long time.

It’s easier and less expensive to keep your current donors than to find new ones, so, once again, make donor retention a priority.

That said, you may have some new donors who saw a need and felt a connection to your cause. Don’t let these donors slip away either.

Ramp up your monthly giving program

Speaking of retention, the retention rate for monthly donors is 90%. These donors are dedicated to your nonprofit. 

I’m a huge fan of monthly giving. It’s always made sense, but it’s been especially crucial over the last three years. Organizations that had monthly giving programs saw a steady stream of revenue throughout the year. Donors who opt for monthly giving find it’s easier on their finances. Dedicated monthly donors have also stepped up and have given additional donations.

Work on starting or growing your monthly giving program so you can have a bunch of highly committed donors. A good way to start is to invite your current donors to become monthly donors.

Monthly donors are also potential major and legacy donors. Remember the importance of individual giving

Do a better job of communicating with your donors 

It’s time to say goodbye to boring, generic communication. Over the past three years, donors have seen real people with real problems in real time. They turned on the news and saw long lines at food pantries. They’ve witnessed a much-needed awareness of systemic racism in our society. They’re hearing stories about how families can barely make ends meet in the current economy.

It makes a difference if you can put things in human terms. Organizations that do this did a better job of connecting with their donors.

Don’t use jargon, such as at-risk and underserved. These terms are demeaning to your clients, especially if they’re people of color. Tell more stories and go easy on the statistics. If you’re making a difference, you have stories to tell.

Better communication also means more frequent communication. Donors want to hear from you and they want to feel appreciated, too. Better, more frequent communication will help you raise more money. A communications calendar will help you with this. 

Keep relationships front and center

You may think the most important component of fundraising is raising money. While that’s important, so is building relationships with your donors. 

It’s hard to raise money year after year if you don’t build a good relationship with your donors. Every single interaction with your donors needs to focus on building relationships. That includes fundraising appeals. It’s possible to raise money and build relationships at the same time.

Good relationships with your donors will help you with retention.

Don’t forget about gratitude

A big part of building relationships is showing gratitude to your donors. Many nonprofits do a poor job with this. 

You need to start by sending a heartfelt thank you immediately after you receive a donation and then find ways to thank your donors throughout the year. Put together a thank you plan to help you with this.

Start the New Year off by making fundraising and communications/marketing plans, if you haven’t already done so. Prioritize donor retention, monthly giving, showing gratitude, and building relationships with your donors. This will help bring you more success in 2023.

Google Grant Compliance: What You Need to Know

Ann Green Communications, donor engagement, fundraising, marketing, website , , , ,

Complying with Google’s guidelines will help you maintain a healthy Ad Grant account. Here’s what any nonprofit needs to know about Google Grant compliance.

Google Grants have transformed the nonprofit marketing landscape. By meeting eligibility requirements, you can receive $10,000 every month to promote your cause through Google Ads. However, nonprofits must follow certain requirements to remain eligible.

Nonprofit fundraising professionals are likely familiar with the process of seeking grants and following compliance standards. Grantmaking organizations create standards to award money to nonprofits that will spend it in line with the program’s goals. Google Grants are no exception!

To keep your Google Grant account compliant, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the program’s rules, starting with why they were created.

Why Does Google Implement Compliance Requirements?

Every grantmaking organization, including Google, strives to fund responsible organizations and advance worthwhile missions. That’s why they require nonprofits to undergo an intricate vetting process and meet ongoing requirements.

For the Google Grants program, the primary purpose of compliance regulations is for nonprofits to create meaningful conversions, not just maximize ad spend.

When the program first launched, there weren’t many compliance rules. Instead of concentrating on connecting with likely prospects, nonprofits focused on spending as much as possible to increase search visibility. This led to nonprofits:

  • Advertising any content on their website, including pages that people wouldn’t find useful.
  • Targeting keywords that didn’t align with the searcher’s intent and brought unqualified prospects.

This decreased the program’s value and led to users encountering content they weren’t searching for. To counteract this, Google’s team created a list of compliance rules, requiring nonprofits to create meaningful ads for mission-centric topics.

A Rundown of Google’s Compliance Rules

To comply with Google’s regulations, you need to understand them. Getting Attention’s Google Grants eligibility guide explores them in-depth, but for now, here’s an overview of the program’s rules:

  • No single-word or generic keywords are permitted.
  • Keywords must have a quality score of at least three. 
  • Maintain a 5% click-through rate.
  • Have at least one conversion each month.
  • Include at least two ads per ad group and two ad groups per campaign. The official guidelines have indicated two ads per group in the past; however, Google has recently moved to RSAs and indicated that each ad group must have at least one RSA. This may replace the need for two ads in the future, but Google’s official guidelines haven’t changed.
  • Include at least two sitelink ad extensions (which link to additional landing pages within your ad).
  • Respond to the annual program survey.

Complying with these rules will also optimize your campaigns. For example, choosing high-quality keywords will display your ads to qualified prospects, while sitelink extensions will provide users with alternative ways to engage with your cause.

Tips for Complying with the Google Grant Rules

While it’s one thing to understand the program’s rules, it’s another thing to put them into practice. Let’s walk through ways to develop a healthy Google Grant account.

1. Set Meaningful Conversion Goals.

As mentioned above, Google requires nonprofits to have at least one conversion per month. A conversion is when a user completes an action that’s valuable to your nonprofit. 

While Google gives you free rein over your conversion goals, common ones include:

  • Online donations
  • Volunteer registrations
  • Event sign-ups
  • Newsletter sign-ups

The idea behind conversion goals is to ensure each ad serves a role in advancing your mission. So think about what will push your cause forward. 

For instance, an animal shelter might view adoption inquiry form submissions as meaningful. On the other hand, a community organization might track newsletter subscriptions. Also, remember different ad groups can track different conversions, so you’re not tied to one specific goal for the entire account.

2. Choose Valuable Keywords.

Another essential component of a healthy Google Grant account is keywords. Keywords should be relevant to your cause and connect you with people searching for content in line with what you’re promoting.

To comply with Google’s keyword standards, here’s what we recommend:

  • Leverage keyword research tools. As part of the program, you can access Google Keyword Planner. Brainstorm what prospects might search to find your organization. Put these terms into Keyword Planner to view estimated search traffic, how much you should bid, and keyword suggestions.
  • Check your keyword quality regularly. Google assigns a Quality Score to each keyword. A higher score means the ad and landing page are relevant to users searching that term. Regularly review your account and pause any underperforming keywords (i.e. those with a score below three).
  • Center each ad group around similar keywords. Focus each group on a specific theme and related keywords. For a wildlife sanctuary, one ad group might focus on generating volunteer registrations and include terms like “wildlife rescue volunteer opportunities” and “animal sanctuary volunteering.” Then, another ad group might focus on driving donations and target terms like “donate to wildlife rescue” and “animal sanctuary donations.”

Keyword research is critical for Google Grant compliance. Failure to choose relevant keywords can result in account suspension, so consistently revisit your performance.

3. Assign a Knowledgeable Google Grants Manager

Consider designating a specific person to manage your account, respond to performance data, and follow Google’s compliance standards. In addition to building relationships with monthly donors, that individual can reach new audiences as they refine your campaigns. 

However, many organizations don’t have the staff capacity to devote an internal team member’s time. Instead, they outsource the work to a Google Grants agency. Typically, a professional will manage the following areas related to compliance:

  • Keyword research. Backed by search engine marketing knowledge, an agency can pick keywords that meet Google’s quality standards.
  • Landing page optimization. Optimized landing pages will drive more campaign conversions. An agency will help pick and create promotable landing pages.
  • Valid conversion tracking. A professional agency will have experience with Google Analytics and can pick the right conversion goals for your nonprofit.

A professional’s expertise extends beyond basic Google Grant rules. They may also create ad copy and choose meaningful conversions.

Whether you assign someone internally or outsource the work, assigning a grant manager lays a foundation for maintaining Google Grant compliance. 

Google Grants empower nonprofits to share their stories online. Don’t waste this opportunity by not following compliance guidelines. Using the guidance we shared, you can start improving your strategies and getting more out of your grant every month.

Getting Attention contributed to the content of this post.

How to Make Giving Tuesday Less Transactional

Ann Green donor engagement, donor relations, donor retention, fundraising, planning , , , ,

What’s the difference between Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday? Unfortunately, it seems like not a whole lot. According to the Giving Tuesday website, “Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity.” In theory, that sounds nice, but in reality, it’s a day when nonprofit organizations unleash an onslaught of transactional fundraising appeals by email and social media.

For the last 10 years, Giving Tuesday has taken place the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. This year it will be on November 29.

I’m not going to tell you whether or not you should participate in Giving Tuesday. Perhaps you’ve participated in the past and it’s been successful, or maybe it wasn’t. Perhaps you’re planning to participate for the first time. Maybe you’re on the fence. 

Whether you participate or not, Giving Tuesday is part of the nonprofit landscape and if you’re doing a year-end appeal, you’ll need to factor it into your campaign. If you do participate, you want to make it a better experience for your donors instead of the usual barrage of generic, transactional appeals.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as Giving Tuesday approaches.

Just because it’s Giving Tuesday isn’t a compelling reason to give

I see so many email messages that say donate because it’s Giving Tuesday. Many donors don’t care if it’s Giving Tuesday or if it’s your “annual appeal.” That’s often not why they donate. They give because they care about your cause and want to help make a difference. 

Let them know that with their help Kayla can sleep in a warm bed tonight or Jeffrey can boost his reading skills.

We’re still living in difficult times and people and communities are struggling. You need to acknowledge this in your appeals.

It’s not just about the money

A successful Giving Tuesday campaign is about more than just raising a lot of money. You also want to build relationships and make your donors feel good about supporting your organization. This is often where it falls short.

I haven’t been a huge fan of Giving Tuesday or any giving days, for that matter, because they focus too much on getting donations. Many of these donors are first-time donors who don’t give again. The end result is you’ve just spent a lot of time and effort on getting one-time gifts. That’s not what you want. You need donors who will support you for many years.

Make it personal and segment your donors

Don’t just blast a bunch of generic, transactional appeals that resemble Cyber Monday ads or those relentless requests for political donations. I receive so many political emails, which are just “noise” that I end up ignoring. That’s not what you want. You want to attract your donors’ attention, and in a good way.

You also don’t want to send all your donors the same appeal. If someone donated last year on GivingTuesday, this is the perfect opportunity to thank them for that gift and ask them to donate again this year. If they donated two weeks ago, maybe they shouldn’t get an appeal right now.

Segment your donors. Acknowledge past donors and make a connection with potential donors. 

Focus on building relationships with your donors instead of just begging for donations.

Also, if you’re sending an appeal to your monthly donors, recognize them as monthly donors and ask them to give an additional gift. They get their own thank you, too. Monthly donors are one of your most loyal types of donors. Be sure to make them feel special.

If you’re one of the few organizations that sends more personalized appeals, then kudos to you because that’s what everyone needs to do. I saw some evidence of more personalized, nuanced appeals during the height of the pandemic, so let’s continue to do that.

Use Giving Tuesday as a way to follow up with your donors

If you don’t want to launch a full Giving Tuesday campaign (understandable), it can be a great opportunity to follow up with people who haven’t donated to your year-end appeal. You should be sending regular reminders, anyway.

Send email and social media messages before and on Giving Tuesday encouraging people to donate. You can use the Giving Tuesday logos, etc. if you’d like. Obviously, you’ll want to keep following up with anyone who didn’t donate on Giving Tuesday.

Remember, your donors will be barraged with email and social media messages on Giving Tuesday. Make yours stand out and be prepared to keep following up.

Put gratitude front and center

Your donors should be feeling the love right after they make their donation.

Make sure you have an engaging thank you landing page and thank you email for your online donors. You could even create ones especially for Giving Tuesday. Then you need to follow that with a phone call, handwritten note, or thank you letter.

Send welcome packages to new donors or welcome back messages to current donors. 

Go the extra mile and do a good job of thanking these donors – both right after they’ve made their donation and throughout the year.

We’re going to skip Giving Tuesday 

Maybe you’ll decide you’re going to skip Giving Tuesday altogether. Remember, other organizations will be participating and your messages will be competing with the onslaught of Giving Tuesday appeals. 

You have an opportunity to stand out here by keeping your fundraising campaign focused on gratitude and relationship building. Year-end is a good time to ramp up your donor communication (examples include thank you messages, holiday greetings, and updates) so people don’t think you’re only asking them for money.

Give back to your donors

I think you’ll find your Giving Tuesday campaign, or any fundraising campaign, will be more successful if you focus on more than just the giving part. And a big part of a successful campaign is getting repeat donations. This means giving back to your donors, as well.

Always focus on relationships and not the transaction.

A Few Ways You Can Raise More Money This Year

Ann Green appeal letters, Communications, database, donor engagement, donor retention, fundraising, monthly donors , , , , ,

It’s year-end fundraising time. You may have already started your campaign or are planning to soon. 

Nonprofit organizations rely on year-end for a good chunk of their revenue. Maybe you haven’t raised as much money as you planned this year and need to make up for that. Maybe your fundraising appeals never seem to perform as well as you would like.

Fundraising is hard and you can’t just send a bunch of generic appeals and hope the money comes in. If you want to raise more money, you need to put in some extra effort.

One way to raise more money is to segment your donors and send targeted appeals. You also need to have a good CRM/database and follow the ask, thank, update, repeat formula. 

Here are a few ways you can use these tactics to raise more money.

Ask for an upgrade

Many nonprofits don’t ask their donors to upgrade their gifts and they’re missing an opportunity to raise more money. You may be reluctant to ask donors to give more right now because of the uncertain economy, but that’s why you should ask. 

Your clients/community may be struggling and your need is growing. If you can relay this to your donors, some of them will give more. Many donors step up during tough times.

Of course, some of them won’t be able to give more now, but it’s unlikely any of them will upgrade if you don’t ask. They’ll also be more receptive to upgrading their gift if you’ve done a good job of thanking them and sharing updates throughout the year.

Target your upgrade asks based on past giving. Be reasonable. A donor who gave $50 is unlikely to give $500. Here’s an example.

We really appreciate your past gift of $50. Could you help us out a little more this time with a gift of $75?  We’re seeing more people at our food pantry right now because of rising food prices. Your generosity will help our community during this difficult time.

If your donors upgrade their gifts, do something special for them such as sending a handwritten thank you note or creating a personalized thank you video.

Promote monthly giving

Monthly donors are the backbone of nonprofit organizations. The retention rate is an impressive 90%.

The more monthly donors you have, the better. Promoting monthly giving is always a good way to raise additional revenue. You can also send targeted appeals to donors encouraging them to convert to monthly giving.

Your best bet is single gift donors who have supported you for at least two years. They’ve already shown some commitment to your organization. Now it’s time to take that to the next level.

You could do this at year-end, as well as other times of the year. You want to ask for gifts more than once a year, so this can be another opportunity to request an upgrade.

You could also reach out to your new donors in a few months to encourage them to join your family of monthly donors.

Here’s a sample ask. We really appreciate your past gift of $50. Could you make your generous support count even more by becoming a monthly donor? Five or 10 a month will help us serve more families at our food pantry.

Once your donors start giving monthly, they should always be acknowledged as monthly donors. Be sure to give them a special thank you (see above).

Get in touch with your lapsed donors

In January or whenever you finish a campaign, get in touch with your lapsed donors. Not all lapsed donors are the same. A donor who gave last year is more likely to give than the mother of a staff member who left your organization five years ago.

Donors who gave a year ago but not this year may have been too busy to give at year-end. Focus your efforts on more recent donors. If you have donors who haven’t given for several years, you may want to move them to an inactive file. It’s costing you money to mail appeals to donors who are unlikely to give.

You can create appeals based on how long a donor has lapsed. If that’s too complicated, try an ask like this.

We really appreciate the $50 gift you made in 2021. This helped us serve more families at our food pantry. We’re still seeing a growing number of people coming in because of rising food prices. Could you help us out again with another gift of $50 or more?

Some donors won’t give again. Maybe they can’t afford to. More likely it’s because of poor communication. Remember –  ask, thank, update, repeat.

If your lapsed donors give again, be sure to give them an extra special thank you, so they’ll continue to support you without interruption.

I know there’s a lot of economic uncertainty, but it’s important to be savvy. Spend some time segmenting your donors and sending targeted appeals. Don’t forget about showing appreciation and sharing updates, too. All of this can help you can raise more money 

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.

Raise More Money With a Better Fundraising Appeal

Ann Green appeal letters, donor engagement, donor-centered, fundraising, writing , , , ,

Can you believe September is already here? Depending on where you live, you may or may not be getting that nice refreshing air September often brings. 

It also brings us to the start of the busiest time of the year for nonprofit organizations, especially if you’re doing a year-end appeal. 

If you’re falling short of your revenue goals, you may want to start your campaign earlier than you have in the past. Even if you’re not planning on launching your campaign until later in the fall, you should get started on your appeal now. Everything always takes longer than you think.

You need to create an appeal that will stand out and resonate with your donors. That doesn’t mean using the same boring, generic template you’ve used for years.

You need a letter that takes into account what’s going on in 2022. How are the everchanging current situations affecting your clients/community?

Your appeal also needs to be personal – both for your donors and when you write about your clients/community. 

Here are some ways you can create a better appeal.

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. This doesn’t mean one that says 2022 Annual Appeal. That’s not inspiring. Instead, say something like – Find out how you can help local families put food on the table.

An oversized or colored envelope can also capture your donor’s attention.

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 compelling story

A good appeal letter should open 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 and it needs to be relevant to the current climate. 

Here’s an example – Lara, a single mother with three kids, has gone through a lot over the past couple of years. It’s been hard to find work that pays enough and now groceries are even more expensive. 

But thanks to generous donors like you (or because of our generous donors if you’re writing to people who haven’t given before), she’s been able to get boxes of healthy food at the Northside Community Food Pantry. At first, Lara was embarrassed that she had to rely on a food pantry to feed her family, but she’s always treated with respect and dignity when she visits. 

We want to continue providing Lara and other members of our community with healthy food when they need it.

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.

Next comes the 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 right now. Don’t be afraid to ask your donors to upgrade their gifts. People want to help if they can.

Phrase your ask like this – We’re so grateful for your previous gift of $50. We’re continuing to see more people coming into the food pantry right now. Would you be able to help us out a little more this time with a gift of $75?

Asking for an upgrade can help you raise more money. Also, if you’ve been doing a good job of engaging your donors throughout the year (and I hope you have been), they shouldn’t mind if you ask for a larger gift. Including the amount of your donor’s previous gift is helpful since people don’t often remember what they gave before.

Be donor-centered, as well as community-centered

There’s been some dichotomy over the past two years between being donor-centered and being community-centered, but I think you can be both. What you don’t want is to be organization-centered.

Show your donors how they can help you make a difference for your clients/community and how much you appreciate their role in that. Make your donors feel good about supporting your nonprofit.

At the same time, respect your clients/community by not undermining them when you use terms like at-risk youth or underserved communities. They are people, after all.

Share your success and challenges

Highlight some of your accomplishments, but you can share challenges, too. 

I’m sure your organization continues to face challenges as the pandemic and economic uncertainty continue. But how you do your work is less important than why you do your work. You need to continue to provide healthy food to families while doing it safely.

Show how you plan to continue your work with your donor’s help. Remember to stay donor-centered! 

Personalization is a must

Don’t send everyone the same appeal. Try to 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. 

The more you can segment, the better, but at the very least, you must do these two things.

Send a personalized appeal to current donors. They’re your best bet for getting donations. Let them know how much you appreciate their support. If a donor stepped up with additional contributions over the last two and a half years, be sure to thank them for that. These donors are committed to helping you through difficult times.

Also, send a specific appeal tailored to monthly donors, giving them the recognition they deserve. For your year-end appeal, I would thank them for all their generous support and ask them to give an additional gift. You can ask them to upgrade at a different time.

This is not the time to send a generic, one-size-fits-all appeal letter. Go the extra mile for your donors, so they’ll continue to support you.

Your appeal letter should also have a personal salutation and not be addressed to Dear Friend or Dear Valued Donor. How much do you value this relationship if you can’t even use a person’s name?

This may sound like a lot of work, but if you give yourself enough time, it should be doable. Personalizing your letters can also help you raise more money.

Make it easy for your donors to give

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.

Some donors will prefer to donate online. Direct them to a user-friendly donation page on your website. You could create a QR code for your letter 

Offer a monthly or recurring giving option

Monthly gifts can generate more revenue, give you a steady source of income throughout the year, and improve donor retention. Encourage your donors to give $5, $10, or even $20 a month. This may be a more viable option for some of them. 

Be careful and don’t send an appeal to your current monthly donors that invites them 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.

Human attention spans are less than 10 seconds. But go figure, longer fundraising letters (four pages as opposed to two) have been shown to perform better. 

This doesn’t mean cramming a bunch of 8-point text on a page. With a longer letter, you’ll have more space to tell a story and repeat messages. You can also break up the text with a photo, testimonials, and short paragraphs

Quality and readability are key here. Make every word count. 

Think of your letter as a conversation with a friend

You can create a better appeal if you 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. Your goal should be for your reader to understand you.

Refer to your reader as you and use you a lot more than we.

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.

If you don’t have someone on your staff who can write a good fundraising appeal, then hire a freelancer or consultant to do it.

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

Make a good lasting impression, too

Repeat your ask at the end of your appeal. 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 someone for a previous donation or hoping a potential donor will support you. Hand sign the letters in blue ink.

We could be looking at another tough fundraising season. That’s why you need to spend some time writing a better appeal letter that will stand out and help bring you the donations you need. Good luck!

Keep reading for more advice on how to write a better fundraising appeal.

10 Steps to Create a Fundraising Appeal Letter That Brings in the Money

THINK YOU’RE NOT A WRITER? YOUR GUIDE TO WRITING A GREAT FUNDRAISING APPEAL

How to Write a Fundraising Letter: 10 Tips for Persuasive Appeals (+ Examples)

Image by Howard Lake