planning

Show Appreciation by Holding an Open House

Ann Green donor relations, planning , , ,

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Are you thanking your donors all year round?  One special way to show appreciation is to hold an open house at your organization. If you can’t hold one on site, have it at a restaurant or other venue.  You may be able to find someone to donate space.

Invite other supporters, too

You could just have an event for donors, but why not invite other supporters such as event attendees, email subscribers and social media followers? This could be a great way to convert these supporters into donors. Also, encourage donors to bring a friend.

Coordinate it with your year-end appeal

Depending on your resources, you may only be able to hold one open house a year.  If you can hold more, that’s great.

A good time to have your open house is before you launch your year-end appeal, so you could hold one sometime between mid-September and early November.

Another option is spring, if you have an appeal then, or you could make it a thank you event.  Winter is tricky, unless you’re fortunate to live somewhere where it doesn’t snow.  July and August are also problematic since that’s vacation time.

Whenever you decide to hold your open house, don’t ask for money at this event.

Keep it informal

No three-course dinners and speeches that drone on.  Hold a gathering where your supporters can drop in after work, and serve something to eat and drink. You may be able to get food and beverages donated or find a sponsor.

Have a brief program.  You could show a video and/or let a client share his/her story. Your executive director or board chair should thank your guests and share some accomplishments and plans for the future.  Again, keep it brief. You don’t want anyone running out the door.

Create some photo displays and have literature available. You could also show a video on a laptop. Offer tours, if that makes sense.

Let your donors and other supporters see the heart and soul of your organization.

Get your board involved

You must have a good turnout from your board. Encourage board members to invite friends and other potential prospects.

Make everyone feel welcome

Don’t stand in the corner talking to your co-workers.  Your staff and board needs to mingle with your guests and make them feel welcome.

You may need to go over your organization’s talking points and brush up on your elevator pitches, so everyone is prepared to talk about what you do and answer questions.

How to Get Everyone in your Organization on the Same Page

Don’t let them get away

Anyone who has taken time out of his/her busy schedule to attend your open house needs to be showered with love.

Collect names and addresses of people who attended and send a thank you note right away. Don’t ask for money (that comes later).

When you do send your next appeal, include a sentence that says, “It was great to see you at our open house.”

Not all your donors will attend your open house,but will appreciate the invitation. Donors and other supporters who do come are showing you they’re interested in your organization.  Keep cultivating them.  This will help ensure they’ll continue to support you.

How to Get Everyone in your Organization on the Same Page

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing, planning, writing , , , , ,

5099718716_2f066cebc7_zWhat would happen if you got your staff or board together and asked them to give a short description of what your organization does? Would you get 20 different answers?

Now take a look at some of your communication materials – fundraising letters, thank you letters, website etc. Are your messages consistent in all your materials?

Inconsistent messages are fairly common among nonprofits, but don’t worry, it’s something you can fix.

Create a message platform

Putting together a set of clear, consistent messages, also known as a message platform, is a good project for you to do this summer.

Now whenever you create a fundraising letter or content for your website, you can draw material from this set of messages.

Having a consistent set of messages is essential when you have more than one person writing for your organization and as new staff or volunteers come on board. All your materials need continuity and a single voice.

Everyone in your organization – staff, board, volunteers – is a message ambassador, and needs to be involved. Although, that doesn’t mean they should be involved in every step of the process.  Your best bet is to have a small group – marketing staff and board members with marketing experience – put together the message platform.

You may want to get some initial input from staff and board. Ask everyone a few key questions, such as:

  • Who is your target audience? You may need to cater different messages to different audiences.
  • What is important to them?

As you create your positioning statement and talking points, ask:

  • Who are you?
  • What do you do?
  • How do you do it?
  • Why is it important?
  • What makes your organization unique?
  • How are you making a difference for the people you serve and in the community?
  • What do you want to achieve?

Keep it simple

This may sound obvious, but your goal is to make sure your reader understands your messages. Your messages should be clear and specific.  Sometimes they’ll include a call to action. Write in a conversational style and steer clear of jargon. Create a Jargon-Free Zone  Most people respond better to a human interest story than a lot of statistics.

Your messages should not say something like – We make a difference for at-risk students. Instead, say Our volunteer tutors help students boost their reading and math skills so they’ll have a better chance of getting into college.

Use language your donors will understand

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

Stay consistent with a style guide

Continuing on the theme of consistency, I strongly recommend putting together a style guide. Create a Style Guide for Your Organization

Get everyone on the same page

When you’ve finished putting together your message platform, introduce it to the rest of your organization.  Check in periodically to make sure everyone stays on the same page.

Here is some more information to help to you create a message platform.

Putting nonprofit key messages to work

Getting to Aha! The Nonprofit Marketer’s Top Challenge

Photo by David Dugdale – http://www.learningvideo.com

Are You on the Road to Improvement?

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, planning , , , ,

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At the end of last year, I recommended Five Ways to Improve Your Fundraising and Communications in 2015

Now that we’re almost halfway through the year, let’s revisit this list and see how you’re doing. I’ll also share ways you can continue on this path throughout the summer and into the fall.

Tell stories

Are you telling your stories?  Summer is a good time to share a success story or update.  You can do this in your newsletter, in a postcard, by email, on social media, or a combination of these.

In addition, take time this summer to put together some stories for your year-end appeals and thank you letters.

Create a memorable thank you experience

Speaking of thank yous, did you give your donors a memorable thank you experience after your last appeal, and do you thank them regularly?

Send a special thank you message to your donors this summer. You could combine it with your success story/update (see above).

Then take a look at thank you letters from your past appeals. Are they dry as dust and open with the usual On behalf of X organization, we thank you…Or do they shine with You’re amazing or Thanks to You!  Work on sprucing up your thank you landing page and email response, too.

Keep thanking your donors throughout the year. This needs to be a priority.

Be donor-centered

Do your donor communications focus on how your donors are helping you make a difference for the people you serve, or are you bragging about how great your organization is?

Before you send your special thank you update this summer, check to make sure it’s donor-centered.  Is it focused on them and are you sharing something that will interest your donors?

Then work on making your appeal letters and thank you messages donor-centered.   Are you telling your donors how they are helping you make a difference?

Pay attention to your donor data

Has it been awhile since you’ve even looked at your donor database?  Summer is a great time to go through your database and make any additions, deletions, and corrections.  Don’t wait until a week before your next appeal is scheduled to go out.

I know this is tedious, but your donors don’t want to see their names misspelled or receive duplicate mailings.

Also, segment your donors (new donors, repeat donors, lapsed donors, event attendees etc) and start working on targeted appeal letters.

Nix the swag and premiums

We all want donors to upgrade their gifts or give at a higher level, but don’t use swag or premiums as an incentive.

Here’s a better idea from my local community foundation.  They found an anonymous donor who matched all new donations and any increases in giving from the previous year.

You also want donors to give because they care about your organization, not because they want a coffee mug.  If you can’t find a matching donor, spend some time this summer nurturing your donors (e.g. the thank you update), so they’ll be more inclined to give a larger gift.

I hope you’re on the road to improvement. I’ll continue to share more ideas throughout the summer to help you get ready for year-end.

Photo by Cristian M. Mormoloc

How You Can Print and Mail Without Breaking Your Budget

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing, planning , , ,

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In my last post I wrote about Why You Shouldn’t Give Up on Direct Mail Some nonprofit organizations try to save money by cutting back on printing and mailing, but that could be a mistake if your donors prefer to hear from you by mail.

Printing and mailing also takes more time, which is challenging, especially if you have a small staff.

What can you do?  Here are some suggestions.

Be smart

First, figure out what you should print and mail.  I recommend mailing at least four pieces a year.  Otherwise you’ll miss reaching donors who don’t or rarely use electronic channels.

In addition, be smart about what you send and who you send it to. If your fundraising letter isn’t generating the revenue you want, you might need to improve the content. You may also be sending it to a weak audience.

Clean up your lists before your next mailing,  Check for duplicate and returned addresses.  Segment your lists, too.  For example, only send your print newsletter to donors or take out lapsed donors and send them a targeted appeal.

Here’s an extreme example of a direct mail fail. Comcast Direct Mail Fail

Increase your printing and mailing budget

Can you budget more for printing and mailing?  This is often not as much of a priority as it should be.

If you can’t increase your current budget, find additional sources of unrestricted funding to cover these costs.

DIY

With a good color printer and the right software, you can produce materials in house. Be sure they look professional.

Find a sponsor

You could get a print shop to do your invitations or annual report pro bono.  It’s good publicity for them.

You often get sponsors for an event. Have a sponsor cover the cost of the invitations, as well.

Put a donation envelope in your print newsletter

You might recoup the cost of the mailing, as well as raise additional revenue.  Here’s what fundraising expert Tom Ahern recommends for your print newsletter. The Domain Formula for donor newsletters

Less is more

Your donors are busy and won’t have time to read long pieces. Shorter is better, both to capture your donor’s attention and to save on printing and mailing costs.  Stick to four pages max.

Use discounted mailing options

You may be eligible for special nonprofit rates. Special Prices for Nonprofit Mailers You could use standard or bulk mail for items that aren’t as time sensitive, such as newsletters or annual reports. Factor in how long it will take to mail, so your summer newsletter doesn’t arrive in October.  Only use first class mail for appeal letters and thank you letters.

Recruit volunteers and other staff to help with mailings

Just make sure they do quality work and don’t slap on crooked mailing labels or write illegible thank you notes.

It’s possible to print and mail without breaking your budget.  It does take some planning and prioritizing, but it should pay off if it allows you to connect with more donors.

Photo by Chris Potter at www.stockmonkeys.com

Nonprofit Spring Cleaning Part Two – Out With the Old, In With the New

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, planning , , , ,

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Spring is slowly inching its way into the Boston area.  I hope it feels more like spring where you are.

Many of you may take on spring cleaning projects in your home.  Maybe you give your house a good cleaning and throw out a bunch of stuff you don’t need.

Your nonprofit organization could probably use a good spring cleaning too.  In my last post, I wrote about tackling your donor data.  Here are a few more spring cleaning projects to take on.

Assess your progress

We’re three months into 2015. Now is a good time to look at your fundraising and marketing plans to figure out what’s working, what isn’t, and if you’re on target with your goals.  If you never created these plans, then one of your first priorities is to do that.  Don’t go through the year without having any plans in place.

It may be too early to do too much of an assessment, but if something clearly isn’t working or needs to be improved, you still have time to fix it.

Update your website

Has it been awhile since you updated your website? Even with the popularity of social media, people will go to your website for information, whether they’re first-time visitors or long-time supporters.

Your website must be up-to-date and user-friendly.  Use the checklist in this post to help you create an engaging website. Does Your Website Need a Tune Up?

Dust off your appeal letters and thank you letters

Take a good look at your appeal letters, thank you letters, and other content.  Have you been using the same templates for years?  Do your letters sound like one big, boring bragfest? Freshen them up with some donor-centered content. Can Your Organization Pass the Donor-Centered Test?

Is it time to let it go

Your organization may have held an event for years, but it takes a lot of staff time and doesn’t bring in that much money.  Just like your favorite sweater that’s looking pretty ratty now, it may be time to let go of this event and find a different way to raise money. Here’s a great take on auctions. Is your live auction hurting your fundraising?

Aim to do better

If you’re not connecting with people on Twitter, it doesn’t mean you need to give up on it.  Maybe you’re not using Twitter correctly.  Perhaps you’re bombarding people with messages that are all about you instead of trying to start conversations and build relationships.

Don’t jump into the latest craze 

It’s tempting to try something new, but don’t just jump into the latest craze. Whatever happened to Ello,anyway? You’ll need to decide what makes sense for your organization.

Again, focus on what you can do better.  Your brand new shiny object can be creating donor-centered content and building relationships.

Take time this spring to make the updates and changes you need. What types of spring cleaning projects do you plan to work on?

Read on for more about spring cleaning for your nonprofit.

Time for Spring Cleanup!

Spring cleaning!! 3 questions to clean up your fundraising office

Photo by Karin Bell

Nonprofit Spring Cleaning Part One – Tackling Your Donor Data

Ann Green database, fundraising, planning , ,

8016192302_0e9c4b7170_zSpring is finally here, and after the winter we’ve had in Boston, it’s about time.  Spring is a time for new beginnings. It’s a time to clean up, throw stuff out, and make room for improvements.

Many of you may take on spring cleaning projects in your home. Here are a few spring cleaning projects you can do that will benefit your nonprofit organization.

Clean up your mailing lists
Did you have an influx of address changes, returned mail, and bounced emails after you sent your year-end appeal? Now is a good time to clean up and update both your direct mail and email mailing lists.

Update and improve your donor database
Your donor database is an important tool and it needs to be up-to-date and filled with accurate information about your donors.

Your database isn’t just a place to keep addresses and gift amounts.  Use it to its full potential.  Segment your donors, and record any personal information such as conversations you had with a donor and their areas of interest. 6 Quick Tips to Clean Up Your Donor Database and Keep It Humming

Don’t cut corners when it comes to data entry and managing your data. 8 Tips to Strengthen Your Database to Help Build a Strong Donor Base 

Invest in a good database, if you don’t already have one.  Here’s more information to help you find a database that’s right for you. Finding the Right Donor Database for Your Nonprofit 

Get in touch with your lapsed donors

As you go through your database, you may notice some donors who didn’t donate in 2014. Reach out to them.  Maybe they were too busy to donate at the end of the year.

Send these donors a personalized letter or email. Let them know you miss them and want them back.  Go back at least a couple of years, although at some point you may want to purge certain donors from your database. The elusive lapsed donor: devise a plan to get them back

Be ready for your next mailing

Don’t wait until right before your next mailing to clean up your donor data. Even though it’s tedious, have someone who’s familiar with your donors (your development director?) go through your mailing lists and database to see if you need to make any additions, changes, and deletions.

Be meticulous. No donor wants to see her name misspelled, be addressed as Mrs. when she prefers Ms., or receive three mailings because you have duplicate records.

Getting your mailing list and database in order is crucial if you’re planning a spring appeal or event.

Make spring relationship building season

Even if you aren’t planning a spring fundraising drive, this is a good time to continue to build relationships.  Plan to mail a thank you post card or short update.  Mail is generally better than email, because your donors are more likely to see your message, but if your budget doesn’t allow it, send something by email.  Either way you want all your donor info in tip-top shape.

Take advantage of your time between campaigns and tackle your donor data.

Photo by Justin Grimes