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Fundraising Tuesday: How to Keep Donors Coming Back after the First Gift

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Here’s the simple secret that every nonprofit organization should know about donors:

They are not your donors. You are one of their charities. Share on X

And maybe, not for long.

Seven out of ten donors who gave to an organization for the first time in 2019 did not renew in 2020–even though giving was up dramatically overall!

Donors who have given to you one time will not give to you again–unless you connect with them, appreciate them as people, reply to their communications, and encourage them to take the next step that expresses their values.

John Haydon

John Haydon

Connect, Appreciate, Reply, Encourage. In other words, CARE.

And the late, great John Haydon can show you exactly how. His book Donor Care: How to Keep Donors Coming Back after the First Gift is your essential guide to donor love.

 

Why You Should Read This Book

Are you a complete beginner at nonprofit fundraising? Then here’s what you’ll get out of this book: you’ll understand why caring for donors feels good, makes the world better, and raises more money–all at the same time!

If you’re on staff at a nonprofit, and you need to convince your Executive Director and your Board that showing the love to your existing donors is the place to spend your time and budget, you will love the stories and data that John gives you to make your case.

If you’re convinced but don’t know where to start, this book gives you a roadmap. If you’ve started but need to get organized, the CARE framework will help you make sure you’re doing all the most important things.

And if you’re an experienced fundraiser like me, you will find wonderful new ideas and even more valuable reminders of the how-tos of Donor Care in every chapter. You might even want to take the next year and systematically go through the book, using it as a springboard for improvement and a checklist to make sure you don’t miss a trick.

I am biased, because John Haydon was a friend of mine. and I love hearing his voice again on every page of this book. But I know that you will too! Donor Care is like sitting down and having a good conversation with someone who tells stories and jokes, shares his wisdom, and helps you find your own. Read this book now.

Fundraising Tuesday: What’s Your Campaign Story?

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As Inauguration Day approaches, I think about the last two presidential elections. They had very different results–possibly because of the stories the campaigns told.

what happened coverAfter the disaster in 2016, both presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and seasoned campaign manager and Democratic National Committee operative Donna Brazile put books out trying to explain what happened. Too late!

 

campaign biographyLooking back at elections can teach us something, but there’s an equally if not more interesting kind of book to read: the kind that’s published before the election.

What can your nonprofit learn from the campaign biography? Share on X

Campaign stories that worked

Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope was a brilliant example. It told the story of who he was and made that the story of what we, the voters, wanted to see. It won him donations, volunteers, votes. It helped make him President.

Joe Biden’s Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose focused on his family, and especially, the tragedies that they suffered. It turned the former Vice President from an Obama era afterthought to a candidate people could identify with. It helped make him President.

Kamala Harris book cover

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey introduced Senator Kamala Harris to an audience outside California. It has not made her President–yet–but it helped many more people get to know, like, and trust her, and what she stands for. It probably helped make her Vice President.

There’s an election campaign going on, and your nonprofit organization is one of the candidates.

You’re competing for volunteer time.  You’re competing for donor money.

Everyone in your community can choose from a slate of good causes and “cast their vote”–for you, for a similar organization, or for a completely different cause that also appeals to them.

You need name recognition to win.  No one will vote for you if they don’t know who you are.  But how do you make sure people hear about you, and remember your name?

Tell stories.

Tell stories that dramatize the problem you’re trying to solve.

Tell stories that give people hope that there are solutions.

Give them a chance to be the hero of the story by giving you their time or money.

When they choose between you and other organizations, make sure they know your name.  Then you’ll have a chance to get their vote.

Happy Inauguration Day 2021.

What’s Your Campaign Story, Nonprofit?

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As tomorrow’s election approaches, the news is full of last year’s election. Particularly, both presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and seasoned campaign manager and Democratic National Committee operative Donna Brazile have books out trying to explain what happened.

campaign biographyLooking back at elections can teach us something, but there’s an equally interesting kind of book to read: the kind that’s published before the election. We’re talking about the campaign biography.

Barack Obama’s The Audacity of Hope was a brilliant example. It told the story of who he was and made that the story of what we, the voters, wanted to see. It won him donations, volunteers, votes. It helped make him President.

Nonprofits can learn a lot from the campaign biography.

There’s an election going on, and your nonprofit organization is one of the candidates.

You’re competing for volunteer time.  You’re competing for donor money.  Everyone in your community can choose from a slate of good causes and “cast their vote”–for you, for a similar organization, or for a completely different cause that also appeals to them.

You need name recognition to win.  No one will vote for you if they don’t know who you are.  But how do you make sure people hear about you, and remember your name?

Tell stories.

Tell stories that dramatize the problem you’re trying to solve.  Tell stories that give people hope that there are solutions.  Give them a chance to be the hero of the story by giving you their time or money.

When they choose between you and other organizations, make sure they know your name.  Then you’ll have a chance to get their vote.

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