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Fundraising Tuesday: The Tale of the Rigged Raffle

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storytelling boardThe organization had a lot of money to raise: for an elevator, a new roof, and to pay salaries.

The Board President wanted the Board members to practice telling their stories to potential donors. But all she was hearing were generalities and grand narratives.

So I told the Board a story.

The Tale of the Rigged Raffle

When my wife and I first set foot in our synagogue in 1990, shortly after we moved to Somerville, MA, it was because two friends separately invited us. Rona and I are very different kinds of Jews. I tutor kids for bar and bat mitzvah. She goes to shul when there’s a wedding, a bar or bat mitzvah, or a holiday. Not just any place would suit both of us.

We went to a Sunday brunch first, to see if we’d like the people.

They sat us down across from two of the older members, Morrie and Ada. Morrie was the type who, five minutes after he met you, he’d know where you grew up, where you lived now, what you did, and what committee you should be on. In the same amount of time, Ada would know all about your family, and make you feel like part of hers.

During the brunch, we were invited to buy tickets for a raffle, and being the warmly welcomed guests, we thought we’d pitch in for a ticket or two.

The people who managed the raffle made sure that we won. Our prize? A bottle of Manischewitz sweet red wine, as big as my head!Manischewitz bottle

Rona and I looked at each other, bemused. What were we going to do with our new-found treasure?

Then Morrie leaned across the table and said in his hoarse Yiddish-accented voice, “The custom is to donate it back to the Temple for kiddush (the blessing over wine after services).”

“We will be happy to donate the bottle back to the Temple!” we said.

Shortly after that, Rona and I became members. We’ve been there over twenty-five years. And the Board was the current governing body of that same synagogue.

Now That’s a Story!

What made my anecdote memorable?

People–Rona and me–with a problem: would we ever find a synagogue that fit us?

They meet new characters (and I do mean characters): Morrie and Ada.

They encounter a new problem: how to make ourselves at home with a place that thinks a giant-sized bottle of Manischewitz is a prize.

They receive advice and help (donate it back) and reach their destination (a place where we could belong).

Are You Telling Winning Stories?

Storytelling connects your organization with the supporters you want–especially if you make the donor the hero of the story. But don’t leave the success of your storytelling to chance.

Rig your stories with people, problems, helpful characters, challenges, and solutions. That way, you know who will win: both you and your donor.

And if you want more great advice about telling a memorable story: The Storytelling Non-Profit Virtual Conference begins tomorrow, February 10, 2016!

Nonprofits, Make Your Donors Love You

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You’ve heard the saying, “It’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Year’s–it’s what you eat between New Year’s and Christmas”?  Similarly, it’s not what you write to your donors in your end-of-year appeal letter that determines how they feel about your organization. It’s what you write all year long.

Communication in marriageCommunications are the key to a good marriage. Your nonprofit’s communications are the key to a good relationship between your donors and you.

By next Valentine’s Day, make your donors love you. Here are the four steps to win their hearts.

This winter, work on your email.

When donors or prospects give you their email address, it’s like they met you on a blind date and decided to give you their phone number. What they’re saying is, “I want to hear from you.” It’s a huge gesture of trust.

Be worthy of their trust.

  • Find out the kind of content they want to see, and send it to them as often (and no more often) than they want to see it.
  • Write subject lines that signal, “I wrote this especially for you and I know you’ll want to read it.”
  • Personalize every email. “Dear friend” is not acceptable in 2015. It tells your donors they’re not worth your time.
  • Keep your list up to date. There are good email tools out there: MailChimp and Constant Contact are two that many nonprofits use. Buy one and learn how to use it. You–and your donors–will be glad you did.

This spring, take a good look at your website.

Your website is your online living room. If you’re going to invite donors there, you want them to stay a while.

  • Make the lighting comfortable. Is the font size large enough for middle-aged eyes? Does it read as well on Chrome or Firefox as on Internet Explorer or Safari? Can donors read it on their mobile devices? Can they read it with their screen readers (if they have limited eyesight)?
  • Make the room easy to get around. Place navigation bars on the homepage and on every page. Clearly label your pages and tabs, and don’t get too cute: “About Us” or “Who We Are” are better than “The 411.”
  • Put out the treats.  Your donors need to find what they’re looking for quickly or they’ll leave your site. Be sure everything is within three clicks from the home page: for instance, 1) home page, 2) contact us, 3) email. If you’re inviting people to sign up for an event, consider using a landing page with its own URL.

This summer, spice up your blogging life.

Did you ever meet someone and think to yourself, “I love talking with him. I could spend all night just listening to him?”

Writing a blog gives your donors a chance to say that about you.

Blogging is better for those long explorations than email. It’s more of a conversation than the rest of your website. Blogging is for lovers.

This fall, finally get social.

What would the love of your life think if when you were together, you only talked and never listened? Or if you only listened when he or she was talking about you?

Not very romantic, right?

But too many nonprofits think the reason to use social media is to have one more place to rattle on about themselves.

Social media are really more like social gatherings: parties, conferences, Chamber of Commerce meetings, public forums. You go those events to meet people and become an important part of the community. You go on social media to do the same.

Over time, if you pay attention to them, people come to know, like, and trust your organization. They actually seek you out for information and advice and opportunities to volunteer. They start thinking of you as “their” organization. They fall in love.

How do you use social media to make donors love you? I’ve been studying this subject for years, and I’m happy to share it with you.

social mediaThe No-Nonsense Nonprofit Guide to Social Media: How You Can Start Small, Win Loyal Friends, and Raise Funds Online and Off is your step-by-step guide to courting your donors.

Download it now, and by next fall, you can be happily engaged.

By next winter, you can be busy writing thank-you notes.

By next Valentine’s Day, your donors can be yours for life.

The No-Nonsense Nonprofit Guide to Social Media: How You Can Start Small, Win Loyal Friends, and Raise Funds Online and Off

Fundraising Tuesday: You’re My Hero

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Every Tuesday this season, I’m offering a tip on how to write better fundraising appeals. The first post, about greetings, was Call Me By Name. The second was about postscripts: Last Things First.

 

Let’s try an experiment. You’ll need your latest fundraising letter, a blue pen, and a yellow highlighter. Put them all on your desk. Ready?

highlighter

Highlight your donor, not your organization

Pick up the pen and circle every mention of your organization. It could be the agency’s name. It could be the word “we,” used to refer to your organization. How many blue circles do you see? A lot, I’ll bet.

Now, pick up the highlighter and underline every mention of your donor. Yes, you can count the salutation if you called them by name. You can also highlight the word “you”–if that means the donor who’s reading the letter.

Is there more yellow on the page than blue? If not, you’re losing donors with every letter you send.

To Renew Their Support, Focus on Donors

A lot of us in the nonprofit world are under a misconception. We think that the reason donors give to us is because we do good work.

No, that’s the reason we’re proud of our organizations. It’s not the reason people give!

If doing good work were enough, you wouldn’t have to worry about getting donors to renew. They’d get to know, like, and trust your organization, and then they’d keep on giving into the indefinite future. But about 70% of the people who gave to you in 2014 didn’t renew their gift in 2015.

Don’t focus on what you do. Focus on how the donor feels.

Make the Donor the Hero of the Story

Seth Godin writes:

Why on earth would a rational person give money to charity–particularly a charity that supports strangers? What do they get?

A story.

It might be the story of doing the right thing, or fitting in, or pleasing a friend or honoring a memory, but the story has value. It might be the story that you, and you alone are able to make this difference, or perhaps it’s the story of using leverage to change the world. For many, it’s the story of what it means to be part of a community.

For your donor to renew, she or he has to feel like the hero of the story. You are the one who is going to make donors feel like heroes. And the fundraising appeal letter is just one of the many times during the year you have an opportunity to do that–but it’s a crucial time.

Spiderman emblemUse your fundraising powers for good.

Write fundraising appeals that tell the donor, “Because of you, this happened. You are my hero. And you are needed, now.”

 

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