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Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Fundraising Tuesday: Don’t Sleep on Your Donors in December

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Following up on your fundraising appeal letter is the most important thing you can do to raise money this year.

I know you put a lot of work into writing an excellent letter to donors—even the ideal appeal letter. It was even more work to lay it out, produce it, and get it into the mail. (Especially in 2020, when we are doing everything remotely and the post office has been buried in ballots.)

It would be so tempting right about now to take a nap. Just hit the Snooze button and wake up on December 31. But there’s a reason for the saying, “If you snooze, you lose.”

December 2020 is a wake-up call

alarm clock DecemberThere are so many other worthy causes competing for those donations in the middle of the pandemic. Donors have already dug deep in 2020 to help people in their communities meet their basic needs.

By the end of the year, they may have spent their whole budget for charitable gifts on other organizations—unless you follow up with them now.

So, wake up! And read Three Powerful Ways to Follow up Your Fundraising Letter in 2020. It’s my guest post on Robin Cabral’s blog…and it may save your end-of-year appeal.

Donor Communications Training: Speaking with One Voice

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Guest post by Matt Hugg

choir in one voice

You know a great chorus when you hear it. Just think of the background chorus of your favorite musical group, or the power of a well-practiced holiday chorale.

You even know a great chorus when you see it – live, on television, or YouTube – even when the sound is turned off.

A great chorus sounds like one voice. A great chorus looks like a single organism, swaying with the music. If you look closely, even their mouths look synchronized!

You know so much about what a great chorus looks like that when you hear a bad one, it stands out! Uncoordinated. Off-key. Ill-timed. What if the chorus and the lead singer were singing different songs? Disaster!

What if you rated your nonprofit communications like a chorus?

Would the chorus be fully in sync with the lead, providing the perfect backup and coordination of movement?

Or would the lead and the chorus be uncoordinated, enough for the audience to notice, where they would say “nice, but not really professional”?

Or would it be a communications collision, with each member of the chorus singing a different tune, and the lead trying to shout over the cacophony in a hopeless effort to be heard?

Why should you care? Here are two important reasons that nonprofits can’t afford to forget to sing with a single voice: Money and Mission.

Communication Leads to Money

Businesses know this intuitively: Communicating well with customers in advertising, whether it’s in print, social media, email, radio, television, or wherever they deliver their “buy now” message, leads to money.

In nonprofits, it’s not so straightforward.

In business, the consumer of the goods or services is usually the same one who provides the money to buy the goods or services. For nonprofits, this one “customer” becomes two.

In a typical nonprofit, the people served are different than those who pay. In most nonprofits, a “mission recipient,” whether you call that person a client, student, patient, or constituent, will not pay the full price of goods or services received.

Instead, the cost of your mission delivery is supplemented in whole or part by the second “customer” in the equation. The second entity is the one with the money, whether that’s a donor, a government source, an insurance company, or a grant-giving foundation.

If your message isn’t clear and straightforward, speaking to the needs of your funders, you won’t get the money you need to serve your mission.

This isn’t just your fundraiser’s job.

Whether they’re people, foundations, businesses, or government entities, they have connections into your organization. A foundation director might hear from their neighbor about how well their gift was received. However, perhaps a business owner never got a thank you note for donated products solicited by one of your program directors. These scenarios can play a huge role in the success of your fundraising efforts.

Well-coordinated communication puts your best foot forward, regardless of whether you’re there or not.

Communication Leads to Clients

As a nonprofit, you exist to solve a problem in your community, region, or world. If nobody thinks you can solve the problem, you fail, regardless of your balance sheet.

It starts with trust. People show up to use the services of organizations they trust. The key to trust is consistency – in actions and in words. It’s simple: does your program staff do what your communications say they do?

If you promise childcare from 7 AM to 7 PM, but the staff never gets to the work until 7:30, it doesn’t matter what your social media advertising says: you broke their trust.

If the executive director promises a pregnant mother that your newborn infant program will be ready by the time she delivers, and it doesn’t materialize for another year, you broke her trust.

All this brings us back to money and mission.

Money leads to mission. Without funding, you can’t have a mission. The mission leads to money. Without delivering a mission that people want, you’ll never get funded.

Donor Communications Training

Where does nonprofit training come in? Here are five suggestions:

  1. Start with addressing a common fear. In How to Blow Your Credibility as a Presenter, Guila Muir gives great advice on how to start a presentation and build confidence – so the audience can focus on the important message.
  2. Don’t forget about the design. From ideation to sketching and final product, Symone Fogg will guide you through her process of how ideas are brought to life in Strategy of Design.
  3. Your website counts, a lot. Check out 5 Facts: What Constituents Want from Nonprofit Websites.
  4. Humans learn from stories. Make sure you see 3 Ways to Get Better Results from Your Stories.
  5. And how about some humor? See these great nonprofit humor videos as examples of consistent, and inconsistent, communications.

You Can Learn to Sing with One Voice

Getting your nonprofit to sing with a single voice isn’t optional if you want to be a well-funded nonprofit with a popular mission.

It’s also not easy. Just like a chorus, you need regular practice and training on voicing your message and coordinating everyone’s moves. But there’s good news. It’s totally possible for you to do this, especially with the number of available resources made to help organizations just like yours.

 

Matt Hugg is an author and instructor in nonprofit management in the US and abroad. He is president and founder of Nonprofit.Courses (https://nonprofit.courses), an on-demand, eLearning educational resource for nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers, with hundreds of courses in nearly every aspect of nonprofit work. He’s the author of The Guide to Nonprofit Consulting, and Philanders Family Values, Fun Scenarios for Practical Fundraising Education for Boards, Staff and Volunteers, and a contributing author to The Healthcare Nonprofit: Keys to Effective Management.Matt Hugg is an author and instructor in nonprofit management in the US and abroad. He is president and founder of Nonprofit.Courses (https://nonprofit.courses), an on-demand, eLearning educational resource for nonprofit leaders, staff, board members and volunteers, with hundreds of courses in nearly every aspect of nonprofit work.

He’s the author of The Guide to Nonprofit Consulting, and Philanders Family Values, Fun Scenarios for Practical Fundraising Education for Boards, Staff and Volunteers, and a contributing author to The Healthcare Nonprofit: Keys to Effective Management.

Communications During Nonprofit Leadership Transitions

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A guest post by Robin Cabral of Development Consulting Solutions

leadership transition

I’m certain that many of you reading this have experienced a change in leadership at your nonprofit organization at one time or another. Someone reached the age of retirement, or resigned to care for a love one, or accepted a new assignment elsewhere.

Whatever the reason, a new individual took on the leadership role. When this happens, it is important for the organization to be proactive about communicating this change in leadership to its key stakeholders, including donors and funders. Below are the steps that I recommend to ensure a smooth transition:

Step 1:  Ensure that communication of both the resignation and the new appointment is made promptly to all necessary parties and through all relevant channels.

Given the current age of social media and information being shared in real-time, it is crucial that an immediate, proactive response be implemented. This communication should occur after a Board meeting approving the resignation and endorsing the replacement.

The form of communication would depend on the audience and also the forum. In some cases an email would suffice, while in other cases a personal phone call or visit would be necessary. And, in still others, the format is dependent upon how the notice is being relayed. A verbal announcement or a printed, distributed copy of a notice, such as a newsletter, might be the method. Other phases of communication will also need to follow later, but it is crucial to inform relevant members of the news in a timely manner before they hear it elsewhere.

So, who are the necessary parties for this initial phase of communication and the appropriate forums?

  1. Staff: Notify all staff via email or in-person meeting.
  2. Administrators: In-person, one-by-one, if possible.  Personal phone call, only if in-person visit is not doable, such as due to geographic constraints.
  3. Other Directors:
  4. Database List (if this exists): Notify all constituents in the database via email distribution. Segment out donors at different tiers for more personal communication, based on best business practices, as follows:
    • Major Donors and VIPs: In-person visit or phone call, with follow-up email.
    • Mid-level Donors/Other Important Constituents: Personal mailed letter signed by resigning leader to be sent to donors and other special contacts.
    • All Other Donors and Constituents: Email “blast”.
  5. Social Media: All social media posts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) should be made directly after important individuals are notified. Internal personnel and major donors should have received the update, call, or visit before a message is posted. But, it is important to address social media quickly afterwards as word will spread swiftly.
  6. Web Posting
  7. Newsletter
  8. Press Release
  9. Volunteers: A tiered strategy should be approached, depending on the level of volunteer engagement.
    • Primary Volunteers: Personal phone call or in-person visit.
    • General Volunteer Level: Posted notice on premises and mailed letter.
  10. Event Commitments: For events already booked, reach out personally via the appropriately deemed means of communication to confirm who will attend the event (I.e., the resigning or the new leader.) It is best to be proactive about these potential calendar changes as questions will arise once the announcement has been made.

Step 2:  Craft and approve the appropriate messaging for the above communications.

Determine the most appropriate individual for the communication to come from. The person transitioning out may make the most sense for donors, but this can also depend on timing. The Board Chair can also send out communications, if appropriate.  Although, sometimes that might not work if it has not been an amicable split.  An interim Executive Director or someone else in a role crucial to the transition might also make sense.

Some considerations to include for the creation of the messaging and the process include:

  • Develop talking points to provide to staff for communications with visitors and callers to ensure message consistency.
  • Provide staff with distributed communications, such as the press release, and advise them to also refer constituents to the website, newsletter, or other relevant materials with information about the announcement.
  • Create a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document for all staff to use for reference.
  • Create a “Who to Call” list as a staff tool to determine where to connect certain calls. For example, media calls might be directed to an interim director whereas donor calls may be to a development person.
  • Major Donors and VIPs: It is very important that these individuals receive the news personally and not through the press or rumors. As noted above, a direct phone call should occur, with a follow-up email. But, for those situations where an individual cannot be reached by telephone, a voicemail should be recorded letting them know there is an announcement and that an email will follow.
  • Social Media and Web Posting:  Social media and web postings should include comments about the new appointment, including pictures and a press release.

Step 3:  While the initial communications are being designed and sent out, a timeline calendar should be established for the remaining transition process.

The following rough outline is recommended:

  • Phase I Communications: Immediately in process, within same month of decision, with some being more urgent than others. For example, staff, administrators, major donors, and social media must be acted upon immediately. (What we’ve been talking about so far!)
  • Phase II Communications: Minimum of 30 days following initial announcement.
  • Phase III Communications: Day 1 of new appointment, and throughout following few months.

Step 4:  Phase II Communications.

The initial round of communications announced the change in leadership. Next, before the change in position occurs, a more formal acknowledgment should be made thanking the resigning leader for their service. Again, as noted above, consider who is best suited to communicate (e.g., Board Chair, Interim Executive Director, etc.).

The messaging should contain the following:

  • Include the details of the Board meeting date and the decision agreeing with the change in leadership.
  • Note when the leader will resign and confirm Board approval.
  • Thank the resigning leader for their service.
  • Outline the accomplishments of the leader during their tenure. List specific achievements during the term of administration.
  • Include a quote by the outgoing leader to the constituents.
  • Farewell events will also need to be in the planning stages by this phase and communicated to relevant attendees.

Step 5:  The last round of communication (Phase III) should welcome the successor.

The announcement should reiterate the change in leadership, yet again, as well as thank the former leader. The messaging should then focus on the new leader.

  1. Outline the credentials of the incoming leader and include a bio, photo, and social media links.
  2. Highlight relevant experience of the successor.
  3. Include a quote from another leader in the diocese or administration about the outgoing leader and/or the arriving leader.
  4. Lay out the transition plan to demonstrate how the outgoing and incoming leaders will coordinate to ensure a smooth transition. Include the timing and dates of when the succession of events and leadership change will occur.
  5. Use the opportunity to reiterate the mission and vision.
  6. Include contact information for questions, such as telephone number, website, and/or email address.

Don’t miss the opportunity to get ahead of the news. A change in leadership can cause unrest amongst the organization and its constituents. Being proactive about the process can eliminate unnecessary issues stemming from the shift, and result in an easier, more efficient changeover.

Robin Cabral

Robin Cabral is the one and only outsourced development professional with over twenty-five years’ experience providing value-added consulting services with razor-sharp monthly result objectives and benchmarked deliverables. 

She works with mid-sized nonprofits that want to position themselves to build capacity and generate MORE fundraising prospects, BETTER donor relationships, and BIGGER fundraising dollars. She specializes in providing outsourced, interim development services and assisting smaller organizations in their first campaigns; annual, capital, and endowment.  

Find out more at www.developmentconsultingsolutions.com.  

Find out more at www.developmentconsultingsolutions.com.

Follow her on LinkedIn, Like her on Facebook, and on Twitter: @RobinCabralCFRE

 

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