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TY Thursday: One Good Gift

June 30, 2016 by Dennis Fischman 1 Comment

giving-gift-love-1902073Can you write a thank-you letter so personal and so memorable that the donor will want to keep it forever? Yes, it’s possible. But some of us are better shoppers than we are writers.

Why not give a gift bag, too?

I agree: you can’t buy gifts for every single donor. It would take too much time and cost too much money.

Imagine, though, the amazement that would spread across your selected donor’s face when you presented gifts chosen especially for him or her!

The Most Personal Thanks You Can Give

It’s not how expensive a gift you choose that shows your donor how much you appreciate her. It’s the way the gift uniquely fits them.

My wife Rona and I have been going to the same doctor for twenty-five years, and every time we go, we chuckle at the classic posters on the walls. They say things like “Dr. Tanner’s Tonic Tames the Nerves,” or “Drink Coca-Cola to Calm Your Stomach.”

We appreciate the humor–from a doctor who keeps up with the latest medicine! So, when Rona and I were on vacation and saw a $9 book full of that old-style advertising, we had to buy it for Dr. Bershel. We wrapped it up with a bow, stopped by her office, and left it for her.

The doctor left us voicemail AND sent us a card to tell us how excited she was by the gift. “I’m going to blow up some of the pages in that book and make them into new posters!”

It didn’t cost very much, but to her, it was priceless.

How to Give Thanks in a Gift Bag

If you want to make a donor happy the way we made our doctor happy, you’ll need two things.

First: know your donor.

Find out what he or she really likes. Ask your staff and Board members, “Who knows this person?” And do your research online. Finding out their favorites may be as simple as visiting their Facebook page.

If they have a taste for something unusual, even better! Giving a “cat person” a gift for their cat is easy: there’s cat merchandise everywhere. Giving a ferret fancier a gift card for The Book Ferret…now, that shows that you have really noticed who they are (besides a checkbook).

Second: know where to find what they like.

If you are the letter writer and not the shopper in your office, delegate this task. Perhaps your agency does a Secret Santa or a Yankee Swap. Who is it that always looks forward to it and always comes up with the best presents?

Ask that person if you can send them on a very important mission–and give them the budget to do it. Let them do it on their own schedule, because the donor is not expecting it so there is no deadline.

For the person who enjoys shopping, the chance to put together a thank-you basket for your donor won’t be a burden. It will be a gift!

 

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Fundraising Tuesday: Telling Stories that Move Donors to Give

June 28, 2016 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

once upon a timeIt was the midst of the Great Recession, and about one in ten people across the U.S. were out of work. Amadou was one of them.

Unemployment benefits helped his family, for a while. But he had worked for a low wage, and his benefits were only a fraction of that—and then they ran out.

The only thing keeping Amadou, his family, and lot of families in Somerville, Massachusetts from starving was the SNAP program—what we all call “food stamps.”

I knew Amadou. And I knew the anti-poverty agency where I worked was signing people up for food stamps…and saving lives. But how could I show that to our donors?

The answer was storytelling.

Storytelling is the most powerful way to engage the emotions of your donors. As Network for Good tells us,

Donors tend to give twice as much when presented with a story about an affected individual, as opposed to reading huge abstract numbers of the overall scope of a problem.

Find out what kind of stories YOU can tell that will touch your donors’ imaginations and move their hearts. Read Telling Stories that Move Donors to Give, my guest post on FundraisingCoach.com.

Then, sign up for a Nonprofit Academy webinar that I’m presenting: Where’s the Story? Discovering Stories that Drive Donations. Because a story is more than just one darn thing after another. It’s a gift you can give your donors–and they will give back.

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TY Thursday: Thanks for the Memories

June 23, 2016 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Can nonprofits learn something about thank-yous from Facebook memories?

Facebook memories

You’ve probably seen them on your own Facebook feed. Memories from a year ago, or two, or five, pop up at random intervals. In truth, some of the memories are pretty random, too. (Do I really need to see that on this date in 2010, my email was down?)

But every once in a while, Facebook really gets it right. My niece Fay celebrated her bat mitzvah eight years ago this week. Now she is a college graduate, getting ready to move to California for her first job. Seeing that memory put a smile on my face.

And it also made me wonder: can nonprofits say “thank you” to donors by sharing good memories?

Memories Make Relationships

Marriages are built of memories. So is the relationship between the donor and your  nonprofit. When that donor thinks back to a time they are happy about, or proud of–and you were a part of it–it’s bound to make the donor associate that pride and joy with you.

What could you do to remind them of that time? Here are a few ideas:

  • Find a photo of that donor volunteering for your organization. Email it to them, or post it on social media and tag them. “Janine, do you remember when you and Joe packed school supplies into back packs for a hundred kids from low-income families who were just starting school? We remember! Thank you!”
  • Find a photo of that donor having a great time at your organization’s event. Email it to them, or post it on social media and tag them. “Randy, remember when you won the safari at our auction? We do! Look at the expression on your face!”
  • Recognize long-time donors by reminding them what they accomplished. “In 2006, you helped prepare Cheri and dozens of other parents like her to give their newborns a healthy home. In 2010, you helped her make reading to her son James a part of the daily routine. With this current gift, you have helped James get free lunches all summer. What a lot you have accomplished with your donations! Thank you!”

I’m sure there are other ways to share good memories with your supporters. Have you tried anything I have mentioned here, or some other approach? How did it work out for your nonprofit?

 

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