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Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Fundraising Tuesday: Say Hello to More Donations

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you had me at helloAt the end of the movie Jerry Maguire, Jerry tries to tell Dorothy that he loves her. He’s ready for a long-winded speech, but Dorothy shuts him up. “You had me at hello,” she confesses.

It’s a pretty sure bet Dorothy wouldn’t have said that if Jerry called her “Dear friend”!

There’s a lesson here for your nonprofit.

The Salutation in Your Appeal Letter

This past November and December, the Fischman household received 102 appeal letters from 72 different organizations. I’m happy to say that almost half of them personalized their letters. They said “Dear Dennis,” or “Dear Dennis and Rona.”

Another 11 were slightly more formal, with a salutation of “Dear Mr. Fischman. A handful went for accuracy and gender neutrality, greeting me as “Dear Dennis Fischman” and us as “Dear  Dennis and Rona Fischman.”

I prefer the informal version, and I’ll bet most people under the age of 70 do. But the important thing is that, formal, or informal, these organizations called donors by their names.

When you don’t use a personal name in your appeal letter, it starts your donor thinking. “I gave them money, and they don’t even know who I am? How important can my donation be?” And that’s a deadly train of thought for your nonprofit–especially when you are trying to renew donors.

Which is Worse, “Dear Friend” or Nothing?

Of the appeals that came to our mailbox, eleven of them didn’t use any salutation at all. That sounds surprising until you consider that some of them were not letters. They were impact statements or faux telegrams, with a reply vehicle enclosed.

I can understand that a greeting wouldn’t fit with those formats. I still don’t like it. Even if that particular mailing raised money, what does it do to create the loyal donors your nonprofit can rely on from year to year? Nothing–and that’s a missed opportunity.

But I still liked it better than the letters that began “Dear friend” (or “supporter,” or “member”). A letter is supposed to be personal, and these letters were not.

The One Thing Your Small Nonprofit Can Do that Will Raise More Money

Maybe the Southern Law Policy Center can get away with “Dear Friend.” They have a huge mailing list and an established brand.

Maybe the Arthritis Foundation can do it. They have a built-in constituency of people with arthritis pain.

But if your small nonprofit goes with “Dear Friend,” you are giving away your biggest advantage in fundraising: your ability to add a personal touch. Make the size of your list work for you.

Call your donors by name and you can have them at hello.

Fundraising Tuesday: Will the Donor Open Your Envelope?

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Did your nonprofit raise the money you hoped to raise at the end of the year? If so, congratulations. But if not, maybe it’s because the donor never read your letter.

They might never have gotten past your envelope.

What Other Nonprofits Do with Envelopes

appeal lettersIn November and December, I received over 100 appeal letters from 72 different organizations. That’s a lot of mail! And nobody has the time to read all the appeals they receive.

Donors figure out whether or not to toss your appeal in the recycling bin in seconds. They do it by looking at the envelope.

Most of the appeal letters I received did something on the front of the envelope to persuade me to look inside.

  • 77 of 102 showed me the name of the organization that was mailing to me, with its return address. That established some credibility.  (At the minimum, it made me less likely to worry that I’d open the envelope and find anthrax inside.)
  • 61 of 102 also showed me the organization’s logo. That makes sense, too. A logo is designed to be instantly recognizable, and if I stop and say, “Oh, I know that,” I may get curious about what’s inside.
  • 58 of 102 printed a teaser on the front of the envelope. It could have been a message from the organization, or a quote from a person whose life had improved because of the nonprofit.

For instance:

When Brittany went looking for like-minded veterans, she found About Face.

We need you. This is a time for action–not for standing on the sidelines. (from J Street)

Even the envelopes that say only “Immediate Attention Requested” make me think a moment longer…and that means I’m more likely to rip them open and see what’s inside. As you want me to do!

6 Ways Your Envelope Could Stand Out

You could mimic the other nonprofits to give yourself an equal shot at  your donor’s attention. But here are six ideas to make your envelope pop out from that tall stack of envelopes I showed you.

  1. GBFB envelope with graphicPrint a graphic on the envelope. If you can go full-color like the Greater Boston Food Bank did, so much the better. But even a line drawing will catch my eye.
  2. Put a stamp on it. Yes, an honest-to-goodness, first-class stamp, like you’ d see on a holiday card from your favorite aunt.
  3. Use an unusual size envelope. Did somebody say “card”?
  4. Use an unusual color envelope. In that pile of appeal letters I showed you up above, see the green one sticking out? Don’t you want to know what this?
  5. Have a real person’s name on the return address. It could be your Executive Director, or it could be Toni Morrison. Either way, it makes your donor hesitate to throw the envelope away.
  6. Handwrite the donor’s name and address. Here’s where being a small nonprofit could help. You’re not going to hand-address 10,000 envelopes, but if you have 150 donors–or you can pick out 150 from your list that you especially want to reach–handwriting in real ink will make it personal, not personalized.

Beyond the Envelope

Every Tuesday in January and February, we’re  going to look back at those 102 appeal letters I received–and look forward to what you can do better this year. Stay tuned to Fundraising Tuesdays on Communicate!

Next up: dear friend???

TY Thursday: A Personal Letter is Better Than a Personalized One

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Laura Rhodes

Laura Rhodes

A guest post by Laura Rhodes, Third Sector Consulting

Are your thank you letters personalized, personal, or both?

Putting your donor’s name in the letter and referring to the gift amount? That’s personalization.

Thanking your donor for something specific that they did? That’s personal.

Let me give you a couple of examples of how I recently made some thank you letters personal. Then I’ll share some ways you can make your own thank you letters more personal, too.

You see, my thank you letter writing skills were put to the test late last year. My mother passed away in October.

While her death was unexpected, the outpouring of love and support that followed was not. As you might expect, our family received cards, calls, food, flowers and more after her passing. Many people sent memorial donations to her church and other charities.

It all added up to a lot of people who needed to be thanked, for a lot of different reasons.

Would it have been easier to send a generic thank you note, along the lines of “Our family appreciates your thoughtfulness during this difficult time.” Yes, absolutely.

Is that what I did? Absolutely not!

Just like your donors, my friends and family members are special people. And I wanted them to know that. To feel my genuine appreciation. To feel special when they received and read their thank you note.

So, for instance, in one letter to a friend, I told him how his was one of the first sympathy cards I received and how much his handwritten note meant to me. Then I thanked him for his memorial donation.

In a letter to one of my cousins, I told her that her hug was the very first one I received on the day of my Mom’s Celebration of Life and how it gave me strength. Then I thanked her for her family’s role in the service.

sympathy flowersAnd for the neighbor who couldn’t attend the Celebration, but sent flowers, I sent a picture of those flowers along with a copy of the service program. Then I thanked her for being with us in spirit that day.

 

I can hear you saying, “But that’s different. I don’t know my donors like that!”

You might be surprised at what you know about your donors. And with that information, you can make your thank you letters more personal.

First, pay attention to your donors’ giving habits.

For instance, did your donor make more than one gift this year? Did she give more this year than last? Has she given for 3, or 5, or 10 years in a row? Is she a first-time donor?

Acknowledge her gift, tell her that you noticed that it was an extra gift (or an increased gift, or a milestone gift, or a first-time gift, etc.). Then tell her what her donation will do and give a specific example of how it will make a difference.

Second, pay attention to your donors’ actions.

For instance, did she attend your fundraising event this year? Sponsor a table? Buy an auction item? Volunteer on a committee? Volunteer within your program?

You’re going to write a thank you whenever a donor makes a monetary contribution. When you do, look for and recognize the other ways that she supports your organization.

Making it personal is about letting your donor know that you noticed what she did. It also means telling her, very specifically, why her contribution (of time, talent, treasure or all three!) was meaningful.

One last tip to make your letters personal: Handwrite as many notes as possible.

In today’s digital age, where so much seems so impersonal, a handwritten note will stand out. Your donor will appreciate that you took the time to write. It shows that you really care.

At a minimum, pen a personal P.S. on your computer-printed thank you letter. Folks will read what’s handwritten, even if they don’t read the rest.

Bottom line: When you “Wow!” your donors with a prompt and personal thank you, you’ll be well on your way to giving your donors what they want – and what they deserve.

WANT MORE THANK YOU IDEAS?

Check out these posts from the Let’s Talk Nonprofit blog:

How Your Thank You Letter Can Put More Money in the Bank

Anatomy of a Stellar Thank You Letter

What a 10-Year-Old Can Teach You About Thanking Your Donors

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