Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

3 Ways Nonprofits Find Time to Do Social Media Well

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we can do itBy this time, nonprofits are getting the word: we can’t afford to put social media off any longer. And we have to do it well, if we’re going to connect with our supporters. There are just too many other things to look at on the web!

As a consultant on nonprofit communications, the biggest question I’ve heard from nonprofit leaders is:

“How do I find the time to do social media well when my staff and I are so busy already?” Share on X

It’s a fair question, but there are answers.

Do Social Media Well in the Time You Have

One: start small. Give yourselves at least six months to become really good at connecting with your supporters on just one of the social media you use.

Two: make sure you have a strategy, so the time you do put in produces the best results. (At the link you will find seven statements that make up a communications strategy.  Read them.  It will take one minute, and pay off forever.)

Three: get good outside help. You can make better use of volunteers if you have a strategy in place–and you still might want a consultant to guide your social media or to do the work for you.

Social media are not a cure-all, and they don’t replace your website, email, or the written word, but you can use them to build and strengthen relationships–and that leads to the six ways to succeed on social media. And yes, that includes making money.

It’s a good use of your time.

TY Thursday: Thanks to You, Nonprofits, Especially Today

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My regular readers (whom I appreciate!) will know that on Thursdays, I’ve been giving advice to nonprofits on how to say thanks and express their “attitude of gratitude” to their donors.

Thank-yous can go far beyond a letter. They can include videos, gifts, and even acts of kindness that make the donor feel you are truly grateful and truly friends. You can see all those TY Thursday posts by clicking on the link.

Today, I’d like to turn it around. Instead of advising you on how to thank your donors, I want to send you my thanks.

I’m Grateful to You, Nonprofits

Thank you to the nonprofits that help my neighbors meet basic human needs.

Thank you to the nonprofits that help people worldwide appreciate art and literature.

Thank you to the nonprofits that give free legal advice to people in a jam.

Thank you to the nonprofits that work to change policy so people won’t need legal advice so often.

Thank you to the grassroots groups that are mainly friends and neighbors with a 501(c)(3).

Thank you to the huge corporations with big budgets and complex organizational structures who don’t forget that they’re there on a mission.

Thank you to the nonprofit organizations (called synagogues) that gave me my Jewish education, a place to worship in community, and a way to continue the 4,000-year-old tradition that has shaped my life.

Thank you to the nonprofit organizations (called universities) that changed the way I think and taught me life lessons, inside and outside the classroom.

And to the people of nonprofits

To the people who spend their days working hard for these agencies, way beyond what nonprofits can ever afford to pay them to do, thanks!

To the people who spend their evenings and weekends volunteering for these agencies, whether they lick envelopes, serve meals, or serve on the Board, thanks!

To the receptionists, the face of each organization…

the frontline staff, who see the faces of the people they serve…

the interns passing through, who may remember their time there life long…

the Executive Directors, carrying too much weight on their own shoulders…

and especially, to the fundraisers and communicators who make sure that donors hear about the great difference the work of your organization makes (as I did), and become grateful (as I have), so they continue to support you with their creativity, time, and money…THANK YOU.

It’s your job to thank the donors, and I will keep on sending you tips on how to do it well. But once in a while, you deserve some appreciation too. And you’re welcome.

Fundraising Tuesday: The Ideal Appeal Letter

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I’m republishing one of the most popular blog posts ever on this site. Read to the end for the 2017 update!

November kicks off the annual scramble for donations in the U.S.  Your mailbox fills up with appeal letters from groups you support (and some you don’t). But do any of them look like this?

Next StepNext Step appeal letter filled their letter to my wife Rona with signs they care about her.

  • Calling her by name.  (I’m amazed how many groups still use the salutation “Dear Friend.”)
  • Creating visual appeal.  The photo catches the eye.
  • Using a real story.  It’s not just a photo: it’s a person, looking you in the eye, telling his story.
  • Adding a hand-written note.  It’s actually on an orange sticky note, and the content is personalized to Rona.
  • Directing her clearly how to give.

The Most Important Piece of Your Appeal

All of these elements make the letter vivid, attractive, and appealing.  But the most important thing that Next Step did was starting the letter with “You.” 

Next Step understands that donors will give if they feel that their donation is doing the good work.  As Seth Godin recently wrote, the donor is the hero of the story.  That’s why they give.

Now, your letter doesn’t literally have to start with “You.”  It would be boring if every letter did!

But when you wrote your organization’s annual appeal letter, did you start with the donor?  Did you do everything you could do to make them feel the letter was personally written for them?  And did you place the donor at the center of the story?

2017 update:

In the last couple of years, I have seen some nonprofits moving toward a donor-centric approach. Hurray! But too many organizations whose work I admire are leaving money on the table by:

  • Sending letters to “Dear Friend”
  • Treating donors to a block of text, with nothing to please the eye
  • Avoiding storytelling
  • Not asking directly for a specific amount of money, and making it too hard to figure out how to give

Don’t you do this! The nonprofits who are sending out the ideal appeal letters are stealing your donors. It’s time for you to win them back.

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