Helping you win loyal friends through your communications
Did you ever receive a thank-you note from a child you had given a present and think, “His mother made him write that”?
Awkward thank-yous from a child can be cute. From a nonprofit, to its donors, they’re a turn-off.
Whether it’s a first-time donor or a loyal friend of your organization, nothing will help you renew their support next time like a good thank-you. Read my guest post on John Haydon’s blog to find out how.
Once your appeal letter is in the mail, what can you do to help donors decide to give?
Reaching out directly through the phone or by email is a good idea… especially if you make your calls and emails warm and personal.
For most organizations, asking directly for money through social media is not a good idea. Here’s why.
Picture yourself on Facebook. What are you doing there? You went online to catch up with your friends, and perhaps to see a meme that would amuse or outrage you.
You didn’t go to Facebook to do business. And that includes giving away money.
There are exceptions. If you’ve tried asking online before and it worked for you, congratulations! If you want to experiment with fundraising via social media, ask for donations for a specific cause, with an immediate impact. Think of it as crowdfunding.
In general, though, “making the ask” is the wrong way to use social media to back up your end-of-year appeal. There is a better way.
A donation is an act of love…and like other acts of love, it goes better if you set the mood. Too bad you can’t offer your donors a glass of wine, a fireplace, and romantic music on social media!
But here is what you can do to make them feel like giving:
For the donor to feel the love, you have to be feeling it too. And that’s difficult in December. You’re watching the numbers on the end-of-year appeal and worrying about what happens if you don’t meet your fundraising goal. Performance anxiety is making you tense.
May I make a suggestion? Before you write for social media this month, slow it down. Breathe. Think about why you care so much: the good results your organization bring about that makes you want it to succeed.
Now, think about the donor. She cares about those good results too. You’re together in this. That’s what brought you together in the first place.
You just have to speak the language of love with your donors, and watch them respond.
Do you follow @DennisFischman on Twitter? If so, I’ve thanked you–I hope. (Did I forget? I apologize!)
But if you’re a nonprofit and you forget to say thank you, then you owe an apology to your donor and to yourself.
How I forgot to say thanksWhenever anybody follows me on Twitter, I make a point of saying thanks.
I don’t always follow back. That depends on what you usually tweet about and whether it’s interesting to me. But I do say “thanks”–because, out of the gazillion people on the web, you chose to spend some attention on me.
So how could I ever forget to say thanks?
Sarah Gallo, who’s on Twitter as @5foottraveler, followed me one Sunday. I wanted to tweet back at her, “TY to @5foottraveler for following!” I copied and pasted her Twitter handle and added the “for following” part, and I was just about to schedule the tweet when I noticed something was missing.
That’s right. The “TY” part.
Fortunately, I caught it in time. But because I even came close to leaving out the thanks, I want to say to Sarah publicly, “Thanks, and safe travels!”
At your nonprofit, when you acknowledge donations, are you making the same mistake as I did? Are you leaving out the actual thanks?
You could be, if:
Donor love means never having to say you’re sorry. Don’t forget to thank your donors in a way that’s clear, timely, ample, honest, and ongoing. You won’t regret it.