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How to Talk about Your Nonprofit with a Complete Stranger

July 3, 2017 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

loss for words

You don’t have to wonder what to say about your nonprofit

Does this sound familiar? You’re on the Board or staff of a nonprofit organization. You love the work it does. Yet when you’re in a social situation and somebody asks “What does your organization do?”, you’re at a loss for words.

It’s embarrassing–and it’s a wasted opportunity. That person asking you about your organization could become your most devoted volunteer, or your most loyal donor, if only you could get them interested.

And you can.

Last week, we talked about how you can create an elevator pitch–a short summary of what’s attractive about your organization–that will make anybody ask you, “Please, tell me more!”

That’s better–but is it the best you can do? No!

Start the Conversation In Your Pitch

“No matter how quick and painless, a pithy pitch is still a pitch,” as Dixie Laite puts it. When someone asks you, “What does your nonprofit do?”, what you really want is not to “pitch” someone but have a conversation with them. It’s like pitch and catch. It goes both ways.

pitch and catch

So, one step in the right direction is to put conversation-starters right there into your pitch.

  • Laite suggest a “Do do” approach. “When someone asks you what you do, instead of going into your little canned song and dance, you instead ask them a question, as in ‘Do you know…?'”

The question gets them thinking about a problem, so that your organization can then offer a solution. For instance, if you’re an organization for youth, you might say, “Do you know that thousands of high school students are going hungry this summer because they can’t get lunch at school?”

  • Tim David offers a four-step approach to make sure your conversation partner’s interest is piqued and continues to grow.
    1. Break their expectations. Answering a question with a question (the “do do” approach) is one way of making the conversation come alive. So is making a joke. David calls this “giving them a verbal slap in the face” and “waking them up.” But you don’t have to be aggressive–just startling.
    2. Ask a problem question. If you ask them “Do you know” and their response is “Yes, that bothers me too,” you’re building rapport–and you’re on the right track.
    3. Go to the noddable. “A noddable is an inspirational or wise quote that is so catchy and agreeable, it gets just about everyone nodding.” Again, this builds rapport (on the theory that you’ve just read their mind, and great minds think alike!)
    4. Finish with the curiosity statement. Here’s where you answer the “What do you do?” question, but in a way that invites even more questions. (In other words, you’ve just given an elevator pitch for your elevator pitch, and now they’re interested in hearing the real thing!)

Beyond the Elevator Pitch

Nonprofits can learn a lot from the “do do” approach and from the “elevator pitch for your elevator pitch.” If you practice either or both of these approaches, it gets you beyond just making a statement. When you ask questions, build rapport, and get permission for a longer conversation, you’re already way ahead.

Yet I fear that even with the best intentions, many of us will still memorize our lines and give a performance. I agree when Tim David cautions:

If you get the sense that it’s turning into a commercial instead of a conversation, then you’re doing it wrong. Stop pitching and ask another question. You should only be doing 15-20% of the talking.

What should you be doing the rest of the time? Listening.

Better Yet, Have a Scripted Dialogue

When a person asks you about your nonprofit organization, you have a question you want to answer, too. That is: “Could this person become a supporter?”

So, one reason you’re asking questions is to keep the other person interested, and engaged, and nodding along. But the other is that you’re doing prospect research.

You’d like your conversation partner to walk away with an interest in finding out even more about your organization and, sooner or later, getting involved…

AND you’d like to walk away with some specific ideas about who they are, what they want to talk about, and what matters to them–specific enough you’d write notes about them in your donor database.

» So, when you talk with a stranger about your organization, you should have a loose script in mind. It should include the elevator pitch for your elevator pitch. It has to have a pitch full of conversation-starters.

But what will really help your organization cultivate that person as a volunteer and donor is the questions you ask about them.

You Can Get Help Asking The Right Questions

How will you learn to script your dialogue so it’s a valuable conversation for both partners? Helping you do that is a service we offer at Communicate! Consulting.

Email us to find out if we should be working together. Because there are complete strangers out there who could become your organization’s biggest fans. Let’s give them the opportunity.

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Thank-You Thursday: Making “Impact” Personal

June 29, 2017 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

donor impact

Tell a story to show the difference the donor made

Previously, I told you how Global Giving made me decide to renew my donation for Nepal earthquake relief, only one week after I first gave. They won me by telling me the impact my donation is already making.

I’m a junkie for that feeling of making a difference! And I’m not alone.

Why Donors Renew their Gifts

One of the biggest reasons donors renew their support for your organization is that you tell them what difference their donation makes. And one of the biggest reasons they stop supporting you is that you don’t tell them what you did with their gift (and all the good that happened as a result).

But what’s the best way to make the impact of their donation seem real?

Making the Impact Personal

Northeastern University told my friend Amy Wyeth the impact her donation made. Or more exactly, Nicole Bourque told her.

Nicole is a Northeastern student who dreams of becoming a Physician Assistant. She called Amy on the phone, thanking her for her donor renewal. She followed up with an email, and told Amy her story.

“I grew up in a small town in southern New Hampshire, where people watch out for one another,” Nicole said. At the university, she was president of a student body that drew attention to the ways our health system serves some people better than others. In her career, Nicole plans to bring primary medical care to communities that don’t have enough healthcare.

Nicole thanked Amy personally for the chance to attend the university.

Without the financial support of donors like you, many of the scholarships I received would not exist. And I would not have been able to pursue my education here.

Amy was impressed. Wouldn’t you be? Here is a real person, feeling the impact of Amy’s donation right now, and thanking her. What better proof could a donor ask for that their gift was making a difference?

Don’t Wait for Next Year

It’s always a good time to thank people for their gifts–and it’s always a good time to start working for donor renewal. Tell personal stories that show impact when you:

  • Automatically acknowledge an online gift
  • Send a thank-you letter within a week of the donation
  • Send a welcome series of emails following the initial donation
  • Publish your newsletter
  • Post to social media
  • Meet your donors face to face

What’s the best story you know that shows donors how they’re making a difference?

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Fundraising Tuesday: Now That’s a Story!

June 27, 2017 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

storytelling boardThe organization had a lot of money to raise: for an elevator, a new roof, and to pay salaries.

The Board President wanted the Board members to practice telling their stories to potential donors. But all she was hearing were generalities and grand narratives.

So I told the Board a story.

The Tale of the Rigged Raffle

When my wife and I first set foot in our synagogue in 1990, shortly after we moved to Somerville, MA, it was because two friends separately invited us. Rona and I are very different kinds of Jews. I tutor kids for bar and bat mitzvah. She goes to shul when there’s a wedding, a bar or bat mitzvah, or a holiday. Not just any place would suit both of us.

We went to a Sunday brunch first, to see if we’d like the people.

They sat us down across from two of the older members, Morrie and Ada. Morrie was the type who, five minutes after he met you, he’d know where you grew up, where you lived now, what you did, and what committee you should be on. In the same amount of time, Ada would know all about your family (and make you feel like part of hers).

During the brunch, we were invited to buy tickets for a raffle. Being the warmly welcomed guests, we thought we’d pitch in for a ticket or two.

The people who managed the raffle made sure that we won. Our prize? A bottle of Manischewitz sweet red wine, as big as my head!Manischewitz bottle

Rona and I looked at each other, bemused. What were we going to do with our new-found treasure?

Then Morrie leaned across the table and said in his hoarse Yiddish-accented voice, “The custom is to donate it back to the Temple for kiddush (the blessing over wine after services).”

“We will be happy to donate the bottle back to the Temple!” we said.

Shortly after that, Rona and I became members. We’ve been there over twenty-five years. And the Board was the current governing body of that same synagogue.

Now That’s a Story!

What made my anecdote memorable?

  • People–Rona and me–with a problem: would we ever find a synagogue that fit us?
  • They meet new characters (and I do mean characters): Morrie and Ada.
  • They encounter a new problem: how to make ourselves at home with a place that thinks a giant-sized bottle of Manischewitz is a prize.
  • They receive advice and help (donate it back) and reach their destination (a place where we could belong).

Are You Telling Winning Stories?

Your nonprofit organization should be telling real stories every chance you get. Tell them in person and on the internet, in y0ur newsletter and in your appeal letter…and in your thank-you letter!

Storytelling connects your organization with the supporters you want–especially if you make the donor the hero of the story. But don’t leave the success of your storytelling to chance.

Rig your stories with people, problems, helpful characters, challenges, and solutions. That way, you know who will win: both you and your donor.

(P.S. They’re installing the elevator at our synagogue this summer.)

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