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Nonprofits, Are You Brute Force Fundraising?

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Woman grimacing at phoneMy wife, Rona Fischman, runs her own real estate company, and so marketers constantly try to chat her up. Recently, one went too far–and nonprofits can learn from his example.

“Hello, is this Rona?” The man on the other end of the line was selling a service that would help house hunters find Rona’s company. “Let me schedule a product demonstration  for you with one of our experts.”

Rona was interested, but she was also busy. “Just send me information. I’ll look it over and get back to you.”

A few days later: “Hello, Rona!” This time, it’s a woman’s voice on the phone. “I’m calling for the product demonstration you scheduled.”

“But I didn’t agree to schedule anything!”

You Can’t Force Anyone to Like You

The telemarketer had heard Rona say “Send me information.” But he  made the appointment anyway, without her consent.

Rona felt violated. Any interest she’d had in the product turned to loathing. And would you blame her?

Clearly, the marketer had no interest in what she wanted. All he cared about was what he wanted: scheduling that appointment. He probably “scored” (got paid) whenever he put a notch on his calendar.

That’s terrible, you say. But is your nonprofit organization doing the same thing to your donors?

  • Do you appeal to everyone with your same smooth line, no matter what they care about?
  • Do you ignore it when they tell you “No phone calls” or “No email” and keep on making your advances?
  • Do you reach out and touch them only when you want something from them? Is it “wham, bam, thank you ma’am” until the next fundraising appeal?
  • Do you hire and fire and pay your fundraising staff based on the dollars they bring in today? Do you forget to consider the lifetime value of the donors your people satisfy?

Then you are brute force fundraising. And you are violating the donor’s trust.

Building a Relationship that Lasts

Good marketing–and that includes nonprofit fundraising–is a relationship between consenting adults. You want your donors to get to know, like, and trust your organization.

That takes time. And it takes care. It takes leaders who understand that they are building for the long run.

At the very least, it takes respect for the donor’s wishes. So, if a donor says, “I never give over the phone. Send me something in the mail,” do not send them a pledge card filled out with the amount YOU think they should give!

Your donors are adults. They can say no, or they can decide to say yes. Do the things that will make them want to say yes. Don’t force it.

TY Thursday: The Nonprofit Thank-a-Thon

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gratitudeIt’s vital for your nonprofit to thank donors, and one of the very best ways to do it is to pick up the phone and call them. If you’re lucky, though, you have so many donors that the Executive Director and Development Director both put together would consider thanking donors a full-time job! What’s the solution? Hold a thank-a-thon.

What’s a Thank-a-thon?

A thank-a-thon is like a phone-a-thon. Only instead of dialing for dollars, you have a room full of people calling people who have already given…just to say thanks.

Abigail Harmon gives us the portrait of the classic thank-a-thon.

Armed with a list of donors – big and small alike – and a script, each board member makes calls to thank donors for their support over the past year…Historically, a phone bank was required so that everyone could sit in a room and make the calls…but it is often more feasible to have board members bring their cell phones and chargers (just in case) to a house where they can sit around and make the calls.

You will need a staff member to hand out the lists and scripts and answer questions that might arise. And you will want to provide some food and drink. Your callers will be friendlier if they are fed!

4 Reasons a Thank-a-thon is Worth It

Why would you spend the time and energy of your board members and volunteers for an activity that’s not going to raise any more money right away?

  1. To raise more money next year. If a donor gives you money in 2016 and you send a perfunctory thank-you letter, the chances you’ll see another gift in 2017 are less than 30%. You can double that with a hearty thank-you in a real human voice.
  2. To make your Board members proud. Do you have a Board member who says, “I’ll do anything for this organization–except ask for money”? Turn their fear of asking into their joy at saying thank-you to a person who cares about the same organization they do!
  3. To give non-Board members a way to get more involved. There is no rule that says only directors of the organization can call and say thanks. A call from a fellow donor may be equally meaningful…both to the caller and donor on the other end.
  4. To make it fun. Yes, you can farm out the calls for people to do on their own time, in the privacy of their own homes. But there’s a certain infectious energy that spreads around the room during a thank-a-thon. Try it and see!

Fundraising Tuesday: Make the Donor the Hero

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Let’s try an experiment. You’ll need your latest fundraising letter, a blue pen, and a yellow highlighter. Put them all on your desk. Ready?

highlighter

Highlight your donor, not your organization

Pick up the pen and circle every mention of your organization. It could be the agency’s name. It could be the word “we,” used to refer to your organization. How many blue circles do you see? A lot, I’ll bet.

Now, pick up the highlighter and underline every mention of your donor. Yes, you can count the salutation if you called them by name. You can also highlight the word “you”–if that means the donor who’s reading the letter.

Is there more yellow on the page than blue? If not, you’re losing donors with every letter you send.

To Renew Their Support, Focus on Donors

A lot of us in the nonprofit world are under a misconception. We think that the reason donors give to us is because we do good work.

No, that’s the reason we’re proud of our organizations. It’s not the reason people give!

If doing good work were enough, you wouldn’t have to worry about getting donors to renew. They’d get to know, like, and trust your organization, and then they’d keep on giving into the indefinite future. But about 70% of the people who gave to you for the first time in 2015 didn’t renew their gift in 2016.

Don’t focus on what you do. Focus on how the donor feels.

Make the Donor the Hero of the Story

Seth Godin writes:

Why on earth would a rational person give money to charity–particularly a charity that supports strangers? What do they get?

A story.

It might be the story of doing the right thing, or fitting in, or pleasing a friend or honoring a memory, but the story has value. It might be the story that you, and you alone are able to make this difference, or perhaps it’s the story of using leverage to change the world. For many, it’s the story of what it means to be part of a community.

For your donor to renew, she or he has to feel like the hero of the story. You are the one who is going to make donors feel like heroes. And the fundraising appeal letter is just one of the many times during the year you have an opportunity to do that–but it’s a crucial time.

Spiderman emblemUse your fundraising powers for good.

Write fundraising appeals that tell the donor, “Because of you, this happened. You are my hero. And you are needed, now.”

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