Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Which Season’s Greetings?

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Sending holiday greetings to your supporters and community is a great way to let them know you’re thinking of them. But not everyone celebrates the same holidays.

chanukahYes, in the U.S. most people  celebrated Thanksgiving Thursday, November 24. But you may have some Canadians on your mailing list, and their Thanksgiving was was on the second Monday of October. Did you know?

In December, the Jewish holiday of Chanukah begins the night of Saturday, December 24 and continues through January 1. But for Jews, “the holidays” means the Rosh Hashanah–Yom Kippur–Sukkot–Simchat Torah set of holidays, and those all happened in  October this year!

Pagans celebrate Yule beginning December 21. Christians celebrate Christmas beginning with Christmas Eve on December 24 and continuing through the next day. And New Year’s Day is January 1, but for the many religions and cultures that use other calendars, it may be just another day.

They may be hurt if you wish them A happy holiday, but not theirs. Share on X

How do you greet them all?

Ideally, you keep a record of which holiday each person on your list celebrates. Then, you send personalized email to each one.

If you haven’t kept those records, now would be a good time to start! In the meantime, feel free to cut and paste the body of this message into your email and social media. Add, “To all our friends who celebrate these holidays, we send our warmest greetings.”

Who’s looking forward to Groundhog’s Day?

TY Thursday: How to Turn a First-Time Gift into a Renewal

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For many nonprofit organizations, December is a time to worry. Will you see checks in the mail (or clicks on the Donate button) from the donors who gave last year? You have a right to worry. In the U.S., only 30% of first-time donors to nonprofit organizations renew their first-time gift the next year.

You read that right! If you’re like most nonprofit organizations, more than 2 out of every 3 new donors will give to you once and then forget all about you.

You can curse your fickle donors. You can rip the month of December out of your wall calendar, or scroll past it on your computer. Or…

You can turn that first-time gift into a renewal.  In one week. This week.

Here’s how.

The One-Week Impact Report

A massive earthquake killed thousands in Nepal and India on April 25, 2015. The massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal with devastating force less than 50 miles from the capital, Kathmandu.

Nepali girl near Kathmandu

Nepali girl near Kathmandu

My wife and I know people who come from Nepal, and the images of the devastation touched our hearts. So, within two days of the earthquake, we made a small donation of $50 through the international charity Global Giving.

We received a report from Global Giving about what they were doing with the donation and what difference it made.  Not in December. They emailed us on May 6–one week after our first-time gift!

Global Giving made a convincing case that they knew the organizations on the ground that could use the money well. They told us what those organizations were doing. For instance:

The Nepal Youth Foundation is providing emergency supplies to hospitals, sheltering and caring for people discharged from hospitals who cannot return home, particularly women and children.

Global Giving didn’t stop there. “You can click on the link to any of the individual projects to see the updates they’ll post about how they are using the funds,” they told us. “We have also posted a link to frequently asked questions on the page.”

All this for a $50 donation. All this, in the first week.

When Rona and I give again to Nepali relief, why wouldn’t we channel our donation through Global Giving?

A First-Time Gift Deserves More Than a Thank You

Now, I know a lot of nonprofit organizations are still struggling to send a timely, personal thank-you letter. And if you’re one of them, absolutely, do all you can to make that happen. But that’s the minimum that donors expect.

As fundraising consultant Alan Sharpe says:

The secret to getting donations for your non-profit is to give donors what they want. People give to causes to make a difference in others’ lives. And what donors really want to know is how their donation will help people.

Are you telling donors the impact of their first-time gift? Start! Do it this week…and continue throughout 2017, to make next December even better.

Fundraising Tuesday: What Nonprofits Can Learn from My Cat

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Clark-2112

Do you donors know where their money is? Take a lesson from Clark Bar’s vet.

“Uh-oh, we’re almost out of Clark Bar’s medicine,” I thought. “Time to order it again.”

Clark Bar was a venerable gentleman cat of 18 years. He had a problem with his thyroid, so I gave him soft tablets of methimazole mixed in with  his wet food. I ordered the tablets from a compounding pharmacy out of state.

When I submitted the order by email, I received an acknowledgment immediately. Then, the pharmacy called to let me know they would be talking to the vet, to get authorization for the refill.

The next day, they called to say they expected to receive the authorization within hours and would fill the order as soon as they did. They emailed me to let me know when it was filled, and they sent me the FedEx tracking number for the shipment.

All in all, it took less than two days for Clark Bar to get his medicine–and I never wondered for a minute where my money had gone or what I would get in return.

Can your donors say the same?

Your donors are looking to you to mix up a cure for a problem they care about. It’s probably not their own problem, any more than Clark Bar’s thyroid is mine. But your donors care. They care intensely.

Are you leaving them wondering what difference their donation is making, from one annual report to the next? Or are you helping them follow it at every step, through great stories in your newsletter, email, blog, and social media?

Show the donors how they’re making an impact on their cat–I mean, their cause. They’ll order (I mean, donate) to you again.

And here’s a shout-out to Porter Square Vet and BCP Veterinary Pharmacy, for their great communications.

P.S. Clark Bar passed away in September 2015, rejoining his sister Lois in that great cat show in the sky. But I am still grateful to the pharmacy that I knew he would always get the help he needed. Please, make sure your donors know what you are doing with te money they give.

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