Shanah tovah/ happy new year 5777! It’s Rosh Hashanah on the Jewish calendar.
I wish all readers of this blog a healthy, happy year ahead.
Helping you win loyal friends through your communications
What should you do when a donor gives to your nonprofit for the first time? The obvious answer: thank them. But take it another step, and welcome them, too.
Thanking a new donor is essential, if you’re going to make the donor feel like the hero of the story. Welcoming a new donor invites him or her to think of your story together as ongoing.
A welcome kit (also called a packet or package) tells the donor, “You matter to us. You’re not just a cash cow. We’re in this together for the long haul.”
Pamela Grow suggests:
Typically your welcome package would go beyond a mere thank you letter to include items such as photographs, surveys, a benefits brochure, even a small gift such as a bookmark. Send them in an oversized envelope marked with a bold “Welcome!”
You can download a kit that Pamela likes, from Mercy Corps, for an example.
When you’re welcoming a donor, avoid any hint of a business transaction. The welcome kit is not an item they’ve purchased. It’s not a premium, or even a gift to a customer. It’s a warm smile and a hug, delivered through the mail.
Nancy Schwartz advises, “Imagine you’re welcoming a new member of the family, perhaps your sister’s husband to be. You want to make him feel like a part of the family.”
Another way to think about it: Rebecca H. Davis says you want your new donor to feel “like you’ve just handed them a loaf of warm, homemade bread and told them you are really glad they showed up on a cold, rainy Sunday morning.” Mmm, yummy!
Everything moves faster today than it did only a few years ago. You probably have heard that donors should get a thank-you letter within a week of sending their gift. Within two days of the time you receive it is even better…and if you call them on the phone within those two days (according to Tom Ahern), first-time donors who get a personal thank you within 48 hours are 4x more likely to give a second gift.
The same applies to the welcome kit: the sooner, the better.
“Mail the welcome pack out right after you receive the gift,” Nancy Schwartz advises. “Send it first class if you can swing it. Your donor has to receive it within two weeks of making their gift for full impact.”
Happily, a lot of donors are giving online these days. Your nonprofit gets their gift almost instantaneously. That makes it easier for you to thank them, and then to welcome then, as soon after they donate as possible.
It also poses a problem. You may not receive the donor’s physical mailing address. At first, all you may have for them is an email address. Does that keep you from sending a welcome kit?
Don’t let it stop you. Here are three steps you can take to welcome online donors:
Thanking your first-time donor is vital, but really, it’s the least you can do. Making them feel like an essential part of the cause you both care about: now, that’s really laying out the welcome mat!
My friend Tema Nemtzow wrote me, “I just got a call asking if I’d like to have a new source of selling insurance. When I told him that I don’t sell insurance, he asked me if I’d like to start!”
You may groan at this terrible telemarketing. But think a moment. Is your nonprofit acting the same way?
Too many nonprofits are “making cold calls,” even in our writing. We’re pitching “products” the person on the other end doesn’t want…and making it clear to her that we have no idea who she is.
We need to stop being lame salesmen like the one who called Tema.
Get to know your audience, talk to them about what matters to them, and they will listen.