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TY Thursday: Don’t Ask for Money! Unless…

October 20, 2016 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

before fundraising letter

Before you write that appeal letter…

Are you working on your end-of-year fundraising appeal already? Good for you! Lots of nonprofits start thinking about their appeal letter in November…or even December. You are already ahead of the field.

Now, stop.

Yes, I said stop! There’s something more important for you to work on right now than your fundraising letter–something that will actually help you raise more money than your appeal letter.

Now is the time to thank your donors.

Why Thanking Donors is Your First Priority

Donors who aren’t thanked don’t give again. It’s as simple as that.

The sad fact is that MOST of your first-time donors won’t give again. Across the U.S., fewer than 20% of donors who gave to a nonprofit organization in 2014 renewed their support in 2015. That means four out of five donors gave once, then walked away.

Why? The biggest reason donors say they don’t renew their gift is lack of communication. They didn’t hear from you that you appreciated their gift, or how you used it, or whether or not they made a difference.

A good thank-you letter begins the process that makes your first-time donor into a loyal friend (and makes your longtime donor a fervent advocate for your work).  So, if you didn’t send a thank-you letter last year–or if your letter read like a tax receipt and not a personal note–then drop everything and thank your donors today.

Beyond the Thank-You Letter

“But wait,” you say. “We already thanked the donors. We sent out a letter in January.”

Again, good for you! Especially if your told a story that immediately made the donor feel happy that they gave. And doubly so if you sent one thank-you letter to the first-time donor  and a different letter to your donor who decided to renew. You made them feel they were not just an ATM: they’re people you know.

But that was January. This is October.october

If you haven’t been personally in touch with your first-time donor all 2016, they may have forgotten the nice impression you made. They may have forgotten they ever gave to you. They may even have forgotten who you are.

And your long-time donor may be thinking less of you, too. You’re their cousin who they haven’t heard from for ages, who suddenly shows up at the door asking for money. They may still love you, but they may feel a bit used. You need to build that relationship again.

3 Ways to Thank Your Donor, NOW

Before you ask for money again, here are three ways you can thank your donors personally.

  1. Pick up the phone. Even a voicemail from someone at your organization–a Board member, especially–will reignite the donor’s warm feelings. If you can have a live conversation, that will give you a chance to find out more about why they gave, and what would persuade them to give again.
  2. Shout out on social media. Post a message on your donor’s Facebook page, for instance, letting them (and their friends!) know how important their gift has been.
  3. Send them a video. Do you own a smartphone? Then you have a video camera in your pocket. Donors will be surprised when they see your face and hear your voice!

Ideally, you would thank your donors throughout the year (and here are twenty ways to do that in 2017). But it’s not too late to show your gratitude and make your donors proud this year.

Before you send out another fundraising letter, stop and thank your donors, as warmly and as personally as you can. More of them will give. More of them will increase their donations. And more of them will think and speak well of your organization, this year and in the future.

 

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Fundraising Tuesday: Introducing Your Nonprofit Organization

October 18, 2016 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

meetingnewpeopleYou’re at a party, and the host introduces you to someone you’ve never met  before. You smile. You say hello. Then comes the inevitable question,”So, what do you do?”

Cadence Turpin thinks that’s the wrong question. People are more than–and some times, very different from–what they do for a living.

For instance, her best friend Carolyn is a meeting planner. “Not many people understand meeting planning, nor do they know what to ask next when the ever so common ‘so what do you do?’ is posed.” So, the conversation stops. It’s awkward, isn’t it?

People at nonprofits feel the same way.

Not that many people understand the ins and outs of running a preschool program. Or helping borrowers work out bad credit, or providing scholarships to young artists…or the millions of other things that nonprofits “do.”

Honestly, not that many people want to know.

So, like Carolyn, we end up feeling stuck. “If they don’t find her work interesting enough, then she must not be very interesting.”

If people don’t want to hear about the nuts and bolts of our nonprofit work, we have nothing to talk about? We know that can’t be true. But what can we do about it?

A Better Way to Introduce Your Nonprofit

Cadence has found a better way. Instead of telling what her friends do, she tells why they matter to her.

I want people to know my friend Carolyn is amazing at her job, but more than that, I want people to know the stuff inside her that makes her a great friend. The stuff that makes you want to stand by her at a party, in hopes that her thoughtful observations and quick wit might rub off on you.

So, here’s a challenge for you: Can you find ways to make the organization where you work matter to someone who has never heard of it before? Can you make that agency sound like the best friend you’d love to introduce, and that everybody would love to be introduced to?

If you can, you may have just found your next new donor!

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Listen like Jane Austen. Write like Hemingway.

October 17, 2016 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Listen like Jane, write like Ernest

Listen like Jane, write like Ernest

Jane Austen was one of the most beloved authors of the 19th century.  She wrote all her novels by sitting in company and paying attention to what people said.

Be like Jane Austen. Before you start to write, listen. On social media, in person, every way you can: find out about your audience and what  moves them.

 

Ernest Hemingway was one of the most read authors of the 20th century. When he sat down to write, he chopped away adverbs, adjectives, and description. He told the whole story through dialogue and action.

Be like Ernest Hemingway. Whether you’re writing a newsletter, blogging, using social media, or asking for money, be brief. Leave out everything your audience doesn’t care to read.

Listen like Austen, to catch every detail. Write like Hemingway, to be read.

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