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Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

What Day is Today, to Your Audience?

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naked gardening

This Saturday was a very important day. Which one was it?

a. World Naked Gardening Day

b. Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you!)

c. Kent State anniversary

Answer: it was all of the above. But it was a different day to different audiences.

It’s vital to know who you’re talking to.

Are the people who support your organization light-hearted homeowners or community garden growers? Then saluting World Naked Gardening Day may make them feel you’re their kind of people.

But if they’re the kind of religious people who live in the city and have a code of modesty, you’re probably telling them, “Go away. We don’t care what you think.”

Kent StateIf you’re Vietnam Veterans Against the War, you may have members and donors who remember Kent State as pivotal moment of their youth.

Sending them images of Jedi knights and Imperial Storm Troopers may make light of the grief, even half a century later.

Similarly, May 5 is a drinking holiday for some in the U.S. and a proud day of resistance to invaders to Mexicans. This year (2019), it is also the beginning of Ramadan. If you send messages with a bottle of tequila in them, you may lose supporters–if you have supporters who are Mexican-Americans or Muslims.

Ramadan Mubarak

The Right Message for the Audience

I am not saying there’s anything wrong with a little levity, or nudity. At the right time, to the right people, humorous content and alcoholic content may both be welcome!

What’s wrong is assuming that all your readers will respond the same way. Get to know what matters to them and you will know how to address the different people you’re trying to reach–in a way that says “I know you.”

P.S. It’s May 6. Happy National Nurses Day to those who celebrate it!

national nurses day

TY Thursday: How to Find AND KEEP Major Donors

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A guest post by Laura Rhodes of Third Sector Consulting

Laura Rhodes

Laura Rhodes

Major gift donors.

Every nonprofit wants them. But only the big nonprofits have them, right? Wrong!

I hear you saying, “We’re a small nonprofit. We don’t have big donors.” But you do.

Every Nonprofit Has Major Donors

When you hear the words “major gift,” what comes to mind? Six- or seven-figure donations?

Guess what? There’s not an industry-defined dollar amount for a major gift or a major donor. Instead, YOUR major donors are the individuals who give the most to your organization each year.

That means, for some organizations, a major donor might be someone who gives $500. Or $5,000. Or $50,000. Maybe even more.

MarketSmart did research on this very topic, asking How Big Is the Average Major Gift?  They found that most nonprofits define a major gift as one between $1,000 and $2,500. For some nonprofits in the study, the average major gift was less than $1,000. And for a very few, fortunate ones, the average major gift exceeded $1 million.

While the dollar amount of a “major gift” will vary from organization to organization, every nonprofit has them.

And that means YOU have major donors, too.

How Can You Identify Your Major Donors?

One size doesn’t fit all, when it comes to identifying a major gift or major donor.

Recently, an organization told me, “Any gift above $250 gets our attention.” For them, donors who give $250 and above are their major donors.

There are a few good ways to identify YOUR major donors. Start by thinking about your current donors and their past giving history.

  • What’s your highest gift to date? Clearly, that’s a major donor. Other high-dollar gifts? Yes, those are your major donors, too.
  • Another way to identify your top donors is to print a list of your donors and gift amounts. Look for natural clusters of gift amounts. Gifts in those top tier(s) are from your major donors.
  • Or, here’s a simple, more analytical approach. Print out your donor list, in descending order by gift size. Count the number of donors, then draw a line to mark the top 10%. Those are your major donors.

Why Do Major Donors Matter to Your Nonprofit?

I love nonprofitsYour major donors are the people who love you and your organization. And they show it by making larger than average donations.

You’ve probably heard of the 80/20 rule. It says that 80% of your results come from 20% of your activities.  In fundraising, it’s really a 90/10 rule. Studies show that 90% of your revenue comes from just 10% of your donors.

Let me say that again: 10% of your donors are responsible for 90% of your funding!

That’s why you need to know who your major donors are. Your top 10%.
You want to treat your major donors like the VIPs they are, so they’ll keep giving to your organization.

How Can You Keep Your Major Donors?

One way you can keep your major donors is by thanking this special group of donors very personally.

In a previous post for Thank You Thursday, I shared how A Personal Letter is Better Than a Personalized One.  In that post, I also encouraged you to handwrite as many personal notes as possible.

So start now. Grab a stack of note cards. Get your list of major donors. And get ready to write.

Start at the top of your major donor list. Handwrite one or two thank you notes a day, until you’ve written each of your major donors.

In each personal note, tell your donor how much her gift was appreciated. Tell her what her gift has accomplished. Tell her what meaningful changes have occurred as a result of her past support.

Follow this thank-and-report formula, and you’ll be well on your way to keeping more of your donors.

And when you keep more of your donors, you’ll raise more money for your nonprofit.

LIKE WHAT YOU READ HERE?

Check out these posts from the Let’s Talk Nonprofit blog:

How Your Thank You Letters Can Put More Money in the Bank

3 P’s of Better Thank Yous

3 Easy Ways to Show #DonorLove

P.S. If you liked this article, you can receive posts like these each month in your email. Topics include fundraising, grant writing, board development, and best practices.
Sign up today, join the conversation, and Let’s Talk Nonprofit.

 

Fundraising Tuesday: Make Your Spring Event a Year-Round Success

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cleaning up afterEvery day this week, I’m invited to a gala, an annual meeting, or some other nonprofit event. Is one of them yours?

Congratulations on getting it scheduled. That’s a lot of work in itself.

Even more congratulations if it’s over!

But is it really worth all that time and work to produce an event for just one day?

What if you could make your Spring event produce results for your nonprofit all year long?

Here are some tips on what to do next.

  1. Post about it on social media..If you didn’t take photos or videos this time, ask your supporters who did, and share theirs!
  2. Thank your donors. Everyone who came? Maybe. But everyone who gave more than the price of admission? Defiinitely.
  3. Keep on thanking them. Here are 20 ways you can show gratitude all year.
  4. Get to know your donors.
  5. Communicate with each segment of donors as they’d like to be communicated with: on the platform they prefer, on the topic that matters to them.

If that sounds like a lot of effort, here’s a tip on how to make it easier.

Don’t schedule any extra events this year!  In fact, consider cutting one that under-performs.

Don’t just take it from me. Listen to Joan Garry:

“Special events are great, but they should only make up a relatively small percentage of your overall income.”

Were you planning on adding an event this year? Don’t! Put the time into thanking, informing, and serving your donors instead. It will be fun and profitable.

Thanks for inviting me to that party. Now, send me a great newsletter. (And if you need help producing it, Communicate! Consulting can help.)

Best wishes,

Dennis

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