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Use Social Media to Set the Mood for Giving

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Giving to charity, word cloudOnce your appeal letter is in the mail, what can you do to help donors decide to give?

Reaching out directly through the phone or by email is a good idea… especially if you make your calls and emails warm and personal.

The Wrong Way to Use Social Media

For most organizations, asking directly for money through social media is not a good idea. Here’s why.

Picture yourself on Facebook. What are you doing there? You went online to catch up with your friends, and perhaps to see a meme that would amuse or outrage you. You didn’t go to Facebook to do business. And that includes giving away money.

There are exceptions. If you’ve tried asking online before and it worked for you, congratulations! If you want to experiment with fundraising via social media, ask for donations for a specific cause, with an immediate impact. Think of it as crowdfunding.

In general, though, “making the ask” is the wrong way to use social media to back up your end-of-year appeal. There is a better way.

Put Your Donors in the Mood for Giving

in a giving moodA donation is an act of love…and like other acts of love, it goes better if you set the mood. Too bad you can’t offer your donors a glass of wine, a fireplace, and romantic music on social media!

But here is what you can do to make them feel like giving:

    1. Give their pleasure your full attention. Between now and December 31, post pieces that will make donors feel good about themselves when they give.
    2. Tell stories. Create good memories that you and your donors share. It will bring you closer.
    3. Share the love. Post stories–or even better, videos–of donors like them saying why they love giving to your organization and how it makes them feel.

It Takes Two to Tango

For the donor to feel the love, you have to be feeling it too. And that’s difficult in December. You’re watching the numbers on the end-of-year appeal and worrying about what happens if you don’t meet your fundraising goal. Performance anxiety is making you tense.

May I make a suggestion? Before you write for social media this month, slow it down. Breathe. Think about why you care so much: the good results your organization bring about that makes you want it to succeed.

Now, think about the donor.  She cares about those good results too. You’re together in this. That’s what brought you together in the first place.

You just have to speak the language of love with your donors, and watch them respond.

20 Ways to Thank Your Donors Throughout the Year

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thanksgivingIf you’re a nonprofit, every day is Thanksgiving…or should be.

Yes, I know it’s been months since your last appeal.  You sent a thank-you letter to each donor back then.  (In fact, maybe you sent the ideal thank-you letter.)  But have you been ignoring them since then?

You neglect donors at your peril.  Donors notice when and how often you’re in touch.  If they say, “That organization only writes me when they want money!”, how likely are they to respond the next time?

Have you heard the rule that you should thank a donor seven times before asking him or her for money again?  Maybe you wondered how in the world you’re supposed to do that.  How many ways can you say thank you?

Here are 20 creative ideas for showing your gratitude, courtesy of our friends at Lifehack.

  1. Make a gift bag. It doesn’t have to be expensive–just personal.
  2. Give a toast. You don’t need a special event–you could do this over lunch. Make a video and send it to the donor.  Picture the smile when they see it!
  3. Write a poem. Say why they deserve your thanks.
  4. Send them custom gift labels.
  5. Give a gift card. (Get the gift card donated, too.)
  6. Send a hand-written letter.
  7. Use social media to give thanks in public.
  8. Make your own digital greeting card.
  9. Make a Youtube video.
  10. Bake cookies.
  11. Make surprise gifts for guests at your events.
  12. Put together a flower basket.
  13. Take a picture. Again, it doesn’t have to be professional, just unique.  The camera on your phone can capture priceless moments!
  14. Pay it forward.  Show them you care about what they care about too.
  15. Do something special for them.
  16. Help them when they’re the ones who need help.
  17. Be there for them.
  18. Listen to them.
  19. Say it another language…especially if they speak it.
  20. Show them some #donorlove, without being asked.

You can’t do all twenty for all your donors. Fine.  But which ones can you do?  Make a plan to say thank you to as many of your donors as you can, each month.  When annual appeal time comes around again, they’ll think of you as a friend.

The Ideal Appeal Letter Begins With You

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November kicks off the annual scramble for donations in the U.S.  Your mailbox fills up with appeal letters from groups you support (and some you don’t). But do any of them look like this?

Next StepNext Step appeal letter filled their letter to my wife Rona with signs they care about her.

  • Calling her by name.  (I’m amazed how many groups still use the salutation “Dear Friend.”)
  • Creating visual appeal.  The photo catches the eye.
  • Using a real story.  It’s not just a photo: it’s a person, looking you in the eye, telling his story.
  • Adding a hand-written note.  It’s actually on an orange sticky note, and the content is personalized to Rona.
  • Directing her clearly how to give.

All of these elements make the letter vivid, attractive, and appealing.  But the most important thing that Next Step did was starting the letter with “You.” 

Next Step understands that donors will give if they feel that their donation is doing the good work.  As Seth Godin recently wrote, the donor is the hero of the story.  That’s why they give.

Now, your letter doesn’t literally have to start with “You.”  It would be boring if every letter did!  But when you wrote your organization’s annual appeal letter, did you start with the donor?  Did you do everything you could do to make them feel the letter was personally written for them?  And did you place the donor at the center of the story?

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