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Fundraising Tuesday: Two New Ideas for Renewing Donors

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Renewing donors takes loveRenewing your donors is much more effective than acquiring new ones. You already know they’re interested: they expressed that with their first gift! And if you have been saying thank-you and reporting on what you did with their gift (and what difference it made), they should be in the mood to give again. You’ve shown them the love!

It costs less to renew donors than to find new ones. Over time, they become your loyal supporters–or rather, you become their favored organization! Instead of asking themselves, “Am I going to give to this group again?,” they think “How much?” and “How often?” And sometimes, “Who can I tell about this fabulous organization?”

With that in mind, I want to congratulate WNYC Public Radio for giving me two new ideas for wooing those donors toward renewing.

“It’s Your Anniversary!”

WNYC’s envelope arrived in the mail with this message boldly blazoned on the front:

IT’S YOUR ANNIVERSARY

Stay current. Stay inspired. Renew today.

Look at all the things WNYC did right!

  • They used a deadline that was meaningful to me, not an internal deadline.
  • They caught my attention and made me want to open the envelope.
  • They used the word “your.”
  • They pointed out the benefits I get from giving.
  • They asked for money, right there, right then.

They also avoided doing the wrong things!

Have you ever received a blank envelope, with no return address, from an organization you supported–and when you opened it anyway, it said “We have not yet received this year’s donation”? Sadly, I have: on the same day this letter arrived from WNYC. Which one do you think received my donation?

A Personal Page for Renewing My Donation

Here’s a second great idea that I have never seen before, and I predict that many nonprofits will adopt it. You should steal it, now, for your organization.

P.S. Use your personalized online form to renew right now, rather than looking for a stamp and taking a trip to the mail box!

That’s right. The station set up an online donation form under www.mywnyc.org with my name on it. Not only that, but it had my name and address already filled in. All I had to do was choose an amount, fill in my credit card number, and click the button.

What a fabulous way to make the donor feel seen! (And on the back end, I’ll bet, it’s making it completely simple for the development department to see the renewal and thank me in real time.)

You should steal these two ideas now, for your organization.

It’s Not Renewing if I Didn’t Give Before

One thing the station did that you should NOT copy: don’t ask me to renew a gift that I didn’t make.

Yes, I gave to the program On the Media. Yes, WNYC produces On the Media. But that doesn’t mean I gave to the station…or want to.

Look, I’ve been on the inside at nonprofit organizations, and I know how much it matters to get unrestricted donations. When a donor does what I did last year–give to a specific program–it helps. But when the donor gives to the organization as a whole, the dollars go farther. I get that.

All the same, it’s dishonest to pretend I already made a donation and said “Use it where you need it most.” I haven’t said that: not yet, at least. If you want me to give to the organization instead of (or in addition to) the program I like, you have to persuade me. There are ways of doing that. Try them!

 

 

Fundraising Tuesday: Let Donors Hear That They Matter

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We want to hear from youIs your nonprofit not getting the donations that you would like? The reason might be that you are not telling donors what they want to hear.

I’ll let you in on a secret: I read all the appeal letters you send to the Fischman household, and the great majority of them are focused on your nonprofit organization.

You bragged about what “we” accomplished. You told Rona and me about what “we” need.

And in each case, “we” meant the organization…not the Fischmans or any other donors.

This is an Opportunity!

The bad news is that by saying “we,” you are putting the donors on the outside and making them less likely to give. Donors don’t want to hear that you’re great without them. Why should they donate if you’re already doing so well?

The good news is that you can tell donors what they want to hear–which is that they matter.

Let Donors Hear the Difference They Make

Do donors really need to hear that they matter? Don’t just take it from me.

To create compelling stories for your nonprofit marketing, consider ways to make the audience the hero of the story. –Khaled Allen

Your donors don’t care about your campaign goal! -Tom Ahern

So what do donors care about?  They care about themselves.  Not in a selfish way, but in how they help your organization succeed.  They want to know what difference their support makes.  The impact their donation has on your ability to fulfill your mission. –Chad Barger

making heroes not exploiting

Three female superheroes on a t-shirt

Why do superheros keep on going? Because they know something bad will happen if they stop. Making your donors the superheroes for your organization helps them understand they need to keep helping your cause, keep fighting the bad guys, and keep making the world a better place. –Kivi Leroux Miller

How You Can Say “You Matter” so They Hear It

If you are using the word you more than the name of your agency, that’s a good first step. By itself, though, you won’t do the trick.

'We are a great agency, so you need to support us' is not making the donors feel they matter. Click To Tweet

The key idea to express is “Because of you, the donor, this success story happens.” Draw a direct line between the donor’s decision to give and the lives saved, or the people helped, or the great work of art produced or performed.

It’s odd but true: the more you claim the credit, the less people feel inclined to give.

But please hear this: the more you step out of the way, the more you portray your organization as the donor’s tool for doing what they want done, the more likely your donors are to give. And to feel proud of themselves. And to give again.

Fundraising Tuesday: The Ideal Email Appeal

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When it comes to raising money, letters in the mail (and thank-you’s in the mail) still rule. But email is coming in a close second.

Part of that is the moment. As I write this, the pandemic is still raging in the United States, and Donald Trump is still President of the United States–and for both those reasons, the post office has been strained beyond belief.

Part of it is generational. There are more donors now who grew up always using email. (Indeed, there are some for whom email is passe, and they will let hundreds of messages pile up in their inbox while at least looking at every text message they receive on their phone.)

And part of the reason email is becoming more important is that email and postal mail are not competitors. To reach your donors, get their attention, and move them to give, you need both!

Both is good

The Ideal Email Appeal

You have already seen the ideal appeal letter and the ideal thank-you letter on this blog. Now, I’d like to share what I consider to be the ideal email appeal. (Once again, I tip my hat to alert reader Joan Hill!)

From: Brendan Colthurst <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Dec 29, 2020, 11:31 AM
Subject: You helped us tell stories no one else wants to tell
To: Joan Hill

Joan, I want to share a couple of important videos our video team here at RAICES made this year, acknowledge the importance of telling stories no one else is telling, and ask you for a donation of $65 to help make sure we can continue to tell these stories and fight for immigrant human rights.

BLACK IMMIGRANT LIVES

In the summer, one of our videos made a splash, with millions of views, tens of thousands of shares, and write-ups in major publications: Our Black Immigrant Lives are Under Attack video and accompanying article. In the video we lay out horrifying fact after horrifying fact about a US immigration system that is both terrorizing and undeniably worse for Black immigrants. We believe everyone needs to know what is happening to Black immigrants in the United States.

Black immigrant

DACA

On DACA, we brought you a series of videos to both explain the legal technicalities…

Defend DACA

…and to meet DACA recipients who have been caught in the crosshairs.

DACA recipients

CELEBRATING WINS

We celebrated a moment of pure joy watching Cameroonian asylum seeker Stephane reunite with his sister after a decade apart. Like the majority of asylum seekers, he was cruelly trapped in detention for months, even though his family was waiting for him with a safe home. Thankfully our RAICES Bond Program was able to get him out.

Asylum seeker

We believe that if all Americans truly knew how America treats its immigrant community members, they’d fight like hell for immigrant human rights just like we do. That’s why we tell the stories no one else is telling.

DONATE

Whether you are giving today, already support us, or are giving in other ways, thank you. Our mission requires solidarity, vigilance, and a strong community of supporters who stand up and fight whenever and wherever human rights abuses occur.

Thank you for standing with us,
Brendan Colthurst
Chief Technology Officer
RAICES

RAICESTEXAS.ORG

EIN 74-2436920

RAICES
1305 N. Flores
San Antonio, TX 78212
United States

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Why It Works

This email from RAICES does well at every turn.

  • The “From:” line tells you it’s in the name of a single, real person.
  • The “Subject:” line you that YOU made a real difference, and how. (It also promises stories, and everyone likes to hear those!)
  • Emotional language engages the reader.
  • The email asks for money early and often, so if Joan doesn’t end up reading the whole email she may still give.
  • The Donate links are prominent and visible.
  • The photos and videos break up the “wall of text” and add visual interest to keep the reader interested. And the links lead to pages that include a call to give to RAICES.

Could this email be a little on the long side? Perhaps–if Joan weren’t already a committed supporter.

But the nonprofit knew who Joan was–she’s in their database–and they pitched their appeal to her personally. I’d bet money they sent a different email to first-time donors, and a different one to prospects!

The Next Time You Ask, Use Email

If you are not asking for money by email yet, please take some tips from this example, and start! Don't give up on postal mail, because that would be a disaster for your bottom line. But using both, in tandem, would be ideal. Click To Tweet

 

 

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