Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

TY Thursday: Thank Your Donors By Staying in Touch

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Which nonprofits are building stronger relationships with their donors during the coronavirus pandemic? I asked my Facebook friends for their opinions, and more than one mentioned Artisan’s Asylum.

artisan's asylum logo

A Website that Speaks to the Urgency of Now

Artisan’s Asylum is a non-profit makerspace devoted to the teaching, learning and practice of fabrication. That sounds like an in-group doesn’t it? But when you go to their website, the first thing you see is a pop-up that says:

Join Us On A 14-month Journey to #Amazing

Over the next fourteen months, Artisan’s Asylum will undergo a remarkable transformation. We invite you to join as we reflect on 10 years of service in Somerville, and look ahead to 25 years of service to the greater Boston region. Artisan’s will continue to produce PPE as long as our regional health care workers ask for them. We’ll redouble our effort to advance racial equity and diversity within the Asylum and the communities we serve. And we’ll complete a move to Allston-Brighton that will expand our physical presence and transform the way we work. Welcome to our journey.

Learn more…

That paragraph draws me right in. The language could be improved: it’s a little too much “we” and “us” for my taste, and not enough you. But look at those third and fourth sentences. If anyone is wondering how Artisan’s Asylum is responding to our twin crises of Covid-19 and racism, it’s right there.

And it takes a little more work, but you can find the details of how they are addressing them in the tabs at the top of the page, the ones marked with hashtags: #Refuge and #Covid-19.

Continue looking at the page and you see they are conducting online classes this summer–and using their blog to keep readers up to date on when and whether it will be safe to go back to the physical space again.

Social Media

The Artisans Asylum Twitter feed puts it verbal commitments into action. It shows members “making PPE [personal protective equipment] — and lots of it.”

On Twitter, the Asylum also shares resources for learning about antiracism. Its Facebook feed showcases the ways that computers can help people with autism become powerful contributors to society.

And on Instagram, besides its own classes, it advertises what some of its participants produce, like these t-shirts:

Uhuru t-shirts, Artisan's Asylum

What can you learn from Artisan’s Asylum?

  1. Post regularly.
  2. Post about what matters to people right now.
  3. Show how they can do something that matters by being a part of your organization.
  4. Be safe out there!

TY Thursday: Who’s Communicating Well with Donors?

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Donor Communications PlanWhen a first-time donor gives to your nonprofit, do they experience buyer’s remorse? What makes them say to themselves, “Well, that was a good decision, donating to them”?

It’s always important to communicate with donors between asks. Not just first-time donors but renewals, too–especially when they give to your during a crisis.

I recently asked my Facebook friends, “Which organizations are doing an especially good job right now of letting you know what your donations are doing for people in need?” Here’s what they told me. Can you copy their good ideas?

Artisan’s Asylum is doing a FANTASTIC job (and this is an area where I am super picky). Also, Zumix.

The Welcome Project.

Cambridge Mayors Disaster Relief Fund has regular updates.

Somerville Homeless Coalition has updated the frequency of their communication and MAMAS – Mutual Aid Medford & Somerville is completely transparent about finances – have spreadsheet posted.

Give to RAICES and Physicians for Human Rights because I have had personal email exchanges with a real person. Unhitched from an organization similar to RAICES, also doing very good work, because I felt their contacts with me were too formal and organizational. Can’t document this, but felt sort of left out.

Boston Moms Demand Action (gun control) has the best outreach people I’ve ever known. They do outreach by text, and I feel like it’s my next door neighbor calling. They are just so nice.

And here’s an example not to follow:

Hi – we haven’t received any correspondence from [MA Covid-19 fund]. I hope our contributions are making a difference, but in this case, we just have to go by the philosophy of giving without expectations. We chose this charity based on recommendations from Channel 5 and Governor Baker’s wife.

We will look more closely at some of these organizations in coming weeks. For now,  though, please look at your own communications. Think about what your donors would say about their gifts to you.

Would they say they only hope they’re making a difference?

Or would they say when you get in touch (which is often), “I feel like it’s my next-door neighbor calling”?

call on mobile phone

Fundraising Tuesday: How to Ensure Donors Read Your Letter

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Yes, you can raise funds this summer.

I’ve been showing you how asking for donations in the middle of a pandemic and an uprising against racism is actually doing your donors a favor. One of the things donors want most in times like these is the feeling of making a difference, and you can give that to them! (If you don’t, other nonprofits will.)

I’ve also been explaining how to raise funds even if your nonprofit works on issues that have very little relation to Covid-19 or to murders of Black people and other people of color by police. Take the A-B-C approach to fundraising: Acknowledge the crises. Be responsive. Continue to pursue your mission.

 

 

 

 

Direct mail works–better than asking by email, and much better than fundraising online. Sure, the best approach is a multichannel fundraising campaign. But it all comes back to the letter. And job #1 is to make sure the donor actually reads it!

So, how do you give the donor everything she needs to want to open and read your fundraising appeal?

Here’s how to make sure that letter you worked so hard to write gets read:

Envelopes Make Donors Want to Open Your Mail.

Once your donor opens the envelope, the postscript is the most important part of your appeal letter. (So important that here are four more ways to use postscripts!)

If you want a donor to read your letter, “Dear Friend” won’t cut it. Get their name right.

“But how do I know what the donor likes to be called?” Ask their name.

Use photos that tell the story.

Ms. Marvel hero

How your donor should see herself

Tell stories in words, too! And be sure to make the donor the hero of the story.

Follow these six steps and donors will be intrigued by the envelope, attracted by the letter, moved by the story, and motivated to give.

 

 

 

 

 

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