Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Fundraising Tuesday: Do You Want Runners, or Donors?

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runnners

They’re runners, but are they donors too?

What a beautiful day for a road race! The temperature is comforting. The skies are blue with watercolor clouds daubed here and there. The runners are wearing their shorts and t-shirts, jogging in place, ready to begin.

Lots of nonprofits hold road races as fundraising events, and some races make money for the organization.

But are the people who participate donors? Or are they just runners?

It makes a difference in how you communicate with them between events.

The Difference is Commitment

For a certain number of runners, your 5k is just a chance to do what they want to anyway: run. They can feel good about themselves because they’re helping a cause, any cause. But it may be kids with multiple sclerosis one week and homeless families the next.

We’re not picking on runners here. Foodies like to go to Taste of events. Socialites like to go to galas to see and be seen. That’s why those kinds of fundraising events are popular in the first place.

It does mean, though, that you can’t gauge the depth of a person’s commitment to your cause, or your organization, by their participation in the event. They may not even know what you do. They may just be taking part to oblige a friend!

Focus on Your Loyal Supporters

Of course, you want to thank every participant. Realistically, however, you have only so much time to spend, and you want to spend it well. That means putting it where it will be most valuable: with the most loyal supporters of your organization.

  • Which of your runners also spends a ton of time recruiting other people to participate and/or donate to your organization? Give that person a variety of thanks throughout the year.
  • Which runners dip into their own funds to give to you, not just for the race but for your end-of-year appeal? Make sure they know that you know how generous they are. Personalize the ask and the thank-you.
  • Be on the lookout for the moment when a runner becomes a donor through some other channel. That’s a sign of deepening commitment. Give them a call and find out what’s touching their heart.

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

Fundraising Tuesday: What Should You Know about a Donor?

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wrong birthday

There are some things you need to know!

“Happy birthday,” I say to you.

“Thanks,” you say, “but it’s not my birthday. That was months ago.”

“Oh,” I reply. “Well, most people I know are celebrating their birthdays this month, so I’ll wish you happy birthday now.”

How would you feel about that? Would you be happy that I wished you well–no matter when? Or…would you be annoyed that I didn’t know when you were born (and apparently, I didn’t care)?

There are some things that friends have to know about their friends. And your nonprofit has to know some of them about your donors.

When’s the “Holiday Season”?

When you get to December, do you wish your donors a happy holiday season? The thing is, for some of them, the holiday season was months ago.

In 2018:

  • The Jewish holiday season begins this coming Sunday night, September 9, with the eve of Rosh Hashanah. It continues throughout September.
  • Muslims already celebrated Eid ul-Adha August 21-25. It is one of their two most important holidays.
  • Wiccans and other pagans look forward to the Autumnal Equinox, or Mabon, on September 22.

And those are just the religious holidays! National Hispanic Heritage Month begins September 15. There’s a case to be made that September is the “holiday season”–at least, for some of your donors.

You really need to know which ones. Otherwise, you’re wishing donors a happy birthday on the wrong day.

What’s Your “Dog vs. Cat” Question?

Now, it may be that the people on your donor list don’t celebrate any holidays (only vacation days). But there is something that matters to them, something that distinguishes them from one another, some factor that makes them feel welcome or unwelcome. And you need to know what that is.

cat and dogFor the ASPCA, I’ve heard, asking donors one simple question makes all the difference: “Are you a dog person or a cat person?”

Once the organization finds that out, cat people get mail and email with photos of cats, stories about cats, appeals to help cats.

Dog people get…well, you can figure that out!

So, for your organization, what is your “cat vs. dog question”? Is it about the holidays people celebrate? Is it the town they live in? Is it the issue they care about, or the population they want you to serve? Whatever it is, find it out, and then, make sure they hear from you about what matters to them.

 

 

 

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