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Fundraising Tuesday: You Asked. Now What?

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By the time you read this, I hope you have sent out your ideal end-of-year fundraising letter. Maybe you did it by mail. Maybe you sent it by email. Either way, it’s tempting to sit back and let it do its work.

Don’t give in to temptation! There’s more to do if you want to stay atop your donors’ mind…and donation list!

Your appeal is one of many, many appeals your donors are receiving this time of year. (Just look at your own mail or inbox and you will agree.) To make yours stand out, it cannot be one and done. Here are some ideas to bring your appeal to the top of your donors’ list.

What to do after you ask

  1. Follow up a letter with email.
    • In the From: line, send the message in the name of a real person.
    • Make sure you choose a Subject: line that will make the donor perk up and open the message.
    • Talk about what the donor wants, not what your nonprofit wants.
    • Include a link to your Donate page–twice or three times!
  2. Follow up a written message with a phone call.
    • Prepare a good script.
    • Train your volunteers.
    • Invite your Board to get involved. Following up an ask will be easier for many of them than making the ask themselves!
  3. Follow up a personal message by talking to all your donors on social media.  Now is the time to make the donor the hero of the story.

“Here is a person who’s struggling, and you can help them get over the hump and have a happy ending.” There is no better message to post in December!

December is different. As Double the Donation points out, “30% of annual giving happens in December, with about 10% of all annual donations coming in the last three days of the year.”

The rest of the year, telling success stories helps donors feel happy and proud that they gave to your organization. But in December, you want to make the donor feel that the ending of the story is all in their hands. When you call, or email, and especially when you post, bring them to the brink, and then ask. And always make it easy to give by including the link to your donation page!

Fundraising Tuesday: Who Needs My Donation?

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Person standing in front of red question mark, pondering

When a person decides to give away money, the one question they ask–sometimes out loud–is “Who needs my donation?”

When you ask a person to support your nonprofit’s work, you have to answer that question. Otherwise, they are not going to give.

So, let’s take that key question apart.

WHO Needs My Donation?

When people give money, they want to benefit someone specific: a person or family, currently facing a problem, that will be better off with their help.

That’s it.

Donors don’t want to help your nonprofit. They don’t care about your Executive Director, your Board, your talented staff, your dedicated volunteers.

What moves them to give is that somebody is in trouble, and they can help.

Your nonprofit is not the target of their generosity. You are the channel through which it flows.

Therefore, as odd as it may seem, talking about your nonprofit is not the best way to raise money for your nonprofit. Your self-interest as an organization is to be less selfish. Get your ego out of the way, and talk about a person or family the donor will be helping, instead.

(The exceptions: donors who have a long history with your organization, who know the insiders personally, may indeed want to hear about–and from–the ED, the Board, etc. Donors who have a more institutional approach and behave more like grantmakers may want to see evidence of your effectiveness. But they are not the vast majority of people who might be willing to give…if you told them WHO they were giving to.)

Who NEEDS My Donation?

fun runDonations are not prizes for reaching the finish line. They are a bottle of water for people still running the race.

Therefore, if you tell the generous person about someone who’s leaped the hurdles, overcome the obstacles, and is doing well today, they will feel great–but they will not donate. Why should they? That person doesn’t need their help!

Success stories are great to put on your communications calendar year round. They help the prospective donors get to know, like, and trust your organization, and they help first-time donors to say to themselves, “I did the right thing when I gave. My donation made a difference.”

When you are asking for money, don't reach the finish line. Share on X

In your appeal letter or fundraising email, tell the story of a person or family, currently facing a problem, that will be better off with their help.

Currently facing. Will be better off, in the future, if the donor gives.

Create a sense of need if you want the donor to feel the urgency personally.

Who Needs MY Donation?

The great thing about telling success stories year round is that it helps donors and prospects feel they are not alone. If they give, they join a group of like-minded people who have already given. Their donation makes a difference, and it doesn’t have to make all the difference.

What’s great for year-round communication is deadly for your fundraising appeal.

At the moment the person is making the decision whether or not to give, they need to feel like everything depends on them. The person or family currently facing a problem is ready to topple into the abyss, and you, the donor, can reach out and give them the hand they need.

Notice! You are getting your organization out of the middle. The connection you are forging is a direct connection between the person who needs the help and their partner, the donor. Also notice: you are focusing on the present moment, to the exclusion of everything else. (The thank-you letter will be a good place to move toward the happy ending of the story!)

Who Needs My DONATION?

invite meIt’s not enough to say “This person needs your help.” You must also say, “Give now.”

Yes, you must ask for money in so many words. People won’t make that decision to give unless you do–and more than once in every fundraising appeal.

And you must suggest a donation level, because if you don’t, the donor won’t know what you expect. You can use the classic “$50 will do this, $250 will do that” approach. Even better: you can know the donor well enough and use sensitive enough software to ask them for just a bit more than they gave the last time.

If you focus on a person or family, currently facing a problem, that will be better off with their help, you may gain the person’s attention and win their heart. That is not enough. Thoughts and prayers won’t do it. You need to ask for the money that will really help. Only then will you, the donor, and the person they mean to give to all be on the same team.

Fundraising Tuesday: “Tell Us about YOU”

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“You” is the magic word in fundraising, and T’ruah charmed me by using it.

Not only did they send me email with the Subject line “Dennis, Tell Us about YOU.” That would have been enough to make me open the email. (That is a nonprofit’s first objective any time you send email!)

They went beyond the Subject line to talk to me personally and express how much they care about me throughout the content of the email.

Here’s what the message said:

Hi Dennis,

If you have 5 minutes to spare, I’d really appreciate it if you can fill out this quick survey from T’ruah. You’ll be helping out an organization you love AND you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $150 gift card from Bookshop.org.

Take our survey!
We’re interested in learning more about the needs of the changing Jewish community to better develop resources and programming. We are looking for respondents who can tell us about their media habits and how that intersects with their Jewish values and community engagement.

Will you consider taking the survey? Feel free to pass it along to Jewish family and friends!

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you so much!

Warmly,

Shira Danan
Chief Communications Officer
she/her

Please notice what T’ruah did here.

  • They called me by my name, not “Dear Friend.”
  • They led with appreciation and closed with thanks.
  • They used “you” three times in the opening paragraph, as opposed to “I” once–and that “I” was to make the appreciation more personal!
  • They said “you” and “your” more often than “we” and “our” through the email.
  • They reaffirmed the closeness of the relationship with phrases like “an organization you love,” “family and friends,” and the closing, “Warmly.” Even the phrase “Jewish values” reaffirms that T’ruah and I are on the same team and the same page.

All that would have been great with any ask. But T’ruah used warm, personal, “tell us about you” language to actively find out more about me, the donor, and what I care about.

Sending a survey because you want to know how to manipulate someone better is one thing. Sending it in the key of “tell us about YOU, because we care who you are and what you want to hear about” is quite another. Which message is your nonprofit sending to donors?

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