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Fundraising Tuesday: An Event is Not a Fundraiser

May 23, 2023 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

An event is not a fundraiser. A person is.

Your nonprofit organization may pour a lot of time into holding events. When the weather is good, you may organize walks, 5k runs, barbecues, or golf tournaments. When the weather pushes you indoors (and the pandemic permits), you may have a gala dinner, an auction, a night at the museum–although I hope you have learned how to make them online events too!)

Those are not fundraisers.

Why?

  1. Some of these events are intentionally aimed at saying thank you rather than raising money. Appreciation events for donors, staff, or volunteers build relationships but may cost money in the short run.
  2. Some of these events aim to make money but don’t. Oops! (And even more of them run at a loss, or a wash, if you take into account the huge amount of staff time spent organizing them.)
  3. The main reason is that people who go to events because they enjoy them are not necessarily people who support your organization through thick and thin. They are not the loyal donors whose lifetime value to your nonprofit is huge.

The only way you can create loyal donors is by having people get in touch with them. The people who do that? They’re the fundraisers!

Rev up your fundraisers: reduce your events

You may already have held a spring event or two. You may have summer and fall events in the works. I would urge you to think about your events calendar again. What event can you cut?

Which of your events is

  • Raising less money each year?
  • Taking the most time to produce?
  • Getting stale for your supporters?
  • Forcing your fundraisers to spend time with vendors when they could be talking with donors?

Ask yourself those questions. Then, cut one event from your annual schedule.

What should a fundraiser do instead?

If you free your fundraising people from organizing yet another event, they can write personalized thank-you notes, make phone calls, ask donors what makes them give and mark that information in your database.

They can write great newsletters, email messages, and social media posts.

They can produce annual reports that donors will want to read and impact statements that will make them proud to be a donor.

A fundraiser is so much more than an event planner. Give them the time they need for real human contact and watch your income grow. Click To Tweet

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3 Simple Communication Tips to Help Your Nonprofit Build Healthy Relationships With Donors

May 24, 2022 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

A guest post by Elena Stewart

Nonprofit communication has changed drastically in recent decades. In the 1990’s, most people didn’t expect a personalized experience when dealing with the organizations they supported. Nonprofits would send a letter in the mail, and donors would send back a check — and that was it.

Now, organizations (and businesses) use algorithms, CRM software, and automation tools to personalize everything from our shopping carts to our newsfeeds. As a result, we expect personalization. And you can rest assured that your donors do too!

But donors are after more than a personalized experience; they want to feel that they have the inside scoop and a sense of belonging with the organizations they support. And they want to know they’re making a positive impact. Below are three practical communication tips for connecting with your donors!

Know the Core Functions of Your Strategy  

First, you must know how to create a successful donor communications strategy, which involves identifying your core functions. For example, you’ll need to focus on telling impactful stories about people instead of relying on statistics and numbers. A personal story about someone directly impacted by your organization can be powerful and inspiring.

You should also plan to regularly update your donors about the progress your nonprofit is making in the community and the world. Of course, you should always communicate how their contributions have made an impact.

Furthermore, it’s important to allow your donors to participate in the conversation. When people give their money to a nonprofit, they want to feel like they belong to the community and contribute to the world’s betterment. Take advantage of your donors’ expertise and resources when strategizing, and give them a platform to share ideas and opinions.

Send Email

Once you have your core functions in place, it’s time to make a plan for executing your donor communications strategy. To do so, you’ll need to choose the appropriate channels.

Chances are you already use email because it has long been among the most common platforms for donor communications. But there may be some things you can do to improve results.

For example, make sure each email is personalized by including the donor’s name, contribution amounts, and years with the nonprofit. And consider that email tends to lack the personal touch of a phone call. Think of ways to warm up your messages by recalling bits of your last conversation with the donor or mentioning their specific interests or recent donations.

You should also respond quickly when a donor emails you. When someone sends an email, it shows they are engaged in your nonprofit, and you want to maintain their enthusiasm with a fast and personal response.

And, of course, every email you send should be relevant to your organization’s goals, challenges, and progress. The occasional uplifting story can also go a long way in inspiring action!

Engage on Social Media   

If your nonprofit is not active on social media, now’s the time to engage. Develop your social media strategy around age and other demographics to determine which platforms to focus on for your messaging. Social media is an excellent way to post updates about your nonprofit, interact with donors and other supporters, and promote your cause.

You can even build a community by growing your online presence. Look for free tools that allow you to design custom infographics for explaining the challenges and victories occurring in your community.

Meet In-Person

We live in a digital world, but face-to-face communication is as powerful as ever. Look for opportunities to meet people in person so you can have natural conversations without the possibility of technical issues. The right body language and connecting on a human level can do wonders for moving people to become donors or continue their contributions.

 

There are many other ways to build healthy relationships with your donors through communication. A well-timed text message or handwritten letter, for example, can inspire people to action.

But the ideas above can help you lay a firm foundation for your donor communications strategy. Keep learning how to get your organization’s message across more effectively, and stay true to your mission and values along the way!

 

Would you like to read more helpful content or learn about communication consulting services for nonprofit organizations? Visit DennisFischman.com today!


Elena Stewart made the jump from a corporate job she wasn’t entirely happy with, to running her own business that gives her the financial freedom and flexible lifestyle she’s always wanted. As a life coach, she now gets the happiness of helping others get to the places that might seem out of reach.

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TY Thursday: 3 Annual Reports that Thank Donors

July 1, 2021 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

With a good annual report, you can make donors feel thanked and valued. And when you do, you will create loyal donors and inspire renewed donations.

Why Annual Reports Matter

When a donor sends a gift to your nonprofit, they want to know these things:

  • You received the money.
  • You appreciated the donation.
  • You used it well.
  • It made a difference.

Not unreasonable of them, right? When you’re a donor, you probably want to hear about the same things. But the information that donors want is not going to get to them by accident. Your nonprofit has to make a deliberate effort.

They have questions. How do you let them know the answers ?

A great thank-you letter or email is the first step to letting donors know you are grateful. Then, communications throughout the year can reinforce your message that they are heroes making the difference.

Your annual report can pull it all together. By showing how you spent money and how it helped real people to live better, you can make the case that giving to your nonprofit was a good decision…and help the donor to make that decision again.

Three Ways to Create Annual Reports

Brochure

Provide annual report inside

Provide sent my wife and me a colorful tri-fold brochure. One side of the brochure focuses entirely on impact. “Over 1,500 providers trained,” it says, and then it:

  • Tells us what happened after the training: more healthcare and social service providers referring their patients for abortion, at more sites, sharing the information they’d learned more broadly.
  • Shows how immensely satisfied participants were with the training.
  • Quotes a participant bout what they learned and how it made them feel.

In three seconds, I could tell what Provide was saying. In thirty seconds, I could see why it was impressive.

Provide annual report text

 

The flip side of the brochure was somewhat crowded with the classic pie charts about finances (too large) and verbiage about Who We Are, Who We Work With, and Who We Train (too small and in white on black, which is hard for middle- and old-aged eyes to read). But these sentences in the message literally stood out:

We see you.

We hear you.

We appreciate you.

Could your nonprofit use a brochure like this to send those messages to your donors?

Newsletter style

PIH annual report coverPartners In Health sent us an an annual report that looks a lot like the newsletters they send us regularly.

The downside of that approach is that at first, it didn’t seem like anything special. I nearly put it aside to read later–and you know what happens to most things that are put aside like that: they end up in the recycling bin, unread!

The strength of the approach is that it’s “on brand,” so if I am used to getting good information from Partners In Health, I will expect a similar good experience from this mailing.

The report uses photos to show the human impact of its programs and graphics to present the overall numbers. Both of those work well.

The text included in the report is less effective. Again, it’s too small, and it’s all “we” (meaning the organization). The only place you appears is on the donation form included with the report–and sends the message that they are doing all the good, and my only role is as a piggy bank, not a partner in health.

Could your nonprofit adapt your newsletter format for an annual report? And if you do, could you use fewer words in larger font and make the donors feel like a partner?

Flyer and personal note

SHC annual report personal note

The Greater Somerville Homeless Coalition grabbed my attention as soon as I opened the envelope because, on notepaper-sized stationery, they hand-wrote the message:

Dennis & Rona,

We value you

and the support you give us!

SHC annual report coverThat emphasis on the donor continues onto the Coalition’s brochure, which starts out, “Clients arrive at our front steps in crisis. Your contribution opens the door…”

In fact, almost every time the brochure says “you,” it’s possible to read it as including you, the donor.

I appreciate you guys. You are doing frontline work right now.

You make the difference. Thank you for being part of the solution.

It is important for people like me, who can’t afford the rent, to have the kind of genuine support you give me.

 

SHC annual report insideLike Partners in Health, the Coalition presents its numbers in eye-catching graphics. But the Coalition’s annual report goes one step beyond what either of the other organizations did, because it tells us the story of one person and his children.

When donors ask, “What good did I do by giving to them?”, I don’t think they’re going to say “I sent 32,869 bags of groceries,” or even, “I housed 192 homeless clients.” I think they’re going to say, “I helped Johnnie and his children get out of the homeless shelter.”

Could your nonprofit touch the heart by including stories and personal notes in your annual report?

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