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TY Thursday: Thank Like a Human

May 5, 2022 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Did you make donations online at the end of last year? If so, you probably saw a lot of email acknowledgments arrive in your inbox, automatically.

How many of these so-called thanks sounded like they were written by an automaton?

Most of the emails I received in response to my donation sounded that way. And for the nonprofits I gave to, it’s a missed opportunity.

A Donation is Part of a Relationship

Automation is a great labor-saving device. It means that a lot of fundraisers could celebrate New Year’s Day instead of working on Sunday and the holiday. But consider: how does it work for the donor?

First-time donors

bad dateWhen a donor gives to your organization for the first time, it’s like agreeing to a first date. Immediately, they wonder:

“Did I do the right thing? Do we have as much in common as I hoped we did? Am I going to be sorry I gave, or will it lead to something that can last?”

So imagine going out on a first date and hearing, “Thank you for agreeing to see me on December 29, for a dinner that cost $36.52. Your company for the evening meant a lot to me.”

Not very romantic, is it? And your date probably says that to everyone! So, there’s a good chance that first date–or first-time donation–will be the last.

Renewal donors

breakfast coupleGetting an impersonal message can be even more off-putting to the donor who’s been giving for years.

Imagine a loyal supporter of your organization. She has come to events, contributed items for your silent auction, and told her friends about you. This year, she has given her biggest donation ever, online, using her credit card. And what she got back from you was the same automaton response as everybody else.

It’s as if she’s sitting across the table from you at breakfast smiling because she’s left a present by your plate, and she says, “Happy anniversary, my love.” And you say, “Thank you. Please pass the salt”!

Nonprofits, we can do better than that.

Thanks! Auto-Responses that Show the Love

I want to give credit where credit is due. It takes some work to set up an automatic email to go out as soon as a donation comes in. And it’s better than nothing. Plus, some organizations write the ideal thank-you letter and send it in the mail.

But with just a little more effort, your nonprofit can thank donors like you mean it from the very first email you send. Here are good, better, and best ways of revising your automatic email to donors.

Good: Remind the donor what you do.

On the face of it, that seems silly. They just gave to you, right? They should know what you do! But you may be on their list from last year, and in any case, they may need a reminder before the memory fades. Give them the gift of a reminder.

Example–the Children’s Room in Arlington, MA says:

Your generosity supports our work with children, teens, and families who are coping with the death of an immediate family member, and the educators and professionals who seek to help them.

Better: tell the donor what their donation will do. Make the donor the hero.

Example–MADRE tells me:

Your gift enables women to provide food, shelter, emergency medical care and other critical resources for their families and communities. You give women the tools to build new skills and step up as leaders. And your dedication trains grassroots women to demand justice, and advocate for policies, locally and globally, that protect women’s rights.

Best: add a story.

Don’t just tell your donors they make a difference. Show them how they matter.

Share with them a story about one person (and possibly their family) in trouble, who is already better off “because you helped.”

So far, I am not seeing any of my favorite nonprofits tell stories in their automatic thank-you, and that’s a shame. But for your nonprofit, it’s an opportunity. Be the first one to add a story, and your donors will remember.

Using the Right Tools to Be More Human When You Thank

No matter what tool you’re using to acknowledge gifts, there’s a way to edit the acknowledgment. Before last year fades into memory, please take some time to edit it right now.

Whether you use the good, better, or best models above, you can certainly make your first response to a donor something that sounds like it came from a human being. When you’re done, it can be something you’re proud for your friends to receive!

And if the tool you’re using doesn’t give you enough room to tell a good story? Then this is the year to get another tool. The time you spend now will turn into happier donors this coming December…and forever

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TY Thursday: Your Favorite Posts of 2021

January 13, 2022 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Thanking your first-time donors turns them into repeat donors.

Thanking your repeat donors turns them into loyal supporters.

Thanking your loyal supporters makes the lifetime value of their donations multiply. It’s the most important thing you can do to improve your fundraising!

Here are your favorite posts from 2021 about expressing an attitude of gratitude and #DonorLove. Please write me back and tell me which of these you are going to put into practice in 2022!

TY Thursday: How to Thank Recurring Donors

Recurring donors give automatically. When you thank them, though, it should be anything but automatic. You need a deliberate and thoughtful approach to showing donor love to this special group.

TY Thursday: Your Board Will Thank You for Doing This

Getting thanked by a Board member helps donors think, “I made a good decision when I gave.” But it helps your Board of Directors, too.

TY Thursday: A Toast to You, Generous Donor!

The essence of a toast is not the liquid you drink. It’s the words you say. What can you say to make your donors feel extra special–right now?

TY Thursday: Thank You, Donor–You’re Welcome!

A welcome kit (also called a packet or package) tells the donor, “You matter to us. You’re not just a cash cow. We’re in this together for the long haul.” What should go into a welcome kit?

TY Thursday: The Ideal Thank-You Letter

I have seen the ideal appeal letter.  I haven’t yet seen the ideal thank-you letter.  But it went out today.  Did you send it?

 

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TY Thursday: 3 Ways to Make Sure You Get the Name Right

October 28, 2021 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Nothing matters more to your donors than getting their name right.

Don’t just take my word for it. Ask other experts in nonprofit communications, and they’ll tell you the same thing. Or ask the donors. You’ll get an earful about how annoyed they get when a nonprofit is happy to take their money but can’t be bothered to remember their name!

It can be simple to call the donor by the name they prefer. If you have a good CRM, it will offer you fields where you can enter the full name of the donor plus the name they’d like you to use in the salutation of your appeal letter (or the To: line of your email).

But first, you have to find out the right name.

How do you do that? Ask.

Ask about Names When You Ask for Donations

When BAGLY, the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth, asked for money, they included this language on their donation card.

Did we spell your name or address incorrectly?

We’re so sorry. We try to maintain an accurate database of our supporters, but we need your help on this one.

Correct Name Spelling: _____________________________

Correct Mailing Address: ____________________________

Correct E-Mail Address: _____________________________

BAGLY is quietly allowing people to say “My name is Albert, but you can call me Al” or “I used to go by Sarah, but now my name is Carter” without making any fuss about it.

Ask about Names When You Say “Thank You”

Keshet, the organization for LGBTQ equality in Jewish life, found another good way to ask which names to use. When they thanked us for our donation, they checked how my wife and I would like to be listed in their annual report.

As I said when I congratulated them in a post in 2020: “Keshet asked what we wanted to be called. They saw the way the names were listed on the check we’d sent them, but they didn’t assume that was exactly how we wanted our names to appear.”

Because everyone knows what happens when you assume!

Ask about Names and Give the Donor Control

It’s probably no accident that the first two examples came from organizations that serve the LGBTQ+ community. Names given and names chosen matter enormously to queer people, especially people who have made a gender transition. These organizations know that and tacitly act on their knowledge. But all nonprofits should follow their lead.

Just recently, I saw a different approach from an organization that is not specifically LGBTQ+, one that impressed me. Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) emailed me to let me know that the control over my name was in my own hands.

Here’s why they made the effort:

We know how harmful misnaming is and we want to do everything in our power to not do it. We want to thank those of you who have come forward and spoken up about the harm being misnamed causes in our community, especially for our trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary members.

Here’s what they did:

“The heart of JFREJ’s new policy is our self-reporting portal which gives you control over your personal data,” they told me.

When you click on the link, you will be asked to submit the email address we have on file for you (i.e., the email address that this email was sent to). You will then be emailed a new link, which will show you the private information we have on record for you and will give you the opportunity to change any or all of it, including your name, phone number, address, email, and recurring donation. 

You can make those changes any time. Your data, your choice. 

And if the portal doesn’t work for you, and you prefer to update your information by connecting directly with a human, you can email our Development and Database Associate at [email protected]. He’ll kindly take care of it for you, anytime. 

And here’s why you should consider doing the same!

As we’ve seen over and over, names are personal. Getting a person’s name wrong sends the message that you don’t care who they are, as long as they give your organization money. That’s a slap in the face to anyone who’s fought for their identity, and it’s insulting to anyone, period.

Names are not just an LGBTQ+ issue, any more than curb cuts in the sidewalk are just a wheelchair user issue. The curb cuts make it easier for everyone to get around: workers carrying loads, parents pushing strollers, grandmas using canes or walkers, people whose legs are tired that day!

If you give everyone control over how their names appear in your database, it’s like installing curb cuts. Pretty soon, everyone will use them, and the only thing that people will notice is the backward thinking groups who have stopped them short, by continuing to call them the wrong name. Don’t be that group!

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