Do You Know What Your Donors Want from You?

The Donor Attraction Letter

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

When you communicate with your donors and prospective donors, there’s one thing you absolutely need to get right to attract and keep more of them:
 
You need to know what they really want from you.
 
On its face, this may seem simple enough. You might say to yourself, “Well, I know that my donors want to help our nonprofit do good things for others.”
 
While that’s likely very true, what they’re really looking for on a deeper emotional level are the FEELINGS that donating to your cause brings them.
 
When they get communications from you, here’s what your donors want to feel:
 
They want to feel HAPPY.
They want to feel LOVED.
They want to feel SMART.
They want to feel SPECIAL.
They want to feel VALUED.
They want to feel IMPORTANT.
They want to feel like they BELONG.
They want to feel like a GOOD PERSON.
They want to feel JOY.
 
Inspiring your donors to ACT on your next call-to-action—–whether it’s making a year-end gift, participating in an advocacy effort, or attending an event—–is largely dependent on your ability to create these kinds of feelings for them with your communications.
 
My top tip for improving your communications so that you generate more of these feelings with your donors is this:
 
Keep your communications centered on the DONOR and how she is the one making all of your stories of help and hope possible. Shine the spotlight brightly on your donor and shower her with lots of donor love!
 
One of the most important ways you can do this is by making sure you have A LOT of “you” language and far less “we” language.
 
The big takeaway is this:
 
When you communicate in a way that creates the feelings your donors want, you’ll build lots more goodwill, closer friendships, and a very strong affinity for your nonprofit … which will help spark a desire in your donors to make repeat gifts, up-leveled gifts, major gifts, and planned gifts. Hooray!!

Dedicated to helping you attract and keep your donors,

Jen Viano
Nonprofit Writer/Consultant
Editor, The Donor Attraction Letter

PS: Another top tip that ties in here: Use your donor’s name often. Remember, for her, it’s the sweetest sound and it makes your communications feel so much more personal. Research tells us that one important reason donors stay loyal is because a closer, more personal relationship is in play.  Using “you” a lot and personalizing communications with a donor’s name will go a long way in helping you attract and keep loyal, lifetime donors who love your nonprofit.

Was this article helpful? Get weekly strategies and tips for attracting donors by signing up for The Donor Attraction Letter in the box at the top right.