Donor Attraction 365

When you think about donor attraction, what comes to mind?

Are thoughts about making your next annual appeal letter amazing or getting a great team together for that major gift visit at the top of the list?

Well, those are certainly important.

But, your gift solicitations are just one small part of the story.

Especially these days with terribly high donor turnover, attracting and keeping and up-leveling your donors is a full-time, year-round proposition.

You really need to ask yourself:

What does a year in the life of how you communicate with your donor look like?

If I made a gift to your organization today and became a new donor, how would you communicate with me for the next 364 days?

Specifically, ask yourself if your communications would do a good job of fostering key donor attraction and loyalty drivers like:

SATISFACTION

How happy am I with your quality of service to me as a donor and to beneficiaries? Did I get a warm, timely thank you letter that told me how my gift would help people? Can I visit your website anytime and get up-to-date information about how your programs are making an impact?

TRUST

Are you doing what you’ve promised to do with my donation? Have you given me details about how you’ll be communicating with me to keep me informed and inspired?

Do you have a communications calendar that provides me with consistent, relevant, timely, useful and valuable communications that I can’t wait to read? If I’m not hearing from you often enough in a quality way, how can I trust that I’ve made a good investment in your work?

IDENTIFICATION

Are your communications reinforcing a voice and brand that I’ve come to identify with, one that helps me to have a favorable image of myself?

COMMITMENT

Are your communications and interactions creating a strong emotional attachment to your organization that makes me feel deeply committed to your cause?

THE FEEL-GOOD FACTOR

Although you may not find this driver measured in donor behavior research, the feel-good factor is VERY IMPORTANT. 

Above all, people decide to give because they’re looking for the positive feelings of love, joy, belonging, purpose, importance and happiness that giving can bring to them.

So, don’t disappoint!

Ask yourself:

What communications do I have planned that will foster a high feel-good factor with my donors? These can include:

• Personal handwritten notes of gratitude
• A “just because” thank you mailing with a story of someone being helped because of the donor’s support
• Special recognition in your annual report
• Well wishes on birthdays
• Thank you calls from board members
• A thank you video featuring beneficiaries
• Stewardship reports for major donors

And, there’s more, of course.

The main point here is to make sure that the communications your donors receive AFTER and IN BETWEEN your solicitations drive up their feel-good factor.

GRATITUDE:

YOUR BEST DONOR ATTRACTION AND RETENTION TOOL

When I was working as CEO or Director of Development at different nonprofits, I remember how busy I was with so many things.

All too often, it seemed like there just wasn’t time to handwrite my thoughts on that stack of thank you letters waiting for me or write personal notes to special volunteers and supporters.

But, I simply made the time.

Showing gratitude and giving thanks to the people who were making our programs possible wasn’t a “luxury” action item.

It was a NECESSITY.

And, honestly, it was one of the things that brought me the most joy.

Now, you know what they say:

Find 7 ways to thank your donor and she’ll give again.

The difference between an organization that thanks donors once or twice and one who thanks them 7 times is THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of dollars (in some cases millions!).

But, far too often, this vital donor attraction and loyalty driver doesn’t get enough attention.

The power of gratitude really can’t be overstated.

As you think about what your organization can do to overcome costly donor attrition, keep this simple law of donor attraction in mind:

The more grateful you are to your donors, the more you’ll get to be grateful about.

So, this means that if you do an exceptional, heartwarming job of showing me how grateful you are for my first $25 gift, I’m going to feel special, appreciated, loved and filled with goodwill—all of the feelings you need in your donor to inspire a favorable response to the next ask.

With research telling us that, on average, 7 out of 10 donors never give again, GRATITUDE and weaving more of it in your communications plan can and should be a big part of your organization’s fundraising spend.

Put simply:

Gratitude begets more giving.

It should be at the TOP of your to-do list every day.

It’s as simple as that.

And, the fantastic part is that showing gratitude is a win-win! Not only will it make your donor smile and feel warm and fuzzy every time, YOU will feel terrific too.

DONOR ATTRACTION 365:

CREATING YOUR DONOR COMMUNICATIONS CALENDAR

The days of simply sending a newsletter to donors in between appeals have disappeared.

Now, donors expect and want more through a multi-channel communications approach. Web, print, email, social media, video, events, special donor gatherings, calls and in-person visits all play big roles.

And, for optimal donor satisfaction and fundraising results, it’s best to know and deliver your communications based on your donors’ preferences. While direct mail is still a preferred medium with older donors, younger donors are all about mobile giving.

So, what does your donor communications calendar look like?

Do you have one?

What are you sending month-to-month to make your donors feel loved and appreciated?

Do you know the best types of content to use?

Are your communications donor-centric?

What metrics do you use to analyze how effective your communications are?

Are you using feedback and analysis to make your communications more interesting, helpful and inspiring?

If you don’t have a calendar—or if yours needs some work—creating a high-impact donor communications calendar that delights your supporters and keeps them giving is one of the best investments you can make.

Consider this:

With some additional focus on donor retention communications, research tells us that a 10% reduction in attrition can yield up to a 200% increase in the lifetime value of your donor database.

Sounds like a VERY good investment to me!

So, why not put some focus on doing a better job of nurturing and inspiring the donors you already have—the ones who gave last month, during the past year and those who’ve lapsed over the past few years?

Current donors are already fans of your cause and they’ve planted seeds with their initial gifts. Now it’s your turn to water them and watch them grow.

Enhancing your thank you touch points, showing more gratitude for their gifts and stepping up your stewardship communications throughout the year are great places to start.

And, with donor trust quite low these days, reaching out more to donors to let them know how their donations are helping and having impact is really important.

If you’re thinking that all of this sounds like a lot of work, it is.

But, aren’t your donors worth it?

And, let’s face it:

Funding is the oxygen that your organization needs to survive and thrive.

And you know the best way to increase that funding?

By creating and executing a donor communications calendar filled with content that donors care about and love to get. Communications that make them feel appreciated, important, informed, involved, listened to and loved.

Get that right, my fellow fundraising friend, and you’ll be well on your way to:

• Attracting more funding
• Losing far fewer donors
• Building your list of givers who donate regularly and more every year

Not to mention all the potential that you’ll have for more success with your major gift asks and planned giving appeals.

Donor love is all the rage these days.

And for good reason.

Fundraisers and development folks and board members are spending lots of time on their appeals and asks. But, it’s painfully obvious to donors that not enough attention is being given to all of the communications that need to reach donors in between.

Donors are craving more love!

And you can give it to them with a bit more time and resources dedicated to your donor communications.

Trust me:

Once you get a fabulous donor communications plan up and running, you’ll be well-positioned to reap big rewards with donors who become loyal, generous givers who love your nonprofit.

INTERESTED IN GETTING HELP?

If you’d like my help creating your donor communications calendar, please get in touch.

We can work together to build a communications calendar filled with warm, friendly, consistent, trust-building communications that make your donors feel loved 365 days of the year.

Start here to send me a message or contact me via email or phone.