Ready to Show Your Donors Some Love on Valentine's Day?

The Donor Attraction Letter

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!
 
What are you doing to show your donors how much you love and appreciate their support at this special time?
 
Got a campaign ready to go? Terrific!
 
Feeling behind and need a bit of inspiration?
 
Worry not!
 
Take a look at some simple ways you can connect with your donors, show ‘em the love, and touch their hearts:
 
Dress Up Your Website
 
On your home page, theme it up for V-Day by adding a special banner or use one of your rotating slides.
 
Create a simple, clean, eye-catching design with colors/graphics that tie in to the holiday and match your branding, along with a short donor love message and photo.
 
Or, you could simply post photos of your staff and/or beneficiaries holding signs that say:
 
We LOVE Our Donors!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank You!
 
Send a Heartwarming E-Card
 
Like this one:

 
 
 
Oh my goodness!
 
How adorable is that?
 
Something like this is GUARANTEED to get your donors smiling and feeling the love.
 
Email with Link to Blog Post/Video
 
Craft a short email bursting with charm that links to a blog post on your website where you can encourage supporters to share their comments. It’s a perfect chance to hand it over to them and ask what they love about your cause.
 
Be sure to feature photos, too, like those mentioned above.
 
Bonus: Feature a brief video of beneficiaries or staff giving big thanks to your friends for helping to make so much good happen. Don’t worry about making this fancy! Something simple, sincere, and heart-tugging is what you’re after.
 
Love Your Fans on Facebook
 
Check out this fantastic post from charity: water shared last year on V-Day:

We love our supporters! We made you this video Valentine to show how much we appreciate everything you do to make our work possible. Happy Valentine's Day!

When it comes to awesome donor communications, charity: water doesn’t disappoint. This is yet another example. They really know how to romance their donors to keep them happy and giving.
 
One more thing:
 
I personally recommend you NOT tie in a fundraising appeal. It isn’t the kiss of death. But, I’m a big fan of using V-Day as an opportunity to simply thank/love donors and make strong emotional deposits that set up future appeals for greater success.
 
Dedicated to helping you attract and keep your donors,

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

PS: Want help whipping up something great to share with your donors on Valentine's Day? Hit reply to let me know or call me at 248.957.8918. I'd love to help!

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