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When the campaigns you develop are “successful,” how much incentive do you have to aim for greater success?
For example, let’s say your organization mails out an acquisition that has consistently achieved around a 2% response rate. You may be unwilling to mess around with it too much since it's successful enough – especially now that response rates to acquisition mailings are declining. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
But, what if making a change might increase that response rate by even .5%? If you are mailing out 50,000 pieces, that's 250 new donors – donors who will feed into your monthly donor program, planned giving, and even major gifts. That's 250 new donors from every mailing that you are not reaching because you are "successful" in your acquisition mailing.
In the for-profit world, current success leads to greater amounts of testing – if we're getting 2% now, why aren't we getting 4%? If we're getting 4%, shouldn't we be getting 8%? Every success leads to more efforts to reach a greater success. But non-profits play it safe.
And we run the risk of letting our current success lead to future failure.
In how many areas of your work (and life, for that matter) are you playing it safe and letting your own success hold you back from even greater success?
We worked with Sea Shepherd for several months last year – primarily on their direct mail program but also on integrating their mail with email and online.
One particularly successful campaign we developed was an email campaign that augmented their year-end mailing.
We wrote and sent 5 emails – 2 as follow-ups to the mailing and 3 to the rest of Sea Shepherd's email list. This was the first time Sea Shepherd had done a concerted and integrated year-end campaign.
The results were fantastic: $100,000 raised from the emails alone.
See examples of the emails and some more details on the case study page.
While you're there, take a look at some of our other work that has increased our clients' net revenue.
The difference between a good donor newsletter and a poor one comes down to donors and dollars. A good newsletter retains donors and makes money. A poor one doesn't. Here are 12 ways to improve your donor newsletter so that it works harder for you.
1. Make your donor the hero of every story. Take the focus off your institution and put it where it belongs: on the person who pays your salary. Donors want to read about themselves, not your charity.
2. Make each issue a report card to your donor. Prove that you are using donor gifts wisely and as intended. Show how their donations are making a difference. Act as if you won't get another dime of support unless your donor gives you an A Grade, an A for Accountability.
3. Don't celebrate another anniversary. Donors don't care that you're celebrating your 20th anniversary, or that you did something special in 1968. They give to organizations that look ahead, not backwards.
4. Make your donors reach for the Kleenex. Stir the emotions of your supporters so that they identify even more closely with the people you help. Help them feel at a visceral level that they are touching lives with their support.
5. Give your donors "The Because." Doctors Without Borders in Australia has a page in its newsletter entitled "Why We Do What We Do." It doesn't tell you what they do. It explains why they do it, the "because." Do likewise and you will retain more donors and raise more money.
Want to find a new, stable source of income that also works as a loyalty booster to existing donors? 
Three Words: SUSTAINED GIVING PROGRAM
This webinar covers everything you want -- and need -- to know about monthly giving.
Starting with the basics, Harvey McKinnon, renowned expert on monthly giving, will discuss why to have a monthly giving program and what it means for donor loyalty, along with the fundamental elements of all good monthly programs.
Next, Teva Harrison of the Nature Conservancy of Canada -- which has made a strategic decision to invest in a monthly program -- will tell what works for her organization while sharing secrets, tips and best practices on how to find, keep and love these valuable donors.
Join us on Thursday, April 19th at 2PM ET for this fascinating tour of the best kind of donor!
In this webinar you'll learn:
-What metrics to look for in a monthly program (eg. typical conversion rates, retention rates)
-How to invite them, what to say, how often to say it
-When to use direct mail and when to use the phone to convert and upgrade
-Great examples from an organization with years of expertise in cultivating these valuable donors
This Expert Webinar is FREE but space is limited, so please register today!
Your donors have only one question that bothers them.
If you want to acquire more donors, you have to answer it. If you want to raise more net revenue, you need to answer it. And if you want to increase the lifetime value of your donors, you must answer it.
Here's their question: "How will my donation change the world?"
Donors are confused
Donors ask this question for a number of reasons. For one thing, they're confused. If they live in Canada and want to support an organization that helps children with cancer, for example, should they donate to the Childhood Cancer Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Research Society, Cancer Recovery Foundation of Canada, Coast to Coast Against Cancer, Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation, Terry Fox Run, or someone else?
Many donors don't know. Or can't decide. So given that your non-profit organization has competitors who do similar work, you must tell prospective and current donors exactly how you will use their gift to transform lives. Otherwise your donors may donate somewhere else.
Donors have limited funds
There's another reason you must tell your donors how their gift will make the world a better place. Some of them are on a fixed income. Others just retired. More than a few have student debt. Or other kinds of debt. Some are broke. Either way, they can't support as many charities as they'd like, so they give their money to the few causes that promise to make the biggest difference with their gifts.
Donors fund specifics, not generalities
Have you upset one of your donors recently? Just how mad do you suppose they are at you, on a scale of 1 to 10? Take this quiz and find out.
1. Your major gift officer met a donor for lunch and ordered five martinis and spaghetti. 5 points
2. The folks in gift processing mailed a donation thank-you letter but it took over a month to arrive. 5 points
3. You spelled the donor's name incorrectly. 5 points
4. Your donor asked for no fundraising appeals by mail, but your annual giving officer thought Christmas was an exception. 5 points
5. Your donor asked your office not to phone her, so your receptionist phoned her to say OK. 5 points
6. You asked for a donation in a donation thank-you letter. 5 points
7. Your donor's spouse died and left you a six-figure bequest, but the folks in direct mail kept addressing your appeals to Mr. and Mrs. 5 points
8. A major donor asked your fundraising coordinator to send him your audited financial statements, but she was busy uploading a photo of her kittens to Twitter and forgot. 5 points
9. Your donor requested that you not acknowledge his gift in your annual report, but you did. 5 points
10. You told a major donor you would follow up in a week, but your Great Dane ate your day planner. 5 points
11. You engraved your wealthiest donor's name on your donor wall but put it under the wrong giving level (a smaller one). 5 points
Yes, grandma tweets daily about her arthritis and buys her cat food on eBay, but how does she prefer to donate, online or offline?
Yes, mailing a fundraising letter costs more than sending an email appeal. But which method brings in the most net revenue for most non-profits?
Yes, you prefer to communicate by email than by mail, but which method do your most profitable donors prefer?
The answers to these questions are best settled by the facts. The debate between direct mail fundraising versus online fundraising is settled, at least for the next 10 years. Here’s why.
Fact #1: The majority of donors give their first gift by direct mail
Direct mail is responsible for 75% of new donors. Only 16% of new donors make their first gift online. Source: Blackbaud 2011 donorCentrics Internet and Multichannel Giving Benchmarking Report.
Fact #2: The majority of donated revenue arrives by mail
The typical nonprofit in North America receives more than 75% of its total donated revenue through direct mail but only 10% online. Source: Blackbaud 2011 donorCentrics Internet and Multichannel Giving Benchmarking Report.
The secret to building long-term, profitable, mutually beneficial relationships with donors is to think the way donors think.
Here are some ways to see your donors as people and not pocketbooks. Understanding how your donors think is your key to helping them-and you-make a measurable difference in the world.
Thank your donors promptly and personally every time they mail you a gift.
Describe how you are using the donor's last gift the way the donor intended. The majority of long-term, faithful donors give to make a difference, and many will not give again until they know their last gift was put to good use the way they wanted-so show ample proof.
Treat your donors as thoughtful investors who care how their money is spent.
Don't appeal to short-term motivators, such as fear, that raise plenty of short-term funds but not enough long-term friends.
Give your donors enough information to make an informed opinion about giving. Anticipate the questions and objections that thoughtful people will raise about your organization, your mission and your ask, and answer them in your letter.
Help your donors solve a problem. Donors will not throw money at an impossible situation. They need to have hope that their donation will meet a need. So offer hope.
Don't promote future tax benefits alone. Instead, stress the difference a donation makes in lives changed and problems solved today. You want donors who believe in your cause, who want to help others more than they help themselves.
Instead of asking for funds that your organization needs, invite donors to accomplish their goals by making the world a better place (by mailing you a gift).
This morning, Renee Eaton and I were invited to a breakfast reception held by our client, VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation, to launch the hospital-wide phase of their employee giving campaign. (We were thrilled to learn that they had already achieved 100% participation from employees of the Foundation office – nearly 50 staff signed up to support the hospital through payroll deductions, monthly donations or single gifts. Great result!)
The speaker was an absolute inspiration. Steve was horrifically injured in a road-building accident on the Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler, in the summer of 2006. His tale of recovery is awe-inspiring. More tears than just my own fell into salty coffee cups when Steve showed us a video that began with photos of his first days in hospital and the extent of his injuries, through the dark days when he was told he’d never walk again, and ended with photos of his wedding in Mexico and ultrasound images of his soon-to-come baby. A profound tribute to amazing hospital teams, the powerful love and support of family, and a truly indomitable spirit – all coming together to first save his life and then help him rebuild it.
Fundraising consultant and researcher Penelope Burk of Cygnus Applied Research says direct mail is declining in popularity. She is wrong.
In her firm's latest report, The Cygnus Donor Survey: Where Philanthropy is Headed in 2011, Burk says there is "a continuing decline in donors' desire to transact their gifts through the mail; 26% of those who gave through the mail last year said they plan to give less this way in 2011 (less often, less money or both).
The problem with Burk's survey is that it reports on what donors say they will do, not on what they actually do. Burk partnered with 40 not-for-profit organizations for her research. But she didn't ask them if their direct mail programs are growing or shrinking. Instead, she surveyed 22,000 donors from these organizations, and asked these donors what they think of direct mail.
And there's the problem.
Donors will tell you they receive too much mail. But respond anyway. Donors will tell you they hate receiving fundraising telephone calls during supper. But give over the phone anyway. Donors will tell you they prefer to hear from you by email. But then won't read your email appeals.
What donors say they will do and what they actually do are often two different things.
I had a neighbor like that. Maurice said he'd never attend an estate sale organized by the local auctioneer because the auctioneer was "as crooked as a snake." But wouldn't you know, at the estate sale of a widow neighbor of ours, who was up at the front of the auction, bidding on all the items he wanted? Maurice.
If you want to discover where philanthropy is heading, don't ask donors what they desire to do next year. Ask charities what they are doing next year.
