Marc A. Pitman's Blog, page 14

4 specific tips for each stage of the ask

When it comes down to it, successful fundraising is about successfully executing the basics.

When you want to raise money for something, be sure to do these fundraising basics:

Research

Remember, run your dollar goal through a gift range calculator. This helps you know what levels of gifts to be looking for.

Engage

Before you ask a donor, you should ask them some interesting questions. It's good to have a set list of questions to ask. And, of course, it's important to actually interested in the donor's answers.

Ask

Asking needs to be clear. And respect the donor enough to actually include the dollar amount you'd like them to consider. These 2 phrases to use when asking for money will serve you well. Even better: practice the ask multiple times before you actually get to the conversation!

Love

Make sure to show your gratitude. Vanessa Chase Lockshin and Shanon Doolittle share ways to make stewardship fun for you and your donor. One way is to cut the "activity report" and thank a donor with a story that resonates with what you've learned about them in the "engage" and "ask" steps!

These four steps are the basics that will help your fundraising stay focused.

If you want more, check out Ask Without Fear!. And if you're struggling with doubt, you might like my new book, The Surprising Gift of Doubt.

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Tracking Performance: 6 Fundraising Data Points You Need

Most fundraising professionals know that having good information is the secret to increased revenue, stronger relationships, and more successful appeals. By analyzing the donor data you have available, you can learn volumes about donor motivation and behavior, then use this information to guide your fundraising approach.

Donor data can help you with segmentation, marketing, stewardship, and more. Ideally, you’re working with a robust donor management system that can track all your engagements with and donations from each supporter, both online and offline. This engagement information is one of the most powerful tools you have for driving your mission forward.

Specifically, a handful of fundraising data points can help you track performance, illuminate opportunities for growth, and set ambitious yet realistic goals.

At SalsaLabs, we equip nonprofits with the data-driven tools they need to work efficiently and make smart fundraising decisions. We’ve helped thousands of successful nonprofits understand the fundraising metrics which are most critical to crafting a winning fundraising strategy. And now we’re sharing those tips with you.

In this article, we’ll explore the following 6 fundraising metrics:

Fundraising ROIDonor Retention RateAverage Gift Size GrowthPercentage of Gifts MatchedGiving CapacityConversion Rate

For each one of these key performance indicators, we’ll explore what it is, why it’s important, and how you can calculate it. Then, you’ll be able to leverage this information to maximize your fundraising potential moving forward. Let’s dive in.

1. Fundraising ROI

Your fundraising return on investment, or fundraising ROI, is a big-picture metric that captures the overall effectiveness of your efforts. Essentially, this metric reveals how much money you raised for each dollar you spent on fundraising.

Your fundraising ROI should take into account all of your fundraising costs, including those for events, appeal mailings, and software solutions. For example, while your nonprofit’s donor database helps you better reach your audience with appeals that resonate with them, it does cost money. Therefore, you’d include this expense as a part of your fundraising costs.

While this metric is useful, don’t rely on it as the end-all-be-all method of evaluating your success. The cost to raise a dollar can vary widely based on the maturity and size of your nonprofit as well as the nature of your cause. Use it as a helpful single indicator alongside other, more detailed metrics.

How to Calculate

To find your fundraising ROI, divide your total fundraising cost by your fundraising revenue. Be sure to include every expense to get the most accurate picture of where you stand. The calculation looks like this:

Fundraising ROI = ((Total Funds Raised - Total Fundraising Expenses) / Total Fundraising Expenses) x 100

A positive number here represents a positive return on your investment. If the result of that calculation is 70%, your fundraising returned $1.7 for every dollar spent.

Calculation: (($170,000 - $100,000) / $100,000) x 100 = 70. This represents a 70% RO.

If the number is negative, like -25%, that means you spent more money than you raised.

Calculation: (($75,000 - $100,000) / $100,000) x 100 = -25. This represents a negative 25% ROI, or a loss of 25% on your investment.

You can calculate ROI for a specific fundraising campaign or event, or use a year’s worth of data to determine an annual metric.

2. Donor Retention Rate

Your donor retention rate refers to the percentage of donors who give year after year. Since the cost to acquire a new donor is higher than the cost to retain an existing one, retaining more donors will increase the sustainability of your fundraising efforts. Plus, retained donors typically give at higher levels than first-time donors, so a higher donor retention rate is typically correlated with a larger overall fundraising yield.

To increase your donor retention rate, you should focus on stewardship and relationship building. Those are the factors that will encourage supporters to come back again and again. Make sure your recognition program is up-to-par and that you’re regularly communicating the impact of your work and that part your donors play in that success.

How to Calculate

Find the number of donors who gave this year who also gave last year, then divide that number by the total number of donors you had the previous year.. Multiply this number by 100 to get a percentage for your donor retention rate.

If you had 620 donors who gave last year and this year, and you had a total of 1,000 donors who gave last year, your retention rate is 50%. Calculation: 620/1000 x100 = 62%

According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, the average donor retention rate is around 43%. If your retention rate is below the industry average, consider how you could modify your outreach efforts to improve responsiveness and engagement. Perhaps you need to reach out more (or less) frequently, or you need to modify the language of your fundraising letter to connect more deeply with first-time donors.

3. Average Gift Size Growth

This metric measures how your average gift size changes over time. Of course, larger gifts are always better for increasing your overall revenue, but the importance of this metric is about more than simply your end-of-year total.

This KPI can help you measure long-term improvements (or lack thereof) in your fundraising strategy. If this number remains stagnant, it’s a signal that your fundraising capacity is also remaining flat rather than increasing.

How to Calculate

Find the average gift size from the last two years—for clarity, we’ll use 2020 and 2019. (Remember—average gift size is the sum of donation dollar amounts divided by the number of donors.)

For example: in 2019 you received $200,0000 in total donations coming from 5,000 donors which represents an average gift size of $40. (Calculation: $200,000 / 5,000 = $40).
Subtract 2019’s average from this 2020’s average, then divide this difference by 2020’s average. When you multiply by 100, you’ll be able to see your percent increase. To reduce the number of steps, you can enter the average gift sizes into a percent change calculator.

If your average donation in 2020 is $50, and your average donation in 2019 was $40, your average donation growth rate was 20%. Calculation: ($50-$40) / $50 x 100 = 20%. That means your average donation size grew by 20% over the last year. Again, any positive number here means there was growth, year over year. A negative number means your average donation per donor has gone down.

To increase this metric (and grow your fundraising), your organization should focus on cultivating relationships with existing donors and focusing on those who have the capacity to give larger gifts over time. A good place to start is conducting prospect research to identify potential mid-tier and major supporters, then developing an appropriate stewardship strategy for those supporters. A good fundraising CRM is essential here and can help you automate appeals with the right ask amounts based on previous donations or even article intelligence algorithms based on new income and demographic data.

4. Percentage of Gifts Matched

In order to maximize the impact of donor generosity, take full advantage of matching gift programs. These programs are designed by businesses that are committed to corporate social responsibility to match employee donations at a certain ratio, usually 1:1. Believe it or not, many potential donors are unaware of these corporate philanthropy programs which can have a significant impact on your annual revenue.

According to Double the Donation, somewhere between $4 and $7 billion in matching gift funding goes unclaimed every year. By analyzing your percentage of gifts matched, you can get a better understanding of whether you might be leaving money on the table.

To increase this metric, focus on spreading awareness about matching gift programs among your supporters. By adding a search tool on your donation page, supporters will easily be able to check their eligibility while making a gift. Alternatively, you can invest in automated matching gift software that identifies potential match opportunities and automates marketing to capture as many of these matches as possible.

How to Calculate

Find the total verified number of potential gifts matched, then divide this by the total number of gifts received. This metric is most easily calculated if you have access to automated matching gift software because the solution can identify potential matches that have not yet been secured. If you help more of your supporters become aware of matching gift programs, you should start to see the difference between potential matches and secured matches diminish, maximizing revenue.

5. Giving Capacity

While this number may not be a metric that is instantly calculable or waiting for you in your CRM, it’s a valuable tool to inform your fundraising efforts.

Giving capacity is a measurement of the potential amount that each of your supporters are able to donate. While you may not have insight into the contents of each supporters’ bank account, their past behavior and personal details can reveal enough to create a ballpark estimate of their giving capacity.

This information can help you identify the most potentially valuable donors or major gift prospects. Then, your development team can prioritize outreach accordingly and better inform their ask amounts.

However, it’s important to note that this metric doesn’t tell the whole story. It can show how much a donor could give, not how much they are willing to give. For a more holistic understanding of each supporter, look at giving capacity alongside with another key factor, known as affinity to give.

How to Calculate

Use available information about supporters’ giving history, work affiliations, and more to create an informed estimate of their total wealth. You may also consider using a prospect research tool or working with a screening service to access a more comprehensive database of information outside your own CRM.

6. Conversion Rate

At its most basic level, conversion rate is a measurement of how many donors took an action when prompted by your organization. Both the action and the prompt can be defined broadly—maybe it’s how many people signed up for your newsletter after seeing a Facebook post, or maybe it’s the number of donations made after you sent your year-end fundraising appeal letters.

As a few examples, you could calculate a specific conversion rate to evaluate the efficacy of:

Your donation pageYour social media postsYour e-newsletterYour direct mail outreach

You should use your engagement software to calculate your conversion rate and improve it over time. Using technology like automation, A/B testing, and more, you can make smarter decisions about which tactics generate the best results. At Salsa, we call this technology-powered and data-driven approach SmartEngagement.

How to Calculate

Divide the number of people who took an action (like donating, signing up to volunteer, or registering for an event) by the number who received the call to action (like receiving an email or seeing a social post).

For example, you send an donation appeal email to 500 prospective donors. 100 of them click on your email and visit your online donation page. Of those, 40 of them actually make a donation.

The conversion rate on your email is 8%. Calculation: 40/500 = 0.08 = 8%.The conversion rate on your donation form is 40%. Calculation 40/100 = 0.4 = 40%.

Different communication methods will result in varied conversion rates, so use these calculations as a relative metric rather than an absolute one. In other words, don’t compare apples to oranges! When evaluating your performance, look for an industry average that applies to the platform in question or at the same metric over time so that you can measure improvement.

By harnessing the information available in your donor database and other software solutions, your nonprofit can raise funds more effectively. Calculate and track these metrics over time to see how your strategy evolves and improves. Remember—you can only achieve a goal or cross a milestone if you set one up!

About the Author: Gerard Tonti

Gerard Tonti is the Senior Creative Developer at Salsa Labs, the premier fundraising software company for growth-focused nonprofits.

Gerard's marketing focus on content creation, conversion optimization and modern marketing technology helps him coach nonprofit development teams on digital fundraising best practices.

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After the Ask: Understanding Nonprofit Payment Processing

Your organization has just made a compelling fundraising ask to your potential donors. Now that one of the hardest parts is over, what are the next steps you should take? There are a few practices your team should put into use to make sure your donors’ journey is as simple and straightforward as possible.

Providing the path of least resistance for supporters to donate to your cause is crucial to meeting financial goals and pushing your mission forward. It’s crucial that you understand your payment processing system and how it can help you establish a relationship between you and your potential donors. We’ll unpack a few items that are crucial to take into account when you take steps to optimize your donor’s giving experience, such as:

Understanding how nonprofit payment processing works for you.Choosing software that best suits your needs.Simplifying the donation process.

Let's jump into how your organization can help your donors contribute in a secure, simple way!

Understanding how nonprofit payment processing works for you.

Your team has made an effective ask, and now your donors are flocking to your website to make a payment. It’s essential that you understand the part your payment processor plays in your fundraising efforts as well as your donor’s journey.

Primarily, it’s crucial to know what areas payment processing software can benefit your fundraising. It’s more than a way to accept donations. It can also help you by:

Collecting your member’s dues.Providing a way for supporters to buy your merchandise online.Serving as an event ticket sales portal.

Now that your team understands the multitude of ways your donation processor will work for you, it’s best practice to know the ins and outs of the donor’s experience when they contribute to your mission. Essentially, you can choose to use a dedicated donation processor or an aggregator to collect donations. Both of these systems look fairly similar to the donor but different on the backend of the giving process.

A donation processor that is dedicated to nonprofit fundraising hosts specific features and considerations to maximize your philanthropic efforts. You’ll receive your funds in a few business days, so you’re not waiting on a monthly check. When you use a dedicated processor, the donation journey is fairly straightforward! Here’s how it works:

Your donor will enter their personal and payment information on your nonprofit’s online giving page.This information is sent to the payment processor’s gateway for the transaction to be verified and approved. Then, it moves through the ACH (automated clearing house) network before being received by the donor’s bank or credit card.Once the transaction is approved by the donor’s bank or credit card, it’s sent back through the system to your organization’s merchant account, which is typically set up by the processor specifically for your nonprofit.The merchant account will retain the donation amount until the transaction is fully verified and finalized.Finally, the donation is transferred from your merchant account into your organization’s main bank account.

On the other hand, if your team chooses a payment aggregator, the first couple of payment processing steps remain the same. But, you’ll share a merchant account with other organizations that also use the aggregator and will likely receive the funds a bit later. An example of this tool is Paypal, which pays its clients on a monthly basis.

The donor’s journey to making a payment is as simple as that with the right payment software. With this understanding, you’re able to settle on which type of processor best suits your individual needs.

Choosing a payment processor that best suits your needs

Now that you understand how payment processing works, consider which attributes your organization requires in such a tool. Your team should research which payment processing system works best for charitable organizations like yours.

There are a few first steps to take when determining which product to invest in. You can choose between purchasing a dedicated payment processing system separately or to work with a fundraising solution that has a preexisting partnership with a payment processor.

When you purchase your payment processor separately, you’ll find that you have more control over the payment process itself. You can choose a processor with a great reputation and all of the security features that are most important to you. Plus, if you choose a processor that is dedicated to the needs of nonprofits, you’ll have access to a support staff who understands the donation process and how it works in context of your organization. Choose one that also has a number of integrations with fundraising solutions, donor databases, and event solutions so that you’ll be sure every aspect of your strategy is integrated.

On the other hand, some fundraising solutions already have partnerships with specific payment processors. When you choose to work with that fundraising software, you might be automatically opted into using that partner. While this ensures built-in integrations between your donation page and your processor, you should also be sure to conduct research about the processor before purchasing the fundraising solution. Ask the fundraising software provider what processor they use, then conduct research on that processor separately. Make sure they use one that still fulfills all of your needs in a solution.

Whichever route you choose to find your payment processor, these key attributes are crucial to consider during your research process:

Easy access to funds — Ensure the processor you choose gives nonprofits more leverage over their raised money and grants them access to the funds within 1-2 business days. This means more immediate funding, leading to easier accounting at your organization.Painless software integration — Again, be sure to pick a service that has specific integrations with your existing nonprofit software. If you’re choosing a payment processor separately, choose one with a lot of integrations already built-out. Meanwhile, if you’re analyzing your fundraising software, be sure to research the processor to be sure you’ll have an entirely integrated system.Experience in the nonprofit sector — Your payment processor should have experience handling any questions or concerns that arise during your fundraising efforts.Security — Secure payment and data protection are crucial to your organization. Data breaches are damaging to your success and reputation, so be sure to invest in a program that offers a high-security level. Additionally, remain vigilant in these protective measures:Using a PCI-compliant processor.Running address verification services.Following up on large and minimal donations.

With these key items in mind, your fundraising team can find the best payment processor that can help you effectively retain donations and reach your fundraising goals!

Making the donation process as simple as possible

Finally, now that you’ve secured your payment processing software goals work to simplify the other details of the donor payment journey. This can include setting up a donation page that is easily accessible from multiple browsers and simplifying your donation form. The last place you want to lose your supporter is in the final step of giving.

Optimize mobile giving

Making your giving experience accessible for both desktop and mobile donors makes it easy to recruit and retain more donors. Prospects can donate at your fundraising event or on-the-go, which is exceptionally convenient if they don’t have time to sit at a computer and figure out how to give.

It’s essential to implement a mobile-responsive design for your donation site and page. This means that your page should respond well on all screen sizes. Your mobile site will look a bit different from the desktop version, and that’s okay! Consider including the following attributes to optimize user-friendliness:

Bold and easy-to-read textLarge donation buttonsA simple design to avoid crowding

When it only takes a few seconds for your donor to click and donate via mobile or desktop, you’re sure to secure their contribution. They’ll thank you for taking the extra step to save them time!

Tip: Use this free Google tool to test if your donation page and form are mobile-friendly.

A straightforward donation process

The donation form you create is the last touchpoint you have with a donor before they give. Make sure the information asked is simple enough not to scare them off. After all, forms that take too long or are too complicated can turn even your most passionate supporters away.

However, you still need to ask for the essential information. The information you collect will help you in your future marketing efforts and donor segmentation strategies. Consider asking the following questions to retain an expedited experience but still store crucial information for future use:

Contact informationHousehold sizeInterestsPreferred giving channel

The donor database software you chose as your integration with your payment processor is useful for future communications and getting to know your donors. The more you know about your donors, the better you can communicate with them.

Your organization puts a lot of effort into making a successful fundraising ask that drives potential donors to your website. Make sure you’re getting the most out of your work by ensuring a straightforward and secure process.

With fundraising tools like a dedicated payment processor, you can lead your organization to leverage its fundraising and connect with supporters. Be sure to keep in mind that simplifying the giving experience end-user is essential in your decision-making process.

About the Author: Matt Dunne

Driven by his desire to support numerous charitable causes in his home country of Ireland, Matt joined the iATS Payments Team in March 2016 to leverage his entrepreneurial experience in support of the non-profit industry. He empowers partner organizations to provide impartial, accurate and valuable payments information and knowledge to the Nonprofit community.

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We're not selling t-shirts

Fundraising isn't just about raising money one time. If it were, we could sell t-shirts.

Fundraising is about connecting values - the values of donors with the values of your cause.

Sure, there are times when we just need the transactional. We need to pay the bills. But when all we do is transactional, we have to keep looking for new people to ask.

Our work is transformed when we engage in the deeper, far more rewarding, process of getting to know our donors and finding out what they value. We put down the megaphone and get to listen. We stop monologuing and start asking questions. We learn to be curious.

As fundraisers, we listen to what motivates our donors. What they value. What impact they want to have in the world.

Then we suggest matches that might exist with their values and our nonprofits.

That moves our fundraising from one-time gifts to life-long, growing investments.

So take the time to listen to your donors. Be respectfully curious. Pleasantly ask "Why?" and "What does that mean?"

And watch your fundraising take off.

If you aren't comfortable having these conversations, maybe you need to get in touch with your own values. You can do that with a Values Inventory at https://concordleadershipgroup.com/values/

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Doubt in fundraising isn't surprising - it just might be a gift

There are a number of misconceptions about what being a successful nonprofit leader and fundraiser looks like.

One of the most common is that the leader needs to be 100% confident. Completely sure about themselves at all times.

If they aren't sure, how can they ask donors to give?

Looking in all the wrong places

Since no one starts a nonprofit because they want to ask for money, fundraising feels like an annoyance. The nonprofit leader may be a genius at solving a problem or at leading a team.

But fundraising shines a blinding light on all the leader's insecurities. What should be a simple act of inviting someone to give to something amazing becomes a mess of self-worth issues, self-doubt, and vacillation.

Will the donor now think that I only wanted a relationship with them to get their money?Will I offend them by asking for too much? Or for asking at all?Will showing a need reflect poorly on my nonprofit?

So the nonprofit leader tends to put off the fundraising. Or gets caught up in an endless process of research - desperately seeking the exact right amount to ask a person.

Or they get fed up with the lack of ease they feel from thinking about money and decide to "subcontract" it out by hiring a fundraiser.

What are you sure about?

All the while, the nonprofit leader's doubt grows because that emotional agitation seems out of sync with how a strong leader should be. I bet this is why 67% of nonprofit CEOs are looking to leave their position in the next five years.

But this doubt doesn't need to mean you aren't leadership material. If you talk to most leaders, doubt is common.

One of the surprising gifts of doubt is that it invites you too look inwardly. To find what is stable.

As nonprofit leaders clarify why they're in the nonprofit, they move to a steady center. A place of stability. They get clear on what fight they're in. On what values they stand for.

Then fundraising moves from being a referendum on you as a person. It becomes a joy-filled adventure of looking for others who share those values.

A way to start moving to stability

The pressures of running a nonprofit are so great, it can be hard to get clear on those core values. Fortunately, one of the best ways to learn how to express your values is to talk to your donors. Find out

what they love about givingwhat they love about giving to the nonprofitwhat they look for in causes they support

And be interested enough to want to know more. If they answer "Why do I give? Because you all are so awesome," that's lovely. But unhelpful. So thank them and ask, "What part is particularly awesome to you?"

You'll find yourself getting even more committed to your work. And you'll find common themes and values emerging. Those will give you greater confidence in asking. You'll be able to choose from a few values to invite people to give to knowing you're likely choosing the right values.

Why not start making some of those calls now? All it takes is some sincere gratitude and honest curiosity. "Hi ____. I'm so grateful for your long-time support of us. But I was just realizing, I'd love to know what inspired your first gift. What got us on your radar the first time?"

When they've answered that, express gratitude and ask "And what keeps you giving?" And be curious enough to ask them more as they share more. This isn't an interrogation. This is a conversation between two like-minded people sharing common interests.

A final thought

I'd strongly encourage you to use the phone to do this. It's too easy for the donor to misread your tone in an email or text. But on the phone, even in a voicemail, people will hear your integrity and curiosity.

If this idea of doubt being a gift intrigues you, check out my new book The Surprising Gift of Doubt. It's coming out March 23rd but is available for pre-order now. (And their are bonuses for pre-ordering!) https://SurprisingGiftofDoubt.com/

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3 Things to do Now to Successfully Finish Year-end Fundraising

There is so much information on year-end fundraising out there right now. And, let's face it, so many of us are tired. Ready to stop.

But if you run a nonprofit or run nonprofit fundraising, this is not the time to take two weeks off.

Here's the advice I gave subscribers to my weekly coaching email Fundraising Kick.

Fundraising Kick: Closing 2020 Successfully

Good morning, Kickers!

Including today, we have 11 days left in 2020. Not to be overdramatic, but these could be the 11 most important days for your nonprofit fundraising.

In non-pandemic years, more gifts come in in these last few days of December than at any other time of the year.

I expect that to be even more true this year.

2020 has seen incredible hardships. Loss. Inequity. Division. Pain. And tragedy.

And 2020 has seen the undiminishing generosity of donors. Many of the nonprofits I work with have seen fundraising results double and triple this year.

Each time we thought, “Surely, this month we’ll reach the cliff, the end of donor generosity,” donors proved us wrong.

And they will in the next 11 days too.

If. We. Ask.

Clearly. And repeatedly.

3 Reminders for Finishing for Strong Year-end Fundraising

Here are three reminders:

Tell a story. If you want donations, don’t “educate” donors about your nonprofit. Tell a story of one person/animal/acre of land your donor can help impact. Not your donor can help your nonprofit impact. But one person your donor can help impact. And ask them to give a specific amount of money to make that impact.

Make your 5 – 10 calls, your last fundraising letter, you emails, your social media posts about that one story. Donors are busy. Like the rest of us, they need to hear a story repeated over and over in order before taking action.

Review all your lists

Look for those who gave last year but not yet this year. Ask them to consider giving a specific dollar amount before December 31st.

Look for those who’ve given for a few years but not in 2019 or 2020. Ask them to give a specific amount before December 31st.

And look through your lists for people who’d pledged to make a gift, or make an installment on a gift, in 2020. Call them to see if they’d still consider doing that. You might say something like:

“Hi [name]. This is [your name] from [your org]. Last year, you’d asked us to remind you about a [specific dollar amount] gift toward your pledge. 2020 has been a weird year for many of us. I was calling to see if you were still [able to/considering/thinking] of making that pledge before December 31.”

Be kind. Smile. Be compassionate. Who knows, they may be having a hard time right now. But also be clear with the amount. And the December 31st date. And as often as possible, be human. Understanding. Appreciative.

Doing these three things will help you finish out 2020 strong. If you’re a fundraiser, these aren’t days to coast. You might choose to take vacation and celebrate holidays. But be available to people wanting to give. Change your voicemails to let donors know where to catch you. Or what hours you’re available.

I typically say that if you run a nonprofit or are a nonprofit fundraiser, these are not the two weeks for full-week vacations. Take those in January or February.

Don’t hide when donors are looking. And even with all the hardships, they are looking.

In fact, they are probably looking because of all the hardships. They know your cause and mission is needed now more than ever. So be available to let them.

You’ve been Kicked,

Marc

P.S. Why not take time today to go to your organization’s website home page and make a gift. Take notes on the process and see if there are any simple fixes you can implement to make it even easier for donors to give.

I'm not advocating a "hustle" methodology. A model were "more" is never enough. We do need to take a break. To rest.

We can do that with long weekends. But if you run a nonprofit or a fundraising office, these are not the two full weeks to take.

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Thanking donors is NOT an activity report

Fundraising is filled with things that seem to make sense, but don't. One of those areas is when it comes to thanking donors.

When we thank donors, we think we need to prove to them that we did great work. So we fill our donor newsletters with

Statistics (we fed X many people)

Staff accomplishments (our staff earned these certificates)

and awards (we received this amazing recognition)

We think that by telling all the good things that our nonprofit did, a donor will feel good about their gift.

But this isn't thanking donors. This is merely reporting on activity.

And donors aren't interested in activity. They're interested in results.

You see, donors don't have the context you have about the activities you do. They have no idea if "X number of families fed" is good or bad.

Thank donors, don't try to impress them

There's nothing wrong with celebrating these statistics and achievements. But the audience for that report is the nonprofit staff and board. They are the only ones that will understand the importance of those accomplishments.

If you really want to thank donors, thank them. Use phrases like "thank you" and "because of you" and "you helped make this possible."

As Steve Screen says, donors are incredibly generous and very busy. If we want them to know that we are thanking them, we need to make it really clear. A publication of the nonprofit bragging on itself is not clear. It's sort of like the boring person at the party that keeps talking about himself. "You are great because you support me. Let me tell you how amazing I am."

Ugh.

Would you be interested in being around a person so self-absorbed? Neither are most of your donors.

Don't be that guy.

Remember to talk about your donor in your report to them

So send them a newsletter filled with the word "you" - you meaning the donor. And two or three specific stories of impact. The happy endings that donor gifts made possible.

Not sure what stories to tell? Look at the problems you share in your fundraising appeal. If you told them a story about a specific problem needing help in the appeal, in the thank you to donors tell them how the story ends. "Because of you and people like you, this instance of that problem is fixed."

Fundraising appeals invite donors to fix something that is wrong.

Donor newsletters report back to donors how their help made that fix possible.

A warning

This focus on the donor is not meaning you change your nonprofit's mission. Your organization's sole purpose is not to stroke donor egos. Your nonprofit exists to fix something that is wrong - help people, protect animals, preserve the environment, promote the arts. That mission doesn't change.

But this focus on the donor is about integrity. If you need donor funding to do your work, you couldn't do your work without donor funding. So you are having the integrity to report back to donors the amazing things their gifts are making happen.

If you want more on making newsletters that aren't an operational expense but actually raise funds, check out Steven Screen's newsletter training in The Nonprofit Academy: https://thenonprofitacademy.com/trainings/newsletters/

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Asking is (almost) more about listening

In the last few weeks, I’ve had interesting conversations with people about asking. CEOs who think that asking is a “schpeal” – a precise formula of words that will get the prospect to give generously.

Or that asking is a step by step process so precise that they can let the staff do the relationship work and then just come in toward the end and make a successful ask. (Of course, if the ask is not successful, these leaders feel justified in blaming their staff. Maybe they should: blame their staff for not making them be part of the process!)

I think both perspectives mistakenly think of fundraising as speaking to donors. A process the asker is in complete control of. Something predictable. Orderly.

But that’s not how it works, is it?

What are you hearing?

The problem with that approach is it’s not human. It treats charitable gifts as widgets being sent down an assembly line. Fine-tune the manufacturing process correctly and the right gift comes out. Or you’ll be able to swoop in on the process and scoop up the gift and quickly leave.

That might work…if it weren’t for donors. Donors are human beings with their own lives. Their own thoughts. Their own beliefs.

Fundraising, successful fundraising, takes involving the donor in the process.

No. I’m not talking about shifting all of the nonprofit’s energies and strategy to myopically revolve around a donor as though she were the center of the universe.

That would be completely inappropriate. And would seem odd to the donor. (If it doesn’t, that’s not a kind of donor you want.)

Practice listening

Involving them in the process is just being honest. Without donations, the nonprofit won’t survive. So it only makes sense to listen to donors. To hear what makes them tick. To find out what they enjoy.

To be human with them.

To have a conversation.

Incredibly, asking is more of a conversation than an event. Yes, asking is a huge part of this process. A clear ask for a specific dollar amount is still needed. But after listening to the donor, the ask is not a schpeal. The ask becomes a natural step in the relationship. You still need the right words here. But the “right words” are now a sentence or two rather than a 20-minute presentation. And the right words can now start with: “Exactly because you are so interested in this…” or “Because you are the type of person who loves this…”

Fundraising asks are because you have heard the donor. So you can naturally connect her with something she’s likely to love at your nonprofit.

What questions help you listen?

As you are in your asking conversation, what are some of your favorite questions to ask donors? What questions help you listen to the donor?

Let us know in the comments!

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Leadership and Fundraising in a Pandemic

This week, I was honored to be the guest on Eliz Greene and Thom Singer's show, The Webinar Talk Show.

We talked about leadership, fundraising, events, and sales in a pandemic.

I loved Eliz's story about a fundraising appeal that wowed her. And Thom's observations on the similarities with the process of nonprofit fundraising and generating sales for speaking!

You can see the entire show here:

If that isn't showing, the recording is over on Facebook at: https://fb.watch/1gaTOv7dVx/

Can you fundraise in the virtual environment?

Thom and Eliz welcome leadership expert Marc Pitman to talk about coaching leaders to embrace the virtual environment for fundraising, philanthropy, and development.

Posted by Webinar Talk Show on Monday, October 19, 2020

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How NOT to write a fundraising letter

Have you ever written a fundraising letter? A fundraising letter you felt really proud about? One that presented your nonprofit in an amazing light. That showed how good you were working in your cause. One that was sure to convince donors to give to you?

I have too. And I bet your fundraising letter hardly raised any money.

Writing fundraising letters is hard

Editing fundraising letters is one of the services I provide for my coaching clients, so I've been doing a lot of editing this fall.

I know writing fundraising letters is hard. But I'm beginning to think that nonprofit professionals stop half-way through the process.

I ask clients for letters they're ready to send. These typically have:

Long, run-on sentences

Lots of references to the nonprofit

success stories and

scant reference to the reader at all - until at the end when they ask the reader to give to support their work.

This is 100% typical. And 100% how to not write a fundraising letter.

Effective fundraising letters go further

I think this is the first half of the letter. Writing is hard. But editing is often harder. Here are 4 steps that should be included in the second round of editing:

Cut the first four paragraphs: Bad fundraising letters start with a lot of "throat clearing." "The weather's getting cooler..." "The holidays are a time of..." "Looking around our community..." Pandemicsplaining - as though people need teaching on what a pandemic is and how it's hurting people. This throat clearing often goes on for three or four paragraphs. So cut those. Even though these have wonderful phrases that you are particularly proud of. Save the phrases in some file if you want. But don't send them to your donor.

Give them a problem to solve: Bad fundraising letters showcase a success story. "We are so good, look at how well this person is doing." But as Steven Screen says every Friday, you have to give donors a problem to solve. If donors read a success story, it sounds to them like you have everything under control. So you clearly don't need their help. Successful fundraising letters cut out the success stories and save them for the thank you note and impact report you'll send a donor after they give.

Stop asking people to pay your bills: I get to work with amazing organizations. Organizations that are significantly impacting people, communities, animals, and the environment. But nearly all of them use some sort of phrasing like: "Will you help us do our work with your gift today?" Nearly all of them are saying, will you please pay our bills for us? No one wants to pay your bills. But lots of people would love to be part of the change you want to see in the world. Why not ask them "Will you care for a stray animal?" or "Will you preserve this piece of history?" or "Will you house this family?"


Give your letter the red pen test: One way to make sure you're not asking donors to pay your bills, is to remove all references of your nonprofit from your letter. Seriously. Donors aren't dumb. They know who sent them the letter. They know who'll get their gift. To do this, take a red pen and circle all "we's" - we, our, us, and references to your nonprofit. Those words put your fundraising in the red. With a black pen, circle all "you's" - you, your, yours, and references to the reader. Those words put your fundraising in the black. I call this the Red Pen Challenge. Super simple. Incredibly powerful. This one test alone can transform your fundraising letter from something people toss in the recycling bin to something they actually pay attention to.

Don't stop your fundraising letter half way through the process

As you're working hard on your fundraising letters, remember to not stop them halfway through the process. Write the first half. That's like a potter throwing clay on a wheel. But don't send that lump of clay to a donor.

Instead, go through the second half, shaping the clay into a beautiful work of art. Something that respects the reader enough to let them know that they are important. Something that is full of integrity because it shows that they are making change possible.

Those are the fundraising letters that donors will respond to.

And, honestly, those are the letters you'll find more enjoyable to write. Because you're no longer defending your work. Or "making a case." You're inviting the donor into something beautiful.

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