Marc A. Pitman's Blog, page 15

[Guest Post] 10 Tips for Creating a Highly Effective Planned Giving Appeal

Today's guest post is from the "Planned Giving evangelist," Tony Martignetti. Tony is the host of Nonprofit Radio and the creator of the Planned Giving Accelerator. Both as frontline fundraiser and as a consultant, he's helped nonprofits raise over $100 million. You can follow him on Twitter @TonyMartignetti

10 Tips for Creating a Highly Effective Planned Giving Appeal
By Tony Martignetti

Most direct mail fundraising appeals follow a well-tested set of rules that are influenced by decades of data.

Planned Giving appeals, however, are a different sort of animal.

While most fundraising letters aim to persuade readers to make an immediate gift, that isn’t true of planned gift mailings.

Instead, they should have a different feel — and follow a different set of rules.

Because your goal is to start a long-term conversation, it requires a special touch to create a letter that introduces donors to Planned Giving.

Thus, you should aim to write from the heart.

Be warm, factual, sincere, and straightforward.

Your objective isn’t strictly to hit a rate of reply by a certain date. Quite often, the response comes much later.

This is long-term fundraising. You’ve hit a home run if someone saves your letter and retrieves it years later when it’s time to prepare or revisit a will. We know folks are doing just that in droves right now. Just search “pandemic wills surge.”

With that in mind, here are 10 things to consider when you craft a Planned Giving appeal letter:

Keep it simple. Devote your letter exclusively to promoting a gift by will. No other subjects should distract from that purpose.
Write with a tone that appeals to older readers. Write for people in their 60s and older. Most people who make Planned Giving decisions are older – so you should consider that your target audience.
Keep it short. Write one page or less.
Personalize it. Use a full inside address and a formal salutation (Dear Miss/Mrs./Ms./Mr.). Avoid using salutations such as “Dear friend” or “Greetings!” While first names and a lighter touch work for other appeals, you’re looking to be both formal and personal with a Planned Giving appeal.
Get a testimonial. If you have a willing donor who has decided to make a planned gift, a testimonial from them can be incredibly powerful, especially if it articulates what a lasting legacy for your nonprofit means to that person.
Let your ask stand alone in its own paragraph. I like to underline it.
Use a closed outer envelope, not a window carrier. The subject is personal, private, and serious. Your letter shouldn’t look like an invoice.
Enclose a reply card. Give readers the opportunity to tell you they’d like more information. That’s how you grow your prospect pipeline.
Include a return envelope. Because this is a personal and discreet conversation, don’t design your reply card as a self-mailer. The information being shared is sensitive.
Postage decisions matter. Apply a stamp. You can use the first-class, presort rate (if you want to save money over regular first class). It’s important to avoid bulk mail or metering for this personalized, earnest, and important letter. Perception matters.

Want more Planned Giving strategies? Get my email newsletter for practical, accessible and free advice. You can sign up here.

The post [Guest Post] 10 Tips for Creating a Highly Effective Planned Giving Appeal appeared first on FundraisingCoach.com.

[Guest Posts] 10 Tips for Creating a Highly Effective Planned Giving Appeal

Today's guest post is from planned giving expert Tony Martignetti. Tony is the host of Nonprofit Radio and the creator of the Planned Giving Accelerator. Both as staff and as a consultant, he's helped nonprofits raise over $100 million. You can follow him on Twitter @TonyMartignetti

10 Tips for Creating a Highly Effective Planned Giving Appeal
By Tony Martignetti

Most direct mail fundraising appeals follow a well-tested set of rules that are influenced by decades of data.

Planned Giving appeals, however, are a different sort of animal.

While most fundraising letters aim to persuade readers to make an immediate gift, that isn’t true of planned gift mailings.

Instead, they should have a different feel — and follow a different set of rules.

Because your goal is to start a long-term conversation, it requires a special touch to create a letter that introduces donors to Planned Giving.

Thus, you should aim to write from the heart.

Be warm, factual, sincere, and straightforward.

Your objective isn’t strictly to hit a rate of reply by a certain date. Quite often, the response comes much later.

This is long-term fundraising. You’ve hit a home run if someone saves your letter and retrieves it years later when it’s time to prepare or revisit a will. We know folks are doing just that in droves right now. Just search “pandemic wills surge.”

With that in mind, here are 10 things to consider when you craft a Planned Giving appeal letter:

Keep it simple. Devote your letter exclusively to promoting a gift by will. No other subjects should distract from that purpose.
Write with a tone that appeals to older readers. Write for people in their 60s and older. Most people who make Planned Giving decisions are older – so you should consider that your target audience.
Keep it short. Write one page or less.
Personalize it. Use a full inside address and a formal salutation (Dear Miss/Mrs./Ms./Mr.). Avoid using salutations such as “Dear friend” or “Greetings!” While first names and a lighter touch work for other appeals, you’re looking to be both formal and personal with a Planned Giving appeal.
Get a testimonial. If you have a willing donor who has decided to make a planned gift, a testimonial from them can be incredibly powerful, especially if it articulates what a lasting legacy for your nonprofit means to that person.
Let your ask stand alone in its own paragraph. I like to underline it.
Use a closed outer envelope, not a window carrier. The subject is personal, private, and serious. Your letter shouldn’t look like an invoice.
Enclose a reply card. Give readers the opportunity to tell you they’d like more information. That’s how you grow your prospect pipeline.
Include a return envelope. Because this is a personal and discreet conversation, don’t design your reply card as a self-mailer. The information being shared is sensitive.
Postage decisions matter. Apply a stamp. You can use the first-class, presort rate (if you want to save money over regular first class). It’s important to avoid bulk mail or metering for this personalized, earnest, and important letter. Perception matters.

Want more Planned Giving strategies? Get my email newsletter for practical, accessible and free advice. You can sign up here.

The post [Guest Posts] 10 Tips for Creating a Highly Effective Planned Giving Appeal appeared first on FundraisingCoach.com.

What is a major gift fundraiser to do with all this free time?

For decades, we've known that face-to-face meetings were the best way to raise major gifts. Talking directly to people. Taking them on a tour of the project. Being in the same space as the donors.

Meeting face-to-face is so important, most major gift officers' job performance is measured by how many in-person meetings they have, in addition to how much money they raise.

But face-to-face visits aren't possible in a pandemic. So what is a fundraiser to do?

Some fundraisers are struggling

Some fundraisers seem to be really floundering. Not only have they lost the tool of face-to-face visits, now they have sorts of "free" time. The "free" time that used to be consumed with planning travel and confirming appointments and actually traveling to places. Now they're in their home office. Or office office. With lots of time to stress out about not being able to do their job of meeting with their donors.

Is it any wonder that some of these fundraisers have had four months of lurching between long times of inactivity and bursts of trying to get every donor in their portfolio onto a Zoom call?

It's ultimately about raising funds, not the meetings

As we've seen in during the pandemic, some major gift fundraisers are flourishing. These fundraisers have remembered that their work is ultimately about relationships and fundraising, not meetings.

Meetings are one tool for building relationships. But not the only one. And in a time where meeting together could mean risking infection, meetings are not the most reliable tool to use. These fundraisers are using many other tools to build relationships including:

calling,

writing,

emailing,

mailing,

video chatting,

texting.

Successful major gift officers are meeting their fundraising goals the way they always have, by connecting with donors and asking them to invest in a part of the nonprofit's mission the donors care about.

But we've already called everyone multiple times!

At the time of this writing, mid-August 2020, many of the successful major gift officers are saying they've talked with their assigned donors more in the last five months than in the previous couple years. The conversations have been amazingly meaningful and donors' generosity has been astounding.

But now major donor officers are asking, "What's next? I've already called all my donors three and four times. Do I call them again?"

I've been telling people to

Call other people - past donors, donors of different amounts, and even people you've been meaning to call.

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Call program people - now that we're not traveling, we can use some of that extra time to build relationships with the program people who are making the impact stories.

Set up study groups - we should be taking courses, reading books, and talking to people that help us grow, both as fundraisers, and as people.

Review your strategy - we're often so busy executing our strategy we don't take time to review it. Now could be a great time to take a look at our strategy.

I've been saying these four things so often, I wondered if I were missing some other obvious things. So, I turned to some experts and asked them how they'd answer the "What do I do with my time now?" question.

Here's what they said.

What do I do with my extra Major Gift Fundraising time?

Mel and Pearl Shaw are experienced fundraisers and the leaders of Saad & Shaw - Comprehensive Fund Development Services. Their answers were:

Pearl: "Look at how you can grow the pool of prospective major gift donors. Take time to review lists of donors who have given consistently over the years – especially those with an increase in giving or frequency. Give a call or send an email. Structure your call or email around a question. For example, 'I’m trying to figure out how to proceed with our annual gala. It won’t be 'in-person' but I want to find a way to recreate the community aspect of the event. What are your thoughts.' Or, 'We’re restructuring program x, and I would appreciate learning your thoughts on how we should proceed.' One thing I wouldn’t recommend – too many contacts with donors who are not responding. Remember: there’s a lot going on right now. Just because a donor respond to a call doesn’t mean you are not a priority. This may just not be the right time."

Mel: "Three points:

Have you given your major donors a status update to let them know where you are today? Not an ask, but an update.

Make sure the data you have on your major donors is up to date and correct.

Take time to talk with those who are accessible to learn their priorities."

Heather R. Hill is an experienced and successful major gift fundraiser. She's also the Chair of Rogaré, a fundraising think tank. Her thoughts were:

"The things that instantly came to mind were:

Write (as in compose handwritten pieces) personal, thoughtful thank you notes. It's such a basic thing, but one that often gets compromised when things are busy. We'll still hand sign the letter but use a printed letter...or, worse, a standard letter with just the name and giving details changed. Let the donors know their gifts are valued and how important they are to the mission. Consider including an insert that further underscores that sentiment--maybe a photo of the initiative or program they made possible or, if permitted, a beneficiary whose life they changed.

Call your program staff colleagues. Ask them about their work. Ask them what they get excited about, what gets them up in the morning. Ask them what keeps them up at night. Ask them to share stories. Ask questions about the stories to get better stories. Write the stories down. Establish a story bank, if you don't already have one. These questions are the questions donors have. They want to know how your mission comes to life through the work. They want to hear about those the mission directly touches. They want to know how their gift makes that happen. To use an analogy from Ghostbusters, you might be the Gatekeeper but your program colleagues are the Keymasters and you need them with you to truly unleash your donors' passion for your mission.

If you need a third, it's clean up your room! I mean, clean up your data.

Charity Auctions: 3 Best Practices for Fundraising Success

Charity auctions are some of the most profitable events nonprofits can host. They provide donors with a new way to support your nonprofit and they’re highly cost-effective. Not to mention, they’re incredibly flexible and can be adapted for a variety of audiences and goals.

Especially right now in the midst of COVID-19, organizations can’t risk losing supporters’ attention and engagement. Because of this, you’ll need to go into your nonprofit’s fundraising auction with an informed perspective. To help, we’ve compiled a list of tips to set your next charity auction up for maximum success. 

Whether you’re brand new to the charity auction space or are a seasoned fundraising professional, it’s always a good idea to brush up on some best practices. Ready to learn how to create a profitable and memorable auction? Let’s get started!

1. Host an Online Auction.

With social distancing guidelines still in full-force, you’re likely sticking strictly to virtual fundraising events, and an online auction is a great choice! But once the pandemic dissipates, you’ll still want to continue offering online bidding options, so consider creating a hybrid event by coordinating online bidding with your in-person auctions.

Online bidding works for a number of reasons. For one, supporters who want to participate might be unable to attend an in-person event, may arrive late or leave early, or may simply be hesitant to attend due to health concerns. By giving them the tools they need to bid from anywhere, they can support your cause and join in on the fun from afar. Here are some best practices for keeping remote bidders engaged:

Host a live stream. Online fundraising events often lack the face-to-face element that event organizers need to engage attendees. Luckily, live streaming resolves this issue! When going remote, there are a number of different options. One popular choice is to host a stream where you present items and ask for donations. You might also consider pre-recording a video introduction followed by a live finale stream where you thank attendees and highlight top bidders.


Provide them with a mobile bidding app. With mobile bidding, attendees will be able to bid across the globe or even without cellular signal using their smartphone. So long as they have internet access, they can participate without being glued to their computers throughout the entire event. Plus, instant push notifications and text updates will notify them when they’ve been outbid, so they can jump back in. This also goes for your in-person attendees who can stay engaged no matter where they are at your event.


Add photos or a video to each item in your catalog. Since your remote attendees won’t be able to see your auction items in person, high-quality images or embedded videos are the next best thing. With images and videos, they can see exactly what they’re bidding on, so take time in choosing the right angles and lighting for the most visually appealing results.

Whether you plan to go fully digital or just incorporate mobile bidding into your physical event, using technology doesn’t mean your events have to be any less engaging than traditional ones. Incorporating the above tips will help you create a positive online bidding experience. Learn more about making the shift to digital events with this guide which provides tips and ideas for successful digital fundraising.

2. Market Your Auction Well in Advance.

Prior to hosting your event, you’ll need to proactively promote it to supporters. Market early and often to effectively spread the word. After all, if no one hears about your auction, attendance will be very limited.

To start, you’ll need to take advantage of multiple marketing outlets. With numerous platforms available, you’d be remiss if you didn’t take advantage of them. From here, you can incorporate the following practices to take your marketing strategy to the next level and amp up support for your next charity auction:

Leverage social media. Don’t overlook the power of the share button! As part of any strong digital strategy, social media is crucial. Simply put, it allows supporters to share your auction with their personal networks, expanding your reach to a much larger audience. With nearly 3.5 billion social media users worldwide, it’s an excellent opportunity to market your charity auction.


Include the link to your auction site in all marketing materials. An auction site houses all the important information regarding your event. This includes event details, information about your cause, your auction items, and more. Using an auction site eliminates the need to print out a physical catalog and makes it much easier to share key information in each message.


Highlight your top items and packages that will be up for bidding. Your auction items and packages are one of the main attractions for your event. Incentivize potential attendees to register by showcasing bidding items that are tailored to their interests.

Marketing is a critical step in the planning process. Refining your promotion strategy well in advance gives you plenty of time to spread the word and boost registrations. The above tips will serve as a solid starting point, so you can start generating buzz around your upcoming auction.

3. Use Nonprofit-Specific Auction Software.

Charity auctions have several moving pieces, which can be overwhelming to many newcomers. With the right software though, you can streamline the entire process, from registration to item distribution. The right tools can alleviate stress and make hosting an auction a breeze.

Don’t just settle on the first auction platform that comes your way, though. Instead, go with a solution that’s specifically designed for nonprofit use. Nonprofit-specific auction software will give you a range of functionality without having to piece together individual solutions, starting with easy management and planning tools. 

Let’s take a look at some of the features you’ll need access to, so your charity auction is the best it can possibly be:

Mobile bidding app. As we touched on earlier, mobile bidding allows people to bid at their convenience wherever they are, whether they’re socializing at your auction or in the comfort of their own homes. Apps account for nearly 90% of people’s internet time on smartphones, so bidders will be very receptive to this approach. Make sure your tools offer instant push notifications, an intuitive interface, and secure checkout options.


Gamification. Gamification tools add a layer of friendly competition to your charity auctions. Keep energy high with tools like leaderboards that showcase top bidders, a countdown timer to drive those last-second bids, and a live fundraising thermometer so people can see their bid’s impact in real-time.


Live streaming capabilities. The best charity auction software will offer its own live streaming tools which will allow you to stream directly within the app or the web platform. This way, the bidding experience won’t be interrupted by making participants access the stream elsewhere. What’s more, you should be able to promote items directly under the live stream to drive participation.


Robust reporting features. Reports will help you gain deeper insights into your bidders’ behavior and your auctions’ performance. This will help you tremendously in pinpointing areas of improvement, so you can refine your strategies for future auctions, launching your team towards success.

The tools you use for your auctions can mean the difference between an engaging, successful auction and one that falls short of expectations. Taking the time to choose the right tools upfront will lead to greater results later on. Looking for the above features will help you make a much more informed decision, putting you on the fast-track to success.

If you need guidance in finding the right charity auction software for your team, check out Handbid’s complete nonprofit auction software guide. You’ll learn about key features to prioritize in your search and gather some tips for making the most of your tools along the way!

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Auctions are some of the most effective and reliable fundraising events that nonprofits can host. This is especially true when they’re developed creatively and tailored to your audience. So long as you back your efforts with intuitive nonprofit-specific auction software, you’ll be well on your way to hosting a successful event.

As you get started planning your next charity auction, take these ideas back to your team and adjust them to suit your needs. In no time, you’ll have a fully-engaging and profitable fundraiser on your hands.

The post Charity Auctions: 3 Best Practices for Fundraising Success appeared first on FundraisingCoach.com.

4 Smart Donor Segmentation Strategies for Nonprofits

As a nonprofit professional, you know how important it is to cultivate deep and meaningful relationships with your supporters. It’s even more important to work toward these relationships during difficult times. 

To effectively build these relationships, times of social and economic chaos present the perfect opportunity for increasing your communications with donors. 

Increasing communication, especially personal communication, will show your donors that you genuinely care about their connections to your cause. Ask them how they’re doing. Provide them with updates on how you’re keeping staff, volunteers, and constituents safe. And, above all, don’t stop fundraising. Even with the current economic climate, donors are astoundingly generous and many will choose to give if you give them the chance. 

But how can you make the most of your communication strategy? It’s simple: create smart donor segments to reach out to your supporters. 

What is segmentation and why does it matter?

Chances are you probably already leverage donor segmentation. After an event (or virtual event), you probably email your attendees to say thank you. Or, you may have a welcome email series for your newest supporters. But just to make sure we’re all on the same page, let’s start from the beginning by defining segmentation.

Donor segmentation is when you separate supporters into meaningful groups based on commonalities. This enables you to reach out to groups of people with personalized messages that are targeted toward their interests. 

It’s an efficient method of personalizing your outreach to your nonprofit’s supporters. With the help of your nonprofit’s CRM software, you’ll use the data you’ve stored to create valuable segments that will help with these communications strategies. Overall, this helps you develop stronger connections with supporters in order to cultivate lasting relationships. 

In this article, we’ll go over some of the best donor segmentation strategies your nonprofit can use to build these relationships. The segments we’ll discuss include: 

Giving Level
Recency and Frequency 
Communication Platforms
Contribution Type

Ready to dive deeper into these valuable donor segments? Let’s get started. 

 

1. Segment donors by giving level. 

Chances are, the topics you discuss with your major donors are quite different from those you talk about with your low-level donors. Therefore, sorting donors by giving level is where we recommend beginning with your segmentation strategy. Keep in mind that when you create these segments, your communications with these audiences will drastically differ from one another.

To fully understand how your messaging should vary, let’s explore the segments used for three main giving levels:

Small-scale donors. This will be your largest segment. As you reach out to this audience, your goal will likely be to convince them to contribute again in the future and consider giving more. They’ll be invited to organization-wide events and may even be asked to volunteer. This is also the starting point for many mid-tier and major donors, so conduct prospect research to determine who might be a good candidate for higher giving levels in the future. 
Mid-tier donors. Many nonprofits have a bad habit of neglecting their mid-tier donors. However, these supporters have the potential to contribute a good chunk of your donation revenue, 40%-50% according to NonProfit PRO. Plus, they’re the ones who are most likely to turn into major donors in the future. Be sure to segment this group so that you effectively steward them and express the appreciation they deserve.
Major donors. Your major donors make up the majority of your donation revenue. It’s also your smallest group of supporters. This means that you have the opportunity to hyper-personalize outreach to this audience. Be sure to segment this audience and reach out to ask for feedback about the organization and invite them to special appreciation events. 

Each of these groups may be defined differently by every nonprofit, depending on their size and capacity. But, as you can see, collecting data about your donors and segmenting them by your defined giving level will help your nonprofit make strategic decisions that will positively impact your organization’s fundraising goals. It’s all about communicating efficiently to meet each donor’s best interests, saving your marketing team’s time, and effectively reaching out according to your organization’s strategic plan.

2. Segment by recency and frequency of giving. 

Another segment of supporters that your nonprofit may consider creating is related to their recency and frequency of their donations. This measurement is important for determining the engagement of your donors. 

If your donors are fully engaged in your organization’s work, they’re much more likely to give more often and more frequently. This is an indicator of a strong relationship between the donor and your nonprofit. More frequent giving leads to a higher lifetime donor value for your nonprofit as well as greater fundraising revenue. Further, recent giving shows that the supporter is at peak engagement with your nonprofit. 

Some of the segments you may consider within the category of “recency and frequency” include: 

Recurring donors. Donors who sign up for your recurring donation program are highly valuable for your nonprofit because they offer a consistent source of revenue over time. Segment these supporters so that you can reach out with other engagement opportunities such as event registrations and volunteer opportunities. 
Lapsed donors. Donors who have lapsed or are in danger of lapsing are those who seem to be losing their engagement with your organization. Be sure to reconnect with these supporters, explaining that you value their support and invite them to engage or contribute again. 
New donors. Within the first month that a new donor gives to your organization for the first time, you should be sure to reach out personally to thank them and invite them to become involved further with your nonprofit’s activities. Do this while the first gift is still fresh in their minds to catch their attention early and establish a strong foundation for a lasting relationship.

These segments are especially important for your nonprofit’s engagement and stewardship strategies. In short, this provides an overview of where your supporters are in the relationship-building process with your nonprofit. 

3. Segment supporters by communication platform. 

For your nonprofit to fully engage your supporters, you need to reach out to them using the platforms they’re most likely to respond to. This is why one effective segmentation strategy is to group supporters by preferred communication platform. 

Keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that you should exclusively reach out using supporters’ preferred platforms. However, it does show what the primary outreach channel should be for supporters. This approach will fit well into your multi-channel fundraising strategy. 

There are two primary ways you can decide what communication platform your supporters prefer. First, you can dig in your CRM to decide what they’ve responded positively to in the past. Second, you can simply ask them in a survey. 

When you consider the platforms by which you’re segmenting supporters, be sure to consider the following:

Email. Email is one of the most useful tools for nonprofit communication and fundraising. According to DNL OmniMedia’s email marketing guide, email was responsible for 28% of online fundraising in 2017. While this is a great communication tool, some of your supporters may prefer you use more personalized methods of communication. 
Phone call. Phone calls are an incredibly personal way of communicating with your supporters. It allows for real one-on-one conversation that may encompass fundraising, organization feedback, and more. Be sure that when you call supporters, you have a very specific call to action and purpose for the conversation. For example, you may ask your supporters to participate in your upcoming advocacy campaign.
Text message. Text messages have an average open rate of 98%. This makes it a very effective platform for supporters who prefer its use. However, not everyone wants their phone to blow up with text messages from companies and organizations. Because of this, you’ll want to be sure that you know what supporters prefer this platform before using it heavily in your outreach strategy. 
Social media. Many of your supporters, especially younger supporters, likely find the majority of your organization’s news via social media platforms. Those who respond positively to this communication platform will likely be the ones who you want to recognize on these platforms for various reasons (peer-to-peer campaigns, notable donations, and more). They’ll be especially flattered by the reference. 
Direct mail. Direct mail isn’t dead! Many of your supporters may prefer using this platform for organization updates and for fundraising. However, direct mail may get expensive due to printing costs and stamps. By segmenting the supporters who prefer this platform, you can save money by limiting the direct mail you send.

As we mentioned before, be sure not to only communicate with supporters via their favorite communication platform. Keep it in mind as a part of your nonprofit’s multi-channel fundraising strategy. CharityEngine’s multi-channel fundraising guide explains that this strategy is used to “reach various segments of supporters, ideally, at multiple touch points.” 

4. Segment supporters by contribution type. 

Especially in the age of COVID-19, donors may be looking for alternative ways to get involved with your organization. The economic downturn has made it difficult for many supporters to give philanthropically. However, they may still want to support your organization in other ways. 

Keeping track of the other ways your supporters prefer to contribute to your organization can help you reach out to the best audiences to keep them engaged during this difficult time. It can guide the interactions you have with supporters and, especially, the call to action you include in your marketing materials. 

Consider creating the following segments based on the type of contributions supporters engage with: 

Event attendees. Attendees from your past events are more likely to be the ones to participate in future ones. During these tough times, supporters may miss attending your events. Therefore, it’s a great opportunity to invite past attendees to a virtual event! This guide provides awesome virtual event ideas if you’re stuck in the planning stage. Segment your event attendees so that you know who to reach out to with special invitations to your virtual events this year. 
Advocates. Advocates contribute to your mission by reaching out to their representatives to make them aware of your nonprofit’s mission and ask them to support your cause in legislation. Create a segment of advocates in your donor database so that you can reach out to them during your next advocacy event or to thank them for their past support as new legislation is passed.
Volunteers. Volunteers contribute time rather than money. While many of your volunteering opportunities may be limited due to social distancing guidelines, you have an opportunity to get creative and come up with digital volunteer opportunities such as office transcriptions or social media marketing. Reach out to this segment of supporters to ask them to engage with this new program.

While many supporters may be limited in their financial capability of contributing to your nonprofit, remember that money isn’t the only way that they can show their support! By segmenting donors by their other preferred contribution types, you can provide a range of opportunities for them to get involved so that you can continue nurturing relationships.

Plus, by creating these segments, your nonprofit has the opportunity to show supporters that any and all contributions are important and valued by your nonprofit. Thank them for contributing their time and energy just as you would thank them for donations.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Donor segmentation is a key aspect of building relationships with your nonprofit’s supporters. By incorporating smart segmentation strategies, your organization can better engage supporters and develop these relationships further.

 

Guest post courtesy of Leigh Kessler, CharityEngine

Leigh Kessler is VP of Marketing and Communications at donor management software platform CharityEngine and a frequent speaker on branding, fundraising, data and technology.  He is a former nationally touring headline comedian and has appeared on numerous TV shows including VH1's "Best Week Ever", CNN's "Showbiz Tonight", Discovery Channel & Sirius Radio.​ He has overseen and informed research and branding strategies for some of the most well known brands in America. 

The post 4 Smart Donor Segmentation Strategies for Nonprofits appeared first on FundraisingCoach.com.

Nonprofit Donor Management: 4 Awesome Best Practices

Proper donor management is the key to effective fundraising. When you have accessible data about your donors that is stored well and easy to sift through, your nonprofit will have the tools you need in order to build relationships with those supporters. 

Relationships, now more than ever, are key to lucrative fundraising strategies. Some donors find themselves, very much like many nonprofits, stretched thin financially. Other donors— those with capacity— may want to help, and are just waiting to be re-engaged by charities whose causes they are passionate about. 

When your organization has strong relationships with these supporters, it increases the chances that they’ll choose to maintain their charitable giving. 

Before you can expect to establish and cultivate strong relationships with your supporters, your organization will first need to store and leverage relevant data about those donors. This brings us back to the need for effective donor management. 

Here at Bloomerang, we’ve helped thousands of nonprofits achieve their goals when it comes to donor data management. From this experience, we’ve put together our list of the top four donor management best practices for organizations to consider. These best practices include: 

Track donor engagement. 
Measure donor generosity. 
Track donor retention rates. 
Use data to improve fundraising campaigns. 

Don’t forget that your nonprofit will need access to effective donor management software in order to effectively implement these best practices. Reading through Bloomerang’s donor database guide will help your organization invest in a solution that’s up-to-scratch. 

Now, let’s get started with our favorite tips. 

1. Track donor engagement.

Our first tip for nonprofits is to make sure you’re tracking all of your donors’ engagement metrics. This means that you should track fundraising data, communication details, and personal information related to your organization’s supporters. 

Many nonprofits have a tendency to put additional weight or emphasis on the fundraising information from their supporters, but it’s important to remember that all data is important for an effective strategy. This is especially true when you have relationships at the forefront of your mind. 

Specifically, you should make sure you’re collecting and storing information such as: 

Donations made. Fundraising data is important to help your nonprofit get a handle on donors’ frequency of giving, average donation amounts, and campaigns supported. Recording this data can help your organization predict their future donation behavior and better appeal to them during certain campaigns. 
Email metrics. Keep track of the email campaigns each of your supporters are a part of and how they respond to different emails. For instance, when a new supporter donates to your organization, you may send them a series of welcome emails. Depending on the content of these emails, you can learn about the donor’s interests based on which ones they open, read, and click-through. 
Events attended. Keep track of the events your supporters choose to attend that are hosted by your organization. This may include both fundraising and stewardship events that your nonprofit hosts. Make sure to also include information about any donations made during the event and activities they participated in. 
Phone conversations. Calling your donors is an incredibly important and valuable opportunity to establish a personal connection with your supporters. It opens up the floor for a one-on-one conversation that is next to impossible to accomplish over email or written communication. Call your supporters to thank them for their support and to invite them to upcoming opportunities for additional engagement with your nonprofit. 
In-person meetings. Even in a pandemic, some donors are still asking for socially distanced meetings. You can still host them using effective video conferencing software like Zoom or Google Hangouts. Be sure to record these notes in your CRM for reference. This way, in future conversations, you can make sure to touch on personal details and ask individualized questions based on the data. This shows supporters that you’ve been paying attention. 

Engagement data helps nonprofits to better personalize outreach strategies with individual supporters. Plus, when a donor is highly engaged, they may be a good person to reach out to as a potential fundraiser for your next peer-to-peer campaign, for valuable input on organization activities, or even as a major donor if they have the wealth capacity to contribute one. 

Make sure your donor database is designed to automatically store this key information in individual donor profiles as you collect it.

2. Measure donor generosity.

Donor generosity indicates the capacity of a supporter to contribute larger amounts to your organization. When a high level of generosity is combined with a high engagement history with your organization, that individual might be a good candidate for a major gift. 

You can learn about potential donor generosity by conducting prospect research. Prospect research shows nonprofits the wealth and philanthropic indicators that can be used to improve fundraising. These indicators measure two different things: 

Wealth indicators. Wealth indicators include things like real estate holdings, stock holdings, business affiliations, and political giving. All of these metrics are publically available, so your organization could conduct research on your own about each individual supporter in your database. But the far more convenient option is to invest in a prospect research tool to help you scan your donor database. 

 

Philanthropic indicators. Philanthropic indicators help you understand the likelihood that a supporter will want to support your particular organization. These indicators include things such as previous gifts given to your nonprofit, contributions made to similar organizations, and volunteer hours with yours or similar nonprofits.

 

By understanding the wealth data about your supporters, you can craft more specific asks that are within the financial capability of the supporter. When you craft your fundraising asks, you can keep this information in mind.

Save the data you find in your donor database. You may also choose to choose a CRM solution that integrates with a prospect research solution, such as Bloomerang and DonorSearch. This way, generosity information is automatically saved in the relevant profiles for each of your supporters. 

3. Track donor retention rates.

Remember what we said about building relationships with donors? It’s incredibly important to maximize your fundraising strategy. One of the reasons relationships are so important is because they can help increase your donor retention rate.

According to this guide, the average donor retention rate for nonprofits rests around 45% (as shown in the image below). However, just a small increase in this percentage rate can drastically increase the total revenue your organization earns as a result of fundraising. 

Work to build your donor retention rate until it’s far above the national average. There are several reasons to do this: 

It is less expensive to retain donors than it is to attract new supporters. It cost about ten times more to attract new donors than it does to retain your existing supporters. This is because those who have given to your organization before have a known connection to your mission. Meanwhile, when you search for new supporters, you have to find supporters with this connection. 
Donors tend to donate more over time. Therefore, the longer you retain supporters with your organization, the more they’re likely to contribute. This is because they perceive their connection to the organization to grow stronger as time goes on.

By tracking your donor retention rate as a part of your donor management strategy, your organization can make sure you’re doing everything you can to increase and improve upon this important metric and use it to raise more. 

Plus, you can see the impact that different strategies that you implement have on your retention rate. For example, if you add an additional three stewardship campaigns to your outreach calendar, start calling donors to thank them for their contributions, and increase the overall communication with supporters, you can expect your retention rate to increase. 

If you implement new strategies to build relationships with supporters but see no change in your donor retention rate, you might need to re-adjust those strategies. 

4. Use data to improve fundraising campaigns.

Donor data is important for your organization’s overall fundraising initiatives. However, it’s crucial for your fundraising campaigns. Donor data can help your nonprofit develop a concrete plan that will ensure you reach your goals, especially when it comes to large-scale fundraising campaigns.

For example, if your nonprofit is hosting a capital campaign, you may develop a gift range chart depending on the capacity of your development team and your historic fundraising success. These charts depict the number of gifts of certain sizes that your nonprofit needs to achieve its overall fundraising goal. 

It might look something like this: If your nonprofit is trying to raise $100,000, you may need one gift of $50,000, two gifts of $10,000, and six gifts of $5,000. These charts work especially well when your nonprofit is raising money for the quiet phase of your campaign. 

You may also use your donor data to: 

Define donor segments. Segment your supporters based on similar data points in your donor database. For example, you might create a donor segment of the supporters in your database who give at the same donation level or that attended the same fundraising event. 
Find major donors. When you find a donor with both high engagement metrics and high wealth capacity, you may have found an adequate prospect for a major gift. Be sure to conduct additional prospect research and steward these individuals to increase the likelihood of achieving a major gift for your next campaign. 
Personalize fundraising asks. No matter the campaign you’re fundraising for, personalized messages are bound to resonate with your supporters better than impersonal communications. Therefore, use the data in your database to make sure you’re using supporters’ preferred names and contact information as well as discussing their individual interests. 

If your nonprofit is struggling to find the best ways to employ the donor data that you’ve stored and organized, then you might consider investing in a nonprofit consultant. Consultants can help organizations like yours define their needs and craft strategies to fulfill those needs. Bloomerang’s list of top consultants is a great place to start if you’re interested in nonprofit consulting. 

Once you’ve improved your fundraising campaigns using the data you’ve collected, continue storing the data! If you’re committed to growing and raising more and more revenue, your nonprofit should set processes that ensure all of your data is organized and stored both now and moving forward.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Donor management is at the center of nonprofit organizations’ effective fundraising strategies. With an effective system in place, your nonprofit can make the most of this tool and improve your overall approach to donor relationships. These four tips are just the start. Good luck!

 

Author: Jay Love, Co-Founder and current Chief Relationship Officer at Bloomerang

Love has served this sector for 33 years and is considered the most well-known senior statesman whose advice is sought constantly. Prior to Bloomerang, he was the CEO and Co-Founder of eTapestry for 11 years, which at the time was the leading SaaS technology company serving the charity sector.

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A different look at "Deadlines drive donations"

Today is the start of the last week of the fiscal year for many nonprofits.

And one thing we know about fundraising: deadlines drive donations.

Year after year, we've seen even arbitrary deadlines like galas or the end of the fiscal year generate fundraising bumps.

Do Deadlines Make Donors Act?

The pandemic has me reflecting on this. I used to think the deadline spurred donors to action.

Now I don’t.

Now I believe the deadline spurs the askers.

You see, we’ve seen amazing generosity since the pandemic began. March was better for many nonprofits than December. So was April. And May. June is looking like it will be too.

Every month, despite being traditionally slow fundraising months, nonprofits who were asking donors for donations were generating more donations than their typical best month.

Or Do Deadlines Make Askers Ask?

Did the donors to these successful nonprofits change? Perhaps. The media onslaught about the pandemic has made telling the story easier. But they were the same donors the nonprofit had in February.

Or did the fundraisers change? Absolutely. Fundraisers actually got disciplined in asking.

And that made all the difference.

In fact, the nonprofits that I’ve spoken to who’ve seen a dip in donations all also say that they’ve stopped asking.

Use This Deadline Well

As we approach the last couple days of the fiscal year, I’d encourage you to see that donors are generous. Many are hurting now. So be kind when you ask. But know that many are actually spending less money right now, so may have more to give. And even more want to make a tangible difference in a world that seems out of control.

In these last two days of the fiscal year, will you help them make a difference?

All it takes is an ask.

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[Guest Post] 6 Lessons Learned by Attending Virtual Fundraising Events

On a recent call, I heard a concept that really impressed me. Amanda Herlihy is the Director of Development

South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities Foundation. She knew that she was going to have to shift her fundraising events to a virtual format. So in addition to reading about virtual events and taking course, she actually attended virtual events! Lot of them. I asked her if she'd share her observations. Fortunately for us, she did!

6 Things I've Learned from Attending Multiple Virtual Fundraising Events
by Amanda Herlihy
Director of Development, South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts & Humanities Foundation

I’ve worked for many arts nonprofits over the years and the one thing they all have in common is a love for fundraising events. It’s a natural selling point for donors to attend an event featuring a performance, a movie screening, or a dinner with a star. It’s glitz, it’s glamour, it’s fun, and it helps a good cause. But let me tell you, fundraising events are hard! They were hard for any organization before this pandemic, and they are even more difficult now.

In preparation for planning fundraising events for next year, I’ve attended upwards of 10 virtual fundraising events all across the country. From New York; to Minnesota, Pennsylvania to Missouri. I’ve also listened to podcasts, watched videos of virtual gala reviews, read safety and reopening guidelines, read blogs and forum threads, interviewed colleagues, and have spoken to donors at the nonprofit where I work.

I’m sure you think I’ve gone overboard- and maybe I have- but our world is rapidly changing and in order to thrive, we must adapt. If nonprofits cannot find new, innovative ways to raise money and host events, the people we serve will be the ones who lose. To me, that is not an option.

In no particular order, here are some takeaways from my virtual event research.

Talk about what you do!

Seriously, make this the first thing you do at your virtual event. You will not believe how many organizations did not mention what their mission is or who they help within the first few minutes of their event. How can you tug at a donor’s heartstrings if they don’t even know what you do? Tell them about your mission and those you serve, not once, not twice, but throughout the entire event.

Besides describing your mission (in a few SHORT sentences) show me the impact of the work that has been done through generous donations. Make me want to donate.

 


Host or MC

The host or the MC sets the tone for the entire event. Do not just pick someone randomly! Choose a dynamic speaker that can represent your organization well and will make your event fun!

 


The Ask(s)

Make asks throughout the program, and do not wait until the end of your event to do this. Since this is virtual, people will be tuning in at all different times during your event. Don’t make it difficult for them to find out how they can donate. The MC, your executive director, guest speakers, and constituents can and should tell people where to donate. Put a ticker at the bottom of the screen that directs people to your website. You can still be very tactful while making these asks, but please, make sure you ask!

Make it easy for your donor to share news about their donation. It will encourage others to donate too.

It’s a great idea to show the progress you’ve made towards your goal during the evening. Donors want you to reach your goals. Make it easy for them to help you get there.

 


Technology

Choose your platform wisely. The best events I have seen have streamed on Facebook Live or YouTube where you can chat with guests through the chat feature. This is one of the best ways to engage your audience. One colleague I spoke with told me that they planted their staff members in the chat to engage the audience and make them feel more involved. So, when that board member joins the event, take the opportunity to say hello. Or shout out to that donor who made a big gift. It’s also appropriate (and smart) to continue telling people where they can donate. (See the Ask(s) above.)

Be careful with Zoom or video conferencing. They do not produce quality sound. If you have the opportunity to record individual videos from home, take advantage of it. Don’t just feature all talking head videos. Get creative and overlay graphics within the speaker’s video, or have a static picture with voiceovers. Show a picture of the gala chairs instead of featuring them in a separate video. You want your transitions to be smooth and seamless though, so use a quality video production company to help with this element.

 


The Plan

Please don’t wing it. Be prepared and come up with a plan (and a backup or two) for the evening.

Do not underestimate the power of scripts. Many people are not comfortable in front of a camera and you do not want them going rogue, or to forget the point and start to ramble. You also want to give your speakers guidelines for where to stand (in front of something plain- not a messy bookshelf!), how to get the best lighting, what colors work best on camera, and where to look.

 


It’s All in the Timing

Don’t make your event too long. Grab your audience’s attention from the beginning. I’ve seen galas that ran 20 minutes (yay!), 45 minutes, and well over an hour. My favorite are those that are short, sweet, and to the point. I understood their mission, I was entertained, and I made a donation!

Virtual fundraising events can work well. Overall, you want to:

Be mission focused

Make multiple asks

Show the impact of your work

Be clear, and concise

Have great production quality

And make your organization money!

For more on converting your canceled fundraising event to a virtual fundraising event, check out the Swaim Strategies session in The Nonprofit Academy: https://thenonprofitacademy.com/trainings/canceled-fundraising-event-solutions/

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Donor generosity is astounding

When we entered the pandemic lockdown here in the United States, nonprofits were rightly concerned about potentially plummeting donations. Those of us who'd been in fundraising through disasters and economic downturns, knew there'd be an initial spike in giving. But based on our past experiences, we expected that spike to be short lived.

Well, I'm pleased to say, donors are proving us wrong.

Fundraising in a pandemic is hard

I've fundraised through a number of downturns (the dot com bust in the late 90s, the downturn following 9/11, and the 2008 housing bust) and through a number of disasters (hurricanes, flooding, etc.). It's hard.

The external conditions are difficult. But what makes most fundraising hard is what goes on between our ears. So many difficulties in fundraising are based not on reality, but on what does on in the heads of the people doing the fundraising.

Nonprofit leaders and fundraisers are skilled at making excuses for not asking people. "This isn't a good time" or similar thoughts crop up. These thoughts seem to make so much sense. We see awful news on the TV and social media feeds that justifies our "wait and see approach."

Even if the staff understands the importance of fundraising, our boards often don't. Too often, they confuse their role. They actually tell the executive director to not fundraise. That is not the board's decision. The decision on day-to-day running of the nonprofit is the executive director's, not the board's.

Alas, many board members forget this. Or were never properly oriented.

And not asking sort of feels like we're being compassionate to donors. We're "letting them off the hook."

But it's not up to us to decide if donors can give or not. We should always treat donors with respect and let them decide if they want to give.

We need to let donors decide.

Donors are amazingly generous

Donors will tell us whether now is a great time to ask or not. Asking them for donations is really a sign of respect. We respect them enough to make their own decisions.

So when the lockdown happened, many of us urged nonprofits to communicate with donors quickly. A huge gift to the sector was the video Chris Davenport and Steven Screen produced on creating an emergency e-appeal. This gave an easy to follow format for communicating with donors in uncertain times.

And donors responded! Nonprofits who had not ever used mail or email to ask for money were receiving gifts from donors that were excited to give. Two of my clients raised $70,000 and $100,000 in the week after they sent out the appeal. Those that asked in March said the fundraising was as good as or better than year-end fundraising. April was also like another December. So was May.

And these weren't just healthcare nonprofits. These were animal shelters and housing nonprofits and zoos. Even organizations that had to shut down many typical programs. Like a symphony orchestra! No concerts but giving has been through the roof. Donors were even thanking fundraisers for "letting" them be part of the solution!

And donors were as generous in April. And they were in May. In fact, some experts I've been talking with are wondering if donors are not the ones that slow down, but if it's fundraisers who slow down, impacting the level of giving to their organizations!

Will you let the donors decide?

I find it interesting that the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported the vast majority of nonprofits did see a drop in donations. I can only surmise that they stopped asking. Or perhaps these nonprofits did the awful appeals talking all about the organization, not about the mission.

Donors really aren't concerned about your organization. They're interested in making some sort of change in the world. That change is what you do on a daily basis. Don't bore them with telling them all about you and your history and your effectiveness. Tell them about the problem. And show them how to help fix it.

It's June, and the giving is still strong. Will you let the donors decide?

 

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3 ways for board members to fundraise even when stuck at home

The pandemic continues to change the way we've always done things.

What if you're a board member who's stuck at home? How can you support your nonprofit's fundraising?

3 Ways to Help Your Nonprofit Fundraise in a Pandemic

People are still being generous. They are still giving to nonprofits. Even in a pandemic with unprecedented economic disruption.

How can you help them give to your favorite nonprofit?

Keep giving yourself, if you can

Your giving will help set an amazing example for others. Even if you don't talk about it, people will know your asking them to give to the nonprofit is based in your own giving.
Share with others that you're giving

If you can share, do. Social proof is motivating for others. People find it easier to do things they see people like themselves doing. So if they've seen you've given, they will be more likely to help too.
Tell you "nonprofit" story

Even while you're stuck at home, you can start your "nonprofit" story. Think about your involvement. Being a board member is a big deal. What inspired you to give you time and talent to this nonprofit? Why do you keep giving it? What values connect you to this particular nonprofit?

As you get clearer on this answer, you'll be able to help your nonprofit raise even more money.

More Ways to Help Your Nonprofit Fundraise

These are just three ways. There are at least 18 others in the 21 Ways for Board Members to Engage With Their Nonprofit's Fundraising.

Of course, "helping out with events" looks drastically different now than it did in January. But most of them you can do when you're stuck at home observing safe social distancing!

Which ones will you choose?

See all 21 Ways for Board Members to Engage With Their Nonprofit's Fundraising at https://fundraisingcoach.com/board-fundraising/. And share them with your other board members.

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