Category: Blockbuster Blog

WHY MONTHLY GIVING IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY NOW

Develop a great monthly giving program

A monthly giving program can really help your organization. We know that on average 40% of giving from individuals occurs in December. Wouldn’t it be great to spread some of those gifts out over the whole year? Transitioning some of your donors to monthly gifts is the perfect way to do that.
Here are some ideas for how to convince your donors to give monthly.

What to ask for:

Setting your monthly giving amount at the appropriate amount is an essential first step. Start with your average online gift amount then take 15-20% of that for your baseline. If your average online gift is $100, set a baseline recurring gift of $15/month and up from there. This is a great starting point for new donors, but for current donors who may be giving more you will want to edit your ask to be specific to their giving level.

Learn from your current monthly donors:

If you have a group of monthly donors they can give you great insight into what works and what doesn’t. Call them and ask them for their opinion and thank them for being monthly donors. Find out why they give monthly. What do they have in common? You can use these ideas to reach out to other monthly donors.

Seven groups to target:

Here are seven groups of people who are likely to be attracted to the idea of a monthly gift.

• One time donors who give less than $200 each year
• Donors who give more than three times a year
• Young supporters
• Volunteers
• Donors who have given in the past but not last year
• Event attendees
• Former board members

Questions to ask your team

Before you start your monthly giving program, ask your team these questions:

• What do we want to accomplish through monthly giving?
• What does that mean to our programs and our mission?
• What is the result of achieving our goal?

Answering these questions will help your donors understand your mission in your monthly giving program and help you to better talk to your donors about the impact and good their monthly gift will exert.

Developments Starring Role

“The skills of a good development director are much the same as those of a good sales manager. It is the job of an organization’s development director to inspire his or her salespersons—the volunteer solicitors—and arm them with all the tools they need to be successful.

At the same time development directors must be able to run a tight ship and bring a sense of control, perspective, and order to the process of raising money.
Good development directors are donor-driven, rather than institution-driven.

They function as the donors’ voice within the organization, bringing donor cares and concerns to staff and trustees. Yet they must remain conscious and protective of the integrity and purpose of the organization. They are in the best position to say no to a request which asks too much of the organization and undermines its mission.” Read entire blog:

Do you watch Shark Tank? How do you think your best presentation would fare with Mr. Wonderful?
Learn some super successful presentation tips now! Want more?
https://www.tvinsider.com/98529/shark-tanks-kevin-oleary-gives-4-tips-on-how-to-succeed-with-the-sharks/

CONTENT IS KING!

Winning Content Ideas

Your content is the key to your successful year-end appeal. By now, you’ve gathered your stories and created your plan. Use these tips to make sure you structure your content and present it in a way that is sure to yield great results.

Four quick tips to winning content and formatting

1. Keep shorter paragraphs

Shorter paragraphs are easier for your donors to scan for details that are important to them. Longer paragraphs will cause your donors to lose focus and interest.

2. Include a P.S.

If your reader reads nothing else, they will read the P.S. Save this area for an important call to action, deadline, or quote.

3. Get your CEO to sign the letter

Your CEO is the face of your organization. His or her signature will hammer home with your donors that this is important and that they are important.

4. Find the right image

Use an image that will steal their heart and let your donors know what will happen right now if they don’t participate. Think of your picture as a place your donor can swim to to be the hero of the story.

Four more tips to perfect your year-end appeal content.

Network for Good gives us four tips from the Wild Woman’s Guide to Fundraising.

  1. Be present active and direct
  2. Spark people into action. You want to strengthen verbs with an active voice and first person pronouns. Say things like: “Go on. Pick up the pen. Write a check.” Or: “This child is hungry now. You can help her now. Please give.”
  3. Move your call to action front and center
  4. Don’t save your call to action for the end of the appeal. Instead, pepper your request throughout the letter. Offer donors several moments to think about giving. If you are sending an email appeal, be sure to link those calls to action to your donate page.
  5. Focus on the donor!   This is all about the pronoun “you.” Use it throughout the appeal. Talk about how your donors have made the world a better place with this gift. Your donor is the hero of this story. This increases the odds that they’ll click the donate button or send you a check because you acknowledged their important role in your mission.

Avoid these three common formatting mistakes

Be sure you present your content in a way your donors can read it easily and take action.
1. Long unbroken paragraphs
2. Tiny font or hard to read fonts
3. Tight spacing between lines of text.

Six tips for how to grab your donor’s attention and make your case.

1. Increase your font size and don’t use any long paragraphs.
2. Turn a long paragraph into a bulleted list.
3. Spotlight key ideas or messages with a bold font or yellow highlighting.
4. Feature a quote in larger text from a person the donor is helping.
5. Use readable fonts for the body of your letter.
6. Make sure you include the P.S.

As you write your appeal, ask yourself: How does this look right now and is there anything I can do to make this easier for the donor to read and act on. The more you can improve, the greater results you will see for your cause!

Monthly Giving Rules

Is Monthly Giving on your radar in 2017? Better Be! Erica Waasdorf has written one of the only books on Monthly Giving and it’s essential, efficient, and a perfect resource for Monthly Giving best practices. We review it today, Monthly Giving, the Sleeping Giant”. . . let’s wake up the giant now!

 

Develop a great monthly giving program

A monthly giving program can really help your organization. We know that on average 40% of giving from individuals occurs in December. Wouldn’t it be great to spread some of those gifts out over the whole year? Transitioning some of your donors to monthly gifts is the perfect way to do that.

Here are some ideas for how to convince your donors to give monthly.

What to ask for

Setting your monthly giving amount at the appropriate amount is an essential first step. Start with your average online gift amount then take 15-20% of that for your baseline. If your average online gift is $100, set a baseline recurring gift of $15/month and up from there. This is a great starting point for new donors, but for current donors who may be giving more you will want to edit your ask to be specific to their giving level.

Learn from your current monthly donors

If you have a group of monthly donors they can give you great insight into what works and what doesn’t. Call them and ask them for their opinion and thank them for being monthly donors. Find out why they give monthly. What do they have in common? You can use these ideas to reach out to other monthly donors.

Seven groups to target

Here are seven groups of people who are likely to be attracted to the idea of a monthly gift.

  • One time donors who give less than $200 each year
  • Donors who give more than three times a year
  • Young supporters
  • Volunteers
  • Donors who have given in the past but not last year
  • Event attendees
  • Former board members

Questions to ask your team

Before you start your monthly giving program, ask your team these questions:

  • What do we want to accomplish through monthly giving?
  • What does that mean to our programs and our mission?
  • What is the result of achieving our goal?

Answering this question will help your donors understand your mission in your monthly giving program and better talk to your donors about why this is important.

BBF Reviews: “The 11 Questions Every Donor Asks & The Answers All Donors Crave”

 

Wanna know what your Donors Want to Know? Sure You do! Today we review Harvey McKennon’s book, “The 11 Questions Every Donor Asks & The Answers All Donors Crave” to give your new donor insights! Stand by!

HOW EFFECTIVE IS OUR FUNDRAISING? AND THE SURVEY SAYS

The 2017 FEP Giving Effectiveness Report, (http://afpfep.org), which I read last weekend prompted this video and the video seems very somber, but so is the news! I personally trust this report due to the fact that 4 superstars, Bloomerang, DonorPerfect, eTapestry and Neon put it the data together with nearly 11,000 nonprofits participating! Fundraisers, you need to read this report and adjust your fundraising! We are certainly not making forward-like fundraising strides!

https://youtu.be/FzhAD5JhqKc

Build lasting wonderful relationships with your donors.

Call and check in and watch your retention grow!

Here are more great tips: https://callhub.io/improve-donor-stewardship/

Retention is the 2017 Game Plan


Keep Your Donors!

Did you know that 8 out of 10 of your New Donors will not give another gift?

There is a lot of good work you can do now to reverse a drooping retention rate!

And here’s more Retention Info: https://bloomerang.co/blog/new-study-shows-donor-retention-rates-are-in-decline/

Donor Journey to Increased Retention Rate and Lifetime Loyalty

The Donor Journey begins with that first donation!

Did you know that Individual donors account for 72% of all giving? Just think of how much more you could raise if you could retain and upgrade all of your donors. The sky is the limit! It is essential that you take the necessary steps to not only keep your donors but to encourage them to give more.

Retain Your Donors

Your current donors are your low-hanging fruit, your easiest targets. You already know they are invested in your cause and they care about your mission. However, if you don’t handle them correctly, they could very easily take their donations elsewhere. Here’s how to keep them:

  • APPRECIATE THEM!
  • Organize a call unit to make phone calls to thank them for their past donations. Mention how grateful your organization is for their support in each appeal letter. Make sure they feel special and valued.
  • TELL THEM HOW THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE.
  • What did you do with the last gift your donor sent you? Did it pay for 10 children to attend camp? Buy food for 20 families? Sharing the tremendous impact that your donor made on the lives of others will not only make them feel good about their last gift, it will make them eager to give again!
  • Click For Detailed Retention Steps from Capital Business Solutions!

UPGRADE YOUR DONORS

A sure way to raise more money for your cause without even having to find more donors is to get your current donors to give more. Some donors tend to send the same check year after year, while others may jump around based on their personal situation. Here are a few ideas for getting them to upgrade:

  • SUGGESTED GIVING LEVELS
  • How will your donor ever know that you could really use $150 instead of the $100 they’ve been sending every year? Simply suggesting a higher gift amount is sure to get your donor to at least consider upgrading. As long as it is done respectfully and thoughtfully, you’ll never offend a donor by suggesting a higher gift amount.
  • USE SPECIFIC DATA
  • Use specific numbers, goals, and costs when suggesting a donor increase their gift. Tell them why you need it and what it will do. Justify your ask.
  • MOVES MANAGEMENT
  • The most important thing you can do to upgrade your donors is developing a good moves management program. Look through your donor data and chart out who you plan to upgrade and how you plan to get there. Then, of course, make sure you follow your plan!
  • Click here for Detailed How-to Upgrade Information  from Bloomerang!

  • How to Handle Downgrades

    Some donors are going to downgrade. That’s life. Maybe they were hit with unexpected bills, a job change, or felt like they needed to spend more of their donation dollars somewhere else. Regarding these donors with care and respect is vital. Don’t lose these donors!

  • RECOGNITION 
  • Develop a recognition society based on longevity of giving. This will make your donors realize that they are still important to you. They’ll want to keep on giving to stay in the “club.”
  • COMMUNICATION
  • Keep the lines of communication open. Make sure they are still receiving information about your programs and the impact of their donation. You could even explore other methods of giving from in-kind gifts to planned giving.
  • Click here for Detailed Help With Managing Donor Downgrades from Sharpe Group!

 

 

 

Review of an Exemplary Donor Year-End Email

Dec 30th! Today we review an exemplary 2016 year-end email and remind ourselves that a call to donors about the last chance IRA 2016 deduction could be important! Hope your emails are year-end asks are having fabulous results! Join us tomorrow for a live New Years Eve celebration with resolutions and trends for 2017.