Do you know why donors give to charities? do you know what would motivate donors to give to your organization right now? Here’s the answer to the why question, just in time for year-end success and your final month of annual appeals!
Category: Donor Cultivation
FUNDRAISERS GIVING, CARING, and SHARING DECEMBER TO DO LIST
Have you ever wondered what the best Major Gifts non-profit departments are going to be doing this December to make sure year-end results are spectacular? Veritus Group shares what their top clients put at the top of their December To Do’s so listen up!
Year End Appeals That Have Appeal
Year-End Appeals That Have Appeal
What’s the point of crafting an annual appeal that has no appeal to the donors who receive it? Make sure you are on the right track, not skipping important steps that will ensure the success that your organization is depending on for year-end fundraising success!
ULTIMATE DONOR THANK YOU CHECKLIST
You’ve got the donation, but your work is not done. Sending a great thank you letter is the most important step in keeping your donors for the long term.
Thank you letter checklist
You’ve got the donation, but your work is not done. Sending a great thank you letter is the most important step in keeping your donors for the long term. Lisa Sargent has compiled an essential thank you letter checklist for the Showcase of Fundraising Innovation and Inspiration website, www.sofii.org.
Here are some important questions to ask about your thank you letter. Hint: All your answers should be “yes!”
1. Is your letter personalized? Do you mention the gift amount?
2. Do you start with something other than “Thank you for your gift”? Use an exciting lead.
3. Do you tell your donor when and how they will next hear from you?
4. If this is a repeat gift, do you also thank the donor for their past generosity and continued contributions or support?
5. If this is a gift membership, do you thank the giftee and talk about what this kind of gift makes possible? And do you send a thank you letter to the giftor as well?
6. Do you say something new or timely in the PS? Upcoming opportunities to meet with you make a perfect PS.
7. Do you include a contact number or email for your donor to use if they have a question?
8. Do you need to thank them for something specific? Examples of this include a membership, a holiday gift, or a memorial.
9. Do you reference something specific such as a gift you’ll be sending or a certificate you have enclosed?
10. Do you mention your Facebook or social media page in your letter? Include a call to action directing them to your page.
Now that you have confirmed that you have included all the essential information, here are some additional guidelines for writing a successful thank you letter.
1. Keep the letter short. It should be three to four paragraphs plus your PS.
2. Include required tax deductible language.
3. Use the word “you.” Don’t use “we” or “our,” because they make it happen and your thank you should focus on the donor.
4. Thank them more than once in the letter.
5. Proof your letter. Read it out loud and have someone else check it for grammar and spelling.
6. Hand sign them all if you can. If you have too many donors, determine the dollar amount that you will hand sign. Phone calls are also great additions when thanking your top donors!
7. DO NOT include an additional ask or a request to upgrade to monthly giving. Instead, it is acceptable to include a reply envelope.
WHY DONORS GIVE MORE
Want to know why Donors Give More? The Burk Donor Survey provides some revealing answers!
Want to know why Donors Give More? The Burk Donor Survey provided some great info about donors and guess what? 21,000 donors completed this survey and 1/3rd of those donors said they could give more! Better watch for some handy tips as you get ready now for year-end fundraising!
Why Donors Give More
We can really boost our fundraising with a little insight into our donor’s minds. Fortunately, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported the results from The Burk Donor Survey. The report includes some great information about why donors give or don’t give and how to inspire them to give more.
21,000 donors completed the survey and a third of them said that they could give more!!!
Research
Your donors are researching what you are doing. Here is where they are finding their information:
• 54% look at your website.
• 42% consult an online charity watchdog.
• 27% search online for information about your group.
• 26% ask people they trust about your organization.
• 23% review news media reports about your group.
The research your donor’s conduct has a big impact on their decision to make a gift.
• 41% decide not to donate after seeing a charity’s website.
• 41% say a charity’s results determine whether they make a gift.
Donor Quotes
“I would prefer to give more to fewer causes where I can see the results.” Donors want to make an impact!
“Non-profits would do better focusing on success stories … then by trying to make those of us who are considering donating feel privileged and guilty.” Stories are important!
“I dislike being bombarded by donation requests.” Be strategic in your appeals!
“A number of causes left me feeling personally unappreciated.” Saying thank you is essential!
Giving MORE
So why do donors give more? Here are the two biggest reasons donors gave:
• 41% were impressed with the efforts of the nonprofit.
• 26% responded to a special request for support.
How can you inspire your donors to give more? Here are the top five answers:
• 22% would give more if the charity demonstrated an extraordinary need for support.
• 22% would give more if they saw reduced administrative and fundraising expenses.
• 21% would like you to stop sending unwanted gifts and trinkets.
• 19% would give more if the charity sent fewer solicitations.
• 15% would like more information on what gifts accomplish.
Remember, 31% of donors said they could have given more. And 41% of donors under the age 35 said they could have given more. Don’t leave this money on the table! Every little effort – your stories, your website, your donation page, your thank you notes – it all adds up and will pay off.
Why Monthly Giving Should Top Your To-Do List Now
Make Monthly Giving work for in time for year-end success!
It’s never been more important to put Monthly Giving ‘front and center’ in all your donor communications! Learn how to make it work for you and your year-end success!
Landing the Big Major Gift Now
Major Gift Success Tips In Time For Year-End Success
Major Gifts Success
With only 90 days left in the year, do we still have time for major gifts? Of course! But you need to start now.
Your annual giving program is the primary source of major gift prospects. Five to twenty percent of all donors who give by direct mail really have more than $1 million in liquidity and gift capacity. This means there is a treasure trove of prospects right there on your mailing list. You just need to find them and start cultivating them.
A great source of major gifts information is the book Rainmaking, the Fundraiser’s Guide to Landing Big Gifts by Roy C. Jones and Andrew Olsen.
Here are the steps you need to take now to have major gift success this year:
Step 1: Review
First, review last year’s numbers. Who were your biggest donors? Are there donors on your list who could be giving more?
Step 2: Prioritize
Now you can decide who your best suspects for becoming major donors are. Move these individuals to prospects. This is called moves management.
Step 3: Get on the phone
The next step is to make phone calls! These calls must be important, scripted, and purposeful. Make a calling plan and stick to it. Your goal for these phone calls is to secure a meeting. Likely, it will take a lot of time and phone calls to reach this goal. To simply talk to 10 people, you have to dial the phone over 50 times and leave over 20 voicemails. Talking to those 10 people will yield you about three meetings. Yes, it’ll take you 50 phone calls to get just three meetings. So start calling!!!
Step 4: Meeting preparation
Now that you’ve got some meetings set up, the next step is to attend the meetings, right? Not so fast! You need to seriously prep and plan for the meeting first. Put a customized cultivation plan together for every donor you are going to meet with. Make sure you know what you are going to talk to them about, which of your programs interest them most, and what you are going to ask them for. The more prepared you are, the more likely you are to have a successful meeting.
SUCCESSFUL 7 STEP MAJOR GIFT PROCESS
Borrow these seven steps for Major Gift Success
Major gift fundraising isn’t rocket science! That is what major gift fundraising experts Jeff Schreifels and Richard Perry from the Veritus Group tell us in their blog. They do acknowledge that it is very hard work and it does require a process. Fortunately for us, Jeff and Richard developed a brilliant major gift process.
Here is their process broken down into seven steps:
Step 1: Cultivate the right donors.
You should have a qualified list of donors right now. These are donors that you plan to present to before year end. Now is not the time to chase unqualified major gift donors. Keep your list updated and organized.
Step 2: Have a revenue goal for each donor.
Setting goals is necessary to success. It gives you your destination. Look at each donor individually and determine a realistic goal for each.
Step 3: Have a strategic plan for each donor.
It is important to carefully plan how you’re going to achieve each goal. If you don’t have a roadmap you aren’t going to be able to stay focused and accountable. Your plans should be donor focused, so take time to identify and ensure you are serving the interest and passion of the donor.
Step 4: Meet face-to-face.
Half of your time now should be spent face to face with your prospects. You’ve already done the research and know all about them so now you need to meet in person.
Step 5: Be donor-centric.
Match your program ask with the hopes, dreams, and desires of the donor. Know exactly what about your mission that they are passionate about and be sure you are focusing on that anytime you talk to them.
Step 6: Thank your donors.
When they give, thank them immediately. Make sure it is heartfelt and personalized. Have leadership in your organization call them in addition to the standard letter.
Step 7: Report back.
Make sure they know they made a difference and understand their impact.
Magic ‘Moves Management” Steps for Major Gift Success
Moves Management Skills
Perfecting moves management is essential to securing major gifts. David Dunlap is a moves management pioneer. He says the moves concept focuses major gift fundraising on changing people’s attitudes so they want to give.
What are moves?
A cultivation opportunity. Any great way to get to know your prospect better and let them get to know your organization, mission, and programs better. A move must be important enough and passionate enough that the prospect regards this as wonderful giving opportunity to your organization. You must know something about the prospect before this visit. Cultivation must be according to a plan and mission directed. You must know exactly what you want to accomplish.
Examples of cultivation opportunities:
• Behind the scenes tour or your facility
• An invitation to a small special event
• An insider’s newsletter
• An invitation to lunch or dinner with Director of Development, Executive Director, or a member of your Board of Directors
• An invitation to give feedback on latest event or case statement
Cultivation Visits
In order to have a successful cultivation visit, you must have a plan and a clear goal. The visit should be focused and goal oriented.
Here are five things to consider while preparing for your visit:
1. What is the best possible outcome and the minimum acceptable outcome?
2. Review the key points you are going to cover.
3. List a small number of benefits that you believe will appeal to the prospect.
4. Determine what you will ask your donor to do, agree to, or react to.
5. List anticipated questions and your responses. Remember questions are good, you just want to make sure you have a great response.
Here are eight steps to get started:
1. Select 10 – 25 of your best prospects.
2. Gather research on each and every one of them.
3. Identify volunteer board members and staff for each prospect.
4. Consult board members and staff that you think know each donor the best to find out as much as you can about the donor and their motivation.
5. Develop a strategy for each donor with definite gift amounts and opportunities.
6. Plan your next moves based on your strategy.
7. Implement those moves!
8. Review your moves
It is very important to be able to track your moves and your progress. Your database should include a pre-programed moves management system with reporting. If you don’t have access to this, use a calendar software. Just enter the moves you want to make and set a reminder for each.
A WINNING NEW DONOR WELCOME KIT
Most new donors will never give again, 70% to be more specific! So how do you keep them and turn them into loyal advocates for your cause?
Follow these brilliant steps from the New Welcome Plan Save the Children has put together! It Works!
And put together a welcome plan now in time for those #GivingTuesday new donors you are going to acquire this year!
Segmentation Steps for Year-End Success
The only way to great year-end results is to go over your database carefully and segment your donors into specific groups in order to direct specific communications they really want to see, hear or read. You need to know how to reach them and segmentation is the answer!
Donor Segmentation for maximum fundraising results
First things first: What is segmentation?
Segmentation is the act of dividing your donors into groups based on specific criteria. It is critical that you are able to segment your donors. A donor database with CRM (customer relationship management) technology will help you do this.
So how should you segment your donors?
There are hundreds of ways you can segment your donors: by zip code, gift size, age, and even (if you’ve kept very careful data) what day of the week they have made a donation. Here are some of the most useful methods of donor segmentation.
AFFILIATION AND INTEREST
Segment on how your donors are affiliated based on your mission, organizational structure and community involvement. Which programs and causes is this donor interested in? This will tell you what to focus on in your appeal letter to get the best results.
ENTITY TYPE
What type of entity is this donor? This type of segmentation is critical in creating a strategic plan and forecasting so you can plan for gifts coming from individuals, corporations, government, and foundations.
GIVING CHANNEL
How is your donor making their gift? You want to make sure you are offering your donors the opportunity to make a gift in the manner that is most convenient for them. Know when to use mail and when to use email or social media.
GIVING LEVEL
Segmenting by the annual giving level will help you know what gift amount you should be suggesting to your donor. Make sure you are ethical and courteous but you must also be careful not to insult or disrespect the donor’s ability or capacity. Remember it is imperative not to ask for too much or too little.
GIVING STATUS
Another important segment to look for is giving status. An appeal to a new donor should have a different focus and message than one to a lapsed donors. Retained donors can be segmented too – ones who have increased gifts, decreased gifts, or stayed the same.
Final thoughts
Segmentation gives you creative, intentional ways to engage your donors. It helps you craft your message in a way that your donor will find appealing and personalized. And we all know that the more your donor feels cared for and connected, the more likely they are to make another donation for your cause!
POWERFUL DONOR LANGUAGE
Empowering Language
We all want to grab our donor’s attention, persuade them to read our message, and inspire them to make a gift. A fantastic way to do this is by using empowering language. Statements that excite the reader or that paint a picture will do wonders to help your message stand out. Here are some examples of regular language versus empowering language
PLAIN LANGUAGE EMPOWERING LANGUAGE
Make a contribution or Donate Now!
Click here to donate or Make a difference today
Give what you can or No donation is too small
Please we need your help or Be a hero to someone in need
We can’t do it without you or Donors like you make this possible
Every dollar helps or Donate $5 now
Empowering language makes a huge difference in how your message is received. Dazzle your donors with the language you use and they’ll dazzle you with their gifts in return!