NOW is the perfect time to catch up on your Donor Calls! Donor Calls Mean Donor Loyalty and Retention, which in turn, means everything to your Non-Profit Success! Here are some summertime call tips from Joy at BlockbusterFundraising.com
Category: Donor Retention
DONOR SEGMENTATION SUCCESS
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!
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.
Retention Depends on Knowing Your Donors!
– Retention Fundraising
Now that you know how important keeping your donors is for achieving your fundraising goals, let’s explore how to make sure your donors stick around. In Roger Craver’s book, Retention Fundraising, he conducted research to find out what makes drives donors to give.
The seven key drivers for donors
Here are the seven most important reasons, in order, that your donors choose to give to your organization.
#1 – Your donors believe you are achieving your mission. This means you have shared information with them about your successes and the impact of your programs.
#2 – Your donors know what to expect from you. You are consistent, reliable, and trustworthy.
#3 – Your donors receive timely thank you’s. This helps them to feel important to the mission and valuable to your organization.
#4 – Your donors feel they can express their opinion. You are personable and reachable. Your communications with them do not feel automated and cold.
#5 – Your donors feel they are a part of your cause. You made them the hero.
#6 – Your donors feel appreciated. You’ve taken the time to get to know them and made them feel special.
#7 – You are getting information to them that shows their impact. They feel they are doing something important.
Based on this research it is clear that the most important thing we can do is communicate with our donors! Thank them, tell them how they are impacting your mission, make sure they know they are contributing to a vital need.
Why Retention Fundraising Matters, Knowing What the Donor Wants!
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!
Donor Retention & Upgrading
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.
How to 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!
How to 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 develop 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!
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
Form 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.
RETAIN, RENEW & UPGRADE DONORS TIPS
As you close in on the half-year fundraising mark,
how are you doing with your fundraising goals?
Specifically, How’s Your 2017 Renewal Rate Looking?
Review your Data Now! Make the Extra Effort to be Better Than Ever!
More Information Below:
Giving Levels: https://wiredimpact.com/blog/giving-levels-drive-donations/
Moves Management: http://www.salesforce.org/enabling-moves-management-process-npsp/
RETAIN, RENEW & UPGRADE
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.
How to 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!
How to 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 develop 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!
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
Form 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.
Engagement or Re-Engagment
Are YOU communicating Donor Love? Did you know they’re 5 Donor Love Languages and would you like to know what they are? Watch now as Blockbuster Fundraising addresses this subject with Development Directors.
Double your Email Result with this TIP
You’re gonna love these online tips! Add these tips to your online donor emails and watch your results spiral to new heights!
Story Telling Techniques That Motivate Your Donors to Take Action
Telling your organization’s STORY has never been more important! It’s up to you to grab attention, grab empathy, and grab heartfelt donor connection, sometimes in minutes! Want to know how? Watch now!
Why Donors Give More?
Why Do Donors Give More?
Ever wondered why some donors give more?
We did some sleuthing and found we can boost our fundraising with a little insight into our donor’s minds.
Fortunately for us, The Chronicle of Philanthropy published some great detective work from The Burk Donor Survey. This report gives us some very reliable information on why donors give or don’t give and how to inspire them to give more.
21,000 donors completed the Burk Donor Survey and a third of donors said that they could give more!!! Interested in knowing more?
DONORS ARE DOING 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.
41% of donors under the age 35 said they could have given more.
Don’t leave this money on the table!
