Category: Making Asks

Are You Comfortable With The Legacy Conversation?

Year-End means ‘meaningful’ gratitude conversations with your very best donors! This could be a perfect opportunity to get a good sense of your donors level of commitment and future support! Do you have the right question to segue into Legacy Giving? Watch now!

Excellent ONLINE Checklist for YearEnd Fundraising

Use this excellent checklist when crafting your OnLine annual appeals for the best fundraising results you’ve ever produced.

You’ll definitely want to review this Online Checklist for ultimate year-end fundraising success!

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!

4th Quarter Calls for Donor Retention & Upgrading


Retain and 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.

Create Sense of Urgency in All Your Calls to Action With These Tips

Practice these “Sense of Urgency” tips to get your donors to take immediate action. It’s really good fundraising technique to create immediate momentum with well-crafted calls to action so put these tips to use for great fundraising success!

Re-Energize Donor Retention Rate in 2017

Retention rates have been down for non-profits since 2008 and are not improving at 46%.

8 out of 10 New Donors now only give one gift and are gone!

Here are strategies and tactics to reverse that retention rate now!

How to Make the Major Gift ASK

How do you make your donor “Asks”? Does it unnerve you or are you ready to go with enthusiasm, energy, and confidence?

I just finished reading ASKING by Jerold Panas and loved it and share some of his Asking advice with you in this video.

Have great questions for 25% of Ask appointment and 75% designated for Listening! 🙂

A Few Simple Fundraising Tips for 2017


What are you 2017 fundraising resolutions?
How about Retention for a start?
And making more ASKS?
And reinforcing or revamping your Brand?
Go for it! 2017 is your year! Make it a Blockbuster Year! Stay tuned for lots of great ideas for your success!!
P.S. 5 Retention Tips here: http://nonprofithub.org/fundraising/donor-retention-5-ideas-to-get-donors-to-stick-around/