Could you use a fabulous blueprint for a super successful Lapsed Donor Letter?
How about not just one, but two?
Watch now and snag this wonderful reconnecting donor content for your own lapsed donor mailing this year!
Loving lapsed donors back into the fold | Simple, brilliant and oh so swipe-able!
http://www.jenviano.com/sites/default/files/Lapsed%20Donor%20Letter.pdf
Could you use a fabulous blueprint for a super successful Lapsed Donor Letter? How about not just one, but two? Watch now and snag this wonderful reconnecting donor content for your own lapsed donor mailing this year!
Loving lapsed donors back into the fold | Simple, brilliant and oh so swipe-able!
http://www.jenviano.com/sites/default/files/Lapsed%20Donor%20Letter.pdf
We’re focused on the Lapsed Donors and today focus on best lapsed-letter communications to win your donors back and rebuild those wonderful relationships!
Hey! Gotta a LAPSED DONOR PLAN ready to go now? Why? Because this is a perfect time to regroup and reactivate with a plan to rebuild those relationships before it’s too late! Reach out now with these super tips!
https://youtu.be/vPDdvNvQGO8
Is your NonProfit taking great advantage of the 2017 top fundraising trends?
Watch this video for top ten review and ways you can act now to take action for fabulous 2017 fundraising results!.
Thank you CauseVox for your Top10 Trend List! More help here: https://www.causevox.com/fundraising-plan-calendar/
Why Do Trends Matter to NonProfits?
The National Council of NonProfits has this to say Nonprofit Sector Trends
“Trends in the economy, demographics, technology, communications, and even how we spend our leisure time, can affect the core capacities needed by every charitable nonprofit to be effective and sustainable.
It is our hope that by shining a light on nonprofit trends, those who lead charitable nonprofits, as well as those who invest in their missions, will be armed with information useful for decision making and planning for the future.”
– See more at: https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/nonprofit-sector-trends#sthash.Lot9vsos.dpuf
Nonprofit storytelling can be a powerful tool to recruit and motivate donors. Even more than shocking statistics, a story can spur donors to help because it makes the cause real and elicits empathy from potential supporters.
Allison Gauss from Classy.org had some great tips to tap into the power of storytelling.
It all starts with a character. The main character gives your donors someone to identify with and care about. This is who they hope for, worry about, fear for, and cheer for. Decide who your character is and put them front and center!
Details are what make your character and story more reliable. Tell your audience something concrete about your character that they will remember.
What does your character need or want? Your character’s efforts to achieve this goal is what moves your story forward.
What is standing in your character’s way?
Portray the object standing in your character’s way as a villain. It doesn’t have to be a person, it just needs to be something that your donor can help defeat.
Empower your donor to be part of the story by helping the character reach a happy ending. Tell them what your organization can do with their help.
End with impact! What have you accomplished together? What progress has your character made? Make it clear that the fight isn’t over and their donation is needed to keep going.
Allison Gauss also gives us four ways to present a story to help donors connect with your cause and move them to action.
Choose just one individual. Donors are much more likely to act when given just one individual rather than groups.
Pro Tips
• Offer details like the individual’s name, location, and personal goals (get permission!)
• Let the individual do that talking. Their story will be more impactful when your character tells it in their own words.
• Use pictures or video of the person so your supporters can put a face with a name.
The shock factor is a sure way to get your audience’s attention.
Pro Tips
• Think outside the box for metrics or facts that are so unexpected they demand an explanation.
• Reveal the people and places behind the headlines. Once you have your donors’ attention, give them more details about the situation on the ground.
Tell your story in a heart rendering way that makes your donor feel compelled to help.
Pro Tips
• Be descriptive, not dramatic
• Give your audience details like sights, sounds, and smells and let those evoke emotion.
• It’s not enough to convey devastation, show donors what actions you are taking and how they can help.
Show your donors what you are planning. Show them a timeline of how you are helping. Tell your donors that with them, you are almost at the happy ending.
Pro Tips
• Use a concrete goal, whether it is a cure or a fundraising milestone, to motivate your audience.
• Explain what problems you have solved along the way that make your long-term goals possible.
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.
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.
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.
Here are seven groups of people who are likely to be attracted to the idea of a monthly gift.
Before you start your monthly giving program, ask your team these questions:
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.
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
“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:
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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/
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!
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.
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.
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.
Here are seven groups of people who are likely to be attracted to the idea of a monthly gift.
Before you start your monthly giving program, ask your team these questions:
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.
