Are you over-soliciting and under-communicating?

How creative can your thank you be?

The problem is – we solicit our donors often, probably way too often.

But what happens with our donors in between solicitations?

It’s called “communications,” says my friend Kivi Leroux Miller, the nonprofitmarketingguide.com guru.

And there’s the rub.

We study, study, study how to ask.

But do we study as hard how to communicate warmly and personally?

Are we studying how to make our donors feel loved and so very appreciated?

(Does your thank you letter make your donor feel loved? Just asking!)

Why aren’t we studying “warm and fuzzy” communications to donors?

(I’d sure rather go to a Warm and Fuzzy workshop than The Art of the Ask workshop!)

Now, don’t get me wrong here.

You GOTTA be able to ask and ask well.

‘Love on” your donors

BUT you also GOTTA “love on” your donors (as we say in the south) a whole lot.

Donor numbers are declining. But "Donor Love" can reverse the trend.

And I’m taking a stand right now that we over emphasize the Asking, and we neglect the Donor Communication, aka, “Donor Love.”

I think it’s time fundraisers and board members tackled this issue head-on.

Why You Need a Donor Communications Program RIGHT NOW

How we communicate with our donors has everything do to with whether they give again, and whether they keep giving.

Great donor communications can reverse our terrible decline in overall donor numbers.

Remember that the overall number of donors has decreased by 20% over the past 5 years. (Blackbaud)

Donor Love can boost up our abysmal donor renewal rates.

(Did you know that overall donor retention averaged 41% and new donor retention averaged 27% in 2010? Gasp!) (AFP Fundraising Effectiveness Survey)

Just think how much money you could raise if you get more donors to renew???

Donor Love can make or break your fundraising program – hands down.

If your donors don’t feel appreciated, involved, supported, responded to, connected, and informed – then they probably will not make another gift to your wonderful cause.

So, what’s your communications strategy to keep your donors in the loop?

You need a plan to keep them close, warmed up – so they’ll be friendly when it comes time to ask again.

You need a plan to connect with them.

Create a systematic, month-by-month calendar for your donor communications.

In between your solicitations, what will you send them? What will you say to them?

A Donor Communications Program Can Create Amazing Results

Remember the old fundraising adage: “Find 7 ways to thank your donor and she’ll give again.”

That’s what Donor Love is all about.

Here’s a checklist of ideas you can use to craft your very own Donor Love program – things to help you create compelling, happy, friendly, warm and fuzzy messages to your donors.

Be systematic.

Set up a calendar of what type of communication you are sending out and when it goes out.

Plan ahead and put somebody in charge.

Create themes and message ideas and get everybody to agree on them ahead of time.

That’ll save you lots of time and discussions later on!

Get Help.

If you are really smart, engage a terrific communications firm like Big Duck Marketing, or Agents for Good.

Ask them to help design a Donor Communications program for the year.

A great communications consultant can come up with ideas that will charm the socks right off your donors.

Ideas you’d never think of.

Be creative.

Come up with different ways to say thank you to your donors. Can you send a singing thank you telegram for example?

Donor Love can increase your donor's trust in you and your organization.

Can you change your Annual Report into an “Accomplishments Report?”

Can you change your Annual Meeting into an Annual Celebration?

Can you change your Donor Appreciation Event into a cookout or a porch party?

How can you involve your donors in the life and mission of your cause?

Use lots of channels.

You have all sorts of communications channels at your disposal:  in person visits, phone, mail, all types of events, newsletters, acknowledgements, social media.

Use them all. Systematically.

Especially face-to-face visits.

Let your donors know how you spent their money.

Donor are having a lot of trust issues these days. They don’t trust the government, big institutions, politicians, nonprofits and probably not your organization either.

You have to earn their trust.

How?

By letting them know how you spent their money – as accurately and as transparently as possible.

Let your donors know what you achieved with their money.

(Note: this is different from “how you spent their money.”)

Can you be this warm and fuzzy with your donors? : )

This is about outcomes and your results.

How many people did you help? Or cure? Or feed? Or care for?

How many kids, or adults or elders? How many performances did you present? How many educational sessions with how many kids?

Get your tone right.

Lofty and formal is different from warm and fuzzy.

Yes, it’s ok to deviate from the formal, jargon-rich, lofty “nonprofit-speak” that you so often use to the rest of the world.

What’s the tone of your communications to them?

How personalized?

Yes, it’s ok to use contractions like I’m using in this sentence.

Yes, it’s ok to tell stories and to be casual.

By all means, be friendly!

Bottom Line:

It’s past time to add Donor Communications as a new formal element to your fundraising program.

You’ve GOT to stay in front of your donors – cheerfully – in between solicitations if you want them to keep giving!

What do you think? Let me know with a comment!

You wrote a dynamite year-end appeal. You’re now receiving those badly needed year-end gifts.

Your donor is wondering if she made a wise investment in your cause.

Now it’s time to write a drop-dead thank you letter. One that will:

• Assure your nervous donor that she made a wise investment.
• Make your donor SO VERY HAPPY that she gave to your cause.
• Make your donor feel like she did the RIGHT THING.
• Bring joy to her heart – and to her life. And to her own holiday season.

Your thank you letter is the first step toward RETAINING this donor.

Don’t let her become one of the many donors who give once and then drop away.

Make your thank you letter memorable, and she’ll be impressed.

She will remember you. And she’ll feel closer to your organization.

Think about how your thank you letter makes your donor feel.

1.  Make it prompt.

A really prompt TY note impresses your donor. It indicates to her that your organization is well run.

And in this day of nervous donors, that gives you a significant leg up.

2.  Make it personal.

Penelope Burk always says donors want a prompt, personal thank you before they are willing to consider a repeat gift.

Her landmark book, Donor Centered Fundraising, has a terrific list of 20 attributes of a great thank you letter. I’m referring to some of hers here as well as my own.

So what does personal look like?

-       Use of the first person “I” and “we.”

-       Use the second person: “you,” “you” and “you” again.

Your donor loves you more when you are warm and gracious!

-       A warm tone toward the donor (vs a lofty formal, distant tone.)

-       Casual writing – use contractions such as We’ll rather than We will.

-       Use an exclamation mark if appropriate.

3.  Starts out in a personal way.

Never, never, never begin with “on behalf of . . . “

Instead try an unusual opening line.

4.  Has a warm tone.

Be sincere. Show some thoughtfulness. Show yourself as a person, and try to connect with the donor instead of staying so distant.

5.  Be emotional.

Don’t bury it.  Wear your heart on your sleeve.Try to convey excitement about what can happen with the donor’s gift.

Say things like,

• “ I can’t begin to thank you enough for . . .
• “We are absolutely thrilled to have your support again this year.
• “Because of your gift, a family will have . . . (or a kid will get . . . ; or our water will be cleaner. Or whatever.
• ‘Your gift is helping to improve the lives of . . .

6.  Send a real letter, not a pre-printed card.

Never send a pre-printed card. It’s just too impersonal.

Your donor has just sent you his money. He is saying that he believes in you and trust you.

Sending a pre-printed card is a turn off – no matter what the size of the gift.

7.  Thank smaller gifts warmly.

Smaller gifts also get warm, prompt, personal thank yous.

Your donor wants to be treated like a real person, not an ATM!

You have many major gift prospects in your donor files who are giving you smaller gifts.

Treat these donors well and they’ll reward you with repeat and larger gifts.

8.  Refer to the donor’s past support if you possibly can.

Acknowledge the long term partnership your donor has with your organization.

And celebrate it.

9.  Use the donor’s name in the salutation.

Yes:  Dear Ms. Smith No: Dear Friend.

Certainly, with today’s technology, you can personalize these letters.

10.  Sign the letter personally and write a note at the bottom.

You spent all that time writing notes on the solicitation letters.

Don’t forget to send warm wishes in the thank you!

11. Send more than one thank you letter.

All from different people at the organization.

In this day of shrinking donor dollars, this small step could help your organization stand out and forge a much stronger relationship with your donors.

12.  Send an additional thank you letter from a board member.

I know organizations that bring stationery to the board meetings and have board members hand-write letters.

I love this and it helps connect trustees to the fundraising process.

13.  Have a high-ranking person personally sign the letter.

Penelope Burk suggests that an arts organization can have the artistic director, the conductor or ever the prima ballerina sign the letter.

What a great idea!

What a lovely thank you letter!

14.  Send a TY letter from a person helped by your organization.

I can’t think of ANYTHING more powerful than this, can you?

15.  Reconfirm the purpose of the gift.

If the gift is for the library, for example, say something about what the library plans to achieve with the gift.

Most donors are worried that their gift will not be spent wisely.

You can assure them by talking about the impact this money will make.

16.  Include a contact name and number.

Ideally, it would be the head of the library if that’s where the donor directed her gift.

This assures the donor. It helps her feel more connected.

Bottom Line: Thank You Letter Do’s and Don’ts

Here’s a quick list summarizing my DO’s and Don’ts:

Thank you letter DO’s

• Be really, really prompt.
• Get the donor’s name right.
• Have a high-ranking person personally sign the letter.
• Show some emotion.
• Convey gratitude.
• Wear your heart on your sleeve.
• Refer to how the gift will be used.
• Personalize the salutation: Dear Mr. Smith.
• Send several TY notes from different people.
• Send additional thank you letters from board members.
• Send a TY letter from someone helped by your organization.
• Sign it with a real signature.
• Be positive and upbeat.
• Include a contact name and number if the donor has questions.
• Handwrite it if you know the donor well.
• Begin with an innovative or creative sentence that charms the donor.

THANK YOU LETTER DON’TS

• Start out with “on behalf of.”
• Ask for another gift.
• Use thank you letter jargon: “we are deeply grateful for your continued support”
• Start out with Dear Friend.
• Ask anything else from your donor right now.
• Misspell their name.
• Have errors in grammar, punctuation or misspellings.
• Go on and on. Ditch the verbosity. Do be concise.
• Don’t keep “selling.
• Don’t re-use copy that you used in the solicitation letter to talk about your programs.
• Don’t be formal. Or lofty.
• Don’t be vague about how the money will be used.
• Don’t sign it yourself if you can get a higher-ranking person to sign it.

Next Step:

What are YOUR favorite warm and fuzzy thank you letter words and phrases? Can you share them in the comments below?

My daughters Ellie and Cassie!

It’s Thanksgiving here in the US.  It’s a time when we celebrate family, friends, and all the blessings of our world.

I rarely talk about myself and my own life here in my blog, but today I’m telling a bit of my personal story.

Here’s my list of the blessings that I am so, so thankful for!

1. My Children:

For my lovely, smart wonderful daughters, Cassie and Ellie!  They are my #1 blessing!

Ellie’s in law school and Cassie works for our congressman, David Price.

2. My Family:

Always a big time with the Perry family!

For my southern, wild, rambunctious, and very large family! When the Perrys get together it’s always so very much fun.

3. My Mission:

For the chance to make a difference in the world.

You may know that I care deeply about making the world a better place.

I’m so, so blessed to be able to spend my life energies working to help other people.

Terrific clients: Brucie Moore and Robert Reed of the Corpus Christi Symphony

4. My Wonderful Clients:

For all the terrific organizations I’ve been honored to serve as a consultant and retreat leader.

It’s an unbelievable pleasure to work with fantastic people to help them do an even better job.

5. The Fundraising Insiders:

For the incredible honor to serve the 72 Charter Members of my new Fundraising Insiders coaching group.

We’re gonna rock, roll and raise tons of money together! Not too late to join us – I’m personally reviewing some of their year-end letters this weekend!

6. YOU!

I am totally grateful to you, my reader, for your interest in my ideas and thoughts about improving fundraising and boards.

Thanks to you for taking the time and energy to work on your skills, expand your mind and keep pushing to become even better and better!

Gardening is a high calling!

It is my honor and deep pleasure to serve you and your cause.

7. My garden:

I’d really rather be gardening any time of the year!

Right now I’m planning a tulip and pansy garden for the spring. There’s no such thing as too many pansies!

8. The beach:

It’s a peaceful, joyful place for my family and me down at our family cottage at Nags Head.

I love just hanging out with the wind, the waves, the birds, and the clouds.

9. All our donors.

I’m grateful to the many donors – large and small – who give of their own personal resources to help others.

Nags Head, NC on the Outer Banks is close to paradise!

There are so many folks with big hearts who share their own wealth for the good of the world.

Lets’ all be thankful for our donor’s hearts – and their willingness to take actions that will make the world a better place.

Aren’t we in the most wonderful profession of all?

I think so!

Do you want to get your board members actively making friends for your organization?

Help Donors Feel Like Close Friends of Your Organization's Cause

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could form a “Friendmaking Committee” of board members who’d be out there making new friends and bringing current donors closer to your cause?

I’m particularly big on putting board members to work on current donors.

I want them to treat current donors like friends – or even family – so the donors will keep giving, stay with your organization and become even more enthusiastic advocates of your cause.

Here’s how you can pull off a Friendmaking Commmittee.

I’m going to tell you a story of a smart gung-ho board – the CSAAC Foundation (Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children) in Maryland.

The board was full of energetic folks who were ready to challenge themselves and take the organization – and the board – to a whole new level.

In our board retreat this week, I threw out lots of ideas about how to raise more money for the CSAAC mission.

Focus on current donors – and love them a lot.

The board members were particularly intrigued with the idea of focusing on their current donor base.

They felt sure there was a lot more financial potential among current donors – but the donors would need more TLC in order to feel like giving more.

And they wanted to reduce the dreaded loss of donors thru attrition (which is happening more and more in this economy.)

So the board members decided to set up a  Friendmaking Committee to:

Job #1: Organize thank you calls to donors.

When I told the board members how much more money donors gave after they received a quick thank you call from a board member, the CSAAC trustees were ready to dive in.

Here are the statistics, just in case you didn’t know them:

• When donors received a thank you phone call from a board member with in 24 hours of receiving the gift, they gave 39% more than the other donors who did not receive a call.

Job #2: Organize a  thankathon before the fall solicitation.

The CSAAC board members were really intrigued with the idea of warming up donors before the fall fundraising campaign.

They figured that a pre-solicitation “thank you for all your support” phone call could be a strategic tool – to prep their donors BEFORE the end of calendar year annual solicitations. (This idea is from fundraising guru Mal Warwick.)

So they are going to plan a mass thank-a-thon. They may bring in all the board members, volunteers, staff or other wonderful donors to make phone calls.

They got it when I reminded them that donors love to be appreciated - any time.

Job #3: Organize a “We Want You Back” campaign to lapsed donors.

The board members also decided to tackle their lapsed donors.

When I suggested that it was a whole lot easier and cheaper to lure lapsed donors back than it was to secure brand new donors, the light bulbs went off.

They decided to organize an effort to invite lapsed donors back into the fold.

Sorta like a “we miss you, we love you, we want you back campaign.”

At this point, they haven’t decided whether to have a “call-a-thon” or a party for their lost donor friends, but they’ll figure it out.

The Symphony’s plan to tackle lapsed donors.

I worked with the Corpus Christi Symphony board last month and they latched on to this idea too.

Two weeks after our retreat together, the board members independently organized a committee to phone call lapsed donors.

Can you imagine your board members tackling this without you prodding them?

What a success!

Job #4: Review all communications to donors.

The CSAAC board members realized that they needed to work harder to make “friends” out of their donors.

So they decided to step back and look at what donors were hearing from CSAAC:

• Are the donors getting personalized communications?
• Is CSAAC telling its donors how their money is spent?
• Is CSAAC sharing good news about its results and outcomes – complete with heartwarming stories?
• Are donors being invited to events? Tours? Parties?

Moral of the story:

You can do this too – use the tools on my website to open these discussions with your board – or bring me in for a board retreat.

Who knows how much more money CSAAC – and the Corpus Christi Symphony – can raise now that the board members are on board.

And who knows how much happier their donors are?

I’d appreciate your comments on these ideas – what do you think?

Don’t you wish you could read your donors’ minds? Especially your wealthiest donors?

Bank of America Corp. has done just that – and is sharing their results with us all.

Their Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, which comes out every two years, is a treasure trove of clues to major donors.

This study gives us unique look into the motivations, inclinations and attitudes of your most important donors.

Here’s the thinking of 800 wealthy donors from around the US.

Their average wealth is about $10.7 million, and they gave over $50k in 2009.  What a gold mine!

These donors are becoming more sophisticated and strategic. They are checking you out carefully.

Here are the lessons we can find in this study:

LESSON 1: Continue to Focus on High Net Worth Prospects

High-net-worth households account for about 2/3 of all individual giving in the US, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, which co-wrote the report.

These individuals think that nonprofits can better solve local and global issues than business or government.  They have confidence in our expertise and good works.

This is a huge deal. Play it up. Tell your story of why you can do such a terrific job.

Lesson 2: Show your high dollar donors how their gift will make a difference.

Your wealthy donors really, really want to be sure you will make an impact with their gift.

They are more risk adverse in their philanthropic investments than they are with their personal investments.

Can they trust you? Yes, they can!

Set up a web page or send them a letter that says “Your Gifts At Work.”  They will love it!

Send them a note that says, “Here’s the story of Betty Smith and how your contribution changed her life.”

Send a newsletter that tells the story, in pictures more than words, of the difference your organization makes in the world.

Lesson 3: Show them that their money will be spent effectively.

Wealthy donors are adamant that nonprofits demonstrate sound business practices  and offer full financial transparency.

Give the data to them that they want!

Include pie charts on sources of funds and another chart on uses of funds.  Talk about your administrative overhead numbers openly, and say what you are spending money on.

Talk about your financial decisions and why you make them.

LESSON 4: Research them thoroughly.

Find out their individual motivations, preferred ways to give, volunteering interests, involvement interests. This can be the key to their gifts.

The wealthy are educating themselves more; so you better research them.

They are seeking to understand nonprofits’ needs. Be sure you understand theirs.

Lesson 5: Ask them for operating support – but do it carefully.

A full half of wealthy donors said their largest gift last year was for general operating support.

So ask. But be sure you talk about why this money is needed and how it sets up the rest of the organization for success. Be sure you make a clear case.

Donors in this study said they want their organizations to spend appropriately on overhead costs.

Be sure you justify yours. Don’t gloss over them.

LESSON 6. Communicate to wealth advisers, lawyers, and CPA’s.

The very wealthy said that they are referring to wealth advisers now more than ever.

Studies show that donations have increased dramatically to private foundations, trusts and donor advised funds.

These donors are planning their giving. They are making major gifts part of their financial planning.

If the money is going there, follow it! Make friends there!

LESSON 7: Get your wealthy donors to volunteer.

The wealthy said they are volunteering more (39%).

And, studies show that the wealthy who volunteer gave more money than those who did not.

Across the board, donors are getting more involved in the causes and organizations they support.

If they volunteer, you’ll win!

LESSON 8: Approach the whole family.

The wealthy are involving their spouses and their children in their philanthropic decisions, including their grown children.

Since you’ll be dealing with the younger generation too, be sure you’re prepared for the types of much more specific questions younger donors might ask.

LESSON 9: Don’t over solicit.

The #1 reason the wealthy stopped giving was because of over solicitation or inappropriate amounts requested.

Be SURE you don’t ask too often or for inappropriate amounts.

Just because they CAN give it doesn’t mean they are cultivated and prepared to give.

Tread lightly and you’ll be glad.

All in all, treat your major donor prospects like family.

Treat them with respect.

Answer their questions openly. State your case clearly.

You’ll be rewarded.

Do you agree? Or not?

Leave a comment and tell me why!