Blog

, , ,

Two days before the end of the financial year

Snip20160625_1It is just two days before the end of the financial year. Is there a sense of celebration or a sense of panic in your workplace? I hope it is a celebratory moment and not a tense one.

All of us scurry to bring in final revenue before the clock ticks midnight on 30 June. But, shouldn’t we really spend the two days catching our breath and implementing solid plans for the new year? Shouldn’t we turn our focus on analysis of what went well and a focus on what we need to alter from July forward?

, , , , ,

A thank you call per day

Snip20160619_2Stewardship calls are the easiest calls to make. Often times thank you calls are the most surprising for a donor to receive because donors do not expect them. It’s true. Donors expect calls asking for money, requests to purchase lottery tickets, and other asks. It’s rare a call from a nonprofit organisation has the simple purpose of saying “thank you”.

Make one thank you call today. Call a donor who has given for the first time. Call a donor who has given for the past three consecutive years. Call a donor who has increased their level of giving year on year.

Make a thank you call every day or at least one time per week. Document the call in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. Measure and monitor the results of the calls. I bet you will see further engagement by those you call.

There are many reasons to call donors. Calling to make an ask does not have to be tbe only reason.

, , , , , , , , ,

Tax appeals – where are the follow-up reminders?

It’s tax appeal time.

The fact I give to hundreds of charities throughout the year means I am inundated with tax appeals during May and JCARE Australiaune. With only nine days left in the financial year, I am most surprised at the lack of follow up reminders from those nonprofit organisations I have not yet supported this season.

This last week I received an SMS reminder from CARE Australia. This unique (at least the only one I received) reminder stood out with a clear call to action.

There are nine days left in the financial year. What is your nonprofit organisation doing to capture the donor’s attention and to acquire gifts in the final days before the end of the financial year?

, , ,

Mailing to deceased – there’s no excuse

FundraisingForce recently conducted an acquisition mailing for an Australian charity. The charity rented lists via a list broker. The day after the appeal dropped, dozens of next of kin placed telephone calls informing the charity their loved one had died. In some cases, their loved one had died years prior. The impact of the deceased mail continued for the next two weeks as more calls were received by the nonproit organisation.

It is typical for some deceased and bad addresses to be included in a charity’s acquisition appeal. It happens whenever charities rent mailing lists and depends greatly on the quality of the data received.

In regards to deceased, these calls are, at best, uncomfortable for the next of kin to make and for the charity to receive. In some cases, these calls are embarrassing to the charity despite the fact the charity has simply rented the names via a reputable list broker. Finally, in most cases, these calls are not necessary and would not occur if charities banded together to manage their data lists. Here’s how:Snip20160606_2

  • Ensure your charitable organisation has systems in place to properly mark deceased constituent records.
  • Make certain all staff in the organisation understand the internal process to implement the established procedures.
  • Ensure deceased are not passed to list brokers when your charitable organisation rents or exchanges data with other charitable organisations – whether via a list broker or on your own.
  • Use one of the services available in Australia to pass data to remove any known deceased from the list to be mailed.
  • Add the deceased names to your database, along with their last known address, and code them “deceased”.
    • The above will allow for a procedure to remove any known deceased from rental lists in the future.
    • Track the source of the deceased knowledge.
  • Track and report all deceased back to your list broker.
    • This will ensure removal for future mailings and also gain credit for deceased names rented to your charity in the first place.
    • Too many charities do not report deceased rented to them back to the list broker.
    • Non-reporting simply continues the cycle for the next of kin and for other charities.

This is not merely a charity responsibility. Next of kin also have a responsibility to report deceased to the various Australian services to ensure their loved ones do not receive mail. Service include:

If each of us, charitable organisations and next of kin alike, do our fare share and create processes and procedures such as those mentioned above, we can greatly diminish the number of deceased who are mailed and the painful impact on the next of kin.

, ,

Mentorship – giving back to the fundraising sector

Snip20160606_1Earlier last week, I had conversation with a man who has been instrumental in the creation of mentorship programs for school students and young adults in Chicago. Our conversation involved the establishment of such programs, but also focused on measuring the outcomes.

Far too few charitable organisations, in my opinion, take the time to measure the impact of their programs. I would further suggest, with a few exceptions, impact measurement is a relatively “new concept” to our sector.

Equally important, the conversation caused me to think about the fact each one of us who are seasoned fundraising professionals have the expertise to give so much back to those who are early in their fundraising career. We may feel we are time-poor, but everyone has a couple of hours they are able to lend each month. We are not talking about taking on another part-time job in terms of the time commitment required to be a mentor.

Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) offers a mentorship program as a member benefit. Experienced professionals are sought to be FIA mentors. Additionally, those who are early in their fundraising career should step forward as mentees to be matched with those with experience to share. Contact FIA to learn more.

, , , , ,

QT Hotels support children’s hospitals in Australia

Snip20160521_1You know that feeling when you shop in a retail store or travel on an airline, stay in a hotel, or support another consumer goods organisation and you learn they, in turn, are supporting a worth-while charitable organisation?

I had that feeling this weekend when I booked a hotel stay at the QT Hotel in Canberra.

Upon submitting my QT Hotels reservation for a two night stay in June, I was prompted to make a donation to support children’s hospitals across Australia. Under the heading “Help Change a Life“, QT encourages guests to participate in their partnership with 9 leading children’s hospitals by making a donation directly.

In my opinion, there needs to be more partnerships such as this one. Who can argue with supporting a children’s hospital in your community? I am excited to see what they do in-house to promote this program and whether I am encouraged to further my support when at the hotel itself.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Major donors should receive direct mail pieces

Snip20160516_13We have all worked for organisations where members of the major gifts team did not wish for “their donors” to be contacted via the organisation’s direct mail.

This is insanity. Here’s why:

  • With an average portfolio of about 150 people, it is unlikely, although not impossible, the major gifts staff person takes the time to have personal contact with the each person in his or her portfolio.
  • The only means the donor may hear from the charitable organisation is through direct mail.
  • The donor likely learns a good amount of information about the nonprofit organisation through the appeals.
  • The donors or prospects in the pool have not made this opt out request. Instead, the organisation staff person has made the choice for the donor.
  • Due to the lack of communication, it is likely the donor will feel “forgotten” or lose touch with the charity. If the charity is not in contact with them via direct mail, you can be sure another charity where they give a major gift is reaching out through the letterbox.
  • Opting to not send direct mail to people in one’s portfolio suggests the major gifts officer is not a team player and, in fact, suggests he or she considers direct marketing to be “dirty” or “junk mail”.
  • The donors and prospects in a major gifts officer’s portfolio are not their donors. These donors and prospects belong to the organisation.

I am not suggesting everyone in a major gifts portfolio should receive direct mail pieces. In fact, there will be donors or prospects who opt themselves out from receiving certain pieces of mail. We must abide by such requests. Your database will be able to handle opt outs and communications preferences in a sophisticated manner.

Staff creating blanket rules for donors is not smart. Instead, take the time to create a high dollar package. Work in concert with the direct marketing person on your fundraising team to customise the experience for the donor and be part of the appeal effort rather than work against.

, , , , , , , , ,

Best practice response form in nonprofit tax appeal

Best Practice TWSI wrote previously about my giving to conservation organisations, including Bush Heritage Australia (BHA) and The Wilderness Society (TWS). I have also written about best practices these conservation organisations follow in terms of response devices and confirm, edit and enhance. This week I received a tax appeal from TWS.  The TWS response device spoke of best practice, yet again.

What makes this a best practice response device?

  1. The response device is clear, clean and easy to read.
  2. A question is featured to ask me if I wish to receive more information about the TWS bequest program.
  3. My contact details are pre-populated on the form.
  4. I was asked if my contact details are current.
  5. The form features multiple calls to action. There are three, in total, including the bequest tick box, a petition, and an opportunity to make a gift.
  6. TWS include vehicles to make my gift – post, phone and online.
  7. Finally, the form includes an opt out mechanism.

TWS, and BHA previously, know how to make it easy for the donor to respond to calls to action and to assist the organisations to keep their data clean and correct. Charities across Australia might make a gift to both nonprofit organisations to get on their mailing list and to see live best practice samples for themselves.

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Data cleansing before tax appeals drop

Snip20160508_43Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post suggesting tax appeals are a bit tardy this year. This may or may not be right. It is simply my opinion as a donor to more than 200 Australian charities.

Assuming some charitable organisations are behind with their tax appeal, perhaps the reason is data hygiene. One of the single most important steps prior to the tax appeal drop is the need to complete data cleansing.

Some nonprofit organisations take the important step to cleanse their data, while others do not. Data cleansing includes, but is not limited to, high level activities such as:

  • National Change of Address (NCOA).
  • De-duplication of constituent records.
  • Data enrichment, including:
    • Deceasing of records
    • Do not mail flag.
    • Do not call flag.
  • Other important mass data management practices.

As suggested in prior FundraisingForce blog posts, dirty data gets you nowhere…except broke. Proper data cleaning prior to dropping the all-important tax and Christmas appeals is not optional. Do you put this in the “too hard” basket? Hire an expert like FundraisingForce who will guide you through the process, management of suppliers, and develop a process for you to follow for years to come.

, , , , ,

Tax Appeals – late this year?

Snip20160508_42It strikes me that I’ve not yet received a tax appeal from any charity.

The end of financial year is just a little over 7 weeks away and not a single tax appeal has hit my letterbox or email in box. I have heard from a number of direct marketing specialist suppliers only a few charities have physically dropped their tax appeal and 90% of the charities they serve will either drop their appeals in the coming week or two.

Is your non-profit organisation behind in your tax appeal tasks? Or, is this donor alone with feelings things appear to be a bit slower this year? Dropping your appeal in the next week or two will still allow for follow up waves to occur. Making it any later will dramatically lessen this capability. Last year, I received tax appear up to and include the week of the end of the financial year.

«< 36 37 38 39 40 >»