Donation

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Tribute gifts are very time sensitive. Act quickly

Organisations with high standards of donor care strive to recognise donations as quickly as is possible. Some organisations have a 48-hour key performance indicator (KPI). This means the team must enter the donation in their constituent relationship management (CRM) solution and receipt the donation within 48 hours of receipt of the gift. Organisations who focus on such KPIs also tend to focus on ensuring tribute donations (gifts in honour of or gifts in memory of) are well handled. Tribute gifts are very time sensitive and organisations that handle them well tend to be remembered in future giving activities. Those that do not handle tribute gifts well also tend to be remembered – for the wrong reason, i.e. their poor performance.

In memory

My experiences

I recently made two tribute gifts in memory of two loved ones to two different non-profit organisations. I had two very different gift giving experiences. One donation was made on the anniversary of someone’s death and the other was made immediately following the death of a close friend.

North Carolina Therapeutic Riding Center

The first experience was with North Carolina Therapeutic Riding Center. I made the donation online and notified the Center of the next of kin details. The following day, the next of kin were sent a hand-written notification of the donation. Likewise, I was sent a hand written thank you note. This was a top-notch supporter experience and it went as one would expect.

University of Wisconsin Foundation

The second experience was with my alma mater – the University of Wisconsin Foundation. It pains me to report this was not a model experience. Like the North Carolina Therapeutic Riding Centre, I made the donation online. I entered the information for the next of kin and other details. Weeks later, the next of kin had not been notified of the donation. This was embarrassing to me because I chose to make this donation rather than send flowers. The gap in time from the donation to the notification was too vast. It made it appear, in my opinion, that I had forgotten to appropriately recognise the death.

I contacted the University of Wisconsin Foundation to ask about the notification letter. I received an email the next day informing me that there had been issue with the team entering my donation. Issues? I did the leg work. I entered the donation on the online donation form, which feeds directly into Blackbaud CRM. It ultimately took nearly a month from the date of the donation for the next of kin to receive the notification letter.

When my parents passed away, my sister and I included charitable organisations in the obituaries. One of the organisations went above and beyond to express their condolences to us. They also notified us when each person made a gift in their memory. The other organisations did not deliver in this fashion.

You can control part of the equation

With all donations, for purpose/non-profit organisations cannot control the length of time it takes for postal systems to deliver the donations. Organsiations can control the length of time it takes to process donations and to return a receipt, acknowledgment letter, and, in this case, a notification letter. Delays in your internal processes can really put a stain and a strain on relationships with donors. For many donors, a tribute donation is the first experience the donor has with your organisation. The work your supporter services team performs can determine whether a donor gives a second gift, a recurring gift, a major gift, and a bequest. 

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Sharing hotel toiletries with the homeless of Sydney

FundraisingForce has been in business for five years as of April 2019. Over the last five years, I have travelled extensively to meet with clients and for client engagements. Travel has included Australian domestic travel, as well as international travel to the US, Europe, Asia, and Asia-Pacific. I may spend up to five nights in a hotel in a given week. During that time I have done something which would make Miss Manners cringe. Shhh…I have taken the toiletries from most hotels. I do not keep the toiletries for myself. I have been sharing hotel toiletries with the homeless in Sydney.

There are some who might suggest the hotel toiletries – shampoos, conditioners, hand creams, and, even, slippers, are not for the taking. They’d argue taking them increases the costs to hotel chains. I argue that if I was keeping them for myself or taking them home for out of town guests, then you might be right. But, passing them on to those in need seems to me to be a worthwhile deed.

Why am I confessing this to you? I have given these toiletries, sometimes multiple bags full each month, to the same homeless shelter in Sydney’s CBD. The staff of the homeless shelter have never asked my name, asked me to meet with senior leadership, or taken my contact details.

To be fair, this is not a cash donation. I am not expecting a receipt. However, the homeless shelter does not know who I am and has never bothered to take my details to have someone follow up with me or to ask me for a cash gift.

It is obvious I care about the homeless people in Sydney or I would not take the effort to collect these items and to add extra weight to my luggage each and every week. I might be ripe for a regular donation to this shelter, which does have DGR status.

I will continue to bring the toiletries to the shelter each month. It is just puzzling to me why the staff is not trained to better manage these sorts of situations for, perhaps, increased opportunity.

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Double their donation, double their impact

In the US, the last week of December is also the last week of the US financial year. Australian charities should imagine combining their Christmas and Tax Appeals in one. This is the scenario encountered for US charitable organisations!

Most US charities use matching challenges for the follow up wave to their year-end Appeal. This creates a sense of urgency where donors are encouraged to double their donation and to double their impact. Like Australian non-profit organisations, US organisations use count down clocks and every other means to add to the sense of urgency.

On 29 December, I received 17 appeals via email from various US-based non-profit organisations. Each of the emails asked me to give a last minute tax year-end gift.  15 of the 17 appeals offered a matching challenge whereby my donation would be matched and have double the impact. The emails came from universities, cultural institutions, hospitals, and health organisations. On 30 December and 31 December, the reminder emails continued with as many as 30 being received on each of the two days.

Donor History Embedded in Year-End Emails

One such email referred to the fact I had not given a donation this year. This email came from Mount Sanai Healthcare in New York City. Embarrassingly, the email reflected I had not given a donation once in 2018. While I was embarrassed, I was also impressed at the accuracy of the donor records. Emails showing any sort of donor history require good record keeping and testing.

Matching Challenges

Matching challenges work to bring in new donors, renew existing donors, and renew lapsed donors, like me. In this case, the charitable organisation added an extra push by reminding me I had not given a single gift this year. Some emails showed my giving history across the year and asked me to boost my year-end giving by an additional gift to match my average donation.

Australian charities conduct direct marketing appeals really well. Adding matching challenges and adding giving history for the existing financial year to tax appeals will make the Tax Appeals that much stronger. Happy New Year!

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If it is worth publishing, it is worth making an ask for a donation

Perhaps it’s an Australian non-profit thing. I receive countless magazines, annual reports, impact reports, and newsletters from charities across the country. Each publication is beautifully crafted. Yet, the publications lack one thing. They lack a request for a further donation. Why publish an annual report, a magazine, a newsletter, or anything without including a request for a donation? I have always said, “if it is worth publishing, it is worth making an ask for a donation”. Whether you are publishing something online or making it available via the Australia Post, you must request a donation from the recipient.

How do you make this ask?

There are two ways to make this ask (and you should do it both ways!). First, if a cover letter to the publication exists, make sure to make a hard ask. Remind the donor how valuable their support has been and then make a follow up ask for an additional gift at this time. Second, make a soft ask by placing a pre-printed giving envelope in the middle of the publication. This envelope will appear much the way a subscription card might be placed in a magazine.

How do you make this ask online?

As is true for publications delivered via Australia Post, include a direct ask in the cover letter. And, include multiple giving links in the electronic publication. Make it easy for the donor to give once you have motivated them to further invest in your charitable organisation.

During one of my last fundraising positions in the US, the hospital where I was employed gained over $100,000 in the first year of employing the simple strategy of inclusion of a giving envelope in its publications. $100,000 that was being left on the table previously. Do you think this won’t work for your charitable organisation? How do you know unless you try? Before anyone in your organisation discounts the idea, test it. Need assistance? Contact us.

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If it is worth publishing, it is worth making an ask for a donation

Perhaps it’s an Australian non-profit thing. I receive countless magazines, annual reports, impact reports, and newsletters from charities across the country. Each publication is beautifully crafted. Yet, the publications lack one thing. They lack a request for a further donation. Why publish an annual report, a magazine, a newsletter, or anything without including a request for a donation? I have always said, “if it is worth publishing, it is worth making an ask for a donation”. Whether you are publishing something online or making it available via the Australia Post, you must request a donation from the recipient.

How do you make this ask?

There are two ways to make this ask (and you should do it both ways!). First, if a cover letter to the publication exists, make sure to make a hard ask. Remind the donor how valuable their support has been and then make a follow up ask for an additional gift at this time. Second, make a soft ask by placing a pre-printed giving envelope in the middle of the publication. This envelope will appear much the way a subscription card might be placed in a magazine.

How do you make this ask online?

As is true for publications delivered via Australia Post, include a direct ask in the cover letter. And, include multiple giving links in the electronic publication. Make it easy for the donor to give once you have motivated them to further invest in your charitable organisation.

During one of my last heads of fundraising positions in the US, the hospital where I was employed gained over $100,000 in the first year of employing this simple strategy. $100,000 that was being left on the table previously. Do you think this won’t work for your charitable organisation? How do you know unless you try? Before anyone in your organisation discounts the idea, test it. Need assistance? Contact us.

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Regular giving upgrade – where is the ask?

As a regular giver to 12 Australian charities, I am most surprised at the lack of an ask to upgrade my gift each year. Of the 12 regular giving programs I personally support, only 1 has asked me to upgrade my gift year on year.

When I ask my non-profit clients why this is the case, charities state a fear of asking for an increased gift. They state a donor might downgrade or worse, cancel, their gift if we ask the donor to give $5 or $10 more a month.

The aggressive American fundraiser in me suggests you will never know the outcome if you don’t take the leap and make an ask. a sophisticated regular giving program must include an upgrade path for donors. Some programs even include an agreed auto upgrade program for donors year over year. Don’t miss the opportunity to further solidify a relationship with regular givers by asking them to become even more committed to the organisation. $5 more a month is one less cup of coffee to the donor.

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Technology in the NFP space

While attending Sculpture By the Sea in Bondi Beach this last Friday, I was pleased to see the organisation asking for donations. The annual event, free to the public, is a showcase of artistic talent. When I have attended the event in past years, I have often wondered why people are not asked to donate to support the non-profit organisation which coordinates the event. The organisation has information tents along the walk and sells various merchandise, including commemorative books and water bottles. Yet, there has never been an ask for donation…until now.

I was pleased to see a donation station (Tap n Go Donation) set up in the main tent where various sculptures are on display and for sale. The organisation did not draw attention to the donation station and there was only one on the entire grounds. However, at least one station was available for those of us inclined to support this terrific event. Sculptures by the Sea called their campaign 20for20, which symbolised the encouragement of donors to give $20 in honour of the event’s 20th anniversary.

donate-1The technology is produced by Square, a US-based technology company.

This type of technology is perfect for hospitals, medical research centres, universities, museums, and other organisations where there is a public location with foot traffic. It is easy to use. I simply selected the dollar value I wanted to donate, I touched my credit card to make the donation, and I entered a few details, including my email address and mobile number. I was pleased the organisation collected my details and not simply my credit card number.

While conducting a little research to write this blog post, I noticed the Melanoma Institute Australia has implemented a test of some similar technology using JCDecaux public advertising spaces. Likewise Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia has deployed a similar campaign.

I am inspired by this technology over gold coin donations. Why? The charitable organisation captures contact details rather than simply the cash and, thus, is allowed to re-solicit these same people in upcoming campaigns and engage the audience in a regular donation. With gold coin donations, you simply reap the cash on the spot.doante-2

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Will self service hurt non-profit organisations?

There is a flurry of self-service portals and other self-service mechanisms facing the consumer (and donor) each day.

When you visit Coles, Woolworths, K-Mart, Target and others, you are encouraged to use the self-service checkouts. These checkouts can be a bit of a pain when you do something not quite correctly and the machine rejects the transaction. You know the kind of transaction where you put something in the bagging area and the register has not ret documented the purchase. “Unauthorised item in the bagging area”. Often an item will not scan. How about the constant reminder to scan your customer loyalty card? It’s all a bit much. I often times ask, “if you want me to use the self-checkout, will you be giving me the employee discount?”.

qantasThese retailers are not the only ones using the self-service concept. In the Qantas Lounge, flyers are encouraged to order their coffee on a self-service portal and then are directed to pick up their waiting latte at a counter. In the terminal, Qantas has about 3 employees for all of their airline check in counters helping hundreds of customers, including me, trying to figure out how to use their self-checkin machines and, additionally, their self-checkin luggage machines. For a full-service airline, their personal customer service at the ticket counter is nil compared to Virgin Australia who mostly fully staff their ticket counters.

Retailers are not alone with this self-service concept. Non-profit organisations are adopting self-service to aid donors and alumni to maintain their contact details, re-print a receipt, give a gift and receive a receipt, register for an event, and for a variety of other transactions which were once made on the telephone, Post or in person.

mcdonaldsMcDonald’s recently took to asking for donations on their “portal”, which is also used to order specialised hamburgers and other food. This replaces the canisters they once had on the counters to encourage gold coin donations.

Today’s time-poor people expect to be able to do things fast. With speed comes a loss of interaction with the company or non-profit. And, I would argue, with the increased speed comes a loss of opportunity to “up-sell” the customer or to seek additional information or an additional gift.

We also lose the ability to engage as human beings. This is not such a loss for the likes of Coles, Woolworths, K-Mart, or Target where it was like pulling teeth to get a checkout clerk to say “hello”, “how are you?”, or even to say a “thank you”. More often than not they were quite robotic (if they even said a word to you during your transaction). But, non-profit organisations and their donors expect to engage with one another. We are in the relationship business. I worry about the impact of the loss of interaction on our overall bottom line when, in fact, we are playing up the convenience, speed, and volume aspects with portals and other tools.

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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.

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