Donation

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Qantas asked me to complete my transaction

Snip20160228_3On Sunday I booked a last minute trip on Qantas. I did not complete the reservation and went to other airline sites to shop around for a better deal. Moments after I closed out of the Qantas website, Qantas sent me an email asking me to complete the transaction.

Why did I think this was so interesting? What can nonprofit organisations learn from this experience?

Clearly one has to be logged into a Website in order for the site owner to send a reminder similar to the one I received by Qantas. Yet, Qantas is taking the added step to ask me to purchase the airline ticket rather than lose me to another air carrier. There are plenty of charity sites where the donor may be logged in and where this functionality could be repeated for donors who do not finish the donation transaction. It is clever for Qantas or, in your case, your nonprofit organisation to put the transaction on hold and to send a reminder to the person to complete the transaction.

I wonder what Qantas’ rate of recovery is for such transactions? I also wonder if any nonprofit organisations are using similar technology to recapture donations which would otherwise be lost?

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Best practice moment – Bobby Goldsmith Foundation

Does your non profit organisation have a solid process in place to encourage supporters to update their contact details? Is the process multi-channel?

Snip20160131_13I received an email from Bobby Goldsmith Foundation on Friday and I was pleased to have the opportunity to update my details. The piece is best practice and I want to share it with you.

When creating opportunities for supporters to update their contact details, the following are essential components:

  • Create a process to allow for online/Email, phone, and post responses.
  • Ensure online responses land in your constituent relationship management (CRM) system to eliminate the need for rekeying of information.
  • Always allow for the donor to give an additional donation. If you do not, you’ve missed an opportunity.
    • Donors often times will realise they failed to keep you posted of their movements and realise they are not current in their support of your organisation.
  • Ask for more information than you currently hold on the supporter. Lack a person’s mobile or home numbers? Lack their email address?
    • Remember, this is about enhancing their contact record as much as it is editing their record. Show the lack of information on their form.

It’s the time of the year when all charities should be reviewing, strengthening, and, in some cases, developing internal processes. Take a moment and look at your contact details update process.

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Virgin Australia taking a leadership role in philanthropy

On my last business trip of 2015, I opened the Virgin Australia magazine, Voyeur, to find a two-page spread on the philanthropic activity of the airline. What a delight to see.

You may recall I wrote about Qantas, Emirates, and other airlines’ fundraising activity. At the time, I could not recall seeing Virgin Australia, my airline of choice, promoting any sort of philanthropic activity. How wrong I was…

Virgin AustraliaVirgin Australia appear to be working with Starlight Children’s Foundation to grant wishes for seriously ill children. Virgin Australia report there are over 132 seriously ill children waiting for their Starlight wish this Christmas. The two-page spread features an article about Wish Week where 12 families travelled from NSW, VIC and SA to Dreamworld in QLD. Virgin Australia provided the travel, and likely other benefits, to these deserving families. Virgin Australia report that by December more than half of all Starlight wishes granted this year involved travel with Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia also feature Kids Helpline, which is a 24/7 counselling and support service to young people who feel they need to reach out. Virgin Australia made a call for donations of Velocity points or cash for Kids Helpline.

Finally, OZ Harvest is featured in a small sidebar seeking donations to supply food to those who can’t afford it this time of year.

Virgin Australia 2The two-page spread also features a full colour ad for Starlight and features the partnership with Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia deserves much applause for its hard work raising money and support charities of Australia. It was nice to see these efforts featured in the airline magazine – especially in December.

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Donating is like dating – no one gets married after the first date

Donating is like dating. No one gets married after the first date. Do they? I get irritated when charities and their staffs treat my donation as a one-time transaction or, worse, like a one night stand.

It typically goes something like this:

  • I make a gift.
  • I receive a receipt.
  • I never hear back from the charity until they want an additional gift, usually double or triple the size of my original gift. Or, they ask me for a regular gift or a major gift in this third interaction.

What’s wrong with this picture?

I liken the situation to dating. I think it should go something like this:

  • I make a gift (this is the first date).
  • I should receive a receipt. I should also receive a warm and fuzzy letter of appreciation and, perhaps, a welcome video or SMS (this is the charity dropping me off after the first date and suggesting we should go out again).
    • You can never thank someone enough or too much!
  • The charity courts me, informs me of ways in which my first gift and the countless others matter.
  • I get asked for a second gift.
    • Remember, do not call the person the next day, after a first day, for fear you will look desperate.
  • I make a second gift (this is the second date. Note: we did not go out again right away and nor did we have a one-night-stand!).
  • Eventually I may decide to make a larger gift or a regular gift (this means we are attracted to one another and are getting serious).
  • The major gift and/or a legacy gift are really about a commitment (this means we are fully committed to one another).

Why is it that a majority of our donor interactions are not about the relationship and instead are focused on the first transaction?

The above analogy may not be politically correct and may make some non-profit staff a bit uneasy. Take a few minutes and think about it. If we spent less time focused solely on the first transaction and more on retention of the newly acquired donors perhaps we would have a lot less attrition.

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