Donors

Action

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What will you do differently in the year 2020?

It’s the first official day back at work after the long Christmas and New Year holidays. It is a time of renewal, of refresh, and of reset. I hope your batteries are recharged and you have a boost in energy to welcome what will greet you when you set at your desk for the first time since the last decade! What are your plans for the new year? What will you do differently so the year 2020 looks very different than the year 2019?

Many of us set out to turn over new leaves, to try new strategies, or to work harder at approaches we have in place. Perhaps we will try to tackle things gathering mould on our to do lists. Maybe we will be guided by a new strategic plan. Whatever it is that will motivate us as we come back fresh from 2+ weeks off of work, do not lose site of the simple things that make a big difference in the workplace and in fundraising.

6 small actions which will make a drastic impact in Q1 2020

  • Speak to every staff person at least one time per week.
    • Are there people in the workplace who you typically do not acknowledge? Acknowledge them.
    • Are there people who you do not “socialise” with in the office? Ask them to have a coffee or a quick lunch.
      • You’d be surprised what you will learn about these people and the synergy and alliances you may develop through simple outreach.
      • Make plans to follow up in about a month or six weeks. Managers – this is a task for you, too. Often times managers or leaders do not “socialise” with various people at varying levels throughout the organisation. 
  • Call or send personal thank you notes to five donors per week.
    • These are the easiest forms of contact, yet they are often the most overlooked.
    • How about writing each donor on the anniversary of their recurring donation? Remind them of the value of their contribution.
    • Don’t merely focus on the $500 or $10,000 supporters. How about calling the $25 donor to tell them you are pleased they are on board and remind them of the value of all levels of support.
      • Document this outreach in your CRM.
  • Call donors who participated in your supporter survey to thank them for voicing their opinion and to discuss one or two items which they expressed on their survey response.
    • Hear more from them on these calls, express your gratitude for their opinions.
      • Document this outreach in your CRM.
  • Call or send personal thank you notes to five volunteers per month.
    • These, too, are the easiest forms of contact. Likewise, they are often the most overlooked.
    • Volunteers are not on your payroll. You are. Remind them of the tremendous value their time and support of the organisations brings to the charity.
      • Document this outreach in your CRM.
  • Clean up your desk at the end of each business day.
    • Organise a small stack of things you intend to accomplish the following business day.
      • You’d be surprised the level of motivation a clean desk will bring you.
      • You will also be surprised how much time it will save you to have your day organised prior to arriving at the office.
  • Delegate the tasks you cannot accomplish.
    • Ask your colleagues to lend a hand.
      • Be ready to lend your colleagues a hand when they are in a similar situation.

2020 is the commencement of a new decade. Each one of us has an opportunity to do things which will change the landscape of non-profit organisations and of fundraising. Change the things close to home. Add six more items to the suggested list I have offered above. Let’s check in with one another to see where we are when we welcome the year 2021.

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Is your Christmas Appeal running short? A few ideas to get it across the line

AppealI bet you are watching the dashboards in your CRM to see how your Christmas Appeal is performing. You might be bit anxious because your Christmas Appeal appears to be running short of goal and short in terms of year on year numbers. It’s not too late to take a few easy steps to achieve your goals in these final days before the Christmas and New Year’s break.

Ideas that Work

Here are a few ideas you might try to make a big impact on your Christmas Appeal campaign.

  1. Call the top 50 donors to last year’s Christmas Appeal.
    • Ask them to renew their support at the level given to the 2017 Christmas Appeal.
    • Take their donation over the telephone.
    • Send them a personal email thanking them for taking the step to support your non-profit organisation during this busy time of year.
  2. Send an SMS to all constituents sent the 2018 appeal and who have not yet responded.
    • Ask them to give by Christmas eve.
    • Provide a link to your online giving page to capture their donation easily and quickly.
  3. Send an Email to all constituents who do not respond to the SMS by 21 December asking them to give by 31 December.

In the US, the Christmas season is also tax time. We do not have that same issue (or, some might say, advantage) in Australia. Nonetheless, we can all tug on the heart-strings of people during this giving season and encourage them to support our non-profit organisation by making a gift. Adding the sense of urgency and using channels easily available to us may help us to reach busy people this time of year and to encourage them to give one last donation before the close of the calendar year.

We hope your Christmas Appeal exceeds your expectations. Merry Christmas!

 

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#GivingTuesday, Australia

It’s the Tuesday following US Thanksgiving, Blackbaud Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday. That means it’s #GivingTuesday, Australia.

What are you planning to do for #GivingTuesday? Have you had plans in place to execute for many months? Or, have you planned nothing at all?

#GivingTuesday is a unique opportunity for charities, suppliers, and donors to come together to boost charitable giving in one day and to do so world-wide. You can do as little or as much effort as you live. The beautiful part is the day falls smack in the middle of our Christmas appeal season in Australia. So, why not test the waters to see if it makes a difference for your non-profit organisation.

How can you charities, suppliers, and donors come together and get involved?

#GivingTuesday – Charities

  • Create a day-long social media campaign to promote giving to your Christmas or year-end appeal. Push donations online.
  • Conduct a one-day calling program to acquire new donors, renew past supporters, and upgrade those who are regular donors.
  • Get an army of volunteers to join you by calling to thank donors who have already supported your Christmas or end of year appeal.

#GivingTuesday – Suppliers

  • Give to your non-profit customers Christmas or end of year appeals.
  • Volunteer for the day at a local homeless shelter or other charitable organisation.
  • Give 10% back on all invoices for the month f December.

#GivingTuesday – Donors

  • Volunteer for a charity today or this evening – something you have been meaning to do for a long time.
  • Sign up to be a regular volunteer at the charity of your choice.
  • Become a regular donor to a charity of your choice.
  • Gather all the loose change you have and drop it off at a charity in your neighbourhood.
  • Clean out a closet and drop the clothes at Vinnies or Salvation Army so they may be sold to another loving home.

You see, #GivingTuesday does not need to be well planned and executed. Although, it helps increase your results if you do plan the activities and steps! #GivingTuesday can be the smallest acts of kindness or a large-scale campaign. #GivingTuesday is what you make it.

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Customer Service – what does it mean to non-profit organisations?

Customer service failures are easily identifiable. Think about a time when you became agitated with a company you were dealing with as a consumer. Was it an airline, an online store, a retailer, a hotel, or a restaurant? What got your blood pressure up? How could this customer service experience have been prevented?

You and I do not put up with poor customer service as consumers. If we receive poor customer service, we likely complain directly to the supplier via letter, email, phone, or, even, Twitter and other more public channels. In the NFP sector, why would donors put up with a charity and why would non-profits put up with suppliers who are not on top of their customer service game?

I had a conversation yesterday with a customer about what it means for a supplier to deliver good customer service to the NFP sector. We talked about the great customer service NFP suppliers deliver pre-sales; however, once the purchased is signed, the solid customer service goes out the window. We talked about companies who serve our sector and how little customer service is delivered, especially on a pro-active basis. We also talked about the fact that often smaller suppliers deliver far more superior customer service than the larger suppliers.

Customer Service Action Items

What must each of us do to ensure those things do not occur in our organisation or business?

Good customer service begins at home. Your team – whether in a charity or supplier to NFPs – need to consider their work colleagues to be their customers. We need to be responsive of one another in meetings, email, and other forums. A positive atmosphere is infectious, as is a poisonous atmosphere.

When customer service is delivered to one another, it spreads to our external customers – donors or charities.

Turnaround time. We should expect to hear back from one another within a business day when there is not a holiday or sick leave situation. When a day’s turnaround time is not possible, set expectations with the “customer”. Be clear about length of time and, perhaps, reasons why it may take you a bit longer. Keep the consumer informed about your progress.

Gift entry/acknowledgement. Charities should be responsive to donors when a contribution is received. How does your organisation measure up? You don’t know? You should. Processing a gift and returning a receipt/acknowledgement within 48 hours is critical. I have said it before. You and I cannot control the amount of time it takes Australia Post to get the donation to the charity. Likewise, we cannot control the amount of time it takes Post to get the thank you letter to the donor. Therefore, we must control the length of time the gift is in our custody.

Processing time must be measured, goals set, and KPIs monitored.

Friendly, upbeat greetings. Whoever is on the telephone or greets visitors to your organisation needs to be friendly and upbeat at all times and no matter the distractions. Remember the old saying that you do not get a second chance to make a first impression? Use that rule at the reception desk.

Do Not. As a member of a team, you cannot blame others for not being able to respond in a reasonable time frame. Additionally, do not tell people you are “flat out” and cannot complete their task. Doing so makes it seem like you believe they, too, are not busy. We are all busy. And, doing so also diminishes the importance of their task!

Absence won’t make the heart grow fonder. Be sure to have constant coverage and even during holiday and sick periods. Do not assume your donors or customers will understand and will simply wait for their key contact to return. Set out of office messages on the phone and email systems.

Be proactive. Reach out to your donors in between asks. Check in with your donors just to see how they are doing. Suppliers should do the same. Suppliers should reach out to NFPs to share ideas, discuss how other customers have overcome a challenge.

The hard stuff. Having difficulty accomplishing the hard stuff should not prevent us from delivering good customer service and it should not prevent us from accomplishing the day-to-day, more routine, items. If a donor or a customer, in the case of a suppler, asks something that cannot quickly be answered or, perhaps will require a bit of research, set clear expectations about the timeline it might take to get an answer.

Under promise and over deliver.

Good customer service levels do not have to be difficult to achieve. Start at home; repeat it to your external audiences; set metrics for turnaround time; ensure friendly and upbeat atmosphere at the point of reception; do not blame others and do not use the “flat out” excuse; fill gaps in staffing during holiday and sick periods; and don’t let the hard stuff get in the way of the more routine items.

Following these simple tasks will let you, as a non-profit or a supplier in our space, shine throughout the year.

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5 ways to connect fundraisers with the cause

Guest blog by Ikhlaq Hussain MSc MInstF

My blog post last month on ‘How “passionate belief” can help you raise more money’ caught a lot of attention, including the attention of experts in the sector. One of the experts, a fundraiser, asked me this question in particular, “Hi Ikhlaq, I have read your latest blog. Is there any advice regarding how we can help our fundraising teams to connect with the cause?”  Today I share some points used in my replies in a blog post called 5 ways to connect fundraisers with the cause.

1. Take serious interest in your work: don’t wait to be inspired

Many people say you are either passionate or not and you can’t help fundraisers to develop the connection with the cause and inspire them to believe in the work they do. I would respectfully disagree with that notion and say that it’s not entirely true, as the more we get involved and take interest in our work, the more we will be connected with our cause.

We cannot just wake up one day with a passionate belief in our cause. Passionate belief does takes time, work and requires serious interest from the individual and we must encourage that within our fundraising teams.

Unfortunately, we can’t buy ‘passion and inspiration’ and sprinkle it over the fundraisers.

2. Meet the Trustees or founders

Regular meetings with your founders or trustees will help you to lighten your inspiration. Why not send an email to one of your trustees and ask them if they would like to grab a cup of coffee at some point? Tell them that you want to learn more about why they got involved with the organisation. What was the inspiration behind starting the organisation in the first place?

It is always energising to go back to the history of your organisation and find out directly from the founders or the current trustees, not from the website.

One of the founding trustees of Orphans In Need once said to me: “We aspire to provide the best support to the orphans who are in our care. We need to treat these orphans like our children because they rely on us and they have no one in the world to go to. We must not only provide them food on the table, however, the best food on the best table. Not just education, however, but the best available education in their communities.”

That level of care and thought for the orphan children really inspired me and got me closer to the vision and mission of the organisation.

3. Coffee meetings with your Programme Teams

Make friends with your ‘Programme Team’: take them for coffee. Meet regularly with your programme teams, as this really helps to connect with the cause. They can tell you lots of stories of how your organisation is making an impact and how they feel when they meet beneficiaries.

I am privileged that my desk is next to the programmes team and thus always ask them about their stories, especially when they return from monitoring and evaluation trips in different countries. It is always satisfying and fulfilling to know that our efforts are changing the lives of orphan children and how much more we need to do to achieve more.

4. Seeing is believing

As a fundraiser, we are always busy with endless lists of things to do. We are often caught up in what we do every day that we never have time actually to visit the great work our organisation is delivering on the ground.

When we meet the beneficiaries we can see firsthand how our efforts as a fundraiser are changing lives. Field visits always help to collect your own stories and get inspired.

5. Ask your donors why the cause matters to them

According to a recent report by IOF, nearly three in five people (59%) said the main reason they had given money was it was a cause they believed in. Most of the donors have a personal connection to the cause. Sometime our donors have more inspiring reasons behind their ‘giving’ decision.

From my experience, donors are always willing and happy to share what your cause means to them. For example, a donor told me a moving story about her mother who was an orphan when she was young and how much of a tough life she had which inspired him to support a children’s charity.

Asking donors why the cause matters to them have a two-fold benefit. First, your donors feel you are genuinely interested in them and not only in their pockets, which helps to develop a meaningful relationship. Secondly, their attachment to the cause helps us as a fundraiser to get inspired and connect with our cause.

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Ikhlaq Hussain is a philanthropy and high-end events specialist, currently head of major gifts at Orphans In Need, a trustee at Mind in Harrow, Board member at IOF (South East & London), mentor at IOF and Mosaic Enterprise Challenge, and a regular blogger on the topic of fundraising.

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Lessons for nonprofit organisations to consider

Snip20160423_52Many Australians shopped for new health insurance before 1 April when rates for most of us increased. When I received a notification from my insurer of my rate increase, I immediately called iSelect to seek a less expensive plan. I had bought my existing plan via iSelect and decided to start with this consolidator to find an alternative plan. The call was a success.

iSelect informed me of a less expensive plan, plus a plan with more coverage. It was a 20-minute call, which saved me ~$40 a month and brought me greater benefits.

About three weeks later I received a call from my outgoing insurer asking me why I was “leaving” their plan. When I explained it was due to cost, the caller said “why didn’t you give us a chance to find you a cheaper plan and alternative benefits?” I suggested customer retention was the job of the insurer, not the customer. I also suggested if there were alternate plans, which were cheaper and more beneficial, the insurer should send those alternatives out to the customer rather than simply send a rate increase letter. The caller suggested I had good points and ideas.

The call from this insurer suggests to me missed opportunities all around. Additionally, the call offers some lessons to be learned by the non-profit sector and retention of donors. The following are obvious lessons to me:

  1. Rather than give donors (in my case customers) a reason to “shop around” or go to another charity, work hard to retain the donor.
  2. Offer donors a menu of choices rather than restrict them to one option.
  3. The donor (customer) is likely to not call you to seek alternative ways to stick with you.
  4. Show donor appreciation before it is too late. Retaining a donor is less costly than acquiring a new donor.

Recognising donor and brand loyalty is critical. Once the donor is gone, it is often very difficult to gain the donor back.

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Virgin Australia offers inspiring event

Scan 2Last night, I had the absolute pleasure of attending an event sponsored by Velocity, which is Virgin Australia’s frequent flyer program. The event featured the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) and it was held at the ABC Studios.

What was so unique about this event?At first glance, not a lot.  It was what you we would, in the fundraising business, consider to be a stewardship event. Virgin Australia used the event to thank frequent flyers at the platinum and gold levels. In our industry we would invite our top level donors. Upon further look, the very unique and special aspects of the event are the following:

  • The event was a true partnership between the Virgin Australia and ACO.
  • The event offered a chance for Velocity and Virgin Australia to thank their most frequent flyers.
  • The event offered a showcase for the ACO.
  • The event also showcased the ABC studios.
  • The program book featured donor care lists, which are attractive and also motivate others to give.

Not only was the program book attractive, but it, in fact, entices people to get ngaged with their ACO in multiple ways. There are listings of donors who have left a gift in their will and contact details for the person responsible for bequest giving at ACO. There are listings of donors who give outright gifts and the contact details for there person responsible, as well. The “contact us” page offers a variety of ways to reach the ACO, including social media.Scan 5Scan 4

Organisations often times provide program books and feature donor listings. It is rare we see contact details for donors to act and to make a gift. It seems so basic. It is a gentle way for you to nudge a captive audience to get even more engaged.

How do you engage donors and prospective donors via your donor listings? Do you offer a gentle call to action?

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Is someone in charge of your nonprofit’s social media?

I get a lot of offers to purchase charity lottery tickets and, I assume, you might as well. The offers arrive via Australia Post, Email, and also social media. Last week, I checked out a lottery offer from Surf Life Saving Lotteries on Facebook. I was curious about the house on offer. I noticed seven people had commented on the post, so I also reviewed the comments on the listing.

I was horrified at what I saw.

Surf Life Savers 1 Surfe Life Savers 2

One foul comment and another negative one had been posted, and remained, online for a day. This caused me to ask: is someone in charge of social media at this particular organisation and are they watching over the accounts after hours? Does a person or team monitor your organisation’s social media regularly, even after hours? Would your team delete these sorts of comments or allow them to remain? What’s best practice, especially when foul language is used?

Social media is a fantastic channel to promote our nonprofit brands and to raise needed funds. Social media is also a means for people to offer praise or criticisms of various brands. Donors may choose to promote their support of your nonprofit organisation’s mission and others may choose to criticise your organisation for whatever reason. Every organisation needs to monitor and be responsive on social media – even during the evening or weekend hours. (To be fair, I note Surf Life Saving Australia have responded to many comments on Facebook regarding their lottery, including legitimacy questions and other comments).

If your organisation only monitors social media during daytime hours, think about the harm that might be done in the evening or the weekend if you allow comments to remain or if you fail to respond to feedback. Charities ought to create a schedule for “on call” staff who will monitor social media after hours. Frankly, these staff are likely on their own social media accounts during the evenings and weekends. Monitoring additional accounts is likely to not cut much into their personal time. Dividing the responsibility through proper scheduling will also reduce the time each person needs to spend on this out of office hour task.

There is no doubt social media has added to our workday and increased our workloads substantially. Nonetheless, in this day and age, we must incorporate a plan to be responsive to comments positive and negative. And, there are times we may want to delete offensive comments from posts such as this one.

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Gifts of stock to charities

When I teach fundraising classes for Fundraising Institute Australia and others, I often times draw distinctions in fundraising in the UK, US, and Australia. One distinction I draw is the difference in direct marketing and major gifts fundraising between the US and their UK and Australian counterparts. Perhaps an over generalisation, but direct marketing is much stronger, particularly regular giving programs, in the UK and Australia than in the US. And, major gifts are far stronger in the US than in the UK and Australia.

Snip20151125_1Take this email I received from Dana-Farber and The Jimmy Fund as an example. The email suggests I consider a gift of stock at year-end. Gifts of stock are a popular means for US major donors to give due to their appreciation and tax benefits. US non-profit organisations and charities actively seek gifts of stock from their prospective donors throughout the year and, in particular at year-end.

I received a second request this week for gifts of stock. This one is from Florida State University (FSU). FSU points out the tax benefits of making this type of gift.Snip20151126_2

Australian charities may take a page from the US nonprofit playbook. Think about prospective donors who have an affiliation with your nonprofit organisation and who may have appreciated stock. Perhaps these prospective donors are employees of US corporations and part of their compensation package includes securities.

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Donor care events – showing the impact of philanthropy

I recently received an invitation from RMIT inviting me to attend an event hosted by the Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Margaret Gardener AO. The event is to showcase the impact on philanthropy at RMIT. The event appears to be open to donors and prospects alike because the letter attached to the invite says “if you have given to RMIT before or are interested in find out more about philanthropy, this is an ideal opportunity for your to learn about the transformative impact of giving to education”.

RMITBravo! Excellent! Terrific example.

Organisations often appear to have their hand in our pocket and do not take enough time to share the impact giving has had on their overall organisation. Those of you who know me know that I am an aggressive American-trained fundraiser who never hesitates to make an ask. But, it is nice to see organisations valuing donors enough to educate them about their giving! I love the track RMIT appear to be on and applaud them for events such as this one.

Donor care events not only recognise the support donors have provided, but they also help to reinforce and, sometimes create, a culture of philanthropy. I encourage you to use RMIT as a model to create one for your own organisation.