Stewardship

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Thanksgiving – a day for charities to thank donors

childrensIt’s Thanksgiving Day in the USA. A day when family and friends gather to offer thanks for what they have and to acknowledge those present in their lives. It’s a non-religious holiday and it often times has more meaning to people as a result.

Thanksgiving Day is also an opportunity for charitable organisations to recognise donors who have supported them throughout the year. Causevox recently published a blog post offering 7 ways to thank donors during Thanksgiving. Several charitable organisations have sent me Thanksgiving greetings over the last week and I thought I would share them with you in hopes it will offer some ideas for donor care and stewardship for your non-profit organisation

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Wisconsin Alumni Association offers a great donor care example

waaI recently gave a donation to the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA), which is the alumni association for my alma mater – the University of Wisconsin. The gift is a small token of my appreciation for the way the university set me up for success in life. It is also my way to recognise the terrific work the WAA does to mobilise its alumni base and to keep us engaged with the University of Wisconsin.

WAA could have sent me a form letter to thank me for my contribution. Instead, I received a very personalised thank you letter with a hand- written note from the CEO of the WAA, Paula Bonner. The note invites me to come back to campus next summer when the WAA Alumni Park is finished. The WAA and Paula Bonner know how to continue to engage its base of active Alumni who “bleed Wisconsin red”.

Whether you work for a university or a non-profit charitable organisation, each of us can learn from this type of donor care or stewardship. It might seem simple and, even, basic. But, personal outreach holds high value for your constituencies.

 

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Best practice call from University of Queensland

Smiling businesspeople in a call center office

I received my annual call from University of Queensland (UQ) this past weekend. It’s no secret I am a big fan of UQ and the manner in which the Advancement Office handles donors. As is typical with the UQ call each year, the call Saturday was a mix of stewardship, data enhancement, solicitation, and data hygiene.

Kudos to UQ. Why? Read on.

Engagement

The call opened with the student, a female, asking me how my Saturday morning was progressing. During the conversation, she wove in a question about the weather in Sydney and compared it to the weather in Brisbane. This ice breaker and idle chit chat was a nice approach and allowed the student caller to determine I had a few minutes to spend with her and to further figure out I was willing to converse. She moved into her own plans after her graduation in November. She shared the fact she and her partner are considering a move to Sydney. We talked about the expense of living in Sydney compared to what she is used to in Brisbane. The caller asked if I had any advice to her about her career and her life after graduation. Once I shared my advice and said “you have lots of time to figure it out, you are only 22 years old”, she shared advice she had received from others and she asked me my opinion on the advice she had received. This was solid engagement.

The student then turned to business.

Stewardship

The caller thanked me repeatedly for my past support and talked about the difference it makes to the lives of UQ students. She spoke first-hand about the education she has received and how this has positioned her well for life after graduation.

Data enhancement

She then asked what caused me to support UQ, recognising I am not a UQ graduate.

Solicitation

The caller then asked if I could please consider renewing my past support. When I asked the dollar amount, she shared the gifts I have given each year over the past several years. I renewed the support.

Data confirmation/editing

The caller confirmed my address, email address and other contact details. Had something been erroneous, she could have updated their CRM on the fly.

Stewardship

At the end of the call, the student thanked me profusely for renewing my support. She informed me I would receive a thank you receipt and a thank you video via email soon. Within 24 hours I received the thank you Email, containing a video that will warm the heart of anyone.

Most universities use student callers to contact alumni and friends to seek their support. It’s not rocket science. My university calls one time per year. The nostalgia the call from my alma mater stirs is what works so well.

I think all types of non-profit organisations can learn from and employ this technique. Each non-profit organisation should think about the who, the how, and the when aspects of this type of call:

  • Who is the best audience to call your potential supporters? Clients, patients, or volunteers?
  • How will the calls occur? Are you supplying the callers with the kind of data, the script, training, and other tools they need to have these types of natural conversations?
  • When will the calls occur? When is the best time to call your audience? Is there a time of year when these calls work for your organisation?

Getting the who, how and when correct makes the why – why should donors support your organisation – an easy sell.

By the time the UQ student caller got to the solicitation in this call, there was no question I understood the why. For UQ it is all about the supporters connecting with their student body. I could not have exited the call without renewing my support. A beautiful experience.

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Model Charity End of Year Receipt Pack

MS QueenslandEnd of year receipts will be sent by many non-profit organisations over the next few weeks. Most charities have either sent their end of year receipts or are in the process of creating their packs to send in the next two weeks.

I received an end of year pack from MS Queensland this last week and I judged it to be a model pack. The pack contains a warm letter; a detailed end of year receipt showing each transaction including a receipt number, the date of the transaction, the amount donated, and the total donated for the year; and, a supplemental piece about a woman named Britt who was diagnosed with MS in early 2014 at 21 years old. The supplemental piece is referred to in the thank you letter and ends with a tie back to the impact of donor support and a final “thank you so much”.

The MS Queensland piece contains everything a donor care piece should. It oozes with solid stewardship.

Have you sent your end of year receipt packs yet? What is contained in your pack and how similar is it to the MS Queensland package?

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Superb McGrath Foundation Donor Care Video

Snip20160707_11McGrath Foundation sent a superb donor care video to all their regular givers yesterday.

In the video message, Glenn McGrath repeatedly uses words such as “you” and “your” as he expresses heartfelt thanks. It is 50 seconds of gratitude, wrapped up in a low cost film, and blasted out to every regular donor via Email.

Looking for a best practice donor care piece? McGrath Foundation set an example for all charities to follow in the new financial year.

 

 

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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.

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Taking care of loyal donors – it’s all about the stewardship

Travelling a lot each year, I have come to appreciate airline mileage and hotel frequent guest programs. There is not doubt it is one of the only perks of frequent travel.

Yet, I am surprised at the way airlines and hotels treat their members who hit top tier status year after year. Two recent examples for me include Virgin Australia and Hilton Hotels. I am at the top tier for each program. I have hit the top tier for more than 8 years with Virgin Australia and more than 12 years with Hilton Hotels. While not the most of any traveller, it is a lot of travel by most standards. I’ve been part of the Virgin Australia Velocity program for 8 years and this is my 20th anniversary with the Hilton Honors program.
HiltonWhen I hit the tier status in 2016, I was notified by each with a simple membership card contained in a postcard-style leaflet. Yet, when I obtained the top tier status the first time with each I was sent a packet which would fill the smallest of letterboxes. The original packs included a welcome letter, a membership card, luggage tags, and a handful of partnership offers. The benefits and gifts came to a crashing halt in years two and beyond for at least one of a programs and dwindled massively for the other.

I question why this is so and why these travel-related companies do not take better care of their most loyal customers? I hope nonprofit organisations would not treat their loyal donors in the same way. Nonprofit organisations should and ought to recognise first time top-tier donors with fanfare and should continue to do so when those loyal donors hit the top tier each year thereafter. Consecutive year top tier donors (or travellers in my case) bring far more lifetime value to the charity (or airline/hotel company) than one time or sporadic givers. If people do not get what they are looking for or feel valued for their loyalty, they will go elsewhere. It’s all about the stewardship.

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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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What’s the first action when donors receive annual reports?

Office folders stacked in the form of steps. 2011-2019 year. The three-dimensional illustration

What is the first thing donors do when they receive your nonprofit organisations’ annual report? What is the first action donors take when they look over a donor wall or a recognition list in a program book?

They look for their own name!

What is the next thing they do?

See if their name is spelled correctly and printed the way they wish to be addressed.

Thereafter, what does the donor do?

The donor ensures his/her name appears in the correct giving category.

And, what is the final act of this donor?

He/she looks to see who gave more or an equivalent amount of money.

I received the Impact of Giving report from The Australian National University (ANU) this week. It’s a beautiful donor care or stewardship publication. I realised the first thing we do is flip to the donor listings and we are conditioned to look ourselves up in a similar fashion to the way people used to in church bulletins in years past. We are only human. We all do the above things and we have been conditioned to do these things by charities issuing annual reports, recognition lists, and donor walls.

Donor recognition lists can go so wrong. Nightmares for donor relations staff, include:

  • Forgotten names.
  • Wrong names.
  • Incorrectly spelled names.
  • Listing one spouse, but not the other.
  • Listing a spouse against the donor’s wishes.
  • Listing the wrong spouse.
  • Listing a deceased spouse.
  • Listing a spouse after a divorce occurs.
  • Listing a former spouse years after the divorce.
  • Using the incorrect format for someone’s name – Mr Stephen Mally rather than a preferred name, Mr Steve Mally.
  • Listing a gift, which was meant to be anonymous.
  • Listing an incorrect amount or excluding certain gift types, which results in the “incorrect amount” in the donor’s mind.
  • Placing a name in the in memory of listing when, in fact, the person is alive.

Did any of the above bring back any bad memories for you or send you into a rash? Establishing a proper donor recognition program within your customer relationship management (CRM) system is critical for ease in producing the donor recognition listing.

My name was in the ANU report, was correctly listed and…it was the first thing I checked in the report!

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Gifts in memory – what follow up is appropriate?

burning memorial candles

People often times create a tribute at a charitable organisation when their loved one passes away. They will often times request people to give a donation to designated charities in lieu of flowers. Gifts in memory are a beautiful way to memorialise someone and to also support nonprofit organisations important to the survivors or to the loved one who has died.

The charitable organisations work hard to acknowledge the gifts made in memory of the person as quickly as possible. Nonprofit organisations focus on the processing of these gifts and sending notifications to the designated family member.  But, what sort of follow up is done once the gifts start to trickle off?

Perhaps charities might do a better job maintaining contact with the survivors a few months after the tribute period and, likewise, make contact on the anniversary of their love one’s death. Not only is this a humane and meaningful thing to do for the family who will continue to grieve for the rest of their lives, but it is also a prudent act as part of your stewardship activity. It shows the family you truly care and, at the same time, may cause them to remember your charity on the anniversary of the death and/or the next time a sad or happy occasion requires a tribute. It is a safe bet to assume a hand written note or a phone call a few months after the death and, again, on the anniversary of the death will be most welcome.

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