Stewardship

, , , , , , ,

Congratulations, RMIT

Congratulations, RMIT! I was dancing at my dinner table on Monday, 15 June. No, I was not out on the town. Instead, I was opening the day’s mail and RMIT’s direct mail piece caught my eye for all the right reasons.

  1. RMIT makes an ask. Seem basic to you? Many charities in my direct marketing study do not make an ask or, if they do, it is such a soft ask it is missed.
  2. RMIT asks for enhanced data – phone and email.
  3. RMIT asks how I wish to be recognised in donor publications or if I wish to remain anonymous.
  4. RMIT lists other giving options, including:
    • Creation of a scholarship in my name.
    • Consideration of a gift in my will.
  5. RMIT references the Information Privacy Act 2000 (VIC).
  6. RMIT offers matching my donation dollar for dollar.

As RMIT says in the letter, giving to education is powerful. I’m convinced. And, RMIT does a great job enticing me to give. The RMIT scholarship solicitation is a model appeal.

RMIT 2 RMIT 3RMIT

, , , , , , ,

Anniversary idea

Is your organisation celebrating an anniversary?

Check out this email I received from Uber (perhaps you received one, too?).

Snip20150603_15The email connects me to Uber’s 5 year anniversary by pointing out the months since I joined Uber, the number of times I have ridden Uber, and the city I have most frequently used Uber. It also offers me an opportunity to share this information with friends!

Clever idea. Perhaps your organisation might adapt it to mark a milestone anniversary? You could simply tie the date the donor first supported your organisation, how many times they have supported your organisation, and how much their lifetime giving.

It is ideas like these, whether from the non-profit or for-profit sectors we can adapt to suit our own needs. This is one I thought worthy of sharing!

, , , , , , , , , , ,

What have your volunteers done for you lately?

Group of people saying ThankWhat have your volunteers done for you lately? Wrong question. What have you done for your volunteers lately?

It is National Volunteer Week in Australia. Every organisation needs to assess what it is doing to recognise volunteers and volunteers need to think about what organisations are doing to recognise the time they give to those organisations. Volunteering Australia gives us 101 Ways to Recognise Your Volunteers including 13 key ideas to celebrate National Volunteer Week

  1. Give a certificate to commemorate anniversaries of involvement.
  2. Take photos of volunteers ‘on the job’, imprint a ‘Thank you’ message and frame them – then give them to each volunteer.
  3. Hold special ‘thank you’ or social functions in honour of volunteers.
  4. For long-standing volunteers, collect coins in the amount of hours contributed, place them in a vase tied with a royal blue ribbon and present to them at a special afternoon tea.
  5. Have a morning tea with testimonials to the volunteers from recipients of services.
  6. Give them a mug with logo or ‘thank you’ motif.
  7. Create bookmarks for the volunteers with an acknowledgement of appreciation for work contributed.
  8. Hold a BBQ for your volunteers.
  9. Run a Volunteers Breakfast.
  10. Give a pat on the back: Trace your hand on plain paper and cut out. Write, ‘Here’s a pat on the back for _________________. Thanks for all you hard work.’ Invite staff or anyone else that has contact with the volunteers to make one in recognition of the service of particular volunteers. Hang them all together for visual impact.
  11. Create Volunteer buttons and pins
  12. Arrange discounts for your volunteers at local shops.
  13. Celebrate formal recognition events such as International Volunteer Day and National Volunteer Week with dinners, teas, dessert buffets, etc.

Some might seem basic or a little hokey; however, at the end of the day, isn’t it about taking a minute to say thanks and trying to be creative enough that the volunteers accept your thanks with appreciation for being recognised. Too few organisations take the opportunity to say thank you. It might be too late to action many fo these ideas this week during National Volunteer Week. But, what about hand written thank you note or simply a personalised mass Email sent to volunteers with a big “THANK YOU”?

, , , , , , , , , ,

Communication preferences tailored to supporter and organisation

Sign MailboxIs the person who lives here on your list? I walk by this home a couple of times per weekend because the house is on the same street as my Brisbane apartment.

I chuckle each time I walk by the house. I am not making fun of the owner. It is within his or her right to post such a sign on their own property and on their letterbox. I simply wonder how many charities have this person on their database and I wonder if the person has ever alerted charities he/she wishes to be on a do not contact list, a do not solicit list, or some other alert.

When someone notifies you they do not wish to be contacted or wishes to opt out of certain communications, what action does your charity take? Do you mark the record “Do Not Contact”? Or, do you ask the supporter exactly what types of communications he or she does not wish to receive? Are you able to mark the supporter record to specify the exact types of communication rather than to code the record in your CRM to “Do Not Contact”, “Do Not Solicit”, “No Solicitations”, “No Mail”, “No Phone”, No Email”, “No SMS”? Would’t it be far better for you to be able use codes to document the supporter’s true communication preferences rather than blanket codes, which may prevent them to no receive communications they actually enjoyed? Codes such as:

  • Tax Appeal
  • Christmas Appeal
    • The above examples allow your organisation to include all other supporters in all appeals and only include supporters marked “Tax Appeal” or “Christmas Appeal” if they have such a code in their record in the CRM.
  • Newsletter – Electronic
  • Newsletter – Post
    • The above examples allow your organisation to include supporters with these codes when doing an email newsletter or when doing  post newsletter, but to exclude them when doing one or the other if they have the opposite code in their record in the CRM.
  • No solicitation – phone
    • The above example allows your organisation to exclude anyone with this code from a telemarketing campaign when their is a solicitation involved. If the campaign involved a thank you call or some other purpose, your organisation might include the supporter in the calling program.

Communication preferences are vital. Organisations over-engineer and other organisations under-engineer the tracking of this critical data. Doing so means your organisation is short-chaning the donor and your organisation. Don’t cheat your supporter out of communications he or she may value. And, don’t cut the supporter off from communications, which will cause you to ultimately lose the support of the donor as a result.

, , , , , , , , ,

Giving days are becoming VERY popular!

Giving days appear to have started in the university sector in the United States some four or five years ago. The giving days focus alumni, donors, and prospective donors on initiatives to support in a single day. Giving days are becoming very popular. In fact, this year we are seeing…giving weeks!

Universities such as Florida State University, Boston University, and countless others have giving days or weeks! Sacramento, California’s capital city, has a Big Day of Giving where the city has partnered with a variety of community foundations to encourage people to “Give where your heart is”. And, it does not stop there. Charities such as the Red Cross are holding giving days as well.

Snip20150319_34 Snip20150319_35Snip20150319_36

Why are these days (or weeks) so popular? Not only is there a big opportunity to raise money, but the giving days offer a chance to really get the word out and to allow people to have a greater emotional connection to your organisation. Columbia University reported raising over $11 million on its 2014 giving day via 10,452 gifts from 50 states and 53 countries! Now, that’s reach.

It won’t be long before every one of the marquis universities in Australia join this trend. But, why stop there? Why wouldn’t charities, healthcare and medical research institutes, museums, and private schools jump on the bandwagon and test a giving day themselves?

, , , , , , , ,

20 March was a good news and bad news day for charities

Last Friday was a good news day and also a sad news day for charities.

I received two emails from charities announcing the death of former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. I also received an email from one charity announcing the birth of a baby gorilla. CARE Australia and Burnet Institute sent email obituaries announcing the death of the Prime Minister and Zoos Victoria sent an email about a happier occasion at the zoo.

Although unrelated to one another, all three organisations used electronic communications effectively to get the word out and to describe the importance of these occasions to their organisations. CARE Australia and Burnet spoke about the importance of Mr Fraser to their organisation (the Prime Minister held leadership roles with both) and Zoos Victoria gave us an occasion to smile by informing us what this new addition means to the zoo’s world-class collection.

Snip20150321_42 Snip20150321_43Snip20150321_41

, , , , , , ,

Not including an ask? Don’t send it.

Charity word cloudEvery day I receive charity mail. Mail from those included in my personal direct marketing study and mail from those organisations I support independently.

I often times get asked what is the thing that shocks me the most as you look across the charities? The thing that surprises me the most is organisations that send an appeal, a newsletter, an annual report, or other material without making an ask for a donation.

Just this week I received a beautiful newsletter from one of the nation’s leading medical research institutes. I opened the envelope, pulled the newsletter out, opened the newsletter and I wanted to scream. No ask was included in the envelope. No response device with a self-addressed envelope. The research institute included a response device printed on page 5 of the 6 page newsletter. How many people take the time to clip this device out of the newsletter to make a gift?

If you are going to take the time to send material to donors and prospective donors, take the time to make an ask for a donation. In doing so, make it easy for the donor to give a gift to you. Do not make it an art project. Include a pre-printed response device and an envelope for ease in returning the donation. If you are not going to make an ask for a donation, do not bother to send the fundraising or stewardship piece.

, , , , , , , ,

New donor welcome package – a thing of the past? Not for McGrath Foundation

I cannot recall the last time I received a new donor welcome package. In fact, I was surprised when I received one from McGrath Foundation last week welcoming me as a new regular giver.

McGrathThe McGrath Foundation welcome pack included a nice letter from the McGrath Foundation Donor Manager, a thank you card with a photo of lots of smiling people dressed in pink, a brochure about the McGrath Foundation, a calendar, and a McGrath Foundation branded carry bag for me to use at the supermarket.

This package makes a recipient feel special and, at the same time, educates the donor about the McGrath Foundation while giving the donor two functional items back – a calendar and a carry bag.

The McGrath Foundation welcome pack, delivered in a window envelope, was likely generated in mass to all donors who signed up during a recent telemarketing campaign run by OURTEL. The caller who reached me from OURTEL, a woman named Wendy, sounded as though she could have been anyone’s mother. She was kind, spoke well, and educated me about the reason I needed to become a regular giver to McGrath Foundation. I gave because of the call and because Wendy caused me to realise the need for breast care nurses. The call was so terrific that I asked the caller for the name of her company and also her name. I later sent an email to the CEO of the McGrath Foundation telling her about it.

Congratulations to McGrath Foundation for a terrific campaign. Other organisations should use this as a model.

, , , , , ,

Don’t judge your donors by the way they dress

Snip20150207_52The US morning show, NBC’s Today Show, reported this week about a gentleman who lived very modestly in the US state of Vermont. In fact, he lived so modestly no one had any idea he was worth about $8 million…until he passed away and left it all to charity.

According to the story, Ron Read, a janitor surprised everyone when he left $4.8 million to the local hospital – Brattleboro Memorial Hospital – and the remaining $1.2 million to the local library – Brooks Memorial Library.

His estate attorney says Read told her he had money. And, the estate attorney did not believe him because of “the way he dressed”. She said he typically dressed in a worn coat, flannel shirt and baseball cap. The attorney adds “never judge someone across the table for what they look like”.

Two institutions that impacted Read’s life while he was alive are now being impacted by Read after his death. In fact, both organisations say the gift Read left is the largest they have received. Simply put, Read has left the community stunned.

Think of the time and attention we pay to people, in and outside of the fundraising world, based on the way they look. Think of the time we spend in this business on high value donors simply based on what they give out of pocket today. Read likely did not give money while he was alive. Some reported they tried to buy him a meal in the hospital cafeteria based on the fact he looked like he was in need.

I love this story because it indicates to me that someone at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and someone at Brooks Memorial Hospital thought he enough to care for Mr Read no matter how others may judge him. And, in the end, he recognised the caring received and the services provided by the hospital and the library.

, , ,

US charities send New Years greetings

Earlier this week, I blogged about the fact I was inundated (in a good way!) by US charities seeking one final gift prior to the close of the calendar (and their fiscal) year. In that blog, I encouraged all organisations to test adding a calendar year-end appeal to your mix of communications this year and to use a similar approach to your own fiscal year-end appeals for 30 June.

On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, I, likewise, received a host of donor care/stewardship messages from charities wishing me a Happy New Year and thanking me for my support of the charity over the past year. Some messages were simpler, while others included a year-in-review video or other communications tools. As a supplier to the non-profit sector, @FundraisingForce sent a greeting out to customers, prospective customers, and others in social media.

This simple and easy donor care method, like the calendar year-end appeal, should be added to your communication mix for 2015. I would also suggest suppliers in the non-profit space should do the same. Here is an example I received from Boston Children’s Hospital, which contained a video message. Happy New Year!

Snip20150102_1

«< 2 3 4 5 6 >