Stewardship

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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.

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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!

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Get that Fundraising Trifecta – 3 ideas to help you win, place and show

It’s called “the race that stops the nation”. In Australia, today is the Melbourne Cup. And many of us will pause this afternoon to watch this horse race with friends and colleagues. For some, it’s a public holiday; for others, we simply might not return to working in the afternoon.

If our role is fundraising for a charity, we are also in a race today – one to hit our goal or target by 31 December. So, the first Tuesday in November is when we are coming down the stretch to the end of our calendar year – and, for most of us, halfway through our financial year. Whether we are in the back stretch or home stretch, we want to come in first and take home the cup!

Since many of us will put a wager on the race today, I thought I’d play ‘punter’ and give some tips for being the winning jockey in your race to raise dollars for your non-profit.

  1. Perform data hygiene on your data set before you drop the year-end appeal to acquire changes of addresses prior to dropping the mail out; ensuring less return to sender (RTS) mail
  2. As part of your stewardship, call donors who give over $100 to your appeal and thank him or her for their gift. Gain new information from these donors on the call and record this information in your database
  3. Add a seasonal message to your acknowledgement letter/receipt, such as “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”.

Bonus tip: don’t forget a special message and effort to your LYBUNT and SYBUNT groups.

Finish LineDoing any of these things today may ensure you a win, place, or show. But I’m hopeful you will go for the trifecta and do all three. Only by taking some chances and being aggressive down the stretch will you get over that line ahead of the others. And within your organisation – everybody wins – you and your charity!

 

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Affinity credit cards – a nice way to support charity and rare in Australia

I visited McGrath FouMcGrath CCndation last week and saw an application for an affinity credit card – a McGrath Foundation branded card – in the lobby of the Foundation. I was very surprised to see this application.

Perhaps I should not have been so surprised to see the McGrath Foundation card – McGrath, like countless other breast cancer organisations, are the best at branding merchandise and, particularly, within the “Pink” cause. Likewise, McGrath Foundation is creative in their fundraising, has a strong brand and loyal supporters, and has great potential as an organisation. But, I was surprised because it is not a common occurrence to see any affinity cards in Australia.

Non-profit Affinity credit cards are very big in the US and the UK. One will typically receive such offers in the letterbox, as well as find the card offers across university campuses, hospitals, cultural institutions, and charities alike. Often the cards give a portion of the annual fee back to charity, as well as a percentage of the cards use and other perks.

McGrath CC BackThe McGrath Foundation credit card offers those who sign up an opportunity for a low interest rate, coupled with the fact the card issuer donates half the annual fee each year one holds the card to McGrath Foundation. The even more attractive value proposition is the pride you will have by carrying something branded McGrath Foundation in your wallet and each time you use the card you are promoting your affinity to the McGrath Foundation!

Does your non-profit organisation have an affinity credit card? Does it make sense for your organisation to investigate whether to develop such a relationship with a bank in order to offer one? What terms would your organisation expect should you negotiate a deal with a bank for an affinity card? What might we learn from our non-profit counterparts in the US and UK who have already embarked on such ventures? Better yet, perhaps we can use the McGrath Foundation as an Australian model?

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Six degrees of separation – making it difficult for your supporters to opt out

opt-outLike you, I receive heaps of Email daily. I get a lot of Email. I find myself repeatedly deleting Emails each week from the same companies and non-profit organisations without reading the Emails. I needed to get the volume of unwanted, or unread, Email under control.

I thought, if I am deleting these emails each day, why don’t I simply opt out of the lists so I do not have to deal with the volume in my inbox?

I spent quite a bit of time trying to opt out of the Emails and found for some organisations, it is actually quite difficult, and time-consuming, to get to the end point. Many ask me reasons I want to opt out and others try to convince me to better state my communication preferences while trying to maintain me in the end.

I cannot blame these companies because they should be trying to keep me!

IMG_0807Take MSPCA Angell Memorial Hospital for example. Angell Memorial is a place where I used to take my pets in Boston and my animals were well taken care by this wonderful organisation. However, I do not live in Boston any longer. If I did, I likely would maintain contact with Angell. I went to opt out of receiving multiple emails from Angell and they first tried to get me to change my mind by offering me a multitude of options. Thereafter I was allowed to finally opt out and I was sent to a final screen where they suggested a way to get back on their list should my needs change in the future.

Take Travelzoo, a travel website in the US. I probably used Travelzoo once or twice in my life. Yet, this site too, sends me a multitude of emails throughout a given month.. I went to opt out of Travelzoo and faced a similar exercise as Angell Memorial.

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I have often times told non-profit organisations they should work hard to turn a negative into a positive and this is exactly what these two organisations, and countless others, have done as I have been opting out of (or trying to!) their electronic communications over the last week.

When I work with organisations, I suggest they work hard when someone rings their office to opt out of direct mail to turn those calls around by offering the caller a chance to receive just one appeal a year. I further suggest these organisations offer supporters who wish to opt out the chance to select which appeal to receive, as well as the channel. It is exactly what these organisations above did with me online?

What do you feel is best practice in regard to opt out procedures? What process does your organisation put supporters through? Are your online processes similar to offline processes?

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What’s in a Name? – A Response!

SalI would probably never wear a tuxedo to a BBQ or pool party. Nor would I wear a singlet and board shorts to a gala dinner. I am hopeful most of us know the appropriate attire for the different events and occasions we attend. In a similar fashion, we use different language and words in different settings and with different people. Do we speak the same in front of close friends and family versus someone we have never met? The setting and sometimes the communication method dictate our words. We might use different language in a written card or letter than we would in an email. And a text message or tweet would probably use even different words.

When we communicate with our prospects and donors do we change the way we salute and address them depending on the occasion for communicating with them?

If we’re sending them an invite to our awards dinner, does their name appear the same as on their donation thank you? Is it the same as our invite to our summer sausage sizzle?

The name you use for your prospects and donors is important for relationship building. Using the correct Addressee and Salutation could affect whether you get a response from them. For example, I have a friend named Patricia. She only goes by Patricia. She is never called Pat or Patty. If any organisation approaches her using either of the latter, she will not respond.

Your organisation should record the preferred, standard way a constituent wishes to be addressed and saluted. However, your organisation should also consider recording additional addressees and salutations for each of the ways in which you may communicate with them.

The following should be recorded for each person on your database:

  • Formal – Used for invitations or communication from your Board or head of organisation. It would likely include the person’s title
  • Informal – Used for more informal event invitations and other communications. It would likely not include any titles and be only a first and surname

But beyond these obvious ones, this is a great place to record other ways you will use your donor and prospect names. Here are a few:

  • Known by director/president/CEO – Used for correspondence sent with the signature of your organisation’s leader who might personally know some of the people who are receiving the communication
  • Family/Household – Used to address additional members of the person’s family such as their partner/spouse and their children. It can include the names of each person or simply be something like “The <Surname> Family”. This option is great to invite the entire family to school functions or for a holiday card.
  • Receipt Name – Used to indicate a different name for a tax receipt than you might use for regular communications
  • Recognition Name – Used for when you post or publish a list of donors or other type of recognition. For example, in your annual report an individual donor might want their partner/spouse also listed with them even though the donation came only from him/her.

Once you have recorded these Addressees and Salutations, you will be able to communicate with a majority of your constituents in way that builds a connection and relationship with them. Again, think of my friend, Patricia, and your own communications with people.

So please salute me as Mr. Bernstein, Daniel or Dan depending on the occasion and method of communication. However, one final tip, please don’t mix addressees and salutations on the same piece or I might show up to your event in a tuxedo with board shorts and thongs.

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Hot prospects for Spring

HotAs the weather starts to turn a bit warmer this time of year in the Southern Hemisphere, it can be a good idea to think of things that keep us warm and help us get excited for summer – the sun, the beach, a barbeque picnic. As a fundraiser, what keeps me warm this time of year? I try to think of my “hot” prospective donors. Who might donate to my organisation this time of year? This is especially important as we come closer to the end of the calendar year.

As Blazing as the Sun – LYBUNT

This first place to look are to those people and organisations who supported you last year, but have yet to make their donation this year, commonly referred to as LYBUNT (Last Year But Unfortunately Not This). Most fundraising database software programs have this report built into the system and should report on those individuals who donated last year, but not during a specified date range, usually compared to this year.

These potential donors are about as “hot” as you can get when it comes to raising money for your charity. Once they have started making donations to our cause, we don’t want to lose them, since it usually takes a good amount of effort and money to acquire a new donor to our organisation. If we have been working hard all year, the list of our LYBUNT’s shouldn’t be too long. Consider getting a short letter to them in the mail today, stating your immediate needs and include an ask and reply envelope. In two or three days, start making follow-up phone calls with the message to make sure they received the letter and to ask them to read it and consider replying by the end of the week. If you divide the list among staff members, it shouldn’t take too long to reach everyone. If you sort the list in previous gift amount order from highest to lowest, you’ll be sure to connect with your higher amount donors first.

As Burning as the Beach – SYBUNT

The Some Year But Unfortunately Not This should report on those individuals who donated some year in the past, but not during a specified date range, usually compared to this year. These previous donors can also be referred to as lapsed donors.

Although it may have been a few years since these people have supported your organisation, it should be a lot easier for you to convince them to support your cause again versus someone who has never given to your organisation. Your message to them could be about how the program they supported still needs their help today; or maybe mention a new initiative they can consider supporting.

If you don’t think you have time to reach all your LYBUNT’s and SYBUNT’s, narrow your focus to those who are also Trustees, Board members, Volunteers, or Committee members. They are leaders for your organisation and should understand the need and importance for your cause.

So, as you get thinking about the sun and beach, turn towards your “hot” prospects. With their continued support, you will feel warm and your organisation will continue to move forward with its mission and goals. Summer will be here before you know it!

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Gifts in Honour of/in Memory of are critical and sensitive

Honor-or-Memorial-GivingI have given many donations to charities to recognise happy occasions – milestone birthdays, retirements or special recognition of friends and colleagues. I also give donations in memory of individuals, including relatives or of situations where a friends’ parents who passed away. I prefer to do this in cases where I am not in the same city and cannot be at the funeral services and prefer to do this in lieu of sending flowers or some other expression of sympathy. I have had some experiences where a charity really got it right and others where I wished I had taken some other course of action.

I had to call one charity, identified by my friend because of his father’s military service, repeatedly as I attempted to make a donation in his father’s memory. When I finally reached someone, after four messages to the staff at the charity, the person tried to convince me that I meant to make the contribution in memory of someone completely different. I was asked “Are you sure you do not mean (Mr X)?” when, in fact, I wanted to make the donation in memory of my friend’s father whose name I clearly knew. The same charity took more than 6 weeks to send notification to my friend. The notification to my friend finally arrived, but with my name spelled incorrectly.

Another charity took more than 4 weeks to send notification to a friend whose mother had passed away.

There is nothing worse, as a donor, to wonder if the donation was actually processed and then to wonder if the honouree or the family of the memorialised will actually ever get notified of the donation. The situation puts the donor in an uncomfortable position. The situation becomes more awkward over time when the family may believe you did not send an expression of sympathy. Additionally, the situation becomes a bit of a nightmare when the donor and family are talking about the charity’s bad practices.

I should state that when I have given gifts in memory, there have also been outstanding experiences. One, a US hospice where a friend’s mother was cared for in her final weeks, handled the international telephone call in a superb manner, sent immediate acknowledgement to me, and, also, quickly sent notification to my friend the same day of my gift. This hospice has continued to steward me over time and sends me their quarterly e-newsletter and the very occasional request for more support.

Speed and accuracy are important in any donation and acknowledgement processing. Speed and accuracy are the two most important attributes in tribute gifts. Tribute gifts are the most time sensitive gifts your organisation accepts. When a charity fails in either place (or both) that charity is not worthy of our support.

There are 6 questions which need to be asked within your organisation to ensure you are operating the back end of your tribute program in an effective manner:

  • Does your charity have trained staff to handle tribute calls?
  • Do you process donations in honour or memory within the same day or do these donations wait for a staff person who may only work part-time?
  • Does your charity pay attention to detail and ensure spellings of names and the addresses are accurate?
  • Does notification to the honouree or to the survivors get sent the same day or do you wait until you have a lot of them to notify parties?
  • Is your notification highly personalised?
  • Do you thank the donor the same day?

Do you inform the honouree or the survivors of the contact details of everyone who makes a donation in their honour or in memory of their loved one? Doing so assists them to pass along their gratitude, as well.

Tribute gifts are a source of income for most charities. Those who decide gifts should be directed to your organisation expect the gifts will be handled with accuracy and expeditiously. Donors expect the same. Do not let anyone down.

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New donor welcome packets – a thing of the past?

Many people know that I have conducted a mystery shopping study in Asia Pacific over the past four years. This study, self-funded, self-guided and self-directed, focuses on the gift giving experience, receipting and acknowledging, follow on solicitations, and other donor care treatments received. I have reported on study findings prior and today I want to discuss the new donor welcome packages part of the study.

Snip20140810_1Are new donor welcome packages a thing of the past? I ask this question because less than 2% of the organisations in the study sent me a new donor welcome package. Those received would be rated a 1 out of a possible ten and here is why:

  • None of the new donor welcome packages were truly new donor welcome packages, with essential components one would expect in such a package.
  • Two of the new donor welcome packages appeared to include a copy of every publication produced over the last year. The packages included magazines, newsletters, brochures and other materials with no sense to why the copies of the publications were included.
  • As a result of the above, the postage paid to send these extensive packages, full of publications, was a large percentage of my original first gift. Most people will view this as a waste of money.
  • No ask was included in any of the packages. I view this as a missed opportunity. Why wouldn’t the charities take the opportunity to ask me for a second gift or to join their regular giving program? Why produce such a package without making a further ask?

Here are the key ingredients of any new donor welcome package:

  • A welcome letter from CEO/Chair of the Board.
  • Material to tell the organisation’s story with the ultimate goal to maintain the engagement of the new donor. This material should not be over the top in nature and cause the donor to wonder if you simply are cleaning out your publications storage.
  • Calls to action, including: a coupon encouraging the donor to join the organisation’s regular giving program or to make a repeat single gift and a trigger to encourage the donor to leave the charity in their will.
  • Links to: like your organisation on Facebook, follow your organisation on Twitter, and other social media.

Keep the new donor package simple, yet attractive and professional looking.

New donor welcome packages, if produced correctly, offer a host of opportunity to continue to engage the brand new donor or the renewed lapsed donor. New donor welcome packages do not have to be complex nor do they have to be costly to accomplish your engagement goals. So, why do so few organisations in Australia produce new donor welcome packages?

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New month – take four steps forward for donor care

It’s a new month and the first full work week of August 2014. Take four important steps today for donor care.

  1. Call a major donor who has not heard from your organisation in a while. Simply ask how they are going, tell them two or three exciting things happening with your organisation, and thank them for their support in the past.
  2. Call a first time donor to your organisation. Welcome them, thank them for their support, and tell them two or three exciting things that their support is making possible.
  3. Call a volunteer. Thank them for the time they have given to your organisation and tell them how much you appreciate them.
  4. Record all of the above conversations in your donor database/CRM. Don’t just record the logistics of the call — who, what, when, and how – but, record what was said on the call.

Make these calls before your work week takes over and you forget what is important – donors and volunteers. It’s about the people. People make your organisation happen!

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