Thank you

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Personalised stewardship means more to the donor

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about handwritten notes. In this post, I reinforced the concept that personalised stewardship means more to the donor than mass produced and manufactured stewardship pieces.

Imagine my delight when I received a handwritten thank you note from the University of Queensland (UQ) last Friday. The note, written by a student, thanked me for my scholarship donation and called me a “ChangeMaker”. Talking about making this donor feel good. UQ label a ChangeMaker as someone who “revolutionise and shape our world. They share knowledge, ideas, skills and experiences to solve problems. By striving to create positive change – big or small – you too can be a ChangeMaker.”

Stewardship
Unviersities – a model

Universities tend to do stewardship very well. UQ, in particular, have caught my attention of the years and I have highlighted UQ donor stewardship in various blog posts as a model for universities, schools, and social purpose organisations across the sector. In particular, I have loved the personalised thank you videos done by UQ and by my own alma mater, the University of Wisconsin. Using the ThankView platform, Wisconsin fundraisers record thank you videos each day personalised to the donors who have given that day. The videos are distributed in an “envelope” in an email to the donors. I know I was likely one of several Stephen’s who donated the same day, so recording the video once and sending it to “Stephen” was easy. Simply put, the thank you video is recorded and sent via ThankView to all Stephen’s who gave!

Why personalisation matters

Personalised donor stewardship is key to ensuring your organisation’s fundraising success. It shows you care about the relationship and that the donor stands out amongst the, perhaps, thousands of donors giving to your organisation. Strong donor stewardship starts when a donor makes their first donation to your organisation. Sequential steps of good stewardship include:

  • Initial thank you.
    • Ensuring an accurate, warm, and engaging acknowledgement letter containing a tax receipt for the donation.
  • Cultivating the donor.
    • Commencing the development of a relationship with the donor.
    • Understand what the donor wants from the relationship is key.
  • Donor recognition.
    • Recognising the donor according to their expectations is critical.
    • Remember, not every donor wants to be recognised publicly.
  • Show impact.
    • Donors like to know their gift had an impact – no matter the size of the donation.
  • Continue cultivation.
    • The first gift will not be their last so long as you work to build the relationship and respond to the donor’s needs and desires.

FundraisingForce remains product agnostic. ThankView is new to the Australian market and given there is limited product in this space, we feel comfortable informing the charitable sector about the product.

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A video which says thank you – in style

Video

As a donor to a wide variety of charitable organisations across Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States, I am fascinated by the ways in which these non-profit organisations, schools, and universities choose to say thank you (or not at all). Some use simple thank you messaging in a receipt or acknowledgement letter. Others, like St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation Melbourne, choose to deploy volunteers to call and offer a personal thank you. Now, others are utilising personalised video messaging in emails and other forums.

The University of Wisconsin Foundation sent me a personalised video in an email this past week. It was superbly done and hit all the right marks.

In the video, using ThankView technology, a student, Kim, offered thanks to me for my financial support of the University of Wisconsin. The email and the video contained my name. The UW Foundation used this treatment as a “check in” with alumni, as well as an opportunity to inform us of the transition to online learning during these unprecedented times. Further, the student suggested it was the support of people like me that made this transition possible.

The video was, simply put, informative and well received by this alumnus.

How does this technology work?

  • A list of donor’s names is provided to people like Kim to record the personalised videos.
  • Kim records the videos mentioning the first name of donors. In my case, the video was recorded for all Stephen’s/Steven’s on their file.
  • The video is uploaded and sent to all Stephen’s/Steven’s in the intended list.
  • The results are tracked in ThankView and recorded back to the University of Wisconsin CRM.
    • What is tracked? Open rates, viewings of the video, shares of the video, and other important metrics.

Purposes of videos

We think this technology is fantastic. It allows organisations to record videos for:

  • Birthday greetings.
  • Anniversary dates of giving.
  • Consecutive years of giving.
  • Milestones of giving.
  • Building and room reveals.
  • Program and service introductions.
  • Annual reports and stewardship reporting.
  • Other stewardship purposes.

Investing in this level of technology will not break the organisation’s budget and will likely pay multiple dividends to your organisation through supporter retention and other good will. This technology will also make your organisation stand above others in the market.

if you want to learn more about ThankView technology, contact ThankView here.

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A stewardship example for all social purpose organisations

Stewardship

Two weeks ago, I wrote two blog posts about the St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation Melbourne’s appeal and the manner in which the Foundation thanked me for my donation. The stewardship experience continued late last week with another stewardship experience.

On Thursday, 23 April, I received a telephone call from an unknown mobile number. I chose to step away from my desk and take the call. The caller stated she is a volunteer from St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation and she was calling to thank me for my generous donation to the St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation Emergency Appeal. She described how much my donation meant to the Foundation and thanked me profusely throughout the short call.

The St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation caller was delightful on the call. She was professional, yet personable, and she was clear and concise.

Wow! This stewardship telephone call was most impressive. I have told many people about the call. I wanted to write this blog post to promote this method of donor care, particularly given the current work from home situation.

Steps to good donor care

Every non-profit organisation can follow this example. Here are the steps for you to follow:

  • Identify the audience to call to steward.
    • Will you call only donors over a certain dollar threshold?
    • Will you phone all donors who have given to a certain appeal?
  • Find volunteers who have a very good phone voice.
  • Offer short bullet points for the volunteers to highlight during the call.
  • Do not over script the call. Keep the call personal.
  • Ensure the words “thank you” are repeated.
  • Keep the calls very brief.
    • Remember – although mostly everyone is home, many of us are working from home. You do want the call to be a memorable experience – but, not for the wrong reasons!
  • Train/brief the volunteers in advance of the phone campaign.
  • Ask the volunteers to take brief notes from every phone call.
  • Document each call and record the notes in your organisation’s CRM.

Make the stewardship calls routine

Don’t make this a one-off stewardship exercise. Make the calls a routine program for your volunteers to operate. Tracking the calls will allow you to determine whether the stewardship program is also producing significant results for your donor retention.

This is not rocket science, right? We all love to be thanked. Remember, people are also seeking a variety today. I was delighted to accept this call, additionally, because it was a great diversion from my 5-7 web conferences throughout the work day!

Kudos to St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation Melbourne for setting the gold standard in donor care – personal, engaging, and effective.

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Thank you – an easy thing to say

Thank yiouIt is the easiest task to do, yet it is often times overlooked in our day-to-day responsibilities. In the rush to get stuff done, including finding new donors, asking for that next big gift, we are overlooking the most important task. I am talking about saying thank you to donors, volunteers, and staff.

We all need to take the pledge – one thank you call, email, or handwritten note a week.

We have more tools to actually say thank you today than ever before. It is often times the “old fashioned” way to do it – the handwritten note – that stands out in donors, volunteers, and staff minds.

We receive most of our communications today via electronic format. Communications flow in via email, voice mail, SMS, or via social media channels like Facebook, Facebook messenger, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Yet, what do we actually receive that is highly personalised and handwritten besides a birthday card or an occasional invite to a formal event like a wedding? Even those communications are moving more and more electronic.

This leaves me to argue, as fundraisers, we need to communicate more in handwriting. Thank you notes are a perfect place to start.

Reasons to send a handwritten thank you

There are a variety of reasons and ways to thank individuals for the fantastic support they offer your non-profit organisation. Reasons for handwritten communications may include:

  • A birthday.
  • An anniversary.
  • Honouring someone for achievements in your community.
  • A significant donation.
  • A donor’s giving milestone
    • A ten-year giving anniversary.
  • Volunteer service milestones.
  • A note to recognise a staff person who has gone above and beyond.

Think about who you will write a personal thank you to this week. Think about who you will call to thank. Try to say thank you via the most personal channel as possible.

 

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Donor recognition matters and makes a difference in US fundraising

When I teach fundraising courses, participants often ask me the difference between US fundraising and the fundraising occurring in Australia. It’s an interesting discussion because, in fact, there are more similarities than there are differences. However, I draw distinctions for the audiences by talking about the strengths of regular giving in Australia and the different strength of major gifts in America. On a recent trip to the US, I noted donor recognition matters and makes a difference in US charitable fundraising.

Examples of Recognition

On the evening of 28 December, I visited the Van Wezel Performing Arts Center in Sarasota Florida, which is an arts performance centre on the bay in this beautiful Florida city. The Van Wezel Performing Arts Center hosts performances from around the world, mainly during the US winter when the population of Sarasota grows to over half a million people. During holiday seasons, the population spikes with many families visiting retirees to this winter escape.

On this first visit in December 2018, I was struck by the solid donor recognition, stewardship and donor care occurring and very visible throughout the building. It’s not just the donor walls which recognise the significant contributions of generous supporters since the Van Wezel was built in 1968-1969.

It’s not just the Van Wezel Center which caused my applause for the strong donor recognition occurring in US fundraising. We also visited The Ringling Museum, the Perlman Music Program Suncoast, directed and operated by Itzhak and Toby Perlman, and the Asolo Repertory Theatre. In each of these instances, staff were recognising major donors in person, leaving hand-written notes at their seats, thanking them for their support and assisting them with various concierge needs or benefits. Additionally, donor recognition throughout the theatres or halls was prevalent. This recognition was in program books, on donor walls, and naming rights throughout the facilities. In one case, I spotted a stairway named after a donor.

The Sarasota community is similar to other communities which have a spike in populations during certain times of the year. There is a reliance not just on year-round residents, but also on those who call these communities home during extended holiday periods. Palm Springs, Phoenix, Sarasota, Miami are a few such communities which come to mind. An article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune highlighted the significant capital and endowment campaigns underway in Sarasota at present. The article recognised six such campaigns underway or nearly completed totalling more than $250 million. Sure, we have seen campaigns far larger; however, remember these are arts facilities and remember this is a city of less than half a million people who live there year-round.

In each of these campaigns, donors are being encouraged to step up to support the arts and cultural non-profit organisations of the very community they love and make their own for at least 3-4 months of the year. Many of these supporters also support other non-profit organisations in Sarasota. The Sarasota arts non-profits are not the only organisations to benefit from their amazing generosity. These donors are also supporting arts and other causes near to their hearts in their home cities likely in the northern parts of the country. Needless to say, there is a lot of competition for their charitable support. This means these non-profit organisations must do a superb job of stewarding and taking care of these donors in order for them to remain engaged.

Seated at the Perlman concert last week, I overheard a conversation from a person seated in the audience who has a premium development position in Sarasota. She said hello to a man and woman, recognising their support of there marquis non-profit organisation and she also recognised the support this couple has given of the Perlman Music Program. This development person did not just make it about herself and her organisation. She knows, if done right, there is enough money to go around and she also knows a rising tide lifts all boats. American non-profit organisations and fundraisers  do stewardship and donor recognition in a smart, efficient, and effective way.

 

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Are hand-written thank you notes a thing of the past?

I received a hand-written thank you note this week. Are hand-written thank you notes a think of the past?

When was the last time you received a hand-written note, card, letter, or any sort of communication? Perhaps you receive some birthday cards or a card at the end of the year to mark Christmas, Hanukah or another holiday.

I cannot recall the last time I received something hand-written. In fact, even birthday cards and other cards are becoming a thing of the past. We have become so reliant on electronic communications (Email and SMS) that we have reduced the use of personalised hand-written notes.

The note I received was from the CEO of Fundraising Institute Australia thanking me for teaching Fundraising Essentials and the FundraisingForce Fundraising Strategic Plan Masterclass for FIA this past year. The envelope stood out in my letterbox because it was hand-written (and, I might add, very nice hand writing!). I immediately opened the envelope out of curiosity to find a kind acknowledgement of the volunteer work I had done for FIA.

This hand-written thank you note was a really nice touch and the message was much appreciated. A classy approach.

I challenge you to write one person a thank you note each week for the next year. See the difference it makes in their giving, their volunteer efforts, and their engagement. I am willing to bet you will see dividends from this very personal approach to donor care, stewardship and volunteer management.

 

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More creative stewardship from University of Queensland

snip20170103_34The University of Queensland (UQ) sent another creative stewardship video at the end of the calendar year via eMail to its alumni and donors.

The UQ three-minute video really impresses us as it shows gratitude, it showcases various projects and impacts of giving across campus, and it is presented from the hearts of those impacted. “Thanks to our donors and alumni” is a clause used repeatedly throughout the video, which is as outstanding as the others we have blogged about in the past.

The stewardship video is also timely as it appears to join the mannequin challenge, a viral Internet video trend where people remain frozen in action like mannequins while a moving camera films them.

Kudos to UQ for producing another outstanding thank you/donor care video. A terrific way to end the year with a heartfelt message to supporters.

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It’s a Christmas appeal? No, it is simply a thank you

It’s that time of year when charities across Australia ask you and I for a donation. It’s the last hoorah of the calendar year. If you think Australian charities are aggressive this time of the year, you should live in the US and experience not just the season of giving, but also end of tax year all at once.

I have received many Christmas appeals this year from Australian charitable organisations. I wrote about the first to arrive, from Salvation Army, back in October when we were still wishing for warmer weather. Some appeals arrived as late as last week. One envelope, which I thought was going to be the final appeal of the season. turned out to not be a Christmas. Instead, it turned out to simply be a Christmas card and note of thanks from the Burnet Institute.

The simple message caught me by surprise. I am not used to charitable organisations sending simplyburnett-institute-2 a thank you. Amongst all the pieces of mail and eDMs I have received from Australian charitable organisations throughout the years of conducting a mystery shopping study of the Australian, New Zealand, and Asian non-profit sector, I could count on one hand the number of times a charity simply wrote to say thank you.

The thank you from Burnet Institute will go a long way – with this donor and others. Merry Christmas. And, thank you.

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Who does donor care well? University of Queensland. Again.

Snip20160815_45Recently, I wrote a blog post about the great call I had from University of Queensland (UQ). I often highlight UQ in my blog because the UQ Advancement Office follows best practice.

But, this call was exceptional.

On this particular call, UQ hit all the right points – an expression of appreciation of my financial support; confirmation of my contact details; a request for renewed support; and, a follow up donor care video to thank me for my renewed support.

But, that’s not all!

UQ sent a personal thank you video a week later as an expression of their gratitude. This video included the actual caller expressing gratitude for my contribution.

Check this video out.

Every one of us should implement this strategy today! It’s inexpensive, fast, and links the donor direct to the caller.  Record a quick thank you message from the person who called the donor, or from a client, or staff person. This highly personal approach is something we can all employ from the field.

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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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