by fundraiseme on March 1, 2012
One of my must do things before traveling is to review my seat assignment on an airplane. I realize that most people select their seat upon booking, but many of us are given seats depending on which website we use to book a flight. I like to log in to my account and review the available seats to determine which one is optimal for me – sometimes I feel like an aisle, sometimes a window. Bottom line, I like that I have the option to decide.
I believe that the best thing we can do for our donors is to make it easy for them to give by providing them with several options on how they can make their gift. Would they prefer to join an affinity group with their gift? How about a restricted gift to a specific program? What about both? I realize that general operating support is extremely important to every organization (and often the hardest to bring in), but maybe we should be thinking about how to encourage our donors to give to gen ops by offering to split their gift between that and something else they care about. I think the Whitney Museum in New York does an excellent job of this by allowing donors to curate their membership.
By customizing the donor experience, they are ensuring that members get to experience the museum as they wish – not as the fundraising staff wishes they did.
by fundraiseme on February 20, 2012
I was shown this video at a recent Salesforce.com training. I think it really speaks to our need to not take ourselves so seriously in fundraising (as well as in sales). At the end of the day, we are just talking to people about a cause we believe in. Plus, there is a reason there is the word ‘fun’ in fundraising, right? Ok, now I sound like a Mary Kay salesperson…
Not every person will connect to your cause – and that’s ok! Thank them for their commitment to any cause that is making the world a better place, and move on. And remember the SW Theory:
SW Some Will
SW Some Won’t
SW So What?
SW Someone’s Waiting
Happy FUNdraising!
by fundraiseme on February 20, 2012
In fundraising, we always talk about the need to develop a strong stewardship plan for our donors – we need to make sure that they are kept up to date on where their money is being spent, as well as new and exciting projects that may encourage them to give more. Of course, stewardship is important. But there exists an even more important aspect of stewardship that is all too often overlooked: what happens when a loyal donor does not want to be solicited and/or contacted at all?
At first, this can seem like a problem. Someone has been giving $500 for 8 years, yet for some reason no longer wants to be contacted? It would appear to an outsider that this person is no longer interested in giving to the organization, but to a professional fundraiser there may be other reasons that are not as unfortunate:
1) The person knows and trusts your organization. They will give no matter what because your mission has impacted them in an immense way. They just don’t want an update every month about your work. Simply put, they trust you!
2) The person believes in your mission, but does not like the fact that they received so much email/mail. They are asking to be taken off a mailing list simply because it is just too much. Cardinal rule #1: do not ignore this request!
The second reason is where we as fundraisers have a great opportunity to prove to the donor that we care about their wishes. Your office should take immediate steps to get this person off your mailing list. By eliminating the inundation of mail they receive, you are showing them that you care, and that their donor preferences are your top priority. The single worst thing you can do as a fundraising department is to not respect a donor’s wishes. That will 100% guarantee that you will lose that donor. However, if you respect their wishes, you would be surprised how that can lead to larger gifts in the future.
In the end, don’t assume that a request to be taken off email/mail soliciations and updates is a signal that a donor is no longer interested. In a world where we received so much spam from every direction, the last thing we as fundraisers want is to be put in the ‘spam’ category.
Sometimes, silence is golden.
One of my must do things before traveling is to review my seat assignment on an airplane. I realize that most people select their seat upon booking, but many of us are given seats depending on which website we use to book a flight. I like to log in to my account and review the available seats to determine which one is optimal for me – sometimes I feel like an aisle, sometimes a window. Bottom line, I like that I have the option to decide.
