Practice donor love principlesI had the privilege of speaking about the seven Donor Love principles at three workshops earlier this year. These principles were coined by John Lepp and Jen Love, who run an agency in Toronto called Agents of Good. Since they first appeared, the donor love principles (and principals) have been presenting at conferences and in blog posts by John and Jen and others. So how do you practice #donorlove? Principle 1: You make your donor the hero. You tell them in every email, direct mail piece, every newsletter. Give them an opportunity to fix the world. They want to help. They want to fix something. They want to make a difference. (And remember, they don’t give because you’re great. They give because they’re great.) Principle 2: Share amazing and inspiring stories. Stories are how you connect to your donors’ emotions. They must be able to feel and see who they’re helping. And if the problem is too big, they’ll ignore it. Remember the single story and image of Alan Kurdi, the Syrian boy who was found washed up on the beach in Greece. That was the story that finally put a heartbreaking face on the refugee crisis. Principle 3: Connect to your donors’ values and emotions. People give when they’re mad, sad, hopeful, conflicted, angry, frustrated – you name it. They’re moved to act when the feel something and feel they can make a difference. Principle 4: Falling and staying in love. You’re building a relationship with a donor. What can make them feel good about their decision to give? Think about donor love from their perspective – what moves them? Principle 5: Ask for one thing. Donors want to help fix something and feel really good about it. So tell them what the problem is and how they, the donor, can be the solution. You need to make it easy with a clear call to action. Don’t give them a dozen choices or ask them to renew their membership at the same time. Principle 6: Who or what is the right voice for your story? What are you asking and who is the right voice for the question? It’s not always the executive director, development director or board chair. Sometimes it’s a grateful recipient of service. Sometimes a program staff or volunteer. And sometimes it’s a bird, a food truck or dining room table (at a women’s shelter). Use your imagination. Principle 7: Say thanks with passion. Don’t back into a thank you – just come out and say it! Don’t say “On behalf of the Board of Directors…” Say “Thank you so much for giving this person back their life” or “Because of you, this happened to change someone’s life. Thank you.” Tell them about the impact of their gifts. Use emotion and creativity and above all, be sincere. The 7 principles work. You need to be consistent in applying them and not give in to trying to educate donors. You must tell donors they are making a difference in the world. And thanks so much to the Agents of Good for defining the #donorlove principles! Julie Mikuska. · Getting people to give in JuneI’ve been annoyed whenever I see social impact organizations asking me on social media or in emails to vote for them to compete for $10,000 (or whatever the amount). They’re not engaging donors this way, and not even raising money. However, The Great Canadian Giving Challenge has helped organizations use the power of their networks to encourage donors to give. In June – one of the slowest times of the year in fundraising. In 2016, in its second year, the results were impressive. According to givingchallenge.ca: 52,000 Canadians participated, donating more than $8 million to over 8,600 charities, representing a 48% increase in donations compared to June 2014 and a 28% increase compared to 2015. Charities involved in #GivingChallengeCa for 2 years in a row earned 164% more vs. the 28% average increase. It works like this: During June, donors give either through givingchallenge.ca or CanadaHelps.org. Every dollar donated to a registered charitable organization gives one entry into the contest for that organization. (Minimum donation of $3). Organizations have access to a toolkit to help them create customized campaigns, with logos and strategies. The hashtag #GivingChallengeCA helps keep people up to date and gives them a chance to share. The draw for the $10,000 is July 1. Now go work your social media! Julie Mikuska. · What’s the cost of a lost opportunity?We often hear people talk about the return on investment related to particular fundraising activities. (We often hear people never talking about ROI, but that’s for a different post!). But how many consider the opportunity costs of their decisions? In other words, what are you not able to do if you do something else? Consider:
Maximize your time and opportunities to meet donors, thank donors and ask people for gifts. Measure your activities against opportunity costs. Always ask yourself: do you need to do something or is it time to move on to a different activity with higher potential? Julie Mikuska. · It pays to keep your donorsWe hear all the time from organizations about getting new donors. Yes, it’s important to bring new donors in, but it’s even more important to keep the donors you have. The 2017 edition of the Fundraising Effectiveness Project results was recently published. Here are some of the sobering findings from 10,829 non-profit organizations:
(Gains are gifts by new donors + recaptured lapsed donors + increases in gift amounts. Losses are decreases in gift amounts + lost gifts by lapsed new and lapsed repeat donors.) What does this tell us? Organizations do a poor job at keeping their donors, and as a result, they are continually chasing new donors, at great expense. It’s much more cost-effective to keep the donors you have than to continually chase new donors. The results vary by size of organization. Smaller organizations fare much poorly that larger organizations, which means resources dedicated to retaining donors make a difference. The FEP site has tools to help you analyze your data so you can make decisions on where to put your time and money in keeping your donors engaged. It’s not just about the bottom line of how much comes in. You need to know who your donors are. Don’t treat all your donors the same. Heap more love on your loyal donors and ask them to give more. But do make sure new donors know they are valued and welcome, and chances are some will give again and again. Julie Mikuska. · The RFP shake-downWhy do charitable organizations think it’s appropriate to ask for a donation or pro-bono work in an RFP? Not that we have any intention of responding to a request for proposal, but my blood still boils when I read an often used clause that goes something like this: “X Organization is a registered charity which provides funds for research, programs and other activities which promote and advance the health of all members of the community. Our organization is able to engage the citizens of the province in philanthropy by working with donors and partner suppliers. As such, we ask that you please indicate your company’s interest in supporting our organization through philanthropy or sponsorship: e.g. direct discount, no-charge services, etc.” I call it the RFP shakedown. Where else do you see the beginning of a business relationship where you’re already being asked to do free work (ok, I know graphic designers get this all the time, too) or give money back? Consulting work is similar to philanthropy in that both are based on trusted relationships. When you engage a consultant, you’re making an investment in your organization. In turn, we provide guidance based on our experience and expertise, and we are fairly compensated for the value we bring. If, in the course of our relationship, we are moved to make a donation, we may do so, and we often do. But don’t ask us to make that part of any proposal or contract. Julie Mikuska. · Hits and misses from annual appealsIt’s that time of year again when I reflect on appeals received over the past year. As in the past, there were some good ones, some just okay and others truly awful. Let’s start with what didn’t work: Being too abstract. It’s really hard to get excited about inclusion and diversity. Or advancing learning and creativity. Or re-imagining our role as a museum. The problem is, I just can’t see myself in these concepts. I need stories and problems to solve. The problem is too big. How can I “bring help and hope to millions of people living with drought”? Yikes, how will my $10/month solve that? The ask is to buy a calendar, become a member and help achieve the same goal as last year. No appeal to my heart or my desire to a make a difference in the world. And no, I’m not buying calendars for my friends and family. And I don’t care about helping you raise $6,000. Using statistics to show impact. “We give away over 190,000 bowls of soup and 240,000 cups of coffee each year.” Interesting statistic – is that good or bad? What’s the problem to be solved and how can I, as one person, make a difference? Better to tell me a story about someone who comes for soup and coffee. Telling a story but failing to tell me I’m the hero. A few organizations have jumped on the storytelling bandwagon without closing the loop and putting the donor in the story as the one who’s making any success possible. Remember – the story is the vehicle to tell donors about the difference they’re making in the world. Not the difference the organization is making. And now with what did work: Liberal sprinkling of YOU throughout the letter. Key to getting my attention!
Strong calls to action.
There’s still a lot more that you can do in your appeals. Tug at my heartstrings, make me mad, make me sad – get a reaction! Julie Mikuska. · Stop trying to educate donorsI’ve seen it too often. An earnest letter from an executive director trying to educate me into giving. It’s not working. The more information you shovel at me, the more distant I become. It’s usually full of jargon, too, which puts me off at the first acronym or org-speak. What you, the organization, knows does not “convince” me. Examples of meaningless jargon (at least to me): barriers to employment, food insecurity, creating opportunities, changing social conditions, culturally focused service model, community economic development. Abstract words without context are not convincing. I encourage story-telling. But only tell me success stories where I have had a hand in that success. Me, through my donation. Don’t tell stories just for the sake of a story – you need conflict and the means of resolving the problem – me! What donors need is the pull of emotion – anger, despair, love, joy. Put away your organizational binders and write a heartfelt appeal to your donor. You’ll be glad you did. Julie Mikuska. · Taking choice away from your donorsAre you taking choice away from your donors or potential donors by not asking them to give? Are you assuming they can’t or won’t give and so you don’t ask? We’ve heard it often. “Oh, we can’t ask that person. They have kids in university so they will have no money for us.” “Our patrons are low-income. They don’t have any money to donate.” “We can’t ask her! She just gave us a big gift.” All of these excuses are based on what you assume about people. By not asking, you are taking away their opportunity to make a difference in the world through your organization. Remember – it’s not about the money. It’s about the donor feeling good about the effect she can have on people who need her help. Think about it:
Ask yourself why you’re not asking. Julie Mikuska.
· Ethical fundraising is not like salesIt’s amazing how often we’re asked if we take a percentage of funds raised, and how astonished prospective clients are when we say no, that happens to be unethical. Up until that moment, they have equated fundraising with sales, where the seller seeks to maximize profit. Ethical fundraising is multi-faceted. It seeks to engage donors in long-term relationships that benefit both the donor and the organization. It is not focused on the “bottom line”. It is transparent and honest. It does not look at donors as “low-hanging fruit.” It is respectful. The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) has a Code of Ethical Principles and Standards that all members must annually sign. It has 25 ethical standards that members must meet. Laura and I are members, and we urge everyone who is in development to join. But a commitment to ethics goes well beyond the development staff. In a culture of engagement and philanthropy, the CEO/executive director, board members, staff and volunteers must all learn about ethical fundraising and how it will, in fact, make it easier to engage donors. So what does ethical fundraising look like?
If you live and breathe ethical fundraising, your donors will thank you. And you can turn around and thank them. Julie Mikuska. · Fundraising vs philanthropyFundraising is an activity. Philanthropy is an attitude. Take, for example, the attitude of a board member who only participates in fundraising by buying tickets to the gala. He may not even attend the gala but in his mind he has done his part. Contrast that with another board member who organizes a table at the gala, asking friends and colleagues to attend and find out more about why she is so involved and passionate about the organization. She makes sure to introduce everyone at the table to the executive director and other staff and volunteers who, in turn, bring stories about individuals whose lives have changed because of donors. Some of the friends at the table participate in the auction at the gala; they are all asked to give in the fall appeal. In the first example it’s all about the transaction. It’s impersonal. No new people are invited to change the world through the organization and the opportunity has been lost. But it was considered fundraising. In the second example the board member is modelling philanthropy. She is engaging her circle of friends and asking them to join her (because of course she has given her gift first as well as buying tickets to the gala). She makes sure her friends know how cherished donors are, and she gives them the opportunity to give. It’s personal and emotional, heartfelt and warm. Are you a fundraiser or philanthropist? Julie Mikuska. · |
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