Fundraisers need to focus more on appreciation

Imagine this headline in the nonprofit industry press: Director of Appreciation Appointed. That's what Conor's Fundraising Blog envisions:

As soon as we start to take our donations for granted, we are in trouble. As soon as we don't treat each donation as a personal gift to us, we are in trouble. As soon as we start to send out mail merged receipts that don't talk personally about why that person donated, we are in trouble.

Yeah, that would be pretty cool. I have a notion that one of the ways fundraising is changing is that how (and when) we thank donors will become just as important as how and when we ask.

We'll put just as much analysis, energy, and creativity into our receipts as we put into our appeals. Because the ROI on thanking may be even higher than it is on asking, and donor expectations about being thanked will rise.

The only reason I hope we never see a headline about the appointment of "Director of Appreciation is this: Asking and thanking need to be inseparable. If the two functions had different directors, I can already see the turf battles.

Technorati Tag: thanks

Comments

[Bill Huddleston, CFC Expert]

Pet Peeve - Contact Us? - We’re not really interested in you.

Communication as a Core Value

By Bill Huddleston, CFC Expert

Donor Appreciation - How about making it easier for potential donors and others to communicate with key people at the organization in the first place?

On Seth Godin’s blog in April he had a post about poor telephone service by organizations — that incoming call is from a prospect who’s interested enough in your organization to call you — unlike spending time and dollars to find qualified leads, yet many organizations treat this as an irritant — not as the opportunity to make a good first impression and to begin to create a ongoing relationship.

A pet peeve of mine are the organizations (both businesses and non-profits) that loudly proclaim that communication is one of their key values, they want to be responsive to their customers, clients and potential donors but then they make it impossible for you to contact them directly.

I’m talking about small organizations that proudly list their key staff, their mission statement, their dedication to service and then the only e-mail address provided is “Info@ABCName.com.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t really like sending in a detailed question, suggestion or invitation just to “info@.”

I’m not talking about gigantic organizations like AARP or GE, I don’t expect to get their CEO’s direct e-mail address, but come on, for a 10-20 person organization, make it easy to contact the right person.

Sometimes my issues would properly go to the CEO, and sometimes it’s the Director of Training, but don’t make it impossible to reach your key staff.
It’s fine for organizations to put the contact information as JaneDoe AT name DOT com to foil the bots, but don’t make it impossible for potential donors, customers, volunteers or partners to reach you.

In many instances, I may have already met the person that I’m attempting to contact, and this is particularly frustrating when you know who you are trying to reach, you have their name, but the people at this organization do not choose to let you contact them directly. (It’s not the “website" not providing the information- it’s the “leadership" at that organization not providing the information to make it easy for potential supporters to actually contact them, despite the proclamation that “good communication is one of our core values.”

Tip: Have someone you know, but doesn’t know your organization or sector well, look at your website and ask them if they were trying to find information about your issue and contact your key staff, could they easily do it?

[Ted Grigg]

Isn't it fascinating to listen to some not-for-profit clients who speak with great conviction about Customer Relationship Management. Yet they still do not have a firm grasp of how to treat their donors with the appreciation you are talking about here in your blog.

We first must get the fundamentals right by treating each donor with appreciation knowing they are the lifeblood of any successful nonprofit organization. Only then are we ready to absorb new technology and sophisticated marketing processes to advance the dream that founded the organization.

On another point you made.

I agree with you wholeheartedly that fund raising and gift appreciation are inseparable. I often tell my for profit clients that customer retention begins with acquisition. The quality of your donors and customers begins with how you acquire and how you treat them from the onset of the relationship.

Thanks for another great post.