Monthly Archives: February 2010

Your Nonprofit Newsletter- 16 Potential Scenarios

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Let’s take a look at a monthly newsletter that contains three articles (one headline article and two sub-articles) and a call for support (the “passive, indirect hope you support us” blurb). Here are all the possible scenarios/actions that could occur:

1. Delete without opening it
2. Unsubscribe
3. Click on the headline article
4. Click on a sub article
5. Click on all articles
6. Click on donation request and do not donate
7. Click on the donation request and donate
8. Click on the headline article and then donation request and then do not donate
9. Click on the headline article then the donation request and then donate
10. Click on the sub article and then the donation request and do not donate
11. Click on the sub article and then the donation request and then donate
12. Perform any of the above and forward to a friend
13. Perform any of the above and visit your homepage
14. Perform any of the above and call you
15. Perform any of the above and email you
16. Perform any the above and unsubscribe

Who knew that a simple email newsletter with three articles and a blurb about supporting the organization could have so many scenarios? Just for fun, see how long it takes for you to click through every link in an email newsletter. That would be a fundraiser’s and marketer’s dream. But both you and I don’t have the time or the patience.

What can we learn from this simple exercise? Before we send communication or appeals, we need to reduce the number of scenarios in order to obtain the behavior we desire.

I have seen this happen when I talk with fundraisers. They will say, “we included it in the newsletter and no one clicked on it so I guess no one is interested.” I hate to break to them, but it doesn’t surprise me. There were about 30 other links in the newsletter and it had so much content it was going to get lost.

When it comes to donations or other specific calls to action, make it clear, concise and direct. If it is muddied and buried in other pieces because you are shy to send or want to see if anyone picks up on it, it probably will not give you the response you desire.

Outline the specific scenarios that are possible with an email campaign. How are you going to react when they click or don’t click, when an individual doesn’t complete the donation transaction? How will you continue to communicate to see a better return? Make sure that you have played out the scenarios and are prepared to counteract the behavior they fail to exhibit.

By Derrick Feldmann, CEO of Achieve

What is Your Nonprofit’s Personality?

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When you support an organization with time or money, how do they tell you “thanks?” How does the staff act with you when you bump into them at restaurant or at the store?

Each organization has its own personality. From how they do their internal work to how they communicate with you as donor. Whether it is in print, online or in person, the organization acts and behaves according to their personality. Organizations don’t realize how important personality is to ongoing gifting.

When we ask donors why they continue to support certain causes, beyond passion/interest, they talk about the great things the nonprofit does, how they engage them as donors, and how they approach their work in the community.

How the organization acts, responds and behaves with their supporters matters. If you behave poorly, don’t connect with people, or if your personality is very rigid, your donors may not be interested in sticking around. It’s ok to have processes that analyze ROI and meet certain benchmarks. But, it’s how you convey that ROI through your personality that will determine your success from the donor’s perspective.

By Derrick Feldmann, CEO of Achieve

How Well Do You Know the Organizations You Support?

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Here is a simple exercise:

1.       Write down the organizations you support.
2.       Write down the executive directors of those organizations.
3.       Write down the board members you know from those organizations.
4.       Write down how many times they communicate in person or over the phone with you.
5.       Write down if you know what your donations support.
Now after you write down those answers, write next to the organizations how much you donate. I bet you will find a simple correlation: you support organizations where you know the leadership, they connect in meaningful ways with you, and they communicate beyond solicitations.
Think about the organizations you represent. How well do you think your donors know about the organization and its work?

By Derrick Feldmann, CEO of Achieve

The Emergency Fundraising Appeal: Is it Worth It?

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By Derrick Feldmann, Achieve CEO

This week I have seen four emergency fundraising appeals for support. Given the state of the economy over the last several years it is no surprise some organizations may be on the brink of closure.

Organizations make emergency calls to the public and their donors to keep them around. Although there may be short term gains with raising cash quickly, the long term sustainability issue comes into question. At the heart of an emergency call for support is a nonprofit with a business model that is flawed, a lack of a donor base to support the need, and/or no community buy-in to believe the organization should be the recipient of philanthropic dollars. Even if there is a valid need, the community may not believe the need is important enough to be the recipient of support.

This type of appeal does not give the donor confidence. Here is why:

1. Perception and Reality: When an organization is doing what we call “one-sided fundraising” they only focus on the positives. This is some of the great spin we hear about in brochures, websites, and typical public relations activities. To donors, there is a perception that the organization is healthy and vibrant. Because the organization has not been transparent, it is a shock to hear an emergency appeal given because this is the first time they have been forthcoming about the financial situation.

2. Cautious: We interview donors for feasibility studies and new donor acquisition. As one donor said recently, “I may give to an emergency but if they continue to cry wolf I am gone.” Your donor will be more cautious about their gifts because how many of us want to support organizations who may go out of business?

3. Board Leadership: Where is the board in this situation? Most donors will question where the board has been and wonder why they have not acted before now. Did they not understand the issues, were they not informed of the financial situation, and how come they did not act when they saw trouble on the horizon? Donors give to organizations because they believe in leadership. It is hard to believe in organizations when the board allowed it to get to a state of an emergency. As a donor said in another recent interview, “I do not believe that board is right for them. Why did they not move quicker and be more involved in raising the support?”

If you see trouble on the horizon, act now. The emergency appeal may be a shot in the arm you need, but when the side effects wear off you are still left with reality.

A Side of Thanks with my Gift, Please…

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By Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE

What do our donors want and how do we ensure that we’re meeting their needs?  If they have to request thanks and appreciation from you, then you’re probably not meeting their basic needs.  You say, well of course that makes sense.

But, does your organization’s culture and processes tend to leave donors with the feeling that your status as a nonprofit brings you a feeling of entitlement to community support?  Unfortunately, so many nonprofit staff and our board members subtly settle into the thought that being a nonprofit somehow means we are “entitled” to a community’s support of our mission as opposed to earning their support.

Much of today’s monologue stems from a consistent theme that we as consultants witness on a regular basis: a donor or community representative bestows a gift upon an organization and the organization completely fails to express its genuine appreciation and in many cases misses the opportunity to even say “thanks.”

At its most basic level, the process of fundraising includes at a minimum four components:
-Donor Identification
-Cultivation
-Solicitation
-Stewardship

Where we often see mistakes made is in the approach organizations take in jumping from identification to solicitation as fast as possible and then moving on to ask the next donor that’s been identified. While you may win a few of those, the organizations with some of the strongest resource development programs find a way to fulfill today’s immediate financial needs, while building long-term, more meaningful relationships with donors.

I’m guessing that the continued relationship began with an authentic “thank you.”  When an organization asks me how they can strengthen their relationship with their existing donors, I often ask them whether they are tired of saying “thank you” to their donors yet; and if the answer is no, I say start there.  You’ll be amazed at the results.

About the blogger: Nick Parkevich, MPA, CFRE, serves as Consultant & Director of Client Development at Achieve, LLC. Nick can be reached by phone at 317-637-3000 or via email at nparkevich@achieveguidance.com.