Building Donor Relationships After the Honeymoon, Now What?

Transcription

1 Building Donor Relationships After the Honeymoon, Now What?

2 Building Donor Relationships 1) Are you doing everything you can to affirm and inspire your members to encourage a long term relationship with your organization? 2) Are you building strong ties with your members? 3) Do you engage them in a well rounded communication and involvement cycle that validates and confirms their decision to support your organization? 2

3 Building Donor Relationships 1) New Member Conversion 2) Member Retention 3) Member Renewal 4) Lapsed Member Reinstatement 5) Online Integrated Strategies 3

4 New Member Conversion Intentional efforts to obtain the subsequent gift within the first three months of acquiring a new member or reactivating a lapsed or inactive supporter 4

5 New Member Conversion Highest priority is to secure a subsequent gift from new members Timing is crucial, members that give a 2 nd gift within 90 days of their first have significantly higher long term value. Donors that give a second gift immediately are more likely to become sustainers to the organization. 5

6 New Member Conversion 4 part series: 1) Acknowledge thank you receipting within hours from initial gift 2) Affirmation personal thank you call to select group of members (based on gift amount) 3) Membership fulfillment or welcome packageintroduction brochure, letter, postcard or 4) Engagement highly engaging magazine, newsletter or direct mail appeal 6

7 New Member Conversion Acknowledgement hours Member centered copy Copy tied to initial gift Include response vehicle for a subsequent gift 7

8 New Member Conversion Member Fulfillment or New Donor Welcome Package Member fulfillment materials Brochure Welcome letter Include web link to additional stories 8

9 New Member Conversion Affirmation Thank you phone call or Voice mail message or Postcard E mail 9

10 New Member Conversion Engagement Mail them a highly engaging communication within weeks of first gift magazine newsletter direct mail appeal 10

11 Member Activation & Retention Fundraising appeals Affirm and acknowledge their support Communicate what their gift has been able to accomplish Share real life examples of how the donor is making a difference Tout the effectiveness of your organization Share additional ways the donor can help 11

12 Member Retention Retention calls Ongoing thank you calls Year end calls to high level supporters Voice mail messages 12

13 Member Retention Local Events across the country Dinners Raffles Sponsor Events special recognition for high value members or donors Banquets Silent Auctions 13

14 Member Retention Offering members even more ways to stay engaged: Volunteer opportunities Coordinating local events GIK opportunities Working with community businesses to secure merchandise for raffles and silent auctions 14

15 Member Renewal Renewal Series Begin mailing highly motivational renewal letters to members starting month 9 through month 15 of the membership cycle. 15

16 Member Reinstatement Lapsed Members (16+ months) One Gift Wonders gave to an acquisition and have not given a subsequent gift. You wonder if they ll ever give again. Keep these donors in the mailing stream for the first full year and refine accordingly based on their gift amount if they lapse. High Frequency Donors most likely these donors don t realize how long its been since their last gift. Engage them during key periods with compelling offers. 16

17 Online Messaging: Refresh website content regularly (virtual tour, video and photo gallery, client testimonials and updates) E communications Strong drive to website from direct mail appeals Social networking Text to Give 17

18 Website Ask yourself the question regarding your content What s in it for them? The purpose of your website is to provide value to your supporters. This should be the first rule of your online presence. It s not about you or your mission or how much you need money. Make it valuable to your visitors. Encourage your supporters to interact and participate on your website. This is a great way to build a sense of engagement and draw visitors back to your website. Examples include uploading photos, sharing comments on blogs, participating in message boards, etc.

19 Website The voice of your donors can be more powerful than your own marketing efforts. Use your website to ask supporters why they are passionate about your organization and your mission. Display these quotes prominently in key areas of your website. Online Donor Acknowledgement If you have special fundraising campaign, consider listing the names of your online donors on your website. The programming is relatively simple, and it s a great way to recognize donors in a public, yet very cost effective manner.

20 Website Web Analytics The best way to find the value proposition is to monitor your web analytics. Every non profit should use an analytic package (Google Analytics is free). This will tell you what content is most popular, where visitors are coming from and where they re dropping off. Other online surveys and tools exist that can also capture other comments and feedback about your website. Use them!

21 E communication Send value add content to your membership between solicitations. Monthly newsletters are great, but consider other content as well, especially freebies like screensavers, desktop wallpaper, etc.

22 E communication RE mail your E mail Re mail your campaign to donors who didn t open the first . If a donor didn t open it, they may have overlooked it or the subject/sender combination didn t appeal to them. Be sure to use different subject and/or sender names when doing these re mails, and track responses from them

23 Social Media Make your social media presence especially on Facebook as conversational as possible. Use it to establish a dialogue with supporters, not just post selfserving content. Ask questions, get feedback and allow fans to connect with your brand in a more significant way. They ll be more likely to follow your links and respond to solicitations in the future.

24 Social Media Promote your social media channels on your website. Don t hesitate to send people from your official site off to your social sites. They may prefer to follow you on those channels rather than your site.

25 Tammy Parisotto Fundraising Marketing Manager Ducks Unlimited Denise Espiritu Director of Analytics Russ Reid