Donor Cultivation Tips. It can be unexpected. It leads to an ask. Corporations, foundations, and individuals are similar.

Transcription

1 Donor Cultivation Tips It's everybody's job. It is strategic. It is systematic. It is coordinated. It's equal opportunity. It's not just personal interaction. It can be unexpected. It leads to an ask. Corporations, foundations, and individuals are similar.

2 Tips for Cultivating Donors 1. It's everybody's job. Develop a cultivation culture, where everyone from staff to board to volunteers can get involved in welcoming prospective donors. For instance, staff sets up and participates in opportunities for board members and other volunteers to meet and talk with prospective donors. It is a cooperative project but is dependent on your volunteers making themselves available for cultivation events. Be sure to include current donors as well. They are excellent advocates for your cause. 2. It is strategic. Parties and events mean nothing if there is not good follow-up based on a good cultivation plan. Cultivation planning has two parts: general and specific. General cultivation is all about regularly scheduled events (think tours, coffees, presentations). Specific cultivation activities are those meant for special prospects, those who may or may not also attend regularly scheduled activities and events. 3. It is systematic. Every event or activity should have a follow-up plan. Good ways to follow up are adding prospect names to your mailing list and sending thank-you letters. Follow-up can be an or personal phone call from a board member or event committee member to patrons of the event. At an event, do assign a board member to each table and provide them with confidential lists and short bios of those at their table. If large donors or prospects attend, make sure a board member looks after them. 4. It is coordinated. All interaction with prospective or current donors should be reported to a central person (development director, executive director, or board chair). Set up forms that staff or volunteers can fill out and fax to the coordinator. If you have a donor database, enter this information. Such "intel" can be crucial to good follow-up and future cultivation. 5. It's equal opportunity. Cultivation is for all donors, small dollar donors as well as major donors. Someone who gives a small amount can become a major donor at any time. Major donors are not always obvious. Many a charity has been surprised by a large bequest from someone unexpected. 6. It's not just personal interaction. Cultivation occurs anytime you communicate with prospects. Your regular newsletter can be very effective as a cultivation tool, but be sure it is communicating the message you most want your readers to receive: Does it communicate the impact and results of your programs, or does it focus on your needs? Does it portray-in words and photos-the kinds of people you serve in your programs? Does it balance volunteer information, donor recognition, and program impact? Or does it overemphasize your special events?

3 7. It can be unexpected. For instance, you might receive favorable press coverage that brings prospective donors to you. Board members and other volunteers, who are enthusiastic about your cause, might arouse interest through their own social gatherings or professional contacts. 8. It leads to an ask. The purpose of cultivation is to ease and ensure the success of your eventual solicitation. Learn the signs that a prospect is open to being asked for a gift. Because cultivation is pleasant and painless, it can easily become all consuming and stave off the inevitable: asking for a gift. More» 9. Corporations, foundations and individuals are similar. With corporations and foundations, you usually know what the deadline is for a funding request, and what the process is for closing the gift. It is easier to sequence your activities. With individuals, there isn't such a calendar. But the same rules apply: cultivation must be systematic, coordinated, and strategic.

4 Tips for Good Donor Stewardship Treat people well. Be honest, upfront, communicate regularly, and prompt. Have a written stewardship plan. Develop a road map for your organization to navigate the stewarding of donor contributions. Follow the plan. If you ve gone through the trouble of writing the plan and documenting the process, then follow it. Update the plan if needed. Publicly recognize your donors. But if you don t know whether a donor wants to receive public recognition for her philanthropy, don t just assume one way or another. Asking shows the donor that you care about her, not just about her money. Reporting is key. Donors want to know that you re using their gift wisely and that it is making an impact. Be in contact with your donors regularly to show them how you re using their money and what it is accomplishing. Here are some ways to do this: Monthly newsletters Quarterly impact reports (used primarily for special project campaigns) Tours Dedicated Web site or page on your main site where you post regular updates on your progress Monthly coffee chats CEO s weekly or monthly update (very short, bullet point list of recent accomplishments and things to look forward to) Shareholder conference calls (these are hugely successful in political fundraising campaigns and could be valuable for nonprofit major and capital gift campaigns as well) Annual report Visits with program or project management staff Informal meetings with board members Throw good parties. Hold events you can use for stewardship and cultivation purposes. These are not solicitation events. They are receptions, dinners, backyard BBQ s, CEO round-table discussions, lecture series, etc.

5 These 12 Ways to Thank Donors Will Keep Them from Saying Goodbye by Marc Koenig I never understood the point of thank-you letters. My mom would insist. You ve got to send a thank-you letter! Three weeks after my birthday: Have you written your thank-you letter yet? Four weeks after my birthday: You re grounded if you haven t sent that letter by this afternoon. What s the point? I thought. My relatives KNOW I m thankful! I ll tell them next time I see them. Ugh, and I m so busy playing video games. Ridiculous right? Thankfully I wised up in my later years. I figured out that if I wrote a really great, sincere and funny thank-you letter (usually with hand-drawn illustrations of the gift s potential applications), my relatives not only appreciated it but they d actually put the letter up on the fridge and leave it there for months. Seriously, guys? The secret of the great thank-you note: if you do it right, the givers are actually happier giving to you than they were before they gave the gift. It s not an obligation to give a gift any more it s a privilege! You can actually get a glow of happiness sending a gift when you know you ll be treated with a fun, gratifying message of thanks and appreciation. But the truth is, we treat our donors like Young Marc treated his relatives after his birthday. We wait until 4+ weeks to send our donor thank you letters, if we send them at all. And the thank-you isn t personalized or fun. It s clearly written at threat of being grounded or sheer fear that the donor might not donate next time you send an appeal. Stop with the perfunctory thank-yous. Send GREAT thank-you letters. Make people happier than before they gave to you. Make them excited to give next time. Make the world a more generous place by starting with yourself.

6 Here are 12 ways to start thanking your donors today: 1. Offer a Next Step The hours, days and weeks after a donation are the time when your donor will be most excited about your cause, and most likely to remember you. Offer them a next step before their passion cools. (Note: You do NOT say Please donate more! See below for why not.) The next step can be as simple as You can join our list for [X cool benefit, updates, etc.]! or We re throwing this free event for new donors in your area or check out our website to see watch X video on what you re making possible. What s the next step? 2. Thank You for Being YOU What s infinitely more valuable than a donation? The person who gave it. The donation happens once. The donor could be around for life. So thank them for being THEM! The kind of person who gives to important causes. That s what they re buying with their donation: confirming their identity as someone who not only cares, but cares enough to take action. Thank me for being me, not for my donation of [form-filled donation amount]. 3. Send a Handwritten Note This is one of the coolest things you can receive in our digital age. If you re a small nonprofit trying to grow your donor base, this is where it s at. Sure, it won t scale forever, but right now, that s not important. Save it for your most committed donors once you re really big. But do this. Thank-you note writing is a great activity forboard member fundraising too it s low pressure, with a big return on the time invested. Don t underestimate the handwritten thank-you like Young Marc did. 4. Treat Each Donation as the Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship If the donor is new, realize that pitiful little donation is an opportunity for a LIFETIME of support. You are starting a new relationship. Of course they re probably taking it slow. But that means it s worth doing things you wouldn t otherwise. Make your thank-you especially

7 impactful, meaningful and memorable. What could have started as an offhand donation could become a lifelong passion for you new donor. Keep the fire alive with new donors! 5. Don t Ask for More Money Yet Thank you, Aunt Sally! All things said, this wasn t a terrible gift. But I can t wait to see the next one! In fact, here are 10 ideas to get you started, in order of MOST desirable to least Thankyou notes should bubble with pure, unadulterated sugary gratitude, and make the donor feel sheer delight and appreciation. That means DON T ASK for more money yet! If you thank them with enthusiasm now, you should definitely ask again in a month or two and if you do your job, they ll be HAPPY to give. Hold your horses, eager fundraiser. Don t ask again just yet. 6. Simple and Emotional, Not Complicated and Jargony Keep your message simple and emotional. Being complicated doesn t make something better. In fact, complexity makes it less likely you ll be remembered when you ask for money next time. Consult the following chart, which is helpful for writing your mission statement, but also your thank-you letters: mistake, repeated errors are unacceptable. Ask folks on occasion if you ve got their contact information correct (give them an address to reach out), and if they send you corrections, update their profile everywhere. Donors don t experience your organization in silos. Update that info. 9. Send a Thank-You FAST Send a thank-you letter within two days. Not an acknowledgement or a receipt. A real thank-you. Speed is important because the longer you wait, the more likely your donor will forget they donated, and the less sincere your thank-you seems. Speed matters. 10. Make it Relevant For every fundraising appeal you send, you should have specific, relevant follow up thank-you letters prepared. That way, the thank-you can be directly relevant to the reason your donor gave.

8 Boilerplate thank-you messages stick out like a sore thumb and anyone can spot them. Spend as much time crafting relevant thank-yous as you do crafting your appeal. 11. Give THEM Credit Not You Count the times you use the word we and make sure the number of times you use you is far greater. The donor is the hero. You are thanking them for their awesomeness. Don t lapse into bragging about your accomplishments or your future aspirations. Instead, tell them about all that they have enabled. Everything that they made possible. Make them look great, because they are. 12. Follow Up Later and Show Up with Results When it s time to follow up later, show up with results. Be specific: why did my donation matter? What did it accomplish? Why should I be hopeful and excited to contribute to create the future my donations are creating? Whose life was changed? The follow up needs to be just as carefully crafted as the appeal and the thank-you. Remember, writing thank-you notes is hard work. But the payoff is worth it. When you thank your donor RIGHT, they are excited to give again. It s not an obligation. It s a privilege. So please, take some time to do it right.