Mastering the basics is always a good strategy for improving results. For retaining donors, the three most recognized prerequisites are:

• Thoughtful and timely recognition;
• Clear and compelling definition of how donations will be spent;
• A compelling impact story about how gifts make a difference and advance mission.

These are the Big Three, the big “Kahuna” to reel in on your fishing line of donor loyalty.

Yet relationships are not always straightforward. They require time to grow and only develop when intentions are genuine. Both sides need a sincere interest in each other. Furthermore, “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”¹ Donor relationships thrive on recognition and genuine emotions. Isn’t this true for our friendships, too?

 In that regard, here are some additional answers to the quest for donor loyalty. Even if you’ve done well executing on the basics, pay attention to these suggested nuances for stronger relationship growth.

Know a donor’s history with accuracy. Make sure the Ask string and communication is appropriate with the life stage of this donor. Use your CRM to track interactions and automate processes so the right actions occur for each and every donor.

Segment messaging and content. There’s nothing worse than receiving information that doesn’t match your interests, such as sending dog lovers information about cats. As Kivi Leroux Miller, author of The Nonprofit Marketing Guide, said in a recent workshop, “Phenomenal content will draw people to your organization!”

Respond with the right channels. Although donors might use multiple channels dependent upon the situation, they usually have a preferred channel (including offline options for older generations). Absolutely remember to include Social Media as a channel, since, it continues to expand exponentially (Twitter Followers experienced a 264 percent increase!²).

Ask! If you don’t know which channel donors prefer, or what other interests they have in your cause, ask them! And ask early – right at the beginning of the relationship so you can get things straight. Remember, if you ask, you must respond with the right actions! So make sure you can deliver on your promises. If you cater to preferences from the beginning, supporters will notice.

Create Memories! Life is busy for everyone. When creating events and designing communications, make the interaction fun and interesting. We only have so much “bandwidth”. Creative outreach will keep donor attentions satisfied.

Share Community. Consider what being a member of your nonprofit community might mean to a supporter. Everyone likes to feel included and a part of something bigger than they can achieve individually. Utilize social media to expand the network and make supporters feel included.

I hope that you’ll review and “noodle” these suggestions for retaining donors. Consider what else is possible to cultivate these dear relationships. In all cases, like friendship, cherish your donors, big and small, and the same will come back to you and your organization.

Amy S. Quinn is a published author and freelance writer focused on innovation in the nonprofit sector.

 Notes:

¹Pg 155, quote of William James, Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi;

²“2013 eNonprofit Benchmarks Study”; M+R Strategic Services and NTEN

Retention involves three basic steps: recognition, communication and stewardship. In my first blog, “Recognition Leads to Retention” I focused on delivering a meaningful, personal and timely “thank you”, through online and offline channels and using your board members to augment its significance. Last week, we discussed “The One Idea” for communicating impact: what key metric defines your nonprofit’s success? Once defined, be sure to use it when sharing the impact story with your donors.

This week we’re exploring stewardship: clearly communicating how a gift will be spent, before and after the donation.

For some causes it’s easier to quantify outreach efforts. A Wider Circle, for example is brilliant at translating the value of a gift into specific outcomes. For example:

Food Bank of the Rockies also provides tangible benefits linked to each dollar on it’s donation page:

For some causes however, the “Ask” can be more difficult to quantify. In these cases, nonprofits must create a meaningful story to explain the reasons for making a donation. Peter Panepento, host of the NPR game show, “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me” reminds us that nonprofits need to provide donors with “access to the joy of giving” by making the experience fun!

Peer-to-Peer platforms offer access to a joyful (and often challenging) experience. Robert Wolfe, co-Founder of Crowdrise, a popular online fundraising platform, which offers contests, prizes, “Napkins crests,” “Rewards”, and “the Best Promos Ever,” adds “whether it’s feeling passion, winning a prize, and then telling all your friends about it, self-interest drives fundraising success.”

The Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF), which funds medical research to cure neurofibromatosis, facilitates fun for participants running in its peer-to-peer event, “The Cupid’s Undies Run.” They run in their underwear, which is something to talk about. The unusual theme, accompanied by compelling videos telling the broader CTF story, motivate participants and connect donors to the cause and indirectly to how money will be spent.

Despite the difficulty of communicating the impact of a single donation, CTF still provides an outstanding “Disease Map” on its website to illustrate how funds are allocated to specific medical research: “By moving from disease schema to dashboard, (donors can see) funding in the different aspects of the research and development process…”

When you click on the red dollar signs, funds allocated for research are displayed.

Whether your nonprofit shares how money is spent during the Ask or after a campaign, both types of stewardship are necessary. Numbers are boring without a story, so in all cases spice up the details, keeping the message succinct and clear. Make the effort to communicate a consistent stewardship message across multiple channels. Demonstrate that donations will be “put to good use”. Your donors are worth it and will stay with you, but only if you do!

Amy S. Quinn is a published author and freelance writer focused on innovation in the nonprofit sector.

One of my biggest challenges as a writer is to condense material into one crystal clear message – ONE BIG IDEA – my reader can take away! Of course, I want my presentation and delivery to be engaging and fun too, but conciseness and clarity matter more.

Similarly nonprofits need to present compelling results to their donors. Donors like to feel that their money has been put to good use, regardless of the amount of their gift. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of relaying campaign and programmatic results in order to cultivate strong relationships with supporters.

Yet, there’s no need to “go crazy” collecting data about every program measurement.

Rich Rainaldi, co-founder of CiviCore explains:

“The nonprofit work speaks for itself. Analytical tools should primarily assess how an organization can deliver a better program or service and not overemphasize donor acquisition… Money follows those metrics that let donors digest certain chunks of program success.” What’s most important about your nonprofit’s work?¹

Often a donor gives well before the conclusion of a campaign. Even if this is the case once fundraising goals have been reached, it is a perfect time to send out another “non-ask” thank you with information about impact.

How to Communicate

Pick a communication tool that helps you connect emotionally with the donor as well as provides relevant information about your nonprofit’s success. Remember to consider the preferred communication channels of your different donors and resist the temptation to create a “One Size Fits All” summary.

Many nonprofits neatly recap their results using video. I particularly like Water For People’s thank you video, Everyone Achieved in Cuchumuela. Although specific metrics are not included, the visuals and copy are powerful. Their Year in Review 2012 video provides data and visuals for another impactful presentation of achieving goals.

Infographics are also a pithy and concise way to communicate results. Here’s a summary of some of the best nonprofit infographics on Pinterest.

Regardless of how content is delivered and integrated (video, audio, emails, illustrations, photos), communicate regularly and always at the end of a campaign one key message about impact. ONE NOTEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENT – that clearly explains and emotes a connection to your cause.

 Notes:

1. Page 70,71, Quote from Rich Rainaldi, Fundraising Innovators: Leaders in Social Enterprise Share New Approaches to Raising Money; Wise Media Group LLC, April, 2012

Amy S. Quinn is a published author and freelance writer focused on innovation in the nonprofit sector.

It’s April, Spring has sprung (sort of) and that heralds a host of great industry events. And, as you would expect, Avectra will be at each one – in our signature purple shirts of course! Here’s where you’ll find us and can follow us (via Social Media @Avectra) this month at three events: DigitalNow 2013 Annual Conference in Orlando, AFP International in San Diego, and NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference in Minneapolis.

We look forward to seeing you at one, or more, of these events.

DigitalNow 2013 Annual Conference

Orlando, FL, April 4-6

Social: #DigiNow13

Avectra staff will be speaking at the following DigitalNow presentations:

Thursday April 4, 1:20 – 2:20 PM: John Clese, director of product marketing for Avectra will join Brian Winters, director client engagement, Adceio and Dayve Gabbard, executive director, The South Florida Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, on a panel discussion: “Membership, Engagement and the Metrics that Matter” which will focus on Social CRM as a philosophy and business strategy that helps associations work smarter.

Thursday, April 4 at 2:30 PM: Avectra’s vice president of marketing Patrick Dorsey will join Matthew D’Uva, CEO, SOCAP International, to co-present the case study discussion, “Finding Elusive Social Media ROI”. The session will focus on SOCAP’s implementation of an automated social media drip messaging campaign which resulted in an increase to SOCAP’s membership.

AFP International

April 7-9, San Diego, CA

Find us in Booth #: 1309

Social:  #AFPICON

Avectra staff will be speaking at the following AFP presentations:

Monday, April 8:

Location: Learning Lab/Marketplace (Booth #1201 – in front of the Avectra booth)

11:00 – 11:30 AM: The Elements of Multi-Channel Fundraising: Outreach Re-defined, presented by John Clese and Brenna Holmes (CC&H).

12:30 – 1:00 PM: Today’s Donor: More Than Just a Number …Automating Donor Engagement is Easy, presented by John Clese.

1:15 – 1:45 PM: Tap the Power of Crowdsourcing (It’s easier than you think), presented by John Clese.

Tuesday, April 9

9:30 – 10:00 AM: Tap the Power of Crowdsourcing (It’s easier than you think), presented by Patrick Dorsey.

10:15 – 10:45 AM: Tap the Power of Crowdsourcing (It’s easier than you think), presented by Patrick Dorsey.

11:45 AM – 12:15 PM: Donor Retention via Bloomerang: Current Rates are Plummeting! What Can Every Non-Profit Do to Reverse the Trend! Presented by Jay Love.

 And also on Tuesday, April 9 at the following Educational Sessions:

9:30 – 10:45 AM: Donors, Engagement and the Metrics that Matter, presented by John Clese, Debbie Snyder (Adcieo), Brenna Holmes (CC&H). In Room: 26A.

12:45 – 2:00 PM: Peer to Peer Fundraising: Why it’s Rocking the Acquisition world and Creating Super Engaged Donors! Presented by John Clese and Paul Ghiz (DonorDrive). In Ballroom 20A.

NTEN Nonprofit Technology Conference

April 11 – 13, Minneapolis, MN

Find us in Science Fair Booth #65

Social: #NTC13