Donor Development
How can we become a "membership" organization?
How can we recruit more monthly donors?
How do I identify "large donors" and approach them?
What's the best way to increase our membership using direct mail?
How do I recruit new members online?
Can we use our newsletter to acquire new donors?
How can we "convert" event donors to direct mail donors?
How can we convert high-dollar prospects into donors?
How can we convert capital campaign donors to annual donors?
How can we convert event donors to annual donors?
How do I upgrade annual donors into monthly donors?
How can we achieve a younger donor base that's more receptive to modern types of giving?
How can we recruit Spanish speaking donors?
How effective are "donor-get-a-donor" campaigns?
How can I raise money from local businesses?
How can we attract corporate sponsors?
How do I make appeals to corporations?
How can we solicit corporate gifts?
How can I get corporate sponsorship of an event?
How can I ask for sponsorships and auction donations?
How does our organization learn more about specific donors?
What's the best way to obtain age information about donors?
How do we respond to "one-time" gift donors?
What's the best way to solicit lapsed and former donors?
How can we reactivate lapsed donors?
How do you get lapsed donors to give again via direct mail and telemarketing?
A comment on the importance of thanking your donors
How should we acknowledge donations?
What should be included in a thank you program?
What kind of thank you gift is best?
How quickly should donors be thanked?
When is a thank you gift appropriate?
When should we call our donors to thank them?
What's the best way follow up with a telephone?
How can we thank different levels of donors?
How should we calculate gift recognition levels?
How should monthly gifts be acknowledged?
How should we respond when we learn that a donor has died?
How do you measure the long-term value of a donor?
What approaches or formulas do you use to calculate a donor's long-term or lifetime value?
How can we start raising money from our alumni?
When do you give up on a nondonor?
Is it effective to mail different acquisition letters to different interest groups?
What is a normal rate of retention for new donors?
When should donors be asked how they prefer to be contacted?
What donor-recognition devices do you suggest for those who shun recognition?
How do I respond to a "no response necessary" request from a donor?
When should a major gift be accepted and/or put in writing?
How can we increase our donor renewal rate?
How can we become a "membership" organization?
We don't consider ourselves a "membership organization" and none of our appeals has ever used this term. I think we could improve returns from our direct mail campaigns (typically around 1%) if we could specifically ask people to join as members at different rates. But we don't offer the "perks" that one usually associates with membership organizations (other than an annual newsletter) nor do we have the capacity to mail timed renewal notices. Does this matter? I don't want to create additional work that we're not administratively prepared to handle. Thanks.
Mal answers: Hi, and thank you for writing me!
I think you may have in mind a more limited notion of the word "member" than I normally use. I suspect that, legally, you can't even accept "members" in the true, limited sense (those who have voting rights in setting organizational policy). But there's no reason you can't call your annual supporters "members."
Nor is it necessary for "members" to receive what you refer to as "timed renewal notices." In fact, for most membership organizations, I recommend not using individual anniversary dates as the trigger to start a series of renewal notices. Instead, I advocate sending ALL "members" their first notice at the same time each year, and refer to their support for either that same calendar year or the next one (depending on whether the series starts early or late in the year).
In other words, I see no reason why you couldn't use this time-tested device to encourage steady annual support.
Best of luck to you!
How can we recruit more monthly donors?
Eighteen months ago we started a monthly giving programme. Because we wanted to grow it fast, we contracted an agency that goes door to door to sign people up. This is the only agency that currently does this. We sign people up on a direct debit.
What I'm finding now 18 months down the track is continued high attrition that is like a cancer in this programme. In the first year we had a 35% cancellation. In the first six months of the second year we have had a further 10%.
A lot has to do with who was signed up and the tactics the door to door people used to sign people up. For example, many thought they were giving just one donation or felt pressured into giving. Many were signed up who shouldn't have been.
I would love to break free from using this agency but am at my wits end as to what to do next to continue growing our programme and reaching the targets set.
Has anyone had success at using direct mail to grow monthly giving? Any tips? What about an acquisition mailing to grow monthly giving?
Any guidance would be great. Thank you.
Mal answers: The door-to-door recruitment technique you mention — or, for that matter, any sort of face-to-face recruitment effort — typically produces substantial attrition. I'm not familiar with a wide enough range of experiences to know whether the attrition statistics you cite are out of the ordinary, but they don't sound outrageously high.
There are three things I suggest you consider reviewing in your current program before you shut it down and turn to another channel to recruit monthly donors:
(1) Take a close look at the fundraisers' tactics at the door. If, in fact, they're deceiving people, you should, of course, shut them down. That's the worst sort of publicity for your organization. If, however, what's happening appears to be merely a lack of training, I think it would be advisable to help the contractor improve the training program. After all, you're essentially partners in this enterprise.
(2) Review carefully the ways you communicate with newly-recruited monthly donors. What's the first thing they receive following their agreement to join the program? Who sends it? How quickly? What's the second thing? The manner in which new donors are greeted and thanked can make a very big difference in renewal (or attrition) rates.
(3) In addition to a door-to-door recruitment effort (assuming all it requires is fine-tuning), I suggest you consider a combination of direct mail and telemarketing. First, and most important, you should explore the potential of your one-off donors (if any) to join your monthly giving program. Direct mail can be an effective first step in such an effort. The telephone, however, is typically a more effective tool for recruiting monthly donors. Second, if you already prospect for new one-off donors by mail, test adding an option for monthly giving. In some countries, this has proven effective. (In others, it depresses returns and isn't cost-effective.
How do I identify "large donors" and approach them?
We are a small violence prevention agency conducting our first-ever Annual Appeal in November. I know that we need to identify and approach potential "large donors"- but our Board members don't seem to have a lot of those connections. Any ideas on how to identify and approach those individuals?!
Thank you in advance.
Mal answers: Unfortunately, there's no magical answer to your question. Big donors -- meaning those who give gifts in the thousands of dollars or more -- are generally very reluctant to contribute to startup organizations (unless they're personally involved). Typically, a nonprofit needs to establish a track record of success and demonstrate stability and staying power, including finanal stability, before major donors are willing to consider giving.
Unless you or members of your board have a pipeline to one or more big givers, you'll probably have to content yourselves with smaller gifts for awhile. Normally, major gifts start coming to a nonprofit after it has built a strong base of support among small donors.
I wish I could be more encouraging. But I don't want to send you off on a wild goose chase.
All the best of luck, and thank you for writing!
What's the best way to increase our membership using direct mail?
OK, let's try this question: What's the best way to increase our membership using direct mail? We currently send out a membership kit (a letter, newsmagazine, and brochure) to prospects, but this hasn't gained us many new members. We've also mailed to the membership list of an association like ours, but so far have had few responses to that, either. And, since these mailings are so expensive, we are considering eliminating the newsmagazine from future mailings and just sending a letter. Any other direct-mail ideas for increasing membership? (For your information, we are an association that helps people with the disease of spasmodic dystonia torticollis. Many people are being helped with better treatment methods for this disease and perhaps don't feel they need to join an association like ours anymore. However, I believe we offer a real lifeline and a real service to our members.)
Mal answers: I feel a little like a physician who's asked to make a diagnosis over the telephone. Obviously, for one thing, the character and quality of the direct mail packages you've sent have influenced the results of your mailings. But you've given me a few hooks to hang a bit of advice on. Please take this with several grains of salt:
(1) If you "believe we offer a real lifeline and a real service to our members," it's essential that you get that message across to prospective members in a cogent and compelling way. That is the true subject of any letter you might send: the benefits of membership.
(2) I assume that your "membership kit" includes both an enrollment form (or some other response device) and a self-addressed return envelope. If not, add them to the kit. It's far too much to expect prospective members to address their own envelopes, or to remember how big a check to write in the absence of some form that spells it out clearly.
(3) You write of a "brochure" in your prospect package. In my experience, brochures have often proven to be ineffective in stimulating prospective members to join. The letter is the key—and a powerful description of the benefits of membership. Sometimes, a brochure will help—if it merely illustrates and emphasizes the benefits of membership and reiterates the invitation to join. A more general brochure might very well distract prospects from the business at hand: writing a check to join.
(4) You also speak of a "newsmagazine" among the contents of your membership kit. Here, again, it's entirely possible that the added expense will be for naught. In direct mail—as in any form of advertising or marketing—it's almost always more effective to "sell the sizzle, not the steak." Instead of including an actual copy of the newsmagazine, I would develop a flyer under a headline like "FREE with your membership . . ." This flyer would describe the magazine in glowing terms, perhaps listing some of the most intriguing articles, and depict one or more covers.
I hope this is helpful. Good luck to you!
How do I recruit new members online?
I'm starting to recruit new members through our Web site. Would you suggest sites to visit and resources to consult?
Mal answers:
Take a look at the articles at www.fundraisingOnline.com and http://www.malwarwick.com/fundnet.html. Also look up Jeff Hallett's articles at www.pj.org. Also worthwhile is Michael Johnston's new book, The Fund Raiser's Guide to the Internet (NSFRE/Wiley Fund Development Series).
Take a look at some of these sites and their efforts to acquire new donors online:
The Nature Conservancy: www.tnc.org
The Nature Conservancy, with over 900,000 members and a $300 million a year budget, offers many creative fundraising features on its Web site, including Adopt a Bison and Adopt an Acre.
World Vision: www.worldvision.org This evangelical relief organization includes a child sponsorship feature on its site where you could choose the country and sex of your child, then pledge a contribution.
American Red Cross: www.redcross.org The sites features disaster updates and ties disaster news to fundraising pitches.
Imperial Cancer Research Fund: www.icnet.uk The Fund offered a clever send-an-Internet-valentine promotion. Unfortunately, the secure server used to accept online donations was not working when I checked it recently.
BUND (Germany): www.bund.net The site of this major German environmental organization seeks contributions, offering monthly and quarterly electronic funds transfer options (common in Europe) as well as one-time donations.
Menschen gagen Minen (Germany, People against Landmines): www.mgm.org The anti-landmine organization offers a multilingual site, including RealVideo showing landmine work in Angola, and an excellent fundraising page.
Greenpeace Germany: www.greenpeace.de "Be active online as well as offline," the site offers. "We can't do campaigns without your contributions." As on other German sites, this one invited visitors to have funds deducted from their bank accounts monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or just once.
Airline Owners and Pilots Association: www.aopa.org This 350,000-member organization is getting about 4,000 new members a year through its Web site. About half of its members have signed up for the password-protected members-only part of the site, filled with useful information on airports and weather conditions.
American Civil Liberties Union: www.aclu.org The ACLU has been one of the most successful U.S. nonprofits raising money over the Web, bringing in about $150,000 a year on online contributions, with an average gift of about $35.
Save the Children: www.savethechildren.org Links fundraising offers to the various crisis countries where Save the Children works.
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML): www.norml.org NORML's site gets a lot of traffic. In its first four months, over 8,000 people signed up for the free e-newsletter. Online donations average $2,500 per month.
Surfrider Foundation: www.surfrider.org Filled with useful info for surfers, updated daily. Uses banner ads on friendly sites to draw traffic.
American Cancer Society: www.cancer.org This site is packed with features and information. Last year it invited Web visitors to join its Run for Life by sending e-mail relays to friends from the site.
The Motley Fool: www.fool.com This big investment Web site asked users to vote for their favorite charity last Christmas, then accepted donations online, via a toll-free number, etc. They also accepted gifts of stock. The site raised over $120,000 for the anti-hunger group, Share Our Strength.
TheatreWorks: www.theatreworks.org This San Francisco-area theater company invited Web visitors to sign up for a service that e-mails them every Friday with offers of discount tickets for weekend performances.
Web Charity: www.webcharity.com The auction site offers to raise money for nonprofit organizations. Its first effort, a wine auction, raised over $31,000 for the San Jose (Calif.) Repertory Theater. A similar site, www.NonprofitAuction.com, funded by Broderbund software and the Washington Post Co., closed a few months ago, unable to partner with enough large nonprofits who could gather goods to auction.
Igive (formerly eyegive): www.igive.com Register at this site and every time you click on one of the ads, the nonprofit you designate gets a few cents to a few dollars.
Fundraising UK, Ltd.: www.fundraising.co.uk Howard Lake's site, with lots of examples of online fundraising.
Good luck with your online fundraising efforts!
Can we use our newsletter to acquire new donors?
We are currently re-evaluting how to best utilize our agency newsletter, and have three questions:
1) We have included a list of our donors in our newsletters. Do you recommend against or for featuring one's donor list in a newsletter? It takes up quite a bit of space that could be filled with important content.
2) We would like to use our newsletter as a cultivation tool for acquiring both new clients and donors, and for driving people to our new website. What is your opinion of sending newsletters to targeted mailing lists in addition to one's own donor list for these purposes?
3) Is there conventional wisdom the number of pages a newsletter should feature? We are trying to decide between 8 and 12 pages.
Mal answers:
1) One of the principal reasons to publish a donor newsletter is to make donors feel good. Few things make donors feel better than to see their names in print.
2) I don't recommend using the newsletter for this purpose. A specially tailored letter or package will likely do much better. And I would not include a copy of the newsletter in that package. Newsletters are the sort of thing people put aside to "read later." Which, of course, they rarely do.
3) The length of the newsletter depends mostly on the space demanded by the contents. If you've got 12 good, easily read pages of material, go for 12. If you can do just as well with 8, keep it to 8.
How can we "convert" event donors to direct mail donors?
I am managing the direct mail program of an organization that has never done any acquisition per se. Most donors came on through 2 annual special events (banquet and golf outing), or through personal staff contact. These donors don't respond to our direct mail the same as (in my experience) donors acquired through direct mail acquisition. Do you have advice about how best to cultivate donors who have not previously been cultivated through direct mail? Or...do you know of a resource that will tell me about donor performance based on how they were initially acquired?
Mal answers: My experience matches yours: donors acquired by means other than direct mail are less likely to respond to appeals by mail. In fact, my colleagues and I have at times despaired of "converting" special event donors into responsive direct mail contributors.
There are two approaches we've found useful, however:
* Phoning special event donors instead of or in addition to mailing them. The telephone typically is more useful in communicating with event-acquired names.
* Including special event donors in donor acquisition mailings (which are typically cheaper than house mailings (appeals to donors).
In your case, however, the second approach doesn't seem as though it's appropriate. You might try phoning, for starters. If for some reason you want to stick to the mail, however, I think you'll be stuck with sending newsletters or other information-rich mailings by way of cultivating them. Certainly, it would be unwise to simply solicit them by mail for additional gifts -- since you've already proven that doesn't work well for you.
I suggest that, as an experiment, you select a sizable group of special event-acquired names and mail them a letter along the following lines: "Because you have demonstrated such interest in our work by attending ______, I am taking the liberty of extending to you a complimentary one-year subscription to our quarterly newsletter. If you do not wish to receive this information-packed regular bulletin, simply check off the box on the form at the bottom of this letter and return it to me in the enclosed, self-addressed envelope." Then, of course, be sure to put them on the list!
After 6-12 months, you could then attempt to solicit these donors. If you've also held back an equal, statistically equivalent number of event donors from this mailing, you could then compare the rates of response you receive from the two groups once you start soliciting them. If the numbers on your file aren't sufficient, skip the test, and just send newsletters to the whole bunch.
Another idea: you could offer a special open house and orientation and invite the event donors especially. Since they've already attended something else, maybe they'd be interested in seeing your facility up close.
How can we convert high-dollar prospects into donors?
As you may know, I've been a big fan of yours for years, since I attended a seminar in 1991 you held in Washington, DC. I've "gone back" for refreshers many times. And I love high dollar direct mail—and giving clubs. I'm working now on an academic project at George Mason University, and I'm looking for comparables. I'm familiar with how high-dollar direct mail works for campaigns and (c)(3)s—but what about universities? Do you have some examples you can point me to? I'm looking for situations where you can and should paint "long term vision"—but am unclear on how best to convert prospects into donors. All the best.
Mal answers: It's great to hear from you again. I wish I could give you a straight answer and point directly to examples or case studies, but the best I can do is advise this: What usually passes for "direct mail" will go straight into the trash in most affluent people's offices or homes. If you're seeking big gifts—especially a big initial gift—or announcing some prestigious giving club, I'd suggest that the format and the production quality of the package should match the Ask. In other words, really do it *right.* After all, to spend $3-5 on a direct mail package to solicit a $1,000 or a $10,000 gift isn't such a terrible thing—especially when a 40-cent package is unlikely even to be opened. Best of luck!
How can we convert capital campaign donors to annual donors?
Mal answers: I'm not sure there is any "best" way to convert capital campaign donors to annual donors. Some may simply not be willing to consider the transition. I personally have contributed one-time gifts to capital campaigns without any intention of giving on an annual basis.
As you know, capital campaign gifts tend to be substantially larger than typical annual gifts, especially when they're multi-year pledges. The first hurdle, then, is to scale back your expectations of the size of gift you might expect. Getting that first annual gift is more important than maximizing its size. In an annual campaign, you want to inculcate the habit of giving on a regular basis.
I presume that the capital campaign donors you speak of are major donors. If so, you could approach them in a way that's similar to what they experienced during the campaign: suggest a multi-year gift (though at a lower level). This flies in the face of conventional wisdom that a fundraiser must always seek to upgrade giving levels. But I believe it's an approach that's more likely to bear fruit without the support of a capital campaign infrastructure and its trappings.
How can we convert event donors to annual donors?
Our organization has two large fundraising events each year. How can we move guests at these events into our annual giving program?
Mal answers: The answer to your question depends, in the first instance, on the nature of those two fundraising events.
For example, if the ticket-buyers are corporations or other well-heeled organizations or individuals, and most of those in attendance come as guests, I would say you have little chance of converting many of them into annual giving.
If individual guests pay to attend the events, then it also matters how much they pay. If the amounts are significant — say, $150 or more per person — then the chances of converting them to annual donors sound reasonably good. If they pay only a nominal amount — $50 or less — that's another story.
In such cases, direct mail typically doesn't work well. Telephone calls, when conducted professionally, usually have a greater chance of success. However, you could first mail a letter noting that you're planning to call, giving you an opportunity to lay out the case for giving (and for some of your prospective donors to dodge your phone calls!).
If you decide to approach event donors, I suggest that you think of some particularly urgent and compelling project or issue as the basis for your appeal. I would not simply ask them to become annual donors. Rather, I'd ask for a one-time gift. Once you reach that threshold with most donors, the chances of securing a third and subsequent gifts are greatly enhanced.
How do I upgrade annual donors into monthly donors?
We are starting to design a new donor campaign with the hopes of turning our low- end yearly donors into monthly donors. I am looking for resources to walk me through this process from start to finish. I am looking for timelines, sample asks, creative "catch phrases", and retention ideas. Are you able to direct me to this type of information?
Mal answers: Funny you should ask! My friend Harvey McKinnon, a fundraising consultant in Vancouver, wrote a book titled Hidden Gold, which I edited a few years ago. It contains all that you're asking for, and more. It's a great book, if I do say so myself.
How can we achieve a younger donor base that's more receptive to modern types of giving?
How do you take an aging donor base, and create new, younger and more vibrant givers, who may be more interested in updated methods of giving such as website, email, etc.?
Mal answers: To answer this question thoroughly, I'd probably need to spend a couple of days with you, exploring all the possibilities specific to your organization. However, I suspect that an organization with the name "The Haven of Rest" is likely to appeal to the older set, anyway. Unless it's a center for R&R for refugees from Gen Y . . .
However, the rule of thumb in fundraising is to acquire donors through the same channel as you wish to resolicit them. Thus, assuming you could craft a case for giving that's appealing to younger folks, you should use online communications to acquire new, younger donors. Just because people are younger doesn't necessarily mean that they're receptive to what you term "updated methods of giving."
But, for starters, concentrate on the case for giving. You have to be sure that younger people will want to support your cause.
How can we recruit Spanish speaking donors?
We are an organization that serves 13 Northern California counties. We really want to do an acquisition to our Spanish language constituents. My question is where do I start? Who is a good broker? Who can write a piece that speaks to people in a culture that I am not extremely familiar with?
Mal answers: I wish I could give you an encouraging word about your plan to recruit Spanish-speakers as donors by mail. If you move ahead, you'll immediately run into several crucial obstacles:
* On social issues, the Latino community is much more conservative than the nation as a whole. I'm certain that fewer than half of the people you reach would be in alignment with Planned Parenthood on many of the issues you emphasize in your fundraising.
* With a few notable exceptions, direct mail has not been very successful as a means of fundraising in the Latino community — or, for that matter, in any ethnic "minority" communities in the United States. The exceptions: certain religious or faith-based organizations, often very conservative ones.
* In the Latino community in the U.S. — and in Latin America, for that matter — the tradition of philanthropy has developed in a very different way from what most Americans are used to. Philanthropy is a very personal matter for most Hispanics, often consisting of cash gifts paid directly to people in need. More often than not, those individuals are relatives. Giving to "causes" is not an ingrained habit.
To the extent that fundraising is successful in ethnic communities, it's often the result of personal appeals, such as face-to-face solicitations or appeals from the pulpit in churches.
Clearly, these cultural factors are changing over time. Third- and fourth-generation Americans whose family roots are in Latin America are increasingly adopting the habits of the mainstream society — and they are fast growing as a proportion of the Hispanic population as a whole. By the same token, however, an appeal written in Spanish is unlikely to reach those folks.
Save your money. If you are determined to raise funds among Latinos, reach out to selected churches and community organizations and start building relationships.
How effective are "donor-get-a-donor" campaigns?
Just wondering if you have any thoughts on effective donor-get-donor campaigns. I'm putting one together for our next newsletter -- nominate a friend's name to receive our newsletter, incentivise with competition or premium; referrals who don't donate in the first instance will go on a "soft" mail program. Any thoughts, suggestions or text references would be much appreciated.
Mal answers: I can't think of any specific reference to suggest to you, although I'm reasonably confident that you'll find something on this topic in Ken Burnett's book "Friends for Life." After all, what could be more natural in a book with that title?
However, there are a few things I've learned over the years. For starters, I've generally obtained poor results in "friend-get-a-friend" or "member-get-a-member" campaigns with a simple request to donors that they round up friends, relatives, or coworkers and sign them up. Perhaps some competitive element could work (although I suspect this might be more meaningful in a local setting rather than for a nationwide organization). Some tangible premium might work -- if it's appropriate to the mission and character of the organization.
There's another approach that I've tried, usually with fair results: to send a request that a member or donor give us the names and addresses of up to three friends, along with the member's agreement to allow us to approach his or her friends in the member's name. I've seen encouraging results from this approach when (a) the response mechanism is extremely obvious and easy to fill out; (b) the cover letter is short; (c) the member's permission is secured at the same time; and, perhaps most important of all, (d) when the member supplies no more than 3 names. With a larger number, the likelihood of response seem to drop.
Hope this helps!
How can I raise money from local businesses?
Can you offer any tips on raising money from the local business community?
Mal answers: The assumption that guides me in dealing with our local business community here in Berkeley is that businesses want recognition -- opportunities to convey to their customers and to the community at large that they're public-spirited and generous. Obviously, this assumption doesn't hold for all companies. Clearly, retailers and such service companies as utilities usually have the most interest, because they have lots of customers. But others as well may enjoy the limelight, too.
Recognition devices you might consider include such things as plaques or certificates to hang on walls or place on a counter-top; decals or other stickers for similar visibility; a Business Advisory Council that might have an annual gathering with a guest speaker and public recognition for the members; and sponsorships of events you hold in the library, with business sponsors listed in the invitation (and on the Web site and in e-mail, if you use those means to communicate) and possibly to introduce or
be introduced at the program itself.
Hope that'll get you started!
How can we attract corporate sponsors?
I am trying to develop corporate relationships for a 50 year old public library-museum in Dublin specialising in Middle Eastern, East Asian and European antiquities. The profile has been quite low. I am looking for snappy handles that would attract CEO's and Marketing heads to us. Other than direct connections between our collections and their products or markets, do you have any suggestions about language, or format, that would entice a corporate to entertain a partnership with us?
Mal answers: Corporate fundraising is a little off the beaten path for me, with my specialty in individual fundraising. However, I've been involved in a few corporate campaigns, and I've learned a bit about it over the years, so I'll presume to give you a little advice, anyway.
There are just four reasons I can think of why a corporation would want to partner with you:
(1) The CEO (or perhaps, in a larger corporation, another senior executive) has a deep personal interest in your work and wants to support it. Much corporate fundraising is really just a variation on individual fundraising. And a personal interest in your work could easily extend into a corporate marketing alliance. So, I would use your board and other networks to look for likely prospects.
(2) The corporation needs (or at least wants) a PR boost and is willing to pay for an advertising campaign displaying its name and logo and identifying it as the sponsor or with a tagline such as "Brought to you as a public service be . . . "
(3) The corporation has a deep commitment to supporting the schools (or markets to children and young people or to their parents) and would like to sponsor an in-school campaign -- and get credit for it.
(4) The corporation could have a desire to display in its offices or plants some of the items you feature in your museum. Corporations buy (or rent) artworks. Why not a deal with your museum to show a special sensitivity to one of the regions whose works you feature?
I hope this gives you a couple of ideas you haven't had. In any case, thank you for writing, and good luck!
How do I make appeals to corporations?
I am helping a non-profit organization raise funds for its cause -- family planning and sexual and reproductive health. They would like to target businesses instead of individuals when asking for donations. Can you recommend how fundraising appeals to corporations should be structured/worded differently from the ones sent to individuals? In your experience, what do you think are the reasons for corporate giving? What are the best ways to motivate and approach businesses?
Mal answers: I do not recommend that you attempt to raise money from businesses by mail. I have never heard of a successful effort to do so.
Corporate fundraising, even raising funds from small, local businesses, is an entirely different pursuit from direct mail fundraising. To spell out all the reasons would require far more time and space than I have available. The gist of it is this: the motivations for corporate giving tend to be dramatically different from the motives that move individuals to respond to direct mail appeals.
As if that's not enough reason for your organization to shy away from such an effort, I think you should reflect on the appeal — or, rather, the lack of it — that family planning and sexual and reproductive health would hold for corporate executives. Sure, you could luck out and find a few enlightened souls. But your chances of securing broad support are nil.
Of course, there may be companies engaged in lines of business that are related to the issues you address. In face-to-face meetings, you might persuade them to provide substantial support. But those would be the exceptions that prove the rule. Few businesses indeed would see a strong business case to give to a nonprofit of your type.
For a cause such as yours, you'll need to concentrate on individual donors almost exclusively.
I wish you all the best of luck. Thank you for writing!
How can we solicit corporate gifts?
Do you have any suggestions/samples for corporate solicitation letters (for our fundraising event)? Our past letter needs a big boost! We are mailing to past supporters as well as new prospects.
I am developing a corporate fund-raising progam for an international NGO and I'd like to determine the best ways to contact corporations, solicit funds from them and promote their contribution. Can you tell me where to look?
I represent the Illinois branch of a non-profit organization that provides educational grants to young women pursuing an education in nursing, medical, law, business, and other fields of endeavor. We would like to increase the number of grants we can provide by soliciting corporate donations. We would greatly appreciate it if you could offer us a couple of tips on soliciting corporate donations. Your advice would go a long way towards helping young women achieve their educational goals.
Mal answers: I know very little about soliciting corporate grants other than these fundamentals:
Corporations sometimes give grants to nonprofit organizations located in the communities where their facilities are located. It's conceivable you could find local corporations that would be interested in backing you in hopes of creating good will within your community. Nowadays, most corporations are waking up to the importance of looking good to the public. Visible support for worthy nonprofits can help them do that.
Corporations also sometimes give grants when they feel that doing so will help them cultivate or even create future markets. For an organization that serves young women, perhaps companies that sell goods to young women would be interested: apparel companies, for example, or cosmetics companies. (Just make sure you're comfortable with the products they sell, and don't mind having your organization's name associated with them. For example, some organizations would rather not accept sponsorships from alcohol or tobacco companies.)
Some companies prefer to provide in-kind goods or services. Perhaps you could make a list of the items you use in your work and then seek support from the corporations that produce them.
Letters to corporations should be brief (maximum one page) and you should confine the details to attachments -- and you should remember to highlight the business case for giving (i.e., cite the benefits to corporations). Before writing, you should find out who makes the decisions on corporate philanthropy, whether it's the CEO, or someone else who chairs the company's foundation, if there is one. If possible, ask for information about what sorts of projects the company (or the foundation) has supported in the past, and see if they'll share with you a successful application for funds.
To research corporations and foundations, you might try the Foundation Center. There's probably a library near you. The Center specializes in information about foundation fundraising, of course, but its libraries contain lots of other useful information about fundraising in general. And if they don't have the data you need, I'm sure they can point the way to where you'll find it.
How can I get corporate sponsorship of an event?
How do I evaluate how much to to charge for an event sponsorship? What are the things that corporations look for when they sponsor an event? How do I plan an effective marketing communication plan for my
event without spending a bomb?
Mal answers: Thank you for writing. It's good to hear from you.
I'm hesitant to give you advice about special events. I have some events experience, but that's far from my specialty (which is direct response: mail, telephone, and Internet). For what it's worth, however, I'll give you my opinions. Here they are, question by question:
1) How do I evaluate how much to charge for an event sponsorship?
I generally suggest that, at a minimum, sponsorships should cover the full cost of an event. If it would be unreasonable to request the total amount from any one institution or person, then break it down into reasonable chunks.
2) What are the things that corporations look for when they sponsor an event?
That depends on the kind of business they're in. Companies that do business with the general public tend to want exposure. That means prominent signage, credits in all printed materials, and public recognition from the podium at the event itself. Other companies (wholesalers, business-to-business consultants, etc.) may be less interested in exposure. But few will shy away from it!
Occasionally, companies with many employees want the opportunity to send many of them to the event itself. In any case, the best way to explore this question is by quizzing potential sponsors.
3) How do I plan an effective marketing communication plan for my event without spending a bomb?
Without knowing the specifics, this question is difficult indeed to answer. Maybe your corporate sponsors have resources that will help you in this regard, such as PR staff, internal publications, access to the news media. Ask.
Good luck!
How can I ask for sponsorships and auction donations?
I attended the "5 Strategies for Fundraising Sucess" session at the 2001 AFP Conference and purchased your book, How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters. Although the information from both has been fantastic, I am having a hard time writing letters for a successful special event/fundraiser. We are a small teaching facility for the blind & visually impaired in a ten county area. We have had golf tournaments with success but need to expand. I have scheduled a formal dinner/dance/fundraiser called "The Eye Ball." I have a very limited committee and even smaller help from the board. Some of the ideas that we are working on for this event are silent auctions, live auctions of people -- "Celebrities at Your Service" -- and other items.
My problem is writing the letter for sponsorships, donated items for the auctions, and writing to eye doctors for special sponsorships. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Mal answers: Your plans -- and your name -- for "The Eye Ball" sound exciting. You've obviously put a great deal of creativity into planning this event. So I'm quite confident you can write good letters about it, too!
Each of the three letters you describe is a separate challenge.
* In the case of the eye doctors, I suggest that you enlist a member of your board or of the senior faculty or administration -- someone who might have social contact with optometrists and opthamologists, or at least would command their respect. That person would sign a brief letter about the event, then follow up by phone (or, if necessary, in person). Letters alone will rarely suffice when seeking major gifts. The letter itself could serve merely to introduce the event and the signer and to ask permission to meet with the signer (or at least talk on the phone) to discuss the doctor's participation in the event.
* I suggest a similar approach to businesses or other potential sponsors who are not professionally involved in your work. But the signer might be different. Perhaps a leading member of the community, someone who would command respect especially in the business community. That letter, unlike the one to the eye doctors, would emphasize some of the benefits that sponsors would receive: recognition in the event program, from the podium, in signage, and in whatever other ways you might find appropriate -- signifying their public-spirted support for a distinguished community institution.
* When writing to request donated auction items, you should also stress both the intangible benefits (supporting the community, lending a hand to those who are working so hard on their own behalf) and the tangible benefits (the advertising and public relations value of recognition before and at the event).
How does our organization learn more about specific donors?
How does our organization learn more about the passions and interests of specific past/present donors and prospective donors without being intrusive?
Mal answers: With privacy concerns as widespread and intense as they are, many nonprofit organizations are looking for appropriate and unobtrusive ways to learn more about their donors. There are three ways I know to go about doing this:
(1) Hold a donor rating meeting of your board. If your board of directors is like that of many other community-based nonprofits, it includes individuals who are well-connected in the community and know a lot about it. Your board members probably know many of the past donors or prospects you've identified. Pass a list around at a meeting and ask each member to initial the names of those she knows. Then, either at the meeting itself or in a follow-up conversation, find out what she knows. As Yogi Berra said, "You can learn a lot just by asking."
(2) Conduct a survey by mail. Send a brief questionnaire to the past and prospective donors you've chosen. Many won't respond, but at least a few will. And that would be a great opening for a get-acquainted session.
(3) Invite the donors and prospects by mail, with telephone followup, to a donor consultation session. This is an informal, focus-group-like discussion held in a comfortable setting, where you can ask probing questions about their values, attitudes and concerns. Yogi's advice plays well here, too!
What's the best way to obtain age information about donors?
I would like to get your thoughts on an idea I have for our annual fund and acquisition mailing. The San Francisco Conservatory of Music has many generous and long time donors. We are trying to expand our pool of younger donors so we can not only provide benefits that are of interest to them, but also have them more involved in the work of the Conservatory. The problem is that we do not even know the age of many of our donors. What do you think about adding the following to our remit form: Which of the following age groups are you in (optional)?: 30-40 yrs/ 40-55 yrs./ over 55 yrs.
Mal answers: First, if you have a standard "remit form," I suggest you use up the copies as quickly as possible. It's far better to create a response device for each mailing as it occurs, with the text and any graphics specific to the appeal. More importantly, with existing donors, it's a mistake to ask them for gifts in a standard array (such as "$25, $50, $100, or more"), since they've already demonstrated how much they want to give. You should take advantage of that by personalizing the response device in each appeal.
Second, without testing this proposition, I wouldn't know what to advise you about it. It could depress response — because many people are sensitive about their ages, or because the more information you request, the more excuses people will have to set aside your appeal — or it could come across as a sign that you are genuinely interested in knowing more about your donors and thus have no depressing effect.
Chances are, I would guess, that those who are unsettled about the question would simply skip it. But I don't know that. In any case, you will persuade only a small percentage of your donors to supply that information in that way.
There are other ways to obtain age information. I prefer to seek age information in questionnaires or surveys, or by "appending" age data from a publicly available database, which have been compiled by big vendors such as R.L. Polk & Company or the printing company R.R. Donnelley. You can contract with such a company, or one of its resellers in the fundraising field (Target Analysis Group of Cambridge, for example). For a few cents a name, they'll "append" age information to as many as possible of your records. In some cases, they can add the specific age or year of birth; in other cases, they'll give you a range such as the ones you propose to use. Be forewarned, though: this data is never completely accurate. If you achieved 85% accuracy you'd be doing well.
How do we respond to "one-time" gift donors?
"If someone gives a one-time gift in honor or memory of someone, should we add them to our newsletter mailing list and begin to cultivate them? There seem to be differing schools of thought regarding the cultivation of individuals who give to your organization in honor or memory of someone."
Mal answers: "I've heard that this practice yields mixed results. Some people report that a meaningful number of memorial donors give again later. Others say they have had little luck persuading them to do so. Most such gifts appear to be a one-time phenomenon, but some such donors may be willing to contribute an honor or memorial gift on an annual basis. Others may have deliberately...
What's the best way to solicit lapsed and former donors?
What's a good way of coaxing former donors to contribute to our latest mail-out?
Mal answers: That depends on how long ago you received their last contribution. For example, if you're talking about donors who haven't given during the past 12 months but gave during the preceding year, I'm sure many still think of themselves as active donors. I wouldn't be likely to make any special effort to address them.
However, if you're referring to donors whose last gift arrived 25-36 months ago, I would be inclined to send them a special mailing that specifically addresses them as not having contributed recently — a lapsed donor reactivation mailing.
In the case of those donors whose last gift was received 37-60 months ago, I think of them not as lapsed donors but as "former donors." I've rarely had good luck soliciting them by mail. The telephone has generally proved to be far more effective to reactive them.
How can we reactivate lapsed donors?
Can you recommend any programs/series/case studies for reactivating lapsed donors?
Mal answers: I'm not aware of anything substantive in print on this topic. As I recall, we've covered the subject on occasion in my newsletter, but I don't think we've done so at any length recently.
The basic principle in lapsed donor reactivation is this: treat lapses as what they are, recognizing that you "haven't heard from them in a while" and probing for an indication that they really do want to continue supporting you. In this vein, I frequently include a short questionnaire, fishing for donors' reasons why they haven't given recently.
I would appreicate a brief answer, as well as some materials, books to read that would help me on this issue.
Mal answers: Most organizations that operate ongoing direct mail fundraising programs use both mail and telephone contact to reactivate lapsed donors -- often in combination, but typically with greater emphasis on the phone. A standard effort might include the following elements:
** a "last chance" renewal notice in the mail;
** a "Welcome Back!" letter after another month or two, possibly including a brief questionnaire inquiring about the reason for lapsing and offering another chance to be reinstated without missing an issue of the newsletter; and
** lastly, a telephone call 6-8 weeks following the Welcome Back letter, sometimes offering a special incentive to re-join.
Increasingly, nonprofits that have email addresses on file for their donors are also introducing an online contact in this effort.
The best advice I can give you to learn more about this process is to read my book, "Revolution in the Mailbox, Revised Edition." The topic is covered in that book, though not as thoroughly as you might wish. But it will help you understand the context in which donors lapse -- and the many steps you can take to minimize that occurrence.
A comment on the importance of thanking your donors
I don't have a question, but a comment if permitted. If a donor drops off in my case it would be for the lack of an appreciation letter that is absent of an additional request for support. I've only received one such letter and I would support them again. Their thank you letter did not include another request for funds, but stated what was being done with what I sent and the appreciation for it. It also stated the continuance of their program.
EVERY NON PROFIT BEGS and I receive tons of mail I shred every day for the lack of appreciation and grace. The next letter could state a project or continuance of a program and the need of continued support, but never the appreciation thank you letter. Just a suggestion.
Mal answers: Amen. This is what I tell my clients. Thanks for writing.
How should we acknowledge donations?
I am the director of a small non-profit, incorporated in 1996. We started with only the $700 which I borrowed from a family member. We have achieved regional/national coverage of issues concerning animal experimentation. How involved should donation acknowledgements be? To whom should they be sent? How often should they be used?
Mal answers: As far as I'm concerned, two of the basic precepts of fundraising are:
(1) If you don't ask, you don't get.
(2) If you don't show gratitude for the gifts you get, you won't get as many in the future.
So, my rule of thumb is, send a thank-you for every gift you receive. If you get lots of gifts, you may eventually need to draw the line at a very modest amount, say, $5.
For a small organization such as yours, I suggest you prepare a form letter and leave room to write "Dear So-and-so" above the text and hand-sign the letter at the bottom.
However, if you receive a gift for $250 or more, you'll also need to send a receipt, acknowledging the amount and citing the date of the gift. The IRS requires this.
Good luck!
What should be included in a thank you program?
I sent my client the budget for a thank you program. The cost, with laser personalization and first-class postage, comes to about $1 per piece. The client says that in the last campaign they received 100,000 gifts, so this cost is scaring him. We talked about a few options, please tell me what you think:
1. Postcards — Why do clients always want to thank with postcards? I told him that I do not prefer this method — that it's impersonal and doesn't allow for the opportunity for the donor to send another gift.
2. They could have a person in-house send the thank-yous. He was talking about generic letters I told him that they should at least be able to do a mail merge and laser personalize the letters. I also emphasized that timeliness is important.
What do you think?
Mal answers:
The most important elements in a thank-you program, in descending order of importance, are:
1) sending something
2) sending it fast
3) including an opportunity for a return gift or other response
4) tailoring it to the individual
I strongly believe that it's worth $1 per gift to do all four. If your client does a postcard program in-house, he's only covering one (admittedly the most important) — and, less likely — the second of the bases as well.
If this organization actually receive 100,000 gifts, they're likely to average $30 at an absolutely minimum. So $1 per gift is only about 3% of the gross. And if — as I believe — that $1 investment helps to increase the response and, perhaps, the average gift as well, I feel it will be money wisely spent.
What kind of thank you gift is best?
Each year our organization conducts a home tour as a fundraiser. This year, the owners of a brand-new, million dollar home graciously allowed us to displace them for 11 days over the week of Thanksgiving while the house was decorated and toured. The home owners agreed not to invite their very large family to their new home for their traditional family Thanksgiving Dinner. The event was extremely successful with 400+ people touring the home and generated revenue of between $12,000 and $15,000. Their contribution to the organization was of a highly personal nature for this very invasive event and they were gracious and patient through the entire ordeal. As a demonstration of our gratitude, is it appropriate to give them a $100 gift certificate to a local restaurant as a show of thanks and a way to repay some of their lost privacy and comfort? Thank you for your insight.
Mal answers: What a wonderful thing you've done -- and how selfless and giving the family's contribution! This is a beautiful example of true philanthropy. I congratulate you as well as the family who gave up their home at such a home-centered time of the year.
I'm sure that the act of giving itself was the greatest reward for the family involved (just as I imagine it is for you and the other volunteers in the project). But expressions of appreciation are almost always welcome. As one of my friends in fundraising is fond of repeating, "the two most important words in fundraising are Thank You."
You'll have to judge what form of thanks might please the family the most -- whether some form of public recognition for their selflessness, or something really personal (such as handwritten notes of appreciation from the beneficiaries of the organization they helped), or a restaurant certificate as a token of thanks. Do something, for sure. But use your best judgment to determine what would be most appropriate under the circumstances.
Thank you for writing!
How quickly should donors be thanked?
How quickly do you recommend that "thank you's" be sent? We need to set a policy and apparently saying "as soon as possible" leaves many options open.
Mal answers: Thank-you letters are one of the most important elements in a direct response fundraising program. And testing shows that the sooner those letters are sent, the more positive are the results.
You ask, How soon is soon enough? To me, the ideal time lapse is zero: a thank-you printed and mailed the day the gift is received. Since this is almost never feasible, the next-best scenario is to mail the following day. As a practical matter, I tell clients that a 72-hour turnaround is good — and, I hope, good enough to impress donors with their efficiency and gratitude.
Nonetheless, many nonprofits cannot — for good reasons — get thank-yous into the mail so quickly. In those cases, I'll settle for one week's turnaround. More than a week's lapse of time may undermine the effectiveness of the acknowledgement.
With all this said, my colleagues and I at my newsletter have tested many of the country's major nonprofits to measure the time it takes for them to send thank-yous. We found that disgracefully few large nonprofits meet my criteria for turnaround — and, lamentably, some never sent any thank-you at all.
My conclusion from all this? That any well-run nonprofit organization with a sensitive development department can gain a significant long-term advantage over many of the country's biggest nonprofits simply by following the simple rule to send timely thank-you's.
When is a thank you gift appropriate?
When, if ever, is it appropriate to give a gift to a donor as a thank you? What are some good guidelines around the issue of expressing thanks to donors?
Mal answers: Good question! I believe that occasional gifts to donors need to be modest, inexpensive (in proportion to the gift), and appropriate to the mission and character of the organization. It's also highly desirable that they be items that a donor will display at home or in the office, so that they're seen by others, too, and thus have promotional value. The very best gifts serve as "conversation pieces" that will give a donor opportunities to proselytize for your organization when friends or colleagues ask.
Good examples of major donor gifts include:
* a copy of a new book written by someone involved in the organization or at least in an issue of common concern to the organization as well as to the donor
* a handsome paperweight or clock bearing the organization's logo (in the case of very substantial gifts)
* a miniature model of a new building a donor's gift has helped to erect
* a hand-made book containing photos and brief, first-person testimonials from clients or other beneficiaries of the organization
For donors whose gifts are much more modest -- less than $200, say -- commonly-used gifts (generally referred to as premiums) include such things as calendars, refrigerator magnets, and lapel pins. In all such cases, the organization's logo (and possibly its address, phone number, and Web address) need to be featured, so that the premium generates promotional value as well.
I hope this helps. Thanks for writing, and good luck!
When should we call our donors to thank them?
What time of year is best to call on donors and thank them for their contribution? We have an event once a year called the 'Thank-a-thon' in which volunteers call donors and thank them for their support etc. Should we be doing this more than once a year and what donors should we be targeting?
Mal answers: There's no best time to say thank you. My rule is, thank your donors early, and thank them often. Your thank-a-thon is a terrific idea. I wouldn't be inclined to run it twice a year -- unless you can call different groups of donors each time. For example, early in the year you might call all those donors who sent gifts in the final months of the calendar year (or in the first couple of weeks of the new year). Mid-year -- say, June -- you could call all those who contributed since then.
It's worthwhile calling as many of your donors as you can comfortably reach with the volunteer time and energy available to you. Normally, I'd limit thank-you calls to those whose gifts were equal to or greater than some threshhold amount -- maybe $100, or $50, or even $25. But if you've got the volunteers, why limit yourselves? (Some of the smallest donors may turn out to leave you bequests!)
What's the best way follow up with a telephone?
We just mailed (about 10 days ago) about 2500 requests to join our Patrons Circle -- gifts of $2,500 or more. A selection are personalized by board members or our director, the rest not. It's a pretty good list. We've gotten about a dozen responses. Is there any literature out there about the best way to do telephone follow up?
Mal answers: I'm not aware of anything extensive in writing about using the telephone for what I call high-dollar phoning of the sort you're describing. In fact, there is precious little in print about telefundraising of any sort. I guess the practitioners of that rarefied art are talkers rather than writers.
Here, though, are a few questions to ponder:
** Are the people you mailed to truly good prospects for gifts at that level, or do they just happen to be presenter in your leaderships' address books?
** Are the people who will follow up by phone genuinely well-informed about the museum and its fundraising program? They'll need to be, if they're asking for gifts of $2,500 or more.
** What are the benefits for joining your Patrons' Circle -- or is it just a fancy name for a giving level?
** How much time will have elapsed before starting your phone followup since you mailed your appeals? If it's more than two weeks or so, you may find the recipients don't have a clue what you're talking about.
** Are you planning to lead the conversation by asking whether the person on the phone received your letter? Don't. That's an invitation to put you off by saying "I'll read it and get back to you."
** Are you prepared for long conversations on the phone? If anyone is truly interested in sending you $2,500 or more, it's more than likely that she or he will have a lot of questions. You'll need to be prepared.
How can we thank different levels of donors?
Is it preferable to have different thank you letters for various levels of giving? If so, how long should they be, and should the more elaborate ones be for the larger donors? Other than with premiums, how can the gratitude process be enhanced?
Mal answers: Interesting questions! You've certainly zeroed in on one of the most important -- and most under-valued -- aspects of the fundraising process.
For starters, the rule of thumb I use with donors of all sorts and at every level of giving is "Thank them early, and often!" It's really hard to say thank you too frequently, or in too many different ways.
This rule of thumb translates into a couple of corollaries:
(1) The sooner a thank-you goes out, the better. If it's going to take your mailroom staff several days to get out a thank-you letter, and if the gift is large enough (or simply represents a meaningful upgrade), it's best to call -- ideally, the same day the gift is received.
(2) Every solicitation should be a thank-you. Don't forget to acknowledge generous previous support in your appeals.
Most of my clients set working rules to determine the form of acknowledgement they'll send in response to any given gift:
* a phone call from a senior staff member plus a personalized letter mailed via first class to acknowledge significant gifts (sometimes $100+, sometimes $1000+)
* a personalized letter mailed via first class to acknowledge mid-range gifts (say, $50-999)
* a generic letter mailed third class for gifts of less than $50
Sometimes these personalized letters include a tax receipt as well.
The length of these letters usually doesn't vary with giving level. In fact, most effective thank-you letters run no more than a single page. (I can think of some striking exceptions, but they're few in number.)
Other forms of appreciation include premiums (such as a signed book that relates to the organization's work in some way) as well as public recognition (certificates, plaques, listing in newsletters, annual reports, or on Web sites). Be careful with recognition, though: it's important to secure written permission if you're going to print someone's name in a document for distribution to the public.
How should we calculate gift recognition levels?
Mal, settle a dispute with my boss, ok? Regarding gift recognition levels, he says keep it simple: calculate total gifts at year-end and the donor's automatically a member of whatever "club" she lands in. I see the administrative beauty in that but fear it could make membership look accidental rather than deliberately sought. In implementing our annual giving program, I think a donor's memorial/honor gifts, for example, ought to be excluded from the sum. What do you think—are all gifts eligible in determining a donor's recognition? Thanks for setting one of us straight!
Mal answers: I hope it's obvious there's no "right" and "wrong" here. However, with a 62-person staff, I suspect your boss' desire for administrative simplicity is well-justified. Apparently, confusion mounts geometrically with staff size. So I'd generally go along with your boss. However, I see your point about excluding memorial and honor gifts. These, after all, are designated, earmarked gifts. You might consider as a fallback including only unrestricted, general support gifts (assuming that's most of what you get).
How should monthly gifts be acknowledged?
We have a few monthly donors but are about to launch a campaign to acquire more (thanks for the very helpful guidance in How To Write Successful Fundraising Letters). My question is whether to tell these prospective monthly donors that they will receive an initial acknowledgement of their gift and then a year-end acknowledgement for their taxes, or whether donors want a monthly acknowledgement (with copy of their charge slip for instance). We are only taking monthly gifts by charge card. My instinct tells me that as we build this program monthly acknowledgements will become burdensome, but I don't want donors to feel ignored. Some guidance? Thanks.
Mal answers: I'm happy to hear that you're investing in building your monthly donor program, since that's one of the surest ways to upgrade donors and involve them more deeply in your work. It's also good to know that you're accepting only credit card gifts; too many nonprofits fall into the trap of promising to send monthly statements -- an onerous procedure, and one that yields a much lower rate of fulfillment than gifts by pre-authorized credit card or electronic funds transfer.
As you note, it's very important to stay in touch with your monthly givers. However, I don't think the way to do that is to send monthly receipts. Doing so would undercut one of the principal attractions of a monthly giving program -- that it reduces administrative expenses and cuts down on the flow of paperwork.
My favorite means for keeping monthly donors posted are (a) to include them in any regular newsletter or magazine mailings (and possibly add a cover note expressly for monthly donors), and (b) to produce an inexpensive and informal "insiders' newsletter" in addition to any other publications three to six times per year. (Such a newsletter might be sent to major donor and planned giving prospects as well as monthly donors.) I also think it's important to include monthly givers in each year-end appeal by asking them to upgrade their monthly gifts by a small amount.
How should we respond when we learn that a donor has died?
I'm looking for suggestions about how to reply to people when they've been mailed something and the addressee has deceased. This could be recent, or many years earlier. Any thoughts on this sensitive subject? It strikes me that how it's handled could yield vastly different results.
Mal answers: I've never had to write such a letter, since my clients shield me from some of these challenging tasks. However, I routinely advise them to take care to respond personally, promptly -- ideally, within a day or two -- and very sensitively. In many cases, a simple apology will do. In others there may be some indication from the person who writes you that she or he also admires your work. In such cases, it might be advantageous to relate some impressive current information about your organization, leading in with a statement such as "I'm sure that [NAME] would have been pleased and proud to learn that recently . . ."
How do you measure the long-term value of a donor?
I attended the Forum for Fundraising web-seminar "Surviving the Minefield of Direct Mail Fundraising " and you had mentioned determining the long term value of acquiring donors through direct mail (the net revenue). Do you have a "formula" for acquiring that information? I was also wondering what the current average cost is to attain a donor? Thank you so much!
Mal answers: Yes, there are "formulas" for determining Long-Term Value, and they can even be expressed as equations. Really long ones. Simple, but long. However, as a practical matter, it's more helpful to read about the process.
I've written about several different approaches to measuring Long-Term Value in my book, "Revolution in the Mailbox." The best I can do for you is to suggest that you obtain a copy of it. It's in a lot of libraries, and it's widely available online. (The book was revised several years ago, but the Long-Term Value methods are in both editions.)
Calculating acquisition cost is much easier, but it would be foolish for me to pretend that there is any "average." I've seen the figure range anywhere from $1 to $300. Here, my Universal Law of Fundraising applies: "It depends." More to the point, that number is relative to the Long-Term Value. If the latter is, say, $1000, then an acquisition cost of $100 could make good sense. If the Long-Term Value is $100, then that would not be the case.
Best of luck, and thank you for writing!
What approaches or formulas do you use to calculate a donor's long-term or lifetime value?
What approaches or formulas do you use to calculate a donor's long-term or lifetime value? Do you find it to be a valuable analysis and/or targeting variable?
Mal answers: Long-Term (or "Lifetime") Value is probably THE most important variable in fundraising. However, the methods of calculating it are not easily dealt with in email. In my recent book, Revolution in the Mailbox, I discuss three different approaches to that calculation. The best I can do here is to refer you to it. The book was just published by Jossey-Bass.
How can we start raising money from our alumni?
As far as I know, no state 4-H foundation has figured a way to tap our most valuable resource, alumni! Some have had very successful capital and/or annual funds, but few have really tapped alumni.
In a random statewide telephone survey five years ago, over 80% of respondents were familiar with the Wyoming 4-H Program. I conservatively estimate that 125,000 to 150,000 Wyoming residents are 4-H Alumni. I have formed the opinion that these alumni are a virtual untapped financial resource for our program.
I'm convinced that we can increase our donor base from 2,000 to 20,000 and our gross income to over $1 million annually. Where do we begin?
Mal answers: There are two overarching questions you need to answer before you can build a financial base among your alumni.
(1) You say that "I have formed the opinion that these alumni are a virtual untapped financial resource for our program." But is this really true? You won't know for sure until you ask. So, how about hunting up a market researcher on the faculty of the University of Wyoming or some other college or university in Wyoming to arrange some marketing research? At a minimum, focus groups would reveal a lot of insight -- not just about whether your alumni *would* give but also what incentives or messages might *induce* them to give.
(2) You also say that you don't know how to find your alumni. Are most of them still living in Wyoming? (Marketing research might turn up anecdotal answers to this question.) If the answer is yes, then why not try a statewide campaign, perhaps including a contest with prizes, and enlist the state's TV and radio stations and newspapers in an effort to persuade your alumni to identify themselves? That might be as simple as setting up a few toll-free numbers with answering machines, and talking a few merchants into donating prizes for the lucky winners whose names are drawn at random from the respondents. I'm sure there are well-heeled companies in Wyoming -- Wal-Mart, for example -- that would find an association with 4-H to be irresistable.
When do you give up on a nondonor?
How many appeals do you send to a nondonor before you stop soliciting them?
Mal answers: Good question! But there are at least two flavors of nondonors, and the answer is very different depending on which you're talking about.
First, there are nondonors who have truly never given you money -- unresponsive alumni, for example (in your case). Since groups like this represent a limited universe -- and since people's attitudes may change over time -- there is value in maintaining contact through the years. Unresponsive younger alumni may become major donors or legacy donors when they're older. But there's little value in continually resoliciting them when they're young if they don't respond after several tries; once a year should suffice, whereas you may well solicit responsive alumni half a dozen times during the year.
Second, there are formerly responsive donors who have failed to respond for several years. Of course, these aren't nondonors, technically speaking, but they might as well be. They're "lapsed" donors, if they've been unresponsive for up to two or three years -- or "former" donors, if they've been responsive for, say, three years or more. These folks are worth a great deal, especially if you're dealing with a strictly limited universe of potential donors, such as your alumni. It's worth continuing to pursue these lapsed or former donors. However, at the point where they become lapsed or former donors, it makes sense to send them custom-tailored appeals that reflect their status -- special versions of your appeals that address the lapse in time since they last gave and which might have special contents, such as a brief questionnaire inquiring why they're no longer giving.
Is it effective to mail different acquisition letters to different interest groups?
In the case of an agency that serves clients with HIV/AIDS related illnesses, cancer patients, and other terminally ill clients, would an acquisition campaign be more effective with 3 letters that speak to the three differing groups, or one letter that speaks to all of the conditions and their need for assistance?
Mal answers: Good question -- and an easy one to answer.
I have never seen an instance when it was cost-effective to mail different acquisition packages to different lists in the same campaign, and on several occasions when I've actually tested this proposition -- using different signers, or distinct packages for men and women, or different approaches to different "markets" -- I've failed every time.
I recognize that there are circumstances in which multiple control packages for separate markets might make sense, but generally those involve much larger quantities than you or I are likely to mail in the normal course of our fundraising operations.
Incidentally, I'm not alone in this view. The late Richard V. Benson, one of the all-time masters of the direct mail craft, felt the same way after mailing billions of letters over three decades. That puts me in good company, I believe.
What is a normal rate of retention for new donors?
I would like to know what the industry standard is for retaining newly acquired donors? We found that only about a quarter of 2001 donors renewed in 2002! Is there something terribly wrong?
What is the average percent of donors from an aquisition mailing that give a second gift?
Mal answers: I'm not aware of any "industry standard" for this benchmark, but I can tell you without hesitation that you are far from alone in retaining just one out of four of your newly-acquired donors. In my experience, first-year renewal rates of 25 to 35% seem to be the rule rather than the exception. I know of other cases in which that rate might be as high as 50 to 60%, but those are very unusual circumstances.
However, that begs the question. More to the point, ask yourself what you are doing to encourage second gifts. Are you mailing warm, personal thank-yous to donors within a couple of days of receiving their gifts? Are you sending new-donor welcome packages shortly after acknowledging first gifts, explaining all the ways that donors can help your organization? Are you allowing your donors to express their preferences about how much mail you send them, and whether you'll phone them? When you thank donors for their gifts, or in subsequent communications, are you explaining exactly how their funds were used to advance your mission?
None of those steps will guarantee a higher first-year renewal rate in the short run. But, taken together over the long term, I'm sure you would find that rate climbing steadily higher.
When should donors be asked how they prefer to be contacted?
I attended your workshop on working in the new direct-response environment at AFP 2002. I remember (and see in my notes) that you spoke about offering potential donors options about how they wish to be related to (receive mail 1/yr v. more, etc). I just wanted to clarify that this was in mailing to prospective donors (not current), and that this is meant to increase acquisition rates (not retention)? If so, have you written more on this topic in your newsletter or another publication I could consult? Thank you!
Mal answers: I apologize. Apparently, I didn't make myself clear. I meant to suggest this not for acquisition but for communications with donors once they've given at least once. One of the best ways to introduce the option is via a thank-you letter or welcome package.
With that said, however, it would certainly be interesting to test the proposition in acquisition! Please let me know if you decide to try -- and what the outcome is.
What donor-recognition devices do you suggest for those who shun recognition?
We have four designated donor groups — Friends ($100 annually), President's Council ($500 annually), President's Circle ($1,000 annually) and President's Cabinet ($5,000 annually). We hold donor recognition dinners where all donor groups are invited but have no other donor recognition except names listed by donor group in the annual report. Nearly all donors are 50+ years old. We've surveyed donors and they say they don't want recognition, but we would like find some sort of recognition or incentive that will help us advance donors from one group to the next. All those stories about Lutherans are true!
Mal answers: Not to disillusion you, but that contradiction between what people say and what they do is hardly limited to Lutherans! Donor research typically finds that individuals in overwhelming numbers say they don't want recognition, particularly in the case of statewide or national organizations in which it may have less meaning. Nonetheless, most people are flattered when they get it. After all, how many people opt to be listed as "Anonymous" when they're asked for permission to be listed as donors in an annual report?
To me, the better question is not what recognition you can offer — there are plenty of gimmicks available — but what involvement opportunities you can put into place. For example, are there issues in your work that might interest many of your donors? You could, then, organize a conference call with an expert on that issue, providing donors with a toll-free number to call in. Or is your chief executive a well-known, even charismatic figure whom donors would like to know? You could do a conference call update with him or her periodically — or hold an annual reception or dinner just for certain classes of donors.
Another form of recognition that bears multiple benefits is a detailed questionnaire that seeks information about both personal preferences and about donors' views on the work of your organization. A personalized questionnaire for top donors only could provide you with the sort of actionable information that allows you to improve the way you treat your donors — omitting the newsletter, for instance, if a donor says she doesn't want to get it.
Use your imagination. But think of involvement as well as recognition. That way you'll truly help build stronger long-term relationships with your best donors.
How do I respond to a "no response necessary" request from a donor?
A newer donor has sent memo saying "No response necessary" with his second gift. Should I really NOT thank him for his donation?
Mal answers: Thank him. After all, did he write "Don't thank me on pain of death?" Drop him a brief, warm note, expressing your appreciation. Everybody likes to be appreciated. And if he responds with a complaint, write him again to explain how important his support is to your institution. With luck, you'll start a dialogue that will help build a stronger relationship.
When should a major gift be accepted and/or put in writing?
Our organization has a large donor who last year gave an amount equal to about a quarter of our budget. Our donor would like the money to be used for a specific project related to our mission-critical work. The project may involve increasing fixed costs but at the same time there is no commitment to give beyond year to year. Should the agreement and deliverables be put in writing and treated more like a grant from a foundation? What portion of the donation should be slated for overhead? Any other advice?
Mal answers: This is a fascinating question. It's fraught with ethical, technical, and psychological aspects, all at the same time. Let's take the ethical component first.
As with any gift you accept, you are of course bound to spend the funds in the manner specified by the donor. It's certainly fair to set aside a portion of the contribution for overhead. I have no idea what percentage would be fair in your circumstances. Certainly at least 10% would seem reasonable. But it's important that the donor specifically agree to whatever proportion you determine is right. Otherwise, you're open to the charge of using the gift for unapproved purposes.
From the perspective of fundraising technique, it seems as though your challenge is to coax the donor to support the project in question for more than the first year. To do so, you would be well advised to have a frank conversation with the donor about the continuing costs occasioned by this project. After all, the donor will want the project to continue, too. If there is any significant doubt that other donors will step forward in future years to pick up the slack should the original donor decline to give again, it might be more appropriate to talk to the donor about spreading the gift over two or three years, giving you more time to raise funds to continue the work.
Of course, as always, psychology may intrude on such a plan. If your relationship with the donor isn't close enough to permit such frank discussions, and if the project is unlikely to be continued after the donor's gift runs out, then you may need to consider not accepting the money in the first place. (That gets us back to ethics once again.)
In any case, I agree with your instinct that a written agreement is in order. Given the complications in this situation, it seems doubly important to get everything down in writing.
How can we increase our donor renewal rate?
Most of our Development staff is new to this organization. We've recently discovered that our donor renewal rate is only 45-50% year to year. What a shock! As direct mail manager, I want to do all I can to hang on to new donors: I'm instituting "thank you" phone calls to higher end donors, creating a different acknowledgement letter welcoming them, will mention in this year's solicitation letters that we appreciate their first gift last year, and may send out a survey.
Mal answers: It's great to hear from you -- although I admit I'd be more pleased if the picture you paint were a little more encouraging.
Let's start by dissecting the problem you pose:
(1) As you're no doubt aware, it's important to distinguish between the renewal rate for new (first-time) donors versus multi-year donors (i.e., those that already renewed at least once). Normally, there's a very big difference between those rates. I've seen first-year rates as low as 25%, multi-year rates as high as 85%. more typically, though, the first-year rate is 30-40%, the multi-year rate 60-70%.
(2) As you can see, then, the aggregate renewal rate will depend on the proportions of new versus multi-year donors. If your organization is in an intensive growth phase, bringing in lots of new donors, then — conceivably — an overall renewal rate of 45-50% might be just fine. But more likely, I suppose, it's not fine. The National Cathedral has been around a long time, and you probably have many donors of long standing.
(3) Another, major variable that determines the renewal rate is the number of times you ask donors to renew. Once or twice are not enough. That's why I favor the use of a renewal "series" — whether or not you choose to call donors "members." (The approach works equally well with an annual fund or annual campaign.) So, I suggest you consider that approach if you're not already employing it. If you're not — if you're asking only once for renewals — then 45-50% could be an extremely high rate!
(4) With all that said, it sounds as though you're doing (or planning to do) many of the things that will encourage donor loyalty. You're obviously on the right track with tailored acknowledgements, donor recognition, and donor involvement.
I wish you luck -- and please let me know how you fare!
Sign Up