https://bloomerang.co

1. Donor Communications
Secrets to Success
Presenter: Jay Love

2. Your Presenter
Jay B. Love
!
• 30 Years of Technology Leadership
• Over 20,000 Database Installations
• Former Founder & CEO of eTapestry
• Former CEO of Master Software/Fund-­‐Master
• AFP Board Member
• AFP Ethics Committee Chairman
• Center on Philanthropy at IU Board Member
• Innovation Fund at Butler University Board Member
• Gleaners Food Bank Board Member
• Co-­‐Chair of Indianapolis YMCA Capital Campaign
3

3. Do you know your retention rate?
In our surveys, less than
45% of fundraisers
knew their current
donor retention rate.

4. The 2013 FEP results are in »
6 out of every 10 donors do not give again!

5. New donor retention is even worse »

6. Donor Attrition Over Five Years
So what?
# of Donors Attrition
Rate
Donors
Remaining
After 1 Year
Donors
Remaining
After 2
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 3
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 4
Years
Donors
Remaining
After 5
Years
1,000 20% 800 640 512 410 328
1,000 40% 600 360 216 130 78
1,000 60% 400 160 64 26 10
https://bloomerang.co/retention

7. Why nonprofit donors leave »
• 5% -­‐ thought charity did not need them
• 8% -­‐ no info on how monies were used
• 9% -­‐ no memory of supporting
• 13% -­‐ never got thanked for donating
• 16% -­‐ death
• 18% -­‐ poor service or communication
• 36% -­‐ others more deserving
• 54% -­‐ could no longer afford
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140520191728-746287--infographic-why-donors-stop-their-support

8. Why nonprofit donors leave »
BAD COMMUNICATION

9. Cue the experts »

10. Cue the experts »
A significant
number of donors lapse
because they find
the communications
they receive
inappropriate.
- Dr. Adrian Sergeant,
Bloomerang Chief Scientist
http://www.afpnet.org/files/ContentDocuments/Donor_Retention_What_Do_We_Know.pdf

11. Cue the experts »
“Are your charity's
fundraising, advocacy
or other "persuasion"
communications
riddled with common,
hidden flaws that limit
their effectiveness?”
- Tom Ahern,
Bloomerang Donor
Communications Head Coach

12. Goal of donor communications »
You send a message...
...and you want action!

13. First, ask yourself »
1. What do I know about the target audience?
2. What does that knowledge suggest I do?
3. What are the obstacles?

14. You send a message »
Ignore Pay
attention

15. You send a message »
Ignore Pay
attention

16. Why were you successful? »
• How did you grab my attention?
• How did you stir my emotion?
• How did you make your case so I cared?
• How did you talk to me personally?
• How did you advance the case story?
• How were you relevant to the reader?
• How were you relevant to the times?

17. Secret to Success #1 »
You’re trying for “mental nods.”

18. You send a message »
Pay
attention
Ignore
Skim & engage Skim & discard

19. You send a message »
Pay
attention
Ignore
Skim & engage Skim & discard

20. You send a message »
Pay attention
Skim & engage
Not satisfied Satisfied
Action No action
© 2013 Tom Ahern
Ignore
Skim & discard

21. © 2013 Tom Ahern
An Example »

22. Personalization
Brief opening
Why am I in
your home?
Ask #1.
Do I have
relevant news?
Ask #2.
Do we have a
connection?
Ask #3.

23. Reinforce the
connection
Are donors
important?
Far more than
you might
realize.

24. Disqualify other
sources of
income
Demonstrate
importance of
donors’ work
Ask #4
Shift responsibility for the success of the mission onto
donors’ shoulders

25. Remind what’s
at stake
Ask #5
News value.
Urgency.
And Ask #6.
Flesch reading ease: 58, Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 8

26. Ahern Audit »

27. Secret to Success #2 »
Your appeal is NOT about how
wonderful your organization is.
Your appeal IS about how
wonderful the donor is.

28. Beginning of
mail
Elapsed time:
1-­‐3 seconds
End of mail

29. You do not sell everything to
everyone.
!
You sell to specific values, feelings, beliefs,
hopes, dreams, connections, affiliations, tribes,
etc.

30. It’s not about you.
It’s about the donor.

31. Not you.
The donor.

32. Not you.

33. The donor.

34. First Question »
What kind of communication
am I going to write today?

35. Types of Donor Communications »
• Letters
• Emails
• Acknowledgements
• Newsletters
• Social Media
• Videos
• Blog Posts

36. Two Distinct Types of Appeals »
1. Acquisition
(no gift yet, reader is a stranger)
2. Renewal
(made a prior gift, reader is a friend)

37. Acquisition Response Rate »
½ of 1%

38. Renewal Response Rate »
40-­‐70%

39. Ask Yourself (Acquisitions) »
1. Who are you (your promise)?
2. What do you want?
3. Why should I trust you?
4. Why do you matter?
5. How do you relate to me?
6. What’s the rush?

40. Ask Yourself (Renewals) »
1. What did you do with my prior gift?
2. Are you grateful?
3. What do you want now?
4. Do you have proof?
5. Again: Who are you?
6. What’s the rush?

41. Personalize! »
• Use the person’s name
• Use the pronouns “you” and “I”
• Include an audience attribute:
“As a parent, you know....”
• Geography: “As a resident of...”
• Hand-­‐written touches

43. Secret to Success #3 »
Make your donors the solution to
some local problem.

44. Dr. Adrian Sargeant: Why Donors Stay Loyal »
They’re aware of consequences
!
“Someone might be hurt if I don’t give.”

45. “…the purpose is to get the
reader involved long enough and
interested enough to make a
positive decision. Nothing else.”
-­‐-­‐ Jerry Huntsinger

46. Secret to Success #4 »
1st paragraph: 10 words or less.

48. Secret to Success #5 »
Multiple asks

49. Multiple Asks
Logo
[ Optional important message ]
Dear Ms. Smith,
If you’re like me, the sight of kids
running around on stage in silly
costumes makes you giggle with
delight.
Sincerely,
Ms. Sincerity Champion, ED ! PS: ytuytggygkigkygkygigikgy
Ask!
Ask!
Ask!
Ask!

50. The purpose of donor communications:
To get inside a person’s home or office ...
... and carry on a brief, persuasive
“conversation in print,” hoping it
will earn your cause a gift.

51. It’s not breaking and
entering.

52. How does a good
guest act?

54. Donor Communications Checklist »
• Is the letter a conversation – or a brochure?
• Is the opening sentence short?
• Is it personal (“you” and “I”)?
• Have I said why I’m here? (“I’m writing to you today
because...”)
• Does it make a promise?
• Is there urgency?
• Are there at least 3 asks?
• Does it entertain (tell a story, offer news)?
• Is the donor the hero?

55. Secret to Success #6 »
Don’t bore me.

56. Neuroscience says…
“Coming across new information triggers a
chemical reaction that makes us feel good,
which in turns causes us to seek out even
more of it.”
Source: Wall Street Journal article by Lee Gomes, on USC neuroscientist, Dr. Irving
Biederman; published March 12, 2008

57. Dear Jane Sample,
!
Our doctors call it "Day Zero.”
!
It’s the day you come back from the dead.

58. New Anything
Will Grab My Attention
(including the word “new”)

59. Also “new-­‐ish”
Words like secret, hidden, hints, tips,
update, private, confidential, mystery,
discover, unveil, expose, reveal, divulge.
Phrases like "Did you know?", "Myths
and Facts," "Frequently Asked
Questions," "Heard on the Blog."

60. Secret to Success #7 »
Know your SMIT.
Single Most Important Thing.

61. “Focus on the SMIT (single most important thing)
you want to tell someone, right now. Ideally
focused on a story about an individual.”
-­‐-­‐ Jonathon Grapsas

64. Secret to Success #8 »
Get them into a fight.

66. “Giving is not about a calculation of
what you are buying,” Yale economics
professor, Dean Karlan, proved.
“It is about participating in a fight.”
The New York Times | March 9, 2008

68. Secret to Success #9 »
Make a promise.

69. They are not giving to this, at least not initially
Memphis Child Advocacy Center
Helping Victims
Become Children Again
They are giving to this

70. Donors don’t give to your
organization.
They give through your
organization to:
• fix a problem they worry about
• sustain or expand a solution they believe in
• get more of what they’re interested in
• feel like they’ve made a difference

71. What You Must Have »
• Emotion
• A story
• Urgency

72. 9 Secrets to Success »
1. Mental nods
2. Not about you, it’s about the donor
3. Make your donor the solution to a problem
4. 1st paragraph: 10 words or less
5. Multiple asks
6. Don’t bore me
7. Know your SMIT
8. As long as it needs to be
9. Colloquial language

73. Questions?

74. Free resources »
https://bloomerang.co/resources/

75. Next-­‐Gen Database/CRM
https://bloomerang.co/demo/