This document summarizes a presentation about getting donors to fall in love with nonprofit organizations. It discusses why donor retention is important, ways to determine if donors feel connected like regularly donating and volunteering, and strategies for building strong donor relationships through consistent communication, making the donation process easy, showing donors the impact of their contributions, and thanking them. The presentation also provides examples from Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy and recommends tools for tailored fundraising campaigns.

1. Getting your donors
to fall in love with you
#501TechNYC
Farra Trompeter | Big Duck
Will Nolan | Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy
February 12, 2014

2. #501TechNYC
@Farra
@BigDuck
@ParentProjectMD

3. What we’ll discuss
• Why this matters
• Ways to tell if your donors love you
• How to get donors to fall in love with you
• Resources

4. Why are you here?

5. Talk amongst yourselves
• Name
• Organization
• I donate to ______
because ________.

6. Why am I here?

9. Use your brand to drive
fundraising communications
• Feature your ‘big idea’ and personality
• Bring your audience into the story
• Consistently connect your messaging
across channels

10. http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-pick-up-a-co-worker-carefully-2011-3

11. Keeping donors is getting harder
• Donor retention rates dropping (now 27%)
• Recurring gift donors = 10% of U.S. donors
• Cost to acquire a new donor 6-7x cost to
retain an existing donor
http://www.npengage.com/ and Blackbaud

12. “Improving donor retention by
just 10% can double the lifetime
value of your donor database.”
~ Adrian Sargeant, fundraising researcher
http://www.etsy.com/listing/57289587/dollar-origami-mini-double-valentine

13. 53% of donors leave due to the
charity’s lack of communication
~ Jay Love, Bloomerang
http://www.nonprofitmarketingblog.com/site/why_donors_stop_their_support

14. Are your donors in
love with you?

15. 1. She spends her money and
her time.

16. 2. She gives to you on a
regular basis.

17. 3. She acts when you ask,
and asks when you act.

18. 4. She raises money for you too.

19. 5. She reads what you send.

20. 6. She answers when you call.

21. 7. She comes to your parties.

22. 8. She wears it on her sleeve.

23. 9. She knows where her
money goes.

24. 10. She thinks giving to you
is easy.

25. 11. She talks about what you do.

26. BONUS: She stars in your videos
http://philanthropy.com/blogs/prospecting/university-thanks-big-donors-with-a-rap-video/31593

27. Ways to tell if she’s in love…
1. She volunteers.
2. She gives regularly.
3. She takes action.
4. She asks friends to give.
5. She cares what you have to say.
6. She answers the phone.
7. She attends events.
8. She buys and wears your goodies.
9. She feels good about giving to you.
10. She gives to you --- again.
11. She understands you and talks about it.

28. How to do it…

29. Use tools to manage
fundraising communications
• CRM/donor database
• Customizable donation pages
• Email blasts and message scheduling
• Peer-to-peer or social fundraising
• Event ticketing and promotion
• Advocacy campaigns
• Social media integration

31. These tools will allow you to…
• Segment your database
• Send targeted communications, including
welcome series, triggered emails
• Give your supporter non-$ actions to take
• Support donors as fundraisers
• Help you add names to your list
• Track how supporters engage with you
across communications channels

32. These tools will allow you to…
get some donor love!

33. Case Study:
Parent Project
Muscular Dystrophy

34. Make it easy for supporters to
find and connect with you
Start collecting names via…
• Events
• Your website
• Social media “likers” and “followers”
• Online actions
• Direct mail acquisition

35. Let’s dive in!

36. Let’s dive in!

37. Let’s dive in!

38. Help your donors understand
and know who you are
Establish your voice and identity via…
• Clear, visible explanations of your mission
• Regular signers & faces of your
organization
• Welcome messages, thank yous

39. Let’s dive in!

42. Let your donors know when
they will hear from you
Stay relevant and top-of-mind by…
• Regular frequency of messages
• Messages that feel relevant
• A clear explanation of supporters’ role

45. Be where your donors are
Establish a presence in the right channels…
• Researching your supporters’ preferences
and habits
• Build the pages or systems you need to
get each channel up and running
• Cross-promote other channels regularly

50. Tell your donors why you
need them
Establish the need for support by…
• Making a case for giving before any “ask”
• Connect it to your big picture mission
• Back it up with specific needs
• Ending other actions with a donation ask

54. Build trust – show them you
are legit
Establish credibility by…
• Prominent trust seals
• Consistent design and copy
• Prompt receipts and thank yous
• Follow up on impact of giving

58. Making giving interesting
and simple
Help them make a difference through…
• Easy-to-use online donation forms
• Direct mail appeals with clear, simple
reply devices
• Actions or advocacy, online and off
• Email outreach with timely opportunities
to make a difference

62. bigducknyc.com

68. v

69. v

70. Grow in a way that makes
sense for your org
Before taking outreach to the next level, you
might consider…
• Cost of establishing new channels or
offerings
• The initial returns you can expect
• Outside consulting or implementation
you’ll need

71. http://e-benchmarksstudy.com/

72. Takeaways

73. Build a foundation for success
Your donors need to…
1. Exist
2. Know who the heck you are
3. Expect communications from you
4. See you where they already are
5. Know why their support is needed
6. Trust that you’re legit
7. Be able to help easily
8. Be big enough to justify the expense

74. Find your hook

75. Communicate where they are
http://www.achieveguidance.com/blog/

76. Understand why they give
http://www.nonprofitdonorengagement.com/CD_Nten_BenchmarkReport_Final.pdf
• I believe in the cause [65%]
• I want to help make change happen [30%]
• I have friends/family who support it [20%]
• I know someone who has recvd services [19%]
• The charity asked for my help [18%]
• I want to set a good example [16%]
• I want to connect with others… [15%]
• I have recvd services from this org [12%]

77. Ask why they care – and use it
http://www.parentprojectmd.org

78. http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/the_permanent_disruption_of_social_media
Diversify Calls-to-Action

79. Make it easy to get involved –
beyond donating
http://www.nonprofitdonorengagement.com/CD_Nten_BenchmarkReport_Final.pdf

80. Collect data and target and
segment asks
http://www.pursuant.com/blog/
Segment Criteria Goal
Key multi-year
donors
At least one gift over the
previous two years
Upgrade/automatic
recurring gift
New/one-time
donors
A sign gift within the past
18 months
Second gift, multi-
year donor
Lapsed donors Last gift > 18 months Reactivation gift
Nondonors Never given First gift

81. Convert your loyal donors to
monthly donors
http://michaelrosensays.wordpress.com/
Target:
• Existing donors, $10+, 2+ gifts in past year
• Existing donors, 1 gifts/year, past 2+ years
• Lapsed donors who just came back and had
previously given frequently
• New donors who may find this convenient

82. So tell us…
What is one thing
you will try?

83. Resources

84. Posts and Books
• The Duck Call Blog: www.bigducknyc.com/blog
- Five approaches to keep your donors engaged
- 11 ways you can tell your donors love you
- Four ways to show your donors some love
- Engaging your supporters with online actions
• Books:
- Building Donor Loyalty
by Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay
- Keep Your Donors: The Guide to Better
Communications & Stronger Relationships
by Tom Ahern and Simone P. Joyaux

85. Research
• AFP: Fundraising Effectiveness Project
http://www.afpnet.org/files/ContentDocuments/
FEP2011FinalReport.pdf
• Blackbaud: Show the Love [eBook]
http://bit.ly/npexperts-2014-npengage-launch
• NTEN: Nonprofit Donor Engagement Benchmark Study
http://www.nonprofitdonorengagement.com/
CD_Nten_BenchmarkReport_Final.pdf
• Urban Institute: Donor Retention Matters
http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412731-Donor-
Retention-Matters.pdf

86. Articles
• "I Do." Engaging in a Committed Online Relationship
• That's Engaging: Keep Supporters Engaged Year
'Round
• How A Donor Communications Program Keeps Donors
Giving and Giving
• A Consumers Guide to Low Cost Donor Management
Systems
• 5 Ideas That Will Give Your Donors a Reason to Stick
Around
• 12 Ways to Make Your Nonprofit’s Monthly Giving
Program Stand Out
http://bitly.com/donorlove

87. Contact Big Duck
bigducknyc.com
bigducknyc.com/blog
facebook.com/bigduck
twitter.com/bigduck

88. Contact Farra
farra@bigducknyc.com
twitter.com/farra
linkedin.com/in/farra
slideshare.net/farra

89. Contact Will
will@parentprojectmd.org
twitter.com/parentprojectmd
facebook.com/parentprojectmd
www.parentprojectmd.org

90. Thanks!