How can your communication strategy work to show your donors you know and love them? Donors – both present and potential – are special. Every communication is an opportunity to draw donors closer to the heart of your organization. It takes planning, creative thinking and commitment to focus on the donor — but there are a multitude of inexpensive and easy ideas for attracting you donors’ attention. This presentation will help you examine your organization to find the road-blocks and opportunities in getting your donor’s attention. We’ll explore technology tactics, direct marketing mysteries and creative concepts that assure donors you know and understand their interest in your cause. Learning Objectives: Flipping the focus Telling great stories in new ways Making communication personal Managing what gets in your way

1. Building Donor-Centric
Response and
Communication Strategies

2. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
How can creative, direct marketing
and technology work to show
donors you know and love them?

3. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Flip the Focus
Its about YOU the donor.
• Who did YOU help
• What did YOU make happen
• What can’t be done
without YOU
• Why is YOUR gift critical
Look for WE, US and OUR in your copy and change to YOU
Credit: Tom Ahearn

4. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Flip the Focus
Gather stories to share
• Deputize every board member and volunteer as
“story-collectors”
• Make it part of everyone’s role to listen for and
solicit stories to share
• Keep an eye on your social sites. Follow up on
comments that could turn into stories

5. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Gather
Great
Images
Get eye-level and close up

6. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Gather
Great
Images
Get action not just eyeballs

7. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Using images to
tell the story:
Ask donors,
volunteers and
participants to post
event pictures to
photo galleries on
Flicker and Facebook.

8. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Create a Slide Video
http://animoto.com/education/case_studies#civilrights

9. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Build a Photostory
• Thank you gift
• Personalized “brochure”
• Event keepsake

10. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Make it Personal
Respect your List
• Eliminate duplicates
• Check spelling – Cathy is not Kathy
• Note email unsubscribes in your main database
• Add a form to update addresses
• Create a process for getting new contacts into
the database
• Segment

11. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Make it Personal
Tactics for personalization
• Cold call vs friend call
• Add personal notes from
board members and
volunteers
• Variable data — giving
history, specific interests
• Friends asking friends
• Volunteer led events

12. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Opportunities
What is the BEST way to ask for donations?
• 4-page Direct Mail Letter
• 2-page Direct Mail Letter
• Email
• Facebook Causes
• Online Donation
WHATEVER
WAY
WORKS!

13. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
• Test
• To test you need a list
– a big list
• To get your own big list:
– Invite people to join
– Research prospects
– Rent lists
If you haven’t tried everything
you may not know what could
work

14. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
How do you test?
• Make only one
change at a time
• Provide that
option to a portion
of your list
• Track the different
response

15. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
What Gets In Your Way?
Project Process - Breakdown Ahead
• Design by committee
• Content by volunteers
• Approval by board
Lots of opinions = watered-down message

16. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
What Gets In Your Way?
Project Process – tools to guide you
• Strategic Plan
• Messaging Plan
• Creative Brief
• Selected Representatives
Lots of INPUT = feedback stays focused

17. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
What’s Next?
No One Way Works for Everyone
• Check and double check for more YOU than US
• Be specific and personal
• Keep growing and updating your lists
• Test creative, message and timing
…Until you find the best combinations that connect
(Then test new ones…)

18. Building Donor-Centric Response and Communication Strategies
Thank You
Beth S. Brodovsky, President
Iris Creative | Communications Build Community
610-567-2799
Connect at:
beth@iriscreative.com
www.iriscreative.com
www.linkedin.com/in/bethbrodovsky
www.twitter.com/bethbrodovsky
www.facebook.com/iriscreative