Don’t Do This in Your Year-End Appeal
I received my first holiday/year-end appeal on Sept. 14. This is the earliest I’ve ever received one.
Here’s what stuck out to me immediately:
The letter was addressed to SparkNonprofit LLC. Not to me, not to an actual person or the dreaded “Dear Friend.”
The importance of personalization
What kills me is that my last gift to this organization was $1,000.
$1,000!
And they can’t be bothered to figure out that I AM SparkNonprofit LLC.
SparkNonprofit is not a big company with hundreds of employees and contacts.
A simple Google search would tell them that.
What’s crazier and more frustrating is that I volunteered with this organization for more than five years. On their philanthropy committee!
Lost in translation: from donor to organization
I suspect that what confused this situation is that the last time I made a gift, which in fairness was about four years and several staff member changes ago, I wrote a company check.
Add staff turnover into the mix and the people who used to know me and my company are long gone, and the new staff members don’t know me at all.
It happens a lot.
I encounter nonprofits who moan and groan about not being able to raise enough to support their operations. Just recently, a nonprofit flat out told me that people aren’t giving anymore.
The impact of feeling unseen
Here’s the thing …
When you are on the receiving end of a letter from an organization that clearly doesn’t know you, and doesn’t appreciate your $1,000 gifts, it just feels bad.
The whole reason I stopped giving to this organization was because I felt like I didn’t matter to them, that my $1,000, which was a big annual gift for me, really didn’t help them given their multi-million-dollar budget.
The letter being addressed to my company just confirms my feelings of not mattering to them.
The ask string on the letter lists $1,000, $1,500, and $2,000 as asks.
The power of knowing your donors
Do you have any donors who give $1,000-$2,000 to your organization? Do you know who they are? If it’s a company or organization, do you know who is behind that check? Have you spoken directly to that person?
If the answer is no, stop reading this and pick up the phone right now. Call that company. Call that person. Thank them personally for their support and treat them like they matter.
Because they do!
Donor retention crisis
Donor retention rates have been on the decline for years and it’s common for only 25% of donors to make a second gift.
Poor customer service and lack of trust in the organization are two reasons why.
If Starbucks had 75% of its customers never return, they would spend millions to find out why.
In the nonprofit world, we just keep plugging along and complain about how difficult it is to find new customers/donors.
Taking action: the personal phone call
How many of your donors felt unappreciated and unseen this year, and have stopped giving to your organization because they don’t matter to you?
There’s still time to make those personal phone calls before your year-end appeal goes out.
That phone call to a donor might be the most important thing you do today. It’s not only important to that one individual donor, it’s vital to the health and long-term sustainability to your organization that you build or repair those relationships.
Need help building a sustainable future?
Schedule your free call with me today. I’d love to chat with you about your year-end appeal or other issues on your mind as a nonprofit leader.
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Let’s develop an effective fundraising plan, boost the performance of your team, ensure your organization’s sustainability, and overcome your leadership challenges by examining your mindset now. Contact me today!