We hear it so often – “thanks for your support, every little bit helps” – this is real cringe material.
I’ve previously written on this “Every little bit Helps”; and am now looking at this in a different way.
If you’re receiving, what you see as a small donation; perhaps someone’s giving $5.00 on a semi-regular basis, that could be costing them to send it into you; how about looking at doing something to make it easier and more efficient for them to donate.
By offering these donors the option to set up a direct debit, direct credit or other automated donation, you can help them to help you more.
In doing this, you could find that some may decide to offer more; or give the same amount on a more regular basis.
When asking people for support, the reason their support is needed is the key to winning them over. You don’t (and probably shouldn’t) have a glossy multi-page brochure, this will give the impression that their money is going on things other than what it’s really needed for.
If someone is giving you $5 every month, thank them from the bottom of your heart; keep them up to date with how their money is helping. Subtle messages can often be more powerful than others.
If Mrs Brown can see that her monthly $5.00 has helped a child with their schooling, their health or the like; this could be all it takes for her to give more. She may decide after seeing she’s helped one child, that she’d like to help more.
What have you got to lose? Try new things to try and lift the level of support people currently give.
A word of caution though, don’t pull on the heart strings too much when talking to your supporters, this can have the reverse effect.
Image: Whisper © Pathathai Chungyam
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