CharityMatters-NZ Donor Communication, Donor Support, Donors, Regular Giving, Supporter Retention

Losing a Friend

You clear your post office box, and among the mail is a letter and cheque from a long standing donor, someone who has supported your work for a number of years; someone you see as a friend. The letter is a shock.

Your donor has just told you that this will be their last gift, that they have decided that they need to cut back as they are supporting other organisations and can’t support everyone.

What do you do?

File the letter and bank the cheque, make a note on your system that the donor won’t be supporting any more; then carry on with your daily work.

If this is what you are doing, you could be missing out on maintaining the relationship you have with this donor.

The first thing you should do is take a breath, then pick up the phone and call the donor.

Why? You’re losing a friend, and you should be calling to say thank you for the support they have given over their time with your organisation.

When calling ensure you’re not making the call as a plea for them to stay on as a supporter, your reason for the call is to thank them, and nothing more.

You may end the call with a big surprise; in some cases the donor makes the decision to stay with you. It won’t always happen and most often won’t happen if you go into the call begging them to stay.

The call should be about how valuable their support has been, what it has meant to have them as a supporter and what they have helped you achieve. Any decision for them to stay is theirs and theirs alone.

I’ve made a number of these calls and know how well they have gone down with the donor, you could almost hear them smile knowing they you have valued their support. And, yes, some donors have changed their mind and stayed with the organisation.

So, the next time you get a letter saying that this will be the last donation, take a breath and pick up the phone and thank the person for their support. You have nothing to lose, and plenty to gain.

Do you make these types of calls already, how do you handle them, do you find some donors stay?

CharityMatters-NZ Appeals, Donor Support, Fundraising, Planning, Regular Giving

What Are You Expecting?

I’ve been hearing from some organisations that they are expecting a lower level of donations from the public this year.

A scarey thought considering many organisations rely on the kindness and generosity of Mr & Mrs Public to ensure they’re able to deliver the services their organisation is established for.

Sure, organisations do have the ability to apply for funding through lottery, other charity organisations and of course their current support base. But, if there’s a downturn in support from the general public this can have a big impact on the organisations ability to carry out what it is there for.

More often than not when income falls below expectation it means cuts have to be made, sure there are overheads that could possibly be trimmed back, but when it comes to cutting back on service delivery this has a wider reaching impact.

How many organisations have a contingency plan should something go haywire with annual funding projections? I’ve worked with a number that at one point looked as though they were flying by the seat of their pants and had no contingency plans in place. They’d just do what they could with what they had, and didn’t seem at all concerned about the clients they were they for missing out. Now they know the importance of a backup plan.

When you are doing your annual planning, do you look at what you would do should you find yourself with a drop off in regular giving? Any drop in regular giving can make a huge difference, so organisations should be factorying this into their annual budget planning – do you?

CharityMatters-NZ Donor Support, Fundraising, Supporter Retention

Is the Bucket Dead?

That rattling sound we often hear as we walk along the street, the jingle of coins in a bucket as charities strive to gain support could be gone in a few years.

A recent article on Radio NZ shows that people aren’t carrying as much cash as they used to, well, we know that ourselves we’re moving to cashless transactions more and more; but what will this mean for the street collector.

There have been those who have trialled mobile eftpos, but as this can be costly and slow for people giving organisations appear to by shying away from this. But, perhaps with pay n wave techonolgy this could we might see others trialling it.

Mobile apps have been around to help gather immediate donations, but again these have been seen to be cumbersome.

I don’t think we have seen the end of the street collector, what we will likely see if more booth like collection points (Para Olympics use a booth in some places), these will give people the chance to stop, talk and learn while also subscribing to regular giving.

But, there will always be a place for the bucket, and it’s only a matter of time before we see the technology that will enable quick donations being made either with eftpos or account-to-account transactions.

If your organisation is currently doing bucket collections, have you seen a drop off in donations and, have you looked at adapting, changing the way you will do street collections?

Give to charity, have you stopped giving on the street?

CharityMatters-NZ Opinions, Other, Philanthropy, Sponsorship

A Few Things to Consider

We all want to know that the organisation we are supporting, or wanting to support is doing good, that it is meeting it’s goals, reaching the people it is there to help. But, it’s not always the case, some organisations aren’t meeting targets and are only scratching the surface.

How can we check if the one we are looking at supporting is worth sending money to?

There’s a few things to look at, sure there’s a search of the Charity Register, but this is only a superficial look at their income, expenses and a check that they’re complying with what they are set up to do. In essence the report you will find on the Register is simply a declaration, it doesn’t show what the organisation has actually done.

An organisations website will give you the ”fluff” about who they support, what they do, but does it really give you an insight into who it really helps? Sure, there may be some testimonials from people it has helped, but in reality these are often hand picked to give the best picture of the work done.

If you are considering giving support, and particularly so if you are looking at a major contribution, a lifetime contribution or as a key sponsor to look deeper.

It is suggested that you find clients of the organisation and have a chat to them, don’t only talk to the people the organisation has suggested you talk to, but some how find others who have used the organisation. These are more likely to be more open about the support, service that they received.

When talking with previous, or current clients of an organisation you will soon see whether the support they received was beneficial, did it change their situation, are they better off. All of this will help you work out if this is the right organisation for you to support.

Another thing to look at, is the organisation meeting its goals? This can be a hard one to judge, but you should be able to find out by the chats you have with previous clients, by viewing the organisations annual report (not the one on the Charity Register but the main one that most publish these days.) Even a search on Google will likely give you insights into the impact the organisation is having, don’t forget too, that a search through their social media activity will likely also give some good insights.

Something I have seen people do when looking at supporting an organisation, is to look at what other organisations are working in the same space, and seeing if these have or intend to work together at some point. Remember, there’s many organisations doing the same or very similar things, could collaboration, merger be more beneficial to everyone. It’s something worth considering when making a decision to support.

Another thing I suggest people look at, is who is put first; the client, staff or donor? If it’s the staff then you need to ask why? If it’s the donor, same questions; in my opinion the client of an organisation should be the one who is put first, if they are not, then is it an organisation you want to support?

CharityMatters-NZ Appeals, Communication, Donor Communication, Donor Support, Donors, Fundraising

How Do You Say Thank You

Donors want, nay, deserve to be thanked for their support. How you thank them can result in future decisions to support your organisation.

A stock standard thank you letter will be received, read and most likely binned, with only the receipt being retained for tax purposes.

But a thank you letter that makes a donor feel that they are important, an individual (not just a number), can make a donor stay longer and has the potential to gain additional, higher value support at a future date. It could also result in the acquisition of new donors through the letter being shown to others.

Donors don’t expect, and you can’t sit and write a personalised letter for each donor, but you can make it ”personal”.
Your donor database should be able to capture key information, the basics we know (name, address, email), but are you also capturing other information that can assist you in communicating with donors?

If you receive a donation, or communication from a donor and there’s something that could help you with future communication, are you keeping this on your system?

Maybe a donor mentioned something in a communication about their family, why the support you, perhaps they mentioned a milestone in their life, or that they had recently moved.

All of this should be ”captured” and where approriate used in future communications. Yes, it seems a little bit big brother-ish, and some people may not like it, you can always delete the information (in fact you have to if requested).

But imagine a donor receiving a personalised thank you, yes, your form letter, but with reference to something they have said previously, perhaps you refer to their recent move.

Supporter letters, whether a thank you or an update of work being done; needn’t be all corporate, there’s no reason why you can’t be a little more casual, conversational in them. How about adding some wit to them.

We all tend to end a thank you letter or other communication with ”we look forward to your continued support” – yes, we do look forward to it, but what if we ended with something more casual, like; ”give us a call or send us a note if you need an update on what we’ve been doing”.

I’ve used a similar ending to a donor letter and have had donors contact saying thank you and, yes asking if the organisation had done anything since their last donation was received, how their money had been used. The donors felt that they were part of the organisation, that they had a relationship beyond bank accounts.

One important thing, your thank you letter comes from you, not the CEO, not the Board, but you an individual.

And lastly, do you know why your donor is supporting you? If you don’t ask in the thank you letter, only ask the once tho, but do ask. This is valuable information and again helps build the relationship.

CharityMatters-NZ Appeals, Boards, Fundraising, Governance

Do your Board Members Fundraise?

It’s not my job, we have fundraisers, why should I have to fundraise?

I wouldn’t know where to start, I’d be a burden on fundraising.

I don’t know enough to help with donations.

When board members see, have the attitude that fundraising isn’t part of their role, something needs to be said and done; sadly grabbing them by the shoulder and give them a good hard shake is frowned upon. But something needs doing to get them to see it’s as much their job as it is anyone else in the organisation.

Board members should be encouraged to, where possible spend time with the fundraising team to learn what it takes to get a campaign going, how individuals, businesses and funders are approached. The effort this takes, the skills needed and to see what the results (negative and positive) have on those doing the fundraising.

I’ve seen organisations where the Board are only interested in the income, they’re not interested in how it’s done. But, should income levels not meet targets they dive in and suggest that the fundraising team aren’t doing all the could, they their appriach is wrong.

Say what, if these Board members know so much, why aren’t they roling their sleeves up and help? Ah that’s right, it’s not their job. What a load of hogwash.

Board members, infact (in my opinion) everyone in an organisation should have some involvement in fundraising.
Board members are likely to have business or community connections they could tap into. Sure, there are some situations where this may not be possible; but the least they could do in situations where a direct approach my not be in order, is to at minimum is to give introductions, open the door for others to make the approach.

If written previoulsy, Is your Board on Board, have a read if you haven’t.

Board members aren’t only there because of the need in the Trust Deed or legal requirements, they are their because of skills they have. And, they should also be schooled in all areas of the organisation. (Read) Learn Fundraising.

The next time your board is together, ask ”what can you help with?”. It may scare some, but too bad, it will open discussion on roles, repsonsibilities and opportunities.

CharityMatters-NZ Uncategorized

What are your plans for 2016?

The New Year is well and truly here, people are back at work, people are (or most likely have) planned their annual giving.

Have you done you annual planning yet, did you spend time before your break working on what you want your organisation to achieve this coming year and how you will go about it?

If you haven’t, don’t panic, it’s not too late. Maybe instead of diving in to all the emails that will appear in your inbox, you should gather your staff around and have a brain dump about what you want to achieve this year and share ideas, skills and, workload on how, when and who will lead the charge to achieve the goals.

Growing supporters, growing income will be at the forefront of many wishlists. I would suggest that you spend time, if you haven’t already, looking at what did and didn’t work last year. If one particular message gained your more support than others, lose the weaker ones from any thought for this coming year.

If you found that one-on-one communications, phone calls, personalised letters and emails worked best, test this again this year. Perhaps, if you haven’t already, split/segment your database; use different material, days/times etc to test different sectors of your database.

The start of the year is when you should be reevaluting your work, testing a few things, you can’t leave it to the middle of the year when you know you haven’t reached the income goals you have set to make drastic changes.

Use the start of the year to test, test and test some more.

We all know that our communications aren’t a one size fits all, so make one change this year, and stick to it. Adapt your communication style to suit the different segments of your database.

Busy professionals probably want details delivered succinctly, to the point; older people likely want to hear more about individuals they have helped, the like to hear the stories. Millenials want to know what they can do, right here, right now.

As I’ve said, it’s no one size fits all.
When you hit the office, pop on the jug, brew a tea or, coffee; gather your team around and do a brain dump, don’t see this as taking up time that could be better used for other things, see it as an investment in your organisation.

You only have one start of a New Year, make it worthwhile for your organisation and you, your team, those you help and, your supporters.

What are your plans?
How do you start your year?

CharityMatters-NZ Charity Sector, Donor Support, Fundraising, Opinions, Other, Sector news, Uncategorized

The Demise of the Charity Shop

With recent news that Save the Children will be closing their stores it’s timely to see what’s happening, what’s changed.

Save the Children, isn’t the first and it won’t be the last to close up shop.

At one time generous landlords gave organisations cheap rentals and even reduced other costs associated with renting shop space. This has changed with landlords now, in the main, charging market rents.

With market rents being charged organisations have had little choice but to no longer sell items for $1 or $2 dollars, but to increase some prices; sure there are still great bargains and, remember every purchase benefits the organisation no matter the price, even that five cent spoon purchase has a benefit.

There is, in my opinion, also been a growth in the number of organisation having a “retail” presence, this has created competition with people having more choice as to where they can shop for a bargain. Not unlike mainstream retail.

Sure, we will see fewer organisations with a retail presence, but they will continue to be there. Some will still sell items to raise funds, but this will likely be, as it is already, be online through the likes of TradeMe.

Others will start using other methods, social enterprise for one. With some organisations already looking at this as a means to raise funds with little, in some cases no overheads; yet still making use of donated items to create an income stream away from grants etc.