Steven Screen

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The most powerful secret in fundraising from Steven Screen on Vimeo.

Hat tip to Seth Godin for recently writing about Weber-Fechner law.  Here’s how Seth explains the law:

• It’s easier to tell the difference between two bags of flour that are three ounces apart in weight when one weighs a pound, than it is to tell the difference between two bags that are three ounces apart when one weighs twenty pounds.
• It’s easier to tell the difference between two flashlights that are 6 lumens apart when one is just 2 lumens bright than it is to tell them apart when one is 200 lumens.
• The more stimulus you’re getting (light, sound, pressure, delight, sadness) the less easily you can notice a small change. That seems obvious, but it’s worth saying.

What does that have to do with fundraising?  A lot, these days.  There are 1,500,000 nonprofits in our country today.  The vast majority of them are fundraising.  That’s a lot of noise and stimulus.  And the average donor can’t tell them all apart. Are you cutting through the noise?  Does your messaging really stand out, quickly and powerfully?  Really?  Or does it blend in? Here’s what Weber-Fechner means for your nonprofit; you need to be willing to stand out in the crowd if you want attention (read; to raise money effectively).  This means you’re going to receive complaints and that some people aren’t going to like you.  This means you’re going to have to communicate to your donors more often than you think you do.  Or you can muddle along in the middle.

The people you’re serving are important, right?   Are they important enough for you to be edgy and bold enough to get attention?  If you aren’t, what’s holding you back?

NPR’s Fall Fund Drive began today.  I’m always struck by how many things NPR does right in their fundraising, so let’s take a look at what we fundraisers can learn from them…

1. They always talk to one person.  The announcers are always saying things like, “That’s where you come in,” “you make the programming on this station possible,” and “We need you to become a Member today.”  Unlike too many nonprofits who sound like they are talking to everybody at once, they talk directly to me.  It’s very effective.
2. They know the power of repetition.  This Fund Drive will be a constant part of their programming for a couple weeks.  Why?  They know that if they only ask once or twice not enough people will give.  So why do too many nonprofits only ask their donors for money a couple times a year?  They should learn the important fact that NPR knows; not everyone is able to give at the same time, so give people lots of chances to give.  Nonprofits, you should ask for money more often.  You’ll get a few complaints but you’ll get FAR more people who are happy to help.  And you’ll do more good.
3. Finally, they make specific Asks based on listener preference.  During news programs they ask for support to pay for their news gathering.   During entertainment and arts programming, they ask for support for those shows.  All of the funds are undesignated, but they craft their asks around what they know the listener likes.  Nonprofits, you can do the same thing.  Send out fundraising appeals and newsletters themed around specific programs.  Some of your fundraising can be more general, but the more specific you can get around interesting, life-changing programs you’re running, the better.

In our “Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat” system, we teach the same things; talk directly to your donors, ask them often, and be specific when you do.  These are the bedrock principals of Asking well.

But for today, just make your fundraising more like NPR’s and you’ll likely raise more money.

Yesterday I received an email from a nonprofit I support.  The entire email was about the great things the organization was doing.  Then they asked me for a gift so that they could do more great things.

Think with me for just a moment.  Imagine how much more powerful the email would have been if it told me about all the great things I was doing with my gifts, and then asked for another gift so that I could do more great things?

There is no way we can say it enough times; you should spend less time talking about your organization and what it’s doing, and spend more time talking about what your donors can do (and have done) with their gifts.

Donors want to accomplish something with each and every gift they give.  When you’re asking for money, if you tell donors what their gift will accomplish they are more likely to make a gift.  When you’re reporting back on what their previous gifts did (you do report back, don’t you?), if you tell them what they accomplished they will be happier about their gift — and therefore more likely to give another gift.

Next time you ask your donors to make a gift, don’t ask them to give a gift to your organization.  Ask them to give a gift to do something specific.  You’ll raise more money.

If you want to be a successful fundraiser (or fundraising organization) you need to do these three things well.  You’d be surprised how much else you can throw out the window if you get this right.

Ask: ask your donors to send in a gift.  Don’t dance around it, ask them to make a gift right now.  Ask them multiple times and be very specific about what you want them to do.  And here’s a tip the fundraising Pro’s use; don’t ask donors to send money, ask them to solve a problem.  For instance, ask donors to ‘feed one hungry person’ or ‘rescue one pet.’  Donors like to solve specific problems, so present a problem and ask the donor to solve it.

===> But you have to ask.

Thank: Thank your donors each time they make a gift and thank them quickly (we recommend in 48 hours or less).  Most organizations thank their donors in a mundane, legalistic way.  Instead, your goal should be to make your donors feel incredibly appreciated and that the gift they just gave is going to change the world.

Report: Donor’s want to know what happened with their gift.  You need to make sure there is a prominent part of your fundraising communications that’s dedicated to showing donors what their gifts did.  (The best way we’ve seen to do this is via human stories told in a newsletter format, but that’s not your only option.)  After all, if your donors don’t feel like their gift made a difference, why would they give another gift?

Ask, Thank, Report.  Your fundraising communications should be built on these three things.  You’ll raise more money — and have happier donors — if you get this right.

There’s a big difference between a nonprofit’s Mission and Offer — and when you’re talking to donors you’d better know the difference.

Your organization’s Mission describes what your organization does.  It usually goes into more detail than the average donor is interested in.  And for most nonprofits, your Mission (or Mission Statement) should remain an internal document.

Around here we’re fond of saying, ‘Your Mission should be read, not said.”  That’s because your Mission is about your organization.

Your Offer, on the other hand, is not about your organization.  It’s about what donors can do via your organization.  And your Offer (if you have one) is MUCH more attractive to a donor than your mission.

Here’s an example.  Say your organization feeds hungry people and you’re having a fundraising breakfast.  Which of the following two options is more powerful?

1. “Our mission is to support the poor by providing sustenance to the needy in our community, regardless of their current or past situation. Will you gift a gift today to help us?”  or…
2. “You can feed a hungry neighbor for just $1.92.  Will you please give a gift today, you can feed 10 people for less than $20!”

The first “ask” is based on Mission, and the second is an Offer.  We think it’s pretty clear the second is more powerful.  When you’re talking to donors, keep you Mission in your pocket.  Present them your offer instead.

A recent national study confirmed what fundraising results have been saying for a long time:

===> “Donors are more than three times likelier to give online in response to a direct-mail appeal than an e-appeal, according to a new national Dunham+Company study.”  You can read the whole story here.

Another way of saying this is that a direct mail appeal is three times more effective at creating an online donation than an e-appeal.  AND you get the added bonus of the gifts that will come in via snail mail.

Of course, digital is usually cheaper (which is music to the ears of most nonprofits).  But let us save you some pain and heartache.  Here’s what usually happens when most organizations go digital-only or digital-heavy with their fundraising; they save money in the short term, but the long term they raise less money and their donor retention rates go down.

In other words, don’t stop using the mail.  You’ll spend more to print and mail your fundraising, but you’ll almost always raise far more money and retain more donors.

Look, we just want you to raise more money so you can make the world a better place.  And we understand the attraction of e-appeals and e-newsletters.  If you are getting pushed to go digital with your fundraising, please test digital vs. snail mail before going all-digital.  Let us know if you want to talk about it; email jim@theedgegroup.org.